 (l-r) Mark Ortega, Amy Berger, Bene Ambrosio, Linda Nunes, Joanne King, Michelle Smith, Lauren Berger, Jan Lee, and Coleen Chandler. Enlarge Photo By Gazette Staff Writers — Wednesday, April 13th, 2022
By Jan Lee After a 2 years being closed for public safety due to the COVID-19 pandemic, exhibitors and spectators turned out to see the beautiful displays at the Fillmore Flower Show. The City of Fillmore Civic Pride Committee volunteers planned and worked over several months to accomplish the Flower Show. Local gardeners, from the very young to seasoned experts, brought their prized flowers and plants to share with their neighbors. It was amazing to see the diversity of entries; common native plants and blooms to exotic varieties from around the world. The sense of pride and enthusiasm from the gardeners was contagious. Thank you for sharing your “beauties” with us! We congratulate the following top of division winners: We especially thank everyone who took the time and effort to enter their plants and flowers who did not win top of division. What kind of show would it be with just 10 displays? There were a pincushion protea and a king protea that attracted a lot of attention. The succulents and cacti in the potted plant division were beautiful this year. The judges were quite impressed! Roses took a beating in the hot weather and wind just a week before the show, but there were still dozens of roses in many lovely colors. Many visitors had never even heard of a snowball viburnum before this weekend! The bouquets and arrangements gave all attendees a chance to see how nature’s beauty can be enhanced by the hands of creative people. All the effort was greatly appreciated. We had many youth entries this year. It was fun to watch these young artists arrange their flowers with special extra items to express just exactly their vision. Ms. Doris Nichols, art teacher extraordinaire at Fillmore Middle School, displayed the wonderful floral art created by her students. Amelia Aparicio brought art and compositions from participants in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. There were compositions from all schools in the Fillmore School District. The judges had a hard time picking just one winner. Way to go students! (and the teachers, parents and group leaders who help and encourage them). The cafe with sweets and fruity tea was popular. The plant sale was successful. Many youth took home a succulent of their own. Each day there was delightful, live background music provided by accomplished musicians. Saturday, flautist Deven Leon played for us. Sunday, guitarist Barry Cooper provided the music. Thanks to both of them. A HUGE thank you goes to the vendors who donated items for the door prize drawing. They are: Diamond Realty & Investments, El Pescador Restaurant, Green Thumb Nursery, Meguer Ditchian/ Tracks; King & King Ranch; La Flor Bonita- Rosa Agraz; Los Altos Estilo Jalisco Restaurant; Nancy Cope Jams & Marmalades; Otto & Sons Nursery; Roan Mills Bakery, Sandi Ward’s Train Stop, Teresa Norris; The Treasure Station; Vallarta Restaurant; Yanni’s Restaurant. Be sure to thank them when you stop by to eat, buy something or invest. A special thank you to Otto and Sons for all the roses and plants to decorate the room. One more thing, it was fun to listen to some of the comments as people walked around looking at the plants and flowers. A child said, as he rushed from table to table, “Oh Mom! Look at this! Did you see this one? Oh wow! How pretty!” There were families and friends seen in deep discussion as to what type of flower this could be. “I have never seen this before.” “Look and see who grew this.” “Oh, I have one like that.” “This is great!” If you missed the Fillmore Flower Show this year, we will do it again next year. If you participated, thank you. Fillmore is a special place filled with talented and generous people. Congratulations! |
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By Gazette Staff Writers — Wednesday, April 13th, 2022
