The Share-iff’s Toy Drive has been a tradition in Ventura County for 31 years. Many families do not have the resources to provide their children with a traditional Christmas celebration. Each year, thousands of children experience a Christmas morning with no gifts to open.

Members of the Sheriff’s Office respond to calls throughout the county and encounter families without the means to exchange gifts during the holiday season. Fortunately, some of these families will be the recipients of gifts this holiday season, thanks to volunteers who participate in the Share-iff’s Toy Drive.

The Sheriff’s Office will be collecting new, unwrapped toys for children ages 13 and younger. All of the toys will be distributed to children within the cities of Camarillo, Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Fillmore, Ojai, and the unincorporated areas served by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.

All of our patrol stations will have boxes where staff members and the public can leave their unwrapped toys Monday through Friday from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm between November 01th and December 15th.

On December 17th, members of the Sheriff’s Office will open Santa’s workshop and provide some Christmas magic to those who need it most.

Toy drop off locations:

Camarillo Police Department 3701 Las Posas Road, Camarillo (805) 388-5100

Thousand Oaks Police Department 2101 E. Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks (805) 494-8200

Moorpark Police Department - 610 Spring Road, Moorpark (805) 532-2700

Fillmore Police Department - 524 Sespe Avenue, Fillmore (805) 524-2233

Ojai Police Department - 402 S. Ventura Street, Ojai (805) 646-1414

Sheriff's Headquarters - 800 S. Victoria Avenue, Ventura (805) 654-2304

For more information about how you can help, please contact:

Corina Lozano at corina.lozano@ventura.org
Victor Flores at victor.flores@ventura.org
Tim Lohman at tim.lohman@ventura.org
Jennifer Sezzi at jennifer.sezzi@ventura.org

Caltrans is proposing to build four roundabouts on Highway 126 to slow traffic. This plan is opposed by the Fillmore City Council. The Council also hopes that Santa Paula and county transportation agencies will join in this opposition.

By constructing these large traffic circles on the highway between Santa Paula and Fillmore Caltrans believes this measure will slow traffic and reduce the number of fatal accidents.

The council voted against this plan 5-0 and hopes to show that it would slow traffic and interfere with emergency response vehicles. The Council also sees no safety benefit to this construction and worries about the probable need to take farmland as well.

The Fillmore Council has drawn a resolution opposing the project and has asked the City of Santa Paula and the Ventura County Transportation Commission to join in this opposition. Councilman Doug Tucker has called for additional collaborative efforts to stop this plan.

Concerns about the roundabouts safety has become public following the death of Ryan Osler who was riding in a water truck, through a roundabout on Highway 246, when it overturned after hitting a curb. The event occurred near Lompoc.

Councilman Manuel Minjares expressed concern about the construction slowing ambulance traffic to the hospital in Santa Paula or Ventura. In February a Caltrans official told the Council that the roundabouts would probably slow traffic by up to three minutes between Fillmore and Santa Paula.

California has released a new surveillance, prevention and care plan designed to dramatically reduce new HIV infections in the state, with the goal of eventually getting that number to zero. The “Getting to Zero” plan is a blueprint for state and local health departments and community organizations working to achieve a more coordinated statewide response to HIV.

“Thanks to better treatment and prevention options, new testing technology and better access to health care, California has reached a point where we can begin to envision the possibility of zero new HIV infections,” said California Department of Public Health Director State Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith. “In a state as large as ours, it will take an incredible amount of coordination, innovation and work to make this vision a reality. This report lays the foundation for achieving our goals.”

The “Getting to Zero” plan was developed by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) in coordination with local health officials, other state departments, medical and non-medical providers, and HIV community organizations and planning bodies. The report set four goals to be achieved by 2021. The four goals are to reduce new HIV infections, increase access to care, reduce disparities in underserved communities and achieve a more coordinated statewide response to the HIV epidemic.

To achieve those goals, the report outlines 15 strategies and 12 key objectives that will be monitored on an annual basis by CDPH’s Office of AIDS. Some of the strategies include improving HIV testing and HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) utilization, enhancing availability of HIV care and increasing community collaboration and involvement.

