The little town of Piru, population about 1,000, has lost a $672,000 arrangement for a bike path on farmland. The contract was canceled several weeks ago when county officials tried but failed to reach an agreement with critics of the planned path.

Piru Neighborhood Council and several farm interests expressed concern and opposition on public safety issues, possible pesticide exposure and crop contamination.

Supporters of the project said the concerns were without merit.

Contractor R.C. Becker and Son Inc., of Santa Clarita, was awarded the bid, and was on hold while county officials tried to come to an agreement with those opposing the path. The decision to cancel the contract was approved without opposition.

Becker and Son will submit a settlement to compensate the company for expenses. A $1 million federal grant would have paid for the project.

On Thursday October 24th, the Fillmore Chamber of Commerce will host a "get together" at Wm.L. Morris Chevrolet Dealership in the Showroom along with Chevron. Chevron representatives Leslie Klinchuch and Bill Almas will do a presentation updating the community on the "Fillmore Works Project". This is the project east of Pole Creek. For those of you that have any questions or concerns we urge you to attend. This is a free event and will start at 5:30 pm and end at 6:30 pm. A no host bar along with refreshments will be provided.

City of Fillmore

The State Board of Equalization has allocated $21.1 million to Fillmore resulting from a resolution of the sales tax revenue dispute between the Cities of Livermore, Lathrop, and Industry.

In dispute was tax revenue sharing generated by Owens & Minor which has a sales office in Fillmore and distribution centers located in other cities.

According to former Simi Valley City Manager Mike Sedell, advisor to the City of Fillmore, the City will keep about $500,000 of this allocation.

According to Fillmore’s new City Manager David Rowlands, “The city received all of the BOE (Board of Equalization) funds, but the city will need to repay MTS/Owens & Minor over several years. Per the contract with MTS until approximately 2025 the city keeps 15% of the sales tax generated by O&M, the other 85% is paid to MTS and MTS shares some portion of that with O&M.”

Rowlands continued, “We haven’t finished our calculations yet. However, Fillmore received $13,936,174 from the BOE on October 4, and expects to retain about $500,000 after payments to other involved local agencies and MTS/Owens & Minor. An additional $5.4 million is due to the city from the BOE in FY 2014-15 (Triple Flip amount).” This money will, according to Rowlands, reestablish Fillmore’s normal tax income flow; our cash flow “...will be more consistent. The settlement payments to San Joaquin County and Industry are made from MTS and O&M’s share of the proceeds.”

Fillmore is expected to receive between $500,000 and $750,000 from O&M per year in sales tax revenue, according to Rowlands. He added, “We will begin to have a healthy budget.”

Rowlands emphasized that a top priority is replenishment of the city’s reserve funds. New capitol projects are being planned, including street paving which has been long neglected by necessity.

[EDITORIAL COMMENT: The final outcome of this fiercely-debated Owens & Minor sales tax plan is a strong vindication of former City Manager Roy Payne and the many other honest, dedicated council members and city staff who created and defended it. These good people endured years of insult and slander to promote a plan which will greatly benefit our city for decades to come. Congratulations to those who stayed the course!]

District Attorney Gregory I). Totten announced today that Eric Gabriel Suarez (DOB 9/6/84) of Oxuard, Cimitrio Ambris Cervantes (D013 5/5168) of Mission Hills, and Fernando Ambris Cervantes (DOB 6/22/66) of Santa Paula were arrested in a multi-agency crackdown on store owners who pay cash to recipients of government food assistance benefits. Suarez and Cimitrio Cervantes have been charged with felony grand theft and welfare fraud. Suarez is also charged with trafficking more than $150,000 of government benefits and stealing more than $200,000. Fernando Cervantes has been charged with misdemeanor welfare fraud. This case was the result of ajoint investigation by the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Inspector General, and the United States Secret Service.

CaLFresh and the USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provide nutrition assistance benefits to eligible, low-income individuals and families. It is illegal for a store owner to redeem these food assistance benefits for cash. Trafficking in SNAP and CalFresh benefits occurs when a merchant pays a welfare recipient cash for these government benefits. The operation targeted markets in both Ventura and Fillmore. It is alleged that from October 2010 to February 2013, Eric Suarez trafficked in government benefits while working at Avenue Mini Market in Ventura. It is alleged that beginning in early 2012 to May 2013, Cimitrio and Fernando Cervantes trafficked in government funds by exchanging Electronic Benefit Transfer (ERT) benefits for cash while working at Victor’s Market in Fillmore.

