The City of Fillmore will be holding a Household Hazardous Waste and E-Waste drop off this Saturday, October 1, from 8:00 am to 12:30 pm. Items excepted are: oils, paints, household pesticides, and anything electrical. The drop off will be at the City Yard at the Corner of A St. and Sespe St. For more information please contact the City of Fillmore at 805-524-3701.

(l-r) Tom Ecklund and Brad Edmonds. Edmonds is a 1989 graduate of FHS.
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(l-r) Debby Curnett and C.D. “Buck” Basolo. Basolo is from the Class of 1946.
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The family of 1972 FHS graduate Gabriel “Booty” Sanchez.
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J.V. Cheerleaders escorted a few of the Hall of Fame recipients on the field. Adolf Valquez is wearing his Lettermans Jacket. Right is Jim Reisgo.
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Wow, has it been a year already, well nearly a year, since the first Induction Ceremony to the Fillmore High School Sports Hall of Fame?! The Fillmore High School Sports Hall of Fame's second annual ceremony for the inductees was held on Saturday, September 17th at 7:00 pm in the Fillmore High School gym. The gym was filled with family, friends and many of last year's inductees were there to congratulate this year's inductees. The inductees included; one coach, sixteen athletes and five championship teams. I learned that Girl's Softball had even been played indoors in 1925!

The idea of a Sports Hall of Fame came to Fillmore High School Coach Joe Woods four years ago. It was not until the passing of a former Fillmore High School Graduate and student athlete football player Dean Kenfield, (Class of 1940) that Coach Woods decided it was time to act on his idea. Dean was a classmate of Joe's father and the father of 2010 Inductee Vernon Kenfield (Class of 1971). Joe said it was time to get his project started since he had become painfully aware that many of the players from years ago were gone. He formed a committee and began the project in January of 2010 and began this year’s planning the Monday after last year’s ceremony concluded.

In order to be considered for induction into the FHS Sports Hall of Fame there were a number of criteria to be considered by a committee of seven; Dick Mosbarger (Class of 1947), John Scoles (Class of 1959 and a 2010 Inductee), Mike Marostica (Class of 1965 and a 2010 Inductee), Debbie Basolo-Curnett (Class of 1969), Coach Joe Woods (Class of 1979) Lynn Hasty-Cole (Class of 1985 and a 2010 Inductee) and Jamie Arundell Latshaw (Class of 1993 and a 2010 Inductee). For the 2010 inductees the years of 1914 thru 2000 were the years for the nominees to have attended FHS and been involved in any of the sports programs to be considered. This year the years of 1916 thru 1997 were considered for induction.

The criteria to be considered was someone other than the nominee had to nominate the person; the nominee had to have graduated from FHS at least ten years ago; the nominee had to have participated in a sports program at a lower level such as Junior Varsity, or at the Varsity level, or played multiple sports at either levels; the nominee's scoring would be enhanced if the nominee had won any sports awards; if the nominee went on to college weight would be given to the nominee's scoring; a scoring enhancement would be given if the nominee played any amateur athletics after graduation; a scoring enhancement would be given if the nominee went on to play professional sports; and finally, a scoring enhancement would be given if the nominee went on to coach any sport.

The 2011 honorees were: CONTINUED »

(l-r) Virginia De La Piedra recognizes Joe Ricards (and all of Fillmore's FFA members) for wining many awards at the Ventura County Fair.
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The first order of business on Tuesday, September 20 at the meeting of the Board of Education for the Fillmore Unified School District was to recognize the many awards received at the Ventura County Fair by students in the Fillmore Chapter of Future Farmers of America. Of note and in attendance: Marc Zavala- First Place (out of 300) for Swine Showmanship, Swine Reserve Grand Champion; Macie Wokal- Reserve Grand Champion Replacement Heifer; Aaron Largon- First Place Steer Showmanship; Sierra Blankenship- Second Place Swine Showmanship. The Fillmore FFA took first place for keeping their area ship shape. The Board then presented Joe Ricards with a certificate acknowledging his dedication towards, and support of the FFA program in Fillmore.

Student Representative Sammy Martinez reported on the events currently going on during Homecoming Week at Fillmore High School. Various games and events are taking place culminating in a parade and dance this weekend. The end of the quarter is fast approaching and in October the Senior Ball will take place.

The first speaker during public comment was Norma Perez Sanford, “I’m here to say Thank You.” She explained how she has been “holding onto the Dr. Neil Schmidt Family Resource Center” in Fillmore and that it is time for her to move on. Sanford commented on the many generous donors and volunteers who contributed to provide needed items to families and children in Fillmore through the Center and thanked the Board for the opportunity to serve. Next a resident of Piru, Danny Golson presented a question to the Board regarding an “impact fee [given to FUSD in] February 2011.” In written correspondence obtained by the Gazette FUSD was paid $269,414.64 in impact fees from Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation (CEDC). This payment is meant to mitigate the effects of growth in the District resulting from the current construction of farm-worker housing on East Center Street in Piru. Golson asked the Board “How [was that money] divided [among the schools]?” Board President Virginia De La Piedra reminded Golson that the Board cannot legally respond to questions posed during public comment but that she is sure the information can be obtained. Later in the meeting, during the time allocated for the Superintendents report, Director of Business Services Michael Bush responded to Golson’s question, “Developer fees can only be used to mitigate future growth [and] cannot be used for modernization of existing classroom units.” He further explained, “[the impact fees have been] set aside to mitigate growth in the district… it will be used to mitigate growth.” Bush was unable to respond to a question of how it will be used to mitigate growth prior to the press deadline. California Education Code Section 17620 states, “The governing board of any school district is authorized to levy a fee…against any construction…for the purpose of funding the construction or reconstruction of school facilities.” XXX In addressing another question Bush explained how Edge Development, the general contractor building Rio Vista School, is receiving payments. He explained that in 2006 FUSD “entered into a mitigation agreement with Griffith Homes which subsequently was assumed by Hearthstone”; he went on to state that the agreement outlined how the District would work with the developer to “apply for State money.” That was done and FUSD received a State grant for Rio Vista. Pursuant to State law that money was deposited in an account with the Ventura County Office of Education and will be used to pay construction costs as bills are signed off. Bush reported that so far the State funds are paying for “Contractor [fees], architect fees and the DSA Inspector [fees].”According to the materials provided to the Board, FUSD paid Edge Development $368,087.48 on August 2, 2011. Bush then informed the Board on the ongoing State budget process and how it is likely to lead to midyear cuts this school year. He informed the Board about Governor Jerry Brown’s veto of SBX1 6 which according to the Governors press release dated September 16, 2011 would have “[required] the Director of the Department of Finance to consult with legislative leaders on alternatives to the cuts outlined in the [State] budget and thereby raise questions that could affect the Sales of Revenue Anticipation Notes and General Obligation Bonds.” Essentially Brown was concerned about the States credit rating and maintained the “trigger” language contained in the approved budget. That language leads to automatic cuts in several areas including K-12 education should the State revenue not meet projections. Bush reported that at this point those projections are not met, thus he expects midyear cuts for FUSD to be triggered in December. The projection for this fiscal year was that State revenue would be up $4.1 billion from last year, Bush stated “Not only are we [not ahead $4.1 billion], we are $134 million short of last year.” When the automatic cuts take place, according to Bush, it will result in $350 per student reduction for FUSD, resulting in a total cut of $1.2 million. Bush reminded the Board that those cuts will result in the elimination of “100% of our home [to school] transportation and 4% of our revenue limit, our general purpose monies.”

