Eric Manzano, 32, of Fillmore.

On March 2nd, Sheriff’s deputies and detectives from the Fillmore Police Department identified and arrested 32-year old Eric Manzano after determining he was responsible for setting at least one fire in the city of Fillmore.

During the last three months, the city of Fillmore has experienced a rash of fires to trash cans, porta potties, a shopping cart and three structures. These incidents occurred during the late night and early morning hours. The incidents were deemed to be suspicious in nature and all resulted in minor damage.

In the early morning hours on March 2nd, another fire was reported to a building at the Fillmore Historical Society, located at 350 Main Street. Detectives responded to investigate and discovered video footage captured a subject approach the building at approximately 3:30 AM. The images captured the suspect’s face and distinctive attire. Additionally, the surveillance video captured the suspect’s attempt to light a fire in several places on the building.

The surveillance video was shared with patrol deputies assigned to the Fillmore Police Department. Later that evening, an observant deputy saw Manzano in a public place and noticed he appeared to match the description of the suspect in the video. The deputy initiated a conversation with Manzano and detectives who were in the area investigating the arsons responded to assist in the contact and confirmed Manzano was the subject captured in the video. Furthermore, a search of Manzano found him in possession of items that linked him to the crime. Deputies also noticed that he displayed signs of drug use and they determined he was under the influence of a controlled substance and in possession of drug paraphernalia. He was arrested for arson and drug related charges.

The investigation into the previous arsons is ongoing and Manzano remains a suspect in these crimes. The Fillmore Police Department is seeking the public’s help with information concerning the fires that occurred throughout the city between December and March.

Anyone with any information about these crimes is encouraged to contact Det. Meixner at (805)
947-9391.

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 these crimes. The caller may remain anonymous. The call is not recorded. Call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).

Prepared by: Sergeant Vince Alvarez
Approved: Captain Eric Tennessen

Jared Perez (Heritage Valley Blazers Track Club Rep) addressed the Fillmore Unified School District Board on Tuesday night regarding their decision to ban Easy-ups from sporting events. Easy-ups are standard equipment at outdoor events, providing shade relief from the sun, and weather relief from the rain. A first-aid station is also designated under an Easy-up canopy with ice, water, and medical supplies for treating heat exhaustion and other sport-induced injuries. FHS’s first swim meet of the season was cancelled on February 27th; timing sheets must remain dry, and Easy-ups were not allowed. Swimmers can compete in the rain providing lighting is not present.

Approve Amendment No. 2 to Employee Agreement with Dr. Adrian Palazuelos
The Governing Board approved Amendment No. 2 to Employee Agreement with Dr. Adrian Palazuelos.

Approve Second Interim Report through January 31, 2019, Including Amendments to the 2018-2019 Budget
The Governing Board received a presentation and approved the Second Interim Report through January 31, 2019. Presentation made by Assistant Superintendent, Andrea McNeill.

Award Bid for Site-Wide Roofing Restoration at Mountain Vista Elementary School
The Governing Board awarded the bid as follows:
Project#: 2019-022
Project Description: Site-Wide Roof Restoration
Contractor: Midstate Sheetmetal, Inc.
Amount: $799,450

Adopt Resolution No. 18-19-11 to Approve Elimination of Classified Positions
The Governing Board adopted Resolution No. 18-19-11

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

Ventura County Sheriff's Department

In 2018, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office saw a 16-percent decrease in Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) crime statistics for Part 1 crimes (Homicide, Rape, Robbery, Aggravated Assault, Burglary, Theft and Arson) as compared to 2017. The data represents the information collected from the five contract cities and the unincorporated areas of the county. The Sheriff’s Office provides police services for the cities of Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Ojai, and Thousand Oaks.

Only homicides had an increase from 2017 to 2018. This was due to the Borderline shooting where 12 people lost their lives at the hand of a lone gunman. The Sheriff’s Office had five reported homicides in 2017. However, that number rose to 18 in 2018.

Aggravated assaults had a 26-percent decrease, and there was a 24-percent decline in robberies. There were 236 aggravated assaults in 2018, which was down from 317 reported in 2017. Reported robberies fell from 117 in 2017 to 89 in 2018. Overall, violent crime across the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office jurisdictions saw a 21-percent decrease with a total number of 423 incidents, compared to 536 reported incidents in 2017.

Property crimes (Burglary, Theft, and Arson) continue to be our most common type of crime reported, and accounted for 89-percent of the reported crimes. In particular, there were 1578 reported petty thefts and 1017 reported grand thefts. Although both the reported grand and petty thefts number dropped from 2017, these reported crimes account for the greatest percentage of crime within our jurisdiction.

Grand theft was down 17 percent, and petty theft saw a 13-percent decrease in 2018. Arson had the greatest percentage decrease at 51 percent, with only 17 reported crimes compared to 35 in 2017.

The Sheriff’s Office would like to remind residents they can partner with us to reduce crime by reporting suspicious behavior or criminal activity by calling 9-1-1 or our non-emergency line at (805) 654-9511. We would also like to remind residents to lock their vehicles and not leave valuables visible inside.

For a copy of the full report go to https://www.venturasheriff.org/public-resources/crime-stats-public-info/

For questions on specific patrol area crime statistics, please contact:
Camarillo Police Department:
Commander Dave Murray: 805 388-5102
Fillmore Police Department:
Captain Eric Tennessen: 805 524-2233
Moorpark Police Department:
Captain John Reilly: 805 532-2705
Ojai Police Department:
Captain James Fryhoff: 805 646-1414
Thousand Oaks Police Department:
Commander Tim Hagel: 805 494-8265

Prepared by:
Captain Eric Hatlee
Approved by:
Assistant Sheriff Chris Dunn

By Jan Lee

In his February 26, 1981 column “As I See It”, Charles A. Mozley wrote: “Every American community has certain things about it that are very distinctive and so it is with our little town. And of all of our distinctive features, surely none is more special than the annual Fillmore Flower Show.”

