Liz Ocampo has a secret to tell you, but in order to find out what it is, you’ll have to read her prize-winning essay. Liz is the 1st place winner in the “What I Like About Living in Fillmore” Essay Contest sponsored by the Fillmore Civic Pride Committee. All 4th and 5th graders in Fillmore schools were invited to write a 200 word essay describing things they liked about Fillmore. Thirty enthusiastic essays were judged by local educators Conway Spitler, Sue Cutriss, Lynn Edmonds, and Sarah Hansen.

First place winner Liz Ocampo, a student in Mr. Maus’s 5th grade class at San Cayetano, likes that everything in Fillmore is close by and that the town is surrounded by mountains (I still won’t tell you her secret, it’s in the essay…).Second place winner is Diego Aparicio Rodrigues from Mrs. Walker’s 4th grade class at San Cayetano who takes the reader on a ten stop tour of Fillmore. Third place winner Mirella Lemus, also a 5thh grader in Mr. Maus’s class, highlights the schools and parks in her essay.

Five students also received Honorable Mention prizes for their writing: 5th graders Destiny Alonzo and Andrea Diaz, and 4th graders Sammy Estrade, Perla Alejandra Chavez Hernandez, and Taylor Wright, all students at San Cayetano. The students are invited to the City Council Meeting on Tuesday January 27th to receive recognition from the city and gifts donated by local merchants. A special thank you to our generous business supporters: Treasure Station, Roger’s Toys, the Fillmore Theater, and Carl’s Jr.

Please take the time to read these positive essays highlighting the good things about our town as perceived by our younger citizens. Thanks to all who entered the contest and to the Civic Pride Committee (Chairwoman Judy Dressler) for sponsoring the event.

FIRST PLACE WINNER!
FILLMORE MY KIND OF TOWN by Liz Ocampo
Mr. Maus’s 5th grade class at San Cayetano

Let me tell you what life is like in Fillmore. No matter where you go, you see someone you know. In Fillmore, your friends that you went to school with in kindergarten are going to go to middle school with you. That is because there is only one middle school!
Wherever you live in Fillmore, everything is close by. I can walk to the library, City Hall, the theater, and Central Market. I can even walk to McDonald’s, but my Grandma will not let me.
Fillmore is the most beautiful town I know. The mountains are all around us, and sometimes, if you look up toward the Sespe Mountains, you might see some condors.
Fillmore is a wonderful place to come home to. When I have been gone to Los Angeles, Ventura, of Bakersfield, it is so nice to smell the fruit trees and get away from busy freeway traffic.
Now, I will tell you a little secret. The very best thing about living in Fillmore is there is at least fifteen places to buy ice cream. Please do not tell anyone my secret because then all the big city people will move here. Then, Fillmore will not be a small town anymore.

SECOND PLACE WINNER!
“What I Like About Living in Fillmore” by Diego Aparicio Rodrigues
Mrs. Walker’s 4th grade class at San Cayetano
Say I was a tour guide in Fillmore…. I would take tourists to my favorite places which are what I like about Fillmore. We would ride our bicycles or walk.
First stop would be the Sespe River, where we could skip rocks. Second, we would take the new bike path from the river and under Highway 126 to Taco Bell, my favorite fast food place. Third stop would be the Toy Shop, where we could find marbles and skateboards. Fourth, we would go to Tia’s House of Candy and buy a treat like gummy bears. Fifth stop would be the Train Museum. We would check out the train model. Seventh stop would be Coffee Boy. Here we could get a smoothie, lemonade, or coffee. Eighth stop would be the county library, where we could catch up on news. Ninth stop would be my grandfathers’ house. He would give everyone a citrus gift from his trees. The tenth and final destination would be the VISTA bus stop where for only one dollar, you can ride to Piru, Santa Paula and Ventura.

THIRD PLACE WINNER!
“What I Like About Living in Fillmore” by Mirella Lemus
Mr Maus’s 5th grade class at San Cayetano
Fillmore California is the best town ever. If you ever go up to the mountains you would be able to see all of Fillmore. Then if you go up there you will maybe see Condors. If you’re lucky you might even get to see a bald eagle. I think it would be fun to climb the mountains, if you can. We have wolfs, mountain lions, and bears.
The schools in Fillmore are the best. The schools here are the best because we get a lot of education. At the High School our town put a new track and grass. We are getting a new swimming pool near the High School. The Boys and Girls club which is near the High School is really fun. The schools in Fillmore are clean. All the people in the schools are nice. Also there is a lot of fun things like carnivals, assemblies, and singing concerts at San Cayetano School. There is also going to be a skate park. All the parks are nice, like Shiells Park and the city park. There is a really fun playground in Shiells Park. This is why I like Fillmore so much.

