Bob Crum

Let's begin with the question I asked in my previous column: “What do you see as unusual in the photo data?” Is it the aperture? Nope. How about shutter speed? No again! ISO? Bingo! An ISO of 8,000 is not only high, it's as unseemly as a mermaid in a speedo.

Tech talk for just a moment. Remember the holy triad of exposure... shutter speed, aperture and ISO? ISO is an important value in properly exposed photos. ISO refers to the light sensitivity of a camera sensor. When you change the ISO you’re rendering it more or less sensitive to light.

However, we often don't get a benefit without some consequences. The by-product of high ISO is digital noise. ‘Noise' is often equated to 'grain' in film photography but it's more than that. Generally speaking, noise is defined as neurotic pixels that act abnormally. Those erotic... er... neurotic pixels don't render the color or exposure correctly.

Furthermore, a lower ISO won’t just make less noise. Most often it produces better color and dynamic range, which is the ability of the camera to capture detail in both highlights and shadows. Best to keep ISO as low as possible in order to get the highest quality photos from your camera. However, shooting under inadequate lighting, like indoor fluorescent lights, it's either go high with ISO or go home. Not only is the light inadequate, it's the wrong color light. We do what we need to do and deal with the noise in post processing (editing). Edit cautiously! I've learned that when I push the noise reduction slider too far I become like Vincent Van Gogh making the photo begin to look like a water color painting.

Speaking of artists, on April 19th the Fillmore High School presented a “Celebration of the Visual & Performing Arts” at the Memorial Bldg. The 20th Annual Arts Show was a fabulous fun evening. Not only were fabulous artworks of high school students showcased, students also ran the whole event. It was an evening of celebrating the student artists, musicians, actors, dancers, and faculty. The Los Rayos Mariachi Band got the festivities going with the Ballet Folklorico Dancers. Drama performances preceded the high school jazz band which was followed by the high school concert band. The cliché ‘fun was had by all’ is appropriate.

Some readers asked: Why did I select the photo I used as the photo of the week last week. Appropriate question considering the photo depicts more or less a nondescript plant in a black boot. Nothing special evoking any emotion. Au contraire mon ami. Often, photographers tend to see the world a little differently. We don't just see the overview. Not always but often we notice little things... details. The large room was full of beautiful flowers yet when I happened upon that one particular display, the plant in a black boot, it made me pause. The boot. The rock. The note! The details attest to the nature of the creator of the piece. Simple yet profound. A heartfelt note saying: “Thank you 1st responders”. I love the love that writer expressed. That's why I chose it.

Continuing the spirit of the flower show, the photo of the week is a gorgeous, delicate white rose. A must see online.

Heads up! Photo ops galore! The "Renaissance of Railroading" Railfest is this weekend. It's a celebration featuring train rides behind the majestic #14 steam engine, live music and a bit of Steampunk fun. Consider your weekend planned.

Send comments, suggestions or questions to bob@fillmoregazette.com

(l-r) Joanne King with this year’s Grand Prize Winner Bene Ambrosio for her potted plant “Crown of Thorns.”
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Many from the community of Fillmore brought their beautiful blooms and plants to the Active Adult and Community Center. It was a great show!

Becky Morales and Barry Cooper provided delightful music both days. Several local merchants donated door prizes. All the winners were pleased with their prizes. Thank you: Ari Larson, Diamond Realty and Investments, King and King Ranch, Rafa’s Carpet Cleaning, Sani Ward’s Train Stop, The Treasure Station, Estela Homegoods, El Pescador Restaurant. A BIG thank you to Otto and Sons’ Nursery for the roses and much support throughout the year. Check the Otto and Sons’ website for workshops throughout the year. They have lots of information to help gardeners of all skills. Regina Nunez was hostess at the flower show cafe with iced tea, baked treats and friendly conversation. Visitors to the show purchased, at very good prices, plants and dish gardens. Thanks to all the gardeners who brought clippings from their yard to contribute to the plant boutique. The committee, especially Joanne King and Linda Nunes, labored tirelessly to organize the event. Many volunteers worked hours and hours to make sure the the flower show happened. And of course, thank you Ryan Lee for the website.

