Commander Monica McGrath

CAMARILLO, CA – Interface Children & Family Services announced today that Commander Monica McGrath of the Ventura County Sheriff's Office has been selected to receive the inaugural “Domestic Violence Champion for Change” Award at its “Love is Brewing in Paris Champagne Luncheon & Tea,” on Saturday, May 14, 2016 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Four Seasons Hotel at 2 Dole Drive in Westlake Village.

The Domestic Violence Champion for Change Award honors individuals and organizations making a significant contribution to ending violence against women. Commander McGrath, a pioneer for women in Ventura County law enforcement, is being recognized for her longstanding commitment to providing advocacy to survivors of abuse and trauma since she joined the Sheriff’s office in 1987. Now Chief of Police for the City of Camarillo, she has also served as acting Chief of Police for the contract city of Fillmore, Thousand Oaks Detectives/Sexual Assault Unit, Camarillo Detention Services, and Internal Affairs Investigator. Commander McGrath will also deliver the keynote speech addressing the high rates of domestic violence in our region.

Proceeds from Love is Brewing in Paris Champagne Luncheon & Tea, presented by Ventura County Credit Union, will benefit Interface Children & Family Service’s Family Violence Intervention Programs that deliver comprehensive support to prevent, interrupt and end the cycle of violence within families throughout the Ventura County region. Interface provides a broad array of programs and services for victims of domestic violence, including a 24-hour emergency response team, emergency and transitional shelters, and My Body Belongs to Me and Teen Dating Violence Prevention programs provided free of charge to thousands of school-age children, parents and educators annually.

Love is Brewing attendees will enjoy a Paris-themed Champagne Reception sponsored by Neiman Marcus Topanga while viewing the new art exhibit, Project Hope which showcases art created by Interface clients who have been empowered to live a violence-free life. Emcee, Amy Ashton, a stand-up comedienne, will make our day memorable, rejuvenating and entertaining. Amy has been a writer for the late Joan Rivers, HBO and Comedy Central and is a corporate motivational speaker. Guests will also be treated to live authentic Parisian cafe music by Woodland Hills accordionist, Al Di Cicco, who has been featured on Oprah Winfrey’s “Master Class” and Jerry Seinfeld’s “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.” A special silent and live auction presented by United Agencies Inc. Insurance will give guests the opportunity to bid on luxury gifts, entertainment packages, and one of-a-kind experiences.

This event is made possible by the generous support of Ventura County Credit Union, Neiman Marcus Topanga Canyon, Sharon Bass, United Agencies Inc. Insurance, Rabobank, Bill & Elise Kearney, Karen & Thomas Pecht, Pacific Coast Business Times, Wells Fargo Financial Advisors, Kaiser Permanente, Wagner Financial, Women in Corporate Growth, Ron & Judi Polito, Judy & Don Diaz, Nancy & Spencer Garrett, and Bernzott Capital Advisors, Jaguar / Land Rover of Ventura, Prudential Realty, Thomas K. Duncan, D.O. & Jacquelyn D. Ruffin, JD, Julie Harvey & Mieke Miller, Fazio Cleaners, Will Edwards Photography, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, SMI Concepts and British Wholesale Imports. Tickets are $125, Tables are $1,250 and sponsorships are still available. For reservations or more information, visit www.icfs.org or contact Julie Harvey at 805-485-6114, Ext. 628 or jharvey@icfs.org.

About Interface Children & Family Services
Interface Children & Family Services is Ventura County and the surrounding community’s most comprehensive non-profit social services safety net. Our mission is to strengthen children, families and individuals to be safe, healthy and thriving. Founded in 1973, Interface works to prevent and heal the effects of child abuse, neglect and abandonment; domestic violence; family conflict and mental health issues. We have 28 distinct programs representing six major service areas, including youth and family strengthening services, mental health, family violence intervention, justice-involved families, community development and 2-1-1 information and referral across all socioeconomic levels.

Interface operates our region’s most comprehensive domestic violence program, including shelter, support and counseling. The 2-1-1 Information and Referral service, a 24-hour comprehensive helpline for available no-and-low cost county support services was the first 2-1-1 in our state, developed by Interface.

