All are welcome to preview the new Fillmore's Health and Wellness Center at 448 Santa Clara Avenue from 10 a.m. through 4 p.m. on this Sunday July 4th. You will have the opportunity to check out the (almost) finished facility and to meet the co-owners, Valerie Brinton, Maggie Garrett and Janine Rees.

Valerie will unveil some of the classes, workshops and therapies she will be offering through her business, Shared Field Healing Arts. Maggie will present her acupuncture treatment programs available through her "The Power of Chi" Acupuncture Clinic.

And Janine will be taking pre-sign-ups for her yoga classes through The Scented Path Yoga.

Come meet all three members of Fillmore's Health and Wellness Center and learn what we can offer for your continuing good health and well-being. Light refreshments will be served.

Sespe 4-H is taking sign-ups for 2010-2011 beginning July 2 thru July 15th. If you have an interest in learning to raise and show an animal, our club offers projects in swine, lambs, goats, beef and poultry. In addition to animal projects we will offer arts and crafts and CPR/First Aid projects. We also plan to continue several community service projects again this year such as “Sespe Sox Box” at Christmas time, food share in October, and Rescue Mission in November.

Members must be 9 yrs. of age to take a large livestock animal. Partial sponsorship is offered in some projects.

Our club meets the 3rd Thursday of every month, 7:00 pm at the Memorial Building. Please stop by for a visit if you are interested in joining. If you have questions please call 524-6916.

The Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley is pleased to welcome two Girl Scout troops to the Club. Sheila Tate, CEO for Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley has been meeting with Sally Knight, Girl Scouts of California’s Central Coast, with the goal of bringing troop meetings to the Club so that female Club members would be able to participate. The meetings are scheduled to begin Monday, June 21st at the Fillmore Clubhouse and Monday, Tuesday, July 6th at the Santa Paula Clubhouse. In Fillmore, the girls will meet every Monday for 8 weeks, from 1:00 to 2:30 pm. In Santa Paula the troop will meet on Tuesdays 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm. Both troops will work on earning ‘badges’ during their meetings.

Guided by the Girl Scout Law: “I will do my best to be honest and fair, friendly and helpful, considerate and caring, courageous and strong, and responsible for what I say and do, and to respect myself and others, respect authority, use resources wisely, make the world a better place, and be a sister to every Girl Scout,” the Club’s girls will learn skills and tools to help them grow into responsible caring adults. Funding for the Girl Scout program is being provided by Girl Scouts of California’s Central Coast.

The Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley is open for the 2010 Summer Season and accepts children ages 5 to 18 yrs. The annual membership is $25 per child per calendar year, allowing members’ access to the Club and its programs from 12:00 noon to 6:00 pm Monday thru Friday. Early Bird program is available from 7:30 am to 12:00 noon at a rate of $10 per day, which includes a free snack and lunch.

Edith Smith and her crew are proud to announce plans for an official “Grand Opening” of her downtown Piru restaurant with a menu full of specials and events for all ages on Saturday, July 24th. The day’s celebration kicks off at 8 am with incredible breakfast specials. In addition to their famous biscuits and gravy, the home style cooking will include a variety of tasty offerings throughout the day.

The menu then changes to lunch time meals including free hot dogs and lemonade for the kids. At noon they start serving bar-b-q specials hot off the grill. Shredded beef burritos and pulled pork sandwiches are just two of the other planned specials. The delicious summer desserts prepared fresh daily by colleague Joy Zavala will surely tempt your belly and will feature local produce, including fresh strawberry treats.

Beginning at 2 pm a local DJ will spin crowd favorites and live music for dancing under the stars will be to the tunes “Ice”, a popular local area band. Door prizes and other activities will be offered throughout the day. No alcohol will be sold.

This longtime Piru establishment, CONTINUED »

Thursday, August 5 - Resumes that Sell, 9 am – 4 pm - workshop providing hands-on assistance in completing a resume, cover and thank-you letters. Walk away with a portfolio that shows off professional skills and experience. Career Shops are offered at no cost to Job Seekers. Space is limited. Prior registration required by calling the Santa Clara Valley Job & Career Center at 805-933-8452 to enroll.

