2010 August at Ojai Valley News Blog

Authorities searching Lake Piru for body of Marcia (Litoff) Forsberg

By Logan Hall

1967 Nordhoff High School graduate Marcia Forsberg, who has been missing since February, is now believed by authorities to have been murdered by her husband, Richard Gustav Forsberg, 61, of Rancho Santa Margarita. Investigators are now searching for her body in the area of Lake Piru.

According to Jim Armormino, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Coroner’s Office, friends and family of Forsberg — some of whom are from Ojai — had reported earlier this year, that she had not been seen since February. In initial interviews, when asked the whereabouts of Forsberg, her husband had indicated she was with friends in Arizona. On a second attempt by authorities to question Forsberg’s husband, he was nowhere to be found until the Sheriff’s Department received a tip from Palm Springs Hospital. “We got a call last night from medical staff that he was in the hospital in Palm Springs,” said Armormino. “He had been treated for attempted suicide. During the interrogation he made incriminating statements implicating himself in the murder of his wife. We have found no motive at this time. Homicide detectives are now following a lead at Lake Piru.”

While authorities seem to be getting closer to a conclusion of the case, friends and family of Forsberg are beginning to get the answers to questions that have plagued them for months. “The entire story is just unfathomable,” said Forsberg’s brother Tony Litoff of Ventura. “Not having any knowledge of what happened made it feel like we were blowing in the wind. Knowing my sister and her husband’s personalities, this is a really big shock to everyone.”

Litoff said that he is grateful to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department for their efforts in the investigation. He also says that he appreciates the people who came forward with their concerns regarding Forsberg’s whereabouts. “My sister had a very tight-knit relationship with a handful of people that she graduated Nordhoff High with,” said Litoff. “I really want to praise her longtime friends that raised the questions that helped create the outcome.”

Richard Forsberg is now in custody in the Orange County

1967 Nordhoff High School graduate Marcia Forsberg, who has been missing since February, is now believed by authorities to have been murdered by her husband, Richard Gustav Forsberg, 61, of Rancho Santa Margarita. Investigators are now searching for her body in the area of Lake Piru.According to Jim Armormino, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Coroner’s Office, friends and family of Forsberg — some of whom are from Ojai — had reported earlier this year, that she had not been seen since February. In initial interviews, when asked the whereabouts of Forsberg, her husband had indicated she was with friends in Arizona. On a second attempt by authorities to question Forsberg’s husband, he was nowhere to be found until the Sheriff’s Department received a tip from Palm Springs Hospital. “We got a call last night from medical staff that he was in the hospital in Palm Springs,” said Armormino. “He had been treated for attempted suicide. During the interrogation he made incriminating statements implicating himself in the murder of his wife. We have found no motive at this time. Homicide detectives are now following a lead at Lake Piru.”While authorities seem to be getting closer to a conclusion of the case, friends and family of Forsberg are beginning to get the answers to questions that have plagued them for months. “The entire story is just unfathomable,” said Forsberg’s brother Tony Litoff of Ventura. “Not having any knowledge of what happened made it feel like we were blowing in the wind. Knowing my sister and her husband’s personalities, this is a really big shock to everyone.”Litoff said that he is grateful to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department for their efforts in the investigation. He also says that he appreciates the people who came forward with their concerns regarding Forsberg’s whereabouts. “My sister had a very tight-knit relationship with a handful of people that she graduated Nordhoff High with,” said Litoff. “I really want to praise her longtime friends that raised the questions that helped create the outcome.” Richard Forsberg is now in custody in the Orange County

By Logan Hall

A large live oak tree fell onto a house on the corner of Encinal Avenue and Mesa Drive in Meiners Oaks at about 2 p.m. Thursday, bringing down live power lines with it. A large part of the tree, which was situated on the property line of Scott and Cathy Titus, had landed directly on the house next door owned by Kevin Doss and Jodi Graff. According to officials, no injuries were reported, but six nearby homes were evacuated until the tree was stabilized by Mark Crane’s Tree and Arborist Service. The tree, which is shared by a neighboring property, split and a large section landed on the roof of the home.

Titus’ niece, Nicki Diaz, was in the house next door which is owned by Scott and Kathy Titus. “I heard a loud bang and everything was shaking,” said Diaz. “We normally have a lot of shade in our yard. All of a sudden, it got really light out.”

Crane’s Tree Service was called in to begin the tree’s removal process and with a crew of six, had much of the debris cleared by nightfall. “The tree had gone through a heavy transpiration process,” said Mark Crane, who owns the business. According to Crane, transpiration involves the tree taking in large amounts of water from the ground. As the water is brought up to the tree’s canopy, the weight becomes to much for the roots to handle, and the tree falls. Ojai Valley’s oak trees are more susceptible to transpiration when the temperatures rise when the tree needs to bring up more water.

Fire crews from Meiners Oaks Fire Station 22 arrived on scene and provided assistance for the neighborhood. “We had to evacuate people from the homes that were near the tree,” said Captain Bob Myers. “Everyone is back now though. Crane’s Tree Service and T&T Crane did a great job out here cleaning this up.”

