Please join many of your local non-profit organizations, local first responders, students and members of the community in kicking off the annual giving of Holiday Spirit for those in need. Between now and December 14, donations of new unwrapped toys, canned food, reading books and new coats for children will be accepted. Donation drop offs include the City of Fillmore Fire Station, City of Fillmore Police Station, Fillmore City Hall and Bank of The Sierra. If you would like to make a monetary donation to the overall effort, checks may be made payable to the "Fillmore Volunteer Fire Foundation" a 501(c)(3) organization. Other local non-profit organizations supporting the Community Giveaway are; Fillmore Rotary, Fillmore Lions Club, Fillmore Search and Rescue, Ventura County Sheriff's Deputy Association, Soroptimist International of Fillmore, One Step A La Vez, the Latshaw Foundation, the Santa Clara Valley Legal Aid, Fillmore FFA and Sespe 4-H. If you would like to have any items picked up or have any questions please call (805) 524-1500 ext 226. Thank you.

The project looks to be about 90 percent completed. Work on the Station, originally scheduled for completion in December of last year, was halted due to union issues according to Fillmore Planning Director, Kevin McSweeney. Efforts to contact the project manager have been unsuccessful, but work on utilities and painting are ongoing.

The Station appears to be a 5-star project with brick driving areas and decorative rock walls. With a price tag of approximately $9-million, it should be. The large station is expected to be an important fire-fighting asset, especially for eastern Ventura County.

Perhaps it might have proven helpful in fighting this year’s devastating fires had it been finished on time.

At last week’s council meeting they unanimously approved a new development of 133 homes.

Comstock’s parent company, Hearthstone, will be building the “affordable” detached condominium units east of Pole Creek and south of the El Dorado Mobile Home Park. The Units will be named Oak Haven and be part of the Bridges subdivision.

The units will be freestanding homes; however the buyer will not own the land underneath it. Hearthstone also plans single-family homes in the next phase of Oak Haven. They will include five floor plans and differing architectural styles and range in size from 1,610 to 2,486 square feet. It will be a gated community with a community center, pool and playground, and private roads.

Prices for the gated community have not been disclosed yet, but homes in Oak Haven’s 1stphase were priced $300,000 to $400,000. The builder said he “expects 80% of the Oak Haven buyers to be first-time homebuyers and the majority of those will probably use loans insured by the FHA, which allows for smaller down payments” according to the VC Star.

Thanksgiving is almost here and that means the Fillmore Lions Club Christmas Parade is happening as well.

This year’s Christmas Parade will be held on Saturday, December 1st. The parade will begin at 10:00 am. And as always, Santa will trade in his sleigh for the morning and make his special trip down Central Avenue aboard a Fillmore Fire Department fire truck. At the end of his ride, Santa will make his way to the depot so you can take photos with the kids Don’t forget your camera!

The Christmas Parade is open to individuals, businesses, civic organizations, school bands, church groups, car clubs and equestrians. Just about any group or person who wants to celebrate the season with a “themed entry” is welcome and there is no cost to enter the parade. To be a part of the Christmas Parade, send an email to FillmoreChristmasParade@gmail.com and an application will be sent to you. For questions or additional information, please contact Lion Scott Lee at 524-1896.

The parade route will be posted “No Parking” from 8:00 am to approximately 12:00 pm on the day of the parade on Central Avenue from Third Street to Santa Clara. Your cooperation is needed in order to keep vehicles off of the parade route during that time for the safety of parade participants and spectators.

Although the Fillmore Christmas Parade has a long standing tradition in Fillmore, it was in danger of being cancelled in 2001 when the parade lost its’ sponsor. The late Hank Carrillo suggested the Fillmore Lions Club assume the responsibility for the Christmas Parade as a service to the community and the Lions Club continues to sponsor the Parade in Hank Carrillo’s honor. Fillmore Lions wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving and look forward to seeing you on December 1st!

Bob Crum

Anyone keeping count? I am! This is column number 100! I'm proud of this milestone! More importantly, being Thanksgiving, I thank you because without the support of all 2,386,395 readers like you, it couldn't happen! I also thank the Fillmore Gazette for the opportunity to dazzle you with writings of Pulitzer Prize caliber.

Ready for Black Friday? Now that y'all know the benefits of a 'real' camera, you know that you want one! Or you know someone on your Christmas shopping list who would love to receive a real camera.

Cameras and multiple lenses are not essential for successful photography. Present-day point-and-shoot cameras with attached lenses are excellent, and generally cost less. For example, a new P&S just announced is the Sony HX99. For starters, the HX99 is the perfect travel camera. It packs a 28x zoom (24-720mm), 18MP 1/2.3" sensor, 180-degree tilting 3.0" touch screen and 4K/30p video with full pixel readout plus 10 fps shooting with a 155 image buffer and much more. All that fabulous technology for merely $448.00. Incredible! I'd be thrilled to receive an HX99. (hint hint)

For your convenience, I'm presenting some camera buying guides. Though not a comprehensive list, any Black Friday or Cyber Monday deal on the following cameras will surely scratch anyone's photographic itch. I'm not endorsing one over another and the numbers 1-10 are merely separators and do not infer that #1 is better than #5.

Consider for kids: 1. Fujifilm Instax Square SQ10, 2. Nikon Coolpix W300, 3. Olympus Tough TG-5, 4. Fujifilm FinePix XP120, 5. Ricoh WG-50, 6. Canon EOS 200D / Rebel SL2 , 7. Nikon D5600.