The flower show displays were enjoyed by a large crowd. The age of the partici-pants ranged from 4 years old (the youngest entrant) to senior citizens (whose age we will not reveal!). The youth of Fillmore had art, including photography, and flower arrangements. Next year will be the 100th year since the first Fillmore Flower Show. It is never too early to plan for next year.

If you missed the flower show this year, we’ll be back next year. Thank you Fill-more.

Flower Show Winners

Grand Prize: Bene Ambrosio “Crown of Thorns” (potted plant)
Division I Cut Rose: Joanne King “Fourth of July”
Division II Cut Iris: Regina Stehly “Yellow Spuria”
Division III Other Cut Flower: Carmen Zemeno “Red Amaryllis
Division IV Bouquets: Bene Ambrosio “White Watson”
Division V Arrangements: Linda Nunes
Division VI Miniature Arrangements and Bouquets: Jane Lee
Division VII Potted Plants: Bene Ambrosio “Crown of Thorns”
Division VIII Dish Gardens: Susan Hopkins
Division IX Youth Arrangements: Hope Stehly
Division X Youth Composition: Mary Nunez
Division XI Youth Art: Kimberly Lizarraga “Watercolor Rose”

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Story Courtesy Joe Woods

The young man from Fillmore did it again! Jose “Froggy’ Estrada with a now 5-1 record defeated “Ruthless” Rudy Morales with a record of 5-6 via TKO. It was the fight-of-the-night by far. The night was filled with eight fights. Three main events were broadcast live on Univision TV. Froggy’s fight was the first one up. The event was named Combate Estrellas / Stars Will Rise. This was for Combate Americas M.M.A.

Let’s go back a week in time when I called Froggy on the phone. I asked if he was ready. “Yes sir, Coach,” he said. “I am pissed off at him (Morales). He called me on my phone to ask a question about weight. I told him not to call me, call my people, I am fighting you in two weeks. The last thing I need to do is be friends with this guy!”

Froggy is a full-time pro-fighter now. He trains in the gym every day that’s his job. The work has paid off for him. He just signed a new fight deal with Combate Americas under the leadership of CEO Campbell McLaren. Froggy is a crowd favorite.

Fast forward to the fight. I saw Froggy about an hour before the fight in his locker room. He was taped up and getting his gloves on. I have never seen him so ready for a fight. Focus was the word I would use--Focus! I asked if he was still pissed at the guy, “Yes sir!” said Froggy. The fire in his eyes told the story. I almost felt sorry for the ”Ruthless” one. Almost!

I watched as Froggy got warmed up. I told him I would let him be so he could get ready. I told him “The Story”, then I said a prayer for him, told him I loved him and we had our handshake. That is the hardest part for me, to say goodbye and then feel powerless. The nerves were high for sure for this writer.

After three entertaining fights, it was time. Morales was first to come into the cage. He had the nerve to do the “Froggy Leap” while he came in. I was hoping Froggy saw that. Then the chants came up, FROGGY! FROGGY! FROGGY! FROGGY! Load enough to wake the dead at the Shrine in L.A. Froggy came down the ramp ready for a fight. After the introductions it was time. Morales came out clowning around. That was another big mistake on his part. Froggy wasted no time and was on the attack. Froggy threw more punches and kicks then any of the three other fights combined! And Morales still clowned around in the ring. He would look at Froggy after he got hit and try to say it didn’t hurt. WRONG!

Right before the First round was over Froggy was giving Morales a true beat down. The Referee pulled Froggy off Morales. With about 10 seconds left Froggy flew across the cage for one more attack. The crowd was going crazy at this point. In the start of the second round Morales’ face was showing a whole new look--blood and swelling.

Froggy showed no mercy, I am sure he was still pissed off. With great punches and kicks to the head the Referee saw enough, and stopped the fight. Froggy then jumped on top of the cage and threw his arms in the air with victory. His friend and family were in the balcony cheering him on. Froggy threw his mouthpiece to them with a huge smile.

What happened here my friends of Fillmore was a clown showed up to fight a man. The man won. Then the clown needed to go home and fix his face.