“This comprehensive plan reinforces the state’s ongoing commitment to address the HIV epidemic,” said Dr. Karen Mark, Chief of the Office of AIDS at CDPH. “This commitment includes supporting people living with HIV, reducing the rate of new infections, and recognizing that not all communities have been equally impacted by this epidemic, and making those most at risk a high priority.”

The full Laying a Foundation for Getting to Zero: California’s Integrated HIV Surveillance, Prevention and Care Plan report and Executive Summary are available on CDPH’s website.

www.cdph.ca.gov

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The Ventura County Sheriff Explorer Van was sponsored by Rotary Club of Fillmore, Fillmore Chamber of Commerce, Fillmore Women’s Service Club, and many others.
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The Santa Clara Valley Explorer Post #2958 was reactivated in 2010, by Deputy Leo Vazquez, Commander Tim Hagel, and Captain Dave Wareham, with only 6 interested Explores. Fast forward 6 years later and the Post has 32 Explorers enrolled and continues to grow.

The Explorers are tasked with community events in the city of Fillmore, unincorporated areas of Ventura County and other cities within the County of Ventura. Some of the community events are: Fillmore and Piru Christmas Parades, Fillmore High School Parades, toy drives and giveaways, Shop with a Cop in Camarillo, Camarillo Air Show, and Moorpark Safety Days at Underwood Farms, just to name a few. These events stress the importance of planning, teamwork, and coordination of resources.

In order for the Post to attend all of the community events, the Post has had to carpool in privately owned vehicles. Up to 5 vehicles may have been needed when attending any Explorer function, and it was often overwhelming trying to find a ride for everyone. Some of our Explorers come from low income families and it's amazing to find a program where students/explorers can gain so much knowledge, guidance, and self-confidence without worrying about burdening their parents’ financial situations.

The Post is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that depends on donations in order to be successful. This past year, the Post has been planning to purchase a passenger van. Being able to purchase a van would be a great asset to the Post, as it would help transport Explorers to community events, meetings, and training events, both within the county and out of state. The Post held multiple fundraisers and received donations from various organizations within the city of Fillmore and County of Ventura. With the hard work and dedication of the Post Advisors, they were able to purchase a passenger van for the Post.

The Santa Clara Valley Explorer Post #2958 would like to thank the following organizations for their generous donations and making this purchase possible: Fillmore Rotary Club, Bank of the Sierra, Ventura County Deputy Sheriffs’ Association, Ventura County Sheriff's Foundation, Fillmore Women's Club, Fillmore Chamber of Commerce and SBR Signs for the van wrap.

The Ventura County Sheriff's Office Law Enforcement Explorer program consists of young men and women, 14 (and completed 8th grade) to 21, who have an interest in learning more about a career in Law Enforcement. The Explorer program provides law enforcement experiences, leadership opportunities, educational training, and community service activities. The primary goals of the program are to help young adults choose a career path within law enforcement and to challenge them to become responsible citizens in their communities and the nation.

If you would like more information about the Law Enforcement Explorer program, please contact your local Police Department.

Fillmore Police Department 805-524-2233
Camarillo Police Department 805-388-5100
Moorpark Police Department 805-532-2700
Headquarters Patrol Station 805-654-2890
Ojai Police Department 805-646-1414
Thousand Oaks Police Department 805-494-8200

City Manager David Rowlands presenting 3 Beacon Awards to Fillmore Mayor Diane McCall.

The Fillmore City Council received 3 Beacon awards last night from the Statewide Energy Efficiency Collaborative. The City was recognized for energy savings with a platinum award, and a gold for Best Practices Activities, and a silver award for greenhouse gasses reduction.

Dave Smallwood discussed the city's serious drought problem and the continued importance of water conservation.

The Council also approved an ordinance adding requirements for personal cultivation of marijuana in the event Proposition 64 (recreational use of marijuana) should pass on November 8.

A letter to CalTrans opposing the proposal for a round-about on Highway 126 was approved. It is thought that such a project would unduly and dangerously congest the flow of traffic at that location.