The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) announced plans to close a lane and multiple ramps in both directions of State Route 126 (Santa Paula Freeway) Thursday, August 2 and Friday, August 3, between 9 a.m. - 3 p.m., the following closures will be in place in the cities of Ventura and Santa Paula:

Eastbound SR-126:
• One lane from Wells Road to Hallock Drive
• Palm Avenue on and offramp.
• 10th Street on and offramp.

Westbound SR-126:
• One lane from Hallock Drive to Wells Road
• 10th Street off-ramp
• Palm Avenue on and offramp.

Ramps will not be closed consecutively. The closures are weather permitting and subject to change.

One lane will be closed adjacent to each ramp closure to accommodate construction equipment and crews working at the site.

Motorists should expect delays and are strongly advised to use alternate routes or avoid the area. Additionally, motorists can check traffic conditions before they leave by visiting the Caltrans Quickmap.
"
Caltrans reminds drivers to be “Work Zone Alert” and to “Slow for the Cone Zone."

Bob Crum

Make no mistake, buying a 'real' camera is akin to winning the PowerBall lottery. Well, almost. It's certainly a big first step on the exciting path of photography.

Photographic expertise evolves in several stages. The fist stage involves the photographer (note the distinction between a 'photographer' and a 'phonetographer') shooting everything and anything. Many will only want to make pictures to have something to remember of birthdays, holidays, vacations and various special events. Others take pictures as a hobby. All fine & dandy! During this stage, the camera is most likely in 'P' mode. (P mode = Program mode not 'Professional' mode.)

Throughout the second stage, the newbie continues to shoot everything and anything: If it's visible it's fair game. At this stage, there is little thought, if any, about composition. Or the camera settings. In fact, the camera is probably still in 'P' mode where everything is automatic and the images processed according to the camera's default settings. Actually, this a OK if it gets the would-be photographer making pictures as if every picture is worthy of a Pulitzer prize. But if the photos stink, of course it's the camera's fault!

At this stage, a typical trait is s/he shoots as if it's a sin not to fill the memory card on every occasion. Obviously 78 pictures of the same donkey is a bit too much. If you must fill the memory card, find a herd of donkeys to photograph. Also at this stage the would-be photographer doesn't ever delete any photos and insists on showing their friends all the photos because of course they are all awesome. Note to would-be photographers: First serve friends strawberry margaritas before the parade of donkey photos!

As the would-be photographer gains experience, s/he advances to the third stage. Here, the photographer arrives at an important turning point. This is the stage where the would-be photographer goes from picture taker (snapshots) to making 'photos'. Meaning begins to 'create' photos of merit. The would-be photographer is now aware that s/he can go from 'P' mode to applying various apertures and/or shutter speeds to create a desired composition. At this juncture, however, the would-be photographer experiences ongoing challenges readily remedied with additional education from either books, tutorials, and/or workshops. Photography is wonderfully replete with unlimited educational opportunities to keep an otherwise idle brain busy. Just sayin'.

The third stage is exhilarating. Gaining knowledge and experience, s/he begins to see a great improvement in their photos. With continued practice, and the application of perpetual learning, creating compelling photos fulfills their desires. They perfect their photographic techniques, and often expand their photo equipment collection. Sometimes even upgrade their gear. They still tend to make a lot of photos but are now able to apply discretion and knows where their computer delete key is and not afraid to use it. They see and learn from their mistakes and continue to improve.

The last stage produces a photographer who now knows how to competently operate the camera. The camera menu is as simple as Arbys. With great expertise, various photographic rules learned are applied to creating marvelous photos. Even the photos of donkeys are now fantabulous! As the photographer's creative itch is wonderfully scratched s/he experiences photographic euphoria! Hallelujah proclaims the ecstatic phonetographer convert! Are you next?

Cameras up! Ventura County Fair has begun. Enjoy tons of photo ops & Fair food! The photo of the week is a young girl fascinated with two stilt walkers at the Fair last year.

Happy photoing!

