Category Archives: This ‘n’ That

A Country Fair with Springtime Flair

​The Spring Fair is coming to town April 14-16 at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. The fun starts Friday night at the Carnival and keeps hopping til the big Sunday Rodeo and Concert.

Presale carnival ride tickets will be  available until Friday, April 14 at noon.

Visit the Spring Fair Bunny House, presented by Union Bank. Don’t forget to bring your camera to take a selfie with the Easter Bunny, he is waiting for you and your family to hop in and say hello!

The Spring Fair Carnival, presented by Pepsi, has rides and games for all ages. From the traditional rides like the  Merry-Go-Round and the Gondola Wheel to the exciting Drop Tower, Sea Dragon and Mega Loop, or the hilarious Fun House and Bumper Cars,  you are guaranteed to have a great time!

On your mark, get set, hunt for Easter eggs in the great Easter Egg Hunt, presented by Eco Spa. A time honored tradition, egg hunting will bring you joy as you make new memories to remember joyful family times like this.

The Spring Fair Entertainment Stage, presented by Bud Light will showcase local talent throughout the Spring Fair. Rock music, Dance, Singing and more are on tap for your enjoyment and relaxation as your family has a fun time at the Spring Fair.

Sunday Spring Fair Special Feature: Rodeo and Concert with Ramon Ayala and Ezequiel Peña. Rodeo/Concert ticket is required in addition to Spring Fair admission.

Children 5 and under free.

What Fair is complete without Adventures in Shopping? We offer an assortment of vendors and exhibitors for your perusal. Clothing, jewelry, dolls, toys, stained glass, candles and more will be on sale for your Easter shopping pleasure.

Visit with Santa Clara School of Performing Arts, the Ventura County Star, System Pavers, Renewal by Anderson, California Deluxe Windows, Frontier Communications and Farm Fresh To You. They will be available to answer your questions and share their experiences with you.

The Petting Zoo will amuse and educate your children as they rub elbows with baby animals like kangaroo, goat, deer and lamb. Feed the animals and fill your memory book with adorable photos of the youngsters.

Cooking Show: Everything that Matters in the Kitchen!  Specializing in homemade farm-fresh recipes and using her funny and entertaining personality to demonstrate the preparation of extremely healthy and simple 10-minute recipes, Dianne inspires her audience to use local products and produce. With love of home and family as her foundation, she reaches out to America to come back to the kitchen table and start cooking again!

Visit Ag Ventureland for a myriad of fun for the kids. They will be amused and entertained for hours as they learn about agriculture in a fun setting. Our kids’ area with agricultural and educational activities

Spring Fair Hours: Friday, April 14:  5-9 PM; Saturday, April 15: 12 noon – 9 PM; Sunday, April 16: 12 noon – 6 PM.

$6 Admission includes a $5 “Springback” discount on a full price admission to the 2017 Ventura County Fair, August 2-13.

Call  648-3376 or visit www.venturacountyfair.org for information.

Free workshop for ESL volunteer tutors    

Laubach Literacy of Ventura County is offering a free workshop to help volunteers learn to become English as Second Language (ESL) tutors of adults.

The workshop will be on Sat., April 29 (from 9am to 4pm); lunch will be provided.  At Barrister Executive Suites directions will be given upon registration.

Various methods and materials for teaching English to adults will be demonstrated and taught during the workshop, enabling the new tutor to begin ESL tutoring right away.  Neither teaching experience nor the ability to speak a foreign language is necessary.  Open a world to an adult non-fluent English speaker with the gift of learning how to skillfully read, write, and speak English.

To register and information 385-9584, www.laubachventura.org.

Working together to stop distracted driving and save you money

April is recognized as National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. In California, the Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), Ventura Police Department, California Highway Patrol and community partners throughout the state are working together to make the roads safer by highlighting the dangers of being distracted while driving, especially by cell phones. It can take something as small as trying to retrieve your phone to cause a serious crash. We should all understand that our priority should be our safety, so you shouldn’t let phones distract you. From car accidents in Brooksville, car accidents in France or even ones that happen in the UK, concentration is key to avoid situations like this happening.

“Police officers would rather see everyone off their cell phones than hand out a lot of tickets,” said Rhonda Craft, director of the Office of Traffic Safety. “Take care of calling, texting, setting your GPS and everything else before you hit the street.”

