As an essential service, Food Share, Ventura County’s food bank, is not only staying open, it’s stepping up its operations to feed even more people in need. In addition to grocery stores, farmers markets, convenience stores, take-out and delivery restaurants, food banks across the state are being asked to stay open by Governor, Gavin Newsom, even during the statewide stay at home directive.

Monica White, President & CEO of Food Share, Ventura County’s food bank, has a straightforward and positive message, “Keep calm and we’ll feed on! We are open for business and will continue to feed those in need in Ventura County. Our mission is more important than ever. We have asked our older volunteers to put their own health first and stay home, but we need help to meet the increasing need. If you are over the age of 12, are not in a vulnerable health group and have no symptoms of illness, please go to foodshare.com/volunteer and sign up for a shift. Our community needs your help.”

Food Share has stepped up its already rigorous food safety and facility sanitation practices to minimize any risk to food recipients, volunteers or employees. Everyone who volunteers will be asked to wash their hands thoroughly on entry to the building, will wear protective gloves throughout their shift and will work 6 feet away from other volunteers.

“We are working diligently with our food pantries and other community partners to implement new methods of food distribution, such as drive-through and drop-and-go models to ensure appropriate social distancing” added White. “We have also waived all delivery fees in addition to the shared maintenance fees to help our pantry partners keep the food flowing to those in need.”

For more information:

Up-to-date information on temporary pantry closures, pop-up distribution sites and emergency volunteer opportunities will be posted at foodshare.com/covid19/ and on Food Share’s social media channels.

For information on free Senior Food Kit distributions please go to foodshare.com/seniorkits

VCAAA also has information and resources for seniors at vcaaa.org/covid-19/

You can make a donation in support of Food Share at foodshare.com/give

About Food Share of Ventura County:
Since 1978, Food Share has been feeding the hungry in Ventura County. It all began when eight friends banded together to provide food to those in need in Ventura, CA. The early philanthropic movement started in a family garage, quickly outgrew a donated fire station in Saticoy and now operates in Oxnard, CA with two warehouses with a combined 36,000 square feet. Today, staff and volunteers distribute over 13 million pounds of food, or over 11 million meals, annually through its 190 pantry and program partners. As Ventura County’s food bank, Food Share provides food for 75,000 hungry friends and neighbors monthly. Food Share is a member of Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization, as well as the California Association of Food Banks. For more information about Food Share, visit www.foodshare.com

Ventura County - As Community Memorial Health System prepares for the challenges treating a growing number of patients with Coronavirus (COVID-19), increasing demands on the health system may eventually lead to shortages of supplies and important personal protective equipment needed to protect patients, physicians, and staff. Based on current supply, projected usage, and market demand and supply availability, Community Memorial Hospital anticipates it may face supply shortages of protective masks, protective gowns, face shields, and medical goggles.

For those who would like to donate to Community Memorial Health System, CMHS is accepting donations of the following items only: face and/or eye shields (single use or non-disposable), N95 masks, N99 masks, P95 masks, Standard Procedure masks, isolation gowns, Standard Procedure gowns, coveralls, respirator hoods or hazmat hoods, and reusable P100/N95 respirators and cartridges/filters.

CMHS is not accepting cloth masks. Supplies in original, unopened packaging are particularly useful and appreciated.

The CMHS Donation Drop-Off Center opened on Wednesday, March 25, at the park in front of the new Community Memorial Hospital. Please look for the white tent adjacent to the grass area to bring your donations. Community Memorial Hospital is located at 147 N. Brent Street, Ventura, CA 93003.

The Donation Drop-Off Center will be open Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. PLEASE DO NOT attempt to enter the hospital to make a supply donation as admittance to the hospital is restricted at this time.

CMHS appreciates the support of the individuals and organizations who have reached out wanting to support CMHS with donations of medical supplies.

For more information and updates on Coronavirus at Community Memorial Health System, visit cmhshealth.org.

Community Memorial Health System is a not-for-profit health system, which is comprised of Community Memorial Hospital, Ojai Valley Community Hospital, the Centers for Family Health, and various outpatient centers serving communities located within Ventura County, California.

2019 Deputy of the Year Diego Estrada

The Fillmore Community Awards Committee & Fillmore Police Department are proud to announce Deputy Diego Estrada as the 2019 Deputy of the Year!

Deputy Diego Estrada is a seven year veteran of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. Diego is married, has three children and lives in Ventura County with his family. Diego began his law enforcement career by attending the Sheriff’s Academy, graduating with class #2 of 2013. After graduating from the academy, Diego worked the custody division prior to being transferred to the Fillmore Station and has been here for a little over two years. During this short time, Diego has risen to the top of his field. He is very active on patrol and has quickly become a strong “beat cop” and an asset to the department. Diego has held a collateral assignment with the Tactical Response Team and was recently selected to the Sheriff’s Special Weapons and Tactics team. Diego was recently selected as one of the station’s gang liaison deputies.