Froggy is the real deal folks! He his someone you should get behind and support. Froggy is the nicest man I know, and would do anything for anybody. He is a true Star On The Rise in the M.M.A. world and he is from right here in Fillmore.

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On Wednesday, April 11th at the Fillmore High gym, families, friends, coaches and teammates gathered to celebrate four FHS Varsity Softball players: Kasey Crawford, Sydnee Isom, Maiah Lopez, and Cali Wyand in signing their National Letter of Intent to continue their education and softball careers at the collegiate level.

Individual Player Bios:

Kasey Crawford
Kasey Crawford will be attending Dixie State University in the fall to continue her softball career and receive a college education. She will be majoring in Population Health and Health Administration. Kasey says, “Softball has taught me many things but the most important is learning how to be patient. I knew if I was patient long enough and worked extremely hard it would pay off and I would get what I dreamed about for so long.”
She started playing softball at age 5 and has loved it ever since. Kasey played on numerous travelball teams and has played for Fillmore High School Varsity Softball all 4 years. Kasey has received many awards on and off the field. She currently plays for So. Cal. Batbuster 18u Konis/Zappia. In 2013/2014 Kasey played for 14u So. Cal. Sparks coached by Australian Olympian Danielle Bouman were Kasey started her recruiting process traveling to Colorado, playing in her 1st PGF National in Huntington Beach and finishing 2nd in the USSSA National. In 2016 Kasey and her team finished in the top 10 at the PGF Platinum 16u with the So Cal. Diamonds. At the 2017 PGF National Kasey played for So. Cal. Batbuster’s where she had an outstanding performance and Coach Simkins head coach at Dixie State offered Kasey an athletic scholarship. Kasey and her teammates finished in the top 20 in the 16u premier division were they played teams from all over the nation.
For Fillmore High School Kasey is a 4 year All Academic League Tri Valley recipient. As a Freshman Kasey received Honorable Mention All League. In 2016 she was named MVP and 1st Team All League as a Sophomore. Her Junior year she was given the Golden Glove Award and 1st Team All League.
Kasey also plays Volleyball for Fillmore High where she received Honorable Mention her junior and senior year and was named Defensive Player of the Year in 2017. Kasey is the daughter of Eric and Carina Crawford. Her brother Dylan is a sophomore at Fillmore High where he has participated in football, basketball, baseball and track. Kasey’s biggest fans are her grandparents, Mr. Burns, Mimi Burns, and Steve and Jerri Crawford. “Thank you to everyone who has supported me and I’m honored to represent my small town at the college level.”

Sydnee Isom
Sydnee Isom will be attending Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa in the Fall to continue playing softball at the collegiate level while furthering her education. Sydnee will be studying pre-med in pursuit of her medical degree. Sydnee says, “What a journey this has been...a journey that all started with taking a chance, a risk, trying something new.” Sydnee keeps in mind as she starts the next chapter in her life. She started playing softball at the age of 6 and never looked back. Sydnee played on various travelball teams with her first team being So Cal Sparks coached by Danielle Stewart-Bouman and her latest and final travelball team being So Cal Pumas coached by Gary Keohohou, Mark Yamauchi and Judy Tresler. Sydnee is a 3 year Varsity Letterman for the Fillmore High Softball program. Sydnee has attained numerous athletic and academic awards throughout her high school and travelball years. In 2013/2014 she played for So Cal Sparks 14u where she started her recruiting process, traveling to Colorado, playing in her 1st PGF National Tournament in Huntington Beach, CA and finishing 2nd in the USSSA National Tournament. In 2017 Sydnee and her Phenom travel team finished in the top 8 at the Colorado Sparkler where she had an amazing performance which drew multiple college interests and ultimately lead to her athletic/academic scholarship offered by Northwestern College Head Coach Chris Nachtigall. For Fillmore High School, Sydnee’s primary position is pitcher and she also plays first base. Sydnee is a 4 year All Academic All League Tri Valley recipient. As a freshman she received the MVP award for the JV softball team. As sophomore she received Honorable Mention All League Tri Valley Varsity, as a Junior she was named 1st team All League Tri Valley and was named MVP for her Varsity team. Sydnee also played Varsity basketball her freshman and sophomore years where she was also an All Academic All Frontier League recipient. Her freshman year she was awarded Honorable Mention All Frontier League and her sophomore year was 2nd team All Frontier League. Sydnee has also achieved academic honors over her 4 years of high school as a recipient for Principals Honor Roll, Fillmore Unified School District Honor Roll and Renaissance Academic Recipient.
Sydnee is the daughter of Tim and Leslie Isom. She has 2 sisters, Victoria and Zoie. Victoria is a graduate of Oxnard High School and Zoie is a freshman at Fillmore High School, where she played basketball and is currently a pitcher for the schools JV softball team. Amongst Sydnee’s biggest supporters, are her grandparents Charles and Judy Whittaker, Norm Isom and Paula Hoaglan. Sydnee would like to thank “those that never gave up on me but rather helped make me the better person and player I am today. Thank you to the coaches that took chances on me, that pushed me to get out of my comfort zone and try new things. Thank you to my friends that have always had my back and to the teammates who truly want me to be the best I can be. Thank you to my family that always supports me and my goals. You have inspired me, taught me, loved me and have supported me and because of you, I will do big things in life.”

