Fillmore Christian Academy celebrated their 25th graduation on June 6, 2018. The students sang two songs "Fruit of The Spirit" and "Whom Shall I Fear?"

Under the Direction of Administrator, Tracy Hackney. The presentation of the Academic Awards and Christian Character Awards were given by Board Members Heather Swetman and Martha Richardson. The Promotion Certificates were presented by the teachers Mrs. Debbie Morgan Kindergarten, Mrs. Jeanette Myers First grade, Mrs. Pattie Kinkade Second/Third, and Mrs. Loni Larson Fourth/Fifth. Two fifth grade students graduated from FCA, where they had attended since Kindergarten, Brenna Larson and Justin Tuttle.

This Summer FCA will be busy with a fireworks booth at Carl's Jr. The goal is to make enough money to prepare the new school site. The school will begin its 26th year at the current location, on the corner of First and Central and hopefully be moving to the new site during Christmas break.

If you are interested in registering your children in grades K-5 the phone number is 805-524-1572.

Submitted by Teresa Montano

Maria Mejia, a Fillmore High School graduate, was named the 2018 recipient of the Rosie Torres Scholarship for Future Teachers. Members of the Torres family were on hand to present the $1,000 scholarship award at a May 30 senior award ceremony held on campus.

The Rosie Torres Scholarship For Future Teachers was established five years ago to provide college financial assistance to Fillmore High School graduating seniors with plans to pursue a career in early childhood education, elementary education or secondary education.

“We congratulate Maria for her dedication to the classroom, her service to others and her commitment to helping other students succeed,” said Michael Torres. “We wish her success as she embarks on her next goal of becoming part of the future generation of educational leaders.”

Rosie Torres devoted nearly 30 years to teaching in Fillmore Unified School District and touched the lives of hundreds of students throughout her career as an educator and community volunteer. Along with her family, she established the scholarship program to inspire the next generation of teachers and invest in Fillmore High School students who are committed to improving the lives of children.

Awards are determined based on academic performance, teacher recommendations and a written essay.

Mejia’s future plans are to attend California State University, Channel Islands to pursue a teaching credential, with the goal of becoming an elementary school teacher.

An English cottage-inspired garden has been awarded the June 2018 Yard of the Month. The home of Andy and Pam Klittich (at 957 3rd St.) showcases roses of various varieties including, David Austin English roses, Lady of Shallot, William Shakespeare, Brother Cadfael, Princess Alexandria of Kent, some Brilliant Pink Iceberg, French Lavender and Wormwood. “The Weeping China Doll tree rose is a special one because it is 60"-they don’t grow them that tall anymore,” says Pam. The garden might be English-inspired, but Pam made it her own by adding lots of color and texture. Ari Larson, representing Fillmore Civic Pride presented them with a $40 gift certificate to Otto & Sons Nursery. For more information on Fillmore Civic Pride or to nominate a yard please contact Ari Larson 805.794.7590 or petenari55@hotmail.com

The Ventura County Garden Club has elected a new slate of officers for their 2018 - 2019 meeting year. The new officers were welcomed at an installation luncheon held at the Saticoy Country Club in Somis, on Wednesday, June 6th (2018). They are: Vice-President - Marlene Wait, Secretary - Jacqualin Starr, Treasurer - Jean Coyne, Fillmore Director - Ari Larson, Santa Paula Director - Carol Beckerdite, Ventura Area Director - Christine Cade, The outgoing President, Lora Clarke, was presented with an appreciation gift for serving two years on the Board.

During the luncheon, the Club also presented its annual Beautification Project Award. This year, Santa Paula was the designated area. The Board selected Santa Clara Valley Hospice as this year’s recipient, from among many worthy projects. Martha Navarette received the cash donation on behalf of the Hospice. She said it would be used to help purchase a garden fountain surrounded by flowers, and placed near the Hospice office.

The Club will not be meeting during July and August. If you have any questions you may contact Jacqualin at starrjacqualin@yahoo.com or (805) 816-6019. Have a beautiful summer!

On Wednesday, May 30th, 2018 at 12:00 pm. Fillmore-Piru Citrus Association held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the addition of an avocado packing line to their citrus packing operation at 357 N. Main Street in Piru, California. County Supervisor Kelly Long joined members of the Board of Directors and management at this event. Also attending were representatives from Del Rey Avocado and Westfalia Fruit Americas.

Chairman of the Board, Matthew Freeman, released the following statement:
“This avocado packing line is the culmination of a vision that began several years ago. It originated as a plan to both pack and market avocados. After conferring with experts regarding the California avocado industry, it was determined that marketing avocados would be better left to existing established marketers. We feel very fortunate to have found two excellent marketers who were in need of avocado packing capacity in Ventura County. Both Del Rey Avocado and Westfalia Fruit Americas have indicated they intend to pack avocados at Fillmore-Piru for the foreseeable future."

