Conway Spitler

It has been great to have all the "constuction" going on in the past; however, it has been a real problem to drive from River Street to most places in the City of Fillmore in the past few months.This is not complaining because, the work was necessary, it is give a "thank you" for having the work done and the fact we are getting back to normal driving.It probably has occurred in other places at these times.

One time it was having to go east on River Street to cross HIghway 126. That was like taking your life into your hands.It will be great when the stop sign is placed on Highway 126.However, you wonder when it will be done with the State of California working on that project!

From River Street you could not cross Central Avenure and go west or east, . because the Cental Avenue was being repaired, you meet all the tracffic on the highway going to, and coming from Moorpark, which is a large number.

What I thought would be big project was getting under HIghway 126. Then I discovered that was done very quickly without a lot of extra digging. Wonderful what new construction ideas do for all of us.

So, here ia big "Thank You" to all concerened, the construction companies and the City personnel was taking care of all of us!

County Supervisor Kathy Long, 3rd District would like to announce to all residents of Ventura County that the next Santa Paula Tattoo Removal Clinic will be held on Saturday November 15, 2008 from 8:30 am – 12 noon, no appointments necessary. Orientation for first time participants will be at 9 am located at 1334 E. Main St. the Santa Paula Family Care Clinic. Due to overwhelming response, spaces will be limited.
County Supervisor Kathy Long spearheaded this clinic in collaboration with the following agencies: Ventura County Public Health, Ventura County Probation Agency, Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, Santa Paula Family Care Clinic, Interface Children Family Services, and CalWORKS.
The clinic not only welcomes participants but volunteers to run the clinic. If you have any questions, or would like to find out how you can help, please call the Santa Paula Family Care Clinic at (805) 933-1242.

These names were received from October 29 to November 5, 2008.
A light will be shining on the Hospice “Light Up A Life” Tree at the Fillmore Plaza, 251 Central Avenue, Fillmore. Join us for the Tree Lighting Ceremony on Saturday, November 29, 2008 at 5:00 PM

IN MEMORY OF:

Derek DeJarnette
Amy DeJarnette
Daryl Hansen
Tommy Wallace
Raymond Wallace
Lark Whiteley
All Classmates Class of 1958 Fillmore
Damiana Dominguez Moreno
Alfred Moreno
Donal Eugene Walker
Fidencio Ybarra
Margaret Ybarra Hernandez
Robert Hoy

IN HONOR OF:

Bob and Pat Horn
Nancy Zeise
Nancy O’Flynn

IN MEMORY OF OUR PETS:

Onyx
Mandy
Wanda Big Kitty

The used book room and gift shop at the Rancho Camulos Museum will be open Saturday, Nov. 15 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for pre-Christmas purchases. A wide selection of gently used books and gift items are available from packing house labels, tote bags, t-shirts and ranch history books to children’s books. A special area for the kids will keep them happy while you browse.

For an early start on your Christmas shopping, make a trip to the museum located 2 miles east of Piru on Highway 126. Proceeds from the book sale will go to the restoration of the courtyard fountain.

Anger is an acidic thing. Brush up against it and you can be burned, as I was last week.

A funny thing happened on the way to the office. Returning from the bank where elementary school trick-or-treaters had gathered to have their pictures taken, I was ambushed by a former Fillmore mayor with our newly elected city clerk in tow.

As I was about to step into the office a small white pickup nosed into a parallel parking space in front of the Gazette’s front entrance. Out jumped Gary Creagle, leaving his truck nosed into the curb and driver’s door open.
Rushing towards me, yelling at the top of his considerable lung capacity, it took a few moments to figure out what he was trying to say. “Don’t you vet your letters?!” he bellowed. “I wasn’t thrown out of office, I decided not to run again!” he continued yelling, while closing in on me.

Still not understanding what the former mayor was howling about, I asked what his problem was. Raising his volume to a level that caught the attention of many others in the building, he sputtered something about an advertisement from five former mayors which had run in the Gazette the previous Wednesday, three days earlier. The letter he referred to was a paid political ad, paid for by five (highly regarded) retired mayors of the City of Fillmore: Scott Lee, Mike McMahan, Don Gunderson, Roger Campbell and Evaristo Barajas.

