Category Archives: This ‘n’ That
The journey back begins-Part one
In an on-going effort to help victims of the recent Thomas Fire navigate the road to rebuilding and recovery, the Ventura Breeze will be conducting a series of in depth interviews with victims of the fires. This series of articles will cover topics such as : Insurance, where victims are currently living, how they are feeling about their losses, out of pocket expenses, time frame for re-building, and we will delve into any health-related issues affecting those who have lost home and belongings. We conducted our first interview with Ron and Barbara Dincau. Do you have a story that you would like to share? Let us know at [email protected]
From the Jan. 3, 2018 Ventura Breeze:
A few days after the house of Ron & Barbara Dincau had burnt down, Ron went to Goodwill and bought two chairs and an umbrella so that they could sit and enjoy the beautiful Ventura sunset. He said, “That is one of the main reasons that we bought the house.” You will learn more about them in an upcoming issue.
As promised here is their story.
The journey back begins-Part one
by Richard Lieberman
Ron and Barbara Dincau, Ventura residents and home owners for thirty-five years, suffered a complete loss of their home to the Thomas fire. The couple, 65 and 75 years old, evacuated in the middle of the night. “We were not prepared in any way” Barbara Dincau+ said. Their home was located near High Point and Clear Point Drives in Ventura where they raised their daughter. Ron was a high school principal in Oxnard, now retired, and Barbara, still works as a psychologist. On the night of the fire, in the middle of the night, the couple woke to flames covering the hillside. Even as they drove away, they were sure they would be back by morning. “After all, “said Ron, “Firefighters were already there battling the fire, we thought It would be knocked down quickly”, We thought we would be home by morning. “I didn’t think our house would burn down.” The next morning their house was gone. They left with nothing just the clothes they had on. Barbara evacuated wearing just her pajamas. The couple watched as an ABC Channel 7 reporter, panned the camera and they watched as their house burned down.
The interview turned to the aftermath of the fire and to some practical issues like insurance. “It is our first experience with any major claim,” Ron Dincau said. He added “From the very get go we were impressed with the adjuster.” Within ten days the Dincau’s received a check from the insurance company to cover immediate expenses. The couple consider themselves lucky. They began searching for rental housing in Ventura but were quickly thwarted by the high cost and availability of rental housing in the city. “I felt like we were on the Titanic, and had fallen off the boat,” said Barbara Dincau.” Then all of a sudden the lifeboats came.” She added. A friend and ex co-worker contacted the couple (they had not spoken for the past ten years) and offered them a large house in Camarillo she had for rent. They drove to Camarillo and signed a rental agreement that day. Not certain their insurance company would foot the bill for the rental they called the claims adjuster and were assured the company would pay for the rental for a year. “We got a check right away for the cost of the rental for one year” she said. The Dincau’s are now ‘living in Camarillo while exploring the steps to re-build their home. When rebuilding after a fire, it’s important to think about all eventualities. Preventing a house fire could be done through considering the use of stainless steel structural tubing or even a steel roofing structure. This material is less likely to catch on fire, compared to other materials such as wood for example.
The couple is still in disbelief that everything is gone. A call from their daughter, living in Santa Barbara, on the morning after the fire asked, “Were you able to save my baby pictures?” both were brought to tears, there was nothing left.
Southern California Edison restoring service as quickly as possible
Shortly after the Thomas Fire destroyed homes and power lines in Ventura, Southern California Edison was on the job restoring service as quickly as possible.
21st Annual Poinsettia Awards Luncheon
On Friday, Jan.19 the 21st Annual Poinsettia Awards Luncheon was held at the Ventura Beach Marriott. The Ventura Chamber of Commerce recognized outstanding achievements of businesses and individuals who make a difference in our community at the Poinsettia Awards Luncheon.
The flag salute was presented by Fire Chief David Endaya, Police Chief Ken Corney and Stephanie Caldwell. Welcoming those in attendance were 2017 board Chair and Citizen of the Year Nan Drake and representing the Title Sponsor Montecito Bank & Trust was Jeff Paul.
Mentoring matters
by Karen Leslie, writer with heart
Celebrating National Mentoring Month brought Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ventura County, a nonprofit with big hearts to the Vagabond Coffee Shop on Sunday January 21st. “Bigs” and “Littles” along with their mentors gathered to share a meal and with glee presented handmade cards and thank you notes to our First Responders.
Mentoring is such an important facet of all walks of life, whether it be during education, in a hobby of yours or in your employment, there is always room to be mentored and for mentoring. Even corporations are beginning to realise the importance of mentoring, and many are deploying employee mentoring software such as Together so that they can track the progress of everybody in their mentorship program. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ventura County wanted to help celebrate the importance of mentroing with our First Responders.
The organization chose the Vagabond Coffee Shop to give back for all the free meals that were served to the First Responders during the crisis of the Thomas Fires.