Eric Suarez and Cimitrio Cervantes were released on $10,000 bail and both will be arraigned on October 8, 2013, in courtroom 12 at 9:00 a.m. Fernando Cervantes was released on $5,000 bail and will be arraigned on January 2, 2014, at 8:15 a.m. in courtroom 10.

Misdemeanor welfare fraud charges have also been flied against 25 additional defendants fbr illegally selling their food assistance benefits for cash, in lieu of arrests, letters have been sent directing those defendants to appear on October 22, 23, and 24, 2013. for arraignment. Additional misdemeanor charges will be filed in near future against other individuals for similar conduct.

Photo by Keith Macleod
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The Ventura County Sheriff's, Fillmore Search and Rescue Team, rescued a dog on Thursday after it became stranded 150ft over the side of a cliff.

City firefighters arrived on scene first and found some good Samaritans attempting to rescue the dog on their own. The firefighters were concerned for the safety of the good Samaritans and decided to notify the Sheriff's Department.

The situation was evaluated by members of the Sheriff's Search and Rescue unit, and a decision was made to activate the Fillmore Search and Rescue Team and have them take the lead in the rescue.

Seven members from the Fillmore Search and Rescue Team responded to the scene. Once on scene team member N. Brown immediately jumped into action and rappelled 150ft over the side of the cliff. After two tries the frightened dog was eventually brought to safety and returned to his worried owner.

The Fillmore Search and Rescue Team is comprised of highly trained volunteers who donate hundreds of hours of their time each year to trainings and call-outs. Additional members are currently in Lake Arrowhead assisting the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Dept in their search for a missing hiker.

At the October 8, 2013 Fillmore Unified School Districts (FUSD) Board Meeting a presentation was given by Art Teacher Doris Nichols and teacher Josh Bricker on the Fillmore Middle School NASA Program conducted after school during the summer break. The 20 day 10 exercise course provided students with a non-traditional classroom environment that reinforced the subjects of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Students were given questions and problems requiring them to find their own solutions, both individually and in groups of four, through a hands-on empirical process. With real world constraints such as time, weight to power ratios, questions of sustainability/waste management concerns and a finite amount of materials (everything they used was recycled material and had to fit into a small cup by the end of the day) requiring budget restraints, the students were forced to develop creative solutions to the types of problems NASA engineers face daily.

They learned how to use gravity to aid travel, how to insulate with weight considerations and thermo design along with design and use of a solar oven and how to control its temperatures. One exercise required the students to design a propulsion system forcing them to engineer and design a space craft containing a specific list of essential elements; finding the volume of their craft to ensure the essential payload would fit, weighing their space craft, testing the rockets and an understanding of drag and aerodynamics.

From the activities students CONTINUED »

Fillmore Fire Foundation recently purchased 18 new breathing apparatuses and extra air bottles and donated them to the City of Fillmore Fire Department. The cost of this new equipment exceeded $100,000. Fire Chief Rigo Landeros and Fillmore Fire Foundation President Scott Beylick formed the foundation in 2010. The current board members are Scott Beylick (President), Mike Bush (Treasurer), Bill Morris, Mike Richardson and Scott Klittich. This 5 member board volunteers their time and helps raise donations for equipment, firefighter training, safety prevention programs and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training. If you wish to make a tax deductible donation to the Fillmore Fire Foundation, Inc. please send your donation to Fillmore Fire Foundation, P.O. Box 331, Fillmore, CA. 93015.

Rodrigo Jasso Ortiz, Oxnard, 36

During a bar check, a Sergeant Aguirre contacted Ortiz sitting in his vehicle in the parking lot of the Sespe Saloon. Aguirre discovered Ortiz had a loaded rifle on the seat next to him. Upon further investigation, the Sergeant discovered Ortiz had a second loaded rifle concealed under his seat and approximately one ounce of methamphetamine packaged for sale in the vehicle. Ortiz was arrested for several weapon and drug charges and was booked into the Ventura County Jail. The estimated street value of the methamphetamine was $2,800.00.

Nature of Incident: Narcotics Arrest
Report Number: 13-21805
Location: Sespe Saloon 251 “A” Street Fillmore CA. 93015
Date & Time: September 27, 2013 2200 hours
Unit(s) Responsible: West County Patrol Services – Fillmore CA
(S)uspects, (V)ictims, (P)arty, (D)ecedent City of Residence Age
Rodrigo Jasso Ortiz Oxnard 36
Prepared by: Sgt. J. Hendren
Media Release Date: 9/28/2013
Follow-Up Contact: Sgt. A. Aguirre 805-524-2233
Approved by: Captain Wareham

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).