 At Tuesday night’s City Council meeting Pastor Leslie Lanier, of Wayfarer's Chapel Lutheran Church, among nearly a dozen others, came to the thank the City for rejecting the proposal to host a Pride Resource Fair this year. About a dozen people came out (no pun intended) to thank the City of Fillmore for its decision to not sponsor a Pride Resource Fair this year, as it did in June 2021. *** 8. NEW BUSINESS 8.A CITY COUNCIL APPROVE OF PROPOSED USES OF AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN FUNDS SR - AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT FUNDS 8.B CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION OF A CONTRACT WITH RSG TO ASSIT WITH COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS OF THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT SR - RSG ARPA ASSISTANCE 8.C FY 2021-22 MID-YEAR FINANCIAL REPORT FY 2021-22 MID-YEAR FINANCIAL REPORT 8.D CITY COUNCIL DISCUSSION OF POTENTIAL FUNDING REHABILITATION FOR THE VETERANS MEMORIAL DISTRICT (VMD) BUILDING SR - RENOVATION MEMORIAL BUILDING RECOMMENDATION That the City Council approve a loan agreement with the District to fund the upfront costs of the $1.2M Phase 1 project for the VMD renovation project. 8.E INTRODUCTION OF ORDINANCE NO. 21-938 UPDATING FILLMORE MUNICIPAL CODER CHAPTER 15.38 “FIREWORKS” FILLMORE - STAFF REPORT UPDATE TO FMC CHAPTER 15.38 8.F CONSIDERATION OF AN AGREEMENT TO PURSUE A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT FOR 908 B STREET STAFF REPORT - AGREEMENT WITH JEM 8.G REQUEST BY A NEW OWNER TO WAIVE PENALTIES AND INTEREST OWED ON CFD 6 FILLMORE STAFF REPORT - CFD 6 - REQUEST TO WAIVE PENALTIES AND INTEREST 8.H APPOINTMENT TO FILL ONE OF THE CITY OF FILLMORE’S SEATS ON THE CITIZENS TRASPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE/SOCIAL SERVICE TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COUNCIL (CTAC/SSTAC) VCTC_CTAC_STAC_APPOINMENT_STAFF_REPORT 8.I APPOINTMENT TO THE PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION SR - PARKS AND REC COMMISSION 2022 APPOINTMENT 8.J APPROVE THE 2022-2023 VENTURA COUNTY ANIMAL SERVICE LEVEL REQUEST VENTURA COUNTY ANIMAL SERVICES SERVICE LEVEL- STAFF REPORT |
 On Wednesday, April 6th, 2022, at approximately 10:00am, Fillmore Police Department was investigating a bomb threat at Fillmore High School causing students and staff to be evacuated, and surrounding streets closed. Fillmore Fire was staged for precaution; no explosives were located. The Ventura County Sheriff ’s Bomb/Arson Unit was on scene and Simi Valley PD, along with Ventura City Police K-9 and CSU Northridge Police Department. Photo credit Angel Esquivel-AE News. Enlarge Photo By Ventura County Sheriff Department — Wednesday, April 13th, 2022
 Ventura County Sheriff's Department The Fillmore Police Department conducted a multi-agency evacuation and search of Fillmore High School in response to a bomb threat. At approximately 10:00 AM, the front office of the Fillmore High School received a bomb threat to the school’s campus. The high school’s staff immediately notified the School Resource Officers (SRO), who were able to coordinate with patrol deputies and the high school and Fillmore School District a safe evacuation of all students and staff within minutes of the threat. Members of the Sherriff’s Bomb/Arson Unit, Fillmore Detectives, and Fillmore Patrol Deputies arrived to assist with a search of the school. Several K-9 Units assigned to surrounding law enforcement agencies also responded with K-9’s trained in bomb detection provided mutual aid for the search. The responding units conducted an extensive search of the high school’s campus. The search teams found no evidence of bombs or suspicious items. The teams determined the school to be safe, and students were allowed to return to campus for their final classes. The Fillmore School District worked closely with Fillmore Police Department to provide support and safety for the students during the evacuation. Fillmore School District staff and the Fillmore Police Department set up a central location for parents who wanted to pick up their children before the end of school. The SRO’s close partnership with the high school and the school district staff allowed for the prompt response of patrol units and school support resources for the safety and care of the students. The Fillmore Police Department takes pride its relationship with the Fillmore School District and its schools which led to an efficient and coordinated effort during this incident. The investigation into the threats is ongoing. Anyone with information regarding the threats is encouraged to call the Fillmore Police Department or Ventura County Crime Stoppers at the below listed numbers. Nature of Incident: Bomb Threat Ventura County Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 reward for information, which leads to the arrest and criminal complaint against the person(s) responsible for this crime. The caller may remain anonymous. The call is not recorded. Call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477). |
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By Gazette Staff Writers — Wednesday, April 13th, 2022
