Hi my name is Susie Brown and I live in Fillmore. My husband is a member of the IFCS 2012 Agility Team. There are only 12 members throughout the USA on this team. Three of them are from California. They just recently competed in Texas against nine other countries. I would love it if someone from the Star could do a story on these three members. I can help with some info and so can my husband, Kevin Brown. This was the first time my husband went out for the team; it is a 10 month long process. He earned two individual Golds, 2 individual Silvers and one Team Silver. This is also his first Agility Dog named Hunter. You can research a lot of the information on the USDAA web site at www.usdaa.com . If you click on News and Events you will see the story they reported. They will also direct you to other web sites for results. The two other CA members are Mia Grant from Santa Barbara (yes her dad is the DA Grant) and Daneen Fox from Acton. Daneen has been on the Team two other times but this is a first time for Kevin and Mia.

Both Mia and Daneen are full time Agility Trainers. This is also the first time in 25 years that this event has ever been held in the USA.

Normally it is held in Europe. Daneen won a Gold in individual Jumpers and Mia won a individual Silver in the biathlon. This is two events combined, Jumpers and Standard. My husband also won a Silver in this event. His two Golds were in individual Snooker and individual Gamble.

He won Silver in!--break--> individual Standard and Team Relay. Mia also was on this Team winning Silver. The other USA Team won the relay Gold. So bottom line is Daneen won one Gold, Mia won two Silvers and Kevin won two Gold and three Silvers. Mia's dogs name is Vic (Border Collie), Daneen's is Masher (Papillon) and Kevin's is Hunter (Shetland Sheepdog

aka: Sheltie). Dog Agility is where the dogs run along side the Handlers on courses that go over jumps, teeter totters, 12 weave poles, tires, A frames, dog walks, broad jumps, tunnels, and collapsed chutes. I forgot to mention that the Coaches just happen to be from CA too. The Coach was Rachel Sanders from Atascadero and Assist. Coach was Dave Grubel from Pleasant Hill, CA. The team competes in this IFCS competition every two years. Like I mentioned before the Team Selection is a long process. The rules and regulations are all on the web site. We started over a year ago by attending selected Trials through out the USA. We went to trial down south called a Four Star Trial and some Regionals in the Bay Area and Seattle, WA. I don't remember where the other trials were but the most important was the Nationals in Kentucky. At each trial competitors got points for placements. At the Nationals the points were given a higher value. At the conclusion of the Kentucky Nationals they announced the members of the Team and the alternates. I believe that we went to a total of five Trials to make up our points. I can check on that for you. There is an IFCS web site too. Dog Agility is the fastest growing dog sport.
Every weekend you can find either a USDAA or AKC Trial in the area.

It's not the same as watching it on TV as it is in person. The next big Agility Trial is going to be Labor Day Weekend in Moorpark at the Happy Dog Agility Field located at 5191 Read Rd, Moorpark CA 93021. Kevin won't be there we are taking a much needed break until June. Hunter will be celebrating his Ninth Birthday Aug. 1st. So he is entitled to a break. The average age of the dogs on the Team was five years old.

After the Nationals this September in Denver, Co, we will semi retire Hunter. He will then jump 12" performance instead of 16" Championship.

Vic jumps 26" and Masher 12". The dogs are measured at their withers, prior to their first Trial, to determine what jump height they will jump. In USDAA there are four heights, 12", 16", 22" and 26". On the team we had three dogs in each height. I know that I have bounced all over the place with information....this is why I am not a writer.

I write like I talk, sorry. Again, please do a story on these handlers and their dogs. I would like to see more people get into this sport.

The handlers and the dogs absolutely love it. For some dogs it's like an addiction. They live for agility. For some handlers it's the same.

