U.S. Marine Corps Second Lieutenant Isaac Gomez

U.S. Marine Corps Second Lieutenant Isaac Gomez son of Letica Gomez, graduated from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD on May 26, 2017 and was commissioned as an Officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. 2nd Lt. Gomez successfully completed four years of intensive academic, physical, and professional training, resulting in a Bachelor of Science Degree with a major in International Relations. As a graduate of the Naval Academy, 2nd Lt. Gomez completed a four-year, total immersion program where a strong, balanced academic program, focused on the educational needs of the Navy and Marine Corps, is superimposed on a strict, professional military training environment emphasizing the development of leadership skills. Following graduation, 2nd Lt. Gomez has been assigned to Marine Corp Basic Officer School in Quantico, Virginia where he will continue training in a Ground Specialty and then proceed to duty station where he will begin service with U.S. Marine Corps.

Considered one of the top educational institutions in the country, the U.S. Naval Academy was founded in 1845 and has graduated more than 60,000 men and women as Naval and Marine Corps Officers. Its graduates include 4,000 Admirals and Generals, one President, 200 members of Congress, three Governors, 73 Medal of Honor winners, one Nobel Prize winner, and 40 Astronauts.

The Naval Academy currently has more than 4,000 students who comprise the Brigade of Midshipmen and who come from every state in the union.

2nd Lt. Gomez is a 2013 graduate of Fillmore High School.

Fillmore Volunteer Fireman Christopher Connolly awarded State Employee Medal of Valor. Photo courtesy California State Parks.

Governor Brown Tuesday awarded a Ventura lifeguard a State Employee Medal of Valor for a December 2015 rescue in the ocean off Faria Beach.

It was during one of the biggest El Nino driven surf events with 15-20 foot waves along a rocky shoreline.

California State Lifeguard Christopher Connolly "rescued a tiring surfer under the difficult conditions and at great peril to himself" according to the citation from the Governor's office.

It reads, "Lifeguard Connolly entered the water without hesitation. He swam to the victim, secured him to a life buoy, then fought wave sets while seeking a safe spot to exit the surf. Connolly traveled more than 3/4 of a mile in a swift current while attempts by first responders to reach the pair from shore failed. Connolly held the victim close for protection and talked the surfer through the ordeal. Eventually, Lifeguard Connolly was able to reach a sandy beach with his rescuee who was exhausted, but unhurt. Without the actions of Connolly, the surfer likely would have been lost to the pounding surf. Veteran State Parks lifeguards called Connolly’s efforts one of the most demanding and dynamic rescues ever witnessed."

Connolly, 44, is a seasonal lifeguard with California State Parks and has worked as a lifeguard for 16 years.

He is also a Spanish instructor at Ventura College and a volunteer with the Fillmore Fire Department, according to the Governor's Office.

Jesus Ballesteros - Scanlin/Balden Scholar
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Viviana Ceja - FHS Alumni Scholar
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Jessica Cobb - FHS Alumni Gloria McKitchens Music Scholar
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Colton Farrar - FHS Lemley Memorial Scholar
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Dillon Galarza - FHS Alumni Scholar
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Onofre Jauregui - Scanlin/Balden Scholar
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Reylene Martinez - Scanlin/Balden Scholar
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Janet Mendez - FHS Alumni Scholar
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Luke Myers - Steve and Patricia Baum Science Scholar
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Connie Quintana - FHS Lemley Memorial Scholar
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Aviana Ramirez - Scanlin/Balden Scholar
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Marilyn Sandoval - FHS Alumni William Brisby Scholar
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Sarah Stewart - FHS Alumni Scholar
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George Tarango - Scanlin/Balden Scholar
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Roman Tarango - Scanlin/Balden Scholar
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The Officers and Board of Directors of the Fillmore High Alumni Association is proud to announce awarding a total of $54,000 dollars to this years Alumni Scholarship winners. The Fillmore High Alumni Association's Scholarships are funded by proud FHS Alumni Association Members and anyone who donates to the Scholarship Fund. Donations to the Scholarship Fund also come in the form of Memorial's of Alumni members who are no longer with us, but will never be forgotten. We thank everyone for their contributions.

