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Vol. 10, No. 20 – July 5 – July 18, 2017 – City classes and camps

This is just a small sampling of City of Ventura classes and camps. Check out hundreds more on web-site including Cooking International Cuisine and

Best of Broadway Musical Theatre Camps 7-13 years
Call 658-4726 to register, if you already have an ACTIVENET account online, visit www.cityofventura.net
Held at the Barranca Vista Center, 7050 E Ralston St. unless noted. To register call 658-4726.

Murder Mystery Drama Camp “A Lovely, Deadly Cruise” CAMP 9-14 years
7/10-7/14 M-F 9 am-4 pm $190+$20 materials fee #8549
Learn the art of interactive drama as we work towards a murder mystery performance for family and friends at BVC, Friday at 6:30-8:30 pm. All campers are cast in a speaking part. $20 cash production fee includes: scripts, costume materials and a camp t-shirt

Capturing Color Art CAMPS At Red Brick Gallery 8-15 years
$120 per week
7/10-7/12 M-W 9 am-12 pm Outer Space & Undersea #8613
7/17-7/19 M-W 9 am-12 pm Furry Friends #8614
Push your creativity and understanding of art into a new direction! Work in a variety of mediums including watercolors, acrylics, pencils, mixed media, print making, mosaics and sculpture. No previous art experience necessary. All supplies are included in the cost of class. Red Brick Art is located at 4601 Telephone Road #112 (Telemark Business Center).

Cartooning 8-12 years
7/10-8/14 M 4:15-5:15 pm $50 #9005
Draw wonderful characters with Mr. Scott, a cartoon master.

Mr. Scott’s Chess Club 8-12 years
7/10-8/14 M 5:15-6:15 pm $50 #8983
Improve skills and gain new strategies with a National Championship Coach.

Beginning Argentine Tango 18 years-adult
7/12-8/16 W 6:30-7:30 pm $70/person #9062
Tango in no time with our “true basics in six weeks” class. Classes held at The House of Dance, 3007 Bunsen #E .

I Made a Video Game CAMP 6-9 years
7/17-7/21 M-F 9 am-12 pm $190 #8529
Working with a partner students conceive, design and build their own original 2D “bouncy ball” computer game. Very basic design and coding techniques will be introduced and students will complete fun activities like creating characters and making them bounce around the game screen! Camp held at Bible Fellowship Church.

Vol. 10, No. 20 – July 5 – July 18, 2017 – Ojai News & Events

World Without Walls painting by Erik Reel will be exhibited at the Porch Gallery in Ojai through August 20. Show opens Saturday July 15 from 5 to 7 pm. LA-based artist Diane Silver will also be featured. Porch Gallery is located at 310 East Matilija Ave. and is open Thursday and Friday noon-5, Saturdays 11-4, Sundays 9:30-1 and by appointment at 620.7589.

At 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 15 the Ojai Library will host a screening of the film Paying the Price for Peace: The Story of S. Brian Willson & Voices from the Peace Movement. After the screening there will be a Q&A session with the film’s Associate Producer, Frank Dorrel.

Vietnam veteran S. Brian Willson paid the price for peace as he was run over and nearly killed by a military train during a non-violent protest on September 1st, 1987. Since then, Brian has not stopped calling attention to the effects of the U.S. military machine and ongoing state of war.

This event is free and open to the public. For additional information, contact Ron Solórzano, Regional Librarian, at 218-9146.

The Ojai Library is located at 111 East Ojai Ave. Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

The Ojai Photography Club hosts Michelle Magdalena Maddox, an award-winning fine art and commercial photographer based in Pacific Grove. The free presentation, “The Creative Process,” will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 18, 2017, at Help of Ojai’s Kent Hall, 111 W. Santa Ana St.

A graduate of Brooks Institute in 2006, Maddox will share her journey through photography with an in-depth look into the many series she has created and her evolving process.

Monthly free presentations are part of the Ojai Photography Club’s community service and education outreach.