Director of Human Resources Todd Schieferle reported that negotiations with CSEA (California School Employees Association) are set to begin on September 21, 2011. He also informed the Board that the Alternative Governance Board presented staff at Piru Elementary School with a timeline for the year, which included dates for site visits, and deadlines. On Friday, September 23 the Middle School will receive its timeline from the AGB. Three schools (Fillmore Middle School, San Cayetano Elementary and Piru) in FUSD are working with the AGB in order to improve test scores and student achievement in an effort to get those schools out of “PI” (Program Improvement) status.

Assistant Superintendent Michael Johnson updated the Board on progress related to the instructions of Superintendent Alan Nishino to make sure that District-wide systems are in place in various areas to create a common background for learning for all students in FUSD. Johnson described two “crucial committees” that are already in place in FUSD but are being revamped under his direction, “[Their appointed tasks and] direction are going to be slightly different than in previous years.” First he described the Essential Standards Committee (ESC) “consisting mostly of elementary school teachers” and the second committee “is a K-12…Curriculum Committee”. He explained how the existing ESC has been “broken up into three different task forces.” The first, Report Card Task Force, will focus on ensuring that report cards are “standard based, so that the report card measures what the State says [is] essential for our students to learn.” The second group will work on the Pacing Guide for teachers. They will examine the curriculum and then “map it out so the standards are covered throughout the year.” Johnson explained that these guides are crucial tools for teachers to ensure that the essential standards are covered in the time available and “[they will ensure] that there is time given for re-teaching and intervention.” The third task force will focus on assessment, and it will be based on the pacing guides. Assessments will be done at the end of each trimester so that teachers will know where the gaps in learning are, and can re-teach or intervene depending on what is needed for that particular student. These three groups are working now. The Curriculum Committee is broken up into five groups that “will be looking at systems” at every campus, in every classroom throughout the District. The idea is to ensure that a second grader at Piru and a second grader at Sespe are held to the same expectations and that all adults in the classroom are held to the same standards as well, creating a common background in learning for each student. The first three groups are, Study Habits, Classroom Climate, and Teaching Strategy. Johnson continued “Two areas that really need addressing, because there is no scope and sequence that has been developed in these two areas. One is Math, we would like to have a sequence from 6th grade to 12 in the area of Math addressing three curricular areas- Pre-Algebra, Algebra and Geometry.” He explained that the hope is that the “standard offering in the 6th grade will be pre-algebra, 7th grade algebra …8th grade geometry.” He explained that the middle school has already made changes in offering algebra in the 7th grade, by looking at students who are testing proficient in Math and putting them in algebra. “We’re starting to make the changes and have high expectations of our students. Now it’s essential that when you make these changes you have support for the kids.” He explained that the Math Task Force will support teachers in determining when to re-teach, how to re-teach and when to intervene so students are not being left behind. The final group will focus on creating a “scope and sequence” throughout the District in writing. “The high school already has a program, the elementary has a program, the middle school [does not].” He charges the Writing task force with coming up with a program “that will be supported all throughout [the District].” These 5 areas are aimed at training all students in a common system “so that when they get to high school, the teachers know what to expect.” The administrators have the duty of handling the different task forces at their campus. Johnson said the goal of all of this is to have a truly “unified district” and referred to a recent statement made by Nishino “ I’ve served in two or three unified districts, and I’ve yet to see one.”
Nishino began his remarks with “If you have no plan, no target, you surely won’t hit it.” He explained “We are going to have targets and road maps to allow our kids to be successful…The big gap we have, especially at secondary, is you have kids coming from different schools with different information… they don’t have the same background…different vocabulary, sometimes different textbooks…It’s not fair to our teachers [or students, to have to test on items that have not been taught].”

All consent and action items were approved. Meeting adjourned with future meetings set for October 4 and October 18.

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Joey Hurscher, 31 of Piru, was arrested Sunday on suspicion of arson. The fire was reported at approximately 1:40pm and Hurscher was standing outside the home when engines from Fillmore, Santa Paula and Los Angeles County arrived. Hurscher admitted to setting his house in the 3500 block of E. Telegraph Road on fire. No one was injured.

Danielle Stines

The UC Davis softball program and head coach Karen Yoder have announced the hiring of Danielle Stines as assistant coach. Venus Taylor was previously named assistant coach for the Aggies but later resigned due to personal family reasons.

Stines comes to UC Davis by the way of Menlo College where she served as head softball coach and senior woman’s administrator the past four years. As an administrator she was responsible for returning student eligibility, gender equity and title IX committees. Stines also served as the California Pacific Conference president for softball for the past three years.

