Enjoying Devin’s success was grandmother Lucille Kress, mom Ana Baker, grandmother Carmen Iraola and of course Devin himself .

On August 30 a ribbon cutting-celebration was held at The Museum of Ventura County for the opening of the Evelyn and Howard Boroughs Children’s Garden, the Museum’s new experiential learning environment for children of all ages.

The highlight of the new garden is the Chumash dwelling constructed by Devin Kress with help from scout members, friends and family. The garden also contains Myrtle the Turtle sculpture, a stone gathering circle and beautiful murals.

Devin’s  Eagle Scout project was to build a Chumash Ap (dwelling) for the new Evelyn and Howard Boroughs Children’s Garden.

In accepting the recognition that he received at the opening he told the gathered crowd “Hi, my name is Devin Kress and I’m a student at Ventura High School and a Boy Scout with Troop 119.  I am also a lifelong resident of Ventura.  Over the last two months and with the help of family, friends, Scouts from Troop 119 and many other new people I met along the way, I was able to construct the Chumash ap here at the museum for my Eagle Scout project.”

“Let me just start by saying I had no idea what I’d be getting into. This was a great experience for me because I was able to build something that will help kids for many years to come.  Along with the museum docents and staff, I took a trip to the Chumash Indian Museum where we learned a lot about the Chumash people and saw some cool artifacts. I could not have done this project without the help of Gray Wolf and the staff at the Chumash Indian Museum. “

“Over 350 hours went into this project and there’s a long list of people that made this project possible. Including fellow Scouts and parents for also helping me gather materials that I needed from the riverbed. “

“I want to give a special thanks to Megan Gately, Museum Director of Education & Outreach for giving me the opportunity to do this project.  Back in April, Megan asked me to work on the project.  We put in many hours planning, discussing and working on it.  She gave me a huge level of trust and responsibility.”

“I am very proud that my project will help to give kids and adults a new learning experience about Chumash culture here at the museum for years to come and I am glad to have done it for the museum.”

Devin’s mom Ana had this to say regarding Devin’s project “ This was a very challenging project but the fact that so many people came together to help was heartwarming. This project will live on and be able to give a little piece of history to all. I am a very proud mom. Devin has a few more badges to earn before becoming an Eagle Scout (like his older brother Diego) but this project was the biggest part.”

On hand was Ventura Mayor Cheryl Heitmann who presented Devin with a proclamation from the City Council and stated “ The round Chumash-style dwelling Devin created for the Children’s Garden as his Eagle Scout project is amazing and a wonderful addition to the space. “

The Children’s Garden is a wonderful addition to the Museum. It will serve as a teaching opportunity and will draw even more families to the museum.  Made possible by the generosity of Howard Boroughs and Barbara Meister, it is a gift to the city and especially the children.”

For more photos go to www.venturabreeze.com

Ventura Family YMCA Youth & Government teens in front of the California State Capitol building where they had the opportunity to practice their legislative skills.

The Ventura Family YMCA is paving the way for the leaders of tomorrow through its Youth & Government program.  Since 1948 this nationwide initiative has been the top youth leadership and development program for 9th through 12th grade high school students.  Through hands on experience, each participant is enlightened on how the U.S. government is run.  They review the passing of government bills, practice public speaking and case work, and they even travel to Sacramento to put all of their skills into practice at the California State Capitol Building.

This program is unique because of the impact from the Y’s leadership staff and the knowledge each participant gains. There is also fundraising in place to provide scholarships (while they last) for students who may not be able to afford the program otherwise, giving those students an educational advantage like no other.

“We want to make sure that everyone in our community has the equal opportunity to better themselves, and one example of us helping is through our Youth & Government leadership program or by raising money to provide scholarships so that those who would not be able to attend because of the cost, may do so,” says Alicia Cattoni, the Y’s Marketing and Communications Director.

The Y’s Youth Programs Coordinator, Sherry Gutsch, speaks about the importance of nurturing our youth to become future leaders.

Youth & Government runs from September through February and includes weekly meetings, two training weekends in Fresno and a 5-day trip to Sacramento.  Current Ventura Y members may join for a discounted rate of $198/month, while Program Members may join for $210/month. Scholarships are available, while the funds last.  Spots are filling up fast so make sure to register as soon as possible.