Maiah Lopez
Maiah Lopez will be attending Franklin Pierce University in the fall where she will be studying Criminal Justice. Maiah says she wouldn’t be the person she is today if it wasn’t for softball. "Softball has taught me so many life lessons and mannerisms. Softball has also taught me to work hard. It wasn’t easy by any means, but all the blood, sweat, and tears paid off."
Maiah started playing softball at the age of 5. As a transfer from Oxnard High School, Maiah is a 4 year Varsity Letter winner, earning 2nd team All League for the Pacific View League her freshman and sophomore year. As a junior for Fillmore High School she was named 1st Team All League, 1st team All County, 1st team All CIF and received the Silver Slugger Award. Maiah is an Honor Roll student and received the President’s Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence.
Maiah's first PGF National was in 2013 as a pick-up player for Lil Rebels out of Las Vegas were they placed 9th in the Premier 14U Division. In 2014, she joined the So. Cal. Pumas Siciliano 14U team where they had an outstanding performance placing 3rd in the gold bracket at the 2014 TCS Western World Series in Park City, Utah. 2015 Maiah decided to travel south and joined the USA Athletics Porter 14U travel team. That year they traveled to Colorado where they played in the Sparkler Power Pool games and placed 13th in the PGF Nationals Premier Division in Huntington Beach. In 2016 Maiah played for the USA Athletics Gold 18u, where they were the runner up at the PGF National Platinum Division.
Maiah's biggest supporter is her mom, she is thankful to her mom for introducing her to this ‘beautiful sport called softball. Without softball I wouldn’t have made so many friends who have now become my family."

Cali Wyand
Cali Wyand will be attending Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey in the fall where she will be majoring in Sports Administration. Cali says, “Softball has taught me leadership skills, how to hold myself accountable, endurance, respect, life skills and most of all being a successful person.
Cali has been playing softball for 13 years, from playing Fillmore Girls Softball to working her way up to elite teams in the travel world. Cali currently plays for So. Cal. Choppers 18u Ensey.
Cali has played for Fillmore High School Varsity Softball all 4 years. Where she has received All Academic League Tri Valley every year. As a freshman Cali earned 2nd team All League and Outstanding Defense Award. In 2016 Cali earned 2nd team All League as a sophomore. As a junior Cali was 2nd team All League and received the Miss Hustle Award.
Cali also played Varsity Basketball all 4 years for Fillmore High School and was All Academic League Frontier Valley. Cali earned 2nd team All League every year. As a Freshman Cali earned the Outstanding Defense Award. Her sophomore year Cali received the Team Captain Award and her senior year she was named All Tournament Player, receiving the Coaches Award.
Cali is the daughter of JT and Dena Wyand. Cali’s has 2 brothers, Paget is a sophomore and Ty is a freshman at Fillmore High School, where they have participate in football, basketball and track.
Cali’s heart will forever bleed blue. She is tremendously proud of being a Flash and will always do her best to make herself, her family and her community proud.

Lino Isaias Davalos Perez of Fillmore.

