Thomas Brown was born in Santa Paula, California. His father, Thomas Brown Sr., was a hardworking businessman who owned a gas station and later Tom’s Tire, an automotive tire business in Santa Paula. His mother was a harder working housewife, who raised three children, and later became the Dietary Supervisor at Santa Paula Memorial Hospital. He stated, “My parents taught me that if you are honest and work hard, you will be successful in life.”

Tom grew up in Santa Paula with his younger brother and sister and lived there the majority of his life. During his grade school years, he enjoyed karate and playing soccer. During his High School years, he played basketball and football. He graduated from Santa Paula High School in 1985, the same year he met his wife, Paulette. Paulette moved to Santa Paula that year and he thought, he’d better make his move before somebody warns her about his past behavior. They began dating their senior year in high school and were married four years later.

After high school, Tom got a job working in the oil fields. He did it for a couple of years and then transitioned into working construction. After a bad winter in the construction business, which means no income, he decided he needed something more consistent to support his family. He had been around cars all his life and worked at his father’s automotive tire store business throughout high school, so he began working for the family business. He worked at the tire store for about ten years and became a successful suspension and alignment mechanic. He eventually became a partner in the business. During this time, his wife and he had two children, Matthew and Tyler, and in 1999 they purchased their first home in Santa Paula.

At the age of 35, he decided he wanted to do something different. And, we are pleased he did. He had an uncle and a cousin who were Deputy Sheriffs, and his brother was an Oxnard Police Officer. After talking to them at length about what their careers were like, he decided to make a change. He was hired and later graduated from the Sheriff’s Academy in 2001, where he received the Academic Achievement Award and Marksmanship Award.

In 2002, the Brown’s sold their Santa Paula home and moved to Fillmore. And we are pleased he did. His first assignment for the Sheriff’s Office was working at Todd Road Jail, where he spent six short years. While there, he was a Jail Training Officer and cross-trained to work almost every assignment. He was transferred to patrol in Fillmore in 2007 and has worked here ever since. And we are pleased he did.

He was lucky to have had two great Field Training Officer’s, Hector Macias and Brian Hackworth, who were both Fillmore residents at the time. Hector and Brian ingrained in him the importance of keeping OUR city safe for our families. During his time working in Fillmore, he has been a Field Training Officer and also worked the Special Enforcement Detail / Fillmore Gang Unit as collateral assignments. He is a member of the Sheriff’s Officer Tactical Response Team and one of go to people when he need a problem solved.

Deputy Tom Brown is great example of Law Enforcement Officer that balances the needs of his family, with the needs of his community, and the needs of his profession. He rarely displays a frustration with his duties and has a great ability to communicate with people in their greatest time of need at all ages. His level of maturity and life experiences has given him a rare insight into the ability to communicate to people, not only those that call for law enforcement services, but his law enforcement peers. He possesses or has the contacts to obtain a lot of intelligence on our community. I can think of numerous times I heard Tom would be in the community off-duty, but would spot a crime or wanted suspect and would take law enforcement action to apprehend the suspect. He frequently does his own research and finds solutions to problems and presents the answer in a manner so all may learn.

Joshua Graham Packer

VENTURA, CA - District Attorney Gregory D. Totten announced today that Joshua Graham Packer (DOB 9-21-89), of Ventura, was sentenced today for the brutal triple murders he committed on May 20, 2009, in the Faria Beach community. Davina Husted was 24 weeks pregnant with Grant Husted when they and her husband, Brock Husted, were murdered. Packer pled guilty on December 18, 2014, to three counts of murder, two counts of robbery, one count of burglary, one count of forced oral copulation, eight special circumstances and seven special allegations relative to his use of a gun in the robberies and burglary, and use of a knife in the murders. Each special circumstance conviction made Packer eligible to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Packer gave up all rights to appeal when he pled guilty.

Superior Court Judge Patricia Murphy sentenced Packer to 30 years 4 months for his robberies, burglary, forced oral copulation of Davina Husted, the use of a gun in the robberies and burglary, and the use of a knife in the murders. Following service of the 30-year 4-month sentence, Packer will begin serving the first of his three life sentences without the possibility of parole for the murders.