 On April 10, 2022, at 7:48pm, Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, Fillmore City Fire and AMR Paramedics were dispatched to a reported injury vehicle accident that had just occurred in the area of Fourth Street / Goodenough Road. Arriving fire crews reported two vehicles with two patients being transported to the hospital, conditions unknown. Cause of the crash is under investigation. Photo credit Angel Esquivel—AE News. Enlarge Photo |
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By Gazette Staff Writers — Wednesday, April 13th, 2022
 Fillmore’s Chalk Festival was well attended on Saturday, April 9. Lots of kids and parents decorated the sidewalks in front of Fillmore City Hall with colorful chalks. A live music trio played some great oldies but goodies, and Mr. Softee showed up to the delight of ice cream lovers. Enlarge Photo |
 The Fillmore Citrus Fruit Association in 1906. Photos courtesy Fillmore Historical Museum. Enlarge Photo By Gazette Staff Writers — Wednesday, April 13th, 2022
 Building boxes for Sparr Fruit Company circa 1915, with two workers smiling while they stop building for a photo. Enlarge Photo Courtesy Fillmore Historical Museum The Fillmore Citrus Association was formed in 1897 with David Felsenthal as president. In 1899, the Association bought property for $50 at Sespe Avenue and A Street and built its packinghouse on the site for $1,500. Soon more packinghouses followed. Some were locally owned like the Fremlin-Walker Packinghouse off Santa Clara Street. Others were owned by companies from elsewhere. One of the earliest of these was the Sparr Packinghouse. Sparr was a Riverside, California, company which opened a packinghouse in Fillmore in the first decade of the 20th century. The packinghouse was on the southwest corner of Main and Central. The first packinghouse burned in 1913 and was rebuilt. The later building burned in 1970. By 1930, Mutual Orange Distributors, which had started in Redlands in 1910, had a packinghouse in Fillmore on Old Telegraph Road. In 1913, Frank Erskine, who had been with a citrus association in Whittier, was hired as the manager of the Fillmore Citrus Association. Besides overseeing the construction of a new orange packinghouse in 1918 and a new lemon packinghouse in 1924, he also organized two bands made up of employees, the Fillmore Citrus Association American Band and the Fillmore Citrus Association Mexican Band. According to the business card of the bands, “Music for any occasion at reasonable rates. Either band separately or the two bands consolidated. Proper instrumentation in any number of men from sixteen to fifty.” The bands performed throughout the region as well as on the radio. Erskine left the Fillmore Citrus Association in 1929 to join the newly formed Ramona Savings and Loan. As the citrus industry expanded in the area, more workers were needed. Jobs included not just picking the oranges, but loading field boxes weighing as much as ninety (90) pounds onto wagons and later trucks. Once the fruit was at the packinghouse it had to be unloaded and then washed. In 1916, mechanical washing machines were installed at the Fillmore Citrus Association orange packinghouse. The fruit had to be graded for size and quality, then packed into boxes by local women workers. The boxes again had to be loaded into trucks or train cars. Mechanics to work on the machinery of the packinghouse and truck drivers were needed. To ease the labor shortage for pickers, in 1941 the Fillmore Citrus Association built a labor camp in Fillmore. In 1942, they contracted with the Villasenor family, who owned a local restaurant, to provide meals for those living at the camp. This evolved into the Villasenors managing the camp and, in 1979, buying the camp. Finally, in 1946, the Fillmore Citrus Association built a second orange packinghouse. This building now houses Nova Storage which recognizes the building’s history with murals of citrus crate labels on the building. Only one citrus packinghouse continues to operate in Fillmore, the Villa Park Orchards Association packinghouse at the former MOD location. The other buildings have been repurposed to avocado packinghouses, artist studios, and storage facilities. Whatever their use, they are a reminder of why Fillmore came to be. |
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By Gazette Staff Writers — Wednesday, April 6th, 2022