"I have known Danielle for many years, first as a student athlete, then through her development as an assistant coach and observing her expertise as a head coach," said Yoder. "Coach Stines will bring a tremendous amount of experience, knowledge and most importantly dedication to the UC Davis Softball program. She will immediately make an impact in the day to day responsibilities, while developing athletes to be successful in the classroom as well as on the field. "

While at Menlo Stines produced 17 All-Conference student-athletes, 26 student-athletes on the dean’s list, three All-Region athletes, two academic All-Americans and an overall four year combined team GPA of 3.02. Stines also had her lone senior win the Collis Steer Award in 2011, presented to the female student-athlete with the highest GPA.

"I am extremely grateful for this opportunity to be apart of an amazing institution and softball program," said Stines. "I am very honored to be apart of Coach Yoder's staff and extremely excited to begin our quest for another Big West title."

Stines came to Menlo after amassing an impressive playing and coaching resume. In 2006, she served as the head coach at Foothill College where two of her players earned All-Conference honors. Prior to that she served as head coach at CSU, East Bay (Hayward), recording a 26-9 record while helping her players earn NCAA Division III Independent Player of the Year. From 2003-05 Stines served as CSUEB’s assistant coach with the team accumulating a 79-27-2 overall record. The 2004 team finished with a stellar season and a trip to the NCAA West Region Playoffs.

After graduating from CSUEB, Stines served one year as an assistant for her alma mater under the direction of Karen Yoder. The Pioneers of CSU, East Bay (Hayward) were the CAL PAC Conference champions after posting an undefeated conference record. The team finished as NAIA regional runner-up. Stines then moved to the east coast to be an assistant at Elon University and UNC Greensboro, respectively.

In her playing career, Stines was a two-time First Team All-West Region selection (NCAA DIV. II her junior year and NAIA DIV II her second year). As a senior Stines won a batting title while hitting .614 in conference play and earned Conference Player of the Year honors. While at CSU, East Bay (Hayward) Stines was the career home run leader and is currently the single season home run leader. She also ranks in the top 10 for homeruns, RBIs and batting average. Prior to transferring to CSUEB Stines was a two-time All-Conference player at Moorpark Community College. Stines will be inducted into the Fillmore High School Hall of Fame this fall as a varsity softball and basketball standout in the Southern California area.

Stines competed on the California Stars tour to Appledorn, Holland where she was the tournament MVP while batting .564. She is also a two-time ASA All-American as a member of the HI Five Women’s Softball team where she won back-to-back national titles in two different classes.

Stines, a Southern California native, holds a BA in sociology and a MS in kinesiology with an option in athletic administration. Courtesy of Ryan Burns Assistant Athletics Communications Director UC Davis Athletics.

Former Council Member Cecilia Cuevas addresses the council.
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Leonore Young (left) received a proclamation from Mayor Gayle Washburn for her 22 years of service at city hall.
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The September 13, 2011 Fillmore City Council meeting had a number of proclamations along with City Manager Yvonne Quiring again addressing the City’s grave financial problems. Quiring gave a presentation to the Council on the proposed sales tax initiative that is expected be on the November 8, 2012 ballot. She also requested the Council review six resolutions to be considered at the League of California Cities Annual Conference and provide direction to their voting delegate on the City’s position.

Former Council Member Cecilia Cuevas spoke during the comment section, addressing the Council, “I come to you with a heavy heart.” Cuevas was speaking of the many members of the Planning Commission who recently resigned in protest. She spoke of the many years of experience the City is loosing with their departure. Cuevas said she believes the numerous complaints from the City employees over the past couple years and mass exodus of the Planning Commission are due to the failure of leadership by the present City Council. She added the Council has not dealt well with the present economic problems and the loss to the City as a result is tremendous. Cuevas added, “With the exception of (Council Member) Conaway, there has been very poor leadership. I hope the town realizes what this leadership has brought.”

Press play above to see former Council Member Cecilia Cuevas' public comments, a debate about tort reform and the city's Brown Act violation, and the City Manager's presentation on raising taxes.

Quiring began the proposed sales tax initiative presentation by first discussing the recent attempts the City has made to balance the budget by cutting $2.9 million in the last two years with this year’s budget balanced using $620k, from the General Purpose Reserves. But with an added burden, due to Governor Browns using Redevelopment funds to balance the States budget, Fillmore, along with all the other Redevelopment Agencies throughout the state, is required to pay the state what is being called a “ransom” to retain Fillmore’s Redevelopment Agency. Fillmore’s ransom payment is expected to be between $1.9 and $2 million, putting a great hardship on Fillmore’s finances and questions of the town’s ability to provide services at its going rate. The projected deficit for FY 2013 is $1.4 million with the General Purpose Reserve at $916,000. Basically, the City is spending much more than it is taking in and something must be done soon to generate revenue. Council Member Steve Conaway reminded everyone that the 2008-2009 revenue was above expenses, but those times have changed. Quiring warned that if there is another $1.4 in cuts, the City will fundamentally have to change its operations. Meaning; cut non-self supporting recreation programs, more cuts to police and looking for savings through contracting with another agency, cuts in fire services, close parks, no street repair and tree trimming, no code enforcement and closing the pool.

A Town Hall meeting will be held to address the needed tax increase on Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at 6:30 pm. Distribution of fliers with information on the meeting will be handed out in front of supermarkets in town on weekends throughout October and in November, along with advertisement on Channel 10 and through Service Clubs.
An increase in sales tax is one of the ideas being proposed to address the city’s shortfall, but other taxes were also considered. One was a property tax increase which would be an additional $110 to each per parcel in Fillmore and would raise $489,000. With this approach only property owners would carry the burden. With an increase in sales tax the burden would be distributed throughout the town and carried by everyone purchasing taxable items in Fillmore. It would mean an additional .75 percent or an additional 8 cents on a $10 purchase.
Quiring presented the six initiatives to be considered at the League of California Cities Annual Conference to the Council. The first resolution presented was the use of social media as a means of informing the public. Conaway voted No, responding by saying that many citizens do not use social media and he did not feel it should be depended upon to inform the public. Mayor Gayle Washburn, Council Members Brian Sipes and Jamey Brooks voted yes. Walker was absent.

