Here is your chance to thank and show your appreciation of the Honor/Color Guard

On Friday, October 21 , the Honor Guard/Color Guard will be recognized at the Poinsettia Pavilion, at 10am.

Many of us have had a chance to be a part of a military burial conducted by the Honor Guard, or have seen the presentation of colors by the Color Guard at various military ceremonies and events, but few have had the chance to thank these great men and women for what they do. Rain or shine, in cold weather or high heat, these men and women are dressed in uniform ready to pay their last respects and deliver a memorable military burial for those who have sacrificed for our country.

The Honor Guard are responsible for providing a military burial consisting of the folding of the flag, a presentation of the flag, a gun salute and the playing of “Taps,” while the Color Guard sets the tone of a military ceremonial event.

“It is time to give back and say thank you to these great men and women who serve our community with the Honor Guard/Color Guard,” said Dinah Davis, Ventura, Ojai and Camarillo Hospice Business Manager of Livingston VNA, who makes it a priority to recognize the Veterans and Military Families who have fought for our freedom.

For more information and to RSVP, contact Dinah at (805) 642-0239 ext. 739 or 451. (www.lmvna.org ) and for more information about Veteran benefits, contact Mike McManus from the Veteran Services Office at (805) 477-5155. (https://www.ventura.org/human-services-agency/veteran-services/ )

The Ventura Police Department has received reports of residents becoming victims of a tech support scam. Residents are urged to review scam prevention measures to avoid becoming a victim of this scam.
Scammers use scare tactics to trick you into paying for unnecessary technical support services that supposedly fix your device, platform, or software problems.

Scammers may call you directly on your phone and pretend to be representatives of a software company. They might even spoof the caller ID so that it displays a legitimate support phone number from a trusted company. They then ask you to install applications that give them remote access to your device. Using remote access, these scammers can misrepresent normal system output as signs of problems.

Scammers might also initiate contact by displaying fake error messages on websites you visit, displaying support numbers and enticing you to call. They can also put your browser on full screen and display pop-up messages that won’t go away, essentially locking your browser. These fake error messages aim to trick you into calling an indicated technical support hotline.

When you engage with the scammers, they can offer fake solutions for your “problems” and ask for payment in the form of a one-time fee or subscription to a purported support service.

How to protect yourself from tech support scams:

• If you receive an unsolicited email message or phone call from a software company asking you to send personal information or click links, ignore or report the email, or hang up the phone.
• Do not share personal information, click links, or install applications when requested.
• Do not trust unsolicited calls. Do not provide any personal information.
• Download software only from official vendor websites. Be wary of downloading software from third-party sites, as some of them might have been modified to bundle support scam malware and other threats.

If you are victim of this scam:

• Consult a computer professional.
• Update or download legitimate security software and scan your computer.
• Change any passwords that you shared with someone. Change the passwords on every account that uses passwords you shared.
• If you paid for fraudulent services with a credit card, call your credit card company and ask to reverse the charges.
• Report it to the Federal Trade Commission.

Baby-Friendly USA has recognized Community Memorial Hospital with the prestigious international recognition as a Designated Baby-Friendly birth facility, a designation given only to those hospitals and birth centers that meet rigorous criteria to encourage breastfeeding.

Based in Albany, New York, Baby-Friendly USA, Inc is the United States authority for the implementation of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, a global program sponsored by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund.

CMH worked for over two years through various hospital committees to meet all the criteria and create a breastfeeding-friendly environment, said Megan Rodarte, director of Maternal Child Health Services at CMH.

“It’s not about forcing all moms to breastfeed. We recognize some can’t or there is a medical need for formula. It’s about creating an environment and supporting practices that have been shown to increase breastfeeding exclusivity and duration, and to give those moms who choose to breastfeed the best chances of success.” Rodarte said.

Rodarte noted that if a new mom chooses to use baby formula, CMH staff also makes sure the new mom knows how to bottle feed safely.