 Construction is going full steam on the Fillmore Library Expansion Project which began in November of 2021; the project will be adding a Classroom, Reading Room., Computer Room, Study Rooms and STEAM/Innovation Lab. The project is funded by the CA State Library, CDBG, City of Fillmore, and Fillmore Wigley Bequest Trust Account. It’s managed by Ventura County Public Works Agency, the Architect Anderson Kulwiec Appleby and the Contraction is Monet Construction. Total cost for construction is $1,940,000 and the anticipated date of completion is August 2022. Enlarge Photo |
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By Gazette Staff Writers — Wednesday, April 6th, 2022
 The Street Sign Dedication Ceremony for Max Pina Way will be held Saturday, April 9th at 11:30am in the alley next to the Fillmore Police and Sheriff Station. The City of Fillmore will honor Fillmore Police SGT. Pina, VCSO Deputy and City of Fillmore Resource Officer, for his decades of service with the citizens and youth of Fillmore. Thank you to Fillmore City Manager Dave Rowlands and Fillmore Police Chief Capt. Garo Kuredjian for their support and suggestions which helped with the location and decor of the sign. The Mayor and Fillmore City Council members, along with Ventura County Sheriff Aad Undersheriff, will be attending. Please join Max’s family and friends at the celebration! There will a be hotdogs, hamburgers and drinks available |
 On March 26th, Fillmore High hosted their Beautification Day along with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ventura County Mentor Club, Fillmore students and other local community programs and members. Photo courtesy Fillmore High Flashes blog. Enlarge Photo By Gazette Staff Writers — Wednesday, April 6th, 2022
This year, after returning to in-person learning, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ventura County Mentor Club at Fillmore High School (FHS) decided to have a FHS Beautification Day on March 26, 2022. Beautification Day consisted of Fillmore students and community members picking up trash, rocks, raking leaves, painting the faded blue wood tables and faded walls, pruning rose bushes, and scraping gum from the campus sidewalks. Each year for the past ten years, the youth of the FHS Mentor Club have been creating one big community project for the student members to organize throughout the school year. Throughout the years, the projects they work on have been a beneficial learning experience for the youth in a variety of ways. They had the experience of working in a group and brainstorming ideas. Collectively they had peer discussions to resolve the logistics of the project. After they decided on the project, there was a list of "to-do" tasks that they divided among one another. The project was integrated into their community. Our youth present their project to city council members, school administrators, and local adult service clubs such as the Fillmore Lions and Rotary Club. All high school students and mentors had an opportunity to get involved with the community and make connections. Some students felt more confident planning, others speaking in public, and others working hands-on. As their supervisor, I see how they develop their social skills as they continue in the Mentor Club. Some of the benefits of volunteering in their community include the chance to network and meet new people, learn new skills and increase self-efficacy while making a positive impact in their community. The event was well attended by both students and community members. FHS students liked that their campus shined a little bit more than usual. Thank you to the Fillmore Lions and Rotary Club members who participated, the Fillmore Lions Club for sponsoring the pan dulce in the morning, and the pizza lunch. A BIG THANKS TO ALL THE FILLMORE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT (FUSD) STUDENTS that volunteered on a Saturday morning and to the FUSD for the cleaning supplies and continuous support. Amelia Aparicio, |
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By Gazette Staff Writers — Wednesday, April 6th, 2022
"Truth, beauty and goodness"...these are what our community needs! And the truth is that we have some amazing gardeners among us bringing such beauty, and all to share for the good of others. Gardeners define what it means to live well, no matter how big or small the gardens be... There is supposed to be only one 'Yard of the Month', but if you don't mind I want to include other sites for you to check out each month from our fair town...these homes didn't win the prize, but in my eyes they embody the truth of beauty and goodness! If you find yourself near one of these sites, stop by. Do check out the home at 1044 Candalaria where there are so many lovely personal touches that make it a delight to see. The 745 Fine