The club meets on the third Tuesday of each month, February – November. Only members may submit images for critique. More information is available at: www.ojaiphotoclub.com/

The Ojai Playwrights Conference (OPC), one of the most acclaimed new play developmental programs in the country, announces its celebratory 20th Anniversary season with an extraordinary program of playwrights, new play workshop presentations and special performance events from August 6 through 13.

The OPC Summer New Works Festival will feature twelve events over five days with up-and-coming playwrights as well as writers that have been working with the conference for many years.

Seating is limited for the OPC Summer New Works Festival, and tickets ($30) may be purchased online at www.ojaiplays.org.

For thirty years the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy has worked to preserve and protect local open space. The newest Ojai Valley Museum exhibition examines at their history and their preserves. The Opening Reception of “Protecting The Ojai: Ojai Valley Land Conservancy” is Saturday, July 8 from 5-7pm at the museum.

“The natural landscape of the valley is such an important part of our community that an exhibit highlighting the Land Conservancy’s work makes perfect sense for the museum.” said museum director Wendy Barker. Edward Libbey helped transform Ojai based on his belief in the City Beautiful Movement – that living in a well-designed community inspires civic engagement.

The exhibition will be open from July 8 through September 24th.

A Town Talk on Creating Trails will take place on Sunday, July 23rd from 4:30pm to 6pm. Presenters Rick Bisaccia, OVLC Stewardship Director and Craig R Carey, author of “Hiking and Backpacking Ventura and Santa Barbara” will discuss what makes a good trail and where the best ones in the backcountry. Admission to Town Talks is $5, free for museum members.

The Ojai Valley Museum is located at 130 W. Ojai Ave. Free parking is available behind the museum, off Blanche Street. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10 am to 4 pm and Sunday noon to 4 pm. Group or school tours available by appointment.

For information call the museum at 640-1390, ext. 201, email [email protected], or visit the museum website at OjaiValleyMuseum.org.


Aging loved ones and changes in the home

by Connie De La Rosa

Does it seem that your loved one’s home is not quite as organized as it used to be? Does it seem like the home needs more maintenance than usual? Offering to help with whatever needs to be done around the house will give you a pretty good idea of things that are not getting done from minor to major repairs. Many times, it may be a simple item dropping to the floor such as a hair brush and the aging person may not be able to bend and pick it up due to pain or being at risk of falling.

Appearance of parents – Does it seem like your parents have lost weight or appear to look frail? Are they showering, grooming or changing clothes regularly if not, what are the reasons? Depression? Inability to lift arms due to pain?

Hearing – If your parents are giving you answers to your questions that don’t make sense, were they able to hear you? Can they hear doorbell, phone or if driving, cars honking and ambulances?

Paying bills – Are your parents paying bills on time? Are there unopened envelopes that require payment or other important information?

If you are a family caregiver, and need resources or information on programs that may be able to assist in these area, please call 420-0608.

 

Military flyover caps event honoring veterans

Boots, rifle, helmet, and dog tags – honoring fallen service members – were on display against the backdrop of a retired “Huey” Army MEDEVAC helicopter. Photo by Michael Gordon 

An Army helicopter flyover was part of the event to honor Veterans on Wednesday June 28, 2017 at Cypress Place Senior Living.  The senior community hosted a special “Salute To Our Veterans” celebration with a ceremony recognizing residents of Cypress Place, as well as members of the public, who served our country.  Over 250 people were estimated to have attended the powerful tribute.

The flyover was not listed in the program and was a surprise to those in attendance at the event according to Steve Spira, executive director of the senior community.  “We weren’t sure if the timing would work out, so we didn’t include it in the program,” said Spira.  “I actually had to a stall a little bit at the end of the ceremony, but it worked out perfectly and everyone loved it.”

A military Color Guard presentation by the 1st Memorial Honors Detail led off the ceremony,  followed by a special Veteran recognition and recognition of widows and widowers of Veterans.  Captain Chris Janke, Commanding Officer of Naval Base Ventura County, made the keynote presentation.  He attended along with several sailors from the base.  The sailors were able to meet the Veterans while enjoying lunch after the ceremony.