The advertisement was titled “A Message From 5 Retired Mayors”. It was dismissive of Creagle’s dysfunctional tenure as mayor, citing his support for extreme growth, an airport, and a gaming casino. The statements were true, but not to Creagle’s liking now that he apparently honchos Fillmore’s new extreme green coalition.
Among the few short but furious statements from Creagle’s loud mouth was a reference to the ad’s comment: "...the voters threw out Gary and his cronies...” which was in error. Creagle roared that the voters did not throw him out. He declined to run for city council the following term.

Creagle walked up to me, bumped into me with clenched fists, and continued to bellow. This whole sorry, embarrassing, threatening performance was witnessed by several persons, and Mr. Creagle was cited by a Sheriff’s deputy.

The following Monday Mr. Creagle performed Act II, Scene II at city hall. With sidekick, and newly elected City Clerk, Clay Westling again in tow, Creagle entered the upstairs area of city hall. A number of witnesses heard him, with offensive, officious tone, demand to know the location of the city clerk’s desk. Informed of that, he then demanded to know how many offices were located in the area. Following this, he asked one staff member: “What’s your name?” “What do you do?” Receiving answers to both questions, he had the audacity to tell that staff member, “O.K., your job is safe.”

Message to Gary Creagle – you were not elected to any office in the City of Fillmore. Your conduct in these matters is obnoxious, and has cast a dark political shadow over several important staff positions. Are you seeking to be appointed to the position of City Manager?

For what it’s worth, Gary, you have become, in my estimation, Fillmore’s very own Yosemite Sam – but you aren’t funny.

John Huntsberger

The Fillmore Ebell Club will be entertained this month by the noted banjo player John Huntsberger, at the Veterans Memorial Building on November 25, 2008.

John is the son of long-time local resident and Fillmore Ebell Club member, Dorothy Stinson.

John plays the plectrum banjo, banjolene, and the ukulele. He first picked up the banjo in 1950. John formed the Northwest Banjo Band, whose motto is, "Have fun with the banjo."

John worked for McGraw-Hill Book Company as a science consultant for the ten western states. This job required that he travel weekly, and on different occasions, to various cities in Washington, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona, Oregon, Alaska, and Hawaii.

John received his Ph.D. from Oregon State University in 1972 with a major in Science Education and a minor in the History and Philosophy of Science. He taught elementary and middle school teachers how to teach science in the College of Education and taught Earth Science in the Department of Geology, College of Natural Science at The University of Texas at Austin for twenty-seven years. He retired three years ago.

John's hobbies are banjoing, birding, astronomy, 35mm photography and watercolor painting.

Anyone interested in more information, or becoming a member of the Fillmore Ebell Club, may call Trisha Armstrong at 805-727-1901.

The Ventura Family YMCA is inviting all members of the community to join us for our FREE Fifth Annual Thanksgiving Potluck Celebration. At 6:00 pm on Thursday, November 20th, we will kick off our fantastic potluck style feast. There will be a great variety of delicious food, live entertainment and raffle prizes.

The Thanksgiving Potluck is a yearly celebration where staff, members and individuals from the community join together for an evening of great company and a FREE meal. The staff of the Ventura Family YMCA also uses this opportunity to give thanks and appreciation to its members.

The Ventura Family YMCA offers many wonderful opportunities for all members of our community. With today’s economic uncertainty and the rising cost of living, we remain consistent with the quality of our classes, prices and ability to offer financial assistance to those with the desire to be healthy and be part of a positive community organization. Families find comfort knowing their children will be guided in a positive environment and have fun learning the pillars of character that the YMCA promotes throughout all of their programs: Trustworthiness, Caring, Citizenship, Respect, Fairness and Responsibility.

We invite you to join us for an incredibly fun event that will shed a spirit of thanks throughout our community and throughout the Ventura Family YMCA. Bring your favorite Thanksgiving dish to share as we reflect on that we are thankful for and the exciting future to come.

The Ventura Family YMCA serves over 20,000 individuals annually through facility memberships, before & after school childcare, day & resident camps, youth sports, swim lessons, teen programs, and many more healthy lifestyles and community enriching programs throughout Ventura, Oxnard, Ojai, Santa Paula, and Saticoy. The Ventura Family YMCA is located at 3760 Telegraph Rd., Ventura, CA 93003. Visit www.venturaymca.org or call (805) 642-2131 ext 24 for more information.