Packer invaded the home of the Husteds at approximately 10:00 p.m. on May 20, 2009. He used a gun to rob them of cash and jewelry. The Husted’s then nine-year-old son observed the robberies. Packer then killed Brock Husted and used a knife to force Davina Husted into an act of oral copulation before killing her and her unborn son. Packer’s identity as the murderer remained unknown for the next 10 months, until DNA that he had left at the scene of the murders was matched to a DNA sample taken from him by law enforcement when he was arrested for a robbery in Santa Barbara County.

Packer was subsequently arrested for the murders on April 11, 2010. He was indicted on July 23, 2010, for the murders, robbery and burglary. On May 4, 2012, Packer was indicted on the additional charge of forced oral copulation with the use of a knife.

Ventura County Sheriff's Department

On January 16-18th, 2015 the Fillmore Explorer Post #2958 attended the 2015 Law Enforcement Explorer Tactical Competition in Chandler, Arizona. The competition tested the explorers on their ability to effectively handle several different scenarios that Law Enforcement officers encounter on a daily basis, including marijuana field raid, crisis negotiation, hostage rescues, and officer down scenarios. The explorers also participated in physical fitness events that tested their strength and agility. Over 50 explorer posts from over 5 different states attended the competition, including Ventura County Sheriff Office’s: Fillmore, Headquarters, Camarillo, and Ojai explorer post’s in addition to the Simi Valley and Oxnard explorer posts.

In the end the Fillmore explorers returned home with several trophies which were: 2nd place in Marijuana Field Raid; 2nd place in Tactical Relay; 2nd place in 10 man TK4 pull. In addition to these team-oriented awards, special recognition was given to Explorer Matthew Hammond for receiving 4th place in the 3 mile run.

The Law Enforcement explorer program consists of young men and women ages 14-21 with an interest in learning more about careers in the field of Law Enforcement. The explorer program provides law enforcement career experiences, leadership opportunities, educational training, and community service activities. The primary goals of the program are to help young adults choose a career path within law enforcement and to challenge them to become responsible citizens in their communities and the nation.

If you would like more information about your local explorer program, please contact School Resource Officer, Deputy Leonardo Vazquez at Leonardo.vazquez@ventura.org or 805-947-8150

Nature of Incident: Explorer Tactical Competition
Location: Chandler, AZ
Date & Time: January 16-18, 2015
Unit(s) Responsible: Fillmore Police Department
Prepared by: Cadet J.Espinoza
News Release Date: January 28, 2014
Media Follow-Up Contact: Deputy Leonardo Vazquez / leonardo.vazquez@ventur.org or 805-947-8150
Approved by: Captain Dave Wareham

On Monday, February 2, Hannah Bartels won out over a talented field of five speakers at the Lions’ Club International Fillmore before a crowd of fifty people. The topic this year was ‘Water Conservation: How Can We Reduce, Recycle and Reclaim?’ Hannah won the first prize of $100 and will next compete at the Zone 8 competition against the winners of other local Lions’ Speech Contests on February 23rd at the Camarillo Boys and Girls Club at 6:00 sharp. The general public is welcome to attend. Hannah is a La Reina High School freshman living in Fillmore and is the daughter of Laura and Bill Bartels.

The other talented speakers in the contest were Jacob Brooks, Jene Torrango, Wesley Brecheen and Chris Berrington. Lauren Magdaleno and Bianca Rios also participated. Bill Edmonds, contest chairman stated, “This is the best field of speakers that we’ve had for many, many years.” The judges for this year’s contest were Dr. Cynthia King, The Right Reverend Doctor Harvey Guthrie and Susan Cuttriss.

The River Restoration Project was headed by Cynthia Frutos and pictured above Laura Todes.

The February 3, 2015 Fillmore Unified School District (FUSD) Board Meeting began with two Recognition of Achievement Awards presented to the Sheriff's Department Fillmore Explorers and to those participating in the River Restoration Project. There were also two agenda items and an emergency item.

