Ventura, CA - Advances in minimally invasive spine surgery will be the focus of a free seminar the Community Memorial Health System is holding on Tuesday, Nov. 12.

Michael Dorsi, M.D., a local neurosurgeon with subspecialty expertise in spine and peripheral nerve surgery, will lead the seminar that will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. in the eighth-floor Nichols Auditorium at Community Memorial Hospital, 147 Brent St. in Ventura.

Minimally invasive spine surgery was first performed in the 1980s but has recently seen rapid advances. Technological advances have enabled spine surgeons to expand patient selection and treat an evolving array of spinal disorders with less tissue disruption. This can result in a quicker recovery, less operative blood loss and help the patient return to normal function.

Dr. Dorsi received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He trained in neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins and completed an advanced spinal care fellowship at UCLA. Dr. Dorsi is an active member of the Community Memorial Hospital medical staff and the clinical instructor for Western University School of Medicine.

Admission is free, but space is limited, so reservations are required. Call 652-5436, or visit www.cmhshealth.org/rsvp.

Community Memorial Health System is a not-for-profit health system, which is comprised of Community Memorial Hospital, Ojai Valley Community Hospital, and 11 family-practice health centers entitled Centers for Family Health. The health system is located in Ventura County, California.

Halloween may be a fun holiday for kids, but for parents, trick-or-treat time can be a little scary. Concerns about children’s safety, whether they are out in the neighborhood or back at home with their bags of goodies, can make parents extremely worrisome. But not to worry! Following a few safety tips will ensure that Halloween will be a good time for all.

• Make sure older kids go out with friends. Younger children should be accompanied by an adult. If you live in a rural area, offer all kids a ride in the car.
• Set a time limit for children to trick-or-treat. Together, map out a safe route so you know where they’ll be. Remind them not to take shortcuts through backyards, alleys, or playing fields.
• Remind kids never to enter a strange house or car.
• Try to get kids to trick-or-treat while it is still light out. If it is dark, make sure the children are carrying flashlights that work.

Pranks That Can Be a Little Tricky
Halloween is notoriously a night of pranks, whether it is toilet papering a house or mischievous things, these are not unusual occurrences on this particular night. Try to get a handle on your children’s plans before they go out. Explain to them that while you want them to have a good time, some tricks could hurt other people or vandalize property. Emphasize that you disapprove of things that can harm others and vandalism.

Eating the Treats
• Kids need to know not to eat their treats until they get home. One way to keep trick-or-treaters from digging in while they’re still out is to feed them a meal or substantial snack beforehand.
• Check out all treats at home in a well-lit place.
• What to eat? Only unopened candies and other treats that are in original wrappers.
• Don’t forget to inspect fruit and homemade goodies for anything suspicious. Welcome trick-or-treaters at home by turning on your exterior lights.
Remember
• Remove objects from your yard that might present a hazard to visitors.
• Drive slowly all evening—you never know what creature may suddenly cross your path.
• Report any suspicious or criminal activity to your local sheriff’s or police department.
Consider This
Parents and kids can avoid trick-or-treating troubles entirely by organizing a Halloween costume party with treats, games, contests, music, scary stories, and much more. Make your Halloween party the place to be! Schools, churches, fire stations, libraries, even malls in many communities organize “haunted houses” and other festivities for families.

Making Safe Costumes
• Check that costumes are flame-retardant so the little ones aren’t in danger near candlelit jack-o-lanterns and other fire hazards.
• Keep costumes short to prevent trips, falls, and other bumps in the night.
• Encourage kids to wear comfortable shoes.
• Try makeup instead of a mask. Masks can be hot and uncomfortable and, more importantly, they can obstruct a child’s vision—a dangerous thing when kids are crossing streets and going up and down steps.
• Make sure kids wear light colors or put reflective tape on their costumes.
Dressed Up and Dangerous?
• Halloween blood and gore are harmless stuff for the most part. However, sometimes dressing up as a superhero, a scary monster, or a slimy alien from outer space—coupled with the excitement of Halloween—brings out aggressive behavior.
• Even fake knives, swords, and guns can accidentally hurt people. If these objects are part of a child’s costume, make sure they are made from cardboard or other flexible materials. Better yet, challenge kids to create costumes that don’t need “weapons” to be scary and fun.