HONORABLE MENTION WINNER

“Fillmore the Best Town by Destiny Alonzo
Mr. Maus’s 5th grade class at San Cayetano
Fillmore is the best town in the whole wide world! It is the best because all the schools give you a lot of education. Our High School is nice because our town put a new track and new football field. Now that our High School track is finished, it looks nice. All of the schools in Fillmore are the best.
The view is really nice on top of the big mountains behind San Cayetano School. One time in art we drew a picture of our mountains behind our school. We drew it because they were so beautiful. When we go up to the mountains we maybe get to see Condors. I think it would be cool to climb up there some time. Sometimes there will be coyotes up there.
The parks in Fillmore are very nice because everybody throw their trash away. Especially Shiells Park because everybody plays their soccer games there. Most people in Fillmore like sports. They play softball, baseball, soccer, and cheerlead. We also like to play on the playgrounds. Sometimes people like to have a picnic at Shiells Park. There is a really big field; there is a lot of green grass. This is why I like Fillmore.

HONORABLE MENTION WINNER

“What I Like About Fillmore” by Andrea Diaz
Mr. Maus’s 5th grade class at San Cayetano
I like the schools because they have cafeterias, and I like the classrooms because they are very neat. Most of the teachers are really nice and you get to play a lot. I also learned English very fast, and there’s a lot of computers. Also almost every year they put things new to our school like new games of new stuff. We also have pajama day and its fun. I also like the library because it’s so quiet and it has many books you can read, and we also have fieldtrips and it’s really cool and fun because we get to go to a lot of cool places and it’s really fun. I like the K-Mart because they sell really cool stuff and cool clothes. I like my friends and my family because they always treat me well. I also like my sister’s laptop, because I could do homework and it really helps me a lot and I could play games there. I also like the weather because sometimes it rains and sometimes it’s normal, and sometimes it’s cold and sometimes it’s hot.

HONORABLE MENTION WINNER

“What I Like About Living in Fillmore” by Sammy Estrada
Mrs. Walkers 4th grade class at San Cayetano
I like that fair that comes every year because they make fun rides like the Ferris wheel. It goes very high in the sky. But don’t look down. It is very high to look down. And the 4th of July is fun. You could look at the cool cars and sometimes they are old cars. They have a candy store on Central and they have good candy. I get a lot of candy. The café is good. They have good ice cream and so does the ice cream store next to City Hall. And the football field is cool and it feels like a sponge. That is all I like about Fillmore.

HONORABLE MENTION WINNER

“What I Like about Living in Fillmore” by Perla Alejandra Chavez Hernandez
Mrs. Walkers 4th grade at San Cayetano
What I like about living in Fillmore is that it is a beautiful place. Fillmore is a perfect place to be living in. It is a peaceful little town. The temperature is just right. There is so much open space to play. There is so much to do. The view is great, we can see the mountains. I like that there are little shops to buy things. I like that here in Fillmore you can go walking all over town. I like that Fillmore has a lot of plants growing in it. I like that the people are friendly. I am so lucky to be living in Fillmore.

HONORABLE MENTION WINNER

“What I Like about Living in Fillmore” by Taylor Wright
Mrs. Walkers 4th grade class at San Cayetano
Something I like about living in Fillmore is that the people that work for the city of Fillmore are making new houses, a new football field, and a new street. That isn’t the only thing I like about living in Fillmore. I also like how the weather is never too hot or too cold. Another thing I love about living in Fillmore is that my family grew up here, and now I can too. I like the park too because there I can watch family and friends play sports. I also love our hills, they are so beautiful and they are even more beautiful when the sun sets. I like how Fillmore is a little bit small because you can get around easily. I also like our library, and once on Easter they had an Easter egg hunt. Our town has a movie theater and I like it there, it is fun. We have a train station here too, near the train station there is a big grassy area. Some special things that had happened to my family was at the Memorial Building: my sister had her Miss Fillmore pageant there and my uncle got married there. City Hall is really fun when the May Festival is happening because you can dance and eat there. City Hall is fun to go to, it has a wishing fountain, and a lot of special events are held there and my aunt got married there. I also like how we have parades here, and my cousin and my nephew both got to be little Mr. Fillmore.