A project for groundwater recharge capturing stormwater amid the dry months of January and February has been completed. Ventura County Public Works Agency’s Watershed Protection and United Water Conservation District have reported 17.6 AFY of captured stormwater runoff for Piru this winter season. Courtesy Ventura County Public Works Agency.
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According to the state, this year is the 11th driest snowpack on record since 1950 and with the State Water Project announcing it will deliver only 20% of requested water supplies in 2020, projects like the Piru Stormwater Capture for Groundwater Recharge Project are critical to Ventura County’s important water supplies. This project will provide a sustainable source for recharge of the Piru Groundwater Basin and improve water quality in Piru Creek.

The project, which began capturing stormwater in December 2019, has treated all stormwater runoff as well as other nuisance flows from 36 urban acres located in the Piru community. During an average wet year, available runoff for capture was estimated at 17 acre-feet per year (AFY). The important water is saved from the existing storm drain system then transported to the existing United Water Conservation District (UWCD) Piru Spreading Grounds and spread for infiltration and recharge of the Piru Groundwater Basin. Debris, trash and other pollutants are removed by a pre-treatment device, a 10-ft diameter Continuous Deflective Separation (CDS) unit, before entering the spreading grounds. (see video news release) www.dropbox.com/sh/255cgn4n1bqia6e/AADpbUGXbAWzC-efs7YDDAtXa?dl=0

“The Piru Stormwater Capture for Groundwater Recharge Project has multiple benefits to the Piru community including better water quality to meet compliance with Bacteria Total Maximum Daily Load, groundwater recharge, and water supply enhancement,” explains Ewelina Mutkowska, Ventura County Public Works Agency’s Watershed Protection (VCPWA WP), Senior Stormwater Manager. “This will massively help improve the water quality of Piru Creek and add recharge to the Piru Groundwater Basin. Capture of stormwater runoff is a sustainable source for groundwater recharge, and we need to look for more similar opportunities to enhance our water supply sources countywide”.

The State has determined that Santa Clara River (SCR) downstream of Piru Creek does not meet water quality objectives for bacteria as required by the federal Clean Water Act. Wet and dry discharges from urban areas were found to be major source of bacteria pollution. This project was developed by VCPWA WP in collaboration with UWCD and funded by the State Proposition 1 Stormwater Grant Program, to capture urban runoff, improve water quality and recharge our precious groundwater.

Antibody Testing: The Ventura County Health Care Agency is offering free covid-19 antibody testing. The test is a blood test that tells individuals if they have been previously exposed to COVID-19 and have developed antibodies to the disease. Testing is offered at locations throughout the County. Testing will take place Monday, July 6th from 10 am to 6 pm at Shiells Park, 649 C Street, Fillmore, CA. More information at: https://www.ventura countyrecovers.org/antibody/ or by calling 805-482-1904. The testing is part of a study with UCLA and California Lutheran University. Courtesy County of Ventura.

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Story courtesy Fillmore Historical Museum

Mrs. George King, known as Hattie, was born Harriett Busick in El Dorado, California, the daughter of a pony express rider. She came to Bardsdale at age 12 to live with her aunt, Mrs. S. A. Guiberson. She married George King, who was property agent for Thomas Bard, in 1896. Together they had two daughters, Ona and Agnes.

Mrs. King had many interests but two were the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (when she registered to vote it was as a member of the Temperance Party while her husband was a registered Republican), and education. She financed the construction of building that was used for the first high school in Fillmore while the permanent building was completed.

This is an excerpt from a History of Bardsdale Mrs. King wrote in either 1915 or 1922. If you would like to read the entire history, here’s the link to the Museum’s website.

Part 2:
. . . The land on which Bardsdale tract is situated was in cultivation as early as the years 1870-1871, two years before Ventura County was cut out of Santa Barbara County. When Ventura County began with 3,500 inhabitants, its assessed valuation [was] $120,000. The principle products then were horses, cattle, sheep, wool, cheese and butter and the proceeds from these products in the year of 1873 amounted to $307,000. The first newspaper in Ventura County was the Signal, published in Ventura, 1871, by J. L. Bradley. The first election in Ventura County was on the twenty-fifth day of February, 1873. The total vote polled was 630. . .