Try to apply these tips this holiday and have a howling good Halloween.

Nature of Incident: Halloween Safety
Location: City of Moorpark
Date & Time: Tuesday, October, 21 2013 at 10:06 AM
Unit(s) Responsible: Moorpark Beat Coordinator Unit
Prepared by: Senior Deputy Beat Coordinator Bob Berger
Media Release Date: Tuesday, October 21, 2013
Follow-Up Contact: Senior Deputy Bob Berger
Approved by: Stephen Wade, Captain

We started our business in 1980 when, living and going to school in Boston, Bill Faith and I decided we’d like to start an endeavor together. Bill already had a background in medicinal herbs so we began to sell herbal teas at a small marketplace in the basement of a church in Cambridge, MA. We soon branched out into essential oils, to be used for healing. This was long before ‘aromatherapy’ was a commonly used term, but we discovered that there was a lot of interest in oils, so we began to concentrate on that aspect of our business.

After we got married, we moved back to California. Bill and I had both gone to college in Santa Barbara and met while living there. I grew up and graduated in 1970 from Fillmore High so we decided to move back and start our family there. As our business developed, we started ‘taking our show on the road’ selling at craft fairs, military bases, county fairs and renaissance festivals. During our many years working at renaissance festivals, we always actively promoted the city of Fillmore as an attractive travel destination. We developed our own lines of perfume solids, scented lotions and soaps and incenses as well as custom blended fragrances, made to order.

Between 1981 and 1993 we had a boy and four girls, all born at home with a mid-wife. They attended Fillmore schools and grew up actively participating in sports, music, theater, church and volunteer projects.

Luke (31) is Special Projects Manager for Seneca Resources; Hannah (29), is expecting her second child and a Special Education teacher; Tara (26) works full time as a care-giver; Nora (24) attends graduate school in Ireland; and Claire (20) is a junior at Humboldt State University.

They’ve all worked at the family business for many years.

In 1998, we opened The Scented Path Apothecary at its present location, next to the Towne Theatre. We modeled the business after a turn-of-the-century shop, with crown-molding-topped shelving built by Walt Taylor and custom-designed wooden display cases made by my dad, Ralph Rees. We felt that the historic flavor of the building would lend itself to our business approach which emphasizes natural and old-fashioned fragrance, beauty and health products.

Since that time, we’ve continued to enjoy working in the small town atmosphere of Fillmore, offering our services in order to help people regain good health and generally contributing to the well-being of the community. In the past we have supported a number of groups including: Grad Night Live, Little League, Fillmore Convalescent Center Auxiliary and Fillmore Women’s Service Club among others. Scented Path sponsors a table each year for the Soroptimist’s annual Fashion Show. And I teach Yoga classes to seniors at the Fillmore Senior Center as well as other Yoga classes to adults at the Body Image and at my own studio, Fillmore’s Health and Wellness Center on Santa Clara Street.

Bill and I both love to read, watch classic movies, travel, car camp and hike and spend time with our kids and granddaughter. It doesn’t get much better than that!

Thanks again for your support and acknowledgement.
Janine Rees

If you like magi, don't miss Master Magician, Shawn McMaster! He will entertain and amaze you! Join us at the Fillmore Library 502 Second Street Wednesday, October 23rd at 3:30pm. For more information call 524-3355. This program is made possible through the support of the Fillmore Friends of the Library.

Ventura, CA - Improved service between Ventura and Santa Barbara, with stops in Carpinteria, are coming to VISTA’s Coastal Express. The Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) is modifying its VISTA Coastal Express route effective Monday, October 21, 2013, to include new bidirectional stops at West Peking Street and Main Street in Ventura and Carpinteria City Hall.

