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By Anonymous — Wednesday, July 27th, 2011
On July 11, 2011 MacKenzie & Albritton LLP, attorney for Verizon Wireless, sent an eight page letter to Fillmore Mayor Gayle Washburn, Councilmembers Brooks, Walker, Conaway and Sipes, and City Attorney Ted Schneider, with attachments. The letter addressed the Planning Commission’s unanimous approval of a Verizon cellular tower and the Fillmore City Council’s appeal of that approval. Following are excerpts from the letter. The city narrowly avoided a lawsuit by Verizon Wireless by withdrawing their ‘appeal’ at the July 12th council meeting after closed session held with Schneider, where the letter was considered. Highlights of the letter are: Unreasonable Discrimination in violation of the Telecommunications Act; Due Process, Brown Act and Government Code Violations; Failure to provide Verizon Wireless with a record of the proceedings; Failure to state objections in the Appeal documents; Failure to place consideration of an appeal vote on the agenda; Lack of authority to file the Appeal; and Expression of Bias and Usurpation of Planning Commission’s Authority. Three commissioners resigned over the council’s questionable actions. THE LETTER The Council’s appeal is CONTINUED » |
 Volunteers fro Kavlico Corp in Moorpark and its parent company Custom Sensors Technology dig trenches and dip paint brushes last Saturday in Piru for Habitat for Humanity. Enlarge Photo By Anonymous — Wednesday, July 27th, 2011
Teamwork was the word of the day last Saturday when Kavlico Corp. of Moorpark and its parent company Custom Sensors Technology worked on two Habitat for Humanity homes in Piru. The four bedroom two bath homes, which are owned by the Orozco and Vergara families, are nearly complete, as the teams worked on painting the interior and exterior, and trenches were dug for a retaining wall, and sewer and water lines. Blistering heat accompanied the day but the dedicated workers pitched in with paint brushes, shovel and hammer to accomplish their goals. John Kistler, construction manager for Habitat for Humanity in Ventura County, was on-site to direct the volunteers and homeowner Maria Orozco. Kistler said a lot of organizing goes into directing the different volunteers who show up each week. But at the end of the day, the volunteers are glad they put in the work, said Kistler. Kavlico employee Juanita Pena said working for Habitat is a great feeling, giving back to the community. She recommended it to anyone. Adam Tabakian, director of sales and marketing at Kavlico said that working together on a project like Habitat is an excellent way for employees to get together. For more information go to www.habitatventura.org. |
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By Anonymous — Wednesday, July 27th, 2011
Charges include assault with a deadly weapon with a hate crime special allegation, assault, and violation of civil rights
 Nicholas Klopp District Attorney Gregory D. Totten announced today that Nicholas Klopp 27, of Piru, was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon with a hate crime special allegation, assault, and violation of civil rights, by a Ventura On the evening of December 18, 2010, Brian Schumacher and Aaron Argueta were assaulted outside the Osabi restaurant in Ventura after attending a birthday party for a friend. Mr. Schumacher was hit in the face with a glass thrown by Klopp and Mr. Argueta was punched in the face by Klopp. Before and during the assault, Klopp yelled derogatory statements regarding the race and sexual orientation of the victims and members of their group. Klopp was immediately taken into custody following the verdict. Sentencing is set for August 18, 2011, at 8:30 a.m., in courtroom 23 of the Ventura County Superior Court. |
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By Dick Diaz — Wednesday, July 27th, 2011
On Friday, July 22nd I had an exciting opportunity to attend the closing ceremonies of the Bardsdale United Methodist Church's Vacation Bible School. This year's theme was the “Shake it Up Cafe Where Kids Carry Out God's Recipe!” This year the Bardsdale United Methodist Church's Vacation Bible School started on Monday, July 18th and ended on Friday, July 22nd. There were a total of 83 registered children ages 2 years to 14 years who attended each day from 9:00 am. to 12:00 noon at the Church. The cost to each participant was $10 which also included daily healthy snacks. The Director of this years program, and for the previous four year's, Sharon Hurd, told me there were 14 staff, 31 volunteers and 10 youth leaders participating and assisting in this year's Vacation Bible School. Of the 83 children ten were Pre-Schoolers. The Bardsdale United Methodist Church's Pastor Kent Fromer told me, “We couldn't have done this program and the programs year after year without the hard work of the Vacation Bible School Director Sharon Hurd and all the hard work of the many volunteers, youth leaders and staff! Sharon begins preparing for the Vacation Bible School months in advance and works many hours selecting the theme and lining up the volunteers and staff in order to have a meaningful Vacation Bible School!” One of the staff members explained to me the choice and meaning of this year's theme: “The theme for this year's Vacation Bible School, Shake it Up Cafe was chosen because Jesus calls us to “shake up” our lives and become his followers. The Bible gives us the recipe and the Vacation Bible School introduces the children to stories of biblical festivals that reveal these ingredients and link the Old Testament, the New Testament, and our lives today. Each day a different lesson was selected and a recipe utilized as a teaching tool; Israelites