Ventura County Sheriff's Department

After an extensive eight-month investigation, a former employee of the Fillmore and Western Railway was arrested for embezzlement.

In July 2012, the railway company reported long time trusted employee Mariah Sjolund was embezzling from the company by manipulating the payroll. The investigation revealed tens of thousands of dollars were stolen from the railway, a Fillmore City landmark.

Sjolund was booked at the Sheriff’s Main Jail with bail set at $10,000.00.

Nature of Incident: Embezzlement Arrest
Report Number: 12-16159
Location: 1400 Block Ojai Road, Santa Paula, CA
Date & Time: March 13, 2013 / 0800 hours
Unit(s) Responsible: Fillmore Investigations
Suspect City of Residence Age
Mariah Sjolund Santa Paula 33
Prepared by: Detective John Fox
Media Release Date: March 13, 2013
Follow-Up Contact: Sgt. Anthony Aguirre (805) 524-2233
Approved by: Captain Monica McGrath

Fillmore Chamber of Commerce would like to congratulate Myrna Taylor for receiving Lifetime Achievement Citizen of 2012. We appreciate all you do for our community.

Myrna started working for Fillmore in about 1954 when she moved to Fillmore as a wife of a new 6th grade teacher at Sespe School. Walt was in the classroom, but Myrna was behind him in every way. She was a volunteer in both Sespe School and San Cayetano School libraries and helped with a special reading program several years. She kept books repaired, read to the kids and helped them find a book “just for them.”

When her children reached school age, she joined the Fillmore PTA and served as President. She was chairman for the Halloween Carnival for two years and pulled it all together to provide a fun evening Fillmore kids of all ages. She also worked with 4-H to teach sewing classes.

Soon her family participated in the Scout Troop 406 annual summer camp. Myrna was the best assistant cook in town. She played back up to Marie Wren for several years to keep everyone fed for the week and still enjoyed the fun. Only two years ago she was co-worker for several months with Marie in cooking class for Cub Scouts.

Eventually her family grew-up, married and moved away from Fillmore. Myrna soon started work with the Friends of the Library to help raise money for new books and present programs at the library for all age groups.

Myrna Taylor has been a main stay at the Convalescent Center Auxiliary almost since it was organized. For YEARS she has worked on Bingo days and helped in every way to make life better for the many patients there. She sews for their bazaar and helps raise money the Auxiliary uses to buy extra things for the Center to have to make life better for each patient. The Fillmore Convalescent Auxiliary was still a new group when Myrna became involved with them. She has worked three days a week to improve the life of those patients.

Myrna has been a very devoted and caring person to the residents at the Fillmore Convalescent Center and she has gone far and beyond what a true volunteer is. I know that her late Love of her life Walter Taylor is very proud of her as well as all the residents and staff here at the center.

Through the years, Myrna has worked from leading organizations to just being a worker bee behind the scenes, but she is always there lending a hand where needed and quietly making sure things are making Fillmore a better place to live.

Since moving to Fillmore in 1996, RJ has been very privileged to be involved in this community. He has provided sound and announced at events such as the local parades, FHS Basketball games, and Raider Youth Football games. He has coached youth sports and served on various committees. If there is a way for him to be involved, you know he will be there, ready and willing to do whatever it takes to “git-er done”. He has been a head coach for football, baseball and basket ball for many years. For 10+ years he has been a Board Member of Fillmore Little League and is currently serving as President of the organization. He has served in various positions on the Raider Youth Football Board for many years and was a member of the FUSD Reconfiguration Committee and a parks and rec sub-committee. He loves this community and is willing to help in any capacity to see it flourish for our youth and the community in general. He has been involved with Faith Community Church for many years, serving in multiple capacities, from providing sound to vacation Bible School “Fun and Games Engineer”. He has devoted his career to construction management, with a primary focus on the building of schools and other public works projects. His hobbies include dirt bike riding, camping, spending time with family and friends. His true passion is spending time with the kids, coaching, mentoring and watching them grow in “the game” and in life. He is married to Joni, whom without the world would stop turning and has 4 wonderful boys, a daughter-in-law and one grandson, all of whom he is very proud!

David A. Morales, of Fillmore.

District Attorney Gregory D. Totten announced today, March 12, 2013, that David A. Morales, of Fillmore, was convicted by a jury of the First-degree murder of his sister, Maricruz Morales, who was beaten to death with a variety of objects, including a hammer. The jury also convicted Morales of assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury on a second victim, Roselia Morales. The crimes were witnessed by neighbors who confronted David Morales and attempted to help the victims during the assault. Maricruz Morales died at the hospital one hour after the attack.