President and General Manager, Brett Kirkpatrick, released the following statement:
“The addition of the avocado packing line is the first step in a process that will enable us to relocate our current lemon packing operation and modernize our orange packing line. We would like to thank Supervisor Long and her staff for their assistance in working with the County of Ventura on this project. Fillmore-Piru Citrus Association can trace their roots in the community back more than one hundred years. I am honored to be fortunate enough to be part of the management team as we position the company for the next hundred years."

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Submitted by Lisa Hammond of Fillmore Citizen Patrol

On Saturday, May 12th the Fillmore Citizen Patrol, in partnership with the Fillmore Police Department and the Santa Clara Valley Explorer Post, hosted a public Bicycle and Skateboard Safety Event. The Bike Rodeo was held at the Two Rivers Park and included a safety course, free helmets and fitting assistance, bicycle registration, bicycle tune-ups, raffle prizes and food vendors. It featured displays from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad, SWAT Unit, K9 Unit, Search and Rescue Unit and the Fillmore Fire Department.

The Fillmore Citizen Patrol would like to extend a special thank you to the following sponsors of our event: Rotary Club of Fillmore, Lion’s Club of Fillmore, Fillmore Fire Foundation, TNT, Search and Rescue, Ventura County Deputy Sheriff’s Association, Bike Ventura, Baskin Robbins and Kona Ice.

After two separate injury accidents at the end of April involving a vehicle striking a juvenile who was riding a bicycle without a helmet, events like this are vital to the safety of children in our community.

During the upcoming summer months, the Fillmore Police Department, Fillmore Citizen Patrol and Fillmore Fire Department will be looking for children wearing helmets while riding bicycles, skateboards, and scooters in the community. Each child found to be wearing a helmet will receive one Baskin Robbins certificate for a free ice cream cone. For those children who are found without helmets, they will receive certificates for a free helmet that can be picked up at the Fillmore Police Station during office hours, 8 AM to 5 PM, Monday - Friday.

Public works agencies play a vital role in assisting communities to prepare, respond and recover from disasters. The work of public works professionals is often done behind-the-scenes but serves to protect and enhance the safety, health and quality of life of our community.

To bring to light the important role Ventura County Public Works Agency (VCPWA) plays within Ventura County and to educate the public on the wide variety of services provided, VCPWA will be hosting its National Public Works Day.

This one-day, free community event will be held on Tuesday, May 22, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Ventura County Government Center. This year’s event will focus on emergency preparedness and response activities to events such as the Thomas Fire and winter storms.

Attendees will have the opportunity to visit a wide range of hands-on booths, all highlighting the diverse scope of work for VCPWA’s five departments. Tours will feature information on native and drought tolerant plants, surveying, traffic signal technology, composting with worms, its award-winning raptor program, and demonstrations of the latest technology employed by the agency. Along with the county’s activities, the City of Ventura’s public works team will be on-site to host two booths as well as a demonstration of the city’s pothole filler equipment.

The event will also contain several new interactive activities including:

• An updated and enhanced Career Center – VCPWA and County HR teams will be on hand to share information about current career opportunities and the student worker program. VCPWA engineers and field staff will be on site sharing the many ways a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education could lead to career opportunities in public works. The cities of Oxnard and Ventura will also be joining the Career Center with information about their employment opportunities. Representatives from the American Society of Civil Engineers will be on site with career information.
• Watershed Protection District - GIS/Technology: Will be showing how modern “Geographic Information System” technology has improved map making over time, how data is used to build digital maps and how it’s shared in the GIS community of County departments. Information in GIS maps can depict many features such as parcels, roads, streams, points of interest and much more. It can be assembled from records, gathered in real time, or even remotely acquired from remote weather stations (to derive current rainfall) or airborne (LiDAR to derive topography). The maps can also be viewed on the internet and cell phones.
• Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) and VCPWA’s Storm Tracking Center will partner to create a simulation Emergency Operations Center where students will be given emergency scenarios to work out! They will also be taught the importance of a “go kit” and what to pack in case of an emergency.
• Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities: Learn about the work the Transportation Department conducts on county roads for motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians that makes our community safer.
• Traffic Detection Display and Demonstration: Displaying the latest technology utilized in detecting vehicle traffic in order for traffic signals to respond appropriately according to traffic flow. They will demonstrate how the technology can distinguish between vehicle, pedestrian and vehicle traffic to improve safety.
• General Services Agency (GSA): Fleet Services staff will demonstrate how a Chevrolet Tahoe is transformed from an ordinary SUV to a Sheriff pursuit vehicle.
• Manhole Covers: Learn how VCPWA workers safely enter and exit a manhole using a tri-pod wench.

“National Public Works Week has been a very successful and important event to help us connect with our community,” said Ventura County Public Works Agency Director Jeff Pratt. “It’s a great opportunity for us to educate and it will give the community a chance to get an in-depth look into the vital organizations that are dedicated to providing and sustaining the county’s infrastructure and environment while enhancing the safety, health and quality of life for them.”

VCPWA’s NPWW event has grown tremendously since launching in 2012. In 2017, more than 700 were students out of the 1,000 attendees in attendance. VCPWA anticipates a similar turnout of youth, parents and teachers to participate at this year’s education event.