The September 11 attacks were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda against the United States on the Tuesday morning in 2001. Four airliners were used to attack the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon. The attacks killed 2,996 people, and injured over 6,000 others, causing at least $10 billion in infrastructure and property damage. It is reported that over 1,000 people died of 9/11-related cancer and respiratory diseases in the months and years following the attacks. May we never forget.

Fillmore Fire’s new volunteer firefighters are shown signing their swearing-in certificates at the city hall brochure table.
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Tuesday's regular City County Council meeting opened with the swearing in of new volunteer firefighters. Fire Chief Keith Gurrola introduced the volunteers and discussed the importance of their presence to the community.

Scott Beylik addressed the Council concerning the good work accomplished by the Fire Foundation which was established in 2012. Mr. Beylik is a Fire Foundation board member. Through a Wood Claeyssens Foundation grant, for example, the Fire Foundation was able to purchase all breathing apparatus systems and fire radios in vehicles and handhelds for the Department.

The primary mission of the Fire Foundation is to enhance firefighter support and training services. For example: staging multiple training events and scholarships to firefighters attending annual FireHouse Conferences, Community Outreach and public Safety Education, purchase of fire safety coloring books, children's fire hats and stickers for elementary school tours and all community events when funds are available. The Foundation recently purchased a command vehicle from the City of Santa Paula.

Over the years the Foundation's revenue sources has been primarily fundraising efforts and donations, receiving a generous donation from Chevron earlier this week. The June 30 Rigo Landeros Memorial Golf Tournament raised over $33,000. Beylik thanked all golfers, and sponsors: Allied produce, Grimes Rock, Balden Ranches, and Union Bank.

Next year's golf tournament is set for Saturday, June 1, 2019.

A Proclamation honoring our United States Constitution was read, and its history was expounded upon.

The California Homeless Emergency Aid Program and Shelter Crisis Resolution was unanimously approved following an explanation and recommendation by City Manager David Rowlands.

Proposition 6, which would repeal Senate Bill 1, the Transportation Tax and Fee Bill adopted to fund the repair and upgrade the transportation infrastructure, was approved 4-1.

Unanimous approval was accorded Resolution 18-3664 in support of Proposition 3 (State Water Bond) on November 2018 ballot.
An extension of the 2018 pool season from September 2018 to November 30 for limited programs was unanimously approved.

The Pre-Screening of General Plan Amendment request to convert commercial highway property to residential high (15-35 units per acre) at 210-220 Santa Clara Street, was unanimously approved.

A contract with Main Street Architects to conduct an analysis of the Central Business District and surrounding area, and to provide direction for updating the Downtown Specific Plan, was unanimously approved. It was agreed that a fresh look and up-dating was in order for the town.

Ventura County Sheriff's Department

From August 7th and September 3rd Ventura police say that 109 reports if vehicle burglaries in just 27 days. Thefts have included unlocked vehicles and forced entry, the thefts have occurred various days of the week and all hours of the day. Police want to remind people to make they lock their vehicles even for a quick errand in and out of the store. They remind you to not leave your keys in the vehicle, use your car alarms if you have them, and be sure you park in well-lighted areas. Also they suggest getting a service that tracks your vehicle if it is ever stolen. Please be sure to report any suspicious activity to the Ventura Police on the non-emergency number (805) 650–8010.

On Wednesday evening at approximately 6:50pm a fatal crash occurred involving an all-terrain off-road vehicle (ATV) near Hall Road, northeast of Fillmore. Forty-eight year old Chris Anthony Hernandez was riding the ATV when he crash into a dirt berm and was thrown from the ATV into a tree. Hernandez was taken to Ventura County Medical Center with unknown injuries and died later that night. The crash is still under investigation by CHP. They are seeking any information that can help with the investigation.

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Calling all Fillmore High Alumni and community of Fillmore! Fall is here, which means Homecoming celebrations will take place all across our beautiful country. The one celebration you don't want to miss will be right here in Fillmore on Thursday evening September 20th from 5 to 9PM. The parade, floats and band have been a Fillmore Tradition since the 1940's. We still do that in our wonderful community. Come be a part of it. This year’s Homecoming parade will be on Central Avenue and it starts at 6:30pm on the corner of 2nd and Central. The floats will be parked on Central Avenue after the parade for viewing. Food vendors will be parked downtown from 5 to 9PM selling all kinds of different food. BBQ, hot dogs, pizza, desserts, etc. Don't forget to also support our local downtown restaurants, like Roan Mills Bakery, Central Station, and of course, long time restaurant, La Fondita! Bring the whole Family down for a great time, take in the Homecoming Parade, listen to some classic oldies, and see the Fillmore Classic cars. There will be plenty of tables and chairs available for seating, and eating. It's Blue and White Night 2018! Homecoming King and Queen Crowning ceremony will also take place under the Town Theater Marquee. See everyone next Thursday!

