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By Kimberly Rivers — Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011
 City of Fillmore The year is 2011. Across the United States counties, cities, and neighborhoods are working with constricting budgets and some residents are worried. Major issues moving forward this year for Fillmore are: more budget reductions and how they affect services, the working environment in City Hall and the publics perception of how it’s city government conducts business all the while keeping the future of the City in mind. What is the State of the City’s Finances? Council member Steve Conaway comments, “The State has removed over $2.5 million from Fillmore… and we haven’t seen the end of the state take-aways.” According to City Manager Yvonne Quiring her focus going into next year will be “the Budget… and how do we make this work given the resources that we have… subject to [what the Council decides].” Quiring explains that the City has been “burning through… and living off of the savings account…[current projections show] no money being available next year.” Realistically she continues, there will be some nominal amount available, but “reserves [are] not enough to cover expenditures… [The City is] not getting enough money in the checking account to write checks.” Washburn reports “We have been told we [are likely to] have a $2 million shortfall, we have redevelopment money to payback, we are not getting [our] sales tax revenue [as] that issue has not yet been resolved, the county assessor is looking at another decrease in property tax assessments, so we’ll be getting less property tax.” She explains that the recent development and growth in the City has occurred “based on assumptions… that there was no bubble. We took out a lot of debt based on ever increasing revenues.” According to Washburn the City has several bonds with “increasing debt service levels, which is not good in a declining revenue situation. The assumptions were way to… optimistic.” Washburn suggests that city government and the services provided “may look different” as a result of the financial hurdles that need to be dealt with. Some areas where she thinks residents can expect to see a difference are with street repairs, landscape and lighting, pool hours, and tax increases. While generally opposed to new taxes, Washburn states, “we may be required to implement a new storm water treatment tax.” Regarding budgeting issues Conaway states “As a city…we’ve lost sight of our city finances since 2008 due to revised budget formats and reallocation of funds and are only now starting to gain stability in our budgeting process.” He feels that continued focus on this, “defending [the City’s] economic interests in the courts… will provide a boost to our local economy.” According to the Budget CONTINUED » |
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By Anonymous — Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011
 Early Wednesday morning a 70-foot Oak tree on Orange Grove Avenue was blown down in a strong wind. The tree, rotten at the trunk, snapped and crushed a Mercedes car owned by Jean McLeod of Fillmore. Enlarge Photo  The massive tree blocked the street and crashed aside an uninhabited house which was recently destroyed by fire. Enlarge Photo |
 FUSD School Board Vice President John Garnica presided over the regularly scheduled meeting. Enlarge Photo By Kimberly Rivers — Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011
 (l-r) School Board Vice President John Garnica and Students First award recipient Tony Newhall of the Henry Mayo Foundation. Enlarge Photo On Tuesday February 1, 2011, School Board Vice President John Garnica presided over a regularly scheduled meeting since President Virginia De La Piedra was not in attendance. Superintendent Jeff Sweeney was also not in attendance due to illness. Board Members Tony Prado, Dave Wilde and Lucy Rangel reported they attended the District’s meeting regarding math essential standards, and all enjoyed the video shown (to view this video got to www.fillmoregazette.com/school-matters). Rangel went on to mention an event she attended at the high school, where parents were informed about “Zangle”, an online resource where parents can now log in, and have access to up to date information on their children’s homework, grades and attendance. She also attended a dinner hosted by the Ventura County School Board Association finding it “very informative.” Rangel explained that a topic discussed was the future with charter schools and the VCSBA recommending that all board members get educated about them because “it’s not going away, if anything it’s growing.” According to Rangel there are fourteen charter schools in Ventura County, “about half of them aren’t necessarily better than our public schools…[based on API scores] but that middle and high school [charter schools] are doing much better [than many non charter secondary schools in the County].” She explained