“These changes will provide additional service along this popular route, especially to and from Carpinteria, Goleta and Santa Barbara,” noted VCTC Executive Director Darren Kettle. “The Coastal Express route is a valuable part of VISTA’s service offerings. These changes, combined with new over-the-road coaches and the ability to use free wireless internet onboard the vehicles, will provide a more comfortable and easier commute. We hope these changes will continue to make the route appealing to our riders.”

Slight time adjustments will also be implemented for better overall coordination.

Schedule changes to the VISTA Highway 101, Conejo Connection, East County, CSUCI Shuttle, and Highway 126 routes went into effect August 26, 2013.

The VISTA Coastal Express is provided in cooperation with the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments.

To view the updated VISTA schedules or to learn more about local transit options, visit www.goventura.org or call (800) 438-1112.

The Camarillo Police Department will be hosting a program to educate newly licensed and future drivers.

The “Start Smart” Program is a cooperative effort between the California Highway Patrol, Camarillo Police Department, teenage drivers, and their parents.

In an attempt to remain proactive and not reactive, Start Smart is designed to help young drivers and their parents/guardians understand the responsibilities associated with driving a motor vehicle. Start Smart will show how a poor choice behind the wheel can change the lives of everyone involved. Our goal is to raise awareness and reduce the number of teen-related injuries and deaths due to collisions.

Interested parents are asked to contact Sergeant Renee Ferguson at (805) 388-5132 for more information. For reservations, call the Camarillo Police Department Community Resource Unit at (805)388-5155. Space is limited to 20 students and their parents. There is no charge to attend the program.

Nature of Incident: Start Smart Program
Location: Camarillo Police Station Community Room
Date & Time: Thursday, December 5, 2013, 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Unit(s) Responsible: Camarillo Traffic Unit
Prepared by: Deputy Dan Turock
Media Release Date: Monday, October 14, 2013
Follow-Up Contact: Sergeant Renee Ferguson (805) 388-5132
Approved by: Captain Bruce Macedo

Young stamp collectors will be searching through thousands of stamps to find items to start or expand their collections during the 23rd annual Youth Stamp Fair on Oct. 19 at the Dudley House Museum, 197 N. Ashwood Ave. (Ashwood Avenue and Loma Vista Road), Ventura.

The free event, sponsored by the Ventura County Philatelic Society and the Anacapa Middle School Stamp Club, will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and feature contests, door prizes, and information about the basics of stamp collecting. The event is open to the young and young at heart who want to learn more about stamp collecting, which has been called the king of hobbies and hobby of kings, but the contests are limited to those 18 and under. The young visitors will be asked to guess the number of stamps in a large jar, and the person who has the closest guess to the actual number without going over the number will win the jar and a collector’s kit. Young artists can prepare a cachet (pictorial envelope) at the event, and first-, second- and third-place winners will be chosen in three age groups. All the winners will be notified by mail and invited to the awards presentation during a meeting of the Ventura County Philatelic Society on Nov. 18.

The most popular part of the event is the pick-and-choose area, where visitors can search through thousands of U.S. and foreign stamps to find items for their collections. The stamps are free to children, but adults are asked to pay 5 cents each for stamps they take.

Several workstations will introduce the visitors to basic stamp collecting techniques: how and why to get stamps off paper; how to detect watermarks (designs in the paper) and measure perforations (the holes around the edges of stamps); how to identify stamps; and how to safely store stamps and other philatelic material. Other stations will introduce visitors to topical collecting (saving by stamp’s subjects rather than the countries that issued them), and collecting covers (postal stationery and envelopes that have been sent through the mail). Visitors will also be able to make bookmarks with the stamps of their choice.

A special cancel picturing one of the entries to the Olivas Adobe in Ventura will be available at the event. The picture was drawn by Carolyn Weber, a member of the Ventura County Philatelic Society. The entries in the cachet contest will automatically receive the cancel. Others who want a copy of the cancel may bring envelopes or other items bearing first-class postage to the event for cancellation.

More information about the event may be obtained from Chairman John Weigle at 485-7121 or by email at jweigle@cipcug.org. Weigle, who lives in Oxnard, also advises the Anacapa Middle School Stamp Club.