Our dog is a member of our family first and an agility dog second. I took hundreds of pictures that I can provide you with. I also want to say that our coaches did an outstanding job. The handlers all were so supportive of each other. For most of us this was the first time we met each other, except when the Team was announced in Kentucky. The first time I ever saw an Agility Trial I couldn't believe all of the participants. It's not like any other sport out there because everyone roots and cheers for everyone, even their opponent. This is the way it was in TX too. Although each Country wanted that Gold, they still cheered each other on. My best memory from TX was when my Husband and Dog were on the podium and they played the National Anthem, I will never forget this. I didn't expect them to win any medals because he was like the "dark horse" going into this event. He had the least experience, oldest of the 3 dogs in his height from the USA and had never competed at an international level. I am sooo proud of the Entire Team. This is the first time that all of the members walked away with at least one medal. But, I should be clear about that... for some reason Russia was not able to attend and in the past they have been the big winners. You can see the medal count on the web site they refer you too. The USA was number one in Medals then Canada.

Be aware that your Senior needs to get their signed Grad Nite Live ‘PERMISSION’ paper to Jaci Avila or Barbara Lemons by Monday the 21st of May with their outstanding fundraiser money and/or $100 in order to get clearance so they can be assigned to a bus. Any questions call Mrs Chaney 407-5759 or April Hastings 317-9002.

District Attorney Gregory D. Totten announced today that Cheree Noel Sanker (DOB 03/07/77), of Fillmore, was sentenced on May 22, 2012, by the Honorable Colleen Toy White to nine years in state prison. Sanker pled guilty on March 15, 2012, to one count of corporal injury to a co-habitant with a deadly weapon, a felony.

The crime took place on October 29, 2011, after Sanker and the victim, who were domestic partners, had ended their relationship. The victim went to their former residence to retrieve some personal belongings. Sanker became enraged with the victim and hit her multiple times with a piece of wood, causing severe contusions. This case was investigated by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department in connection with the Ventura County District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation.

Sanker’s prison sentence was enhanced under California’s “Three Strikes Law” because of a prior conviction for assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer in Ventura County. The maximum possible sentence Sanker faced was 15 years in state prison.

The Bardsdale Cemetery will hold it Memorial Day Ceremony on Monday, May 28th at 11AM.

Featured speaker this year is Captain Tom Brovarone. He is the Commanding Officer of the Navy’s Engineering Duty Officer School on the base at Port Hueneme. He previous command tour was at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Panama City, Florida. He began his career as a submariner; serving at sea on two attach submarines before he went into the business of building of fixing submarines. He has held engineering and maintenance positions on the staffs of the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington DC, US pacific Fleet and Pacific Fleet Submarine Force in Pearl Harbor. Captain Brovarone also did a tour in Baghdad Iraq as the Director for Reconstruction for the US Army Corps of Engineers. Captain Brovarone is originally from New Jersey but is no stranger to California having attended the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey and Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo.

The Rev. Bob Hammond will give the Memorial Service, special music will be provided by the Bardsdale Methodist Church Choir. Also assisting in the ceremony will be Supervisor Kathy Long, VFW Post 9637, Boy Scout Troop 406, Cub Scout Troop 3400 and Bob Thompson. The Boy Scouts will put out the flags on Friday, May 25th and they will be picked up by the Bardsdale 4H on Tuesday, May 29th.

The Board of Trustees of the Cemetery District: Scott Lee, President, Lynda Edmonds, Secretary Rita Rudkin, Gabriel Asenas and Dick Diaz would like to invite the community to this special event.

Second Place, Amanda Vassaur, 17 of Fillmore.
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Third Place, Joel Mayorga, 13 of Ventura.
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May 13, 2012 - Ventura County children in Grades 5 through 12 competed in the third Ventura County Fair Poster Contest with entries that illustrated the Fair's 2012 Theme: "Rides, Ribbons & Rodeos". Of 45 entries, three were chosen by a panel of judges as the winners of the 2012 Ventura County Fair poster Contest.