The Titus family has had to pick up the cost of the Crane as well as the lighting system that illuminated the work area. According to Cathy Titus, the County of Ventura is making the family foot the bill. “It cost us $10,000 to get the crane here,” she said. “The County said we had to pay for the lights as well. We are really mad about it.”

Crews workedf well into the night to remove remaining pieces of the oak.

By Bill Buchanan

Just when you think, “Well, that is the stupidest thing I have ever heard allegedly done in the name of religion,” someone comes along and trumps it.

I refer to the folks at the Dove World Outreach Center, a nondenominational church in Gainesville, Fla., who plan to host an “International Burn a Quran Day.” They say the event is to “remember 9/11 victims and take a stand against Islam,” which the minister of the congregation calls a religion “of the devil.”

What could be less Christian than that? Exactly how does burning a book that another religion recognizes as holy promote and advance your own religious views? How does burning the Quran (Koran) foster anything but separatism and intolerance? And what is the purpose? Are they trying to convert others? Do they think people will look at this act and say, “Wow, what a great idea, let’s go join up with this progressive group”?

I was also curious about how you would invite people to one of these things. Do you issue an invitation like it was a church social? Would you look down in the church bulletin one Sunday and see something like:

Event: Burning the Quran

Date: 9/11 (of course)

Time: 6 to 9 p.m.

Place: In the big fire pit out behind the church

Food/Drink: Fire and brimstone served from 6 to 7 p.m.

Dress: Flame-retardant casual

Special Note: Coffee mugs and T-shirts available in the foyer

Now I am not saying that the folks at Dove World Outreach don’t have the right to do this. Our Constitution provides the right for our citizens to do pretty much anything within reason to peacefully demonstrate for or against any cause — no matter how stupid it may make the participant look. In fact, the right to look ignorant and stupid is one of our most precious freedoms —- or at least, one of the most frequently used ones. My favorite example of this is the guy who has that church in Kansas who goes to soldiers’ funerals, and holds up signs saying that the death of this brave young man or woman is God’s punishment for people being gay. I’m afraid if I was at the funeral of a relative or friend who gave their life for this country and in the middle of the ceremony, I heard some idiot yelling and holding a sign saying this was somehow justified, I might have to take umbrage —- which might well take the form of getting a tire tool out of the trunk and wearing it out over his head.

Perhaps one of the problems with religious zealots is that they are so busy waving the Bible around they fail to pull it down and actually read what it says. In the 22nd Chapter of the Book of Matthew, Jesus is asked what is the greatest commandment? He replies, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and great commandment. A second likewise is this, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

The line above does not come with any caveats. Jesus does not say, “Love your neighbor as yourself — unless he is Jewish, or Muslim.” He doesn’t say, “Love your neighbor as yourself — unless he is black.” And he doesn’t say, “Love your neighbor as yourself — unless he is gay.”

It is simply, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” And that is good advice for us all, no matter what you believe.—

By Mary M. Long

On July 22, the City Council voted unanimously to place city manager Jere Kersnar on paid administrative leave. On Tuesday, Aug. 24, the council met in closed session and made an announcement after the meeting that they will proceed into a separation agreement with Kersnar. The decision to hire John Baker as interim city manager was made by the City Council. According to Mayor Steve Olsen the council was unanimous in their approval of Baker. Baker’s rate of pay is $65 per hour with no benefits. It is expected that the arrangement with Baker will continue until a permanent city manager is hired. Baker served as interim manager in 2005 prior to the hiring of Jere Kersnar when the contract with Dan Singer was not renewed.

