California Department of Fish and Game

A city and two nonprofit groups’ combined commitments more than double the reward offered for information on a brutal mountain lion killing. The City of Calabasas in eastern Los Angeles County has matched the $5,000 reward being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of poachers who killed a mountain lion in the Santa Monica Mountains last month. Two other groups put up an additional $1,700 for a total reward of $11,700.

“Our community is stunned that someone would intentionally kill one of our rare mountain lions,” said Calabasas City Councilmember Mary Sue Maurer. “We are determined to do everything we can to bring the perpetrator to justice.”

The CalTIP Foundation (Californians Turn In Poachers and Polluters) offered the initial $2,500, followed by the Humane Society of the United States and the Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust, who matched that amount.

The Ventura County based Animal Rescue Team, Inc. pledged $1,500 and San Diego’s Mountain Lion Foundation added the additional $200.

The CalTIP Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charity that supports anti-poaching and anti-pollution enforcement efforts in California. Tax-deductible donations to support the CalTIP Foundation can be sent to CalTIP Inc., PMB #125, 417 Mace Blvd., Suite J, Davis, CA 95618.

The lion was discovered on Sept. 11, 2011 after DFG and the National Park Service received a call of a dead mountain lion in the Santa Monica Mountains. DFG game wardens determined that the lion did not die of natural causes and opened an investigation.

Mountain lions are designated as a “specially protected mammal” in California, and it is illegal to hunt or trap them.

DFG and the National Park Service are seeking information related to the lion death and the parties responsible. Anyone with any information regarding this case should call the CalTIP hotline at 1-888-334-2258.

There were two presentations given at the October 18, 2011 Fillmore Unified School Districts (FUSD) Board Meeting which revealed part of the new objective of the District. FUSD is setting high goals and looking to different avenues in an effort to connect with the students. Exploring updated methods of teaching, shared data and incorporating new technology are part of the new directions being applied to achieve those high goals. Newly formed Task Force Committees that were established at the beginning of the school year are showing results. San Cayetano and Piru Elementary Schools each gave presentation on what has been accomplished so far and what they expect to achieve in the future.

Michael Johnson, Assistant Superintendent of FUSD, explained the objective of the new direction as, “A nine (9) Task Forces the Superintendent has formed to help create district-wide systems (K-12) that would help enhance teaching and learning in FUSD. The task forces are at various stages in accomplishing their objectives; however, our goal is to complete their work on or before the end of this current school year, submit for approval their recommendations to the School Board, orient and in-service the staff on those recommendations, and implement next school year the Task Forces’ board approved recommendations.”

Heading the Task Force are; Report Card Task Force, Jan Marholin, Principal, San Cayetano; Lead Facilitator with the task of developing an essential standards report card with appropriate rubrics.

Pacing Guides Task Force, Chrissy Schieferle, Principal, Mountain Vista who heads the task of developing a trimester English Language Arts pacing guides to include timelines, benchmark assessments, re-teaching/intervention opportunities and a list of resources for classroom teachers.

Essential Standards and Benchmark Task Force, Scott Carroll, Principal, of Sespe School is tasked with completing field testing of the third trimester assessment for English Language Arts and the three trimester benchmark assessments for Mathematics

Classroom Climate Task Force, Epi Torres, Vice Principal, Fillmore High is tasked to recommend five classroom expectations teachers have of our students and five expectations our students can have of our teachers.
Student Study Habits Task Force, Bobbi Roderick, Dean, Fillmore Middle is tasked to recommend two to three significant study habits our students need to have and to be reinforced (K-12) in order to be academically successful.

Teaching Strategies Task Force, Cynthia Frutos (just newly appointed), Principal, Sierra Alternative/Heritage Valley Independent Study is tasked to recommend five teaching strategies all teachers in the district will use in the classroom to help enhance student achievement.

Math Scope and Sequence Task Force, Dr. Ellen Green, Acting Principal, Fillmore Middle; is tasked to develop pacing guides based on essential standards in Pre-Algebra, Algebra and Geometry (6-12).

Writing Scope and Sequence Task Force, John Wilber, Principal, Fillmore High, is tasked to develop a district-wide Writing Program scope and sequence (K-12).