First Prize went to Sam Coultas (18) of Ventura for his rendition of the Fair with an exciting Rodeo Rider in the foregrounds and a sweeping view of the Fair that includes the ocean and Channel Islands as well as an array of Fair Prize Ribbons. The work is rendered with amazing detail in watercolor paint with ink illustrations in a playful style that is colorful and fun.

Second place was won by Amanda Vassaur (17) of Fillmore for her vivid illustration of a Rodeo Rider in a style that is unique and skillfully colored. Visions of the Fair seem to leap off of the page as your eyes are drawn into the people, places and Fair things in this mesmerizing illustration.

Third place was awarded to Joel Mayorga (13) of Ventura for his electrifying depiction of a Fair Ribbon against an unmistakable Ventura County landscape peppered with creative images of carnival rides, Fair booths and people having a good time at the Fair. The artist's style illustrates the theme with whimsy and color.

"Congratulations to the talented winners of this year's contest," said Barbara Quaid, Fair CEO, adding "every artist who entered can be very proud of your uniquely crafted contributions to our community. You have told us many personal Fair stories, each in your own talented way. We thank every child who participated and encourage all children to continue creating and making art to share with us at the annual Ventura County Fair."

Cash Prizes are being awarded to the 3 winners and their artwork will be used to promote the 2012 Ventura County Fair. All contestants receive a prize and are invited to ride with the Junior Fair Board on a float in the
2012 Ventura County Fair Parade on Saturday, August 4. All contest entries will be displayed in the Youth Expo at the Ventura County Fair, August 1 - 12.

For more information about the Ventura County Fair, and to see the winning designs, please visit www.venturacountyfair.org.

Participants and Winners of the State Migrant Speech and Debate Competition are recognized for their achievement.
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Board Member John Garnica and State Tournament English Speech Winner Yulissa (8th Grade) Fregoso
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Board Member John Garnica and State Tournament Spanish Speech Winner Beatriz Tovar-Salcido (11th Grade)
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School Board Member John Garnica presented Jonathan Gonzalez the “Migrant Student of the Year” award. Gonzalez is a senior at Fillmore High School and plans to attend the University of Oregon in the fall.
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Board Member John Garnica and Migrant Parent of the Year Maria Pascual
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Jennifer Weir being recognized for her work with students and families. Jennifer is the Special Populations Student Support Coordinator for Fillmore Unified School District.
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Tron Burdick, Labor Relations Representative with the CSEA, voiced serious concerns about Fillmore Unified's negotiation practices.
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Superintendent Nishino and Board Members discuss the budget cuts.
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There were a number of agenda items discussed at May 15, 2012 Fillmore Unified School Board Meeting beginning with honoring the winners of the State Migrant Speech and Debate Competition. Other items were the Teaching Strategies Task Force Report and approval the Alternative Governance Board Findings for Fillmore Middle, San Cayetano and Piru Schools.

Cynthia Frutos, along with four others, presented a basic overview of the Teaching Strategies Task Force’s progress. Frutos spoke of the collaborative effort of those involved, the use of universal strategies which are not just grade or subject specific and a goal of looking for high yield results, adding “These systems are helping our district move forward.” The next to present was Jenny Bortins who expounded on Bloom’s Taxonomy; a method used that identifies three domains of learning behaviors (cognitive, affective and psychomotor). Originally conceived in 1956, the learning objectives have been revised to: creating, evaluating, analyzing, applying, understanding and remembering. Erin Sebek then presented the teachers “Point of View” and how it will assist during lesson planning. Jennifer Weir then showed a video clip of Raina Arrellano’s classroom using various methods in the teaching strategies and spoke of how computer generated lessons with imbedded links will provide students more information and improve lessons. “The District is committed to this Top Down/Bottom Up approach” Weir stated, and that she would also like to both increase the rigor of what is being taught and promote sharing ideas and strategies through a district website which will be an added tool in the teachers tool box. The final presenter was Diana Vides who highlighted the importance of having highly trained teachers with continued support and training.