The 2017 Alumni Scholars will be introduced at the 104th FHS Alumni Dinner on June 10th. There are still open reservations available. You can purchase your reservation at Patterson Hardware store up to and including June 7th. You may also purchase your reservations online by visiting www.fillmorehighalumni.com an clicking on the Events link. This online reservation can be purchased up to and including June 7th. After June 7th, all dinner reservations must be purchased at the door on the night of the event at the door price of $45 dollars per person.

Lot's of surprises are planned at this years Alumni Dinner! Hope to see you all there!

Last week, the parade. Now, on to the other festivities. With giggling children everywhere, it's near impossible to attend the recent May Festival carnival and not get in a good mood. Furthermore, the music venue was alive with folks kicking up their heels... so to speak. Those not dancing were sipping brewskies in the beer garden. Judging by the nasty look I got I should not have asked for ice tea. But I digress.

On the carnival midway, I took advantage of the many opportunities to shoot using various methods to illustrate different ways to convey a particular point. For example, 'blur' can be accomplished two ways. Hold steady the camera set at a slow shutter speed of about 1/15 second and press the shutter button when the subject comes into the frame. The background remains in focus but the subject gets blurred illustrating movement. The other method is to increase the shutter speed and pan the subject... i.e. … follow the subject passing by which will result in the subject in focus but the background blurred. Most often requires a some trial and error. Accidentally, the blue Buffalo Bomber ended being a little of both. C'est la vie. There is no right or wrong method. Simply personal preference. Generally I prefer shooting at a higher shutter speed and blurring the background. Can you pick the photos I shot using either method and determine which method was used on each?

Oh, check out the gorgeous, vivacious May Festival carnival mermaid. Made my day! If it were not for so much darn security I would have kidnapped her! Maybe next year. (I'm thinking helicopter heist! )

Night scenes are most interesting because of various colors of light. But mixed lighting is a nightmare for the camera. Accordingly, I almost always set white balance on automatic (AWB). One of these days I'll delve into some of the technical stuff like white balance and its significance. Stay tuned. For now, let if suffice to say that even if the camera misinterprets the light creating color issues it's usually correctable in post processing. Post processing (PP) is another topic to be covered some day. But not yet because I'm still trying to wean all you phonetographers off your smart phones and into 'real' photography with a real camera (hint) so post processing (editing) can wait a little longer. Pardon my teasing.

Back to photography. Just prior to the seven-gun salute by the honor guard, I set the camera on burst mode and fired off a series of photos upon hearing the word: FIRE! Well, out of 27 images, not one photo with a muzzle flash. NOT ONE! Again, if it weren't for bad luck, I'd have none! Wait! If you look closely, you'll see brass casings flying. That counts... right? To capture muzzle flash maybe I need to get a camera that can fire bursts of 50 photos/second. Yep, that'll do it! No it won't. Can't afford that camera so flying brass casings will have to suffice. For now.

Moving along, I selected the raising of the U. S. flag during the Memorable Day Ceremony at the Bardsdale Cemetery as the Photo of the Week. Indulge me while I briefly go off topic.

I've been photographing the Bardsdale Memorable Day Ceremony for many years yet the symbolic act of raising the U.S. flag is always an emotional experience. It profoundly demonstrates and acknowledges that our cherished freedoms that brave men and women fought and died for endures. One day... one act... to remind us of their ultimate sacrifice. See you next year, same place, to honor all those who shall forever be remembered.

Happy photoing!

Email comments, questions or suggestions to bob@fillmoregazette.com

A fire in the 1300 block of Blue Jay Street in Fillmore displaced five people, four adults and one child. The fire took place on Thursday, May 18th at 6:35pm.

Fillmore Fire, Santa Paula Fire, City of Ventura and Ventura County Fire Departments were called in and the blaze was knocked down by 6:58pm.

The fire was confined to the garage of the two-story home. Red Cross was assisting the victims.

Jorge Izarraraz, 23 of Fillmore, who was charged with murder in connection with a fatal stabbing in Fillmore in 2015 has been allowed by prosecutors to plead guilty to the lessor charge of voluntary manslaughter.

Izarraraz killed 24-year-old Edgar Torres of Fillmore during an involved in an altercation on November 2, 2015 in the area of Third and B Streets.

Torres died later at the hospital with a stab wound. Izarraraz had been facing a murder charge but the DA’s office allowed him to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter instead.

Izarraraz remains in jail pending sentencing on August 1, 2017.