Fillmore is known for its Craftsman-style houses and Bardsdale has many excellent examples. The Bartel’s Craftsman home has been in the family for three generations and the newest family members, Bill, Laura and their three children, have preserved the style of their home while updating and modernizing it. Eliminating some of the changes made in the 1960’s has brought back the beauty and warm qualities of their home. The original oak and Douglas fir floors gleam in newly repurposed rooms. Bill’s grandfather’s bedroom is now his music room and the original kitchen has become a game room with inlaid hardwood game boards in the floor. New granite counters have been added in the new kitchen and a wall opened to the gracious dining room. The color scheme used both inside and outside is very unusual and adds to the classic feeling of the home. Anyone thinking of remodeling an older home will find lots of ideas here.
The Bartel’ s home may be seen during the Fillmore Historical Museum Annual Fall Home Tour. The date is Sunday, Nov. 9th from 12:00 to 4:00. The Heritage Valley Fine Arts Sale will take place on the Museum grounds from 11:00 to 4:00 on the same day. Tickets are $20.00 advance sale and $25.00 the day of the tour. They may be purchased through the Museum (524-0948) or at Coffeeboy or Mirage in town, or at any home the day of the tour.

Fillmore High Alumni Association

Several issues ago, in the alumni newsletter, The Flashbacks, an article explained how the Junior Arches came into being at the graduation ceremonies at Fillmore High School. Prior to 1940, graduation ceremonies were held in the high school auditorium, but in 1940, lights were installed at the football field, so that year the ceremonies were held outdoors. To enhance the proceedings, Ms. Alice Hansen and Ms. Bea Albright came up with the idea of having junior class members hold arches, under which the seniors would walk. It was decided that Shasta Daisies would make great adornments for the arches, and the juniors who were honored to carry the arches had the responsibility to scout around to find enough flowers to cover the wooden frames. This was the plan, until the daisies became hard to find locally, so in 1977, Shasta Daisies were planted at the school farm for use as arch material, as well as providing flowers for weddings, funerals, and other such events. In 1989 the daisies were plowed under, and since then, the junior arches have been covered with balloons, artificial flowers and crepe paper, which were not nearly as attractice as the daisies. This year, under the direction of Kirk Richter, class of '77 and his horticulture students at the high school, it is hoped to have Shasta Daisies again for the arches. Kirk and his class have planted 400 square feet of area at the high school, with plant material donated by Conway Spitler. Kirk doesn't think this will be enough material for all the arches, so he is requesting that anyone who has Shasta Daisies and would be willing to donate rooted cuttings to plant another 400 square feet of area, to please contact him at 524-8423, or call Dick Mosbarger at the alumni office, 524-0416. If you do not want to give up some of your plants, but would be willing to donate the flowers next June 4 for the 2009 graduation ceremonies, please call these same people. Many graduates of Fillmore High would be very pleased to once again see the Junior Arches as part of graduation.

The Fillmore Historical Museum was founded in 1970 by retired Spanish teacher and author Edith Moore Jarrett at the request of the Fillmore Chamber of Commerce. Originally it was located on the ground floor of the Fillmore Masonic Temple building.

Its artifacts were all donated by local citizens who found it important to preserve the history of Fillmore, Piru, Sespe and Bardsdale and its families.

We at the museum still believe in the importance of preserving this history. In fact, recently the museum accepted Fillmore Ebell Club's scrapbooks & memorabilia dating back to the early1900s.

Over the years we have grown from that small space into a museum site on 6/10th of an acre along the railroad right of way. There are three buildings, the 1887 Southern Pacific Depot, the 1905 Hinckley House, and the 1919 Bunkhouse. All have been moved and restored through the efforts of museum volunteers and interested community donors.

We are not supported financially by any large governmental entity, only by fundraisers, grants and donations by private citizens and organizations such as the Fillmore Ebell Club.

The donation from the Fillmore Ebell Club will be used in the development of the landscaping of the site, the final large project to be completed after the construction of a garage which will be next to the Hinckley House.