Veterans in attendance received decorative medals in honor of their service, as did widows of Veterans.  Veterans living at Cypress Place Senior Living also received Certificates of Recognition from the office of California State Assembly Member Jacqui Irwin.

Special words of thanks were offered during the ceremony by Mike McManus, Veteran Services Officer from the County of Ventura, as well as Ventura City Assistant Fire Chief Matt Brock, and Ventura Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Stephanie Caldwell.
TAPS was played, and a flag was folded and presented to 93 year-old Cypress Place resident and former United States Army Air Corps Sergeant, Richard Klock, on behalf of all Veterans in attendance.

A bouquet of flowers was presented to Cypress Place resident – and widow of a Veteran – Alice Smith, on behalf of all family members who have served.

A retired Bell UH-1 “Huey” MEDEVAC Army helicopter was on display provided by Scofield Catering and Management, along with a private war memorabilia collection by Tom Weaver, in addition to memorabilia from residents of the senior community.

A patriotic quilt, made by Lisa Gorski, the daughter of a current resident veteran of the senior community, was also given away.   Karen Jones of Ventura was the winner of the quilt.

The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Ventura City Fire Training Chief Jack Hensen.  Paul Lenderman led the audience in the National Anthem.  Live musical entertainment and a free BBQ lunch followed the tribute.

To learn more about Cypress Place Senior Living of Ventura please call 650-8000 or visit their web site at http://www.cypressplaceseniorliving.com/.

Vol. 10, No. 20 – July 5 – July 18, 2017 – The Pet Page

Fotos: Proud dogs and trainers at new interactive Ventura County Sheriff’s inmate program. Photos by Michael Gordon

“ Can you believe that I was fired because I was too friendly” Gavel

From June 29th to July 2 the Seaside Spectacular All Breed Dog Show was held at the Fairgrounds. These are a few of the adorable dogs that showed their stuff.

Estella needs your help.

•Estella is a sweet, affectionate 2 year old Pit Bull. She and her human are homeless and are being helped by Buddy Nation. Buddy Nation is a registered 501(c)(3) organization devoted to helping the pets of Ventura’s homeless, including veterinary care.

Estella is going lame and losing the use of her back legs. She needs double ACL surgery – Anterior Cruciate Ligament. Her surgery is scheduled for the end of July and will be done by Dr. Ian Holsworth of VetSurg. Although VetSurg has given a discount, the estimated cost will be $6,000. Buddy Nation has raised about half that amount.

Please donate if you can, in any amount. All monies should go directly to VetSurg, marked for Estella/Buddy Nation. VetSurg – 2180, 2859 Loma Vista Road.

•The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Detention Services Division launched a new interactive inmate program named ‘R.U.F.F. Road” (Rehabilitation Utilizing Furry Friends) in January ,2017. The 16-week collaborative program allows inmates who are instructed by expert dog trainers to train shelter dogs in preparation for adoption.

The Sheriff’s Office has established a partnership with Pivot Animal Assisted Education Outreach, a non-profit organization that aims to give dogs facing euthanasia at local shelters a second chance by providing them training that makes them more adoptable. The inmates will teach basic obedience, house training, and socialization skills through positive reinforcement.

This program allows inmates a chance to give back to their community by training dogs to be well-behaved American Kennel Club Good Citizen Pets. While the dogs learn good behavior, trust, and skills that improve their adoption chances, the inmate’s gains patience, confidence, self-pride, communication and job skills.

Pivot is one example of many organizations willing to work tirelessly to find and save last chance shelter dogs using inmates in county jails.

On June 21 the Ventura County Sheriff’s office held the inaugural graduation ceremony for the canine training program. The event was held at the Todd Road Jail Facility. The guests of honor were dogs Brando, Buddy, Chance and Lipit.

For more information about Pivot, please visit www.pivotareo.org.