The Ventura County Philatelic Society meets on the first and third Mondays of the month at the Church of the Foothills, 6279 Foothill Road, Ventura. The doors open at 7 p.m. and visitors are welcome. The Anacapa Middle School Stamp Club meets during the lunch hour on Mondays during the school year and is open only to Anacapa students.

Ventura, CA - Healthcare reform will be the focus of two free seminars Community Memorial Hospital is holding in the coming weeks at the Museum of Ventura County, 100 E. Main St.

Session 1, set for Oct. 29, is entitled “Healthcare Reform: Cure or Curse?” CMHS President and CEO Gary Wilde and Gerald Kominski, Ph.D., professor of Health Policy and Management at the Field School of Public Health at UCLA, will be featured speakers.

Session 2 on Nov. 19, “Exchanges, Mandates and Marketplaces,” will serve as a practical primer for patients and families about what they need to know about healthcare reform. Joining Wilde at Session 2 will be Dylan Roby, Ph.D., director of Policy and Research at UCLA’s Center for Public Health.

James Hornstein, M.D., chairman of the Bioethics Committee at CMHS, will serve as moderator of both seminars in CMHS’s “Ethics of Caring” series that will run from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

Registration is free but reservations are required. Call 800/769-0745 or visit www.cmhshealth.org/ethics.

Community Memorial Health System is a not-for-profit health system, which is comprised of Community Memorial Hospital, Ojai Valley Community Hospital, and 11 family-practice health centers entitled Centers for Family Health. The health system is located in Ventura County, California.

Ventura County Treasurer-Tax Collector Steven Hintz announced that the mailing of the Secured Property Tax Bills for the 2013/14 tax year will begin the second week of October. Property owners who have not received the Fiscal Year 2013/14 Secured Property Tax Bill by the end of October should either telephone the office at (805) 654-3744, or send an Email request for a duplicate bill to HelpingHand@ventura.org. A “virtual bill” for each Ventura County taxable parcel is available online through the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s website: venturapropertytax.org

Hintz further reported that the 2013/14 tax bill information is loaded into his office’s systems and taxpayers can begin to inquire about their 2013/14 bills, as well as make their payments. Payments can be made by U.S. Mail, by visiting the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office, or via the Internet from the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s website: venturapropertytax.org. A total of 244,526 Secured Property Tax Bills will be issued for 2013/14, representing a total secured tax roll of more than $1.236 Billion.

The FIRST INSTALLMENT of the 2013/14 secured property tax is due November 1, 2013, and can be paid without penalty as late as December 10, 2013. Mailing a check with the payment stub remains an efficient way to pay your taxes. Payments postmarked on or before December 10, 2013 will be considered on time. The timeliness of mailed payments is measured by the U.S. Postal Service cancellation mark. The closure of the Oxnard Postal Annex may impact the timely postmark of your payment. Please take this into consideration when mailing your payment. If you must wait until December 10, 2013, it is recommended that you take your payment into the Post Office and have it postmarked in your presence. A payment drop box, located outside of the east entrance of the County Government Center – Hall of Administration, 800 S. Victoria Avenue, Ventura, CA 93009, will be open until midnight on December 10, 2013. State law requires that a 10% penalty be collected for all late payments.

To continue providing excellent customer service, the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office is now open from Monday through Friday, 7:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M.

Bill Edmonds

Bill Edmonds, local Track and Field official was awarded the Jim Carson Memorial Award for demonstrating over his officiating career the decorum, love of people, love of the sport of Track and Field and demonstrating a high level of official expertise. Mr. Edmond, a Fillmore resident since 1984 began officiating in 1978 while living in Downey, California and working with the Lynwood School District. He came to Fillmore in 1984 with his wife, Lynn, to teach at Sespe Elementary School. Since coming to Fillmore he has officiated at the Olympic Trials, NCAA events and finals as well as numerous college and high school Track and Field meets. With Ray Tafoya, he started the Condor Track Team and was a youth track coach of the Condor team for many years. He has traveled to Edmonton, Canada as well as Barcelona, Spain and Helsinki, Finland to enjoy the World Track and Field Finals. The Southern California Officials Association of the United States of America Track and Field Association granted Mr. Edmonds the prestigious award on October 5, 2013