Diego is a military veteran, and prior to becoming a sheriff’s deputy, was enlisted in the Army. Diego served in the Army from 2006 to 2012, and was deployed in Iraq for 18 months during his service. Diego’s military service has in no doubt prepared him for his service on the Sheriff’s Office. He is committed to serving the citizens of Fillmore, and Ventura County with the same reverence as he did the country. While serving the citizens of Fillmore, Diego has committed himself to become familiar with the criminal element and keeping that element from victimizing the citizens of Fillmore.

Due to Covid19, we have, as this time, postponed the Community Awards Reception until mid-June. We will keep the public updated if this changes.

City of Fillmore

The City of Fillmore is asking residents to avoid flushing sanitation wipes even if the package states they are flushable. Other alternatives to toilet paper including paper towels and facial tissues also should not be flushed in local sewer lines as people practice guidelines to combat the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. While the "flushable" wipes concern is not new to wastewater facilities, there is an increased risk to our system due to the current shortage of toilet paper.

The City is working closely with Veolia North America, which operates and maintains the wastewater treatment plant, to educate people about the need to avoid flushing inappropriate items down their toilets.

We ask that our community members pay extra attention to what items they are using and flushing and remind you not to flush anything other than toilet paper, whether being used for personal hygiene purposes or for wiping and cleaning surfaces. Although many so-called "disposable" hand wipes are advertised as being safe for flushing, they can cause backups in the system and contribute to buildup of foreign materials. In some cases, they can attach to buildups of grease in the system and create large blockages called "fatbergs."

Here are some items that should not be flushed down sewer lines:
• Paper towels
• Napkins
• Wet wipes/baby wipes
• Facial tissues

As a general reminder, here are "Dos and Don'ts" for avoiding backups in the local sewer lines:
• DO NOT flush wipes, gloves, towels or other trash down the toilet, even if they're labeled flushable.
• DO NOT pour grease down kitchen sinks or toilets. wipes, tampons, sanitary pads and condoms in the trash. DO toss dirty baby, makeup and cleaning.

Thank you for helping keep our community and facilities clean and functioning.

City of Fillmore

Courtesy City of Fillmore https://www.fillmoreca.com/Home/Components/News/News/3207/18

Post Date: 03/18/2020 9:57 PM

To our Active Adult Center Seniors, due to the growing concerns about the COVID-19 Virus and the closure of the Active Adult Center, the City of Fillmore will be providing meals to those who are in need and qualify under the guidelines established by the Ventura County Agency of Aging listed below:

Congregate eligibility requirements for the Senior Nutrition Program:

A. Congregate Meals

Individuals eligible to receive a meal at a congregate nutrition site are:

1. Any older individual;

2. The spouse of an older individual;

3. A person with a disability, under age sixty (60) who resides in housing facilities occupied primarily by older individuals at which congregate nutrition services are provided; and

4. A disabled individual who resides at home with and accompanies an older individual who participates in the program.
Definitions. “Older individual” means a person sixty (60) years of age or older.

If you would like to request a meal or know someone in the community who is in need, please contact Marie Garfio at 805-524-3030 or Julie Latshaw at 805-524-1500 ext. 234 to request a meal. Please note that if you are not part f the County’s database, you will be requested to complete an intake form. If you would like to get a head start in completing the intake form, please download, print, print and return the form to marfio@fillmoreca.gov. Intake form. Deliveries are expected to take place next week.

For more information concerning the Active Adult Center please call 805-524-3030.

Bob Crum

Writer's block is a condition in which a skilled writer (me) with the desire to write finds himself (me) unable to write. Thinking only invisible thoughts produces nothing. I'm sitting here at my computer staring at the monitor. Unable to conjure appropriate words, a blank page stares back. Overwhelmed by the constant barrage of coronavirus (COVID-19) news, thoughts are ruthlessly suppressed.

Moreover, healthwise, I'm in the highly vulnerable group which keeps COVID-19 front and center in my mind. Hence, the subject of photography seems irrelevant, barren of importance. However, let's agree that doom and gloom serve no useful purpose so indulge me a diversion if but a couple of minutes.

Phonetographers: Samsung is taking a bite out of the Apple iPhone! Just as Canon and Nikon aficionados gather (illegally these days) around a campfire and argue the merits of their beloved camera, so do phonetographers debate iOS vs. Android cellphone operating systems. The debates, often reaching a fever pitch, are matchless silliness. No one wins their argument because the utterances are subjective. The only arguable difference between the two is the operating systems and cameras. Cameras!