Celebrate Passover, Festival Celebrations for the Israelites, Jesus Celebrates the Festival Booths, Jesus Celebrates Passover and Celebrating the Festival of Weeks and Pentecost.” In addition to learning the daily lessons each participant was taught the lesson of giving to others less fortunate and were encouraged to bring a daily donation to be shared equally between two selected causes. The first cause to help feed needy families and individuals through the Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Fillmore. The Church serves daily meals to 110 people at their Church. The other is the Canine Adoption and Rescue League (C.A.R.L.) in Ventura County. C.A.R.L. advocates for animal welfare, seeking to end the needless deaths of companion animals through adoption, education and outreach programs. At the end of the week $225 had been collected and divide equally among the two selected programs. |
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By Anonymous — Wednesday, July 20th, 2011
Fillmore man has prior murder conviction
Alfred Johnson, 67 of Fillmore, has been ordered to stand trial for dealing drugs at the Fillmore Senior Apartments, 400 block Santa Clara Street, following a preliminary hearing which also discovered he is a convicted murderer. It was revealed that Johnson has a prior strike for the 1960’s murder in Los Angeles County and served prison time. On January 20, 2011, the Sheriff’s West County Street Narcotics Team concluded a month long narcotic sales investigation on Johnson. Investigators received information that Johnson was selling Oxycodone from his apartment unit, which is part of a senior citizen living community complex. Investigators obtained enough evidence to get a search warrant for Johnson’s apartment unit. The search revealed approximately 1,000 medication pills the vast majority of them being Oxycodone and other opiate derivative medications. In addition, packaging material for sales, pay ledgers and surveillance cameras were found in the apartment unit. Johnson was taken into custody without incident for possessing opiate medication for the purpose of sales. Johnson’s bail was set at $55,000.00 and his arraignment was held January 24, 2011. He is now free on bail. |
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By Anonymous — Wednesday, July 20th, 2011
 Sierra Huerta Sierra Huerta, Fillmore, was crowned the national 11/12 year old champion girl in the Aquafina MLB Pitch Hit & Run Competition at Chase Field in Arizona during the MLB All-Star festivities last week. Aquafina Major League Baseball Pitch Hit & Run is a grassroots program that was initiated in 1996 to provide youth across North America with an integrated competition that recognizes individual excellence in core baseball and softball skills. Free to boys and girls between the ages of 7-14, this year's Aquafina Major League Baseball Pitch Hit & Run program had more than 600,000 participants in over 4,000 local competitions. The program features local, sectional and team championships, culminating at the National Finals. The top three male and female competitors from each of the four divisions (7-8 year olds; 9-10 year olds; 11-12 year olds; and 13-14 year olds) advance to the National Finals. Huerta, representing the L.A. Dodgers, competed against two other girls, The Atlanta Braves rep from Jonesborough, TN and the Cincinnati Reds rep from Flemingsburg, KY. The girls represented the top three in the nation. Huerta defeated them both and was declared the National Champion. In addition to her individual efforts, Sierra and her twin sister Bailey as well as local teammate Taylor Brown are members of the So Cal Choppers team based in Valencia. They are on their way to ASA Nationals to be held the first week of August in Montgomery, Alabama. |
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By Anonymous — Wednesday, July 20th, 2011
 On Monday, July 18, at approximately 2:30 p.m., Gladys Garcia, 32, was driving a gold Pontiac Grand Am northbound on Goodenough Road, south of Arrasmith Lane at approximately 35 mph. Garcia allegedly nodded off and drove northeast off the road and collided with a tree and a light pole. Enlarge Photo  There was major damage to the vehicle, tree and light pole. No injuries were reported at time of incident. Enlarge Photo |
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By Ventura County Sheriff Department — Wednesday, July 20th, 2011
In June of 2011, Sheriff’s Narcotics investigators located a large marijuana growing operation in the Los Padres National Forest, north of the city of Ojai. Several large plots were found on the north slope of Pine Mountain, east of Highway 33 and south of Lockwood Valley Road. On July 13, 2011, members of the Sheriff’s Narcotic Unit, Sheriff’s Air Unit, Sheriff’s Gang Unit, Sheriff’s Intelligence Unit, Ventura County District Attorneys Office, Ventura County Fire Department, Oxnard Police Department and the United States Forest Service (USFS) participated in the eradication operation. After being airlifted to various sites on the mountain, investigators discovered several campsites used by the growers. These consisted of several hundred pounds of equipment including tents, propane stoves, sleeping bags, fertilizers, pesticides, along with and an enormous amount of trash. Detectives located a 9mm handgun, a .22 calibre rifle and ammunition for a variety of other handguns and rifles. There was evidence of poaching as the remains of deer and other small animals were located near the camps. Several water reservoirs, lined with plastic tarps, were found dug into the terrain. These reservoirs were supplied by water diverted from their natural course. Gravity fed irrigation lines led to the cultivation locations. Several thousand feet of irrigation hose was spread throughout the hillside to provide water to the plants. Huge sections of land had been terraced and the underbrush removed, leaving only a thin canopy to hide the growing marijuana. Bags of fertilizer, pesticides and poisons were found within each of the cultivation areas. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office would like to warn those using the Ventura County backcountry to be on the lookout for marijuana growers. The high rain fall this year has produced optimum growing conditions in the mountains. If suspicious activity is found, please notify law enforcement as soon as possible. Location: Los Padres National Forest north of Ojai |
