To the Editor:
The Fillmore Chloride Control Volunteers are working hard to help spread
the word that Fillmore has a chloride pollution problem. Our city
has approximately 10 to 12% of households (420 to 500 households) who
will cause everyone else in Fillmore an increase in their water bills of $21.00
to $35.00 a month.
That's right, 90% of Fillmore households will suffer because of the 10 to 12%
of households who are still using the brine (salt) discharging water softeners.
Each of the salt discharging water softeners dump a full 1 pound of salt, each
day, into Fillmore's wastewater, and thus into the Santa Clara River.
The Chloride Control Volunteers will soon be passing out flyers in our city.
The flyers state the problem of salt (chloride) pollution and what can be
done about it.
Here's what YOU can do to help:
1) Unplug your salt discharging water softener (these are the ones you add salt to)
2) Write to State Senator George Runner and State Assemblywoman Audra Strickland
and tell them you SUPPORT AB 2270. This is the bill which will make it illegal to
operate the salt discharging water softeners.
3) Go to the August 26th, 6:30PM City Council meeting. We will seek City approval
of a 'Tip Line' to be set up to report households which use these brine softeners.
4) Join our Volunteer group! Our NEXT MEETING will be: Thursday, Sept. 4th at 7PM
at the Fillmore Senior Center.
Mary Farkas,
Fillmore

To the Editor:
There are many reasons why I'm voting for Steve Conaway and Cecilia Cuevas. Here are few of them in recent chronological order, they are-
1) Our wonderful sewer plant. Where else can you live in a rather poor community and get the Cadillac of sewer plants? A Santa Paula city official described our sewer plant as being a "Cadillac" when a Chevy would do the same job. I love Cadillac’s. I like being able to brag about how "upscale" Fillmore is. What's an extra $50 bucks a month compared to "bragging rights? Thanks to Steve, Cecilia and many others in the City, we now have that right.
2) They helped get rid of those whiney seniors at El Dorado. All they wanted to do was lower the profits of the owner and management company. If it's hurting their ability to put food on the table, so what? There are shelters for poor people where they can get food and work on their tan while living outside. Once again Steve, Cecilia and their cohorts were able to stop this selfish group and remain the only city in Ventura County without "Rent Control". Another distinction we can be proud of.
3) Central Avenue! Steve and Cecilia have a vision that even I cannot comprehend. Their forward thinking on bringing us huge storm water pipes down the middle of Downtown Central Avenue is sheer genius! So what if that area has never flooded before. You've heard of the Great Flood in the Bible, right? Now is the time to test the tenaciousness of those business owners. Let's see how long they last with the greatly increased sewer rates AND the loss of sales from the closure of Central and the war zone section that is now open. Those who withstand this assault will be prepared to face any obstacle that Steve and Cecilia test them with. We will have a stronger base of downtown businesses.
Ok, that's enough praise from me for now, I could go on and on...
Dave Roegner,
Fillmore

To the Editor:
On the 29th of July the LA Regional Water Quality Control Board (yes, that one) held a meeting in Fillmore to re-consider the upper Santa Clara River Chloride Implementation Plan. Because of this board’s history of severely affecting the quality of life in Fillmore many local residents were in attendance, feeling that in our numbers we might be protected from the capricious decisions that periodically come from this board. As the meeting progressed it came as no real surprise that no one from our city staff was present. Council member Patti Walker was there, and about a dozen Fillmore residents were there, but no city staff was there on this issue that has the potential to again cost the City many millions.
During this meeting we found that the United Water Conservation District with the larger cities east of us, plus a entity known as L.A. Sanitation District have spent a lot of time and money to develop a scheme to solve the severe chloride problem in the eastern reaches of the Santa Clara river. This plan required some very sophisticated software and engineering work to bring it to this stage of development. It’s almost mind-boggling in its scope: 1) More State water into the Santa Clara River via Lake Castaic. 2) Reverse osmosis (RO) plants for two LA county sewer plants. 3) 10-well extraction field in the eastern Piru Basin to pump out the higher chloride ground water. 4) Mixing the high chloride groundwater and the good water from the RO plants and pumping it in a new pipeline to the fish hatchery in Fillmore. To say that the cities and water purveyors east of us are aggressively trying to solve their problem is almost an understatement.
Recently we found that a large group of cities had banded together to bring a successful lawsuit to stop the LA Water Board onerous plans for storm water runoff. This issue is a serious threat to Fillmore with a large cost impact if the board has their way.
My question is as follows: Other cities are taking aggressive, highly innovative actions to ward off problems and protect their citizens, why aren’t we?
Clay Westling,
Fillmore