Email me your comments, suggestions and/or questions to: photography@earthlink.net

Fillmore Unified School District

Submitted By Fillmore Adult School

On Thursday, July 12, 2018, Fillmore Adult School honored adult learners at the District Office Auditorium. The celebration acknowledged those individuals who earned their U.S. Citizenship, High School Diploma, HiSET, and or passed the ParaPro exam through the support of the dedicated faculty and staff of the Fillmore Adult School.

The Fillmore Adult School completed its second year in the district community thanks to strong support from the Fillmore Unified School District Governing Board.

Fillmore Unified School District

Who would have thought it would take 30 years to find my dream job? Don’t get me wrong, before coming out to Fillmore I had many wonderful and rewarding experiences as a teacher, coach and assistant principal. Many of those personal relationships have been maintained over the years with some dating as far back as 1985.

So why do I love Fillmore so much? Plain and simple, Fillmore is a perfect fit. The principles of respect, loyalty, trust, service, kindness, community, humanity and integrity that I hold so close to my heart are also in the make-up of so many of its citizens. Much like the students, parents and community of Fillmore, I was raised to uphold my principles and to not compromise them for anyone. My conviction has been so deep that I have left several schools that I loved as a teacher, coach and administrator when my personal values were challenged. People in Fillmore also share the same unwavering commitment to their principles and that is why I love it here.

I have worked in many different cities and none were as fine and supportive as Fillmore. We could not have accomplished what we have done without the help of the community. From the service groups to the businesses to the individual community members, the support has been overwhelming and constant.

Great things have happened through supporting and empowering the Fillmore High School staff. When people are valued and supported they thrive and in the case of Fillmore High School staff they also stay. I do not micro-manage, I trust and value my staff. They are free to innovate and as part of the innovation, free to make mistakes that they will learn from. The revolving door of staff leaving to other districts has stopped. The teachers and staff are treated as adults and inevitably perform their best. They have become the best staff I have ever worked with.

Over the years, I have developed so many strong connections with the parents. What I absolutely like is that they have the same expectations for their kids that I had for my own children. Even in disciplinary situations, we shared the same expectations and agreed upon the consequences for their children. It was as if school and home were a seamless continuation of each other. In fact, because of this shared mindset I really felt and tried to act as a parent to my students. The students were, in effect, my children.

If you took my favorite students over the years and put them all into Fillmore High School, you would have what I have had here at Fillmore. Aside from sharing the same values, I felt a high level of mutual trust. Students have flourished just as adults would have under these circumstances. I have always sought out trusting situations but have also left or avoided anything fraught with mistrust. Students are no different and that is one reason why we have managed to retain most of our students over the years.

I believe we all create our own happiness and for me each passing year at Fillmore High School has been the best. I am so appreciative and thankful for my relationships with the students, parents, school staff and community.

I have been asked as to where I will be next year. When I tell people that I have not really looked for another job, it is met with disbelief. I compare it to being with someone you deeply care about and knowing that it will all end soon. Who would really want to start searching for someone else to be with at that time? That is where I am at now. At this moment, I can’t imagine working at any other school or any other place than Fillmore.

I know that when I do seek employment, the job I will settle on will allow me to be an innovative leader without being micromanaged. Kindness, respect, and honest communication would be a must from the top down. Most of all, trust will be at the center of everything and in how people do business with each other.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for making my time at Fillmore the very best. God bless all of you.

Tom

Enlarge Photo

Enlarge Photo

Enlarge Photo

Enlarge Photo

Enlarge Photo

Submitted by FUSD Superintendent, Adrian E. Palazuelos, Ph.D.

The end of the school year marks a time for district and school staff to reset and prepare for the start of the new school year. I have seen this process carried out over my last four years as your Superintendent and can confirm that the staff of the Fillmore Unified School District take great care each summer and throughout the year in making sure that schools are ready for our students. Over the course of the summer our district employees are focused on ensuring that kitchens, multi-purpose rooms, grounds, classrooms, etc. are ready for use across the district.