•Gavel the Puppy (Vice-Regal Dog) and Fair Play

By Victoria Usher

In Queensland, Australia the title of Vice-Regal Dog has been given to a German Shepard puppy who goes by the name of Gavel. He was originally enrolled in a police dog academy with the Queensland Police Service but he was kicked out of the 16-month program early for being too friendly and now he is known as one of the fanciest dogs in the world. Aren’t dogs supposed to be friendly?

Since April of 2016, Gavel has been living at the official residence of the Queensland Governor, where the Governor himself decided to give Gavel a job that was perfect for him and his friendly personality.

“He has outgrown four ceremonial coats, undergone a career change and brought untold joy to the lives of the Governor, Mrs. de Jersey, Government House staff, and the thousands of Queenslanders who have since visited the estate,” the office of Governor Paul de Jersey stated. Since Gavel’s promotion to Vice-Regal Dog became official in February, he has been working hard welcoming guests and playing with tour groups at the Governor’s house and the office at the Governor’s house has also begun posting photos of Gavel’s best moments on social media. “We hope Gavel is with us for a long, long time into the future.”

•16 years old Sherlock Patterson has passed away. A great little Doxie, rescued from a hoarder/breeder, born blind due to inbreeding, but that never stopped him … he raced down the back steps into the yard and traveled to New York and San Francisco without a misstep. Sherlock is very missed by his family – 2 and 4 footed.

Vol. 10, No. 20 – July 5 – July 18, 2017 – Harbor Pratrol

6-16 1:16pm, received a report of a fuel spill near the National Park Service docks. Officers responded and investigated the report. A recreational boater had an accidental spill on his vessel in Ventura West Marina. The spill was contained although a fuel was spilled into the water. US coast guard and National Response centers were notified and what was retrievable was retrieved.
6-17 1:10pm, received a report of two Personal Water Craft operating at 25mph through the mid harbor area near VWM H-dock. Officers were able to detain the two operators at the launch ramp. .
6-18 3:45pm, received a report of a capsized vessel near the South Jetty of the Harbor. Officers responded by land and by sea and found a vessel anchored and the persons-onboard were just swimming near the vessel.
6-19 11:38am, received a report of a fuel sheen in the South Basin near the commercial vessels. Officers responded and were unable to locate the source of the small spill.
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  7:07pm, received a dispatch to a fire near Harbor/Spinnaker Drives. Officers responded and assisted Ventura Fire with what turned out to be a mattress on fire near the Riverhaven compound.

9:30am, officers conducting quarterly fireboat training with Ventura City firefighters.

5:13pm, received a dispatch to a medical emergency at marina mobile home park from FCC. Officers responded and assisted AMR and Ventura FD with an 86 year old female who fell out of her bed. The patient was treated for her injuries and transported to local hospital for further evaluation.

4:20pm, received a report of 3 missing children from State Parks lifeguards. Officers responded to Harbor Cove and assisted lifeguards reunite the children with their family day-camped out at Surfers Knoll on the beach.

11:49am, received a report of a mentally unstable person possibly in the Harbor area. Officers responded and assisted Ventura PD & FD, VC sheriffs and State Parks. The individual was located and transported for further eval.

1:07pm, received a report of a disabled sailboat near the break wall. Officers responded and found a 15ft sailboat with a broken rudder. The vessel was taken en-tow to the launch ramp.

2:18pm, officers observed a 22ft sailboat having difficulty and attempting to start their outboard engine. The sailboat was taken into a short tow and safely delivered to their slip/dock in the Ventura keys.

2. Officers responded and assisted Ventura FD with the call.

3:25pm, after towing a cement dock back to the Ventura Harbor Boatyard, officers observed a sailboat having trouble starting their engine. The skipper of the sailboat was assisted and continued on their voyage.

5:06pm, received a report of a vehicle break-in near 1600 Spinnaker Drive. Officers responded and assisted an individual file an online PD report.

1:45pm, received a report of a local male transient sleeping in the restrooms at 1500 Spinnaker Drive. Officers responded, found and woke-up the transient and moved him along with verbal warnings for loitering.