Serving approximately 24,000 local individuals annually, plus assisting 150,000 people across the state in need through the 2-1-1 Helpline, Interface offers effective solutions to the urgent needs of families and individuals in crisis. This important work is sustained through donations and grants from individuals and organizations, as well as by the work of dedicated volunteers and staff. For more information please contact Interface Children & Family Services at 4001 Mission Oaks Blvd, Suite I, Camarillo, CA 93012 by telephone at 805.485.6114 or visit www.icfs.org.

The American Cancer Society will Kick Off the 2016 Fillmore-Piru Relay For Life on Monday, May 16th at 6pm at Elkins Ranch Golf Course. We invite all community members to come join us and learn a little about what relay is and what services are available to cancer patients and their families.

Relay is a 24 hour community event that gives everyone an opportunity to fight cancer and help save lives. If you are interested in forming a team or participating please join us on this magical evening.

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Once again the Fillmore Unified School District (FUSD) Board had an overflowing crowd that attended the May 3, 2016 meeting. Of the 90 or so attendees about one third were the Migrant Speech/Debate students, their coaches and families. Most of the remaining attendees were FUSD teachers who once again came to address the Board regarding contract negotiations.

During Public Comments the Board heard from FUSD teachers along with students' parents regarding salary contract negotiations. First to speak was Mountain Vista 4th grade teacher Janet Bergamo, who stated, "It's not just about salary increases....(referring to the elementary level teachers) we're concerned with the class size." Mark Sebek who teaches math at Fillmore High School (FHS) spoke of the 20 furlough day’s teacher gave up and the extra hours teachers work.

FHS 9th grade math teacher Brian Ricards read a written statement that conveyed his stress of receiving numerous layoff notices and the unusual situation he experienced while attending a layoff hearing. He learned how layoffs were chosen when there was a "tie" between some teachers based on the FUSD's point system. The solution was to put numbers on paper, then into a hat and then have the teachers who "tied" for seniority pick a number out of the hat. Those with the higher number would be given a higher rank of seniority. This was done while the layoff notice hearing was in progress. Ricards continued stating, "I knew at this point that there was something drastically wrong with our school district. I found out later that the district had a budget reserve of over three times the state-required amount during the same year that we were picking numbers out of a hat at the layoff notice hearing to determine our position on the seniority list."

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This June 11th, they celebrate their 30 year Class Reunion! Plans have been in the works now for over one year to plan a 30 year class reunion. You all know how that drill goes. Where do we have it? How much do we charge? Who's going to cook the meal? Who is decorating? blah, blah, blah. Their committee was invited to attend the 2015 Alumni Dinner to see if this was the answer to their questions for 2016! And VIOLA!!!! They commenced, laughed, danced their tails off, and it was confirmed. "The 2016 30 year Class Reunion will be held at the Alumni Dinner/Dance on June 11th, 2016!" Hooray!! all exclaimed. They won't have to lift one finger to celebrate at this reunion. As a matter of fact, they are in the lead with the most prepaid dinner reservations as of this week, however, they do have some competition from the class of '66 (50th reunion) and the class of '71 (45th reunion). We will see where this ends up. Remember all Fillmore High Alumni are invited to attend the annual Alumni Dinner. There is memorabilia put out for everyone to see going back more then one hundred years. The Alumni Assn invites all alumni to attend this year. Happy hour is from 3:00pm to 6:00pm. Dinner is at 6:00pm, then after dinner and desert, we meet this years Scholarship Recipients, it's a party like no other as they have a DJ inside playing all the jams for the Kids from the 50's, 60's, & 70's. Later in the evening the YOUNGER kids hit the floor with their Jams from the 80's, 90's and up. If Dancing is not your scene, then gather your friends and meet up at the new Patio Social Lounge Area. It's a very relaxing area for those conversations with old friends going on well into the night. Seats are being reserved daily. Come be a part of the 103rd Fillmore High Alumni Dinner/Dance. Click here to reserve your seats today. http://www.fillmorehighalumni.com/events/2015/11/27/103rd-annual-fillmor....