District Attorney Gregory D. Totten announced today that Lino Isaias Davalos Perez (DOB 12/23/80), of Fillmore, was sentenced to 17 years in state prison following a February 27, 2018, jury conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol, causing injury and driving with a blood alcohol concentration above the legal limit causing injury.

On the morning of April 4, 2016, Perez crossed into oncoming traffic hitting two other vehicles and collapsing the front of the vehicle he was driving onto his passenger. Perez’s passenger suffered fractured bones, cuts to internal organs, and several other injuries. The driver and occupants of the second vehicle struck by Perez suffered injuries ranging from bruises and pain, to bone fractures. Perez exhibited alcohol intoxication at the scene and his blood results later showed a blood alcohol concentration of 0.156 percent, almost twice the legal limit.

Perez had prior convictions for driving under the influence and carjacking at the time of the collision. He was driving on a suspended license. The charges for which Perez was sentenced to prison are violent “strike” offenses.

Fillmore Unified School District

Approve Tentative Agreement between California School Employees Association, Chapter 421, and the Fillmore Unified School District.
The Board of Trustees approved the Tentative Agreement.

Adopt Resolution 17-18-16– Staff Appreciation Week, May 14-18, 2018
The Board of Trustees approved Staff Appreciation Week in order to recognize the many outstanding contributions provided by our District staff.

Approve Resolution 17-18-15 Designation of Applicant’s Agent Resolution for Non-State Agencies
The Board of Trustees approved resolution 17-18-15.

Personnel Recommendations
The Board of Trustees approved all personnel recommendations including new hires, promotions, resignations, retirements, and leaves.

Bob Crum

Around Easter time the Antelope Valley west of Lancaster is alive with hundreds of acres of gold-colored California poppies--a cornucopia of poppies such to cause a sudden copious flow of uncontrollable giggles. None yet this year, I miss them.

Another delightful flower I miss are lilacs. From Sunset Magazine: “(Lilacs) Flowers as pretty as party dresses, with a gently sweet fragrance reminiscent of Grandma’s dressing table, make lilacs sentimental favorites. Lilacs spark nostalgia ― possibly for a place where they once flourished, or perhaps for another era. But this nostalgia isn’t easy to create everywhere. In (So-Cal) mild-winter climates, you can’t pop just any lilac into the ground and expect an exuberant show of blooms come midspring. You’ll need to buy low-chill varieties.”

Aha! Low-chill varieties is the secret. If I had a place to move to hereabouts where I could play horticulturist, I'd plant a couple bushes of ‘blue skies’ lilacs: Very fragrant lavender flowers appear on an 8-foot-tall plant. Heavy bloomer. No need to adjust water to induce dormancy.” But I digress.

Speaking of flowers, the fabulous Fillmore Vision 2020/Civic Pride 2018 Fillmore Flower Show was held this past weekend--a tradition since 1919. The Active Adult & Community Center was full of exposed naked flowers in full bloom.

So many roses on display obviously many Fillmore residents are rose aficionados. A room full of rose blooms of various colors including pretty petite roses. Not just roses. Blooms and plants of differing kinds and colors were on display.

Photographically speaking, the flower show is a tough assignment. Lighting is not good but can't use flash because of excessive unsightly glare reflected from the plants. What's a photographer to do? Personally, I simply substitute margaritas for ice tea in the flask in my back pocket and shoot. Trade secret. Indoor fluorescent lighting like in the Community Center always present challenges. Pardon me here as I get a tad technical. Colors captured by cameras are interpreted in degrees of Kelvin (K) on a scale from 1,000 to 10,000. Kelvin represents the temperature of light, directly correlated with the color of the burning carbon at that temperature. This is important because the color of the light will affect the colors in photographs. Furthermore, cameras see colors differently than our eyes.

Hark, a remedy is at hand. Camera white balance settings compensate for a given light source Kelvin. Correct white balance (WB) makes white areas look white. The white balance setting chosen will change the color balance in your pictures, making it warmer or cooler depending on how the light affects the subject.

The various white balance settings on my Canon 7D MKII to approximate the K of the light are: Auto, daylight, shade, cloudy, tungsten light, fluorescent light, flash, custom and kelvin. Custom is interesting. More another time.