Senior falls

“I knew that I should have been more careful!”

by Tammy [email protected]

A senior citizen falls every 13 seconds in this country. And each year, more than one million elderly people go to the ER with injuries. Local families scramble to keep their elderly loved ones safe, but often don’t know how.

For Older Americans Month, which was in in May, we have a compelling visual story for you to demonstrate Senior Life-Saving Hacks — simple techniques families can use to keep seniors safe. Local senior care experts will show how to prevent injuries with things around the house, like curlers, pantyhose, and soap.

Eighty percent of senior falls happen in the bathroom. Slippery surfaces are hazardous and usually to blame. Place a bar of soap in the leg of pantyhose. Tie the open end to a towel bar in the shower or the shower head. Seniors can still use the soap through the stocking. Best of all — no dropping the soap, or slipping and falling trying to pick it up.

Staircases and stairway accidents are the second leading cause of accidental injuries — second only to motor vehicle accidents. Each year 12,000 people die from stairway accidental deaths — many of them seniors.

Place a strip of colorful duct tape on the edges of stair steps to make it easier to judge the depth and distance to keep from tripping and falling. Place strips of puffy plastic shelf liner on stair handrails to increase grip and reduce slip risk.

46% of persons aged 65 and older are dealing with some form of arthritis. Arthritis is a leading cause of disability in the U.S.

Get a Grip – Arthritis and other conditions can impact how well a senior can grip, hold, or open items. A poor grip can lead to injury while using simple items around the house.

Slip a foam hair roller over the end of silverware to improve hold — especially with knives.

Wrap rubber bands around a glass to prevent it from slipping out of hands and breaking. This hack reduces the risk of cuts.

Use rubber coated gardening gloves to help open jars or bottles. Puffy plastic shelf liner works, too!

Make doorknobs easier to grip by placing a foam roller over the end.

But wait, there’s more. Here are some other helpful hacks for seniors.

Zip It – Attach round key rings or bobby pins to zipper pulls to make getting dressed easier.

Canned Do – Use canned goods as weights during exercise. Grab those peas and get pumping!

Recipe Rescue – Attach a cookbook or recipe page to a pants hanger and hang from a kitchen cabinet door knob for hands-free recipe reading.

Ice, Ice Baby – Use an upside-down ice cube tray to hold playing cards.

Have a Ball – Push a writing utensil or paint brush through a tennis ball to get a better handle on things.

Vol. 10, No. 20 – July 5 – July 18, 2017 – Mailbox

Breeze:

It seems all the schools and Cities are headed over to the Harbor beaches these days instead of State Parks. Who wants to pay $10 when you can park for free or what bus driver wants to pay $100 when they can park for free. Plus less vagrants and a lot more amenities. The Harbor is doing things right.

Christy’s (City council member Christy Weir) article on the Santa Clara Homeless Camps was truthful much like something Rob Orth would have written. If you’re in the trenches you get a much better perspective. Note that Cheryl (City council member Cheryl Heitmann) was also over there in the riverbed with Christy.

Pokeman…the City is great at issuing permits…but it ends there…no attention to detail. Just recently they posted via email that the Mountain to Sea marathon was to be on Saturday…it was on Sunday and I got my notice in the snail mail on Wednesday days after the event. Better late than never I guess.

Robert Georgeson

Thanks Breeze:

Ventura Breeze Newspaper is a huge supporter and we are so happy to call them a partner in making Ventura an even better place to call home. A huge round of applause to Ventura Breeze for their support of the 5K and 1 Mile Survivor Walk!

YMCA

Hi, Sheldon –

A belated thank-you for your story in the Ventura Breeze about the 2017 CFMS-AFMS National Gem Show! We enjoyed a terrific show and all three days saw fantastic foot traffic! On behalf of the hosting Ventura Gem & Mineral Society, our sincere thanks for your help in getting the word out to our local public!

Best regards,

Jim Brace-Thompson
Ventura Gem & Mineral Society

It is not enough to be busy, so are ants. The question is, what are we busy about?
~ Henry David Thoreau