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By Gazette Staff Writers — Wednesday, January 12th, 2022
For the last few weeks, the line for the drive-thru COVID-19 testing site at Fillmore Middle School has been extremely long, with cars pulled off to the side of the road along A Street. With the rise in cases and the increase of people trying to get tested, the site has extended their testing hours: Monday–Saturday noon 4pm & 5pm–7:30pm. For more |
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By Gazette Staff Writers — Wednesday, January 12th, 2022
 The former Fillmore Family Dollar Store at 803 Ventura Street will soon become Red Engine Brewery, a micro-brewery restaurant operation, firefighter family owned and operated. For the last few months trucks have been seen coming and going from the location as they get ready to open sometime in early 2022. Enlarge Photo |
 On January 3rd Fillmore Lions Club hosted the first meeting of the 2022. Pictured are Lions Club members with guest speaker Sean McCulley, new owner of the Fillmore Towne Theatre and founder of Mud Turtle Media LLC, who spoke about his ideas for the Theatre. (l-r) Brett Chandler, Jaclyn Ibarra, Sean McCulley, Steve McKeown, and Larry Brown. Photo courtesy Jaclyn Ibarra. Enlarge Photo By Gazette Staff Writers — Wednesday, January 12th, 2022
At the first Lions Club meeting of the year, Sean McCulley was the guest speaker. He spoke about how he founded the non profit Mud Turtle Media LLC. And he also spoke about how he became the new owner of the Fillmore Town Theater and his ideas of its development. Some future plans for our beloved Town Theater include a venue for: Community theater, Arts Education (in collaboration with FHS), variety of live music, comedians, film festivals (with movie industry interactions), and Children’s workshops. Mud Turtle Media are planning a fundraising show in the near future. To help with a promotional video, they are asking residents to share personal stories about their experience with the Town Theater. For more information about the Town Theater, you can visit www.mudturtletheatrical.org. |
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By Gazette Staff Writers — Wednesday, January 12th, 2022
Courtesy Fillmore Historical Museum We have been overwhelmed by the responses on the photographs that were published last week and the additional ones posted on Instagram and Facebook. To answer a few questions that have come up: Many people have requested to see more of the photos. There are some posted on our website at https://www.fillmorehistoricalmuseum.org/team. If you recognize any of these photos, please go to the “Contact” tab on the top of the page and send us an email with the information. The Museum will be holding a free Zoom event to look at a portion of the photos on Wednesday, January 26 at 7:00 pm. The number of participants will be limited to 20. If you would like to participate, go to https://www.fillmorehistoricalmuseum.org/special-eventsto reserve your seat. Ellen Frankenstein who created the documentary is planning on participating. Until then, here are some more photos to identify. |
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By Gazette Staff Writers — Wednesday, January 5th, 2022
On Tuesday January 4th, students athletes from Fillmore High School were honored by the FUSD Board of Trustees for their First Team All League accomplishments in the Citrus Coast League. The presentation included coaches and athletes from Cross Country, Football, and Girls Volleyball. Athletes honored at the meeting included, Michael Camilo Torres and Niza Laureano for Cross Country. Anthony Chessani, Freddy Araujo, Nathan Ocegueda, Jarod Uridel, Joey Holladay, and Matt Magana for Football, and Nathalia Magana for Girls Volleyball. Coaches included Kim Tafoya (Cross Country, Charlie Weis (Football), and Alyssa Bennett (Girls Volleyball). |
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By Gazette Staff Writers — Wednesday, January 5th, 2022
 On December 30th, 2021 at 10:59am, Fillmore Police Department, City Fire (ME91) and AMR paramedics were dispatched to a two vehicle collision at the intersection of Olive and Ventura Street. Minor injuries were reported. Cause of the crash is under investigation. Photo courtesy Angel Esquivel-AE News. Enlarge Photo |
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By Gazette Staff Writers — Wednesday, January 5th, 2022
On December 29, 2021, Fillmore resident Mark Plunkett was arrested for various firearms, ammunition, and narcotics violations. In December 2021, detectives from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Gang Unit (SGU) began investigating Plunkett for unlawful firearm possession. Plunkett is a convicted felon and on parole for PC 245(a)(2) – Assault with a Firearm. On December 29, 2021, at approximately 7:00 AM, SGU detectives, with the assistance of Fillmore Patrol Station personnel, contacted and detained Plunkett in the 500 block of Central Avenue in Fillmore. Detectives subsequently served a search warrant at Plunkett’s residences in the 500 block of Central Avenue and 600 block of River Street in Fillmore. Detectives determined Plunkett was in possession of an unregistered “Ghost Gun” 9mm semiautomatic handgun, ammunition, high-capacity ammunition magazines, and illicit drugs. Plunkett was arrested for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, ammunition, and a high-capacity ammunition magazine. Additionally, he was arrested for possession of cocaine for sale, possession of cocaine while in possession of a firearm, and a felony parole violation. Plunkett was booked into the Ventura County Jail and his bail was set at $500,000. There has been an increase of “Ghost Guns”, crudely manufactured firearms, and 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 areas, please contact Detective Sergeant Beau Rodriguez at (805) 767-0360. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office is grateful members of the public for their continued support and diligence in providing information to assist our agency in solving crimes. We are better at what we do because of our community partnerships. Prepared by: Sergeant Beau Rodriguez |