. . . One of the first projects [Royce] Surdam entered into was the development, or the bringing of water, onto the tract for irrigation. The water was taken out of the river above Mr. G. W. Edwards' and brought through wooden flumes and ditch, totaling about ten miles and said to have cost $8,000. [The] first crop raised after Bardsdale town site was laid out was potatoes, yielding, it was said, 75 -150 sacks per acre. Corn was also raised and [it] yielded surprisingly. There was an abundance of water, and everyone was thrifty and prosperous. One of the first new buildings was the home of Grandma Robertson (now the resident of [the] Robertson sisters). Later the church and school were combined. The now German church, also the German parsonage, the home of Mr. Klages (now the home of Dare), later the Robertson home (now the Walker home) -- on and on, the houses were built. . .

The early colonists were about equally divided between German and English speaking people. Germans from the first maintained their church. The two denominations, of course, held their meetings at different times in the same building. Sunday school was held twice a day, and the church building was occupied most all the day Sunday. [The building that was the German Church is now a private home on Owens Street in Bardsdale.] . . .

In the Spring of 1889, Mr. Surdam, with the help [from the] residents, got up a May day picnic and barbecue. The picnic was held a little to the left of Will Wileman's place, or on the Grandma Robertson place, under a beautiful live oak grove. There were 1,500 people in attendance, and it was estimated that a thousand came from other parts of the county. A special excursion was run from Ventura. All the teams in the county were engaged to bring the people from Fillmore. The car of state led the procession and the small boys and men followed behind on foot. In the car of state all the young girls in the county rode dressed in white dresses in blue and white trimmings. The May queen, Miss Zulieka Guiberson, seated on her throne. The whole exercise of dancing around the maypole and the crowning of the queen was gone through with by the young maidens. Santa Paula and Bardsdale were to furnish the program jointly. Mr. S. A. Guiberson, then the singing school teacher, was to train the singers of Bardsdale. R. G. Surdam was anxious that Bardsdale should not be outdone and did everything possibly to help in the program. Bardsdale's quartet sang their very best. Santa Paula had a quartet and they did their best. When Bardsdale took part, all this end of the county cheered and clapped. Likewise, when Santa Paula took part, the people did the same. There was great enthusiasm in those days. When the meat was done, Ari Hoper went through the crowd and called out in [a] tone loud enough to be heard a mile, "the meat is now ready." This man, in his younger days, was preacher, but the people never wanted him to preach excepting at camp meetings as they could not stand the noise. This picnic was a great success, and it cost R. G. Surdam, a thousand dollar [sic] or more besides what he gave the people. . . .

Bob Crum

To all who sent me an email encouraging me to continue writing Focus on Photography, thank you. They all touched my heart in ways heretofore unimaginable. For example, this email: "I've had the pleasure of meeting & chatting with you twice; once while you were shooting trains at the Railroad Festival last year, and again earlier this year while you were working at Nova Storage. On both occasions you were thankful for my interest in your writings.

Your column is one of the reasons I seek out the Gazette every Friday. Sometimes the articles are a little too technical for me, but you always find a way to blend your local charm into your rants (phonetographers)and colorful descriptions of local, and not so local (poppy fields) places to shoot photos.

Although I'm sorry to learn of your health problems, I pray that you can find the strength to keep contributing to the Gazette. Please continue to teach and educate us on how to shoot photos that enhance our collective memories of beautiful and/or unusual So. Cal. scenes.......and keep trying to explain to us novices the mysteries of shutter speed, f-stops and all the other details of photography that only your experience and words can explain to those of us who don't wanna depend on "auto focus"!!!

You provide Fillmore with an invaluable wealth of information and experience.......and I would hate to lose that! Yours truly. Greg B."

Another: "I was so distressed by your medical issues I felt I needed to add my voice to your request for a vote to continue with more articles. The photography not being my main interest in your writings, but your "eye" for beauty in all that you see & the pains you take to capture it all in a photograph on paper is truly inspiring to this artist's eye. So for that reason, I want your articles to continue....,.as one artist to another...! I have truly enjoyed each and every one tho I have no idea what all the photo lingo is about. I just enjoy viewing your results. Judy D."

I had no idea that I helped so many to varying degrees but good to hear that I brought some photography newbies up to speed and creating better photos. Others (phonetographers) mostly enjoyed my escapades and shenanigans as I traveled the countryside photographing everything from naked mermaids to majestic arches in Utah. Collectively, I am also pleased to see that all those readers garnered something out of my tech talks and musings. And to see that I also appealed to non-photographers (artists), well, it doesn't get any better than that!