The Alternative Governance Board (AGB) presented their findings on Fillmore Middle, San Cayetano and Piru Schools. The AGB is responsible for overseeing the improvement of the Districts schools that are in Program Improvement (PI). All three schools have been in PI for years with San Cayetano going on 6 years.

Anna Merriman with AGB reported that some teachers at Fillmore Middle School are not adjusting the lesson plans to the needs of the students and that GATE, grade level and remedial levels are being taught the same lessons. Also, some teachers had submitted lesson plans but for whatever reason chose not to implement the developed lesson plan in class. Also, while many classrooms had learning goals posted, in a majority of classes it was not used in a meaningful manner to detail proficiency expectations of lesion objectives to the students according to what they were to learn in each class, how they were going to learn it and how they were going to be assessed to determine they had learned it.

It was not all bad news though, in the Fall 41% of lessons were below the students grade level, but in Spring only 30% were below. Also improved, the percentage of lessons in which the teacher related what was being taught to a standard increased from 48% to 77%.

After the first visit to the school it was recommended that the District develop a plan to train staff on various research-based staff development strategies that support the California Standards for the Teaching Profession with a focus on research-based strategies such as checking for understanding, compare and contrast, summarizing and note-taking, connecting to prior knowledge, graphic organizers or non-linguistic representation, listening actively to student responses, interactive groups, and analyzing and giving feedback on homework. Also recommended was the Opportunity Programs be eliminated and that Earth Science be taught every day instead of every other as is now being done.

The AGB reported the quality of instruction at San Cayetano has not improved and that 35% of lessons observed were teaching standards below grade level. It was noted that lesson plans continue to lack the explicit connection between the stated standard and the content of the lesson. For example, in one of the lesson plans, the standard states, “Analysis of how is the value of a dime is different from the value of a penny”; however, the lesson required students to compare the difference between a penny and a dime, which is at a comprehensive level. On their second visit AGB noted explicit direct instruction was absent in 41% of lessons as compared to 10% of lesions on their first visit in the fall. Also, not all teachers at San Cayetano have high expectations of students and not all teachers are turning in lesson plans. AGB recommends that funds be allocated for professional staff development and hiring highly qualified certificated teachers be put in the next budget.

Piru School didn’t do much better. Many students are not taught at the rigor expected during their visit 24% of lesions observed had teaching standards below grade level. Piru also had teachers with low expectations of students. It was recommended that the 6th grade be transferred to Fillmore Middle School.

The Board acknowledged that is was Staff Appreciation Week but there was little to cheer about. Superintendent Dr. Alan Nishino explained how Gov. Brown’s over projected revenue, which now puts the State at almost $17 Billion in the red, will impact education even more severely than previously expected. Nishino informed those in attendance that even if the tax increase measures that Brown has banking on to help balance the budget, does pass, “…we still have to cut, but just not as much…we continue to spend without it coming in.”

The announcement of Staff Appreciation Week brought a bit of controversy as two speakers addressed the Board with scathing comments on the teacher layoffs and furlough days. Tron Burdick a California School Employees Association (CSEA) Rep. stated, “I find it bittersweet that we have Staff Appreciation Week when you cut so many teachers…you now use temporary employees…when we ask for information we’re ignored or rejected…I had to ask six times for information.”

Next to speak was Lola Rogers, CSEA President, who accused the District’s negotiating team of lying. “In 2011 all these groups agreed to 5 furlough days….In July of 2011 a Prior Year Payroll was processed. The Director of Human Resources received not 5 but 10 days extra pay. The Assistant Superintendent of Finance received not 5 but 10 days of extra pay. The Superintendent received 83% of his normal monthly salary, almost $10,000 extra pay. With benefits this came to over $22,000….there were differences in the budget as to what was Board approved and what was actually spent….we do not appreciate being lied to in negotiation….”

