The Ventura County Fair has announced that Fillmore’s own 12 year old Vita Jolie Vazquez ha won the first prize in the 2022 VC Fair poster contest. Vita Jolie rendered her exciting illustration in colored pencil and included a quartet of animee-styled screaming kids on the roller coaster. We think she captured the essence of the theme.

“I've always been interested in art and the different forms of it, including the process and stages. That includes drawing and painting, video games, fashion and style. My immediate goals are to get my name and art out there to hopefully find people interested in my art. My ultimate goal would be to make a living out of my work when I'm an adult. I've been drawing ever since I could hold a pen, which was before I could walk, and draw almost daily. This year, however, I have had the best experience and achievements with art. I have had two of my drawings published; one as the official VC Fair poster of 2022 and the other as the back cover of the 2021-2022 Fillmore Middle School yearbook. I will be starting 7th grade at FMS this Fall.” –Vita Jolie Vazquez, 2022 Ventura County Fair Poster Artist.

On July 8, 2022, detectives from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Street Team concluded a narcotics sales investigation into Fillmore resident Cary Roberts who was involved in the sales of illegal narcotics to residents of Ventura County.

During the course of this investigation, detectives developed information regarding the drug trafficking activities of Cary Roberts. Information obtained indicated Roberts was involved in the distribution of bulk quantities of methamphetamine to street level drug dealers in Ventura County. These street level drug dealers would in-turn distribute the narcotics obtained from Roberts to local drug users.

On July 08, 2022, detectives took Roberts into custody without incident. After his arrest, detectives executed a search warrant at Roberts’ residence located in the 700 Block of Fourth Street, in the City of Fillmore California, a wood shop and a Public Storage Unit located in the 700 Block of Santa Maria Street in the City of Santa Paula. Billy Howard was contacted at the wood shop and was found to be in possession of a usable quantity of Methamphetamine.

During the search, detectives seized approximately 30 pounds of methamphetamine, over 300 grams of marijuana and several thousands of dollars believed to be derived from illegal drug sales. The total street value of the methamphetamine seized is estimated at approximately $408,600.00.

At the conclusion of this investigation, Howard was cited and released for violation of HS 11377(a). Roberts was arrested and booked into the Ventura County Pre-Trial Detention Facility for violation of HS 11378- Possession For Sales of A Controlled Substance. Roberts’ bail was set at $250,000.00 and is awaiting court proceedings.

Nature of Incident: Narcotics Sales Arrest
Report Number: 22-90371
Location: 700 Block of Fourth Street, Fillmore CA
700 Block of Santa Maria Street, Santa Paula CA
Date & Time: 7/08/2022 @ 1:00 PM
Unit(s) Responsible: Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Street Team
Ventura County Combined Agency Team (VCAT)
(S)uspects, (V)ictims, (P)arty, (D)ecedent City of Residence Age
Cary Roberts Fillmore 53
Billy Howard Fillmore 61
Prepared by: Sergeant Odilon Malagon
Approved by: Captain Brian Slominski

Al Lamberg at work in his shop.
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The “Sespe”, an electric clock, table model created by Glen Mosbarger, the dial and hands are made so that time could be read either in 12 hour or 24-hour time at a glance.
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Fillmore City Band circa 1925, A. E. Lamberg to the immediate left of the base drum.
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Lamberg Jewelry shop on Central Avenue.
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Courtesy Fillmore Historical Museum

In the mid-twentieth century the town of Fillmore had a resident who not only was a horologist, but also a polymath. Before you run to look these $2 words up, Fillmore had a watch maker who had other interests as well. So who was this person? A. E. “Al” Lamberg.

Al was born in 1890 in Redwing, Minnesota, to Swedish immigrants. When he registered for the draft in 1917, he gave his profession as “musician”, employed by the Jack Hoskins Traveling Show. He went on to serve in France and when he returned from France his rank was given as “Band Sergeant.”

He returned to Minnesota and by 1920 he had trained as a watchmaker. In 1921 he married Glenna Hays and shortly thereafter moved to Fillmore.

He opened his first shop at 346 1/2 Central Avenue, but his interests were not limited to watch maker and being a jeweler. He became the director of the Fillmore City Band. As a member of Fillmore’s Veteran’s Service Club, he helped stage “Buddies” for Armistice Day 1927 and wrote an overture, “The Spirit of ‘17” for it. According to the Fillmore Herald, “The overture by Al Lamberg is worth the price of admission and Fillmore is proud to have such a distinguished personage as a composer in the city. His masterpiece is of the soldier boy, the battle fields, the heart aches and sorrows of the war, and the joy of returning.” We wish we had a copy of this in our collection.

In time he moved his shop to 461 Sespe on the ground floor of the Masonic Building. This was not only his jeweler’s shop, it was also a lending library. It was a forerunner of the “Little Free Libraries” that are found around Fillmore today.

Mysterious things were going on in the back of the shop. Lamberg was fascinated with the history of timekeeping. Being a craftsman, he began to build models of ancient timepieces. These were displayed for the first time at City Hall during the 1946 Fillmore Frontier Festival. He later had an “Ancient Timekeeper’s Studio” people could visit.

Al Lamberg was not just making models of timepieces. He was building clocks. With Glen Mosbarger doing the wood carving, he created the “Sespe”, an electric clock, in both floor and table models. The unique thing about the clock was that the dial and hands are made so that time could be read either in 12 hour or 24-hour time at a glance. In 1946 he applied for and received both US and Canadian patents on the clock, but it was never put into production.

