The April 14, 2015 Fillmore City Council Meeting had five agenda items however five presentations and two Public Comment speakers filled the majority of the two hour meeting.

The City of Fillmore was awarded the Platinum Tier Level Status by Southern California Edison (SCE) Energy Leader Partnership Program, presented by Anna Frutos-Sanchez and Sue Hughes.

Fillmore was honored for reducing its carbon footprint through its conservation practices. A check for $122,098.92 representing the cumulative rebates was paid to the City for completing its energy efficiency projects. Fillmore is the first city in Ventura County to receive the SCE Platinum Award. Hughes told the Council, "The Energy Leader Partnership Program helps cities raise community awareness of the importance and impact of saving energy and Fillmore has been a great partner and sustainability leader, retrofitting their own facilities to be more energy efficient as well as providing leadership in the community....It gives me great pleasure to present the Energy Leader Partnership Platinum Award to the City of Fillmore, in recognition of your outstanding energy efficiency achievements."

Since Fillmore began the program it has achieved 1,273,294 in kilowatt-hours, enough to power 121 homes for one year, resulting in the elimination of 878 metric tons of carbon emissions, equivalent to removing 185 cars from the road.

Mark Lawler General Manager of the Ventura Regional Sanitation District (VRSD) presented an update on where the District is today. VRSD manages the 343 acre Toland Road Landfill and a state of the art solid waste processing facility that extracts methane gas for future energy purposes. The landfill processes 460,000 tons of trash each year.

Lawler explained that CONTINUED »

This is the final reminder and invitation to the Fillmore Flower Show, April 18th and 19th at the Senior Center in Fillmore, 533 Santa Clara Street. The theme this year is “Bursting with Beauty.” Anyone, young or old, who lives within the boundaries of the Fillmore Unified School District may enter into the competitive categories. However, others may enter just to display their beautiful blooms and plants. There is also a written composition category for youth. Brochures are available at several merchant locations as well as the library. Or, all information can be found on the website: www.fillmoreflowershow.com

The show is open to the public from 1:00 to 4:00 both Saturday and Sunday. Along with the colorful flowers and lovely plants, the ambiance will be enhanced by piano and guitar music throughout the afternoon. Put the Fillmore Flower Show on the list of things to do as participant or a spectator.

Schoolboard member John Garnica presents Piru Elementary School Principal Diana Vides with the Administrator of the Year award.

The April 7, 2015 Fillmore Unified School District (FUSD) Board Meeting began with recognizing four FUSD Staff and Student of the Year recipients. On the agenda, an update on the Federal Program Monitoring, and discussions on a new Mission Statement for FUSD.

The first to be recognized was Student of the Year David Cadena (who was not in attendance). Cadena, a senior at Fillmore High School (FHS), has been enrolled in every AP class starting as a freshman, and received a 4.0 GPA or higher for consecutive semesters. He was also an elected member of the Student Council and has received numerous awards for his academic and sports achievements.

Classified Staff of the Year was awarded to former FHS graduate Alfonso Martinez. Martinez has worked as a custodian for FUSD for nine years, previously at San Cayetano Elementary School and presently at Fillmore Middle School (FMS). Martinez, who coaches soccer at FHS, was recognized for his positive impact on his school community. School Board Member Scott Beylik spoke of his dedication and remarked that on rainy nights before the roof was replaced at FMS Martinez would drive to the gym at 2am to place buckets in the gym.

Certified Staff of the Year was awarded to Mary Allyn Garcia. Garcia who is presently teaching at Rio Vista Elementary School, has taught at Sespe, Mountain View, and San Cayetano Elementary School. She has four children who have all attended Fillmore schools, and her husband who is also a teacher. School Board Member John Garnica commented he has known Garcia for years and praised her leadership skills.

Administrator of the Year was awarded to Piru Elementary School Principal Diana Vides. Vides is a graduate of UC Davis and the credential program at CSUN. She is the recipient of the ConnectED Apple Award and coordinator for the migrant program.