During this summer our maintenance, custodial, technology, and grounds staff have had some extra help as a result of our FUSD Summer Work Program for high school students. Over 30 high school age students applied for the Summer Work Program and have been employed this summer to work alongside our staff on a number of projects. Our student workers have made a positive impact in their work through the Summer Work Program and our full-time staff have praised their contributions.

Our schools have extraordinary needs in the area of facilities and the summer break also presents the optimal time to complete facility projects while the campuses are not in use. As a result, we have had a number of projects taking place over this summer to improve our facilities and extend the longevity of our buildings and district property. A listing of the projects is included below.

FACILITIES PROJECTS
The Fillmore Unified School District has been hard at work over the summer on a number of facilities projects to prepare for the 2018-2019 school year. The projects in process or completed are as follows:
• Exterior Painting
o Mountain Vista Elementary, San Cayetano Elementary, and Fillmore Middle School
• Roofing
o 2 story building at Fillmore High School and District Office Annex Building
• New Track Surface
o Fillmore High School Stadium
• Sealing of Asphalt Parking Lots and Play Courts
o Fillmore Middle School (parking and basketball), Fillmore High School (2nd street parking and basketball), Mountain Vista Elementary, and District Office
• Carpet
o San Cayetano Elementary School
• Interior Paint
o Piru Elementary School (select classrooms)
• Improvements to Restrooms
o Piru Elementary School

The Fillmore Unified School District faculty and staff look forward to welcoming back all of our district families to the first day of school on Thursday, August 16, 2018. Enjoy the remaining days of summer vacation and prepare for an extraordinary 2018-2019 school year.

Ventura County Sheriff's Department

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office / Fillmore Police Department is committed to our ongoing partnership with residents and business owners in preventing and solving crime. As technology has improved, video surveillance has become one of the best methods for apprehending and convicting criminals. Utilizing the surveillance systems that many residents and business owners currently operate at their homes and/or businesses is a great example of how the community and law enforcement can further partner in an effort of keeping our neighborhoods safer. As crimes occur nearby, they are not always aware that their system may have captured information that could help solve the crime, and keep our communities safer. In turn, law enforcement is not always aware who may have this potentially vital information.

How the Video Surveillance Camera Registration System Works:

The department utilizes a secure database to log information about who has surveillance systems and specific details such as, how many cameras, which direction the cameras point, which area’s they cover, login information, etc. When a crime occurs, authorities can quickly search the database by logging into the system or contact the owners of the system to potentially help solve a crime.

Video Surveillance Camera Registration:

If you would like to register your video surveillance information with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office and allow deputies to contact you, should a crime occur in/or near where your cameras are installed, we kindly ask that you email Sgt. Scott Duffner at scott.duffner@ventura.org requesting a registration form and he will attach the form to a return email to you.

After completing the registration form, email it to VCSO.Video@ventura.org or fax to (805) 654-3842.

If you have any questions, you can contact the Ventura County Sheriff’s Real-Time Information Center at (805) 654-7620 or by email VCSO.Video@ventura.org.

Submitted by Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley

Over 28 agency booths made this year’s Kids STEM Day at the Club the largest and best one yet! Members from Fillmore, Piru and Santa Paula visited various agency booths to learn about STEM careers and participate in hands on STEM activities. The event, held on Friday, July 13 at the Santa Paula club site, included a BBQ lunch for youth and volunteers hosted by the Fillmore Fire Foundation and Fillmore Rotary. This event has grown to become one of the premiere Kids STEM events in the county as it allows children to explore opportunities that exist in STEM careers and education.

There were over 400 youth and 50 volunteers who participated in the event. Boys and Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley CEO, Jan Marholin states, “This is huge for our club kids to see all of the career possibilities, organizations, museums, and vocational education that is possible. We are expanding their world of thought.”

The Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley would like to extend a special thank you to the following agencies for their participation and support: Anne Thille-STEM Nutrition, Associates Insectary, Bank of the Sierra, California Oil Museum, California Resources Corporation, Central Ventura County Fire Safe Council, Channel Islands National Park, City Impact, Crimson Midstream, LLC, Fillmore Fire Foundation, Fillmore Rotary, Food Forward, Food Share, Friends of the Library, KidSTREAM, Limoneira, Santa Paula Art Museum, Santa Paula FFA, Santa Paula Optimists, Santa Paula Police, Southern California Edison, UC Hansen Ag Research & Extension Center, United Water Conservation District, VCSTEM/CSUCI, Ventura County Ag Museum Santa Paula, Ventura County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad and UAV, Ventura County Sheriff’s Posse, and Wells Fargo.

Bob Crum

His name is Alex. Alex is a regular reader of Focus on Photography. Alex sent me an email saying that he is ready to enter the Royal Realm of 'Real' Photography (RRRP). Fret not, he's not totally foregoing phonetography. Just that he has become acutely aware of it's limitations with respect to dedicated camera possibilities.

Alex requested help selecting a camera. Delighted considering that I love spending other people's money. I suggested a camera store in Santa Barbara. I know there are camera stores closer but camera selection (inventory) is far greater at the Santa Barbara store.

I asked Alex his budget. “Oh, about $ 95.00” he said. OK, but I think we're going to have a problem finding a Kodak Brownie camera except on eBay. Consider increasing your budget. Alex flashed a credit card... with a gargantuan line of credit. Oh yes, this was going to be fun! Hmmm... Hasselblad?

The camera store to Alex was like a candy store to a six-year old. Alex's grin displayed exhilaration with the proclamation: WOW! Never heard that from anyone entering a smartphone store! Just sayin'.

We were promptly greeted by store rep Ron. I explained that my friend Alex needs a few minutes to get acclimated. He acknowledged saying wave when ready.

Finally Alex waved. I suggested that Ron first present a few point-and-shoot best sellers. These days, many reasonably priced P&S cameras are excellent. But they have fixed lenses. Benefit: no sensor dust. Con: can't change lenses for special needs. Alex wasn't impressed wanting more versatility. Next, ILCs (Interchangeable Lens Cameras).

Ron presented three best selling mirrorless ILCs. Alex was instantly hard pressed to curtail his excitement. Remember, I said, you're not just buying a camera, you also need a lens. “No problem”, said Alex, grinning.

Continuously fondling a Fujifilm X-T2, an Olympus OM-D EM-1 and a Sony A6500 camera, Alex taxed Ron's patience to frustration. Finally Alex said OK. OK what I asked? “I don't know what to buy,” he said. Arrrrgh! “Just kidding,” he added.

After much agonizing, Alex bought the Olympus OM-D EM-1 camera and a 14-150mm lens. Awesome kit. Plus he bought a couple extra batteries and other accessories-polarizing filter, lens cleaner, camera bag etc. Alex instantly experienced ecstasy with his new nifty photographic equipment. And I added another notch on my camera strap.

We spent the rest of the afternoon photoing as Alex learned how to operate the camera and the menu system. A quick study, Alex began photographing everything. Telltale symptoms of photographers. However the exuberant Alex was calling me constantly telling me about all of his latest awesome photos. I had to block his phone number.

Note to procrastinators: Photography is therapeutic and extremely rewarding. Also scratches your creative itch. Want to go shopping?

When not shooting events, you should expect that I enjoy shooting for pleasure. One particular subject, the majestic eucalyptus tree on highway 126 west of town, eluded my photographic capture until recently. I waited because I thought a sky with clouds would enhance the image. One day clouds came and I went and made the photo. Afterward I thought, would a blue sky be better? Do the clouds enhance the tree? When confronted with the conundrum of boundless creativity, I quote Henry Miller: “Whatever I do is done out of sheer joy; I drop my fruits like a ripe tree. What the general reader or the critic makes of them is not my concern.” Of course my fruits being photos.

Hark! The awesome County Fair begins 8/1! Imagine a gazillion photo ops!!!! Cameras UP!

Happy photoing!

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