Category Archives: This ‘n’ That

Water is life

Westside residents voiced their concerns with erosion and how to better prepare for yet another evacuation.

by Karen Leslie, writer with heart

Hoping for just a sprinkle and not a down pour, was just one of the main topics open for discussion for the 100 plus Westsider’s who attended the Ventura Westside Community Council Meeting held at Bell Arts Factory January 3rd.

The evening began with a lively atmosphere of friends meeting friends and neighbors greeting neighbors. President of WCC, Tomas Luna set the evening’s tone and intention, one with the hope of finding answers, resolving and taking action to help prepare for yet another impending monstrous disaster, the possibility and probability of mudslides. With the hills baron and nothing to stop them from sliding and destroying everything in their path, homes and lives are at stake, not to mention the hills themselves.

With Westside residents still reeling from the bottlenecking, and challenging escape routes of the Dec. 4th fires, they voiced their concerns with erosion and how to better prepare for yet another evacuation.

This triggered a chain reaction which changed the climate of the evening to a Q&A session. WCC Treasurer, Tomás Rebecchi shares, “I think overall the meeting was successful. We learned the emergency alert systems and evacuation routes can be improved and made more accessible. This is just a starting point, many questions still remain unanswered and we will continue to organize and strongly support local agencies to improve and prepare for future emergencies and hoping for more answers at the next meeting Feb. 7th.”

CFROG(Citizens for Responsible Oil and Gas), Kimberly Rivers says, “The Thomas Fires moved through many oil fields including Ventura oil fields which straddles the Westside Community, all the hillsides have the potential for movement and mudslides.”

Assistant Ventura Police Chief Darin Schindler shares, “We are pleased with the attendance of so many residents and the department is already preparing to be proactive instead of reactive.”

Ashley Bautista encouraged home residents to register with VC Alert, an emergency notification system that delivers alerts when there is a threat to the health and safety of residents.

Fire Marshal Joe Morelli states,” Residents should prepare for a rain and debris flow event by planning and staying informed on what to do during an emergency by visiting; www.readyventuracounty.org and www.venturacountyrecovers.org also checking local weather channels for updates. A moderate to heavy rainfall event is anticipated in the Thomas Fire areas next week.”

These hard working conscientious people are part of a team effort to find answers to many of the concerns in the minds and hearts of this Westside community. New resident, Andrea Beenham shares, “I am impressed with the camaraderie and openness of the community.”

Wildfires alter the natural landscape by removing vegetation and exposing soil to wind and rain. These changes substantially increase the risk of flash floods and debris flow. Normally, grasses, shrubs and trees slow rainfall and improve soil absorption. Leaf litter further protects the soil from erosive rainfall.

So what’s the next step? Preparation before it rains helps to minimize and prevent potential danger. Nature’s back-to-back disasters can cause distress and uncertainty, that’s where knowledge is power and when new knowledge is applied, combined with action, our choices and decisions can re-direct the flow and deflect future disasters. Holding a positive mindset while trusting the process and each other we become victors instead of victims.

Let’s begin 2018 by watering new ideas with anticipation and appreciation. Drenching ourselves with possibilities in the rich soil of our lives will set the stage to help harness our direction. Planting seeds of hope for the landscape of our future insures deep roots of safety and security for all and generations to come.

Thirteen young women are 2018 Debutantes!

All of the young women are high school seniors.

Seven local young women were introduced at the 61st Annual Las Patronas Tea. The Tea was held at the home of Mrs. Stephen Resnik in Camarillo.The girls were presented to the members of Las Patronas, an auxiliary of Assistance League of Ventura County and their guests.

The Tea is a first in a series of events that will culminate in the Las Patronas Debutante Ball on March 10, 2018 at the Ventura Beach Marriott.
Proceeds from the Ball are used to benefit Assistance League philanthropies, including Assistance League School, Girls Club/Teen Club, B.U.F.F.Y. Bear Program and Operation School Bell®.

All of the young women are high school seniors, the debutantes represent seven high schools in Ventura County. In their high school careers, they have distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, leadership, the arts, and philanthropic service.

The following are the Ventura 2018 Debutantes:
Miss Jacqueline King, daughter of Mr. and and Mrs. Joseph King. She attends Buena High School.
Miss Sadie McCormick, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jack McCormick. She attends St. Bonaventure High School.
Miss Lauren Powell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Powell. She attends Ventura High School.

Christopher Beck joins Ventura Family YMCA Board of Directors

The Ventura Family YMCA is proud to announce that Christopher Beck has joined the Board of Directors.