To learn more about Youth & Government, logon to ciymca.org/ventura, visit the Ventura Family YMCA at 3760 Telegraph Road, or contact Sherry Gutsch by email at Sherry. [email protected], or call 642.2131 ext. 16.

Mom is right proud of son Chris Robinson-Reinhold
Photo by Bernie Goldstein

by Sheli Ellsworth

If playing billiards well is a sign of an ill-spent youth, 17-year-old Venturean Chris Robinson-Reinhold’s teen life is doomed, but don’t tell him—not before he goes to China to compete in the World Pool-Billiard Association’s Junior 9-Ball Championship. In November, Robinson-Reinhold will travel with six American junior pool players along with his own chaperone to Shanghai to go up against 16-32 other young international players.

Robinson-Reinhold’s rise in competitive billiards has been steep, fast and not without notice. He started playing three years ago when his uncle, Kevin Farrell, taught him the basics. “I don’t have a pool table at home, but I live really close to Stiix Billiards,” says Robinson-Reinhold. Jerry Matchin, owner of Stiix and a lifetime pool player, says, “Chris is our special player. A good son, student, good citizen who happens to be an exceptional billiard player at his young age. His winning the Junior Nationals is quite an accomplishment for him and we at Stiix Billiards could not be prouder of him.”

Robinson-Reinhold says he spends several hours a day at Stiix honing his skill. “It depends on how much homework I have, though.”

After finishing high in a few Mezz West state tour events, and winning a Hard Times LA monthly event, Robinson-Reinhold won this year’s Billiard Education Foundation Junior National Championship at South Point Casino in Las Vegas. The August 2015 win made him eligible for the November international tournament. However, Robinson-Reinhold’s has not been a success only journey. “I went to Louisville, Kentucky last year for the national championship and I didn’t do well. But it turned out to be a great learning experience . . . I needed it  . . . I learned about defeat.”

The young champion’s learning will not stop in Kentucky. He is hoping to earn a spot at Lindenwood University at St. Charles, Missouri in the near future. “I’ll graduate by the end of the fall semester and Lindenwood has the only prestigious billiard program in the United States.” He’s not sure on what he would like to major in, but is interested in both electrical engineering and architecture.

Lindenwood’s billiard coach, Mark Wilson, was a professional pool player, instructor, TV commentator and author of Play Great Pool (based on biomechanical principles) when the university recruited him to start the only scholarship-based pool program in the country which was officially launched in 2012. “I decided if I was going to do this it had to be the platinum standard of its kind. Unfortunately, even the larger schools that have billiards teams don’t have the funding to make it a premier program,” says Wilson. Wilson, who observed the US Navy Seals in Coronado, based his training techniques on the core values and discipline he admired about Navy seal training. “We have about 32-35 students, including 7 females in our billiard program. We were an all-female school until 1997 so we definitely encourage girls to play.“ About 4-5 of Wilson’s students plans to play professionally. Wilson says he has his eye on Robinson-Reinhold.

Stiix Billiards is planning a fundraiser to help with Robinson-Reinhold’s expenses to China.

Top row Coach Nick Garcia, Coach Mike More, Katelyn Kelley, Sierra Garcia, Jessica Mendoza, Abigail Sourwine, Kalyssa Muniz, Kelly More, Coach Jere Dietz.
bottom row Jamie Dietz, Jaymes Howard, Rylee Mcdaniel, Courtney Terrazas, Katherine Tafoya, Coach Patrick Tafoya. Not show Jocelyn Hernandez.

Ventura Stealers traveled to Seattle Washington July 15-18 for the NSA Western World Series and played in the 14 Division, games were played in the cities of Marysville and Monroe Washington.

In the  14 Division there were a total of 12 teams, during the days of the double elimination tournament the Ventura Stealers played a total of 9 games scoring a total of 86 runs and giving up 49, in pool play their record was 1-1 and in bracket play their record was 6-1 finishing with a combined record of 7-2.

The Ventura Stealers playing in their fourth game of the day, defeated the Washington Snohomish County Red  6-4 in the Championship Game completing a fantastic tournament in first place and becoming the 2015 NSA Western World Series Champions.

Teams that participated in the tournament were from Washington, Oregon, Northern and Southern California.

During the final day of the tournament the Ventura Stealers were one game away from being eliminated, during each game together as a team the girls played through bumps, bruises, errors, tears, sad times and happy times. The girls constantly cheered, consoled one another, encouraged each other, and every girl participated and contributed to each win.