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By Anonymous — Wednesday, July 20th, 2011
Over the 4th of July weekend, just down the street from the two new Habitat homes under construction in Piru, Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County served an additional family through A Brush with Kindness (ABWK), a component of the new Preserve a Home program. The exterior of this home received some TLC thanks to volunteers from the Christian Church and Intuit of Thousand Oaks. To start things off, Marty Milligan and volunteers from the Christian Church braved 100°+ weather as they removed weeds, dug a trench for a French drain, installed it, placed jute along the back slope of the backyard and spread fresh mulch throughout most of the surface area. To finish the day, the home was power-washed and prepped for paint. The next day, the hot weather returned as did the volunteers from the Christian Church. While the final part of the landscape work was being finished, the exterior of the home was painted thanks to Mr. Lance Kistler along with additional assistance from the volunteers. At lunch time, Demetrio Silva and Noe Saravia, Habitat for Humanity Homeowners, provided a “carne asada” lunch for the ABWK volunteers as well as for the volunteers working on the new homes. Bringing things to a close, Mr. Don Majors, a regular Wednesday Crew volunteer, restored a fallen side gate and installed an irrigation drip line in the backyard. Volunteers from Intuit of Thousand Oaks brought the home preservation project to full completion by placing the finishing touches and performing final clean up. A great deal of work was completed by the Christian Church and Intuit, and at the end of the day, volunteers were left with a great sense of accomplishment and satisfaction for the service performed for the homeowner. “A Brush with Kindness is part of our larger neighborhood revitalization initiative and Preserve a Home program. This initiative gives us a great opportunity to help more families as well as have an impact on the entire neighborhood,” said Stacy Swanson, Executive Director. “Helping people repair and maintain their homes fits in seamlessly with our core mission of making decent, affordable housing available to families in need.” Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County A Brush with Kindness is a Habitat for Humanity program that preserves our communities and enables low-income homeowners to maintain safe, livable shelter by focusing on simple, yet necessary exterior housing improvements. Volunteer teams work to improve the condition of homes by painting, landscaping, and completing minor exterior repairs at minimal costs, in partnership with homeowners who struggle to maintain the exterior of their homes. Those who are physically able are asked to work alongside the volunteers throughout the completion of the preservation work. The work is done by volunteers who use donated materials whenever possible. The homeowner must meet the qualifications that apply to all families participating in the Habitat for Humanity homeowner program: demonstrated need, willingness to partner, and ability to repay a no-interest loan. The program is for homeowners earning between 20% and 50% of Ventura County’s median household income. Homeowners are identified based on the greatest possible impact to the appearance of a neighborhood. Do you have a home or know of one that needs some work? Applications for A Brush With Kindness are available on our website located at www.habitatventura.org. Would you like to volunteer on A Brush with Kindness home? We welcome all volunteers as young as 14 years of age on our sites. Each individual can have a large impact. You can sign up and become a volunteer through our website at www.habitatventura.org. |
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By Jean McLeod — Wednesday, July 13th, 2011
Two Planning Commission members resign
There were about 20 people in attendance at the July 12, 2011 Fillmore City Council and very few items on the agenda. One item that was presented was the proposed Verizon tower to be erected on A Street and the Council’s performance on the issue in regards to a possible violation of the Brown Act. The meeting itself was short with a large part being closed session. But what was presented during the open session was sad news for the residents of Fillmore. Two of Fillmore’s Planning Commission members, Douglas Tucker and Vance Johnson, presented letters of resignation to the Council. Johnson read a letter from Tucker who was not present to the Council first and then his own letter of resignation. Vance Johnson’s letter reads:
“I am tendering my resignation as a Planning Commissioner effective this date and hour. I never foresaw the time where this City Council would become so divisive in its actions, and lack of clear direction even from sentence to sentence when several of them speak. This has become a matter of personal and professional embarrassment to myself and others and its time to make my exit.