Sentencing in this matter is set for April 24, 2013, at 8:30 a.m. in courtroom 25. Morales faces a maximum possible sentence of 29 years to life in prison.

Related:
http://www.fillmoregazette.com/front-page/brother-accused-killing-sister
http://www.fillmoregazette.com/front-page/trial-set-brother-accused-kill...

Rigo Landeros informed the Council that the Ventura County Alert System (VCALERT) had still not received the response from the County residents that they need to have a reliable responsive system in an emergency. To date only 294 Fillmore residents have registered their cell phones. Landeros wanted to remind everyone to sign up.

The City of Fillmore is about to become a Centurion, marking one hundred years since becoming incorporated. That was one of the items discussed at Tuesday night’s meeting. Another was the opening of the City Pool, which in the past drew many to the Council Chambers, but less than ten people attended the short March 12, 2013 Fillmore City Council Meeting which ended after an hour and twenty minutes. Other items on the agenda were the direction of the City of Fillmore Vision 2020 and Ventura County Alert System.

The Aquatic Center (AC) was once again on the Council's agenda. The AC is still running a deficit but has been reduced from $76,000 to $41,000 due to greater usage and more revenue than expected last year. As of February 28, 2013 the AC Fiscal Year 2013 operating expenses were $96,963 with revenue of $82,062 with a deficit of $14,901. The operating costs for utilities are estimated at $960 per week, staffing costs for lap swim and water exercise is $608 per week.

Looking for ways to control the costs Council Member A. Eduardo Gonzalez contacted the YMCA, an organization with a great deal of experience in managing a pool, asking for advice. The YMCA believes they can run the AC from April thru October and break even on revenue and costs, similar to what the City of Santa Paula does by leasing their pool out for the summer. Interim City Manager Rigo Landeros and Annette Cardona, Community Service Supervisor, have since been meeting with the YMCA about contracting the AC out. Besides the negotiations the City continues trying to find ways to open the AC as soon as possible, suggesting April 1st, but some said that was unrealistic due to having to hire staff so quickly. The Council began the evening discussion of what to do about the AC by stating that they were at a crossroads of whether to keep control of or share it. The YMCA is willing to take on the task but does not want a long contract, three years at the most with a 30 to 60 day to reconsider. This would mean YMCA would cover the utilities which ran $25,328 last April thru October. American Water has given a one year extension on covering the cost of chemicals.

Some of the questions CONTINUED »

The March 5, 2013 Fillmore Unified School District (FUSD) Board Meeting was packed to overflowing capacity with parents wanting answers as to what is being done to fix Fillmore Middle Schools (FMS) mold and leaking roof problems. Every seat was filled leaving many of the parents crowded at the doorways and still more flowing into the hallway.

The leaky roof in the gym and classrooms has plagued the school for over three years and has continually worsened as mold grew creating a serious heath issue along with an unsafe area to teach. The parents of students who attend FMS approached the school back in early December 2012 asking what was being done to remedy the situation. They kept a record of inquiries and felt they were getting the run-around after a number of meetings and phone calls but no answers. Many showed up at the last Board Meeting on February 5th to directly address the Board and others whose responsibility it was to fix the problem. Another meeting was held at FMS on February 7th with Interim Assistant Superintendent Earl Davis present where he informed the parents via a translator, Norma Sanford, that FUSD was aware of the problem. He said as a precaution they would treat the mold in the gym with bleach, and that a FMS teacher had the areas tested. Davis then handed Sanford a camera to take close-up pictures of the parents who attended. Some parents found it disrespectful but didn’t back down, according to the written record kept. They came out in force, wanting answers at Tuesday’s Board Meeting.

Alyssa Calderon told the Board that she meets weekly with the other parents and no one from FUSD had informed the parents of anything that had been done so far, leaving them in the dark. Calderon told the Board, "I feel if it wasn't for our griping nothing would have been done, or maybe it would have.” Then added, "No one told anyone about the tile that fell and hit a student. Make us trust you if you really want to help." Calderon's husband Guillermo Calderon asked the council, "Who’s responsible for this, the builder? What action have you taken?” Then Calderon's son Julian, who is in seventh grade and plays baseball, basketball and football at FMS, spoke to the Board about how important having sports is to him.

One parent came CONTINUED »

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office and the California Highway Patrol responded to a report of a suicidal man walking on Highway 126 near Atmore Road, Monday.

The man, reportedly a 47-year-old Fillmore resident, is said to have walked into the westbound lane of traffic shortly after 6 p.m. holding his arms in the air before being struck by a compact vehicle. The sheriff’s department is treating the investigation as a possible suicide rather than traffic related.