The Federal Program CONTINUED »

This is the final reminder and invitation to the Fillmore Flower Show, April 18th and 19th at the Senior Center in Fillmore, 533 Santa Clara Street. The theme this year is “Bursting with Beauty.” Anyone, young or old, who lives within the boundaries of the Fillmore Unified School District may enter into the competitive categories. However, others may enter just to display their beautiful blooms and plants. There is also a written composition category for youth. Brochures are available at several merchant locations as well as the library. Or, all information can be found on the website: fillmoreflowershow.com

The show is open to the public from 1:00 to 4:00 both Saturday and Sunday. Along with the colorful flowers and lovely plants, the ambiance will be enhanced by piano and guitar music throughout the afternoon. Put the Fillmore Flower Show on the list of things to do as participant or a spectator.

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Dear San Cayetano Elementary School Community:

We are working to make sure that we have healthy classrooms and schools for students. Fillmore Unified is focused on keeping our classrooms and schools free of termites.

Our staff conducted a full inspection of San Cayetano Elementary School with the help of experts and we are now working to implement a treatment plan during Spring Recess (March 30th-April 3rd) We are committed to making sure that our work to address the termites does not disrupt student learning and that it takes place outside of instructional time. As a result, our experts will be working during the week of March 30 to complete a full treatment at San Cayetano Elementary School.

We are using the Spring Recess to complete the treatment and are following all procedures required by state law and Board Policy. The campus will be closed to all staff and visitors during the week of March 30th to make sure that students and staff are not exposed to anything that could be harmful. Staff will work with our experts to prepare our campus for students and staff when they return to school on Tuesday, April 7th. All areas that are treated for termites will be thoroughly cleaned and ventilated as part of this work.

We will continue our work to ensure healthy classrooms and schools for students and staff. Thank you for your continued support and enjoy a well deserved Spring Recess.

Ventura County Sheriff's Department

On 3/29/2015, the Fillmore Police Department’s Investigations Unit conducted an alcohol enforcement operation. Underage minor decoys were used, under the direct supervision of law enforcement officers, to solicit adults outside California Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) licensed stores to purchase alcohol for the minors. The goal of this operation was to limit minors’ access to alcohol.

Two underage decoys were used in an attempt to solicit others to purchase alcohol for them in different locations throughout the City of Fillmore and the unincorporated area of Piru. Approximately 20 subjects at four locations were solicited during the operation. 1 adult male purchased alcohol for the minor decoys. The one male subject was arrested for BP 25658(a) / furnishing alcohol to a minor.

The Fillmore Police Department’s Investigations Unit will continue to conduct periodic operations in the area in an effort to prevent minors’ access to alcohol.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office and the Fillmore Police Department would like to remind the public that selling alcohol to, or purchasing alcohol for, minors is illegal and that alcohol is a factor in many homicides, suicides, and other unintentional injuries which along with car crashes are the four leading causes of death in 15-20 year olds. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office wants to remind the public to report incidents of underage drinking and illegal purchasing of alcohol.

Location: Various Locations - City of Fillmore & Unincorporated Piru
Date & Time: March 29th, 2015, between the hours of 2:00 PM and 10:00 PM
Unit(s) Responsible: Fillmore Police Department Investigations Unit
(S)uspects, (V)ictims, (P)arty, (D)ecedent City of Residence Age
One (1) Adult Male Fillmore
Prepared by: Sergeant Mario Aguilar
News Release Date: 03/29/2015
Media Follow-Up Contact: Detective Javier Chavez 805-524-2233
Javier.chavez@ventura.org
Approved by: Captain R. Bassi #2978

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).