The second initiative was Tort Reform with Conaway and Brooks voting No and Sipes and Washburn a Yes vote. Conaway explained his disagreement with the resolution by comparing the slim opportunities those with little funding have when coming up against a giant government entity.

There was then a heated debate between Sipes and Conaway, with Sipes citing what he called a frivolous law suit against the City of Fillmore for a Brown Act violation. Conaway rebutted stating the court didn’t see it as frivolous because the City lost and was fined $45,000.

The third initiative was Public School Education and bullying. All members voted No. The forth was support for building separate prisons for youth offenders convicted of adult crimes. Conaway and Sipes voted No, with Washburn and Brooks voting Yes.

The fifth initiative was replacing the death penalty with life in prison. Conaway, Sipes and Brooks voted No, with Washburn voting Yes and stating she was not in favor of the death penalty.

The last initiative was dealing with the City of Bell and its recent problems to which all members voted No.
About halfway through the Council meeting Washburn shared the guidelines of Roberts Rules of Order with the 40 or so who were in attendance. Roberts Rules of Order governs the conduct of formal meetings such as city council meetings. Washburn asked that those in attendance who would be speaking or commenting to the Council to be respectful and address their comments and questions to the Council, not the staff. She informed the public that due to some of the legal guidelines of the Brown Act, the Council may not be able to answer some of their questions. She also asked that those with comments respect the time limits place on speakers. Washburn also accused the media of intimidation, saying some don’t like the camera flash while speaking.

Washburn began the numerous proclamations that were presented at the meeting with one to the president of the Ebell Club, Fay Swanson, for the club’s donation of automatic doors to the Fillmore Senior Center. This improvement, which aids those who require assistance entering the building, was greatly needed. Joining the Mayor in the presentation was Donna Voelker, Director of the Fillmore Senior Center.

The next proclamation was to Leonore Young, or Leo as she is known by her fellow co-workers. Young was thanked for her 22 years of service to the town of Fillmore. While presenting her with the proclamation Washburn stated, “Cheerful is the word that best describes Leo.”

Next there was a proclamation to Raymond S. Brown Sr., the outgoing Film Commissioner, who was acknowledged for his well thought out guidance and input. Brown responded, “It’s been a pleasure. I’ve only lived here five years….it’s been a pleasure.”

Third to be acknowledged was Mark Austin. Austin’s service on the Planning Commission covered 12 years starting in 1999 and served a total of four terms. His pen was involved in many of the projects and businesses throughout Fillmore. During his long service he worked with a total of 36 other Commissioners.

The fourth proclamation was also someone from the Planning Commission; Vance Johnson, who served as chair for more than 10 years and worked on a large number of projects including the Water Recycling Plant. Accepting for Johnson was Douglas Tucker. Tucker, himself, then received a proclamation for his two terms, covering five years of service on the Planning Commission. Tucker was thanked for the great interest he gave in hearing from those property owners with concerns on how they might be impacted by development or changes in their areas.

With appreciation going in the opposite direction, Faith Lugo addressed the Council thanking them for their support and presented each Council Member with a gift bag. Lugo announced the upcoming “Relay For Life” event; which raised $97,000 last year to fight cancer. This year’s event will be held at Shields Park this Saturday and Sunday, September 17-18 between 10am and 10pm.

Ari Larson, President of Soroptimist International of Fillmore, addressed the Council with an invitation to attend ‘Success through Reading! Celebrating International Day of Peace.’ This event is being held Wednesday, September 21 between 3:30-4pm at the Fillmore Library. The book Let There Be Peace on Earth: And Let it Begin with Me will be read along with singing and participants will make special peace bracelet to take home.

Alicia Gonzalez, 70 of Fillmore, was arrested Sunday, September 11, for suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs, after she hit a motorcyclist on Highway 126.

Gonzalez was traveling the wrong way on the highway west of Fillmore at approximately 3:30 p.m., where she crossed into the eastbound lane.

Rodolfo De Los Santos, 54 of Fillmore, was driving his motorcycle eastbound when he tried to avoid the collision. De Los Santos was thrown form the motorcycle and sustained a broken leg, and abrasions.

Gonzalez was booked into Ventura County jail, and released on bail Sunday.

This weekend will be the second annual Fillmore High School Sports Hall Of Fame weekend. On Friday September 16th will be the Hall Of Fame Football Game at Fillmore High School, with Fillmore vs Morro Bay. The J.V. game will be at 4:30. At 6:30 the Hall Of Famer’s from last year, and this year’s class of 2011 will be introduced. We will also honor the 1945 Championship Football Team before the start of the Varsity Football game that starts at 7:30. We hope we can get the people of Fillmore out to see the legends of Fillmore High School, and root for the Flashes Football team.

Saturday The 17th will be the big day for the class of 2011. Five teams, The Boy’s 1925 Basketball Team, The Girl’s 1925 Indoor Baseball Team, The Boy’s 1959 Track and Field Team, The Boy’s 1971 Football team, and the Boy’s 1979 Baseball Team will be going into the Hall Of Fame.

One Coach will go into The Hall Of Fame this year. Jeff Fauver will be one of only eight Coaches’ in the Fillmore High School Hall Of Fame.

Sixteen players will be inducted this Saturday night. Class of 1916 William “Bill” Mayhew, class of 1945 J.C. “Razor” Taylor, class of 1946 C.D. “Buck” Basolo, class of 1950 George H. Garnica, class of 1952 Phillip “Phil’’ Rice, class of 1954 Dick Frederickson, class of 1957 Eugene Reyes, class of 1961 Joe Cook, class of 1964 Tom Hays, class of 1972 Gabriel “Booty” Sanchez, class of 1973 Tim Grove, class of 1980 David Miller, class of 1981 Roy Lee Alsup III, class of 1989 Brad Edmonds, Class of 1995 Danielle E. Stines, and from the class of 1997 April Kozar.

The gates will open at six p.m. on Saturday on Second Street at the High School. The Hall Of Fame will be open for all to view at that time. The ceremony will take place in the Fillmore High School Gym starting at seven p.m. Cake, coffee, and punch will be served in the gym before and after the ceremony. The cost is five dollars for everyone over the age of five. It is open to all that wish to attend.