Street home has done an exceptional job of planting its front yard to low maintenance, drought resistant, and/or edible plant varieties- and it all pulls together to enhance the facade of the home, well done! At 615 Yucca the folks here put in an orchard of fruit trees in the front yard with a side raised bed of lovely perennials, all secured with a permascape that not only looks beautiful but cuts down on water usage and maintenance. Finally at 607 Lemon Way, Apt. A, I spied a Dragon Fruit making its way over the wall- looking in I found the happiest of low maintenance, low water specimens (the scarlet blooming cactus was exquisite!) among joyful Mexican folk art. The yard was obviously set up for easy outside entertaining with family and friends. Gloriosa! But April's 'Yard of the Month' goes to Doug and Nancy Cope at 603 Fourth St. They came to Fillmore over twenty years ago, originally from Canada, an entire country where everyone is just so dang 'nice'- something that our world can use a little more of today. Thus the Copes are not only to-the-core gardeners, but I was in for that to-the-core 'nice' of the Canadian way...so I knew I was in for a double dose of just plain wonderful. They live in the 'office' of the original orange ranch there in north Fillmore and what they have done to make it 'home' is remarkable. I met them as I interrupted their outdoor dinner in the cozy nook they created, complete with overhead bistro lights that softly lit the sitting area and hearth made from blocks ("so the grand kids have a place to roast marshmallows"). Pots of succulents were tucked into every corner, mature roses interplanted with bearded iris line one side and where ever there was a strip of bare ground, Nancy made sure to have something growing. Any structurally needed walls were covered with something in full Spring bloom, whether it was panels of intoxicating jasmine or a retaining wall that carried happy geraniums up and over to other side, altogether some twenty feet of blooms! Though the Copes live literally in the middle of town, they have created a place of quiet contemplation and privacy...but that does not mean they don't to contend with the issues of gardening in our environment. So far this year, they have trapped and rehomed nine racoons (who would have thought coons could have such a party in those tall and narrow Italian Cypress trees!), four possums and two squirrels... being nice goes only so far! The costs of utilities in Fillmore require water to be conserved- everything is hand watered or micro irrigated to control its use. Doug, quite the handyman, even put together in an irrigation system that has a weather sensitive component to it. Their orchard is crowned with an original orange tree from the founding ranch. Alongside it, and girded by colorful Nasturtiums and Belladona Amaryllus, are Grapefruits, Guavas, a Pinkerton Avocado (a truly great, and locally found!, variety of avocado), Peaches, Bananas (Burros variety), Blueberries, Tangerines (the old variety of Dancy- so the taste is exceptional, and its marmalade is sublime), and Limes. Apricots and a Mission Fig that provides fig jam for everyone that visits, and over twenty grapevines of wine and table varieties, and a gorgeous Pomegranate that Nancy freezes the juice from for year round use. Whew! The Copes can sure show us how we can pack a lot into a small space! The next project they have up their sleeves is to plant the large pots they picked up on travels to Mexico with various cactus to line the full sun driveway. There already is an 'Old Man As I left their place, Nancy loaded me up with bulbs for my garden and two kinds of marmalades from her kitchen by way of their orchard...yup, I hope when I grow up to be as nice as these folks! Let's all love the places we live in by bringing beauty into them, and sharing our garden knowledge- and results!- with our neighbors...it is like a good infection -the truth about living a life well is it really does bring with it goodness and beauty. And let me hear from you if you find a gem of a garden in your neighborhood that I might miss otherwise...reginastehly@gmail.com Thanks for spreading the infection! Remember the Flower Show this weekend folks! Share any and all your yard's beauty with the rest of the town- bring them by this Saturday between 7:30 and 10 AM. There will be plenty of help for you (don't worry if you can't remember the name of that 'special rose' from Aunt Clara!) and for $5/adult (youth free) you can bring in as many buckets of flowers, pots, bouquets and arrangements that you can muster! See you there! |