Division X in the Flower Show is Youth Composition. Youth who live within the boundaries of the Fillmore Unified School District are invited to enter an original poem or short essay on a single page, with or without illustration, on the theme of the Flower Show, “100 Years Celebrating Flowers.”

Last year, writing on the 2018 theme, “Fillmore Blooms”, Mary Nunez won the Youth Composition division. Her poem appears to concur with Mr. Mozley’s opinion of Fillmore.

“If you walk down the road in Fillmore
you will see many kinds of beauty
you will see people helping people
that’s beauty
you will see flowers
planted because someone cares
that’s beauty
you will see love for everyone around them
that’s beauty
Fillmore is truly in bloom!”

The Fillmore Flower Show, April 13 and 14, 2019 will again offer opportunities for Fillmore Youth to demonstrate their skills. Division IX is Youth Arrangements. Youth bring their flowers and other supplies to the Active Adult Center the morning of the show. They create an arrangement without adult help other than the youth show supervisor. Flower displays are limited to 20” X 20”.

Division X is Youth Composition. Division XI is Youth Art which is non-competitive. There are photos of the divisions on our web site: fillmoreflowershow.org.

Please plan to participate in the Flower Show this April. There will be many beautiful flowers and other plants and it is a lot of fun!

Starting Monday, March 11, multiple aircraft will be arriving at Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) Point Mugu, in support of a Large Force Exercise (LFE). NBVC Point Mugu will host aircraft to include FA-18 aircraft home based at Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake, Calif.

LFE aircraft are expected to operate during daylight hours out of NBVC Point Mugu from March 11 to March 23. The purpose of this exercise is to provide unit-level training for pilots and aircrews on the Point Mugu Sea Range.

Communities in the Camarillo and Oxnard area may experience increased jet activity and noise during this time.

For more information, please call the NBVC Affairs Office at 805-989-9234.

Bob Crum

Hark phonetographers! I have interesting cellphone news. In my last column, I discussed three cellphone photographic limitations, i.e., specifically: optical zoom limits, DOF (depth-of-field) limitations and low-light issues. Well, I should have waited a week. I have since received a 'White Paper' from Corephotonics. Oh my!

Corephotonics is the pioneer of multi-aperture cameras for mobile devices. Their primary mission is to perfect the mobile camera photography experience and to provide superior image quality. Corephotonics states that “we develop and deliver end-to-end multi-aperture solutions supporting the most professional photography capabilities, such as optical zoom, superb low-light performance, bokeh, depth features, and optical image stabilization, all in an incredibly slim form factor.”

Although dual-camera smartphones have become a commodity in the high-end market segment, there are yet new dual camera topologies to be, announced Corephotonics. For example, the folded camera architecture provides dramatically improved zoom factor and low light performance. Next is a three-camera cellphone. Triphone? Seriously?

However, not yet a done deal. The White Paper highlights three challenges which I'll paraphrase. Challenge 1: The expanded camera configuration occupies more room at the expense of other technologies that could be integrated into the mobile device. Challenge 2: Calibration; To achieve a seamless user experience and avoid artifacts during fusion or bokeh, the cameras have to be carefully calibrated. Challenge 3: Firmware, algorithms and power is the biggest challenge. Three cameras will require more processing which will substantially ding battery power. Furthermore, algorithms must assure reasonable processing run time while eliminating artifacts from multiple cameras.

Three-camera cellphones are of course going to cost more! Present high-end duel-camera cellphones cost $800 to $1,100. Are you willing to pay $1,300, or more, for a high-end cellphone featuring three cameras?

Cellphones are great for quick snapshots for email and social media. But I dare say that P&S (Point-and-shoot) dedicated cameras produce better overall image quality in most levels of light and provide more 'creative' control over your photos while remaining just as easy to use. Yes, just as EASY-TO-USE!

A few outstanding P&S small cameras: Canon IXUS 185, Sony Cyber-shot WX220, Canon PowerShot SX730 HS, Canon PowerShot SX430 IS, Canon PowerShot G9 X Mark II, Panasonic Lumix LX15/LX10, Sony RX100 II, and for the adventurous, the Olympus TG-5, an everything-proof compact camera. Choose and enjoy!

They all retail for less than $600! A Google Pixel 3 cellphone: $400. The unlocked 12-megapixel dual-camera Moto G7 cellphone with a zoom lens retails for $200! Let's do some math.

Even today, if you bought a TG-5 for $350 and a Lenovo Moto G7 for $200, you'd have an excellent cellphone for snapshots, phone & text, and a much better all-around travel camera for $550. High-end cellphone costing $1000 minus $550 = $450 saved which is substantial! Think about it!

Changing topics, note that I have not given up on establishing a Fillmore Photography Club. Think fun and educational! However, I don't own a projector that's essential for projecting photos on a screen for discussion and critique. I need approx $750 to buy a refurbished Epson projector and a portable screen. Ideas for a fundraiser will be appreciated. Put your thinking caps ON! Email me with your ideas. Or send a check!

The photo of the week proves a camera's advantage. Bright areas of the sky and creek shadows below presented an extensive dynamic range of light. Such extremes are a challenge to photograph with any camera. Blown highlights and dark shadows illustrated the dynamic range of light exceeded my cellphone camera's capabilities. Cameras rule! The proof is in the photos!

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