We hope to see you there this weekend. It will be a great event for the town of Fillmore.

Beginning September 17, 2011 and ending on approximately October 23, 2010, United Water Conservation District will provide escorted access from its property to Piru Creek to whitewater boaters during the annual fall water conservation release from the Santa Felicia Dam located at Lake Piru. Access will be provided on Saturdays and Sundays only, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. when the dam is releasing water in excess of 200 cubic feet per second. Access will not be permitted without an advanced reservation. The first opportunity for whitewater boating will be Saturday, September 17 and Sunday, September 18.

Boaters will be escorted by shuttle from the parking lot located on Piru Canyon Road, at the entrance to the Santa Felicia Dam, to the put-in site at Piru Creek. Boaters are responsible for getting themselves and their gear back from any take-out point along the Piru Creek to their vehicle. Boaters will not be allowed access through United Water Conservation District's property to Piru Creek without an advance reservations and a signed waiver form. Waiver forms can be obtained at the shuttle site or at United's Santa Paula office.

Whitewater boating and other related activities are inherently dangerous and hazardous recreational activities, and can lead to bodily injury, injury to property, and death. Inclement weather and water conditions may contribute to the dangers. Piru Creek may contain natural and artificial hazards, such as submerged and exposed trees, fences and wires. Also, measuring instruments have been installed in multiple locations in Piru Creek as a part of a required study plan to quantify the effects of the Santa Felicia Dam and water releases on steelhead habitat. Although the instrument has been flagged where possible, some may submerged in the creek and may pose a hazard. Whitewater boaters accessing Piru Creek from District property must sign a release waiver.

The Santa Felicia Dam was constructed to create the Lake Piru Reservoir with the capacity to store more than 100,000 acre-feet of winter runoff from Piru Creek and its tributaries. Its purpose is to recharge groundwater basins. Each fall, United Water Conservation District releases water from the Santa Felicia Dam down Piru Creek and into the Santa Clara River where it replenishes the Piru, Fillmore and Santa Paula groundwater basins. Some of water reaches the Freeman Diversion Facility in Saticoy where a portion is used to recharge groundwater basins on the Oxnard Plain. Whitewater boaters wanting more information about access to Piru Creek and water release flow rates can visit United's website at www.unitedwater.org call the Santa Paula office at 525-4431. For escorted access reservations to Pint Creek, please call 525-4431.

A 1979 ad for Pakistani Airlines promoting its flights to New York City.
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Not including the marriage to our spouse, or the birth of our children, many of us have dates and times in our lives that are imbedded in our memories forever! These are dates and times that we will always know where we were at that specific moment. For me there are two; November 22, 1963 and September 11, 2001.

The first, November 22, 1963 at about 10:30 am (PST) I was a high school sophomore and in my auto shop class at Sweetwater Union High School in National City, California when over the school public address system an announcement was made that the President of the United States John F. Kennedy had been assassinated in Dallas, Texas! I remember how surprised I was at the depth of pain and fear I, and my fellow students felt when we heard the news! For me it was the first time I had experienced an event that impacted not only the United States, but was felt world-wide and is still felt today!

The second date is September 11, 2001 and is now known as “9/11”! It was nearly 6:00 am (PST) and I was downstairs in my home preparing for work and watching the morning news. The regular programming was interrupted with breaking news to report on a plane that had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City! The live picture on the screen and the initial commentary made it appear that this was some sort of an accident. My wife Carolyn was upstairs getting ready for her work-day and I yelled up to her to tell her about the plane crash! By the time she came downstairs another plane crashed into the second tower! We both did not realize, at that moment, our lives and the lives of all Americans would be changed forever!

My realization started when I arrived for work at the Courthouse in Ventura and I began locking down that building as word spread this was a confirmed terrorist attack on American soil! All of us would soon learn of two other hijacked airliners; one crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, DC and another into a field near rural Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The crash in Shanksville was the result of passengers on board the ill-fated aircraft trying to stop the hijackers from completing what we later learned was another well coordinated suicide mission being carried out by a total of 19 hijackers. Since 9/11 it has become more difficult for Americans to travel by air, my Son, oldest grandson, daughter-in-law, two nephews and many of the men and women from the communities of Fillmore and Piru have joined the military services and are currently serving in what now has been a 10-year war against Terrorism! I thank them and the many other men and women serving for their sacrifice and service!

Nearly 3,000 victims and the 19 hijackers died in the attacks on September 11, 2001! Their coordinated act of flying three of four hijacked commercial jetliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon spread terror in lives of all Americans. We now know American soil is vulnerable to terrorist attack! The impact of that horrific day continues today as fresh in the minds of all Americans as it was nearly 10-years ago!

Among the 2,753 victims who died in the attacks on the World Trade Center were 343 firefighters and 60 police officers from New York City and the Port Authority, and 8 private emergency medical technicians and paramedics. Another 184 people were killed in the attack on the Pentagon along with 40 crew and passengers who perished aboard Flight 93 when it crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001. The overwhelming majority of casualties at the World Trade Center, however, were civilians, including nationals of over 70 countries. There were an additional 6,000 Americans injured in this attack.

September 11, 2001 is also widely known as the reason the United States of America and our allies entered into the Global War on Terrorism on September 20, 2001. Since that time many more American lives have been lost and more American lives changed forever. They are the American soldiers and their families of those who have been killed, or wounded in action while serving in the Middle East to ensure there will never be another September 11th! The casualty numbers are staggering; since September 20, 2001 nearly 5,000 American military personnel have been killed in action and more than 60,550 wounded in action! There has been another 1,311 who have died of non-hostile actions while serving in the Middle East.

On Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 8:00 am the public is invited to attend a “10th Anniversary of September 11th Memorial Ceremony” to give the people of Fillmore an opportunity to pay their respects on the 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001 and in remembrance of the fallen firefighters, peace officers and military personnel who lost their lives, or were injured during that terrorist attack on American soil. The Memorial Ceremony will be held in front of the City of Fillmore Fire Department, 711 Sespe Place located between Old Telegraph Road and “A” Street. This event will be hosted by the Fillmore Fire Department and the Fillmore Volunteer Firefighter's Foundation.