Chris is a community leader who concurrently serves as General Counsel for the Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura and as Counsel for the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara. Public agency attorney versed in administrative law and process; nonprofit law; litigation; Brown Act; Government Claims Act; unlawful detainer in riverside; contracts; real estate transactions – financing, purchases, and sales; municipal and planning law; grand juries; public art contracts; Fair Housing Act claims and enforcement; Americans with Disabilities Act; and, other general legal counsel.

For more information at the Ventura Family YMCA, visit http://www.ciymca.org/ventura/ or call 642-2131.

The need to continue to support each other

Michael White has been a long-term member of the Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team.

Going Forward
by Jennifer Tipton

Filling in as the acting Disaster Services Coordinator for Ventura County Behavioral Health for just several months, Michael White had already been a lead in Behavioral Health’s Disaster Response Team for several years and a long-term member of the Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team.

In the event of a disaster, Michael and his staff respond to the individuals who have experienced a traumatic event, such as the recent Thomas Fires. Michael states, “the orientation that we take is psychological first aid (P.F.A.), it’s not therapy or trauma counseling, it’s a first aid response that entails listening, validation and normalizing their reaction to the event. We provide education and resources to help them establish a plan.” The teams also provide debriefing to the responders.

Michael is overcome with how rapidly his team acted, “the staff came together with administration even though some were directly affected by the fire themselves.” Teams were mobilized immediately after their initial meeting at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, December 5th and over the course, a total of 478 staff have filled 121 assignments with over 3,000 hours response time collectively.

“From a mental health perspective, I’ve learned a lot about the sheer generosity and resilience of this community, many people had a strong support group already in place and the need for mental health services was minimal”, Michael said.

Although the immediate crisis has subsided, Michael states the next phase will be slower, but his team will still be responding to community needs. “It’s going to shift, people that have held it together during the initial crisis may struggle in the coming weeks”, he said and he wants us all to be aware that just because someone appeared to be doing well initially, the overwhelming support we saw at first has now subsided and some individuals are left very much alone. He warns, in the next couple months, we’ll see who needs additional support, so we still need to keep an eye out for our neighbors and added one last thought,

“whenever there’s tragedy, there’s always an opportunity for hope and positive change.”

If you or someone you know has a mental health emergency or seeking services, please don’t hesitate to call the 24 hour crisis assessment referral line: (866) 998-2243.

Re-designing our Urban Landscape

Opinion by Bob Chianese

Monster hurricanes, floods, rising sea levels, and frozen cities and our own drought-fueled mega-fires and debris flows tell us things are out of balance on planet Earth. Our human-made shroud of carbon dioxide warms the atmosphere to the point of disturbing global weather patterns, wind circulation, temperatures, and of course rainfall.

In Southern California, our once lovely environment has turned on us. Our seeming paradise has become a tender trap, lulling us into complacency and the expectation of endless sun-kissed balmy days. Since our rapacious fires have become more common, we may have to agree with our Governor that they may be our “New Normal.”

What can we do to curb and adapt to some of this extravagant weather?

Obviously as a society we need to switch from fossil fuel burning to solar energy, drive hybrids and EV’s, conserve water, reduce if not restrict new development, have fewer babies, use native, water-stingy plants for landscaping, and cut back on consumption in general. Tall orders I know, but some of us are trying to follow them.

Locally we might consider fire prevention measures to guard our own and our neighbors’ property. We can remove brush, dead trees, and tall vegetation under power lines. We can transform our yards into native plant and xeriscape gardens.

And then there are the palms and eucalyptus.

These non-native invaders were brought here mainly for their looks: the spindly towering palm signals the tropics, and the massive eucalyptus evokes warm stately days in the sun. But palms are dirty, throw off serrated fronds and shelter rats. Eucalyptus were lousy as sources of lumber and grow to gigantic size, with a deep pile of combustible debris at their base. They both ought to go.

The Thomas fire revealed what fire-spreading torches they are: palms spit off burning embers from their heights and eucs can explode as oil-saturated bombs. Our urban forest needs a makeover that makes us more secure and more “natural.” Taking personal initiative to remove these two kinds of trees from our property would enable us to be less panicked when the sirens blare again.

The city will have to decide that to do with the thousands of others.

And removing palms would greatly improve my view so off with their heads. Sheldon

Do you want to cuddle?

St. Vincent de Paul in Santa Paula have been donating cuddle blankets and pillow cases that are made by volunteers. It is geared for infants up to 18 years of age and they can also do adult blankets. These are for people who have lost their homes due to the Thomas Fire. They have covered Santa Paula and now would like to help Ventura.

If you would like a blanket or pillow call the Catholic Charities Family Caregiver Center Mon – Thurs 420-9608 and leave your name and number and Kathy will return your call .