On Oct.14 a Court of Honor was held at the Museum of Ventura County for Devin Kress and Joseph Emmerich both six year Boy Scouts with Troop 119. They were awarded the rank of Eagle Scout at the ceremony. Each boy completed the required amount of merit badges and in addition to merit badges, both boys completed Eagle community service projects, both for the museum. In 2015, Devin completed work on the exhibit’s Chumash “ap” and Joseph fabricated six custom made wood benches. The Ventura High Jazz Quartet provided great jazz with Devin on bass. Devin’s proud mom is the assistant to the Ventura Breeze publisher.
Category Archives: This ‘n’ That
Second Annual Haunted Housing Run/Walk to raise funds for Scholarship Program
Cocina Sin Fronteras, the Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura’s (HACSB) associated resident services non-profit, is hosting its Second Annual Haunted Housing Run/Walk to raise funds for the HACSB’s Scholarship Program. One hundred percent of the race proceeds will benefit the HACSB Scholarship Program, which is entering its fourth year of providing support to low income families working toward educational goals.
The event will take place at the San Buenaventura State Beach on Saturday Oct. 28 and consists of a 5k, 10k, and a Kids 1k Fun Run. The course is flat, making it runner, walker, stroller, and pet friendly! Don your best costume and join in for an exciting run for a great cause!
Ventura Police Officer Jack Ortega and his K9, Miles, are the 2017 Grand Marshals.
All participants will receive a t-shirt, medal, and goody bag. Prizes will be awarded to the top three male and female finishers. There will be goodies, crafts, photos and more at the finish line. You don’t want to miss it!
For more information and to register, visit www.hauntedhousingrun.com. Use coupon code “HHR20OFF” for 20% off all distances.
School on Wheels provides for homeless children
Maggie Wells is a volunteer tutor for School on Wheels.
School on Wheels is a non-profit organization based in Southern California. Whose mission is to enhance the educational opportunities for homeless children living in shelters, motels, group foster homes, cars, or on the street. They do this by providing homeless children with one-on-one volunteer tutors, who work with them individually to improve their academic skills. The children and youth in their program are also provided with school supplies, reading materials, and are eligible for scholarship programs that allow them to participate in extracurricular activities they may not otherwise have access to. Each year they reach over 3,500 students across Southern California. This mission could not be achieved without volunteers like Maggie, who work tirelessly to encourage, educate, and motivate the children and youth in our communities.
Every day, School on Wheels serves children who are eager to learn and succeed, but who may not have had the same resources and support as their peers. Education not only helps break cycles of poverty, but success in school can mean increased confidence for children on an individual level. Margaret speaks to these effects: “A year ago, Savannah had no reading skills. Whenever she came across a word she did not understand, instead of sounding it out, she looked up at me timidly. It made my heart cry out to sound it out for her. She had no confidence and when frustrated, tried all the tricks in the book to derail her hour of tutoring. Little by little, as I gained her confidence and found ways to make our time together appealing, this started to change. Now, I realize the value of tutoring. “
“When I was in grade school, I was very behind in my reading. One day, a teacher embarrassed me in front of the class when I was asked to stand and read my own story and stumbled over words. My low confidence plummeted further. Fortunately, the next year I had a very kind teacher who took time with me and helped me to get back on track and on grade level. When I became a teacher, I vowed to be like the second teacher.”
School on Wheels is always looking for positive role models like Maggie to work with students experiencing homelessness. If you have an hour or more a week to spare and have a love of learning you can make a difference in the life of a kid today, visit www.schoolonwheels.org/volunteer/ to find out more and apply online.
County Museum in the news
The Museum of Ventura County has elected a new board of directors who will direct the museum’s fundraising, exhibits and programming, connecting the community with the history and culture of Ventura County. “We have a past, present and future that make us a celebrated place to live or visit,” said Elena Brokaw, interim executive director of the museum.
The new board members are: Yissel Barajas, Betsy Chess, William Kearney ,Gordon Kimball ,Leslie Leavens, Al Lowe, Kate McLean ,Richard Rush, Mike Sedell , Jim Scanlon and Peter T. Zierhut.
The Museum is seeking volunteers interested in history or art and working with the public in a fun and educational setting, to help support the museum’s events and educational programs and in the research library. All prospective volunteers should attend training workshops on Tuesdays, October 31, and November 7, 14, 21 from 9:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. For more information, contact Director of Education and Outreach Megan Gately at [email protected] 653-0323 ext. 310.
Coming events:
Dia de los Muertos Ofrendas: A Chicano Art Practice for Honoring our Loved Ones
Thursday, October 26, 6 – 7 p.m. | Free for members | $5 for non-members
Special guest, Roberto Vargas will present the use of ofrendas (altars) .