Al Lamberg passed away in 1956 after a long illness. He had been a member of the Veteran’s of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Rotary and Masons. He was an involved member of the community.

In 1972 when the Museum first opened, the collection was given to the Museum where it was on display for many years. Unfortunately, like many other things, much of the collection was damaged or destroyed in the 1994 Northridge earthquake. In the collection was a table model of the “Sespe” clock which we are hoping to soon have restored. You can see some of the other items in the collection on display in the Docent’s Cabinet in the Southern Pacific Depot at the Museum.

Al Lamberg was proud of being a horologist – and with his other interests he was also a true polymath.

Raised in the small agricultural farming community of Santa Paula, CA, Carlos Valdovinos is the first-born son of two Mexican immigrant farm workers. From a young age, watching his parents perform backbreaking work in the fields to provide for him and his siblings instilled a grit and perseverance that has served him well over the course of his life and career. Growing up in an immigrant family of humble means developed a desire and ability to value everyone with respect and dignity no matter the circumstances. As a migrant education student and despite being born in this country, Mr. Valdovinos did not learn to speak English until the 3rd grade. His formative years and family background have shaped his desire to be an educator and gives him a special understanding of the experience of second language learners and those that come from poverty and disadvantage. At a young age he understood that academic success would be the road to realize his dreams and honor his parents’ sacrifice. Mr. V, as his students fondly refer to him, has dedicated his career to being of service to students in the pursuit of their dreams and aspirations through academic success.

After graduating high school, Mr. V went on to attend Ventura Community College, where he earned his associates of arts degree. He was then accepted to UCLA to complete his bachelor’s degree in Chicano Studies with a minor in Math Education. Mr. V. went on to earn two additional master’s degrees from UCLA. He earned his first master’s degrees and math teaching credential in 1999 and returned for his second master’s degree and administrative credential in 2002. Mr. V. started his career as a math teacher, a dean of discipline, and at the age of 32, Mr. V was one of the youngest assistant principals in LAUSD. His wide breadth of experience has helped honed his skills at being able to ascertain the pulse of a school and its community which helps him tailor his service and leadership. His favorite part of his job is working with youth because they keep him young at heart. He believes that there is nothing more important than being a positive influence on his students today because they will be the leaders of tomorrow.

Mr. V’s philosophy on education is simple: “improve our communities, one student at a time.” Mr. V attributes much of his success to a couple high school teachers and one UCLA professor who took an interest in him beyond the scope of their role. Their advice and influence have been invaluable, and he honors them with his service to every student he serves. He knows that not all students’ dreams require college, but what he is certain of, is that all students’ dreams do require: hard work, determination, patience, and above all, a solid plan. His goal with every student is to help them forge a plan for success in whatever is “next.” It is his hope to inspire the students of Fillmore by playing a positive role in their lives, just as many educators had a role in his. As he prepares to begin his tenure at FMS, he is extremely grateful and humbled to be able to come back "home" to serve the Fillmore community.

On July 1, 2022, Sheriff’s Gang Unit detectives conducted directed enforcement in the City of Fillmore and arrested a subject for various firearm, weapons, narcotics, and traffic violations.

On July 1, 2022, at approximately 2114 hours, SGU detectives made a traffic stop on a vehicle in the 800 block of Ventura Street while conducting directed enforcement in the City of Fillmore. (S) Joseph Ramos was the driver and owner of the vehicle. Detectives subsequently searched the vehicle and located an unregistered semi-automatic handgun, ammunition, a Billy Club, methamphetamine, and other narcotics paraphernalia. Ramos was arrested for various firearm, weapons, narcotics, and traffic violations.

On July 6, 2022, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office filed multiple felony and misdemeanor charges against Ramos for the case. Ramos remains in Ventura County Jail custody with an upcoming court date and his bail was set at $100,000.00.

The Sheriff’s Gang Unit is comprised of eight detectives, who focus on protecting West County communities from criminal street gang terrorism and reducing violent crime by actively investigating illegal firearm activities.

The Sheriff’s Office has seen an increase of illegal firearm activities in Ventura County. If you have any information about unlawful firearm activities in the West County areas in the Sheriff’s Office jurisdiction, including in Fillmore, Saticoy, El Rio, and Ojai, please contact Detective Sergeant Beau Rodriguez at 805-767-0360.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank members of the public for their on-going support and due diligence in providing information to assist our agency in solving crimes. We are better at what we do because of our community partnerships.

Join us in the fight on crime by following us on Twitter @VENTURASHERIFF, Facebook, Instagram @ VCSHERIFF, and with Nixle by texting your zip code to 888777 to receive local law enforcement and public safety alerts and advisories.

Nature of Incident: Traffic Stop Results in Firearm / Narcotics Arrest

Report Number: 22-86795
Location: 800 block of Ventura Street, Fillmore
Date & Time: 7/1/2022 @ 21:14 PM
Unit(s) Responsible: Sheriff’s Gang Unit (SGU)
(S)uspects, (V)ictims, (P)arty, (D)ecedent City of Residence Age
(S) Ramos, Joseph Anthony, Fillmore, 23
Prepared by: Sergeant Beau Rodriguez
Approved by: Captain Victor Medina

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