FUSD continues to move forward with upgrading its infrastructure. One important upgrade with a huge price tag is Internet Technology (IT) which also includes wireless access. Eric Tilton founder of MJT Technologies gave a presentation explaining what upgrades FUSD needs to meet today's standards.

At present FUSD is behind in meeting those standards. What FUSD is using is at the end-of-life stage; a Cisco Exchange 2003 system. According to Tilton, using it could create a "Critical communications systems such as email and phone systems are at risk of near term failure and must be updated....the server room at Fillmore High has many areas of vulnerability. The equipment is old and prone to failure, and the power backup system only supports keeping the equipment running for maybe 20 minutes during a power outage" adding there is an increasing chance that they will crash and never come back online again.

Superintendent Dr. Adrian Palazuelos anticipates a $500,000 grant from E-rate Federal funding to help with the costs of upgrading to Office 365 and moving to a Cloud server. The move will improve such things as email, instant messaging, video conferencing and file storage. Another upgrade will be wireless connection at all FUSD schools. Today wireless access is available at Rio Vista, Sierra High School and only 2 or 3 rooms at Fillmore High School. Piru Elementary recently received the Apple ConnectED grant to upgrade their system.

Presently FUSD has CONTINUED »

The American Red Cross encourages eligible donors to help ensure a sufficient and diverse blood supply by giving blood this February.

Since the beginning of the year, widespread flu and inclement winter weather in some parts of the country have prevented many regular donors from making or keeping their blood donation appointments. Healthy and diverse blood donors are needed to help maintain a sufficient blood supply.

Diversity among blood donors is important because red blood cells carry markers that determine one's blood type, and certain blood types are unique to specific racial and ethnic groups. Blood must be matched very closely for those patients with rare blood types or for those who need repeated transfusions. Patients are less likely to have complications from blood donated by someone with a similar ethnicity.

All blood types are needed, especially types O negative, A negative and B negative. To learn more about donating blood and to schedule an appointment, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

Upcoming blood donation opportunities

Simi Valley
2/21/15 9:00 AM - 3:15 PM Rancho Santa Suzanna Community Center,
5005-C Los Angeles Ave
2/27/15 1:00 PM - 7:15 PM Rancho Santa Suzanna Community Center,
5005-C Los Angeles Ave

Thousand Oaks
2/16/15 1:00 PM - 7:15 PM Thousand Oaks Inn, 75 W Thousand Oaks Blvd
2/18/15 1:00 PM - 7:15 PM Thousand Oaks Inn, 75 W Thousand Oaks Blvd
2/23/15 1:00 PM - 7:15 PM Thousand Oaks Inn, 75 W Thousand Oaks Blvd

Ventura
2/17/15 1:00 PM - 7:15 PM Ventura City Hall, 501 Poli Street

How to donate blood
Simply download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or driver's license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age (16 with parental consent in some states), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood.

High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.

About the American Red Cross
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.

VENTURA COUNTY, CA - Since mid-December, the State of California has confirmed 92 cases of measles as of Monday, February 2nd. Ventura County has now reported 10 cases. Despite the increase in number of cases, most people have immunity to measles. “Probably 95% of the population is immune to measles because they had 2 MMRs, their childhood measles shots,” said Dr. Robert Levin, Health Officer for Ventura County.

At this time, 91.6% of all children entering kindergarten in Ventura County have had 2 MMR shots and are thus immune to catching the disease. There are schools in the county with a particularly low rate of MMR immunization. One private school on the east end of the county has a measles immunization rate of 67%. Most public schools in Oxnard, on the other hand, have a measles immunization rate of 100%.

Symptoms of measles include cough, runny nose, reddened eyes, fever, a rash and often, tiny sores in the mouth. A person with measles may only have a few of these symptoms. “Most people with measles feel quite sick, as sick as someone feels with the flu,” said Dr. Levin. Measles is a very contagious disease and entirely preventable. While not as deadly as Ebola, for instance, it is 5 to 15 times more contagious. People who contract measles are contagious for 4 days before they develop the rash and for 4 more days after they develop the rash.

For information on a Public Health clinic near you if you are in need of immunizations, please call: 805-981-5221; for a Ventura County Health Care Agency Ambulatory Care clinic near you, please call: 805-677-5110.