Just before the honors went to the students who participated in the 2012 Regional Spelling, Speech and Debate Tournaments Nishino stated, “This is a very proud moment for Fillmore.” Nineteen students, 6th-12th grade, attended the tournament and brought home 24 trophies. The California State Speech & Debate Tournament also had a number of Fillmore students bring home trophies; Yulissa Fregoso 8th grade student at Fillmore Middle School, won 1st Place extemporaneous; Beatriz Tovar-Salcido Fillmore High School 11th grade student won 1st place prepared Spanish and 2nd place extemporaneous Spanish. Also participating at the State Tournament: Viridiana Quintana, Luis Montejano, Itzella Iniguez, Neira Hernandez, Mariela Figueroa, Sarahi Pasqual and Banely Arevalo.

Other honors went to Jonathan Gonzalez for Migrant Student of the Year. Gonzalez plans to attend the University of Oregon in the spring. Also honored for Parent of the Year was Maria Pascual, whose two daughters attend Sespe and Fillmore High Schools.

Assistant Superintendent Michael Johnson announced a Summer School math program to prepare students for Algebra and Geometry will be offered. It’s an intensive program that’s goes for 20 day at 3 hours a day starting June 11th through July 13th.

City Attorney Ted Schneider explains the issues of El Dorado Estates to the council at Tuesday night’s meeting.

There wasn’t an empty seat in the council chamber as the May 8, 2012 Fillmore City Council began. It was a joint meeting with the Council and the Film Commission with a number of items on the agenda, but most in attendance came to hear the Council’s decision on the El Dorado Estates conversion proposal.

Other items were the downtown palm trees being removed, weed abatement, the one third retail requirement for the Central Business District, appeal to the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) and important financial issues.

Assistant City Attorney Charmaine Buehner gave a presentation on the City’s legal standing and the judge’s rulings in the case of El Dorado Estates vs. City of Fillmore. The City has prevailed in three rulings, yet that has not resolved the situation. The Petitioner/Plaintiff El Dorado Estates continues to sue, leaving the City with a legal bill of $236,000 to date. This all began on March 5, 2009 when the owners of El Dorado applied to subdivide the one 37.5 acre lot consisting of 302 mobile home spaces into 302 resident owned lots. There was a great deal of back and forth between the City and El Dorado as the application process began with the City not being satisfied with what was submitted. That brought on a threat by the owners to sue the City. On September 28, 2009 a lawsuit was filed by El Dorado and a legal battle began.

The owners of the park lifted the age restriction (morphing from a senior only to family park), which is something not subject to City approval and beyond the City’s reach. But this decision brought concerns for the safety of families with small children due to the lack of a safe play area and the additional parking needed for larger families. There is concern that these issues have an environmental impact.

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Nick Medina, a 2007 Fillmore High School graduate, got his first professional role as Vissarion Belinsky in the Shotgun Players version of Tom Stoppard’s “The Coast Of Utopia: Voyage”. The play ran from March 14, 2012 to April 29, 2012 with a total of 34 performances.

Nick gained the role as V. Belinsky while interning at the small Berkeley, California theater group, Shotgun Players and auditioned after being coaxed by director Patrick Dooley as a joke, not thinking anything would come of it. Well, something did come of it, to his surprise he was cast in one of the starring roles.

The “Coast of Utopia: Voyage” is the first in a three - play trilogy and is a dense play about Russia’s struggle for freedom set in the 1833 to 1844 era. Nick, being one of the youngest cast members, did a fantastic job. The Berkeley Daily Planet released a review of the play on April 20, 2012 and had this to say “…One performance stands above the rest: Nick Medina as V. Belinsky, the impoverished, less-educated revolutionary and literary critic, in the midst of aristocrats. Shy and awkward, ragged and a little dumpy among these lithe patricians, when he is aroused his rhetoric about the Revolution is entrancing and makes one want to rise to the Marseillaise. Medina knows how to play Stoppard: he directed a production of his “Travesties” as few years ago”. Another review from For All Events by Richard Connema said, “Nick Medina gives an electrifying performance…”

You may remember him CONTINUED »