The international award is based on the “Ten Steps To Successful Breastfeeding,” a challenging set of criteria designed to set the standards for the best possible breastfeeding support for mothers and infants in the maternity setting. The Ten Steps are:

1. Have a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all health care staff.
2. Train all health care staff in the skills necessary to implement this policy.
3. Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding.
4. Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within one hour of birth.
5. Show mothers how to breastfeed and how to maintain lactation, even if they are separated from their infants.
6. Give infants no food or drink other than breast milk, unless medically indicated.
7. Practice “rooming in” or allowing mothers and infants to remain together 24 hours a day.
8. Encourage breastfeeding on demand.
9. Give no pacifiers or artificial nipples to breastfeeding infants.
10. Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to them on discharge from the hospital or birth center.

CMH is one of 530 Baby-Friendly hospitals and birth centers in the U.S and over 20,000 worldwide.

Learn more about the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative at www.babyfriendlyusa.org

The County of Ventura Service Excellence Program was implemented in June 2008 and, in its first 10 years, has generated more than $33 million in ongoing annual savings and had a direct impact on the lives of the county’s residents.

The program’s objective is to foster a culture of service excellence through the County’s agencies and departments. It seeks to achieve this goal through a culture which embraces continuous improvement and data-based decision-making as a means of enhancing the quality, speed, consistency and cost of County services.

A key strength of the program is its team approach, driven by the talented County workforce on the front lines – the people who know the most. The County relies on these people to help streamline the operations and avoid the processes that lack purpose. To date, 4,700 employees have received training in the methods and tools of continuous improvement.

“A program like this can only be created and sustained with unwavering leadership,” said Paul Stamper, Deputy Executive Officer and Service Excellence Manager. “The Board of Supervisors, the County Executive Officer the and County leadership team have supported this program and enabled it to thrive.”

As more employees receive the training, the savings continue to grow. In the most recent fiscal year, there were 114 Service Excellence improvements with an associated savings of $3.8 million.

“Over the last decade, significant events such as the Affordable Care Act, safety realignment, foster care reform and, most recently, the Thomas Fire have impacted the County,” said Powers. “In every case, the Service Excellence Program gave us the internal capacity to resolve issues and meet customer needs. One example of this is the expedited building permit process for Thomas Fire survivors.”

The County has taken the award-winning program one step further by sharing it with other cities and counties and establishing an ongoing training relationship with California State University Channel Islands.

On Saturday, September 1st, there was a horrific boating accident on the Colorado River. Two boats, with a total of 16 passengers collided head on and the passengers were ejected. Several of the passengers were immediately rescued, while others are still missing and several died. Two were from Ventura. One of the deceased is Kirra Drury, 23, the daughter of Denise Olson Drury, sister of Kaley Drury and the niece of JD of Surf Rodeo and the Boys & Girls Club Thrift Store. Kirra had attended St. Bonaventure High School.

Her Ventura friend Raegan Heitzig, is still unaccounted for.

It was reported that none of the boaters were wearing life jackets, which aren’t required but are recommended.

The well known Kirra worked as a bartender at The Tavern in Ventura and had recently enrolled in a nursing program at Ventura College. Heitzig is employed at the Social Tap restaurant.

A GoFundMe site has been started to raise money for the Drury family. For more information visit www.gofundme.com/venturastargirl.

On Tuesday morning, September 11, all Ventura City Fire Department stations held special remembrances for the first responders and civilians who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.

Fire Chief David Endaya said, “Although 17 years have passed since that tragic day in 2001, it still seems it could have happened yesterday. The images, the sounds, the emotions, and the pain are as vivid today as they were when I watched the events of that morning unfold live on television with my crew at Fire Station 5. We will never forget the actions of the firefighters, law enforcement officers, members of our U.S. Armed Forces, and the brave civilians who worked to save others, many losing their lives, that fateful day.”

At 6:55am firefighters stood at attention and raised the U.S. flag ceremoniously to half-staff. Fire Officers shared a brief narrative on the events of September 11, 2001.

http://www.cityofventura.net/fire/about/stations.