English Language Development Task Force, Jennifer Weir, Coordinator, District Office is tasked with developing pacing guides for our ELD curriculum.

Piru Elementary Principal Diana Vides and teachers John Schaper and Kristina Silbey, also from Piru Elementary, gave a presentation updating the Board on their school’s student performance data. The percentage of students achieving at the proficient or advanced level (meeting or exceeding the state standards) over a three year comparison starting in 2008 till today has had some gains and some losses.

Gains were made in math with an averaged of all grades at 48.2% in 2008 and today averaging 53.5%. But a large loss was seen in Language Arts where in 2008 students averaged 46.2% and today are down to an average of 36.1%. In particular with needed improvement in English Language Arts were 3rd grade with a low of 15% and 6th grade at 14%. The gains in math were across the board with the exception of the 6th grade which averaged only 9% proficient.

In response to these lower levels of achievement Vides said students in grades k-6 will now have access to 4 hours of intervention 4 days a week in English Arts with an additional 2 hours of intervention 4 days a week for grades 4-6. Also, for students that are new to the country and speak another language other than English, a teacher has been hired to provide English Language Development intervention.

To bridge the Piru Elementary student’s families and their education, all home notices with be in both English and Spanish, translators for teacher/parent conferences will be available and parents will receive mid-trimester progress reports if the child is not progressing adequately. In addition parent workshops will be held monthly to educate parents on becoming partners in the education of their children.

Silbey stated, “Research shows success is attained from staffs that work collaboratively to reach a common goal. We feel we are on the right track to achieving success.”

Principal Jan Marholin presented the Board with their student’s achievements. Joining Marholin was kindergarten teacher Kristy Dunst. Marholin informed the Board that the English Language Arts have improved and 18 students at San Cayentano having progressed to being proficient in English at mid year. Marholin stated, “San Cayentano is a school of service with all classes giving back to the community” and that she looks forward to district wide parent involvement meetings.

Marholin expressed a concern with regards to safety at the school. San Cayetano is an open campus with fencing only provided for the special needs students. “We have people who will come over and use the picnic table who are not parents or students,” Marholin stated. FUSD Superintendent Dr. Alan Nishino mentioned that Piru only has a portion of the school fencing also. Nishino informed everyone that some changes are coming and new rules are being written to control who can and cannot be on any of the District school campuses.

Nishino has been in contact with The Discovery Channel and Data Wise in an effort to expand the methods used to connect with students. The use of the Discovery Channel’s programming, particularly in science using electronic digital media would be a great asset in upgrading Fillmore’s student’s educational tools.

Established in 1983, the non-profit Data Wise provides online student assessment and data management solution to help educators connect the data points and improve student learning. Nishino is exploring the possibilities of online education as a next step in advancing instruction. “Not all kids can learn from the left side of the brain like me; some need to touch and feel it.” Nishino stated. Wilber said he likes the idea but is concerned about the cost.

Video

Conaway leading another racer into Nersh Crash Corner.
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Conaway leading another racer out of Crash Corner
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With a tailwind at his back Christian Conaway, of Fillmore, flew in from college late Friday night to compete in the International Gravity Sports Association 2011 U.S Nationals Race held at Frank G. Bonelli Park in San Dimas on Oct 9 and 10th.

Conaway had blazing speed and ran the course with determination to earn the #1 fastest qualifier stops in both Classic Luge and Street Luge. His street luge time was almost 2 seconds faster than the 2nd fastest competitor. In a sport that is often separated by 1/1000 of a second, a 2 second lead is phenomenal. The field was comprised of racers from the USA and Canada; in total 21 racers competed in the Street Luge category.

In his second heat race on Sunday Conaway was leading the 4 man field down the course into Nersh Crash Corner at 52 mph and drifted out exiting the corner and went into the safety barriers and hay bales. That usually signifies the end of future podium photos, but not on this race day. Surprisingly the 2nd and 3rd place racers also drifted out and made contact into the safety barrier. The 4th place racer lost focus and dislodged from his luge. Conaway was the second person out of the hay bales and jumped back onto his luge and used his massive start technique to push his way back to the front of the pack and crossed the finish line in 1st place. Numerous other racers throughout the weekend were not as fortunate and exited the safety barriers in need of medical attention. Conaway advanced to the Final Medal Round.