Lupita Perez takes second place in both the 1500m and 3000m at the Santa Barbara Easter Relays.
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4x100m relay: Pictured (l-r): Junior Aaron Cornejo, Senior Michael Luna, Senior Hayden Wright and Senior Demitriouz Lozano.
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This past Saturday, the Fillmore Flashes Track and Field Team attended the Santa Barbara Easter Relays. This year the team took 23 athletes to participate. At the conclusion of the meet Fillmore High School brought home sixteen medals with nine athletes earning personal records. Senior Justin Coert, a second year track and field participant broke a twenty eight year old school record held by Robert Zermeno from 1987. The old record stood at 147 feet 9 inches, Justin clips that mark with a throw of 149 feet 9 inches. In addition he set a personal record in the shot put throwing 48 feet 7.5 inches. He has qualified for the Arcadia Invitational which is a prestigious invitational that many strive to qualify for and participate in. Currently he ranked number one in CIF Southern Section Division 4 for in the Discus and 2nd in the shot put.

Our Varsity Girl runner of the day was Lupita Perez. Lupita is a junior and third year track and field runner for the lady flashes. She was the only lady flash that qualified to run in both the individual 1500 meters and 3000 meters. She earned second place in both races where she ran a 4:58.28 in the 1500m and 10:36.38 in the 3000 meter. Lupita set a personal record that day in the 3000 meter. We are very excited and pleased by her performance and look forward see what she can accomplish this season.

In the frosh-soph girls division, our distance quartet earned medals in both the 4 x 800 meter relay placing 5th as well as in the Distance Medley Relay where they earned 4th place. The lady flashes that participated in these relays were sophomores Alyssa Ramirez and Lauren Magdaleno with freshmen teammates Janaey Cadena and Jackie Chavez. Bringing home hardware in the throws competition were both Mariah Gonzalez and Karissa Ibarra. Mariah placed first place in discus and second place in the shot put, while teammate Karissa Ibarra placed fourth in both the discus and shot put.

The Fillmore Track and Field Team hosted the first Tri Valley League meet against Nordhoff this past Thursday. The meet was a huge success clinching all four divisions including Girls JV, Boys Frosh Soph, Girls Varsity and Boys Varsity. The closest score was in the Boys Varsity division with only a five point gap. The entire meet came down to the team effort put forth by all runners, jumpers and throwers that day. Way to go Flashes!

We would like to invite the Fillmore community to our next home meet on Thursday April 16th.This will be our third Tri-Valley League meet where we will compete against Saint Bonaventure and La Reina. Hope to see you there!

The March 24, 2015 Fillmore City Council began with two Proclamations and three presentations. The majority of those in attendance came to comment on the first agenda item regarding the renewal contract with EJ Harrison for trash removal. Two other agenda items were a request to name a future park and a service contract to investigate the City's Fee Schedule.

The first Proclamation went to the many volunteers who donated their time and effort to build the Bike Pump Track. Present to receive their plaque was Greg and Grant Taylor, owners of MG Taylor Equipment, who donate approximately $25,000 of heavy equipment including backhoes, forklifts, bulldozers, loaders and also provided the volunteers to operate the equipment. During Public Comments it was mentioned that MG Taylor Equipment Company also volunteered in the building of Shields Park.

Also in attendance to receive a plaque was Rusty Cochran, owner of Grimes Rock Inc., who donated $9,832 worth of soil. Trucks worked daily nonstop for a week delivering the 99 loads and placing the 1,500 tons of sand and clay, which was over 2,000 yards of export soil.

Mayor Douglas Tucker commented, "It means a lot to have good neighbors like Grimes." Cochran replied, "Anything I can give back, I will."

Others receiving CONTINUED »

Ventura County Sheriff's Department

Detectives from the Ventura County Narcotic Task Force concluded an investigation which began in September 2014 into the sales of “Spice” in Ventura County. Spice is a mix of herbs (shredded plant material) with manmade chemicals applied to it which is mind-altering. It is often called “synthetic marijuana” because some of the chemicals in it are similar to ones in marijuana; but its effects are sometimes very different from marijuana, and frequently much stronger. It is most often labeled “Not for Human Consumption” and disguised as incense and potpourri. However, the sellers of Spice know it is being consumed and package labeling to attract young consumers. Some of the packaging labels include, “Diablo, Scooby Snax, Atomic Bomb, Mr. Nice Guy, Dead Man, Frankin Stoned, Bob Marley, Mr. Happy, Mind Trip, and iBlown.”