Samsung robustly excited the cellphone market with its new Galaxy S20, S20+ and S20 Ultra. The Samsung S20 website says: "This is the phone that will change photography. A massive leap forward in resolution and zoom for mobile photography." BOOM! I'm preordering an S20+ and an Ultra model! Nah, just kidding. No psychologist could restore my sanity were I to rush to buy. On the other hand..... hmm, anyone interested in buying all my Canon photo gear?

It looks like cellphones have not escaped the megapixel race. Samsung proclaims 64 and 108MP depending on the model. Mr. Kelly of Forbes wrote: "Don’t worry, you aren’t going to get 64 and 108MP photos. Samsung has adopted ‘Pixel Binning, ’ which uses lots of smaller pixels to create one large 2.4μm pixel with a 12-megapixel final image size. The big benefits of this approach are dramatic improvements in low light photography."

Regarding the zoom ranges, he said: "Extreme Zoom - dubbed ‘Space Zoom’, delivers up to 30x digitally on the Galaxy S20 and S20+ and a mind-blowing 100x on the S20 Ultra. While an undeniably cool party trick, it’s hard to imagine a true real-world (legal) scenario where you’d need this. As such, the 10x optical zoom of the S20 Ultra is going to be more useful, which makes it a shame that the other models are stuck with 3x."

Another feature Samsung touts: "8K video recording. Wow! Wait! Impressive! Does anyone have an 8K TV or an 8K computer display? And considering the massive size of an 8K video file, it seems like I'd need 1TB of storage for a couple of minutes of video. I'll stick with ole 1080.

Narcissistic types will love the Galaxy S20 Ultra's 40MP selfie camera with phase-detection auto-focus. Repeat: 40MP selfies! Incredible! Think about capturing your gorgeous face in billboard-size resolution! Think about a gazillion Facebook 'likes'! Yep, I knew I'd get you itching to order one! Chop chop!

The photo of the week presented a dilemma. Being housebound, no new adventures. Rummage hard drive archives? Instead, I grabbed my camera (the real camera with dials) and went outside. There sat my buddy Rascal waiting for supper. Bam! Photo of the week. Rascal is one of my four rescue cats. So horn-mad cantankerous was he at the outset, it took me six months to domesticate this purrdycat.

For entertainment during these gloomy times, another video of the fascinating Faria Beach sandpipers scurrying around at supper time. https://youtu.be/qsO5bMkRS8A

Send comments, suggestions or questions to: focusonphotography@earthlink.net

Fillmore Unified School District

March 18, 2020

Fillmore USD Families

The purpose of this message is to provide Fillmore Unified School District families with an update for March 18, 2020 regarding district actions to address COVID-19.

Today our Board of Trustees directed the closure of all Fillmore Unified schools and offices through Friday, May 1, 2020. All district and school events, meetings, activities, athletic practices, and athletic competitions have been cancelled thru May 1, 2020.

This closure is in support of the recommendations from public health officials to encourage “social distancing” to slow the spread of the virus. It is strongly recommended that individuals stay home during the closure as much as possible, and do not gather in public places.

A decision to reopen schools will be made in close consultation with the State of California, Ventura County Public Health, and the Ventura County Office of Education. We hope to reopen on Monday, May 4, 2020, but that decision will depend on the circumstances at the time. District families will be provided with notice prior to May 4, 2020.

We are aware that this closure has resulted in a loss of time spent learning in the classroom and are working to create educational opportunities for students while schools are closed. It is our intent to provide an update to families during the week of March 23rd regarding the district approach to distance learning.

We understand that school closures have significant impacts on our students and families, and we hope to resume normal operations in the future. Thank you for your understanding during this challenging time.

Respectfully,
Adrian E. Palazuelos, Ph.D.
Superintendent
Fillmore Unified School District

Additional Information
World Health Organization Q&A on coronaviruses (COVID-19)
https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses

VC Emergency (Official Ventura County Incident Information Source)
http://www.vcemergency.com/

California Department of Public Health website:
https://www.cdph.ca.gov/

CDC website:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

City of Fillmore

The City of Fillmore has declared a Local Emergency due to the Public Health threat caused by Coronavirus (COVID-19). Although there are still zero confirmed cases in Fillmore, the declaration is out of an abundance of caution to protect the health, safety, and welfare of our community members and employees. This action is in response to the Ventura County Public Health Department’s recent announcement declaring a local emergency and the Governor’s recent declaration of a state of emergency. The City of Fillmore’s emergency declaration will enable City officials and staff to mobilize resources, formalize an emergency action and contingency plan, and obtain additional resources should an outbreak occur in the City.