Thursday, August 12 - Winning Interviews, 9 am – 1 pm - supplies the tools to make a lasting first impression when interviewing. Career Shops are offered at no cost to Job Seekers. Space is limited. Prior registration required by calling the Santa Clara Valley Job & Career Center at 805-933-8452 to enroll.

Thursday, August 19 – Workplace Essentials, 9 am – 1 pm - Start your journey to successful employment, identify your transferable skills, learn the importance of attitude and self-esteem, how to balance work and family, and the basic strategies for keeping a job. Space is limited. Prior registration required by calling the Santa Clara Valley Job & Career Center at 805-933-8452 to enroll.

Monday, August 30 - Power of VOS (Virtual OneStop), 9 am – 11:30 am – Learn about the Virtual OneStop website and how you can use the various tools in the system to build your resume and customize your job search to a specific location and occupation. Must have basic computer skills. Career Shops are offered at no cost to Job Seekers. Space is limited. Prior registration required by calling the Santa Clara Valley Job & Career Center at 805-933-8452 to enroll.

Spanish language workshop:
Monday, August 9 - Tecnicas para la Busqueda de Trabajo (Job Search Techniques), 9 am – 1 pm - Esta diseñada para personas que estan buscando empleo. Los temas incluyen donde y como buscar empleo, como crear una red de comunicacion, tecnicas de como usar el teléfono apropriadamente para buscar empleo y como usar la red del internet para buscar empleo. Tambien aprendera tecnicas apropriadas para hacer un entrevista. También aprenderá técnicas apropiadas para hacer una entrevista. 805-933-8452.

Career Shops are presented in partnership with Ventura County Job & Career Centers and are sponsored by the Human Services Agency and the Workforce Investment Board. Equal opportunity Employer/Program/Service – TDD/TT Inquiries call 1 (800) 735-2922. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individual with disabilities.

Victorian wear will be the featured entertainment at the storied Teague Mansion in Santa Paula where the latest fashions-"latest" as in the early 1900s-will turn heads and maybe even offer a glimpse of ankle in a unique show staged by Santa Paula resident Carol Beckerdite and friends. Proceeds from the festivity and fashion of the event, as well as a boutique and ‘Silent Auction’ of the table decorations, will benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley.

The “Tea at the Teague” is Saturday, July 10th from 1 pm to 4 p.m. Tickets are $35 each and include luncheon, a Victorian Wear fashion show and a boutique at the historic mansion, a setting befitting the display of period clothing. Seating for the event is limited and advance reservations are required.

Built in 1924, the Teague Mansion was the second home of the Charles Collins Teague family. The stately home was carefully situated to take advantage of the sweeping views of the valley and distant Pacific Ocean, and features lush gardens and expansive lawns. Designed by Roy Wilson in collaboration with Edwin Thorne and designer Peter Ficker, the style was called Old English Manor House. Teague Mansion has been recognized as Ventura County Historical Landmark No. 54. The Mansion doubled for the fabled "Pickfair," home of silent stars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks Sr., in the 1990s film "Chaplin." The Mansion as been generously opened to the public by current owner Jackie Hamilton for this event.

A modern shuttle will be stationed at the Mill parking lot at Railroad and Tenth Streets to transport guests to the hillside setting of the Teague Mansion.

For more information and tickets, call Tammy Hobson, Boys & Girls Club Board Member, at 805-320-5370. Tickets must be purchased by July 2, 2010.

Santa Paula, Calf. – June 29, 2010 – Considering the current economic state of the country, feeding your family for a week on just $30 sounds like a dream…but could it soon become a reality? Thanks to local community efforts and a program called The Treasure Box, it already is.