What is green and read and provides unique inexpensive holiday shopping opportunities? Why it is the annual Rancho Camulos Museum book sale! Come browse among the hundreds of quality used books on topics as varied as art, gardening, cooking, history, mystery, travel, romance, children’s, etc. Gently used books are thoughtful environmentally - friendly gifts that show you care. Sale proceeds will be used to help restore the 1850‘s fountain at this non-profit National Historic Landmark which is dedicated to California historic preservation, restoration, and education efforts. There will be free children’s activities throughout the day. Details at www.ranchocamulos.org On Highway 126, 2 miles East of Piru and 10 miles west of the I-5 at Santa Clarita. 805-521-1501

The Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley provides positive programs and activities for children in Fillmore, Piru and Santa Paula during the critical hours of the day when kids face the greatest dangers of negative involvement in gangs, drugs, and other detrimental experiences.
In an effort to concentrate on the needs of the community of Fillmore, the Boys & Girls Club will be hosting a “Focus on Fillmore” luncheon at their First Street clubhouse. This meeting is open to all concerned citizens wanting to provide positive solutions for the children of Fillmore.
“The purpose of this free lunch is to meet with community and business leaders as well as parents and other concerned citizens wanting to make a difference in the lives of Fillmore’s youth,” remarked Mike Hause, chair of the “Focus on Fillmore” task force and President/CEO for the Santa Clara Valley Bank in Santa Paula and Fillmore. “This meeting will be the first of many to learn firsthand from the citizens of Fillmore what we can do together to support the positive development of our children.”
The “Focus on Fillmore” task force will meet on November 12th beginning at noon until 1:00 PM at 565 First Street in Fillmore. Lunch will be provided free of charge to all attending. Reservations are requested to ensure enough food will be available for all attending and may be made by calling (805) 525-7910. This is not a fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Club but a gathering of concerned citizens to discuss how we can gather together to focus on what may be done to benefit the children of Fillmore.
To learn more or to make reservations, call the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley at (805) 525-7910.

Written By Bill Dewey and Steve McClary, Fillmore Vision 2020 Civic Pride Committee

Maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba): This tree is a welcome addition to the landscape. There is a particularly nice grouping of them in the 400 block of Saratoga Street where they have been used as a street tree in the parkways on both sides of the street. This tree is an ancient survivor from prehistoric times (200 million years ago) when it grew worldwide; it is now native only to two small areas in China.

This is a graceful tree, attractive in any season, especially in fall when leathery light green leaves turn gold before dropping quickly and cleanly making a golden carpet where they fall. Most mature trees are 35-50 feet and typical width is no more than one-half to two-thirds of height. It is important to plant male trees that do not produce messy, fleshy, ill-smelling fruit. Two recommended varieties are Autumn Gold and Saratoga.

In general, Ginkgos are not bothered by insects or diseases, and they are very tolerant of air pollution, heat, and acid or alkaline conditions. They are also resistant to oak root fungus.

Whose Town Do They Want to Take Back? The Town that Gary Creagle and a few others envisioned in the 1980s? Gary and others wanted the City to grow all the way to Piru, build an airport and allow a gaming casino. Do we want Back the dysfunctional Town that nearly brought Fillmore to financial ruin? The voters threw out Gary and his cronies, and with a new city council under Mayor Delores Day, Roy Payne was hired as city manager and the city began to pick up the pieces. Now Gary wants it all back his way, and he's convinced a few newcomers to see things his way.

The frugality of the current City Council and city management is not an issue. Our city has lived within its means for many years now. The cost increases for management employees were largely beyond the city council's control; these were due to increases in medical insurance and the PERS retirement fund. It has been a difficult inflationary year for everyone, yet our city continues to operate on a BALANCED BUDGET. Since the recovery from the 1994 quake, the city has steadily built up RESERVES which amount to about 36% of the current operating budget.

With our financial house in order we can soon look forward to a new community swimming pool, new tennis courts and a new 22 acre park. These long-terms visions are coming to reality thanks to the support of the community and the leadership shown by the current city council. Fillmore needs more jobs and services. Santa Paula Hospital has been reopened and we have a new modern urgent care facility and Fillmore's budding business park and the needed jobs it will bring will soon be realized.

Above all, we are saddened by all the negative commentary about our community and our city. We need to start building bridges rather than creating walls of division. The discussion needs to focus on what is right for Fillmore, not who is right.

That is why we five retired Mayors of Fillmore are supporting Steve Conaway, Cecilia Cuevas and Norris Pennington for City Council. Vote November 4!

Sincerely,

Scott Lee, Mike Mc Mahan, Don Gunderson, Roger Campbell and Evaristo Barajas
5 Retired Mayors of the City of Fillmore