I hope the residents of Fillmore will take this opportunity to attend this event and show that Fillmore will never forget those who have fallen and those who continue to sacrifice so much for all of us! They are truly our American Heroes!

Yes Fillmore, we have another M.M.A. Champion! Jose "Froggy" Estrada is the new 155 lb. Combat Fight League Champion. He has now joins his brother Frank "Turtle" Estrada as Championship Belt holders. What a band of brothers we have here.

On August 19, the Woodland Hills Marriott was the scene of this great event. It was a full card of fights in the amateur M.M.A. ranks. Our new Champ was the main event in only his 2nd fight; with a huge crowd of fight fans to see Jose Froggy Estrada VS. Danny Pena for the C.F.L 155 lbs. Championship.

Froggy out of the West Coast and Cazadores Fight Team in Oxnard came in at 155 lbs. Young Mr. Pena out of the 10th Planted Gym in Van Nuys came in at a trim 154 lbs.

Froggy said, "I wanted this guy. He was trying to talk smack at the weigh-in. I could not wait to get to him." He also knew this fighter was one tough guy with a background in wrestling and striking. "I was ready for a war with him. I knew he had a good overhand right I had to look out for." I asked, what was your game plan? "Push his base. Stand up to him and go toe to toe with him. Bang it out with him. I knew I was stronger than him."
When it was time to fight I asked the Champ if he was nervous. "No not until I came into the arena for the fight and saw the crowd. It was a big and loud Fillmore and Van Nuys crowd." So what goes through a young fighters head at this time? "All I wanted to do was get into the cage and get this guy for talking so much trash to me at the weigh-in. I wanted to shut him up!"

The 1st round started with the two fighters circling the ring to get a feel for each other. "I was looking for the overhand right, and when he threw the punch I went at him with the 1-2-1-2 combo I worked on in training. Then I threw him into the cage and started giving him some knee kicks to the legs with some foot stomps." That was when the referee broke the hold of the two fighters. "That is when he clipped me in my eye. I could feel it starting to knot up" With no blood Froggy was relaxed and ready to get back at it.

"I said okay nice shot, now stay focused." With that the bell sounded to end the 1st of 3, 2-minute rounds.
In between rounds Froggy's coach's told him to get his hands up more. And that is just what he did. "Pena threw another overhand right, so I shot at his legs for a takedown." He did more than that, he slammed Pena into the cage, picked him up and slammed him hard to the mat. The crowd that was about 70% Fillmore and 30% Van Nuys went crazy for Froggy.

''I started my ground and pound on him," said the Champ. "He had a good chin. I think the bell saved him."
Before the start of the 3rd and final round Coach James "The Ghost" Toney said two words that stuck in Froggy's mind. "FINISH HIM!" The two fighters came into the last round ready to end the war.

"Close to the end of the round he went for a punch and went down and got up and hit me good. I fell on top of him and started a ground and pound on him. He tried to get up but I took him down." With time running down Froggy went in to finish it. "I was hitting him with all I had. I thought I had him out but then the bell rang.''
The fight was now in the hands of the judges. "My coach said I had this one in the books, so I started to take a victory lap around the cage."

And then the magic words came for the load speakers in the arena "AND NEW COMBAT FIGHT LEAGUE CHAMPION...JOSE "FROGGY" ESTRADA!"

"Turtle" his brother was the first to get into the cage to hug him, holding his own Championship belt with him. The Fillmore and the Froggy fans went crazy for the new Champ. "All I could think was I DID IT! Man it was a war!"

Froggy would like to thank The West Coast and Cazadores Fight Team, Coach James "The Ghost" Toney, Coach Brian Espinosa, Coach Fred Lemus, Brother and teammate Frank " Turtle" Estrada, Teammate Robbie Aguilar, all of his family, Mom and Dad, D.J. J. Scratch Strength and Conditioning Coach. Also thanks to his sponsors who made it possible; E.G. Fresh Cuts, Martin at Sugar Beets, Tin Energy.com, La Fondita, Upper Hand, and Killer Bees.

There will also be a fundraiser for our two Champions at El Pescador. You can contact them for tickets for meals at 805-794-3479. Fillmore, let’s get behind these two great young men, and buy some good food and help them out.

What is next for the two Champions? "Back to the gym, we got to get ready for our next fights. This is a fulltime job, and we need to be ready to go at all times," said Froggy.

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Ventura, CA - Freedom Ranch is proud to announce the creation of eastern Ventura County’s first Community Garden Project, established to help feed the hungry in Ventura County. Freedom Ranch has set aside approximately ½ acre of farmland to create a community garden for the residents of eastern Ventura County. Freedom Ranch and the Community Garden Project site are located at 3543 E. Telegraph Rd., which is approximately 1 mile west of the community of Piru, California. On August 30th, 2011, the Foundation, in collaboration with Food Share, harvested its first crop of lettuces.

The goal of the Community Garden Project is to “feed the hungry” in Ventura County, by providing a locally sustainable food source for area residents, food pantries and charities. Local residents, schools and charitable organizations will be encouraged to participate in the Community Garden Project by planting and harvesting vegetables. The Community Garden Project will also encourage elderly or mobility challenged persons to participate in the Community Garden Project and will provide assistance if needed. Transportation to and from the Community Garden Project site is available through the “Vista” transportation system.

The Community Garden Project will have 10’x 20’ plots available for local residents, schools and charitable organizations to grow fresh vegetables. The Community Garden Project will primarily be funded by “The Foundation”, but donations to help offset cost of water, tools and equipment would be appreciated. Although a donation is not required, to participate in the Community Garden Project, community gardeners will be required to donate at least 10% of their harvest to a local food pantry (Food Share of Ventura County) or charity, to help “feed the hungry” in our area. A collection box will be kept at the Community Garden Project site and volunteers will deliver the donations to the local Food pantries for distribution.

