The Sweetheart Hop is the first big occurrence in the "Raise the Roof" Fundraiser series with the Veterans of Foreign Wars Fillmore Post 9637 & the Fillmore-Piru Veterans Memorial District benefiting the Veterans Memorial Building!

Our wonderful community building needs a new roof & a few other renovations, so why not have fun while we "Raise the Roof" on February 16th 2019 at the Veterans Memorial Building.

Come out for a night of dinner, dessert & dancing... Music Performance by Studio C Band, Cash bar, photo-op + silent auction!
Ticket options are as follows:

5:30pm entrance:
- $45 a person , ticket includes dinner
- $350 8 person table, ticket includes dinner

7:00pm entrance:
- $25 a person, ticket does not include dinner

Purchase tickets at Fillmore City Hall, 250 Central Avenue downstairs at the finance window.

** To purchase an 8 person table, contact the Parks and Recreation department to see if a table is still available to reserve. 524-1500 ext 713 (upstairs, 2nd floor of City Hall)

*** To sponsor a table, call 524-1500 ext 713

Submitted by Sue Zeider On Tuesday, January 22, the Fillmore Historical Museum presented a program on the 155 years of Rancho Sespe to the Fillmore Middle School. In conjunction with the presentation, the students can participate in an essay contest on Rancho Sespe sponsored by the Museum. There are separate categories for fiction and non-fiction. Students are encouraged to interview friends and family who have memories of living or working at the Rancho.

Supervisor Kelly Long announced today she is accepting applications for volunteer positions on the Bardsdale Cemetery District Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees formulates rules, regulations and policies as well as management of the land, buildings and equipment necessary to run the Cemetery. Trustees must reside within the Cemetery District boundaries.

The Bardsdale Cemetery District serves the City of Fillmore and surrounding area. The Bardsdale Cemetery Association was formed in 1895 and operated as an association until 1914 when it became a public cemetery district. The District owns and operates a cemetery located in Bardsdale at 1698 South Sespe Street. The cemetery and related District owned property is approximately 14.4 acres in size. The District provides burial and related services to residents and property owners in the District boundaries.

The District’s operations are overseen by a five-member Board of Trustees serving four-year terms. The two vacant Trustee positions will fulfill a term that will expire on January 4th, 2021. The trustee positions are appointed at large by the Board of Supervisors upon recommendation of 3rd District Supervisor Kelly Long.

Public cemeteries in California are among the earliest and oldest public facilities in the state and were in existence prior to the enactment of the first public cemetery law in 1909. Today, there are 253 public cemetery districts in California, including three districts in Ventura County: Bardsdale Cemetery District, Piru Cemetery District & El Rancho Simi Cemetery District. Public cemetery districts are special districts that are legally separate from any other unit of local government. Each district’s board of trustees is solely responsible for all aspects of district operations. Trustees must reside within the cemetery district boundaries and be registered voters within the district.

For more information, please contact Manuel Minjares in Supervisor Kelly Long’s office at 805-654-2276.

Bob Crum

The phenomenal super blood wolf moon lunar eclipse was hyped as a must watch event. Many of you watched. Answering my query, I wasn't surprised to hear that many of you agreed that 'twas not spectacular. However, others asked: Where in the photo is the man-in-the-moon churning green cheese? Good grief, I need to get a 1,000mm lens.

The photo of the week is a revisit of part of Sespe Creek after the recent storm. The storm that produced a deluge of storm-water runoff throughout the Sespe Creek watershed causing Sespe Creek to 1) become extraordinarily muddy and 2) rise quickly to a raging torrent.

I witnessed many who stopped on the Old Telegraph Road bridge over the Creek's east branch (actually the so-called overflow) and shot an overview photo to capture a broad expanse of the creek. I also have that ho-hum image. But such photos don't convey any sense of the enormous power of the turbulent creek as it roars downstream to the Santa Clara River.

Recall the many instances when I stated that a photo that tells a story without words is not only photojournalism, it's usually a more stimulating photo. A roaring Sespe Creek is exciting, but something else is quite extraordinary if one would look with photographer's eyes. (Remember that topic?) Stop and take a few minutes to watch the roaring torrent. Besides the loud din-and it was quite loud-you'll see the roaring creek became a contortionist at various locations.

Over decades of torrential rains, large boulders have ended up in many parts of the creek bed. After a storm, the water rises and the flow rate increases. When it hits an unmovable boulder, the water protests as it's forced to go around and/or over it. In the process, it contorts in numerous ways. Like snowflakes, no two splashes identical. Look closely at these areas of hyperactivity and you'll see many fabulous photo ops.

There's a massive boulder in the creek just north of the railroad bridge. It causes an enormous upheaval of the water distorting it in interesting and spectacular ways creating an exciting display.

After the perfunctory overview waterscape photos, I watched the chocolate milk for several minutes and envisioned the photo I wanted to make. With the onset of dusk, I needed to act quickly. ISO of 5000 was required to compensate for the low light at an f/11 aperture. Selecting the shutter speed was a quandary. Ultimately I selected 1/200th of a second to show some blur indicating fast flowing water. The result is the photo of the week.

The point is to demonstrate that by understanding the relationship between ISO, aperture and shutter speed, the photographer can create a photo for a specific purpose. I wanted to capture the enormous forces at play. BAM! Water slams into the boulder! BOOM! Unmovable boulder says not today H²O! Water heaves and screams in agony! My challenge: Capture the forces of nature. And of course, regular readers know how much I relish a photographic challenge.

Another purpose of this exercise is to illustrate, again, the benefits of acquiring photography eyes. Take time to look around. Observe! 'See' and engage the right hemisphere of your brain that performs tasks related to creativity and the arts. After all, photography is about creating photos!

I created the photo of the week as intended, i.e., a photo illustrating dynamic hydraulic forces. Did I succeed? That's up to you to decide. Happy photoing.

Send comments, suggestions and/or questions to: focusonphotography!@earthlink.net

At last nights meeting the city council reappointed two members of the Public Arts Commissions, voted on subdivision improvement agreements with Hearthstone.

At the Fillmore City Council regular Tuesday meeting, the following actions took place:

RECOMMENDATION: SUBDIVISION IMPROVEMENT AGREEMENT WITH HEARTHSTONE FOR TRACT MA 5520
The City Council approved the Subdivision Improvement Agreement and authorized the Mayor to sign the agreement.

REQUEST
The City Council to appoint two members to the Public Arts Commission. Both appointments are for a term ending in January 2023. The city council approved the reappointment of Joe Beebe and Robert (Bob) Crum to the Fillmore Public Arts Commission. Crum is presently serving as chairman of the Arts Commission, and chairman of the Active Adult Commission.

By unanimous vote, the city council approved a subdivision improvement agreement with Hearthstone for tract map 5520. The property involved is situated behind and to the east of El Dorado Estates south of highway 126. Development to occur in two phases... five tracts in phase 1, the remaining two tracts in phase two.

At the public hearing for new business 7B regarding the development impact fee amounts, two speakers addressed the Council stating that present development impact fees is a detriment to any future construction of low-income housing in Fillmore. After addressing their concerns, city manager David Rowlands requested Resolution No. 16-3676 regarding the issue of development impact fees be postponed to the February 26, 2019 council meeting to give staff additional time to revisit the topic and have better numbers to present for consideration. Motion to postpone passed unanimously.

The meeting was adjourned to closed session.