Lawmakers agree that distracted driving continues to be a growing problem among California’s motorists. Truck drivers also have found to have this issue with there being many Common truck driver distractions in Gainesville and the United States. Assembly Bill 1785 went into effect on January 1, requiring all drivers in California to keep their cell phone out of their hands while operating a motor vehicle. Under the new law, a driver may activate or deactivate a feature or function of the cell phone or wireless communication device by swiping or tapping its screen only if it is properly mounted or not being held in a driver’s hand. Specific information on the new law can be found at www.ots.ca.gov.

The Office of Traffic Safety will begin a new public awareness campaign throughout the state in April emphasizing how the new law makes virtually all hand-held cell phone activity illegal – talking, texting, and using apps The campaign aims to end distracted driving through education and raise awareness about the associated dangers. The goal is to change motorist behaviors and save lives, not just in the month of April but year-round. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that 3,477 people were killed and an estimated 391,000 injured in motor vehicle collisions involving distracted drivers in 2015. That is a 9 percent increase in fatalities as compared to the previous year. If you’ve been involved in a car accident that was caused by a distracted driver then it might be a good idea to get a lawyer involved. Why not check out someone like this St. Louis Car Accident Lawyer to help you win your case. Getting a lawyer involved is very useful, particularly if you have been injured in your car accident.

The Ventura Police Department will join other law enforcement agencies throughout the county and state to provide educational experiences as well as zero tolerance enforcement efforts to discourage distracted driving. Officers will have a special emphasis this month on enforcing all cell phone and distracted driving laws. The goal is to gain voluntary compliance by drivers, but sometimes citations are necessary for motorists to better understand the importance of driving distraction free.

The Ventura Police Department is deploying extra traffic officers with grant-funded resources throughout the month of April in city locations with higher numbers of traffic collisions. Violators will be stopped and cited with fines set at $162 for first time offenders. This campaign is funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The Audubon Society will share bird watching tips

Learn about owls at the Olivas Adobe. Photo by Michael Gordon

The sixth annual Owl Festival will occur at Olivas Adobe Historical Park on Sunday, April 23, 11 – 3 p.m.  This free afternoon of family-friendly fun will include kids’ arts and crafts, an owl info table, and photos of Olivia, the Adobe’s frequent visitor owl who has nested in the eucalyptus tree bordering the courtyard.  The Ojai Raptor Center will be giving a 1-hour presentation at I p.m. and will be bringing various birds to learn about and view.

Local artists will display handcrafted ceramics, jewelry, paintings and plants for sale.  Wildlife photographer Hal Epstein will display his owl series of photos.  The Audubon Society will share bird watching tips and Leif Engeswick will be playing music on his unique “Book Organ.”  Pizza Man Dan’s food truck will have snacks available for purchase.  The Olivas Adobe is located at 4200 Olivas Park Drive.  For more information  310-746-8021 or www.olivasadobe.org.

 

Vol. 10, No. 14 – April 12 – April 25, 2017 – Person to Person

by Jennifer Tipton

What is your favorite free thing to do in Ventura?

Nicole Olgy
age 22
Employee at Alejandro’s Salon
“Honestly, my favorite thing has always been the Ventura Pier and the whole promenade – it’s my happy place.”

 

Cija Cadiente
age 36
Caregiver
“Hiking at Arroyo Verde Park, we just had all that rain and the flowers are beautiful there!”

 

 

Ray Bender
age 61
Business Owner
“I guess I’d have to say going to the beach.”

 

 

Penny Allen
age 73
Retired from the travel business
“I like to drive downtown and look at all the lovely antique stores, boutiques and restaurants – I just love to go downtown!”

 

Ron Dallas
age 73
Retired Engineer
“I like to go along the beach at Surfer’s Point and enjoy the view, the air and the atmosphere.”

The Lester Tong Visualization Center

3-D demonstration held at College Applied Science Center.

On March 23 a dedication of the Lester Tong Visualization Center at Ventura College Applied Science Center was held.  This 75-seat classroom utilizes a state-of-the-art 3-D dual rear projector system onto an 8′ tall glass “touch screen” where the viewing audience wear powered 3-D glasses.  A 3-D demonstration was held.

Lester Tong worked at the Ventura County Community College District Office and in the Information Technology department at Ventura College for over 30 years. He was dedicated to serving the campus and the community.  Retiring in 2016, Mr. Tong continues his devotion to service in Ventura County by volunteering at various non-profit organizations.