“The Foundation” has already planted over 200 plants (corn, green beans, tomatoes, cantaloupes, lettuces and cucumbers) at the Community Garden Project site and in cooperation with Food Share of Ventura County, celebrated its first harvest of lettuces on August 30th. The remaining vegetables should be ready to harvest in mid September and will also be donated to Food Share, to help “feed the hungry” in our area.

If you would like more information about the community garden project or if you would like to participate (gardeners or volunteers) in the community garden project, you are invited to contact Freedom Ranch for more information.

Freedom Ranch and Community Garden Project
3543 E. Telegraph Rd.
Piru, CA, 93040
(805) 521-1577

Fillmore Unified School District

On Tuesday, September 6 2011 the Fillmore Board of Education met for a relatively brief meeting. Following the quiet public comment portion of the meeting the student representative from Fillmore High School Sammy Martinez reported on the goings on at the school and the preparations for Homecoming Week that will take place the week of September 19 with the final event, the Homecoming Football game on September 23.

Next Board Member Tony Prado kicked off Board reports speaking about Back to School Night at Piru Elementary School. “[It was] very well attended. The principal [Diana Vides] did a good job in explaining to the parents her goals, her vision, her mission…very interesting to hear that she would be very transparent… and [will make sure that] the School Site Council and ELAC [groups] understand school budgets.” Prado commented that he was impressed with her ability to easily switch back and forth between English and Spanish so as to communicate effectively with all of the families of Piru School. “Right now it looks like we have a … good leader at Piru.” Later in the meeting Assistant Superintendent Michael Johnson introduced Vides to the Board. When she addressed the Board she thanked them for the opportunity, as this is her first time serving as principal. “One of the reasons the superintendent took a chance on me is because I was a migrant child myself, my parents were migrant workers, and I’m proof that the system does work…one of the things my parents always instilled in me is that education is very important.” She went on to explain that she connects well with Piru families because not only does she speak the language but she “has the same values, my parents went through the same…struggles that they [are going] through…If you hold education highly anything is achievable. I hope to make a big difference at Piru.” Prado went on to reiterate what he said earlier and stated, “I was impressed and I hope that you provide the desperate leadership that Piru needs.”

Board Member Dave Wilde focused on the Agricultural Advisory Council meeting he attended. Reporting on the continuing plans of Fillmore Middle School to allow 4H to use 2 ½ acres for its program. He reported on the upgrading of the greenhouse at the High School and plans of Future Farmers of America (FFA) to “[build] a meat lab so kids [can] learn how to cut meat”, the revitalization of the park area around the house at the FFA property, and plans to use vegetables grown by the students in the schools cafeteria. He also reported on the presentation of a plaque to long time Fillmore resident and veterinarian Dr. Charles “Doc” Nelson DVM for his long time support and help treating the animals.

Starting off the Superintendents report was FUSD Director of Business Services Dr. Michael Bush, “Rio Vista is going vertical,” he stated referring to the new school being built behind the Bridges housing tract. The construction is now in the framing phase, “the iron is up and they’re starting to put up the wood.” Bush reported “we are continuing to struggle with air conditioners” it seems that several administrative units at the middle school, high school and district office are on the fritz. He explained that one time insurance money would be used for the needed repairs. Regarding the budget “ [our] audited actuals … are pretty much on track…where we thought it would be, the State continues to struggle, [no extra revenue coming in] and there will be some sort of mid year triggers, they’re trying to push some legislation through… it’s a zero sum game if the moneys not coming in at the top it can’t go out at the bottom, it does look like we are going to have mid year cuts this year.” Director of Human Resources Todd Schieferle spoke next, reporting “We have two [teaching] positions [available] … at the Middle School a resource teacher [position] is vacant, we have received a bunch of applications and we’ll be filling that ASAP.” And there is a position for an English teacher at Sierra High School they are working to fill. Assistant Superintendent in Ed Services, Michael Johnson reported, “We are continuing to address the curriculum… in the district.” In the next two weeks he will be meeting with the Curriculum Committee that is made up of representatives from every school in the District to “[focus on] more than just textbook adoption…we will be addressing some of the systemic areas…that relates to curriculum, environment in the school [and so on].” He reported on the progress of the Essential Standards Committee made up of mainly elementary school teachers. Johnson will be working with them to “continue the work that has already been started in the area of Essential Standards benchmarks and… assessments.” He reported on the progress of the Alternative Governance Board (AGB) “later on [the Board will get] a road map of where we are, the process… [The AGB will be meeting with the staff at the schools] to give them an orientation … their [school] plans are going to be revised to address essential program components called ‘EPCs’.” He informed the Board that they would be updated regularly on the process and progress of the AGB. Johnson also told the Board that all principals were encouraged to attend an ELD (English Language Development) Training Session “not a conference, but a session offered at the County.” There will be four sessions they will be attending. “I’m so happy to see the enthusiasm of all the elementary [school principals] who have volunteered to attend those training sessions. After all, 80% of our students are ELD students, so this will give additional skills and knowledge on how to reach [them].” Johnson also commented on the Ag Commission meeting “I enjoyed [the meeting] particularly the ribs.” All who attended that meeting agreed the ribs were a highlight. Interim Superintendent Dr. Alan Nishino finished up the report by saying, “[I am] really pleased that our staff is working to focus on what is good for our students… [So they] have the opportunity to be as successful as they can be. Our clients are our students, and that’s our focus.” He explained that his hope is that “when [students] graduate from [FUSD, they say] ‘boy, am I glad I came to Fillmore…I’m proud I’m a Fillmore graduate.”

All agenda action items were approved unanimously including an Unaudited Actual Budget from 2010-11. Future scheduled meetings are September 20, October 4, October 18, public portion of the meetings set to start at 6:30.

(View the School Matters Blog for more school info at www.fillmoregazette.com/school-matters)

Meeting Video

Planning Commissioner Tom Fennell has tendered his resignation from the Fillmore Planning Commission. He is the fourth Commissioner to do so, citing unlawful interference, lack of cooperation, disrespect, and unprecedented meddling by the Fillmore City Council majority (Gayle Washburn, Patti Walker, Jamey Brooks, and Brian Sipes) in the Commission’s affairs.