Because the chemicals used in Spice have a high potential for abuse and no medical benefit, the Drug Enforcement Administration has made many of the active chemicals most frequently found in Spice illegal. However, the people making these products continuously try to avoid these laws by altering the chemicals in their mixtures to circumvent emergency legislation. Sellers of Spice products try to lead people to believe the ingredients are “natural” and therefore harmless, but they are neither. Spice is the second-most popular illegal drug used by high school seniors (marijuana is the first). Easy access and the misperception that Spice is “natural” and safe have likely contributed to these higher rates of use. Its side effects, like the ingredients, often vary, but emergency rooms report seeing people with rapid heart rates, vomiting, agitation, and hallucinations. Using Spice can lead to abuse and even addiction as the body builds up tolerance to the drug’s effects over time and craves a higher dose to achieve the same effect. (Data from National Institute on Drug Usage NIDA)

Detectives began receiving complaints from patrol officers and officers assigned to local schools of incidents where Spice was involved. They found several incidents where students had become violent and aggressive while at school and the officers had to request medical aid for the students that were under the influence of Spice. The detectives found several other incidents where patrol officers had physical altercations with subjects throughout Ventura County under the influence of Spice and they described the individuals as having super human strength.

Detectives conducted undercover operations at over 32 smoke shops throughout Ventura County and were able to purchase Spice at 9 locations. Warrants were authored for the above locations. During the search warrants, the detectives located over 43 pounds of “Spice,” a stolen handgun, evidence of sales of prescription drugs and 10 gambling style slot machines. Arrests for the sales of “Spice” are still pending since the substances that were seized are still being analyzed to determine if they contain one of the illegal chemicals per the Drug Enforcement Administration. Four additional arrests were made during the service of the search warrants for the stolen gun, sales of prescription drugs and the slot machines.

If you’re a parent, talk to your teens about Spice. It’s not safe. It’s not natural. In fact, no one really knows what’s in a package of Spice. Manufacturers are using a variety of unknown chemical combinations to evade D.E.A. regulations. If you have information about Spice and locations where these products are being sold, call your local law enforcement agency. The Ventura County Narcotics Task Force will continue to investigate the sellers and manufacturers of Spice products.

The Ventura County Narcotics Task Force is made up of narcotics detectives from the Sheriff’s Office, California Highway Patrol, California Franchise Tax Board, Oxnard Police Department, Santa Paula Police Department, Simi Valley Police Department and the District Attorney’s Office working cooperatively in the investigation of narcotics offenses occurring in Ventura County.

Nature of Incident: Narcotics Search Warrants / Arrests
Report Number: 15-30659 – 15-30365 (Oxnard Police Department) 14-21514 (Ventura County Sheriff’s Office)
Location(s):
1. Sam’s Smoke Shop 2820 E. Vineyard Avenue, Oxnard
2. Center Smoke Shop 801 E. Main Street, Santa Paula
3. 99 Cents & More 3133 Saviers Road, Oxnard
4. Station 1 Tobacco 616 E. Main Street, Ventura
5. Santa Paula Smoke Shop 319 E. Harvard Blvd, Santa Paula
6. Wild Zone Smoke Shop 2700 S. Ventura Road, Oxnard
7. Royal Spades 1037 S. Ventura Road, Oxnard
8. Central Smoke Shop 341 Central Avenue #105, Fillmore
9. Smoke for Less 616 Ventura Street, Fillmore
Date & Time: October 15, 2014
March 24, 2015
Unit(s) Responsible: Ventura County Narcotics Task Force, Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, California Highway Patrol, California Franchise Tax Board, Oxnard Police Department, Simi Valley Police Department and the Santa Paula Police Department
(S)uspects, (V)ictims, (P)arty, (D)ecedent City of Residence Age
(S) Ilias Youssef Ventura 37
(S) Abdo Alhaddad Ventura 26
(S) Dominic Diaz Santa Paula 35
(S) Charlene Galvan Oxnard 30
Prepared by: Sergeant J. Hendren
Media Release Date: March 24, 2015
Follow-Up Contact: Captain John Reilly
805-947-6782
Approved by: Captain Curt Rothschiller

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).