The son of Cantonese immigrants, Lester became a first-generation college student, receiving his B.S. in Business Administration from Pacific Union College in 1971. Lester attributes his success in life to the education he received. He is grateful for an education which created many opportunities for him, including his career at Ventura College.

His passion for education inspired him to leave a lasting impact at Ventura College by creating an endowment for the Ventura College Promise, a program that covers the enrollment costs for the first year at Ventura College.

The District Board of Trustees unanimously authorized the naming of the Ventura College Visualization Center: The Lester Tong Visualization Center.

CMHS to hold advance directive awareness event

Community Memorial Health System is holding its “Great Advance Directive Awareness Event” on Wednesday, April 19, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the Museum of Ventura County.

An advance directive, also known as living will, personal directive, medical directive or advance decision, is a legal document in which a person specifies what actions should be taken for their health if they are no longer able to make decisions for themselves because of illness or incapacity.

Jim Hornstein, M.D., CMHS’ Chair of the Bioethics Committee, will moderate the latest seminar in its 2017 “Ethics in Healthcare” series. The event is for people 18 and over. Experts, including palliative care, social services, quality care and CMHS residents, will be available to answer questions and help participants fill out their advance directives for free. A notary public also will be on site.

There will be refreshments, raffle prizes, music and giveaways, and the first 200 people who complete their advance directive will receive a free gift.

Registration is free but reservations are required. To secure reservations visit cmhshealth.org/rsvp or call Brown Paper Tickets at 800-838-3006.

Community Memorial Health System is a not-for-profit health system, which is comprised of Community Memorial Hospital, Ojai Valley Community Hospital, along with the Centers for Family Health serving various communities within and located in Ventura County.

Water: Take 1

Claire and John Meehan are stars of the Audience Choice Awards film “Drought Wars – The Family Fights Back.”

by Jennifer Tipton

March 22nd marked the 5th annual Water: Take1 Online Short Film Awards Ceremony presented by Ventura Water. Presented at The Channel Islands National Park Visitors Center in Ventura Harbor Village, the event draws attention to the challenges facing our water supply on a local, national and global level. More specifically: how we look at it, how we use it and how we share it.

Filmmakers from around the globe were invited to create a short (less than 5 minute) film to address the topic of water, and over 50 films were submitted. Ventura Water previewed them all prior to showing only the best of the best last evening.

Before the films were screened in a movie theater setting, movie-type snacks were provided to the viewers such as popcorn, sodas and candy – very clever indeed!

The films showed tremendous diversity – some were funny, some beautiful and some shocking. Many films were submitted from other countries and it certainly demonstrated that the concerns about our water supply are not limited to home.

The Grand Prize was $1,500.00 and was awarded to “Place of Sweet Waters”. This film addresses water scarcity as a result of social misuse, a very powerful piece of work.

The Audience Choice Award went to “Drought Wars – The Family Fights Back” where the kids provide tips and tricks to save water around the house. It is a delightful piece of work submitted by our very own Meehan family!

Ventura Water teams up with several sponsorships, but new this year they forged a promotional partnership with Shorts TV where submitted films were eligible for inclusion in a film showcase that aired throughout the month of March in honor of World Water Day.

All of the film festival’s finalists can be viewed at www.watertake1.com.

Will the pig be replaced with a different mascot?

Foto: County Ventura St. Patrick’s Day Green Pig succumbs to split seam.

Photo by Michael Gordon

Sham Hock, a.k.a. Pig O’ My Heart, has hogged the spotlight at County Ventura St. Patrick’s Day Parade for the last time.

The giant inflatable pig, which has delighted parade-goers for nearly three decades, abruptly collapsed upon splitting a seam near the end of this year’s parade. The parade’s organizing committee determined the seam is unrepairable.

“It will need to go to its resting place in Pig Heaven,” said Nan Drake, co-chair of the organizing committee said. “Plans are underway for a proper Irish wake.”

Drake, however, added that plans also are underway to replace the 12-foot high by 20-foot long Sham Hock with a new parade mascot. “It will be a tough job replacing the pig and a fundraiser will have to be held,” she said.

It’s not the first time Sham Hock, which was created for $2,500 in 1990 during the parade’s early years has made news. It was kidnapped a week before the 2015 parade at a Ventura storage facility but was located by some clever detective work. A $100 reward was offered and Ventura City Councilman Jim Monahan, who is also a parade committee co-chair, received an anonymous call telling him where Sam Hock could be found. And, luckily, the giant green pig rode in the parade, as usual. The kidnappers were never identified and the reward was never paid.