Outdoors on sunny days auto white balance works fine for landscape photos and mermaids sunning on the beach. Indoor fluorescent lighting often messes with 'auto' WB. Hence I switched the camera's WB to the fluorescent setting. But fluorescent light's K varies. What then? I can't dial in the K temp because I have no way of determining it. Matters not because the 'fluorescent' setting worked reasonably well. Any remaining color shift was corrected during post processing with Lightroom software.

The photo of the week is one of the many creative presentations at the show: Plant in a boot with a note on the rock. Test question: What do you see unusual about the photo data? Happy photoing!

Send comments, suggestions or questions to bob@fillmoregazette.com

Corey Cole

Fillmore High Head Football Coach Corey Cole has resigned after one season at Fillmore High School. The team finished their season 0-10, and 0-3 in Frontier League. Not only will the Flashes be looking for a new coach, but they will also be moving into a new league next fall.

Grad Nite Live is back and in full swing! Here’s your chance to support the Fillmore High School 2018 Senior Class, by purchasing Central Station Bar & Grill lunch/dinner tickets for only $11.00. Tickets will be sold at Bank of the Sierra through the end of May.

Also keep your eyes open for everyone’s favorite “Nothing Bundt Cakes” fundraiser to begin April 16th, and be delivered just in time for Mother’s Day. The senior class of 2018 will have the opportunity to celebrate their achievement with a fun filled night at Six Flags Magic Mountain. The cost per student is $100, so please come and show your support.

Thank you, Grad Nite Live

Bob Crum

Air shows present so many photographic challenges that lots of attempted shots are missed. Proof of this is exhibited by the profusion of expletives uttered by other photogs in the media area. On the other hand, 'money' shots captured are accompanied with a loud, joyful BOOYA! My goal: More booyas than dagnabbits!

For safety reasons air show planes fly at a designated distance away from the audience. Without a super-telephoto lens, aircraft performing off in a distance look like ants on the screen of an outdoor theater. Tiny! I don't own a super-telephoto lens because my normal assignments don't require one. Therefore, for special occasions like air shows, I rent one.

For past air shows I rented a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6'L' lens. Superb optics but weighs a hefty 3.5 pounds. With that lens on my 2 pound Canon 7D2 I'm lifting a hefty 5 pounds. Think about holding up five pounds for 3-1/2 hours! Add two pounds each hour because as we grow older gravity gets stronger... so it seems.

This year I threw caution to the stratosphere and risked renting the Tamron 18-400mm telephoto lens instead of the Canon lens. Can a lens that costs 2/3 less than the premium Canon 'L' lens perform as advertised... and hoped?

I was delightfully surprised. I can't say the image quality is precisely as good as the Canon lens, but it was up to the task. It takes a discerning eye to see significant difference in image quality. My arms so loved the lighter load they're hoping I'll consider buying that lens. Silly arms!

The photo of the week is a Sabre and Mig approaching together but far out. Therefore I zoomed all the way to 355mm. Why not all the way to 400mm you ask? Framing fast flying jets in the viewfinder is tricky so best leave room for error while also attempting to adhere to the photographic 'rule of thirds'.

While the 'rule of thirds' is preferred it's not easy to accomplish with fast moving jet aircraft. To understand and apply the photographic rule of thirds, imagine breaking up an image into thirds both horizontally and vertically. The four intersection points of these lines are where subjects should be placed to create a strong, balanced image. Like all rules, break as needed!

Studies have shown that when viewing images people’s eyes tend to go to one of the intersection points most naturally rather than the center of the image. When viewing the photo of the week, do your eyes naturally go to the upper left third of the photo? Works, doesn't it? Or did your eyes naturally go to the left third of the photo because that's where the planes are?

It's good to try to apply the rule of thirds when possible but not always applicable. Also, perfect focus on fast subjects is hit and miss... mostly miss. For example, as a jet is approaching, I'll start panning with it as soon as I see it in the viewfinder. Using back-button focus on my camera, I'll mash the focus button as soon as I see the plane in the frame. Timing is key. Wait for it... wait.... wait.... BOOYA!

