October 2, 2014
To the Editor:
Well the update from the last meeting is that Chevron showed some nice pictures of what the enormous hill adjacent to neighbors would look like with plants on it, but they forgot to add the big building that would be on top of the plants and hill. It was a nice try, but the hill needs to go. They also went over the clean up they recently did and how the contaminated dirt was not bad enough to be sent off in the red bins like last time but was loaded into regular trucks with tarps on top. I later told them, I hope they can keep the contaminated dirt off the road ways better than they did out of Pole Creek. Speaking of the clean up, what a stink!! Now you all know what I am talking about when I say they smell bad. People could smell it all the way down to the high school. The post cards that were sent out by the EPA were a nice thought but failed to mention that we may smell some thing along with the noise and dust you may see, so don’t freak out. Poor kids at the school adjacent to the site had to be kept in for some of the morning due to the odor.
The thing that really gets me today is that the Chevron rep went to a City Planning meeting knowing that they had found something days before of concern and was advised from the EPA not to report it until a plan could be made. Are you kidding me? The EPA that is supposed to have our well being in mind told them not to report it? What else have they not reported? I know they did not report the pole creek issue at the Thursday night senior center meeting until I said some thing. Then they did acknowledge it had happened.
It was nice of someone ( Chevron?) to put in the paper the latest update on the ATSDRS report that will help us all rest at ease that our health is safe. I am going to take a stab in the dark on this, but I think that it will state just that. Other wise it may not have been reported to us.
I have mentioned how I and other neighbors have felt that Chevron have deceived us and now it is sad for me to think they maybe doing it to our city officials as well.
My fear is that some are thinking that Chevron will help our town; I feel that they will bring only problems and we will be strapped with a superfund site if we annex them into our city.
I was told that you catch more bees with honey than vinegar and so here goes……Chevron thank you so much for the clean up, would you now please give the near by neighbors, school children and teachers some peace from all this noise, dust, and smell. Please go tell your company officials that this community cannot support this project from lack of funds (we are a poor community) lack of water (we are in a drought) and lack of support form those who will be impacted by the most. Now let’s see what happens with that honey.
There will not be a meeting this month since we are waiting for the ATSDRS report findings to come out and to be reported on.
If you do wish to give ideas as to what YOU would like over on the superfund site such as open space (what it currently zoned for), solar farm, Business Park and how you envision them to look like send the ideas to Kevin McSweeney in City Hall so they can be documented. Also if there are reports you would like to see done to see if this is a good idea or envormental concerns send those to him as well so they can be added to the scoping meeting documents. The hope is to have the scoping meeting in November. I hope any one who has an opinion comes and voices it.
Thank you,
Kathy Pace
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To the Editor:
Thank you to the Fillmore Unified Teachers’ Association for sponsoring the Fillmore Unified School Board Candidates Forum held Wednesday, September 24th at the Fillmore Middle School library. I offer special thanks to Sandra Butts and Janey Munoz for organizing the forum. It is unfortunate that it was not better attended. In his gentle, inimitable style, Scott Lee did an excellent job moderating. Each of the six candidates obviously consider the education of our young people to be of prime importance and expressed good ideas for accomplishing this goal. I must applaud Board member Dave Wilde’s candor about his frustrations with the preceding administration.
After careful consideration for what would be best for our District and the education of our students, I have decided to endorse Scott Beylik, Sean Morris and Lucy Rangel. Scott, Sean, and Lucy come from different backgrounds which together represents a rich life experience on which to base decisions. Scott and Sean are businessmen who have expertise in prioritizing funding. Lucy is a former teacher who has a good understanding of curriculum. I believe each is honest, hard-working and possess excellent communication skills. I am sure that these candidates could work well and respectfully with each other.
Mary Ford
Fillmore
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To the Editor:
The city of Fillmore is indeed fortunate to have a wonderfully talented woman, Carrie Broggie, running for election to its city council. Carrie is a longtime colleague of mine having joined the district attorney’s office in 1993 as a legal management assistant. She has been given increasingly responsible and difficult assignments since that time and consistently exceeded expectations. Her quick grasp of complex matters, ability to reduce them to easily understood concepts, her strong people skills and work ethic made her a vital and highly respected member of my management team. She continues to excel in this position under current District Attorney Greg Totten.
Carrie’s expertise is broad and includes having helped handle fiscal issues, legislation, employment matters and relationships with other agencies and officials to mention just a few. Most importantly, Carrie is a person of unquestioned integrity whose word is her bond. She possesses the courage of her convictions and, a sometimes elusive quality in public life, the ability to put personal interest behind what is best for the public.
I wholeheartedly recommend Carrie for election to the council. She will bring not only needed wisdom and dignity to the position but humility and grace.
Respectfully submitted,
Michael Bradbury