SACRAMENTO – Dr. Gil Chavez, State Epidemiologist and Deputy Director, Center for Infectious Diseases, California Department of Public Health (CDPH) today confirmed that a patient admitted to Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center on Wednesday evening who exhibited symptoms consistent with a viral illness including Ebola, and with a history of travel to an Ebola-affected country, has tested negative for the Ebola virus.

“State and local health officials have been working hard with California’s Ebola Treatment Centers to safely and effectively identify, isolate, diagnose and treat suspect Ebola patients. This recent case at Kaiser South illustrates that our hard work and partnership has paid off,” said Dr. Chavez.

The test for Ebola conducted by the Sacramento County Public Health Laboratory came back negative early this afternoon.

At this time, there have been no confirmed cases of Ebola in California and there is no threat to the general public. Ebola symptoms may appear anywhere between two to 21 days after exposure and include a fever, muscle pain, weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain and lack of appetite. Travelers from Africa may experience flu-like or GI symptoms due to malaria or other non-Ebola associated diseases.

Whenever there is a person displaying symptoms that may be Ebola, who has recently traveled to Sierra Leone, Liberia or Guinea, certain precautions are taken including isolating the patient, ruling out other infectious diseases, and testing for Ebola if warranted. The California Department of Public Health, in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Sacramento County Public Health and Kaiser South Sacramento, worked together to ensure protocols were in place to protect the public health.

For more information, visit http://cdph.ca.gov/programs/cder/Pages/Ebola.aspx.
www.cdph.ca.gov

Benjamin Fernandez Herbert

Over the years, as a school counselor, I have been blessed to be in a position to work with many, many young students from kindergarten through beyond high school. Their beautiful faces and unique expressions come to my mind as I recall good, sad and life-changing experiences that will be forever in my heart. Not one young man or young woman has ever been alike in their life story, personality or challenges.

Ben Fernández Herbert was a Fillmore High School Graduate of 2011. He lived in his beautiful Fillmore all his life. Ben tragically passed away in a car accident on Sunday, January 18, 2015.
Ben was born to Sara Abigail Herbert and Saul Fernandez. He is survived by his mother Sara A. Herbert, siblings Jorge Garcia Herbert, Claudina Luna Herbert, Carmen Aragón Herbert and Brenda Medina Herbert as well as nephew Derek Luna, and many aunts and uncles on both sides of family. Sadly, Ben’s father, Saul Fernandez, died in a bike-riding accident when Ben was three years old.

Ben was a handsome young man, physically, and from within; he had that special gift of being friendly, charismatic, having a happy demeanor with a megawatt smile that reminded you of what a decent young man and all that is good in the world was all about. Ben knew how to be a good, sincere friend and exuded a healthy outlook on life. He had such a positive influence on everyone he met. Those of us who knew Ben; his loving mother, Sara, lovely girlfriend Amanda, siblings, uncles and aunts, friends, co-workers and adults, whether for a moment or years, have felt the great loss and impact of his tragic passing. We also acknowledge how very blessed we all were to be touched by Ben.

He had set many goals in his life, and was able to reach some pretty serious ones by his young age of 21. That was how he was; he set his goals and met them head-on, one by one. He valued higher education and knew that by acquiring knowledge, he would be able to have a solid foundation for his future life.

He was a loving son. Ben’s nickname for his precious mom was “Pancha”, as he hugged and kissed her with great love. Ben would tease his sweet Grandmom “Cuca” María Fernández, who raised him alongside his mom, and make her laugh when he sang to her as he returned home from seeing his beautiful girlfriend Amanda. Mom Sara lovingly recalls how, as children, he and his nephew Derek loved to play with their Power Rangers and they used to switch and wear mismatched Power Rangers socks all the time. Ben would dress up in his Power Rangers suit and have a blast. Ben and Derek were 6 months apart, Ben being the eldest. Laughing, mom said that Ben loved his beloved pet gecko “Lilo” so much that once he desperately tore the house inside out until Lilo was found hidden behind the bathroom door. Mom said that Lilo would immediately come up to Ben’s shoulder when he laid his hand out, but Lilo would hide and not come out for anyone else.