Written By Laura Bartels and Anna Morielli

Fillmore High’s legal team made major strides during the Ventura County Mock Trial competition on February 23rd and 24th. In its third year, the team consisted of four seniors, six juniors, one sophomore and four freshmen. At the awards ceremony held at the Oxnard Civic Center, senior Hai Tran won Ventura County Third Place as art expert prosecution witness Bernie Worchester.

This year’s case, People v. Shem, involved the felony charge of grand larceny from the alleged theft of a railroad baron’s painting. The students portrayed each principal of the cast in a courtroom, including attorneys, witnesses, defendant, court clerk, and bailiff. The trial played out in real courtrooms at the Ventura Superior Court before actual judges and scored by Ventura County practicing attorneys.

The evening began with a pre-trial motion designed to exclude evidence gained by an illegal search. This year’s pre-trial motion focused on the Fourth Amendment protection against warrantless search and seizure -- “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects.”

The prosecution team, --Catherine Alonso, Paulina Guerrero, and Misael Ponce, shined in round one against Westlake High School and again in round four against Oxnard High School. Prosecution attorney for pre-trial motion, junior Tatem Forsberg, strongly presented the prosecution’s argument of why the defendant had no reasonable expectation of privacy for items he had consented to be searched. Tatem argued that once the defendant told the officer to “look around the apartment” it was reasonable that the consent extended to the storage unit assigned to the apartment. The officer only needed a “reasonable” belief that consent to “the apartment” would include ancillary uses of “the apartment” and that it would be unreasonable for the officer to ask the defendant every time for every area the officer wanted to search.

In a strong opening CONTINUED »

If the economy continues to rebound and recover, Fillmore can expect to see a reasonable amount of growth and development. The market dictates what comes and what goes, but today positive things are moving in Fillmore's direction.

Fillmore is seeing a real surge in building, both commercial and residential. Many of the projects have been in the works for years, while some were put on hold due to the economic problems experienced in 2008, and others changed direction due to public concern.

In 2007 Fillmore residents rallied together to change the debated high housing density originally proposed at the North Fillmore Specific Plan. This resulted in a ballot measure that allowed the people to vote on the controversial Plan. Another project that garnered a great deal of public attention was the Chevron (Fillmore Works) Specific Plan. Concerns have been addressed in some cases, while others are still ongoing.

North Fillmore
North Fillmore Specific Plan (NFSP) is a 101 acre project originally slated for 700 residential units, but such a high density neighborhood did not sit well with many of Fillmore's residents. This resulted in Measure I, which was voted and approved in 2008 ballot, which required the density be reduced by half. Part of NFSP project acreages (30 acres) belongs to Suncal, who have since changed the name to NLA Community.

NLA Community is moving forward with development and preparing to grade their 30 acres of the original 101 acreage. Those 30 acres will have all the required infrastructure to build the 146 homes including utilities. Every lot is both street and alley adjacent and vary in size from the low 3,000 sq. ft. to over 7,000 sq. ft. The developer plans to sell the improved land to someone who will then construct the actual 146 houses. It will take NLA Community one year to grade the land due to the large amounts of boulders present in the area. The area discussed is located north of 7th St., West of Goodenough Rd. southeast of Sespe Creek, with B St. running through it.

The density of the remaining NFSP's 71 acres has also been reduced, due to the passing of Measure I, to 355 homes with no multi-dwellings lots available. This averages five housing units per acre, down from about 10 units per acre. Today there are no immediate plans in the works to develop the remaining 71 acres.

Edgewood Neighborhood
Santa Clarita based CONTINUED »

Don has long served his country and the community of Fillmore. This will detail just some of his contributions.
Don was born and raised in Fargo, North Dakota. After graduating from Fargo Central High School, he was awarded a Navy ROTC scholarship. He then attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison as a Midshipman, U.S. Naval Reserve. He graduated with Bachelors of Business Administration degree and was commissioned an Ensign in the U.S. Navy in June 1957.