Sunday, November 5, 11 a.m.– 4 p.m. | Free admission
A free family event celebrating Dia de los Muertos with music, art, dance and crafts. Performances include De Anza Academy Mariachi Ballet Folklorico de Bell Arts, Danza Mexica Cuautemoc and Ballet Folklorico Mestizo of Oxnard College. Displays will include traditional alters created by Buena High School, Carpinteria Public Library, De Anza Middle School and other local artists.
Saturday, November 11, 2 – 4 p.m. | Free for members | $5 for non-members
The Chicano Moratorium, the massive mobilization in 1969 to raise awareness of the Vietnam War as a civil rights issue in the Chicano community, is the topic of a panel discussion.
Tuesday, November 14, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. | Free for members | $5 for non-members
Ventura College professor and avid art collector, Tomás Sanchez, will be the featured speaker for the “Speaking Of Ventura County” lecture series. At Ventura College Santa Paula, Sanchez teaches World History, Western Civilization History, United States History and Chicano History. Light refreshments will be served.
Coles named Board Chair of Channel Islands YMCA
The Channel Islands YMCA is proud to announce that Robert J. Coles has joined its Board of Directors as the Board Chair. His term began in June, 2017 and runs through May, 2019.
Mr. Coles is the President of RJC, Inc., an architectural design and construction management company. Coles has a Bachelor’s of Architecture from California State Polytechnic University-Pomona, has been practicing architecture since 1985.
“We welcome Robert to his new role with CIYMCA Board,” said Sal Cisneros, President and CEO of the Channel Islands YMCA. “He has been serving on the association board since 2006 and chaired the Risk Management & Facilities Committee from 2007 to 2015. We are excited to move forward under his leadership.”
Ventura High graduate Nadine Jenson becomes full time professional ballet dancer with New Mexico Ballet Company
Ventura High graduate 24-year old Nadine Jenson recently became a full time professional ballet dancer with the New Mexico Ballet Company. She stated “They offered me my first professional contract, and I was excited beyond words given it has been my life’s ambition to become a professional ballerina.”
After Ventura High she attended Loyola Marymount University graduating at the age of 20 with a degree in English with an emphasis in writing. In addition to this she had an additional 30 hours of ballet a week at a separate Russian ballet school in Los Angeles.
She also attended the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow, known to be one of the very best ballet schools in the world.
Breeze painted rock hunt continues in Ventura Harbor
Ted Rose and his dog Lincoln found this painted rock at Arroyo Verde Park on Saturday October 14. They hid the rock at the Ventura Harbor. Go to https://www.facebook.com/venturabreeze/ to follow along.
Vol. 10, No. 2 – Oct 25 – Nov 7, 2017 – Person to Person
by Jennifer Tipton
I asked six influential members of our community:
“Do you feel Ventura should elect our mayor rather than having one selected from an existing council member by the city council?”
Suz Montgomery
Senior Advocate
Yes, we do need to elect a Mayor, but with the caveat that we also have a strong City Manager who will work in tandem with the Mayor. Four eyes and four ears are better than two. (BTW, aren’t we the only city out of ten in the County who doesn’t?) Ventura is a Charter City, not General Law City, again, the only one in the County. Thanks for asking and frankly this issue needs more discussion too.
Barbara Hinton
Creator of Chalk Art at the Harbor
It sounds as though things are going to change soon in terms of how the city council is elected, so if the citizenry wants to change how we elect our mayor, maybe now would be the time to do that. I believe it might make sense to have an elected mayor. Then the mayor would be accountable to the citizens for his or her decisions.
Barbara Brown
President Ventura Botanical Gardens
Currently, our mayor is chosen by council members to represent them at events and sign documents. Our mayor’s vote is equal to other council member votes. Elected mayors usually have political/veto power and serve as chief executive, often in lieu of a city manager. Electing a mayor will change our system of governance, requiring retooling. Right now, the city has decidedly important issues that require compliance—including new districting policies, water and waste. I believe that now is not the time for this consideration.
Erik Nazarenko
Mayor of Ventura
The fact that Ventura is moving to geographic districts for its city council rather than at-large elections makes it even more important to elect the mayor citywide. An at-large election process for mayor, similar to Santa Barbara and Oxnard, will allow voters to select an individual with a broad vision for the entire city. While electing rather than appointing the mayor will require voter approval at the ballot, I believe Venturans will welcome this change, especially given the fact that council members will soon be representing approximately 16,000 residents per district rather than all of the city’s 109,000 constituents. An elected mayor who can see and approach issues from the perspective of all residents will provide necessary balance to the election of other officials from narrower geographic areas.