Since it all sounds like a chore, why do it? Because the thrill of capturing booya photos trounce the trials and tribulations. More importantly, I delight in story telling by photos (photojournalism).

Lastly, I finally finished the photo/video of the Blue & Gray Civil War reenactment. View it here... https://youtu.be/nqSLR5eJOvc .

Send your comments, questions, or suggestions to bob@fillmoregazette.com

This morning, amid widespread opposition from Ventura residents and environmental groups, Supervisors Peter Foy and Kelly Long withdrew their proposal to eliminate the public’s right to challenge oil drilling and other development projects that impact the environment and public health.

In the four short days since announcing the proposal, the Supervisors received more than 100 letters and emails from Ventura County residents demanding that the right to appeal certain oil drilling projects throughout the County be preserved.

The proposal – announced last Thursday – sought to revoke a longstanding provision in the County’s Zoning Ordinance that gives the pubic the right to appeal the County Planning Division’s issuance of Zoning Clearances. These clearances are the primary means by which new oil wells are approved and drilled, and they are issued without any public hearing or environmental review. Appeals allow further review and oversight by the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors for certain controversial drilling projects before they can proceed.

Supervisor Foy’s and Long’s proposal was initiated last November, when Foy unilaterally directed County staff to prepare a report summarizing the amount of funds and staff time that the County Planning Division spends processing appeals of oil-related Zoning Clearances. Last week, Supervisor Long joined Supervisor Foy in making a formal proposal to eliminate the public’s right to appeal Zoning Clearances, claiming that the move was justified because of the “astonishing” costs associated with 42 appeals.

However, the figures they cited were grossly inflated; only three appeals of oil-related Zoning Clearances have ever been filed, a small fraction of the 119 oil-related Zoning Clearances issued since 2014, according to data that ForestWatch provided to the Supervisors yesterday in a letter criticizing Supervisor Foy’s and Long’s proposal.

“This deceptive proposal should have never seen the light of day,” said ForestWatch executive director Jeff Kuyper. “Shame on Supervisors Foy and Long for siding with the oil industry at the expense of public participation, good governance, and transparent decision-making.”

“The public has a right to participate in decisions that affect our region’s quality of life, public health and safety, and environment,” said ForestWatch public lands advocate Rebecca August. “This week, Supervisors Foy and Long tried to take away this right, citing misleading statistics and showing disdain for the democratic process. They will continue to face widespread public opposition to any further attempts to shut us out of the process.”

“Most appeals are filed to make projects better, to address concerns about impacts, and to ensure that procedures are followed and legal compliance is achieved,” said Kuyper. “They’re the only oversight the Board and Planning Commission retain of the County’s administration of antiquated oil permits.”

Currently, a Zoning Clearance application for oil and gas activities is $330, which covers a small fraction of the County’s total costs in processing the application, reviewing the underlying permit for consistency, conducting field visits, researching antiquated well records, and ensuring that the applicant has submitted all of the required information.

“The County should evaluate ways to hold the oil industry accountable for costs associated with their development,” said ForestWatch conservation director Bryant Baker. “If cost recovery is truly what concerns Supervisors Foy and Long, then let’s start by ensuring that oil companies at least cover the County’s expense of reviewing and authorizing their for-profit activities.”

ForestWatch has been at the forefront of efforts to bring transparency to the County’s Zoning Clearance approval process. In 2014, ForestWatch successfully encouraged the County to post a weekly listing of approved Zoning Clearances on the County’s website to increase public transparency of the approval process.

For a listing of Zoning Clearance appeals filed by ForestWatch – and the beneficial results those appeals achieved – please visit our website at LPFW.org/zoning-appeals/.

Fillmore Unified School District

Approve Tentative Agreement between Fillmore Unified Teachers Association and the Fillmore Unified School District
The Board of Trustees approved the Tentative Agreement.

Approve New Members of the Fillmore Unified School District Measure V Independent Citizen’s Bond Oversight Committee
The Board of Trustees approved two qualified community members to join the committee.

Approve Selection of Copier Vendor
The Board of Trustees awarded a bid for copier leases and services district-wide.

Personnel Recommendations
The Board of Trustees approved all personnel recommendations including new hires, promotions, resignations, retirements, and leaves.