Retired SB firefighter and Red Cross participant Bob Engler shares, “The generosity of the people at this event and how they went out of their way to say thank you was humbling and appreciated.”
Owner Jolene McBee says, “What better way to teach kids to give back and the firemen have never been thanked like Ventura has every day.”
Big Brothers Big Sisters has been in existence for more than 100 years nationally and more than 45 years locally and have been making meaningful monitored matches between adult volunteers (Bigs) and children (Littles) ages 6-18 across the county. They develop positive relationships that have a direct and lasting effect and impact on the lives of young people. Consistency and commitment are the cornerstones of this program and their mission is to provide all children free from adversity with supported one-on-one mentoring relationships that change their lives for the better.
In her 30th year and a big sister for 26 years, CEO Lynne West shares, “I find this to be a gratifying career. Big Brother Big Sisters was first in the US to have a dedicated foster program. Ventura County attends to 1,500 children a year and as a big sister myself, I have seen the impact consistency has made on my little. I have the privilege of watching many littles grow up and become the first in their family to ever graduate from high school and go on for a college degree. Bigs can open up the world for these littles by exposing them to new activities and experiences.”
BBSVC’s vision is for all children to achieve success in school, work and life. Fifteen year old little, Silvia Chable enthusiastically shares, “I like helping out the community and people in need and hope to become a deputy”
Big sister Kathy Lazier shares, “My motto is keep moving forward! My little now 16 has been a match made in heaven. It’s really cool to mentor and have an effect on someone’s life and direction which brings much joy to my life.”
This nonprofit is committed to bringing its program to every child who needs and wants it. Big brother Aaron Kirby says, “This is an amazing opportunity to give back to the community. It feels good to see the excitement on the face of my little while at a race or baseball game and taking him places to experience something for the first time is personally rewarding. Once Elijah graduates from the program, I anticipate we will continue to have a lifelong bond.”
Little, Elijah Rhoads says, “He is a father figure, someone I can count on and trust.” VP of Marketing and Recruiter Danica Selvaggio warmly shares, “National Mentoring Month is a way to start the year remembering that we all have role models who guides us. It is also a way to encourage our bigs and littles to start off strong, set goals for themselves and keep the momentum going all year long. With help from the community we hope 2018 will be the most successful year ever!”
Wisdom and friendship is at the heart of BBSVC and BBSVC believes that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive.
Share your Thomas Fire story at CAPS Media
CAPS Media is launching the Thomas Fire Stories Project on Thursday, February 15 with an initial set of interviews recorded at the CAPS Media Center. Everyone in the community impacted by the fire is invited to share their story and contribute to the archive of our common experience. The individual interviews will be conducted by CAPS Media producers in our studio and expected to last 15-20 minutes for each. Members of the public, first responders, officials and others are invited to record their story, first person, in their own words, with assistance and expertise from the CAPS Media staff.
The Thomas Fire is a once-in-a-lifetime tragedy. CAPS Media is collaborating with the Ventura City Fire and Police, Ventura County Fire and Sheriff, the Museum of Ventura County, other community agencies on the Thomas Fire Stories Project. The project will feature personal stories of individuals and families whose lives were dramatically changed the night of December 4th and include extraordinary accounts of heroism, sacrifice, tragedy and healing.
Thursday, February 15th is the first date in a series of video and audio recording sessions to be scheduled at the CAPS Media Studio for the Thomas Fire Stories Project. To schedule a time to record your story please contact CAPS Media 658.0500.
CAPS Media has also set up an easy process for the public to share stories, photos and video for the historic project. Go to the CAPS Media website homepage- capsmedia.org, on the Thomas Fires Stories image click on the Read More arrow in the lower right corner. The page presents more details on the project and step-by-step instructions on how to contribute photos, video and other media. If you have a story to tell or a tribute or thank you to share, send an email to [email protected] or call the CAPS Media Center at 658.0500.
The Ventura Police Department is working with CAPS Media every week producing community updates. Hosted by Ashley Bautista, VPD Civic Engagement Specialist, and VPD officers, the series includes public awareness tips, weekly crime statistics, and other information vital to the community. The reports are posted on Ventura City and Police websites and social media, and are broadcast and stream on CAPS Channel 6 & 15, capsmedia.org, and on CAPS Radio KPPQ 104.5 FM.
CAPS Media’s mission is to create an engaged and informed community through participation in electronic media. Join our community of enthusiastic engaged member/producers. To find out more come to orientation on the first Thursday of every month and learn how to become a member of CAPS. Member classes include HD videography/camera class held on the 2nd Thursday, Final Cut postproduction editing class on the 3rd Thursday, and CAPS Radio (KPPQ, FM 104.1) two-part classes on the 4th week. In every training session Member/Producers receive hands-on instruction in videography, video editing, radio production and more. All classes begin at 6pm at the CAPS Media Center, 65 Day Road. Once trained, member/producers may check out CAPS Media’s video cameras, tripods, audio gear and other production equipment to record their story and then book postproduction editing suites to craft the story they want to tell.