Spirit of Santa Paula, a 501 (c) (3) organization that provides meals to homeless and at risk families in the Santa Paula area, is pleased to announce that it has partnered with The Treasure Box, an economical meal program developed by Good Source Solutions in Carlsbad, Calif. The Treasure Box contains 21 -28 lbs of well-known and popular food brand items to provide a family of four nutritious meals for up to a week or an individual for almost a month. Each Treasure Box contains $75 - $100 worth of delicious, high quality food offered to individuals and families for just $30 per box. The program has no income qualifications or restrictions, and is available to everyone in the community.

Kay Wilson-Bolton, project coordinator at Spirit of Santa Paula, said the organization’s goal is to continue to tap into resources that can help it accomplish its mission to provided meals for homeless and hungry families at risk. To date, Spirit of Santa Paula has provided more than 20,000 meals to individuals and families in Santa Paula.

The Treasure Box is CONTINUED »

Thousand Oaks, CA July 8, 2010 - The Alzheimer’s Association, Ventura County Regional Office will be hosting a Kick-Off Party Thursday, July 8th for the 2010 Thousand Oaks Memory Walk at Conejo Creek North Park next October. Funds raised from the Memory Walk support the free programs and services offered by Alzheimer’s Association throughout Ventura County. This year’s goal is $71,000.
At this Kick-Off, people interested in participating in the 2010 Thousand Oaks Memory Walk on Saturday, October 2 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon will receive information about the Walk, how to start a Team and/or how to join a Team. The event will take place at BJ’s Restaurant and Brewery at 3955 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd from 5:30 – 7 p.m. with light refreshments, non-alcoholic drinks and great raffle prizes! For more information, please call (805) 484-6028.

About the Alzheimer’s Association
The Alzheimer’s Association signature event, Memory Walk is the nation's largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer care, support and research — and it calls on people of all ages to take action in the fight. Our mission is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer's disease.

For more information, please contact Angie Rosen at (805)484-6028 or visit www.alz.org/cacentralcoast.

Community Memorial Hospital is offering free blood pressure screenings in its main lobby every Monday, from noon to 2 p.m., beginning in July through its HeartAware and StrokeAware programs.

No appointment is necessary; walk-ins are welcomed.

The American Heart Association recommends routine periodic screening for high blood pressure since the condition does not have any symptoms and is often known as the “silent killer.” In fact, many people have high blood pressure for years without knowing that it may be causing damage to your arteries, heart and other organs. The AHA reports that many people assume that high blood pressure is related to high levels of stress, tension and nervousness, but the truth is relaxed, easy-going people can still have it.

The only way for people to know if they are hypertensive is to have their blood pressure checked. High blood pressure can develop over time, and there are many treatment options available to manage the disease. Prompt treatment can reduce the risk of stroke, heart attack, kidney failure, angina and congestive heart failure. Andrea Ricketts, MSN, NP, CMH’s HeartAware/Stroke Aware Program Manager states “with regular tracking of your blood pressure, along with knowledge of potential consequences and participation in programs such as StrokeAware can help motivate individuals to better care for their arteries and live a heart healthy lifestyle.”
The screenings are provided free of charge through Community Memorial Hospital ’s HeartAware and StrokeAware programs. For more information, call 805/667-2818 or visit www.cmhshealth.org.

Community Memorial Hospital is a member of Community Memorial Health System, a not-for-profit health system, which is comprised of Community Memorial Hospital, Ojai Valley Community Hospital, and nine family-practice health centers entitled Centers for Family Health. The health system is located in Ventura County, California.

Bert Rapp, the City of Fillmore Public Works Director will lead an engineering bicycle tour of Fillmore on Sunday June 27th. The tour is intended for High School or Junior College students looking for a career choice and might be interested in Civil Engineering.

The tour will begin at City Hall at 1:00 and travel to the various public infrastructure facilities around the city and return to City hall about 5:00. Participants will see how we get our drinking water and deliver it to the customers. They will learn how the Foothill Pressure Zone saves the water customers $40,000 a year in electricity costs and how water reservoirs are designed for seismic forces.