In this letter, when I speak of “the Council” I recognize there are two members of this body that actually very much understand the concept of good governing, and of good team work and my comments are not so much directed to or at them, but because the Council is a body that makes decisions with a majority of at least three, unfortunately the three that I’d rather to direct my comments to, must include Mr. Conaway and Ms. Walker to the context of ‘the Council.’ I believe the biggest reason that I feel it’s time for me to go is because of just that concept…’teamwork’…as nebulous as that appears to be for our Council. The Council majority recently elected, rode into office on a platform of chaos and they made good on that concept. This Council has succeeded in ripping apart one of the very finest teams I’ve ever known or worked with and they did it out of shear ignorance. When you join a team, no matter at the bottom or the top, you kick back and observe for a while before you start offering your ‘expert opinion,’ and you use the resources available to you….in the case of our City Council, that would be not only your own Council peers, but your own staff which has decades, maybe centuries, of ‘institutional knowledge.’ But no, you started chasing them off before you even drove up. Then you hire a City Manager whose apparent goal…successful as it turns out…was to further decimate the staff. Then, in opposition to your own campaign platform, have brought in people from out of the area to replace our local talent!!! No vision, no teamwork at play here. Because you probably don’t know this I have served on this commission two times, for five years from 1985 to 1990, and this time for six years from 2005 to date. In addition, I served on staff for nine years, being the only person in this city to have presented and heard from BOTH sides of the dais. I believe I’m an excellent position to tell you that this Commission has been the very best assembling of minds and talent that I’ve ever seen. And that includes our newest member Tim Holmgren. However, I began to see the writing on the wall when in one breath, our Planning Commission selection committee, earlier this year, told you, Mayor Washburn, that they were recommending a new candidate for commissioner ‘it was time for a change’…no other reason given. It was the opinion of that committee that the Council simply needed a change for the sake of change for OUR commission, however, in the next breath, a recommendation that all incumbents for the other commissions remain in place ‘they were doing a good job.’ What a hypocritical decision those were, but YOU made them Mayor! The next shot across the Commission’s bow came at during the process to decide the condoization of the El Dorado Mobile Home Park. It was made QUITE clear to the Commission and presumably the Council as well, that the state law requires that park owners be allowed to convert their parks to condominiums, and in an EXTREMELY painful decision, the Commission courageously, made the decision to allow that to go forth. I can tell you that I have paid a personal price for that decision, but it was the CORRECT and ONLY decision to be made. Yet when the decision came up to the Council, Councilmember Brooks and Sipes capriciously decided the state law was bunk, and THEY were going to vote against it, for no particular reason other than it was a feel-good vote, and also, perhaps, the El Dorado voting bloc is the biggest and most influential in the City. And in doing so, those two council members flirted with attracting an even bigger lawsuit from the owners of the mobile home park that we could certainly never prevail in, at a time when our budget is in the most disarray than it’s ever been in. How irresponsible is that? I realize the Planning Commission is NOT a rubber stamp for the Council, and that there will be times that our decisions will not be upheld by the Council, but when those times occur, in the past, there has been good and logical reasons why they have not upheld our views. They explained themselves, and although members of the Commission may not have been happy about it, we remained a team. The Planning Commission and the Council remained on the same path and remained supportive of each other. But that is obviously no longer so. This latest caper with the cell tower is a clear example that our City Council is unable to make logical and well-thought decisions regarding Planning Commission business. Discussion of appealing a Commission decision, or taking it off our calendar, at a council meeting is not only improper or unprofessional, but flirts with violating the Ralph M. Brown Act. Mayor, that was offensive, and a slap in the face. What grounds does the Council have to appealing our decision, especially before the decision was made? The project meets ALL local zoning, and any concerns regarding electromagnetic fields, is by FEDERAL law, outside our local bailiwick, and this is probably the forth or fifth cell tower the Commission has seen where there was no public interest in the slightest! And further on when the Council made decisions regarding this appeal and decided to