Racing against Conaway was Mike McIntyre, Kolby Parks and Max Capps. Conaway blasted off the start line to gain a sizable lead and had a huge lead coming into Crash Corner, which is a favorite viewpoint for spectators and action photography. Conaway let it all hang out and hardly braked as he railed his line through the corner without scrubbing off speed. But McIntyre was on the move and made a pass on Parks after the corner, stealing Parks’ second place hopes that day. However McIntyre was unable to make up ground on Conaway who crossed the finish line in first place earning him the North American Street Luge Champion.

In Classic Luge Conaway didn’t fair quite a well. In the first round of racing he came into Nersh Crash Corner will a lot of speed but was unable to keep from contacting the hay bales which took him out of medal contention. He was placed in the Consolation Finals and won that event, placing him in 5th place overall in Classic Luge.
Conaway went from the podium ceremony straight to the airport to catch the red-eye flight back to Provo, Utah. (Story Courtesy Conaway Family)

Joan Archer and John Scoles addressed the Council and thanked city staff for all the effort that went toward trying to get the access gate to the track field installed at Fillmore High School. Archer said she has spoken with others who have not been asked for their track club dues this year and wondered who was in charge of it.

With Council Members Patti Walker and Steve Conaway absent, some of the items on the October 11, 2011 Fillmore City Council Meeting’s agenda had to be held over until the next meeting. But the next scheduled meeting (Oct. 25th) was canceled and the next meeting won’t be until November 8th leaving only one meeting per month for November and December to complete this year’s items.

At meeting the names of the new members of the Planning and Film Commissions were announced, deciding the status of the proposed side access gate to the running track at the high school, approving next year’s City Council Calendar, an announcement that the 2011-2012 budget had been completed and three presentations; one on tobacco sales in Fillmore, one on the Towne Theatre and one by the Ventura County Sheriffs Department.

There was little discussion on the new appointees to the Planning and Film Commissions and the Council went quickly over the names; except to thank all those that submitted an application. The applicant chosen for Film Commission was Carrie Broggie and for the Planning Commission: Christopher Hoy, Robert Smith, Mark Greenwell and Barbara Cobotti.

Captain Steve Wade from the Ventura County Sheriffs Dept. addressed the Council with a proposal to the City to jointly apply for a $125,000 grant available from California Emergency Management Agency. The California Gang Reduction, Intervention and Prevention (CalGRIP) Initiative funds grant programs for anti-gang efforts at the local level and makes available other resources to at-risk youth, crime victims, law enforcement agencies and local communities. The grant period will begin January 1, 2012 and end on December 31, 2013. Only cities that do not have a current Cal EMA CalGRIP grant award may apply. The CalGRIP Program requires a dollar-for-dollar (100 percent) match of all funds requested. Applicants are required to distribute at least 20% of grant funds to one or more Community Based Organizations and must reflect this in their proposals. The deadline to apply is November 7th. Wade told the Council the Sheriffs Dept would manage the grant and the write the reports required to the State. The Council agreed that it would be a good move by both parties.

Members of the Fillmore Family Coalition presented a proposal regarding the regulation of tobacco products in Fillmore. Alejandor Elias from the Dept. of Public Health addressed the Council first, followed by Kathy Cook, Co-Chair Ventura County Tobacco Education and Prevention Coalition and Christina Villasenor, Tobacco Control and Public Health Advocate.

Research and fieldwork has shown that 1 in 5 (21%) stores selling tobacco products in Fillmore are selling to minors, which is much higher than the State average of 5.6%, Villasenor stated. Therefore they are asking the Council to consider a proposal; that all retailers who choose to sell tobacco products in Fillmore obtain a Tobacco Retail License (TRL) and renew it annually.

The annual fee funds enforcement programs that prevent sales to minors. Villasenor went on to say that fines and penalties include suspension and revocation of the license and have proven to be an effective tool when used and sales to minors have decreased, often significantly, in communities that have implemented a strong TRL. There was no decision by the Council at this time.