As of March 12th, 95 people have been tested by the Ventura County Public Health Lab for COVID-19, 2 results are pending confirmation and 22 travelers are on home quarantine. COVID-19 is a respiratory illness that is easily spread through personal contact, which can lead to serious illness or death for vulnerable members of the community.

The City of Fillmore is following the Ventura County Public Health Department’s latest recommendations and the State’s public health experts to cancel and postpone community events and gatherings where large groups are expected. Consequently, the City of Fillmore is implementing the following precautionary measures:

- Cancellation and postponement of March, April and May community events including
Saint Patrick’s Day Fun Run, Easter Egg Hunt, Community Art Show, and the May Festival.
- Any facility rentals will still be held as scheduled.
-
We apologize for any inconvenience these measures may have caused, however the well-being of our community and staff is the City’s highest priority. Please visit our social media page and website fillmoreca.gov for up to date information or vcemergency.com

Community members are strongly encouraged to follow the Ventura County Public Health Department’s recommendations to protect themselves from the COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses highlighted below:

- If you have mild symptoms, there may be no need to go to a medical facility to see a doctor.
- Certain patients, such as the elderly, those that are immune compromised or have underlying health conditions should call their doctor.

- Primary care doctors are the point of contact for COVID-19 testing. You do not need to call Public Health to request COVID-19 testing. Your doctor will make the decision to test at one of the local private labs and if the test is positive your doctor will contact Public Health for confirmation.

- If you have questions, please call the clinic or your doctor before going in. If you do not have a healthcare provider, call 211 for assistance finding support near you.

- Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.

- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.

- Get immunized against the flu to protect yourself and your family, and reduce the potential strain on the healthcare system, which may be impacted by COVID-19 concerns.

- Stay home if you are sick.
***
A PROCLAMATION OF THE EXISTENCE OF A LOCAL EMERGENCY BY THE DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY SERVICES PURSUANT TO FILLMORE MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 15.04.060(A)(1), CALIFORNIA (COVID-19)

WHEREAS, in December 2019, an outbreak of respiratory illness due to a novel coronavirus (a disease now known as COVID-19) was first identified in Wuhan City, Hubie Province, China; and

WHEREAS, COVID-19 has since spread outside of China, impacting more than 75 countries, including the United States; and

WHEREAS, the California Department of Public Health has activated its Medical and Health Coordination Center, and the Office of Emergency Services recently activated the State Operations Center to provide support and guide actions to preserve public health; and

WHEREAS, on March 4, 2020, Governor Newson declared the existence of a state of emergency for the State of California; and,

WHEREAS, on March 12, 2020, the County declared the existence of a local emergency for Ventura County; and,

WHEREAS, it is imperative to prepare for and respond to suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases within the City, and to prepare to respond to an increasing number or individuals who may require medical care; and

WHEREAS, California Government Code Sections 8558 and 8630, et seq., and Fillmore Municipal Code Section 15.04.060(a)(1) empower the City’s Director of Emergency Services to declare a local emergency if the City Council is not in session; and

WHEREAS, the City Manager of the City of Fillmore is designated as the Director of
Emergency Services pursuant to Municipal Code Section 15.04.050(a); and

WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Fillmore is not in session and cannot immediately be called into session; and

WHEREAS, strict compliance with certain Fillmore Municipal Code and other City regulations could prevent, hinder, or delay appropriate actions to prevent and mitigate the effects of the COVID-19, which issue cannot be timely addressed absent a declaration of emergency; and

WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, the City’s Director of Emergency Services declared a local emergency thereby activating the Emergency Operations Center due to threats to people within the City from COVID-19, which threats are likely to be beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment and facilities of the City and will likely require the combined forces of the other political subdivisions of the county, state and federal government; and

WHEREAS, per Government Code Section 8630 a local emergency declared by the Director of Emergency Services shall not remain in effect for a period in excess of seven days unless it has been ratified by the City Council.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT PROCLAIMED THAT the Director of Emergency Services, hereby declare as follows:

SECTION 1. That there is proclaimed a state of local emergency to exist in the City of Fillmore, California, due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

SECTION 2. That this state of local emergency will continue for no more than seven days unless the City Council ratifies this proclamation.

SECTION 3. That as of March 13, 2020, all City departments are directed to take those actions, measures and steps deemed necessary to assure the safety and welfare of the inhabitants of the City of Fillmore including requesting mutual aid to the extent such aid is necessary.

David W. Rowlands, Director of Emergency Services
ATTEST: Oliva Lopez, City Clerk