Pole Creek will give up some of its hydraulic secrets and the mighty Santa Clara River’s geomorphology will be uncovered. Participants will learn how the city engineers design environmentally friendly flood protection along the river and how the sidewalks can be constructed to be root resistant to street trees.

Keeping streets safe in a small town is essential, so as we ride we will discuss traffic calming techniques and look at some of the improvements the City of Fillmore has made.

The bike riders will stop by the CONTINUED »

On Thursday, June 17, 2010, Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. joined the California Department of Real Estate and the State Bar of California to warn homeowners about an alarming rise in short sale fraud across California in a field "rife with scam artists".

A short sale is an arrangement in which a homeowner sells his or her home for less than the outstanding mortgage, with the consent of the lender.

"While short sales can provide homeowners with a last-ditch alternative to foreclosure, this market is rife with scam artists," Brown said. "Homeowners and buyers, agents, and lenders should beware of short sale negotiators who operate without licenses, use straw buyers or charge illegal fees."

With so many homeowners now considering short sales, an entire industry of so-called short sale negotiators has emerged. These individuals solicit homeowners by promising to expedite the process and help coax lenders into taking part in the transaction.

The Department of Real Estate is investigating more than 40 complaints of short sale fraud, up from "virtually zero" cases only three months ago, a spokesman said.

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Youth For Understanding (YFU) is a worldwide movement of committed individuals and organizations working together to prepare young people for their responsibilities and challenges in a changing, interdependent global community.

Each year YFU places a large number of international exchange students with local families while they attend the local high school and extra-curricular activities. More than 2,000 YFU students come to the US from about 50 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, North and South America and the Pacific.

Contact YFU today if you think hosting will be an enriching experience for your entire family that will last a lifetime. By opening your home and heart to a student from overseas, your family will gain a new global perspective, many memories, and - quite possibly - a new family member!

To become a host family this upcoming school year or find out more about YFU please call 1-866-4-YFUUSA (866-493-8872) or visit us at www.yfu-usa.org

Since the Fourth of July holiday falls on Sunday this year, Santa Clara Valley Disposal will maintain its regular Friday trash and recyclables collection schedule for Fillmore customers on July 9.
For more information, call 647-1414.

Camarillo, CA July 7, 2010 – The Alzheimer’s Association’s, California Central Coast Chapter will be hosting a free seminar on Memory Loss & Aging on Wednesday, July 7, 2010 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Find out how memory works, the changes in memory as we age, and tips on how to maintain and improve your memory. Bring your brown bag lunch. Seminar will be held at 80 North Wood Road, Suite 302 in Camarillo

Don’t miss out on this excellent educational opportunity!

For more information or make a reservation, please call (805) 484-6028 or visit www.alz.org/cacentralcoast.

About the Alzheimer’s Association:
Our mission is to provide and enhance care and support for all those affected by Alzheimer’s, to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health and to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research. The California Central Coast Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association has offices in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties and serves over 40,000 Alzheimer’s patients and their families every year. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer’s.

Oxnard, CA. June 18, 2010-The Alzheimer’s Association’s, California Central Coast Chapter will be hosting a kick-off party for the 2010 Oxnard Memory Walk at Channel Islands Harbor. During this event, people interested in participating in the Oxnard 2010 Memory Walk will receive information regarding the walk, how to start a team and/or how to join a team. The event will have light refreshments, non-alcoholic drinks and great raffle prizes! The event will take place on Thursday, June 24, 2010 at Bj’s Restaurant and Brewery at 461 West Esplanade Drive in Oxnard from 5:30 – 7 p.m.

About the Alzheimer’s Association
The Alzheimer’s Association signature event, Memory Walk is the nation's largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer care, support and research — and it calls on people of all ages to take action in the fight. The 2010 Oxnard Memory Walk will take place on Saturday, October 2, 2010 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Our mission is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer's disease.

For more information, please contact Angie Rosen at (805)484-6028 or visit www.alz.org/cacentralcoast.