Matt LaVere
Attorney and City Council Member
“If a majority of Venturans wanted a directly-elected Mayor, I would have no problem amending our Charter to achieve this. However, I think the current model works very well. Although all seven councilmembers have the same voting power, the council selects its own mayor. To become mayor, one must first earn the respect of all his or her colleagues. This is done through building bridges and working collaboratively towards a better Ventura. I believe the council has a strong track record in selecting its mayors.”
Jim Duran
Pastor and Creator of City Center
We have a government that gives the power to the City Manager. This means that an elected Mayor would not have any more power than one currently has. Let’s just keep it how it is and allow the Council to appoint the Mayor of Ventura. Also, if we elect a Mayor we may miss out on excellent candidates for our City Council. If one loses the Mayor seat, you may not serve on council yet, their qualifications may be above and beyond others that ran for council.
Wilhelm Furtwängler was Hitler’s favorite conductor
The year is 1946, Hitler has been defeated and the Third Reich has fallen. In the American Zone of occupied Berlin, Major Steve Arnold (Patrick Vest) interviews Wilhelm Furtwängler (Peter Van Norden), a conductor at the pinnacle of his career, (and Hitler’s favorite conductor) in preparation for his de-Nazification tribunal. Furtwängler had become increasingly controversial when he chose to remain in Germany while many of his colleagues had fled out of protest or persecution. Did he naively believe that art was above politics? Did he allow himself to be manipulated by the Nazi propaganda machine? Or was he, in fact, a collaborator?
Taking Sides asks complicated questions about personal and artistic responsibility in the face of unspeakable horror. Furtwängler recognized that the Nazis needed him, and by many accounts often used this to effect good, flouting Nazi authority where he thought he could, helping some Jewish musicians escape, and even arguing with Josef Goebbels in the newspaper. When it became clear that Germany had lost the war, he became a Nazi target and escaped to Switzerland. But as Nazi crimes came to light during the trials at Nuremberg, and the Allied de-Nazification Tribunals took place, answers were relentlessly pursued. Where other artists who had been members of the Nazi party were allowed to quickly return to work, Furtwängler’s case dragged on.
Get tickets now for this timely and riveting production that will leave you wondering who and what is right or wrong.
Previews: Oct. 25 @ 7 p.m., Oct. 26 and 27 @ 8 p.m.
Opening Night: Saturday, Oct. 28 (curtain at 7 p.m.). Includes a pre-show champagne and chocolate reception in the lobby and an after-party at Rhumb Line in Ventura Harbor!
Performances through Nov. 12
Purchase tickets before Nov. 3 and save $5! Use code: 9916
Call the box office at 667.2900 or online at rubicontheatre.org.
Breast cancer survivor tells her story
Ellen Johnson (lower right) is joined in solidarity with colleagues Stephanie Montenegro, Marc Wilde, Lynda Frank, and Katie Furlong.
by Lori Harasta
Asked how Ellen Johnson felt when she first found out she had breast cancer, she said, “Numb. Later that night, I asked my husband, ‘Did he say I have cancer?!’”
It started with a lump she found about three years ago. Biopsies in three areas of the tumor were negative, but it is the protocol of Kaiser Permanente to do surgery to remove tumors, whether or not they test positive for cancer, so Ellen complied. The next time she spoke with the doctor, she got the awful news. It was Stage 3 of an aggressive strain of cancer. The doctor was unable to get all of the cancerous tissue. Further tests showed that the lymph nodes on that side were all affected. She was going to have to have a mastectomy.
Ellen resisted at first. But reality set in when the doctor told her, “I’m trying to save your life!” She left the doctor’s office, went back to her car and cried.
First, there was chemotherapy, which made her tired. A dear friend, Suzette, accompanied her to every chemotherapy treatment. Except for the side effects, Ellen actually enjoyed the sessions. “It was an odd sense of community, all of us there sharing the experience of having cancer. The nurses were amazing! There was no sense of talking down to any of us. I enjoyed hearing their banter and teasing one another. They were upbeat, sensitive, and genuine.” The chemotherapy was followed by surgery and then radiation.
Ellen retired recently from her position as Grants Manager for Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association. One of the things that made it easier for her to get through the treatments was strong support from her co-workers and the ability to work a flexible schedule. “My co-workers picked up the slack for me. Having their support made it so much easier to make it through.”
Her hair fell out and as a way of educating others about breast cancer, Ellen chose to wear scarves or hats instead of a wig. Indeed, conversations were opened up. She was surprised at the warm encouragement of fellow survivors she encountered who asked how she was doing and shared their own cancer experiences.
Cancer has changed Ellen’s outlook. “Anytime we face the possibility of our own mortality, it changes our priorities. I have been given the gift of seeing things more realistically. It has been a real wake-up call.”