American Red Cross of Ventura County

During Trauma Awareness Month in May, the American Red Cross urges eligible donors to give blood and help ensure a sufficient supply for patient emergencies.

Dennis Weidner knows how critical blood products are in trauma situations. In 1996, part of his left leg was amputated following a farming accident. “Through the surgeries, I received 13 units of blood,” he said. Weidner now gives blood as often as he can.

Donors of all blood types are needed this May. Every day, the Red Cross must collect approximately 14,000 blood donations to meet the needs of trauma patients and others with serious medical conditions.

Schedule your appointment to give blood by downloading the free Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting redcrossblood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Donors can then also visit redcrossblood.org/cedarfair to enter to win one of two grand prize packages for four to Knott’s Berry Farm in California or Cedar Point in Ohio.

Upcoming blood donation opportunities

Camarillo
5/26/2016: 2 p.m. - 8 p.m., St Mary Magdalen School, 2534 Ventura Blvd

Oxnard
5/25/2016: 8:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., Oxnard High School, 3400 W Gonzales Rd

Simi Valley
5/21/2016: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m., Rancho Santa Suzanna Community Center, 5005-C Los Angeles Ave

Thousand Oaks
5/18/2016: 1 p.m. - 7 p.m., Thousand Oaks Inn, 75 W Thousand Oaks Blvd
5/23/2016: 1 p.m. - 7 p.m., Thousand Oaks Inn, 75 W Thousand Oaks Blvd
5/25/2016: 1 p.m. - 7 p.m., Thousand Oaks Inn, 75 W Thousand Oaks Blvd

Ventura
5/17/2016: 1 p.m. - 7 p.m., Ventura City Hall, 501 Poli Street
5/24/2016: 8:15 a.m. - 2:15 p.m., Ventura High School, 2 North Catalina

How to donate blood
Simply download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age (16 with parental consent in some states), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.

Blood donors can now save time at their next donation by using RapidPass to complete their pre-donation reading and health history questionnaire online, on the day of their donation, prior to arriving at the blood drive. To get started and learn more, visit redcrossblood.org/RapidPass and follow the instructions on the site.

About the American Red Cross
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.

SACRAMENTO – California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith today announced that the annual quarantine on sport-harvested mussels gathered along the California coast will begin May 1, 2016. This quarantine applies to all species of mussels sport-harvested along the California coast, as well as all bays and estuaries.

“The quarantine is in place to protect the public against poisoning that can lead to severe illness, including coma and death,” said Smith. “It is critical that the public honor the quarantine because the toxins found in mussels have no known antidotes and they are not reliably destroyed by cooking.”

This quarantine is intended to prevent paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) and domoic acid poisoning (DAP) in people who might otherwise consume sport-harvested mussels. Both of these toxins are linked to plankton consumed by filter-feeding animals such as bivalve shellfish, including mussels and clams. The majority of human cases of PSP illnesses occur between spring and fall.

Commercially harvested shellfish are not included in the annual quarantine because all commercial shellfish harvesters in California are certified by CDPH and are subject to strict testing requirements to ensure all oysters, clams and mussels entering the marketplace are free of toxins.

Early symptoms of PSP include tingling of the lips and tongue, which may begin within minutes of eating toxic shellfish. These symptoms are typically followed by a loss of balance, lack of muscular coordination, slurred speech and difficulty swallowing. In severe poisonings, complete muscular paralysis and death from asphyxiation can occur.

The December 9, 2015 Health Advisory warning consumers not to eat recreationally harvested razor clams from Humboldt and Del Norte counties remains in effect due to continued high levels of domoic acid. Symptoms of DAP, also known as amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP), can occur within 30 minutes to 24 hours after eating toxic seafood. In mild cases, symptoms may include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, headache and dizziness. These symptoms disappear completely within several days. In severe cases, the victim may experience difficulty breathing, confusion, disorientation, seizures, permanent loss of short term memory, coma and death.

More information about the quarantine, PSP and DAP can be found on the CDPH Annual Mussel Quarantine - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Web page.

For updated information on quarantines and shellfish toxins call the CDPH Biotoxin Information Line (1-800-553-4133).