Also on agenda, approving next year’s City Council Calendar. Mayor Gayle Washburn suggested that there be less meetings in the coming year. The Council Members participate on a multiple of Commissions, both formal and ad-hoc committees and serve as city representatives and liaisons to various organizations and outside agencies.
City Manager Yvonne Quiring informed the Council that a council member (no name was given) had come to her and suggested that if the agenda of a meeting had only a few items on it, that those items be held over to the next meeting so that that member would only have to attend one meeting instead of two. The revised meeting calendar has a total of 22 meetings and a “dark” period from mid-July to late August.

John Scoles and Joan Archer addressed the Council and thanked the staff for all the effort that went toward trying to get the access gate to the running field at Fillmore High School. The proposal was presented in 2009 to the Parks and Recreation and supported by a group of people from the Runners and Walkers Club. The Club had hoped to have the City “front” the $7,071 needed to install the gate, with the goal of repaying the City over a period of time using yearly dues of $25 per member. But the Club would need 100 members and at least 3 years to reimburse the City. Today’s City’s budget is in such dire straights that it could not supply any funding at this time. What the Council did suggest to Scoles and Archer was that if the Club could come up with 75% of the required monies, the Council would consider approving the remainder on the condition that the Club reimbursed those funds over time. Archer asked if the City’s website could advertise for members and informed the Council that she and others she’s spoken with have not been asked for their dues this year and wondered who was in charge of doing it. She added that the pool is costly but the track has very little overhead and informed the Council that when she called City Hall during the summer for information she received only excuses and very little cooperation and stated, “I will do all the promotion…we miss using it all this summer due to the delays” and “We will collect the dues and will be happy to work with anyone.”

Mayor Washburn, who chairs the Towne Theatre Subcommittee along with Councilmember Brian Sipes, gave the 20 in attendance a handout on the status of the Theatre. The Theatre owes over $400,000 to the General Fund and has seen a decline in revenues since 2005. Suggestions were a third party contract manager, non-profit take over the Theatre or sell the Theatre outright. The item needed to be brought back to the Council when all members are present.

The Sales Tax Ballot Measure Informational Presentation, held Wednesday, October 5, addressed the City Tax Initiative, which will be voted on November 8, 2011. City Manager Yvonne Quiring gave a presentation on where the City stands financially and what impact the tax increase will have if passed and what to expect if it doesn’t. About 15 people attended the meeting, many with questions for the Council.

The presentation began with explaining the sources of revenue used to supply the General Fund. Quiring gave a breakdown: Property Taxes ($1.9m), Sales Tax ($670k), Fees for Services $468k (approx. $200k development related), Franchise Fees ($331k) License and Permits ($147k), Grants ($99k), TOT ($65k), Fines and Forfeitures ($62,500).

Next was what services are provided by the General Fund: Police ($3.1m), Fire ($785k), Parks ($100-$150k), Recreation and Pool subsidy ($71 pool $29 rec.), Finance/City Attorney/City Manager/City Council, Community Development (Planning), Public Works (streets, trees, sidewalks).

Quiring explained that over the past couple of years the cost of housing has gone down and with that so have property taxes, cutting into some of the revenue the City once received. Adding to the problem are increases in the cost of both pension and Sheriffs services. Quiring remarked “We went into the year with literally nothing.” The city has cut $2.9 million in costs and used its reserves over the last two years to balance the budget which decreased the General Fund 40%.

On June 1, 2011 Fillmore cut CONTINUED »

Bobby Castenada and Diane Volker

With the Local Fillmore Economy looming, many resources have been DRAMATICALLY depleted. A Recreational Resource that comes to mind is our own Fillmore Senior Center. Many Seniors have already adjusted to living on a fixed income. They look forward to enjoying their "Golden Years" in having fun, being active with friends. On October 7th, 2011 the local Carnales Motorcycle Club- East County Chapter, donated a $600 Check to the Fillmore Senior Center. By holding an Annual Fundraiser they were able to raise this money in hopes of helping out the Senior Center. Support Your Local Carnales Motorcycle Club! Pictured above Bobby Castenada and Diane Volker.