The controversy between the Commission and the Council majority began in July after the majority attempted to appeal what they believed was a decision of the Commission to approve a Verizon cell tower in town near the railroad tracks. No such decision had been discussed, and the majority’s move to act against such an alleged approval was cited by Verizon’s legal counsel as a federal violation of the Telecommunications Act; a lawsuit was threatened against the city in a July 11, 2011 letter from Verizon’s attorneys.

The council majority denied any such attempt but at the August 23 council meeting, Washburn (appointed mayor) was finally forced to admit that her denial was false.

The council majority, particularly Brooks, Sipes and Washburn, made numerous disparaging comments about the Commissioners (all long-time volunteers) which were demeaning, false, and disruptive.

The city is now seeking four new Planning Commissioners to replace those who have recently resigned.

In a statement released on August 30, 2011 Fillmore Unified School District reported that during the June 28th 2011 meeting of its Board of Education, the District was “directed …to form an Alternative Governance Board (AGB).” In the minutes from that meeting it is reported that Human Resources Director, Todd Schieferle “shared the plan and information from Sanger Unified School District who came out of program improvement and went on to become distinguished schools.” Sanger is located in the Fresno area and in a report titled “Turning Around a High Poverty School District” by Bay Area Research Group, on the website of the U.S. Department of Education it is stated, “In 2004, the district [Sanger] was named one of the 98 lowest performing districts in the state, with seven of it’s schools identified to be in “Program Improvement” (PI) status.” The report goes on to state that in “just six years [Sanger schools] made staggering progress across the board, with it’s test scores outpacing average state gains each year since 2004. By 2008-2009 all seven schools in PI had moved out of the status, with four schools achieving “State Distinguished School” status.” According the report Sanger “faces many of the challenges associated with educating a high poverty student population…families who don’t speak much English, or families who haven’t had much experience with education.” According to the California Department of Education website six of the seven schools in FUSD are in PI status, only Sierra High is not in PI.

What is an AGB ? The five member AGB is made up of two FUSD administrators, Michael Johnson, Assistant Superintendent and Schieferle; Kelli Hayes a “district-level administrator” from Moorpark Unified School District; Anna Merriman, “a director from [the] Ventura County Office of Education”, and Dr. Michael Babb, Director of the Regional System of District and School Support. FUSD states that “[the AGB] will direct Fillmore Middle School [FMS] staff to plan and implement strategies that will support learning for all students, especially those student subgroups that have struggled in the past…The AGB will be a collaborative team that will report to the [FUSD] Superintendent and the FUSD Board of Trustees. The AGB will oversee school improvement efforts…until scores surpass Adequate Yearly Performance targets for two consecutive years.” Part of the process will involve the AGB helping to “shape the plan” at FMS to “change learning and teaching at the classroom level. Families can expect to see improvement strategies that support students who historically have struggled at [the school].”

Why Now? Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Stanley Mantooth confirmed that the process of instituting the AGB began under the previous Superintendent for Fillmore Unified School District Jeff Sweeney to support Fillmore Middle School (FMS) in improving it’s test scores and coming out of PI. To get out of PI a school must meet the Academic Yearly Progress (AYP) proficiency targets in all subgroups for two consecutive years. Based on information at the California Department of Educations Data and Statistics website FMS has been in “PI” since the 2003-2004 school year. A school is designated as in “PI” when for “each of two consecutive years” it fails to meet the AYP targets in reading and mathematics as set by the State based on the Federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. Currently only schools that receive federal Title 1 funds are required to meet the AYP target criteria. The targets are set with the NCLB goal of every student achieving minimum proficiency or better in language arts and math by the 2013-14 school year. According to the U.S. Department of Education’s website “The purpose of (Title 1) is to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging State academic achievement standards and state academic assessments.” The most recently reported test scores for FMS (from 2010-11 school year) show that in Language Arts 39.2% of students are “proficient or better”, meaning that 60.8% percent of students do not test at a minimally proficient level. In math, only 28.3% are proficient or better, with 71.8% failing to test proficient. School-wide scores dropped 8 points from 2009-10 to 2010-11 school year. FMS has not met the minimum state proficiency targets since 2001, was labeled PI in the 2003-2004 school year and so while it has not met targets for a decade, and has actually been in PI for nine years, it is labeled as PI Year 5 because there are no designations past Year 5 in the PI program. The “corrective actions” required by the State for schools in Year 3 of PI include the following “replacing school staff; implement new curriculum; decrease management authority at school level; appoint outside expert.” For Year 4 the State requires restructuring to begin and this is where “Alternative governance of [the] school” should occur; “[or] reopen as a charter, [or] replace all or most of staff including principal.” Once a school gets into Year 5 and beyond the plan developed in year 4 is implemented and the district must offer school choice and “supplemental services” until “school makes AYP for two years.”

Where is the Accountability? In the statement released by FUSD it is recognized that “[NCLB] specifies that schools in year 4 and 5 of school improvement restructure their learning programs and create an alternative governance structure to support restructuring efforts.” FMS has been in Year 5 for six years and the community may wonder why the District is just now implementing this action. According to page 14 of the FMS Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) which was approved for the 2010-2011 school year by the School Site Council (SSC) (an elected school group made up of staff, parents and the principal) funds in the amount of $92,119 were allocated for eight “sections” to hire “intervention teachers.” Instead of following the instruction of the SSC as the District and site administration is mandated to do, not all of those sections were funded and instead supplies and other tangible items were purchased at the end of the year. The failure of District and Site administrators to adhere to the SPSA prompted the filing of a Uniform Complaint against FUSD, which garnered the attention of the State. FUSD was unable to comment on this particular issue prior to print deadline.

Looking Ahead. Included in the statement prepared by FUSD was a quote from Interim Superintendent Dr. Alan Nishino “The Board’s major concern when I was hired was to address student achievement and insure the academic success of all students in the district. I believe this structure will provide that opportunity to accomplish this goal.” The action of the FUSD School Board on June 28th gave the AGB the ability to examine more than one school in the district and it is currently “considering elementary schools” which may come under it’s influence. For the 2010-2011 school year Piru Elementary was in Year 4 and San Cayetano was in Year 5 of PI.