David W. Rowlands

2015 was a memorable year in Fillmore. The Mayor and City Council continued to right size the City after years of bad financial news. They added $1.2M to the city’s reserve fund now at $3.9M. Just two years ago the same fund had approximately $500,000. As I travel throughout Ventura County and meet people when I tell them I work for Fillmore I am often asked “you guys have done a tremendous job, how did you do it?” My response is “with great leadership from the Mayor and Council, dedicated employees and residents who care about their city.” Our economy is improving and will continue to grow well into 2016. Several new stores opened and home construction continues.

One of the biggest success stories from this past year is the re-opening of the Active Adult and Community Center. Re-opened in August, the AAC was brought back to life. You can feel the excitement, warmth and welcoming atmosphere. The AAC is offering more programs and activities than ever before. The positive comments the city has received since taking over the AAC has been tremendous.

Moving forward the City is looking to having its first business in the Business Park, continue to grow our reserve fund, a traffic signal at the intersection of Mountain View and Highway 126, new amenities at our parks and new home construction to stay strong. 2016 is looking to be another positive year. Fillmore…. The Last Best Small Town.

Adrian Palazuelos

It has been over a year now since I accepted the opportunity to lead the Fillmore Unified School District as your Superintendent. In the summer of 2014 our family made the transition from our home in Sacramento to join the Fillmore community. Our family, my wife Julie and four children, have flourished in this community and I have learned first-hand of the generosity and warmth that is uniquely Fillmore. Our family has three school aged children attending San Cayetano Elementary and Fillmore Middle schools in our public school district. I firmly believe in the promise of public education and could not conceive of a different experience for my children. Public education has transformed my life and has the potential to continue to impact the lives of future generations. Over the last twelve months our district has made significant investments in teaching and learning, supporting the arts and activities, and improvement of facilities. I am proud to share some of our accomplishments in the aforementioned areas.

The investments in teaching and learning over the last year are evident in all schools and are a continued area of focus. Our elementary teaching staff has invested numerous hours in applying the Common Core State Standards into their teaching. Included in this work are the approaches to the development of literacy with our youngest learners which will translate into increased opportunities as they transition to our secondary schools. As for the secondary level, we currently have 7th and 8th grade mathematics teachers piloting Common Core aligned mathematics materials. All secondary staff members are being trained on cooperative learning and the high school staff is envisioning the introduction of an expository reading and writing course for high school students. Additionally, we have provided access to Advanced Placement (AP) training for staff aligned to those courses and will be introducing new AP courses in fall 2016. We will have over 15 AP courses available for students as of fall 2016.

In the area of arts and activities our district is continuing to expand offerings resulting in increased numbers of participating students from elementary to high school. Our district added two additional music teachers this past summer to provide expanded music offerings at the elementary level and to have full-time music teachers at the middle and high school. We have been mindful of the resources needed and have created funding to support the district music program. Our high school introduced Girl’s Water Polo to its athletic program and, for the first time in school history, is fielding a team for the highly respected Academic Decathlon scholastic competition.

Safe and orderly learning environments are a priority. In fall 2014 we were awarded over $3 million in Emergency Repair Program funds to support facility improvements at Piru and San Cayetano Elementary schools. The much needed resources enabled us to install new roofs, new paving, and other facility needs at both of the schools. Facilities improvements and maintenance are part of our desired future. Beginning in December of 2015, our district embarked in a robust analysis of our district facilities via a Facilities Master Plan (FMP). The FMP will provide our district with information about the condition of our facilities and establish priorities for addressing facility needs in the future.

In closing, I am certain that none of this work could be accomplished without the support and leadership of our district Board of Trustees and the dedicated staff of the Fillmore Unified School District. It is an honor to serve this community as your Superintendent and I look forward to a successful 2016 for the students, staff, and community of Fillmore Unified. On behalf of the Board of Trustees I extend a heartfelt “Happy New Year” to our community.

A pedestrian was struck and killed on Highway 126 Sunday, December 27th. The accident happened at 5:20pm near the Sespe Crreek Bridge, west of Fillmore. According to the CHP the pedestrian ran across the busy highway from the north side and was struck by a car traveling eastbound. The victim was taken to VCMC where they were pronounced dead.

District Attorney Gregory D. Totten announced today that the review by the District Attorney’s Office of the circumstances surrounding the July 28, 2012, shooting of Edgar Garcia by Santa Paula Police Officer Hector Ramirez has been completed.

The full report, authored by Senior Deputy District Attorney Linda Groberg, is available on the Ventura County District Attorney’s Web site (http://www.vcdistrictattorney.com) and explains the District Attorney’s conclusion that Officer Ramirez acted reasonably, and the killing of Edgar Garcia was a justifiable homicide.

Ventura County Sheriff's Department

California State Legislature has addressed hoverboards with new laws and definitions, as explained in Assembly Bill no. 604, written to amend the California Vehicle Code (CVC) starting January 1, 2016.

For your safety, the Ventura County Sheriff's Office urges you to be mindful of the following provisions.

CVC 313.5 Defines electrically motorized board
CVC 21292: Riders must be 16 years of age or older.
CVC 21292(a): Riders must wear a bicycle type helmet that meets the standards of the bicycle helmet law, CVC 21212.
CVC 21293(a): During Darkness, either the Electrically Motorized Board or the rider must have mounted on it or the rider himself/herself white light to the front, red reflector to the rear, white or amber reflector to the sides. (Just like bicycles.)
CVC 21294(a): A rider cannot operate an Electrically Motorized Board on highways with a speed limit of more than 35 MPH, or at an unsafe speed.
CVC 21296(a): A rider cannot operate an Electrically Motorized Board while under the influence of alcohol or any drug. (No BAC numbers given.)
CVC 21960(a) and 21967: Governmental authorities may enact ordinances/resolutions prohibiting use of Electrically Motorized Boards on their properties.

Existing law makes a violation of these provisions punishable as an infraction.

For more detailed information on Assembly Bill no. 604,copy and paste this link to California Legislature Information, http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=2015...

Ventura County Sheriff's Department

On December 27, 2015, the victim was working in an orchard near his residence. While working in the orchard, the victim was struck one time by a bullet fired from an unknown suspect(s). The victim was flown to Los Robles Hospital by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Aviation Unit with a non-life threatening injury.

Sheriff’s Detectives from the Major Crimes Unit are seeking the public’s assistance with this investigation. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Detective Sergeant Chips at (805) 384-4737 or Detective Lopez at (805) 384-4723

Nature of Incident: Gross Negligent Discharge of a Firearm
Report Number: 15-2091274
Location: In the area of Heatherton Drive and North Greentree Drive, Somis
Date & Time: 12/27/2015 @ 1349 hours.
Unit(s) Responsible: Sheriff’s Major Crimes
(S)uspects, (V)ictims, (P)arty, (D)ecedent City of Residence Age
(V) Male Adult Camarillo 57
Prepared by: Detective Matthew Curtin
News Release Date: 12-27-2015
Media Follow-Up Contact: Sergeant Ron Chips (805) 384-4737
Detective Jose Lopez (Spanish Media) (805) 384-4723
Approved by: Captain Curt Rothschiller

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).