Mom laughed as she said how much Ben loved BBQ pork ribs, piling up the BBQ sauce high on his plate! Mom recalls how much he ate and ate, but always remained slender. She remembered how he and his Derek signed up to play football when he was 8 years old. She loved watching him have fun and trying out new things.

Mom added, he and Derek had made a pact to team up to start working on a professional dream to be rescue firefighters in the mountainous areas. This past January 12th Ben and Derek started the Spring Semester at Ventura College. Mom Sara and Grandmom Cuca would see them both go off with their backpacks, as they did when they were little boys.

In remembering him, his older brother Jorge said, “Ben was an excellent person who never gave up on his goals. Despite tough obstacles in his young life, he remained strong and remained optimistic because he believed that through his own hard work and effort he would, and always did, figure a way to meet the latest challenge. Ben’s great love for his beautiful mother Sara, and his love, respect and fear for his loving God helped him in his struggles in life.”

Mrs. Isela Larin, FHS Career Center Counselor, stated that Ben was a very dedicated, highly motivated, polite young man who came into her office asking about the process to serve as a FHS Fire Department Cadet. He was approved and served as a Fillmore Fire Cadet in his FHS Junior year, 2010. He successfully completed the program and was a great asset to the Fillmore Fire Department.

Former Fillmore Starbucks Supervisor, Alberto Caceres, told me that Ben had recently been promoted as supervisor and had just opened the Santa Paula Starbucks store. His loving girlfriend Amanda Armstrong, hundreds of school and college friends, as well as Starbucks coworkers from the Fillmore and Santa Paula Starbucks, greatly miss him.

Jorge said, “Ben never accepted ‘I can’t’ as part of his vocabulary. Ben found God to be very present in his daily life, but also was very much aware of what God expected of him – no excuses! He had a lot of thoughts that he shared with many of his friends, words that gave life and encouragement to others dealing with hard moments in their lives. He was the kind of person that would share his time talking with friends and guide his friends and gave so much of his energy to serve others.”

Pastor Ernie Rangel, of Promesa de Jesús Church, spoke of Ernie with great love, “Ben, (and his mother, Sara) was a very active member of their church. Ben was in the youth group, church choir and band, playing his guitar for many years.”

As I remember Ben Fernández Herbert, the young man who left us too early in life, I pray that his young friends who have been touched by this tragedy remember him as he was. Ben was an excellent role model for all and I have learned a lot from him to be a better person. I wish we could have duplicated him a million times, because the world would have been a much better place, less violence, less bullying, good hearts around.

Mom Sara and Grandmom Cuca said they would always leave the outside light on for him, listening for his steps as he returned late at night. Mom said they still leave the light on, waiting for him to come home.

Norma Pérez-Sandford is a FUSD District K-12 Counselor

Fillmore City Councilmember Dianne McCall

Earlier this month, Deputy Oren Ryerson, a patrol deputy for the city of Fillmore, arrested a young man and brought him back to the station. As they spoke, the young man became emotional and explained his mother recently lost her job and was unable to buy food for the family, which includes four younger siblings. Deputy Ryerson explained the situation to Senior Deputy Cesar Salas and the two worked it out to buy food for the family, which Senior Deputy Salas delivered that morning. Later, Deputy Ryerson spoke to Fillmore City Councilwoman Dianne McCall about the family’s plight. Councilwoman McCall wanted to help by purchasing food for the family and finding work for the young man. Deputy Ryerson and Councilwoman McCall met at the family home the following day with food they had purchased. Councilwoman McCall told the mother that other members of the Fillmore community wanted to help as well.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office is proud to work in communities with dedicated and caring people such as Councilwoman Dianne McCall, Deputy Ryerson, and Senior Deputy Salas.