Cameras for beginners: 1. Canon EOS Rebel SL2 / EOS 200D + EF-S 18-55mm f/4-5.6 IS STM, 2. Nikon D3500 + AF-P DX 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR, 3. Canon EOS Rebel T7 + EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II, 4. Canon EOS Rebel T100 / EOS 4000D + EF-S 18-55mm, 5. Nikon D5600 + AF-P 18-55mm DX VR, 6. Pentax K-70 + HD DA 18-50mm f/4-5.6 DC WR RE7, Panasonic Lumix GX80 + Lumix G VARIO 12-32mm MEGA O.I.S., 8. Fujifilm X-A10 + XC16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS II, 9. Sony A5100 + E PZ 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS, 10. Olympus E-M10 III + M.ZUIKO 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 EZ.

Compact cameras: 1. Panasonic TZ200 / SZ200 2. Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark II 3. Fujifilm X100F, 4. Panasonic LX100 II, 5. Leica Q (Typ 116), 6. Panasonic LX15 / LX10, 7. Ricoh GR II, 8. Sony RX100 VI, 9. Panasonic Lumix FZ2500 /
FZ2000. 10. Sony RX10 IV.

Mirrorless cameras: 1. Fujifilm X-T3, 2. Nikon Z7, 3. Canon EOS R, 4. Sony Alpha A7 III, 5. Panasonic Lumix G9, 6. Sony A6500, 7. Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III, 8. Fujifilm X-T20 camera, 9. Fujifilm X-H1 camera, 10. Sony A9 camera, 11. Sony A7 II camera, 12. Panasonic GH5 camera.

dSLR cameras for photography enthusiasts: 1. Nikon D850, 2. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, 3. Nikon D750, 4. Canon EOS 6D Mark II, 6. Nikon D7500, 7. Canon EOS 5DS/5DS R, 8. Canon EOS 7D Mark II, 9. Nikon D500, 10. Sony Alpha A99 Mark II.

Local retailers are Samy's Camera and Hooper Camera. If you are averse to paying sales tax, shop Adorama at https://www.adorama.com or B&H https://www.bhphotovideo.com. Shop only “authorized” retailers. Now you no longer have an excuse to remain cameraless. Just pick one and buy!

Blessings to you and yours this Thanksgiving as you gather with loved ones to celebrate the holiday. Preserve the precious memories with lots of photos to enjoy henceforth!

Send questions, comments or suggestions to: focusonphotography@earthlink.net

A reported weapon on campus put Fillmore High School on lockdown, Tuesday, November 13th, from noon until 2:45pm. About 50 Sheriffs Deputies searched the students, backpacks, lockers and rooms. No weapon was found. Above, concerned parents gathered across from the school.
Enlarge Photo

Enlarge Photo

Students were told to shelter in place, many hiding in barricaded storage rooms as shown right.
Enlarge Photo

The Fillmore Police Department and Ventura County Sheriff’s Office investigated an anonymous tip of a gun on the campus of Fillmore High School. After an extensive search of the campus, no handgun was located and the campus was deemed safe.

On 11-13-18, at 10:50 A.M., the Fillmore Police and Sheriff’s Office was contacted by Fillmore Unified School District administration regarding an anonymous tip received by the school. The tip came through an anonymous reporting system set up by the Fillmore Unified School District. The tip provided very minimal information, saying that there was a gun on campus and someone wanted to hurt a student.

Out of an abundance of caution, and for the protection of the students, district and school administrators decided to place the school into lockdown. More than 50 Sheriff’s deputies worked to verify the information in the tip and ultimately conducted a search of every classroom, student, locker and room at the school. After the three hour extensive search, no firearm was located and the campus was deemed safe.

At the conclusion of the incident, students were released pursuant to school district protocol.

Prepared by: Sergeant Vince Alvarez
Approved by: Captain Eric Tennessen

Courtesy Dan Michel

To many, sitting around a camp fire could be considered living a life of paradise. But to former Fillmore resident, Virginia Michel (FHS class of 45) and her family members, escaping the Camp Fire that was consuming the town of Paradise was anything but idyllic.

She along with her daughters, Candy Woods (class of 65), Holly Peters (class of 77), granddaughter Kacey Woods (class of 72), niece Cindy Sweeney Medley (Class of 68) granddaughter Cally Tidey as well as two nieces and two step-grandsons and their families did just that on Thursday, November 8 as the deadly flames began consuming the town.

Wind-driven smoke and embers turned day into night and clogged escape routes tragically took their toll on many trying to escape the inferno. The death toll stands at 29 souls and 7000 structures lost. Fortunately all of Virginia's family made it safely to a granddaughter's home in Chico but then could only sit and wait for the word on the fate of their dwellings. Several days later the word came that five of the seven family homes were part of the 7000. Holly's home where Virginia lives still stands but is possibly damaged due to the loss of the detached garage. The house belonging to step-grandson Jay Peters was the other survivor. Home owners were told they wouldn't be able to return to their properties for one to three months because of potential toxins.

Dan Michel, Virginia's son and Fillmore resident, said the families seem to be coping as best they can. He added, "I think they're focusing so much on the beginning recovery steps such as dealing with insurance companies and utilities that the gravity of their loss is pushed aside until the wee quiet moments. They were so supportive when my step-son Brian Zell’s apartment building, Hawaiian Village, burned to the ground during the Thomas Fire; we have to be there for them."

Since Virginia and her late husband Lloyd moved to Paradise in the 1980"s according to Dan, the town has dodged some bullets in regards to fires. Judging by the pictures of the smoking remnants in the media, this time it was a bomb you couldn't evade.