SANTA PAULA, CA – The 20th De Colores Art Show, an annual group art exhibit showcasing Latino art and culture, will premiere at the Santa Paula Art Museum on Sunday, October 27 with an opening reception from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Refreshments and hors d’oeuvres catered by La Cabaña will be served. The event will also include a performance by the De Colores Music Group and the Museum’s own Strings Program students led by musician and artist Xavier Montes. Admission is $10.00 for all guests. Students are always admitted free.

The purpose of the long-running De Colores Art Show is to recognize the contributions of Latino culture and traditions to the art of the Santa Clara Valley. The juried group show is open to any and all artists, and demonstrates how Latino themes and iconography can inspire a diverse group of talent. Every year the message of the show manifests itself vividly through portraiture, still-life, landscape, abstraction, sculpture, photography and more.

“This year, the De Colores exhibit meets viewers with art work that resurrects the depth of life, change, and the shift of human consciousness,” says award-winning artist and De Colores guest curator Andrea Vargas-Mendoza. Twenty artists were selected for the 20th show which includes works by muralist Uriel Leon, couture by multimedia artist Marissa Magdalena, and spiritually evocative work by Veronica Valadez. The current grouping continues the legacy of the De Colores Art Show as a meaningful and vibrant narrative full of character, passion and color. The exhibit can be viewed through February 23, 2014.

Reservations for the opening reception are not required. For more information, contact the Museum at (805) 525-5554, or email info@santapaulaartmuseum.org. The Museum is located at 117 North 10th Street, Santa Paula, CA 93060. The Museum’s regular hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., and Sunday from 12:00 – 4:00 p.m. Regular admission is $4.00 for adults, $3.00 for seniors and free for Museum members and students.

Ventura County Library is pleased to announce the participation in the State Library’s new Early Learning with Families 2.0 (ELF 2.0) initiative. The Early Learning with Families-ELF-initiative supports California libraries as they enhance early learning services for familes with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers and as centers of community activity, provide opportunities for healthy development of young children. ELF libraries create engaging interactive programs for young children with their parents and caregivers that support family strengths and respond to community needs.

ELF is a statewide project of the California State Library and North Bay Cooperative Library System. This project was supported in whole or in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.

The Ventura County Library is available 24/7 at www.vencolibrary.org.

The E. P. Foster Library will hold its first ever Foster Con Mini Comic Festival on October 26 and 27. Aimed at the new and continuing comic book reader, this event will include guest speaker, Sergio Aragones, art and costume contests, local artists, vendor tables, candy sushi making for the kids, and a movie screening.

Applications for the art and costume contests are available online at http://www.vencolibrary.org/locations/epfoster. A schedule of events is also available. Event starts when the doors open at 10 on 10/26. The event is open to all ages. For more information contact Heather Seaton, at (805) 641-4413.

The E. P. Foster Library is located at 651 E Main St. in Ventura and is open from 10-8 Monday through Thursday, 10-5 Friday and Saturday, and 1-5 on Sunday.

The Ventura County Library is available 24/7 at www.vencolibrary.org.

Cal Fire

Sacramento, CA – Every year in California firefighters respond to residential structure fires that take lives and cause millions of dollars in damage. From October 6-12, 2013, CAL FIRE is teaming with the National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA) for Fire Prevention Week to educate Californians on the simple steps they can take to help protect their family from the most common cause of residential fires.

According to the latest research, unattended cooking is the leading cause of home fires. Two of every five home fires begin in the kitchen – more than any other place in the home. Cooking fires are also the leading cause of fire-related home injuries.

“Often when firefighters are called to a fire that started in the kitchen, the residents tell us that they only left the kitchen for a few minutes,” said State Fire Marshal Tonya Hoover, CAL FIRE-Office of the State Marshal. “Sadly, that’s all it takes for a fire to start. We hope that Fire Prevention Week will enable us to reach folks in the community before they’ve suffered a damaging lesson and remember ‘Fire is Everyone’s Fight’.”