A Proclamation was presented by Mayor Douglas Tucker to Officer Michael Zabarsky for going the extra mile to help a Fillmore family living in substandard conditions.
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A Proclamation was presented to the Morris family for the Fillmore Area Transit Company’s (FATCO) 40 years of service to the community along with the many non-profits and sports events the family has sponsored over the years. Pictured (l-r) are Council Member Rick Neal, Mayor Douglas Tucker, Chappy Morris, Wm ‘Bill’ Morris, and Council Member Diane McCall.
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The Fillmore Bears Pee Wee Division Pacific Football League received a Proclamation from Mayor Douglas Tucker. The team was noted for superior sportsmanship.
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The Fillmore Bears Pee Wee Division Pacific Football League.
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There were four items on Tuesday's Fillmore City Council Meeting along with three proclamations. The first agenda item was a contract for a City App, second was parking enforcement on Central, next was approval of a "In God We Trust" display, and last was giving Commissioners a stipend.

The first proclamation went to Officer Michael Zabarsky for going the extra mile to help a family living in substandard conditions.

Another proclamation went to the Fillmore Bears Pee Wee Division Pacific Football League for their superior sportsmanship.

Also, honor's went to the Morris family for the Fillmore Area Transit Company's (FATCO) 40 years of service to the community along with the many non-profits and sports events the family has sponsored over the years. Chappy Morris responded, "It’s been an honor to serve you."

The Ventura County IT Services Mike Pettit and Kevin Coe, Deputy Chief Application Services, gave a presentation regarding the development of a City of Fillmore Mobile Application. With this new app residents with iPhones and Android Smartphones will have quick access to City services. Requests will automatically be routed to the correct department for proper handling regarding various things such as potholes, abandoned shopping carts, graffiti, code enforcement, VCAlert and more. The app will also provide a list of frequently called numbers, an events calendar and other important information and links. The bilingual app uses GPS coordinates to locate shopping carts (CartSnap), potholes, car accidents to can quickly respond. The cost is $8,000 ($4,000 iPhone App and $4,000 Android App) with annual maintenance cost anticipated to be $1,121. Other cities using such apps are Oxnard, Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley. The app is expected to be available in four weeks.

The Council once again addressed the problem of parking on downtown Central Avenue. Parking is restricted on Central to two hour between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday with unrestricted parking lots at the rear of the businesses on both the east and west sides of the street.

Police Chief Dave Wareham addressed the Council stating, "Without a doubt, there's a parking problem....some are cooperating, but some are not." Downtown Central has 50 businesses and only 53 parking spaces. Wareham told the Council the problem is basically two specific people who are not complying. He said when addressing one of the two people, they responded, "It's my right to park here and I don't care about my neighbors." Wareham reported that some tenants and business owners move their cars every two hours, sometimes returning to the same space they were they had previously parked.

The cost to the City to regulate the situation is not a simple or inexpensive fix, approximately $40,000 to $400,000 for added enforcement. The Council suggested patrolling Central Avenue more often and looking into changing the zoning which would require new business have restricted parking. The Council will continue monitoring the problem.

In April 2014 the Council discussed displaying the national motto "In God We Trust" prominently in the council chamber. At the time it was not decided where or what type of plaque would be displayed. After discussing both the cost and location it was decided and agreed upon having the motto painted above the dais.

The last agenda item was deciding whether to start compensating commission members with a stipend. This would be for the three commissions: Parks and Recreation Commission, Film Commission, and Planning Commission. A questionnaire was sent to Cities throughout California asking if they compensated their commissioners.

Thirty-eight of the 55 that responded said they do compensate their commissioners. Some that did were here in Ventura County: Camarillo, Moorpark and Simi Valley. Compensations ranged from $10 to $543. Some were a monthly stipend and others per meeting attended.

Council Member Diane McCall who was on the Planning Commission for seven years, stated that being on that commission taught me more about Fillmore than she could have achieved on her own and what prompted her to be on the Council adding, "How do you put a dollar amount on that?"

There were also discussions about some being compensated more than others. They all agreed the Planning Commission goes through a great deal of documents but struggled with the problem of implying one person’s time is more valuable than another's. Mayor Douglas Tucker stated, "I was on the Planning Commission and it takes a great deal of your time. I feel time is valuable....I would like an educational allowance...with well educated commissioners to serve the community." He suggested talking to the people on the commissions for their opinion.