wave the appeal fee, without it being on the Council agenda, you’ve again violated the Brown Act, in my opinion, not to mention engendering a probable lawsuit from Verizon Wireless. And this during a time when we’ve cut services, laid off employees attracting a lawsuit that will cost us a lot of money to defend, and we will certainly lose it, because we have denied the applicant their legal due, again, according to federal law. Jamey Brooks wearing the sword low and tied down, I suppose thought that would be okay and did not think that spending that kind of money outrageously would be a problem. It’s time for this ol’ boy to cut this foolishness lose. Mayor your job is to direct traffic, and you’re doin’ a poor job of it. I cannot be part of this team anymore, and I can’t support the team, if I don’t believe in the team, and if I believe it’s my job to oppose the team, it’s time to get off the team. Councilmember Jamey Brooks responded to Johnson’s written resignation by saying that he did not feel the comments made by Johnson during the Planning Commission meeting were appropriate. The comments Brooks was referring to included a comment by Johnson that found the City Council members decisions “ludicrous and I’m being gentle.” Brooks also thanked the Commissioners for their service but added a thanks for their resignation also, calling it a political ploy. Councilmember Patti Walker addressed the Council with two items. The first was an opinion piece written by Martin Farrell in the Gazette that stated Walker was selling her home and moving out of state, which Walker said was partially true; she is selling her home, but is not moving out of state. She stated Farrell should have called and asked her personally if she were moving out of state. Second she asked for the Councils’ help and understanding because she had just recently been informed that a family member is in a medical situation and she is not sure how much of her time she will have in the future to devote to her council position. Citizen Bob Stroh took opportunity during public comments to call Farrell a liar. The Council then informed everyone that they had dropped the appeal of the Verizon cell tower and were no longer questioning the Planning Commission’s decision to go forward with it. Theodore Schneider, Fillmore’s City Attorney, addressed everyone with his comments on whether the Brown Act had been violated along with discussion of a letter sent from Verizon. He went on to say that with regards to the Brown Act, the Council only directed staff to put the item on the agenda and that no decisions had been made. With regards to the letter from Verizon, he stated that what was in the letter that Verizon cited as precedence did not pertain to Fillmore; and that the City received the recordings from Verizon on July 5, 2011 in which the City has 10 days to respond, to which he turned to the Verizon representatives and legal council and said, “We’ve responded, right?” And the Verizon representatives replied “yes”. Schneider stated there was no reasonable delay is addressing Verizon. As to the Planning Commission decision, City Council has withdrawn its appeal. Local business owner Alex Mollkoy addressed the Council with his concerns about their decisions and actions stating, “I am deeply saddened and disturbed by the lack of professional knowledge and understanding you have of your duties and responsibilities as a city council. It appears at times you must feel that you can supersede protocol and/or written ordinances for whatever reason you deem fit. I feel this is a flagrant violation of our trust given to you as elected officials; whose duty it is to follow the laws, as you try to represent the best interest of all the citizens of Fillmore. Can you please tell me the City of Fillmore has not in violation of the Brown Act on June 28th, 2011 when you began a twenty minute discussion on how to appeal a Planning Commission’s ruling and decided to appeal this ruling when the item was not on the agenda?.......You have often commented that the council meetings are excessive in length. I feel that this is of your own making, as many times comments are unnecessarily repeated by each of you. It is apparent to many that you are unprepared and ill-versed on the issues before you and it also seems that you are frequently lost with what comes next on the agenda. I feel that if you did your homework the meetings would be shorter in length, thus saving valuable time and money for Fillmore. I believe that the public deserves better representation by and from the City Council.” There was also a vote on the issue of presenting on the November ballot a measure to increase the sales tax in Fillmore at a cost of $20,000. The vote was 4 yes, 1 no with Councilmember Brooks the lone No vote. Walker reminded everyone that the Ventura County Fair will be August 3-14 and free shuttle service is provided daily during the Fair between 10:30am and 11:00pm from the six off-site parking locations. Admission is $12 for adults 13 & older, children 6-12 $9.00, seniors 62 & older $9.00 and children 5 & under and Super Seniors (100 years & older) admitted Free. |