CAL FIRE would like to offer a few important cooking safety tips that will help keep your family safe:

• Have a 3-foot “kid free” zone around the stove.
• Stand by your pan and keep an eye on what you fry. If you leave the kitchen, turn the burner off.
• Turn pot handles toward the back of the stove. Then no one can bump them or pull them over.
• Have a fire extinguisher 10 feet from the stove on the exit side of the kitchen.
• Never pour water on a grease fire; turn the stove off and cover the pan with a lid, or close the oven door.
• Keep anything that can catch fire - potholders, oven mitts, wooden utensils, paper or plastic bags, food packaging, towels, or curtains - away from your stovetop.
• If your clothing should catch fire, immediately stop, drop, and roll to smother flames.
• Scalds and burn injuries are on the increase. The highest risks are the very young and the elderly.

Learn more about cooking safety in this short video: Click Here.

For a copy of Governor Brown’s message on Fire Prevention Week: Click Here.

For more fire safety tips, visit the CAL FIRE website at www.fire.ca.gov.

Ventura, CA - The Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) was named an AdWheel Grand Award winner by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) for excellence in marketing.

VCTC received a Grand Award in the advocacy and awareness category for the “Public Transportation: Do it for Your Health” info-graphic that focused on the many health benefits of using public transit. VCTC also garnered a First Place Award in the Print Media category for the “Reduce Your Carbon Footprint” promotional card, which challenged residents of Ventura County to use local transit more to assist with environmental conservation.

Each year APTA honors its members’ marketing and communications efforts with the AdWheel Awards. Awards are presented in five main media categories: print, electronic, campaigns, social media, and special events. The 2013 winners were named this week at APTA’s annual conference held in Chicago.

“We are thrilled to receive the grand prize for the ‘Public Transportation’ info-graphic and first place for our ‘Reduce Your Carbon Footprint’ promotional card this year,” said VCTC Executive Director, Darren Kettle, who accepted the awards for VCTC. “This recognition confirms that our messaging is on point and we are moving the needle forward on communicating the benefits of using public transit.”

To learn more about VCTC’s programs and services, visit www.goventura.org or call (800) 438-1112.

Ventura, CA - Rideshare Week begins next Monday, October 7, and there’s no better time to give ridesharing a try! Simply submit a pledge card identifying how you plan to share the ride next week and you will be entered to win one of five iPad mini tablets or a host of other attractive prizes.

The Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC), in partnership with the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District (VCAPCD), is sponsoring its annual Rideshare Week from October 7 to 11 and has invited all employers and commuters in the county to participate. This year’s theme, “Any Day is a Good Day to Rideshare,” emphasizes that carpooling, vanpooling, or riding public transit even just a few times a week has benefits for the individual commuter as well as Ventura County as a whole.

“Rideshare Week 2013 is gearing up to be our biggest promotion yet,” said Alan Holmes, VCTC’s Commuter Services Program Manager. “More people are getting involved and giving rideshare a try. We are hosting more on-site company events and giving out more prizes this year than ever before. The response has been tremendous and we are looking forward to increased participation by both individuals and employers.”

A broad range of free downloadable event and promotional resources are right at your fingertips. Visit www.GoVentura.org to access pledge cards, posters, and other rideshare-specific materials. Both individuals and businesses are eligible to win prizes. Pledge online or by mailing in a hardcopy pledge form. Online pledges are due by October 11, while all hardcopy pledge forms must be received by VCTC no later than October 15.

“We know it can be hard to change a habit, but the long-term effects of driving less have proven to yield positive results for the environment,” noted Judy Willens, Air Quality Specialist for the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District. “During Rideshare Week we encourage you to try ridesharing at least one day during the week. It may take some planning, but the benefits to the community and your wallet will be evident almost immediately.”

For more information regarding Rideshare Week, event kits, or ridesharing, visit VCTC’s website at www.GoVentura.org or call VCTC Commuter Services at (800) 438-1112.