fillmoregazette.comThe Fillmore Gazette | Newspaper of Record for the City of Fillmore

of your document-- Login or Register . It's FREE!-- Legal Notices Advertise Subscribe Submit -- About Contact My Account -- Login -- Be the first to know! Follow us on... FRONT PAGE Thursday, April 23rd, 2020 -- -- Front Page Election 2012 -- Community Letters Editorial Forums -- Editor's Picks -- Blogs -- Links CALENDAR -- DIRECTORY -- Experts -- CLASSIFIEDS AUTOMOTIVE -- REAL ESTATE -- SHOPPING Animals -- School Sports Arts & Entertainment Outdoors -- Agriculture -- Photographs -- --       Humor -- History -- Seniors Politics -- Books -- Business & Finance -- Computers -- Fashion & Style Food & Recipes Health & Fitness -- Police & Fire -- Military -- Science & Nature -- Church -- Obituaries Obituaries -- Weather -- -- -- -- Fatal Motorcycle Crash Near Fillmore On Thursday, April 16th a motorcycle accident occurred on Sycamore Drive near Seventh Street in Fillmore. Photo Courtesy Sebastian Ramirez. Enlarge Photo By Gazette Staff Writer — Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 On Thursday, April 16th at approximately 2:50pm Daniel Arriola Carreno, 22 of Fillmore, was riding his 2017 Harley Davidson motorcycle east bound on Sycamore Drive approaching Seventh Street. For unknown reasons he drove onto the north shoulder of westbound Sycamore Drive and crashed into a utility pole. Carreno was ejected from the motorcycle, and sustained major injuries according to authorities, who pronounced him dead at the scene. He was wearing a helmet. The accident was reported by a passerby who had not witnessed the initial crash. Authorities are still investigating the incident and ask for any witnesses to please contact the Ventura CHP office at 805-662-2640. LOCAL ADVERTISER -- LOCAL ADVERTISER -- -- Fillmore Middle School Begins Construction on Baseball & Soccer Fields Pictured is the back of Fillmore Middle School where crews have started construction on the improvements to the baseball and soccer fields. Courtesy Fillmore Unified School District. Enlarge Photo By Gazette Staff Writer — Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 Diagram of what the new fields are going to look like. Enlarge Photo Fillmore Middle School Baseball / Soccer Field Improvements • Fillmore Unified School District has begun construction on the Fillmore Middle School (FMS) Baseball / Soccer Field Improvements project • This project is funded by Measure V, the school bond passed by the residents of Fillmore and Piru in the 2016 election Fillmore Unified School District is excited to announce that construction has begun on the FMS Baseball / Soccer Field Improvements project. This project will include a baseball diamond, a soccer field and a walking path surrounding the field. Primary use for this field is for Fillmore Middle School students during the instructional day for physical education classes and recreation. The baseball diamond will be the home field of the Fillmore High School Junior Varsity team. Facilities will include a backstop, dugouts, bullpen and bleachers. Soccer fields will allow additional practice space for boys and girls soccer teams. The walking path will be available for community use when school is not in session and at times when the field is not required for student teams. The Fillmore Unified School District Board of Trustees awarded the project to Ardalan Construction of Thousand Oaks, with a bid amount of $1,598,000, at the regular board meeting held on February 4, 2020. The project involves the removal of the topsoil, installation of subterranean irrigation, and building the new facilities. District Superintendent Dr. Adrian Palazuelos stated, “The improvements to the Fillmore Middle School field are aligned to the district Long-Range Facilities Master Plan approved by the Board of Trustees in April 2016. Upon completion, the FMS Baseball/Soccer Field project addresses long-standing issues with the irrigation system and field surface at the campus. Our desire is that the improvements will provide our district community with another space for recreation and play.” We anticipate that this project will be completed in August 2020. LOCAL ADVERTISER -- LOCAL ADVERTISER -- -- 2019 Fillmore Crime Report Stock photo of Fillmore City Hall taken by Bob Crum. Enlarge Photo By Gazette Staff Writer — Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 Crime was down in Fillmore in 2019 The City of Fillmore first contracted law enforcement services with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office in 1987. They have two patrol offices on 24-hour duty. The station is also responsible for serving about 450 square miles of unincorporated area in the Santa Clara Valley, including the unincorporated communities of Piru, Bardsdale, Rancho Sespe, Santa Paula and Upper Ojai. The report shows both violent and property crimes decreased from 175 in 2018 to 147 in 2019, a 16% overall decrease. Violent crimes decreased by 49%, from 39 in 2018 to 20 in 2019. (Included robbery, rape, homicide and aggravated assault) Rapes fell from seven in 2018 to five in 2019. No homicides in 2019, compared to one in 2018. Robberies dropped from seven to three. Aggravated assaults fell to 12 in 2019, from 24 in 2018. Assault is categorized by type of weapon used. In 2019, six assaults included hands, fists or feet, one involved a knife, two involved firearms, and three involved a different method. Four property crimes were reported, including burglary, theft (larceny) vehicle theft and arson. Vehicle theft dropped from 14 to 10, and 24 burglaries were reported in 2019 compared to 27 in 2018. Thefts dropped to 89 from nine, the majority classified as petty thefts with property worth $950 or less. Property crimes declined from 136 in 2018 to 127 in 2019. The City’s crime rate was 9.23 incidents (violent and property crime) for every 1,000 residents in 2019. Overall, Fillmore continues to statistically be one of the safest cities in Ventura County. LOCAL ADVERTISER -- LOCAL ADVERTISER -- -- Hit & Run Leads to One Arrest By Gazette Staff Writer — Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 Wednesday, April 15th at 7:37pm near Ventura & E Street in Fillmore a red pick up truck collided with a red sedan and ended up in a ditch. The pickup driver was arrested for hit & run at the scene. Cause of the accident is still under investigation and no injuries were reported at the time of the accident. Enlarge Photo Enlarge Photo Skate Park Closed By Gazette Staff Writer — Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 The City of Fillmore has closed the skatepark and Pump Track at Two Rivers Park due to Stay-At-Home violations. The closure will be enforced until further notice. Enlarge Photo Piru Elementary Staff Miss Their Students By Gazette Staff Writer — Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 Piru Elementary School staff created a visual message for all of their students. It reads “Dear Condors We Miss You Very Much And Want You To Know You Are Loved.” Courtesy Piru Elementary School Website. Enlarge Photo Fillmore History Museum Presents The Stones of Sespe Mahala Stone's house on Central Avenue in Fillmore circa 1910. Photos courtesy Fillmore Historical Museum. Enlarge Photo By Gazette Staff Writer — Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 Joseph Stone Enlarge Photo Mahala Stone Enlarge Photo Hunting party in the Agua Blanca with (L to R) Ed Welch, Charley Welch, Nate Stone, Wright Burson, Alfred Stone. Enlarge Photo Stone Children's Graves in Bardsdale. Enlarge Photo Courtesy Fillmore Historical Museum The last quarter of the 19th century saw many settlers moving into the Santa Clara River Valley. Many stayed for a year or two, found it too difficult and moved on. A few stayed and became very successful. We see their names on streets and landmarks like Elkins, Goodenough and Shiells. Others simply stayed and made good lives for themselves like two families named Stone and Morey. Joseph and Mahala Azbell Stone came to the Fillmore area in the mid-1870s. Mahala was twelve years old when her family left Missouri for California in 1850. On the way cholera struck the party and sh...