one issue is that the charter schools tend to “attract the high performing students.” Rangel emphasized the recommendation made by the VCSBA of getting additional training regarding charter schools “for any future petitions that come up.” Another important topic presented was about marketing the Districts schools. “We really need to sell our school to the community… they encouraged us to attend meetings with parents [and community groups] like Tressa [Saviers] was saying,” and include unique aspects of FUSD on the homepage of the districts website. Rangel also attended the English Learner Advisory Committee (ELAC) meeting following the meet and greet at Fillmore Middle School on January 28. “I didn’t realize that the teen pregnancy rate… [in our District] is so high…it’s second in the County …[at] 13.7%.” She praised a mother-daughter program targeting ages 12 to 13 put on by the Public Health Department ran by Claudia Benton and Rhonda Reyes-Deutsch aimed at preventing teen pregnancy further stating that “we should showcase” this program. A Students First Award was granted to Tony Newhall of the Henry Mayo Foundation. Newhall told how his great-grandfather came to the area 125 years ago and purchased the Rancho San Francisco. He proceeded to prosper, and the family later created a foundation to “benefit the people and communities where he worked and earned his money.” According to Assistant Superintendent Mike Bush the Henry Mayo Foundation has given the Fillmore Unified School District $630,000 for arts programs at Piru and San Cayetano Elementary Schools as well as scholarships to Fillmore High School graduates who went on to college. During public comment Fillmore CONTINUED » |
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By Anonymous — Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011
 An accident occurred on Highway 126 near the intersection of B Street Tuesday at approximately 11:00 a.m. The driver of a late model Chevrolet SUV ran into the rear of a 1991 Chevrolet one-ton pickup truck. The driver of the SUV was taken by ambulance to the hospital with undetermined injuries. The driver of the truck suffered no reported injuries. The SUV suffered extensive front-end damage. Enlarge Photo |
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By Anonymous — Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011
 Friday evening at approximately 5:00 p.m. the driver of a Ford pickup crashed into a storm water ditch on Highway 23 at the entrance to Elkins Golf Course. Cause of the accident was undetermined. The driver was unhurt but the truck suffered extensive damage and narrowly missed a power pole. Enlarge Photo |
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By Ventura County Sheriff Department — Monday, January 31st, 2011
 Dr. Barry Lefkovitch, 56, Thousand Oaks, CA On December 13, 2010, Dr. Barry Lefkovitch was arrested by detectives from the Thousand Oaks Police Sexual Assault Unit after a weeklong investigation revealed Lefkovitch had sexually assaulted a patient during an office visit. The District Attorney filed three felony charges against Dr. Lefkovitch. Since then, further investigation revealed credible information that has led to several other victims of sexual assault as well as negligent medical practices by Dr. Lefkovitch. Investigators believe there are other victims and are asking for anyone with information, or who believe they have been victimized by Dr. Lefkovitch to contact Detective Jason Robarts at (805) 494-8229. Location: 2330 Lynn Road, suite #200, Thousand Oaks, Ca 91360 |
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By Ventura County Sheriff Department — Friday, January 28th, 2011
 Ventura County Sheriff's Department On 7-30-2010, at about 1605 hrs, a female employee was working alone at the Cactus Mart nursery, 3571 Howe Road. As the female victim sat in a small office, two Hispanic males entered. One of the males demanded money and the other male pointed a handgun at her. After receiving the money, the suspects bound the victim’s wrists and ankles with duct tape. The suspects fled on foot. The victim was able to free herself and call 911. The Sheriff’s Gang Unit took over the investigation and submitted several pieces of evidence to the Sheriff’s Crime Lab. On 10-18-2010, the Crime Lab notified gang investigators that they were able to extract DNA from some of the evidence collected at the scene. Scientists submitted the DNA profile to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) and were notified the DNA profile belonged to 27 year old Juan Acevedo. Acevedo’s DNA had been collected during a prior unrelated arrest and submitted and stored in the CODIS data bank. Gang investigators conducted a records check on Acevedo and found that he was currently in custody at Folsom State Prison on a parole violation stemming from an incident in Santa Paula when he was found in possession of illegal weapons. After identifying Acevedo as a suspect in the Cactus