Six women’s epic swim around Santa Cruz Island
by Mira ReverentePicture this. Six women swimmers. Fifty-four miles. Almost 40 hours in open water.
It happened. An epic swim around Santa Cruz Island took place back in late September. “As far as we know, it’s the first time it’s ever been done,” says team captain Claudia Rose, 53, of San Diego.
“Most of us swam six legs which took about an hour each average,” says Michelle McConica, 61, of Ventura.
Late start, fearless finish
What would inspire women with such diverse backgrounds to undertake a feat like this? An ongoing quest to meet bust obstacles, reach goals and just like mountaineers who say they climb because the mountain is there – for these women, the ocean is also right there.
McConica, who grew up in a copper mining zone in Arizona, only started swimming in college, for a physical education class. Most of her teammates got into swimming in late adulthood.
Rose grew up in New England and moved to California 30 years ago, competes in triathlons and likes to analyze maps and charts, being the systems engineer that she is. “I taught open water swimming and kept hearing about Santa Cruz so that piqued my interest,” she says.
“In fact, you can see the island from Michelle’s house,” she says, explaining the appeal of their monumental undertaking. There have been various successful attempts in swimming from the mainland to the various islands and back, but never around Santa Cruz Island.
Louise Darlington, 57, from Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, remembers meeting Maryland native Diana Corbin at a lake swim. “I was drawn to Diana’s Channel Island tattoo so we started talking,” says the librarian who only started swimming at the age of 40, to distress from work.
The two became fast friends and connected on Facebook where there’s a fairly active open water swim community. In March of 2016, Corbin invited her to join the team. Jeannie Zappe of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, completed the all-women team.
Swim support
“We had a support dive boat called “The Peace” owned by fellow Venturan Eric Bowman,” says McConica. “His crew graciously kept us fed for 24/7.”
The team also had one to two escort kayakers with then all the time, for support. Says Rose, “You never want to do any of this alone. You need a support crew and observers.”
What thoughts were swimming around their minds during those grueling 40 hours? “We actually weren’t anxious about the sharks. We were more frightened about LA freeways,” says McConica with a chuckle.
Ocean obstacles
The team gets asked the obvious questions all the time. Given that no wetsuits were allowed for sanctioned events, was the water cold? “You get used to it clad only in your swim cap, goggles and bathing suit.” Were there sharks? “No.” Was it tough to stay awake? “Yes, but you try to sleep whenever it’s not your turn to swim.” Was it hard to figure out where you were exactly in the ocean? “Sometimes, because unlike pools, there are no lanes.”
The fog can be a challenge. “You just try to stay as close to the kayak and dive boat as much as possible,” says Darlington.
They may not have trained together, given their geographic challenges. Four are from the East Coast while two are in SoCal. However, all of them trained individually in adverse, nasty conditions to prepare for strong ocean currents and other challenges like the presence of sea lions, dolphins and an illegal fishing boat.
A few days before the epic swim, the team practiced some night swims in San Diego.
Rose also broke her elbow in April and Corbin had wrist surgery around the same time. Teammate Carol-Lynn Swol’s mom also passed away the day before their swim.
Open water swimming has its own special appeal. McConica explains, “We have a great deal of respect for the ocean. Swimming at night was just sheer magic.”
The ladies’ epic swim undertaking has been recorded and can be found on: https://santabarbarachannelswim.org.
Vol. 11, No. 9 – Jan 31 – Feb 13, 2018 – Person to Person
by Jennifer Tipton
I asked 6 Ventura business owners –
“How did the Thomas Fires affect your business?”
Michelle Rein
owner of passion flowers 920 East Main Street
“December was cancelled, everything cancelled, there was no December business. We were without power on this section of Main for four days; for some businesses, food was lost, but we’re just flowers so we were ok. We re-opened December 8th, but there was no business, people just wanted to come in to share their stories, talk and hug. And then with the closing of the 101, some brides couldn’t get here, most of my business was people sending thankyou flowers. As I clean up the ash, I try to be respectful – this ash was somebody’s home.”
The future? “We’re still gonna be here, we’ll make it through, we’re Ventura Strong!”
Sharon Palmer
owner of Main Street Meats Ventura 3049 East Main Street
“December is generally a month where families are planning their gatherings, people are coming into town, there are family dinners, company dinners, holiday parties. We start taking orders the first week in December, which is of course when the fires hit. The first 2 weeks of December, I basically manned the store by myself, there was no business. Ventura was like a ghost town, anybody who was here, wasn’t outside. And then you go into the loss, the devastating feeling of loss – there was no holiday spirit even into the first week of January. There is an overwhelming feeling of loss and displacement, it trickles down to a loss of economy. All the people who aren’t able to do their customary jobs – these are the customers. Our business had dropped about 50% in December and is continuing on that path. There are 50-75 regular customers that we haven’t seen and 30 Christmas orders that were canceled or not picked up.”