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By Gazette Staff Writers — Wednesday, January 5th, 2022
Distance Learning Not Currently Permitted by State
 As Ventura County students prepare to return from winter break amid increasing COVID-19 cases in the community, local school leaders are taking all possible steps to ensure the safety of students and employees. While some colleges and universities have announced plans to revert to distance learning temporarily, this is not an option for Pre-K-12 schools. The State of California does not currently permit Pre-K-12 schools to offer distance learning and expects all schools to keep their doors open for in-person instruction. Schools do provide an independent study option that allows students to learn from home. But unlike distance learning, it must be requested individually by families and is not intended to serve large numbers of students. “The Ventura County Office of Education is continuing to work closely with Ventura County Public Health and our local school districts to ensure the safety of students and staff,” said Dr. César Morales, Ventura County Superintendent of Schools. “A major effort is underway to expand optional COVID-19 testing for students so we can reduce the chances of the virus spreading at school. Many school districts have been working diligently during the winter break to distribute home test kits to families, and we expect a greater supply of kits to be available soon.” Free testing is also available at locations throughout Ventura County. In addition to expanded testing, local schools are taking a variety of other safety measures. These include enhanced ventilation, mandatory indoor masking, and teaching outside when possible. Ventura County’s increasing vaccination rate and the high percentage of school employees who have been fully vaccinated provide another layer of protection. Families can help by ensuring that their students are vaccinated, testing children for COVID-19 if they may have been exposed or are presenting symptoms, and keeping them home when they are ill. The COVID-19 vaccine has been proven safe and effective and is currently available at no charge for children five and older. The COVID-19 booster is now available for everyone 16 years old or older and may be approved for younger kids in the near future. Information about where to get vaccinated in Ventura County is available at www.venturacountyrecovers.org/vaccine-information/ |
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By Gazette Staff Writers — Wednesday, January 5th, 2022
Fillmore Middle School COVID-19 testing schedule effective January 10, 2022: Schedule: Address: Additional COVID-19 testing information available at https://www.venturacountyrecovers.org/coronavirustesting |
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By Gazette Staff Writers — Wednesday, January 5th, 2022
Courtesy Fillmore Historical Museum In 1985 a University of Southern California graduate student in Visual Anthropology came to Fillmore to learn more about the town which had passed a resolution to make English the official language for City business. (It was repealed in 1989.) This in a town that at the time was approximately 70% Hispanic. The student, Ellen Frankenstein, did not do her master’s thesis on the resolution, but instead, “I really started thinking about the immigrant process, or like what it means to come to a new country and cross borders.” What resulted was a fifteen-minute, award winning documentary which focused on the story of Ben and Manuela Aparicio. Fast forward twenty-five years and Ellen Frankenstein reaches out to the Fillmore Historical Museum who had purchased a copy of the documentary for its archives. She had spent most of her time for two years, 1986 and 1987, in Fillmore getting to know the community. While she was here, she not only was filming her documentary, but she was taking candid photos of the life of the town. The photos run the gamut from City Council meetings and church services, to weddings and proms, to May Festivals and 4th of July Celebrations, to United Farm Worker demonstrations, to people in cafes and laundromats. Over 800 photographs. Would the Museum be interested in copies of the photos and in the future perhaps doing an exhibit possibly tied into a screening of the documentary and Q & A? Our answer was a quick and resounding, Yes! There is only one thing lacking with the photos – the people and places are not identified. Volunteers at the Museum have been able to identify only a small fraction of the photos, so we are asking for the community’s assistance. There are a few photos being published with this article. We will be posting a few each week on Facebook. Perhaps you recognize someone or perhaps you remember Ellen being at some event you attended (like a wedding). Ellen adds “We also want to know what the photos trigger: memories, stories and moments. I live in Alaska now and took these photos and made the film a long time ago, but I’ve carried a bit of Fillmore with me. It’s exciting to think about sharing these images that were just recently scanned and have never been shared locally. The time I spent there was such a good lesson in working in a small community and attempting to tell a story of a time and place. I'm looking forward to what we find out and to understanding what these images mean to the people that might be in them and their family and friends so many years later. I hope too, we can generate and add to a conversation about what it was like to live in Fillmore then, how much the community has changed and what’s ahead." If you would like to help with this project, contact us and we can arrange a time for you to go through some or all the photos. We don’t expect to be able to identify everyone in every picture, but even if we can just identify the location that is depicted it will be a great help to people in the future wanting to know what our town was like in those years. |