Everyone agreed on the educational allowance, $50 per month for the Planning Commission and $25 per meeting for the Parks and Recreation, and Film Commissions' with a limit of two meetings per month.

An item that was approved by a simple voice vote was a FY 2015-16 Budget Development Guidelines that Finance Director Gaylynn Brien presented the Council. The guidelines encompassed four main policies to be used going forward. (1) The City will adopt and maintain a balanced General Fund budget by ensuring that annual operating expenses are held to levels within annual operating revenues; (2) The City will maintain a prudent reserve in the General Fund balance to be used to respond to catastrophic events. This reserve amount as, a percentage of budgeted expenditures, will be established by the City Council as part of its action in adopting the budget; (3) The City's water and sewer enterprise funds shall be self-supporting such that fees for operating services will be maintained at a level adequate to cover all operating expenses and infrastructures needs; (4) One time revenues shall not be used to fund ongoing operating program expenses. Any such revenues shall be used to pay for one-time expenditures, if authorized by the City Council, or placed in the appropriate fund balance; (5) One-time expenditures that result in long-term cost savings, efficiencies, or both will be considered money well invested.

The Council also passed and approved by a simple voice vote, a resolution showing their commitment to sustainable energy and declared their goal to conserve energy consumption and achieve Platinum Tier Level Status. The primary objective of this Energy Policy is to implement best energy management practices across all departments of the city and "lead-by-example" setting short, medium and long-term goals for reducing energy consumption, increase use of clean, renewable energy, and reduce annual electricity consumption by 20% (compared to 2006 use) by 2020.

The Sheriff’s Office is requesting the public’s help in identifying this suspect. Anyone who can help identify the suspect from the attached photographs is asked to call Det. Mulrooney at (805) 646-1414.
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The Sheriff’s Office is requesting the public’s help in identifying this suspect. Anyone who can help identify the suspect from the attached photographs is asked to call Det. Mulrooney at (805) 646-1414.
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During the early morning hours of 12/01/2014, an unknown suspect entered two different self-serve laundry locations in the Ojai Valley. The suspect pried open numerous washing machine coin boxes and then stole the coins stored inside. Security video shows the suspect is a mid-twenties Hispanic male.

During the investigation, Ojai detectives learned that a similar crime was committed in the City of Camarillo on November 5, 2014. A review of the Camarillo security tape revealed that the suspect in the Camarillo theft appears to be the same suspect as the Ojai thefts.

The Sheriff’s Office is requesting the public’s help in identifying this suspect. Anyone who can help identify the suspect from the attached photographs is asked to call Det. Mulrooney at (805) 646-1414.

Nature of Incident: Attempt to Locate Burglary Suspect
Report Numbers: 14-27113 /14-28175
Location(s): Mira Monte Quick Clean / Coin House Laundry
Dates & Times: 12/01/2014 0000-0800
Unit(s) Responsible: Ojai and Camarillo Investigations
(S)uspects, (V)ictims, (Party), (D)ecedent City of Residence Age
Unknown Unknown unk
Prepared by: Sgt. R. Harwood
News Release Date: 01/27/2015
Media Follow-Up Contact: Detective Joe Mulrooney 805-947-8075
Approved by:
Ventura County Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 reward for information, which leads to the arrest and criminal complaint against the person(s) responsible for this crime. The caller may remain anonymous. The call is not recorded. Call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is warning the public of a recent series of phone scams in which the caller claims to be a member of the CHP and asks for payment for missed jury duty, outstanding fines, or an outstanding arrest warrant.

The CHP said the callers typically instruct residents to purchase re-loadable cards and call them back with the numbers to the cards. Similar scams have been reported to other law enforcement agencies as well.

“We appreciate the public for bringing this issue to our attention, and we want to warn others to be vigilant and never give out personal information to someone you don’t know,” said CHP Coastal Division Chief Reginald Chappelle.