Writer’s note: Despite this, in addition to local donations, Sharon prepared a tri tip dinner to feed the Montecito Fire Crew.
Lynn Mikelatos
owner of The Greek and Margarita Villa 1583 Spinnaker Drive / 1567 Spinnaker Drive
“On Tuesday (December 5th) we closed because so many of our employees had to evacuate and everybody needed to just take care of their families. The first weekend we were hit the hardest, and in the first 10 days to 2 weeks we had a lot of cancellations, although, some parties rescheduled for January. It really impacted people going out in general; it was a big deal emotionally for the entire city. The Parade of Lights was scheduled for the second weekend after the fire (December 15 & 16) and there was some talk as to whether it should be canceled, but it’s such a part of the culture of Ventura and to the economy of the harbor! It’s all been pretty quiet down here, we just don’t see the foot traffic and overall, it put a shadow over the business. I think it goes to the heart of every Venturan, Firefighters would come in and customers would buy their food! I’m proud to be a Venturan and we’re not going to let this get us down!”
Writer’s note: The Parade of Lights did go on and Lynn reports it was a successful event!
Simone Covault
owner of Simones Coffee & Tea 7818 Telegraph Road
“We were evacuated so we came here and stayed a couple nights, the first night we didn’t sleep at all, then we slept on the floor. The power was out, and the Kimball center was filling up with people sleeping in their cars. When the power came on, people came in to use the restroom, seek reprieve and just to have a sense of community. We were bombarded! We never closed! There were no baked goods but as soon as the machines warmed up, I steamed coffee all day. On Tuesday, December 5th, I had people say I was the only coffee shop open and people began meeting here, we were super busy from the start. The first week, no merchandise sold, but after a couple weeks, people started purchasing some Christmas items. People were so grateful that we were open, one woman, a retired teacher came in with a child that she mentors to bring me a candle and say thank you for being a beacon of light during the fires!”
Writer’s note: Although Simone and her family remained evacuated and displaced for 2 ½ weeks, she never closed her doors. Their home did have some damage from the fires, but it wasn’t extensive.
John Reynolds
owner of JLR Studio 20 North Fir Street Suite A
“We were closed for 3 days and at the top of our street, we lost two houses. The following week, people were just not out and about, there was so much ash in the air. I had 2 ½ to 3 inches of ash in the corners of the building. We did lose appointments and we couldn’t reopen because there was no electricity. I think the New Year has been on the up rise, one of my stations was recently rented by a tanning artist and that should help generate more business.”
(John has been at this location for 32 years!)
Ashley Pope
owner of SpiceTopia 576 East Main Street
“We did okay in December, we got a lot of community support even though downtown took a hit. So many people came downtown determined to help local businesses, they wore masks and we’re so grateful for them. I worry about the longevity of the process, hopefully, we don’t see businesses close. If they’re still open a month out, that’s not an indication that they’re doing well; we won’t see the true impact on business until a little bit further. How’s it gonna look after year 1 or year 2? We stay strong going forward, I feel positive and have so much faith in Ventura to push through this! We want to continue to put the word out there that every dollar spent here locally, is a dollar put toward recovery! Where are the contractors and attorneys (etc.…) coming from? We need to be conscientious of that!”
Tennis clinics for kids and adults at the Camino Real Park Tennis Center
On Saturday, Feb. 3, join the Parks, Recreation & Community Partnerships Department for a day on the court with tennis clinics for kids and adults at the Camino Real Park Tennis Center. Children ages 4-16 are invited to learn from 1-2 pm, and people who are 17+ from 2-3 pm. This clinic is an excellent opportunity to try out this great sport or to dust off your skills before signing up for Parks and Recreation classes! For more information call 642-7652. The tennis courts are at Camino Real Park, 4199 Dean Dr.
The forgotten ones
by Jennifer Tipton
The victims of the Thomas Fires are not limited to those that lost their homes, as was pointed out to me by a dear friend who described it as “the trickle-down effect”. (If you read through today’s issue of the Breeze, you will see who this very perceptive Venturan is…)
Honestly, it had not occurred to me, but along with all the homes that were lost went the housekeepers, the landscapers, the pool guy, the dog walkers, the babysitters and countless others whose livelihood depended on employment in the neighborhoods that burned.
I learned of one woman that has cleaned homes in Ondulando for the same clients for many years and suddenly found herself unemployed. She is not alone.
We as Venturans must be vigilant to help these forgotten victims by making recommendations to our neighbors who may be able to use their services. Word of mouth is the best way to promote a business and sharing is caring.