I had hoped that at least half of my 2,692,585 readers would have responded with the two words "keep writing" in the subject box. I'm sad to say that it fell 37 emails short. So, after 811,000 - give or take a couple hundred - words, it's time to put Focus on Photography in the closet and turn off the lights.

My only disappointment was that no one nominated my magnificent, stupendous incomparable Focus on Photography column for a Pulitzer Prize. Hmmm.

Farewell! I love you all, including, ahem, phonetographers!

Fillmore Fire Department

The Fillmore Fire Department in conjunction with the Ventura County Fire Department, the U.S. Forest Service and CalFire will be conducting live grass fire training in the west end of Fillmore on Wednesday July 1st from 10 AM – 4 PM. This will be a controlled burn under ideal circumstances that are favorable to training fire crews.

Crews will light small fires that are easily controllable with fire engines and handcrews. The main objective is to give valuable wildland fire fighting experience to all firefighters participating in the drill. Firefighters will be attacking the small fires with water from fire hoses and with hand tools.

The area to be burned is boarded by roads on all sides. Ventura St to the north, River St to the south, E St to the west and D St to the east. There may be a smell of smoke in the air for a few hours but burning will take place to minimize the overall smoke production.

All questions may be directed to Fillmore Fire Department 805-558-0932

Update: The City of Fillmore decided to cancel the 2020 4th of July Fireworks Show.

On June 21, 2020, at approximately 1030 hours, a 65-year-old Fillmore woman was jogging on the Sespe Creek bike path near Old Telegraph Road in Fillmore when an unknown man exposed his penis and then attacked the woman. The victim was able to quickly break free from the suspect’s grasp and flee the area before calling the police.

The victim described the suspect as a Hispanic male who appeared to be about 19-years-old, approximately 5’11” tall and 170 pounds, having a medium complexion, and a thin mustache. She said the suspect was wearing dark colored clothing and a hat.

The victim was physically unharmed during the attack. It is unknown if the suspect remained in the area after the victim fled. Detectives with the Sheriff’s Major Crimes – Sexual Assault Unit are investigating this case. Anyone who was in the area at the time or has information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact Detective Jamal Clark at (805) 384-4740 or Sergeant Hector Macias at (805) 384-4730.

Detectives worked with the victim to obtain the attached composite sketch of the suspect. He is described as a Hispanic male, approximately 19-years-old, 5’11” tall, and 170 pounds. He had a medium to dark complexion, black hair, brown eyes, and a thin mustache. He was wearing dark colored clothing and a hat at the time of the incident. Anyone who has information regarding anyone who may resemble the sketch is encouraged to contact Detective Jamal Clark at (805) 384-4740 or Sergeant Hector Macias at (805) 384-4730.

Nature of Incident: Fillmore Woman Attacked by Unknown Man While Jogging
Report Number: 20-83962
Location: Sespe Creek Bike Path @ Old Telegraph Road, Fillmore
Date & Time: June 21, 2020 @ 10:30 am
Unit(s) Responsible: Fillmore Police Department Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit
Prepared by: Sergeant Hector Macias
Media Follow-Up Contact: Sergeant Marta Bugarin (805) 947-8052 marta.bugarin@ventura.org
Approved by: Captain Jeff Miller

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).

After operating Elkins Ranch Golf Course for almost 60 years, Elkins Ranch Company regretfully announces the closure of the golf course effective September 7, 2020. With careful consideration, the company has made the very difficult, but necessary decision to close our golf course. After two decades of declining play and ever increasing expenses, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board of Directors has determined that the company can no longer remain viable with the golf course as the core of its business model.

Elkins Ranch Company is a family owned business that was founded in 1930, with farming as its sole endeavor. With the closure of the golf course, the company will return to its agricultural roots.

We are extremely grateful for the public’s support and patronage over the years, particularly our local patrons from Fillmore and the Santa Clara Valley. We are also very grateful for the outstanding staff that has made Elkins Ranch Golf Course such a special and welcoming place. We will truly miss the personal contacts, friendships and camaraderie of our customers, employees and vendors. We want to express our deep appreciation for our staff, our customers, and our community as we move into this new era.