The CHP does not call community members seeking payment under any circumstances. In addition to never giving personal or financial information to an unsolicited caller, the following tips are recommended:
• Be suspicious of callers who demand immediate payment for any reason.
• Utility companies and government agencies will never contact you for payment by GreenDot, MoneyPak or Vanilla Reload.
• Remember that anyone who has the number on a prepaid card has access to the funds on your card.
• Never wire money or provide debit or credit card numbers to a stranger.
If you believe you are being scammed regarding an alleged unpaid traffic citation or other court-imposed financial obligation you can:
• Ask the caller for the court case number, date of ticket, or other specific information. Then verify the debt or confirm other details by contacting the local court where the offence was reported to have occurred. IN ANY CASE IF THERE IS SUCH AN OBLIGATION, ADDRESS AND RESOVE IT DIRECTLY WITH THE COURT, NOT WITH A STRANGER.

VENTURA COUNTY, CA - Since mid-December, the State of California has seen 59 cases of measles. Ventura County has now reported 5 of those cases. One of our measles cases had reason to be in City Bank in Camarillo, at 430 Arneill Road for much of the day from Monday, January 12 through Wednesday, January 14, 2015. Any person who entered the main lobby of the bank on any of those days who is not immune to the measles virus has some potential risk of acquiring measles. Most people have immunity to measles. "Probably 95% of the population is immune to measles because they had 2 MMRs, their childhood measles shots," said Dr. Robert Levin, Health Officer for Ventura County.

A 2-shot series starting on or after the first birthday is protective. At this time, 91.6% of all children entering kindergarten in Ventura County have had 2 MMR shots and are thus immune to catching the disease. There are schools in the county with a particularly low rate of MMR immunization. One private school on the east end of the county has a measles immunization rate of 67%. Most public schools in Oxnard, on the other hand, have a measles immunization rate of 100% The Communicable Diseases division of the Ventura County Public Health, a department of the Ventura County Health Care Agency, says that anyone who was in the bank on one of those three days who develops symptoms of measles should call their physician, tell them they may have been exposed to measles, and ask to come in to the office for a measles titer. Tell the receptionist before your arrival that you should be put directly into a patient room to have your blood drawn so that you won't expose other patients waiting to be seen in the waiting room.

The symptoms of measles include cough, runny nose, reddened eyes, fever, a rash and often, tiny sores in the mouth. A person with measles may only have a few of these symptoms. "Most people with measles feel quite sick, as sick as someone feels with the flu," said Dr. Levin. Measles is a very contagious disease and entirely preventable. While not as deadly as Ebola, for instance, it is 5 to 15 times more contagious. People who contract measles are contagious for 4 days before they develop the rash and for 4 more days after they develop the rash.

For those who were in City Bank in Camarillo on the days referenced, they are at risk of developing measles for up to 21 days following exposure. For example, someone who was in the bank on Wednesday the 14th of January is at risk of developing measles until February 4th.

For information on a Public Health clinic near you if you are in need of immunizations, please call: 805-981-5221; for a Ventura County Health Care Agency Ambulatory Care clinic near you, please call: 805-677-5110.

The first Fillmore Unified School District (FUSD) meeting of 2015 was attended by two new Board Members, Sean Morris and Scott Beylik, and contained Governor Brown's Budget Proposal, FUSD's Audit Report for FY 2014, the new School Site Plan requirements and the Class of 2014 Analysis.

The meeting began with recognition of the students who participated in the Content Filter Testing at the Ventura County Office of Education. Fillmore High School (FHS) students Gray MacMahon, Billy Tran-Wyche, Luke Myers and Fillmore Middle School students Sam Guzman, Liam Howard, Brandon Antonson and Victor Jimenez received certificates for their part. The goal of the testing is to gain a safer digital environment for students.

Assistant Superintendent Martha Hernandez gave a presentation on the Class of 2014. She reported that 192 students graduated FHS along with 50 from Sierra High School; which was that school's largest class ever. The demographics given on race were 224 Hispanic, 26 White, 1 Asian, 2 Black, 1 Multiple. FHS also lost 28 students that transferred out of the district, leaving before or during their senior or junior year. Sierra High School lost 12 that transferred to another school with 6 more transferring to FHS. There were 34 students that met UC/CSU requirements, but unfortunately 141 students did not.

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