Mart robbery, gang investigators were able to collect additional evidence that linked three other suspects to the robbery. They were identified as 21-year-old Carina Licea, 20-year-old Alexandria Zambrano and 25-year-old Juan Vasquez. Investigators found that Vasquez was on parole for drug offenses and currently had a warrant for violation of his parole terms. Gang investigators were able to track Carina Licea and Juan Vasquez to a residence in Buckeye, Arizona. Investigators obtained a warrant for Licea’s arrest on an unrelated case and on 12-23-10, the Buckeye Police Department SWAT team took Vasquez and Licea into custody. Vasquez was transported back to the California Department of Corrections and Licea was transported to the Ventura County Jail. Through interviews, Gang investigators found that on the day of the Cactus Mart robbery, Licea, Zambrano, Vasquez and Acevedo all met and planned out the robbery. Licea drove Vasquez and Acevedo to the Cactus Mart and dropped them off. Vasquez and Acevedo both entered the office where they robbed and tied up the victim. During the robbery, Vasquez decided not to shoot the victim as initially planned. Both Acevedo and Vasquez fled the office after the robbery and were picked up by Zambrano. All four suspects fled the area and drove to Bakersfield. On 1-5-2011, Licea was arrested for charges that include Armed Robbery and Kidnapping. She was in custody on unrelated charges at the time. On 1-6-2011, Zambrano was arrested at her Bakersfield residence for charges that include Armed Robbery and Kidnapping. On 1-26-2011, The District Attorney’s Office filed an order of production to have both Acevedo and Vasquez transported from state prison to the Ventura County Jail where they will be charged with Armed Robbery and Kidnapping. Licea remains in custody on $60,000 dollar bail. Zambrano was released from custody on 1-12-2011 on $60,000 dollar bail awaiting trial. Location: 3571 Howe Rd, Piru |
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By Ventura County Sheriff Department — Friday, January 28th, 2011
Police seek public's help catching second suspect
Ventura County Sheriff's Department On January 26, 2011, at about 6:30 p.m., there were three armed robberies in Fillmore committed by two suspects within an hour. The investigation led to the arrest of 18 year old Marco Antonio Nunez Anguiano. The second suspect is still being sought. The first robbery occurred at about 6:20 p.m. when the two suspects armed with a handgun approached a male juvenile victim as he walked in the 600 block of Shiells Drive. One suspect pointed the handgun at the victim and demanded his property. When the suspects found the victim did not have anything of value, they released him. Moments later, another male juvenile victim reported the second robbery to 9-1-1 dispatchers. The second victim reported he was walking in the 400 block of Central Avenue when the two male suspects approached him. One suspect produced a handgun and pointed it at him. The suspects then demanded his property. The suspects released the victim unharmed. The third robbery occurred at about 7:15 P.M. Three male juvenile victims reported they were walking in the 400 block of C Street when they were approached by same two suspects. One suspect pointed a handgun at one of the victims and demanded their property. They were released unharmed. About three hours after the first robbery, Sheriff’s Gang Investigators located one of the suspects in a car located in the city of Santa Paula. Suspect, Marco Antonio Anguiano-Nunez of Santa Paula, was stopped and arrested without incident. He was booked at the Sheriff’s Main Jail for armed robbery with bail set at $50,000.00. Police need your help. If you have any information regarding the second suspect call Crime Stoppers at 805-524-0970 Location: City of Fillmore |
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By Ventura County Sheriff Department — Wednesday, January 26th, 2011
Friday January 21, 2011 at 0344 Am: Fillmore - Stolen Car Recovery / Arrests - 800 Block Ventura St. Fillmore Sheriff's Deputy Gonzalez located an unoccupied stolen vehicle parked at the Las Posadas Motel. The vehicle, a 1999 Nissan was reported stolen out of Santa Paula. Gonzalez investigated and found that the tenants staying at the motel were associated with the stolen vehicle. Fillmore residents: 34 year old Michael Alvarado, 34 year old Felix Zuniga , 26 year old Kathy Macias, and 21 year old Cesar Calderon were all arrested for the felony possession of stolen property and a stolen vehicle. We are working with Santa Paula Police Department to locate the owners of the stolen property. |
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By Anonymous — Wednesday, January 26th, 2011
Fernando Cervantes, 48 of Fillmore, was sentenced on Wednesday, January 19, 2011 to 60 years to life following his conviction on four counts of child molestation. A jury found Cervantes guilty of sexually abusing four female |