Bob Crum

First, last week I wrote that Nikon announced two new mirrorless cameras: Models Z6 & Z7. Before the confetti settled, BOOM!, Canon announces the release of their new model EOS 'R' (Revolutionary) mirrorless camera system. Just a matter of time before the two major camera makers entered the mirrorless slugfest. A day late & tech short? Playing catch up, can Nikon and Canon, two camera manufacturing behemoths, effectively cut into Sony, Panasonic, Olympus and Fujifilm mirrorless camera sales? Hmm.

The 'R' is a full-frame mirrorless camera utilizing a 30.3MP CMOS sensor with Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology. Fast autofocus speeds of 0.05 seconds and in light levels as low as -6 EV. The latest DIGIC 8 image processor enables ISO to 40,000, expandable to ISO 102,400. The AF system has an incredible 5,655 focus points with 100% vertical and 88% horizontal coverage of the image area. Delish!

Canon Cinema provides UHD 4K video at up to 30 fps, including the ability to record in Canon Log for extended dynamic range capture of up to 12 stops. Videographers can output 10-bit 4:2:2 to an external recorder over HDMI using Canon Log or even the BT.2020 color space for broad color applications. Full HD shooting at up to 60p while standard HD has slow-motion, 120p recording. Focus Peaking and the Dual Pixel Focus Guide overcome focus issues.

For eye-level viewing, a 0.5" 3.69m-dot OLED EVF (Electronic View Finder). The rear LCD is a 3.15" 2.1m-dot vari-angle touch screen that facilitates touch-and-drag AF. Nice! Another new feature is the multi-function bar customizable for fast, intuitive access to many commonly used features. The top panel has a dot-matrix LCD for checking current settings and camera status.

A magnesium-allow body and weather sealing enhance the EOS R camera's durability. The shutter is rated for 200,000 cycles and can operate at speeds of up to 1/8000 of a second, with continuous shooting rates of 8 fps. An electronic shutter is also available. For saving files, the camera utilizes a single UHS-II SD card slot. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are included.

Canon knows it isn’t merely about the camera—good imaging systems include quality lenses. Canon reports that the EOS R system includes a new RF mount engineered to deliver the ideal combination of speed, durability and flexibility for excellent lens performance. For the EOS R camera, Canon also announced four new RF mount lenses: RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Lens, RF 28-70mm f/2L USM Lens, RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM Macro Lens and RF 50mm f/1.2L USM Lens.

In addition to the four new RF lenses, Canon is providing three mount adapters to enable the use of existing EF and EF-S lenses on the 'R' camera. If it's true that I can use all my existing lenses – with full functionality – I'm going to need a bigger piggy bank. Looking forward to the EOS R lab tests and reviews.

Call for photographers! The Fillmore Art Commission is planning an Art & Photography exhibition next May 1 – 5, 2019. This show presents an excellent opportunity to display your 'Fine Art' photos. It's important to hear from all Fillmore photographers who are interested in participating. Reply to the email address below and write “I'm interested” in the subject line. Also, include your primary phone number. Details to follow at a later date.

Would you believe that I saw a woman taking a selfie with a steer at the Fair? Believe it! The photo of the week is another delightful gem captured at the Fair.

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

Fillmore Unified School District

Board Meeting Highlights:

2018 Summer School Report
The Governing Board received a presentation on the 2018 Summer School. Assistant Superintendent, Micheline Miglis presented the information.

2017-2018 Unaudited Actuals
The Governing Board received a presentation on the 2017-2018 Unaudited actuals. Assistant Superintendent, Andrea McNeill presented the information.

Approve Resolution 18-19-02 “Regarding the Sufficiency of Textbooks or Instructional Materials for the School Year 2018-2019”
The Governing Board approved Resolution 18-19-02.

Approve Specific Waiver Request: School Site Council (Sierra High School and Heritage Valley Independent Study)
The Governing Board approved the Specific Waiver Request.

Personnel Recommendations
The Board approved all personnel recommendations including new hires, promotions, resignations, and leaves.