Posted June 19th, 20202
Dear Valued Lake Piru Visitors:
We would like to thank you for your patience during these unprecedented times associated with the Covid-19 pandemic. The District's biggest concerns have been the safety of our visitors and the preservation of the "Lake Piru experience."
At present, there is no set date for the re-opening of the Lake Piru Recreation Area. The District, in an abundance of caution, has prepared and considered a re-opening plan but ultimately the decision was made to keep the recreation area closed until it can be open and operated at 100 percent with all of its amenities. Given that our public pay an admission fee, we did not want to offer a partial re-opening that would greatly limit the visitor experience, while also posing a public health risk. We are tirelessly updating the phased reopening plan and are keeping our Board of Directors apprised of updated County guidelines and the activities of neighboring recreation areas.
In addition, we are reviewing neighboring recreational areas' operations with an eye toward implementing additional measures from their plans to ensure our re-opening is seamless and that Lake Piru and its staff are well prepared for any associated challenges going forward. For now, however, we are not ready to re-open, but we will be very soon. We encourage the public to keep checking the District's website ( www.unitedwater.org ) and the Lake Piru Facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/UWCDLakePiru/ ) as we will announce our re-opening plans on these sites first.
Thank you all for your patience and we look forward to the time when we can welcome you back to the lovely Lake Piru Recreation area. To add your name to the notification list, click here.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our Chief Park Ranger Clayton Strahan at (805) 826-4512.

Antibody Testing: The Ventura County Health Care Agency is offering free covid-19 antibody testing in Fillmore. The test is a blood test that tells individuals if they have been previously exposed to COVID-19 and have developed antibodies to the disease. Testing is offered at locations throughout the County. More information at: https://www.venturacountyrecovers.org/antibody/ or by calling 805-482-1904. The testing is part of a study with UCLA and California Lutheran University. Fillmore testing is Friday, July 3, from 10am to 6pm at Shields Park, 649 C Street, Fillmore, CA.

With the COVID-19 Pandemic people are wondering about the Annual 4th of July Car and Fireworks Show, which is held every year in Fillmore. Well, this year will be slightly different. Fillmore will have a fireworks show on July 4th, to begin around 9pm.
Unfortunately, this year’s Annual Car Show has been cancelled. But never fear, a group of car enthusiasts are organizing a cruise through Fillmore starting at 10:30am. Details TBD. Photo
courtesy Bob Crum.

Bob Crum

Will this be my last Focus on Photography column? It's up to you!

If you find value in the Focus on Photography column, and you wish to see it continue, I need to know this and I need to hear it now. Don't delay - write today!!! This column's life is in your hands. In your email type "Keep Writing" in the subject line. Comments optional. Thank you!

Including this one, I have written 185 consecutive columns published here in the Fillmore Gazette. No repeats! I'm proud of my accomplishment. And profoundly grateful for the publisher who provided the space for my column every week and for posting online. I also appreciate the Gazette staff for making sure I didn't go off the rails, something I can easily do. And to my readers: Thank you!

Writing about technical photography tips and techniques, and some of my experiences in the field has been both a challenge and a daunting task. Some wanted more technical info, and others wanted more experiences told. Some wanted camera reviews, and others wanted to know how I light for Mermaid boudoir photoshoots. How to accommodate everyone's expectations proved to be a weekly hair-pulling exercise.

As I often wrote, photography motivated me to visit places that I might not have otherwise visited. Example, Mono Lake with notorious tufas, interesting lake bottom projections. Fields of poppies in the Antelope Valley. Eagle Falls at Lake Tahoe. Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef National Parks in Utah. And many, many other fantabulous photogenic landscape scenes. The intention has been that readers might get inspired and motivated to go out and about to enjoy (and photograph) our country's fantabulous landscapes. And know how to program their camera to capture the desired photo.

Now, however, I am experiencing gradually worsening health. Respiratory issues include COPD and a mass located in my left lung. Hence, I now have to be tethered to supplemental oxygen 24/7. At home, an oxygen concentrator runs continuously and for necessary trips out and about, a portable unit oxygen concentrator. I also have cylinders (tanks) of oxygen in case the electric goes off. I cannot perform even small tasks without my SPO2 (blood/oxygen level) dropping precipitously. So I'm considering taking a break for maybe 35 years or so. Furthermore, with COVID-19 still on a rampage, my pulmonologist admonished me to shelter in place because of my extreme vulnerability.

Because of my extremely limited physical abilities, I have to have a caregiver to assist with many tasks that I can no longer accomplish on my own. For grocery and drug store runs or other miscellaneous errands, friends are blessings! But not being able to go out and about is frustrating. But I digress.

Photography remains robust but only for a limited number of genuine enthusiasts and professional photographers. Cameras remain the go-to tool for greater latitude over capturing the desired photograph. However, in the year 2020, it's obvious that almost everyone has an omnipresent and ubiquitous cellphone. Thus, a herd of phonetographers roams the planet!