To the Editor:
This letter is in response to Shirley Spitler's letter (July 31) regarding David Reeves and Rent Control, etc.
(Excerpt from her letter to the editor)
"For your information some of the existing council was not even on the council when this [rent control] was first discussed; it started so many years ago. If you don't know that you must not pay any attention to what goes on in Fillmore until it affects you or you are new here. My understanding when I was at the council meeting when this was finalized; the majority did not want rent control at the park."
1). Shirley, clearly, you don't live in El Dorado Estates!!
2). David and I have been residents of El Dorado Estates for 7 years, and for the last 5 years, have watched it deteriorate.
3). David Reeves began the current fight for Rent Control for the residents of El Dorado Estates last September. He worked 8 to 10 hours a day on the issue of Rent Control, trying to help the people here in our park.
4). The current City Council was the same City Council as last September.
5). We were at every City Council meeting that involved Rent Control for El Dorado Estates, obviously you were not at the City Council meeting in October 2007, when over 100 residents of El Dorado Estates showed up at the City Council meeting (that was the night of all the fires, but that didn't keep us away), and I don't know what you saw that night that our wonderful City Council members made that "snap decision" to abandon Rent Control, because they were eaten alive by Star Management's attorney, but it was humiliating, degrading, and an absolute embarrassment that our seniors have to live in this place, can't sell their homes, and our great City Council, who spends money, grants salary increases $$$ like there is no tomorrow, bowed down to this attorney that Star Management hired, and in less than 1 hour, had our City Council wrapped around his little finger, and said "No" to Rent Control.
No, Shirley, I was at that same meeting too, and I don't think the majority got a chance to speak, the meeting was monopolized by the attorney, pushing and pushing, until City Council caved in!
I don't think that the majority "didn't want" rent control, I think they are afraid, just like the City Council members were!!!
P.S. It's interesting also, if you happened to attend any of the meetings where David was allowed to speak, the Mayor always limited him to 3 or 4 minutes, the night the attorney spoke, even though the Mayor tried to limit him, he spoke for @ 45 minutes. Interesting!
Respectfully,
Karen Reeves,
Fillmore

To the Editor:
I grew up in Fillmore and it still amazes me how childish and ridiculous people can be. I've been reading the comments that people are posting about Nathan, and I have something to say as well. While everyone is entitled to their own opinion, no one has the right to judge Nathan, or anyone else for that matter. You may not like him, or his friends and family, but unless you have something constructive or worthwhile to say, keep it to yourself. He will pay for his crime, as will his family. That should be enough to satisfy you all. Calling him names and wishing for him to "burn in hell" is only causing harm to yourselves. I never knew Nathan to be "evil", or what certain people are describing him to be. And no, drugs aren't only to blame, but would he have done what he did if he wasn't using? I seriously doubt it. No one is claiming that Nathan is perfect or an angel, but none of you are in any kind of position to judge him. True, he got in trouble when we were all younger, but I know that a lot of what he did was provoked by others. If you all hate him so much, why spend so much time thinking about him, and talking about him? Move on with life, we're all grown-ups now and should really be above all this. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness"...1 John 1:9
Erika Bruce,
Bakersfield