His service in the Navy and to the USA took him to many places around the country and world including Norfork, Virginia; Panama City, Florida; Hawaii; three deployments in Viet Nam; Washington DC; Norfork again; Mediterranean; Command at Sea – based in Charleston, SC; trip around South America; Port Hueneme; and the Pentagon.

In 1972, Don was awarded the Air Medal and Bronze Star Medal with combat “V”. He retired as a Navy Commander on February 1st, 1985 after his first wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. They moved to Fillmore in March 1985. Sadly, Don’s first wife passed away in February 1986.

This lady from Fillmore, “Ruthie” came into Don’s life and they married in 1987. In 1990 when two members of the City Council announced they would not run for reelection, Don took this opportunity to give something back to the community where he lived. This was not something he could easily do during his Navy career. Ruth agreed to help with the campaign and Don soon learned how deep Ruthie’s roots were in the City. The guy who “married Ruthie” rustled up enough votes to win a seat on the City Council. Don served on the Council for 12 years including a stint as mayor. The 1994 earthquake was probably one of the most challenging times for the City but Fillmore came out strong with hard work by Don, the other Council members, City staff, and City residents.

In April 1993, Don joined the Rotary Club of Fillmore Sunrisers and remains an active member of the merged Rotary Club of Fillmore. Don served the club as President (1997-98), secretary/treasurer & Foundation Chair to name a few. Being a Rotarian has provided Don with opportunities to do many projects both in Fillmore an even in international projects. Among Don’s favorite projects has been the provision of Student dictionaries to all third grade students in the Fillmore and Piru schools. Through the years Rotary has given out more than 4,000 dictionaries.

After leaving the City Council in 2002, Don became a member of the Board of Directors of the Fillmore Piru Veterans Memorial District in 2003. He served many years and helped the District obtain several grants enabling the District to pay for a number of repairs and improvements.

Don and Ruth continue to service the community through Rotary and Faith Community Church of which they were part of the funding group.

Don Gunderson is well deserving of Lifetime Achievement Citizen for his many, many, years of service to Fillmore and our country.

David Cadena

David Cadena is a senior at Fillmore High School. He is a student of excellent academic standing, the recipient of the Renaissance Award of achieving a 4.0 GPA or higher in two consecutive semesters. Enrolled in every AP class starting at Fillmore as a freshman, David is a student who seeks challenge.

David is an extraordinary student who possesses strong qualities to fulfill any leadership role. As an elected member of the Student Council, David demonstrates leadership on campus by developing and participating in school sponsored events that enhance the school climate and student body of Fillmore High School. He is reliable, honest, dedicated in his undertakings, well-spoken, generous with his time in helping others, competent in setting examples and a positive role model for others. Indeed, David is the vice-chairperson of the School Site Council; President and founding member of the Leo’s Club. In 2013-14, David received the Leo of the Year award. David is also a member of the Hall of Fame club.

In this capacity he reflects a positive image of the school as evidenced by what the students say and do, and by what people read and hear about FHS. His communication skills create goodwill among and throughout the school and community.

David has a natural talent in developing and building friendly relations with students, faculty, administration, and the community. He is a member of FLASHES.

Excellence in academics, community service and public relations, David also demonstrates effort and commitment to his sports (golf for four years, football for one year), earning recognition and standing including but not limited to: Captain of the Wrestling team for 3 years; on the varsity team for four years. His awards include: TRI-VALLEY LEAGUE CHAMPION, 106 lbs., Varsity Wrestling 2013-14, MVP – LOWER WEIGHT DIVISION Varsity Wrestling 2012-13, MOST IMPROVED JV Wrestling 201-12.

David sets high standards for himself, fosters conflict resolution when the need arises, handles difficult situations with confidence and ease. He is not afraid to ask for help when pressing for results. He is a team player, always willing to learn.

David Cadena is a superstar!