Photography vs. phonetography begets questions: Is my column Focus on Photography still relevant? Is my column being received by indifferent or uninterested eyes? Does my column serve a useful purpose?

Again, if you find value in the Focus on Photography column, and you wish to see it continue, don’t delay - write today!!! In your email type "Keep Writing" in the subject line.

Photo of the Week is again from the archives, a photo of one of many arches in Arches National Park, Utah.

Send email to: focusonphotography@earthlink.net

Mario Alexander Rodriguez, 25 of Fillmore

Sheriff’s detectives arrest (A) Mario Rodriguez for attempted murder after he shot a coworker.

At about 6:27 PM on 06/09/2020, the Sheriff’s Communication Center received a 911 call from a man who said he’d been shot by a coworker at a farm in the 2500 block of West Telegraph Road, in the unincorporated area west of the City of Fillmore. When deputies arrived, they located the victim with a single gunshot wound to the shoulder. The victim was transported to a local hospital, treated for his injury, and released the following day.

The investigation determined that Mario Rodriguez became upset with the victim after a series of arguments. Rodriguez retrieved a rifle from a trailer located on the property. Rodriguez then used the rifle to shoot the victim one time before fleeing the area on foot. Sheriff’s deputies spent several hours searching the surrounding area but were unsuccessful in locating Rodriguez.

During the course of the investigation, detectives received information that Rodriguez had fled to Northern California. Detectives from the Sheriff’s Major Crimes and Narcotics Units traveled to the City of Vallejo and located Rodriguez in the 400 block of Central Avenue on 06/11/2020. Rodriguez was arrested for attempted murder and transported back to Ventura where he was booked at the Pre-Trial Detention Facility. Rodriguez remains in custody on $500,000.00 bail and is scheduled to appear in Ventura County Superior Court on 06/15/2020.

Nature of Incident: Shooting Results in Arrest for Attempted Murder
Report Number: 20-78404
Location: 2500 block of West Telegraph Road, Fillmore, CA
Date & Time: 06/09/2020 @ 6:27 PM
Unit(s) Responsible: Sheriff’s Fillmore Patrol Station
Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit
Sheriff’s Narcotics Unit: (S)uspects, (V)ictims, (P)arty, (D)ecedent
(V) Adult Male
(A) Mario Alexander Rodriguez, 25 of Fillmore
Prepared by: Sergeant Steve Jenkins
Approved by: Captain Jeff Miller

The Fillmore Police Department is seeking the assistance of the public in identifying the driver and vehicle involved in a hit and run traffic collision that occurred in the City of Fillmore.

On June 14, 2020, at approximately 11:59 PM, patrol deputies from the Fillmore Police Department responded to a hit and run traffic collision on Santa Clara Street, east of B Street. It was determined a pedestrian was laying in the roadway and was struck by a light colored four door Chevrolet or GMC pickup truck. After the collision, the driver of the pickup truck backed up and then drove around the pedestrian and fled the scene. The pedestrian sustained serious injuries as a result. Video surveillance footage was obtained capturing an image of the pickup truck following the collision and is attached below.

This collision is currently under investigation by the Fillmore Police Department’s Investigations Bureau. Anyone with information regarding this collision is encouraged to contact Fillmore Police Department Detective Pewsey at 805-947-9128 or Detective Salas at 805-947-9391.

Nature of Incident: Attempt to Identify Driver and Vehicle in Hit and Run Traffic Collision
Report Number: 20-81014
Location: City of Fillmore
Date & Time: 06/14/2020 at 11:59 PM
Unit(s) Responsible: Fillmore Patrol Services and Detectives
Prepared by: Detective Shawn Pewsey #3867
Approved by: Captain Garo Kuredjian

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).

On Friday, June 12th at 8:49pm, authorities responded to a battery call at St. Francis Catholic Church in Fillmore. According to reports a priest had been battered by a Hispanic male who wore a mask and was carrying a hammer. The suspect was trying to break into church property and attacked the priest, who was able to defend himself, before fleeing east bound on Ventura Street, after taking a religious statue and Bible. About four hours later Sheriff’s Deputies were able to arrest 32-year old Rene Villanueva of Fillmore at the ARCO station, about one mile east of the church. Villanueva was booked into the Ventura County Jail for burglary and assault with a deadly weapon. He is also being held for a parole violation. Villanueva’s bail was set at $220,000, with no release due to the parole violation.