Project on schedule despite discovery of drainage channel

By Mary M. Long

A sense of accomplishment filled the air Tuesday at City Hall as reports were submitted on the city’s two biggest projects, the Skate Park and the rebuilding of Libbey Bowl.Updates on the construction of Ojai’s Skate Park came in from Skate Ojai representative Bob Daddi, who thanked interim city manager John Baker for taking on management of the project. The major features of the park have been poured and it remains only for the concrete to cure at least 30 days before the park has a skateable surface. According to Daddi, the bowl coping is being finished and, “everything is going down the way it’s supposed to.”Daddi thanked the council, but at the same time reminded them that they had taken years working on the project. and that Skate Ojai intended to do more fund raising at the end of the project to pay for some enhancements for the park. Daddi also thanked the supporters of Skate Ojai for seeing the “daunting task” to completion. The last apparent hurdle for the skate park is the installation of the rest rooms, which they are trying to get on public sewer.Skate Ojai found an ally at the meeting in Neva Williams, who said she thought that a sewer hookup was a terrific idea and that she had taken the opportunity to attend the last Sanitation District board of directors meeting. Williams said she asked them directly to waive the fees as a good will gesture to the youth of Ojai. She added she hoped that others would keep the momentum going on her appeal and that she hoped Baker would reinforce her suggestion. “I think they will take it under consideration,” Williams said.While she had the floor, Williams formally thanked the council for “relieving Mr. Kersnar of his duties as city manager.” Public Works director Mike Culver reported that the Libbey Bowl construction project was well under way, but that they had hit a snag when they discovered a small drainage channel behind the building, which had been missed in their preconstruction biological study. This was found to be under the jurisdiction of the California Department of Fish and Game, which requires the involvement of the Army Corps of Engineers and the Regional Water Board. With a change of biologists, Culver said they were able to expedite the permit process and complete in three weeks what normally takes three months. The end result is that they lost about 21 days in the construction schedule, but he doesn’t believe that it will impact the completion date of the bowl. “We will be coming on time,” Culver promised.Culver provided photos taken of the demolition process, which had a bittersweet taste to many in the audience who cheered and groaned as he related the destruction process of the aging and fragile shell. Pointing out the cracker-box construction of the old dressing rooms, which were the first to go, he explained that, even in August, there was 6 inches of standing water found under the building. “That explains why the floor was rotting out and why we kept having to replace it,” Culver said, adding that it was even more proof why the bowl needed to be replaced. The only real lament that was heard was from City Council candidate Dennis Leary who said he “had a completely different emotional reaction to the photos and was shocked to hear people cheering since he felt like he had been to a funeral.” Culver said for those who had missed the activities, the video of the Libbey Bowl demolition could be found on Youtube. Wrapping up the summary of Libbey Bowl construction, Culver brought to the council the monthly accounting of the funding to date.Total budget, including the alternatives, which were approved by the council, stands at $3,908,600. Funding is coming from the $820,000 allocated from the city, with the remaining $3,202,558 coming from the community fund-raising efforts. The actually total amount of cash in pledges that have been identified by the fundraisers to date is $3,202,558, although $100,000 of that will go to cover the cost of the fund-raising campaign. That leaves actual funding of $3,102.558, which exceeds what is needed to complete the project as it currently stands by $13,958.00. As to actual cash in hand, the figure in the bank as of July 31 was $1,240,000. Combining that with the city’s $820,000 the total available funds for the project in fully secured funding is $2,060,000. At this point the total of expenditures is sitting at $570,724, so according to Culver, “We’re not even close to dipping into the reserves. Assuming all those pledges come in there will be plenty of money to finish the project,” Culver said. Several attempts were made after the meeting to secure the name of the new soil engineer for the project. According to Baker, they have to do some excavation and bring in rock to provide a more stable base for the bowl. “As it’s been explained to me,” he said, “the problem is in the quality of the sub-earth, and its ability to hold the bowl that is going to be constructed there.” The soil engineering service that has been brought in was identified as Earth Systems Consulting, which is the same company that is handling the soil engineering for the Skate Park. The additional work on the foundation is still remaining within the bowl budget, according to Baker. With school starting up, the issue of safety was a point of topic on several fronts. With OUSD funding cuts unfortunately limiting the school resource officer to part time, it has at least allowed funds from the Cops Grant Funds to bring back the bicycle patrol for downtown Ojai. Police Chief Chris Dunn said that people seemed to respond well to the “more approachable” officer and that the soft uniform of shorts and a polo shirt seemed to created a better rapport with the public. He said that several citations had been given over the weekend, and the patrol should have a positive effect on city security. Safety for schoolchildren is also a concern of the Complete Streets Subcommittee, which has just completed the application of sharrows striping on Grand Avenue. Along with the beefed-up back-to-school traffic control by the Police Department, the Complete Streets Subcommittee is promising to explore the possibilities of making bike travel safer though the Arbolada. According to Complete Streets representative Suza Francina, Matilija has been steering the after-school bike traffic of its students down the narrow pedestrian path on Ojai Avenue since they have decided that it’s too dangerous for the students to pedal home through the Arbolada. Daddi has promised that he will walk the route with Francina to help find a solution to the shrinking of the Arbolada streets, which have become narrowed through the encroachment of landscaping and inattention to preserving the original easements for foot and equestrian traffic.

Other topics that were discussed during the evening were the possibility of reviewing the Chain Store Ordinance. This was strongly opposed by city attorney Monte Widders and Carol Smith, who felt confident that the ordinance was doing its job and had been well thought out before it was implemented. Paul Blatz’s concept of a blighted building ordinance also came up for discussion, with positive reception and will be a subject of further study. At the close of the meeting Mayor Steve Olsen took a moment to remember the three tragedies that had occurred since their last meeting and asked that the gathering close in memory of Cody Doolittle, Jerry Myers, and Michael Ferrante.

Use of legal, illegal substances major concern to health officials

By Logan Hall

The phrase, “Just say no to drugs,” seems to be easier said than done for many people throughout the world. In the Ojai Valley, drug abuse is a constant issue. Over the years, Ojai has seen many of its residents — especially the valley’s youth — succumb to the pitfalls of drug abuse. Many times, the sacrifice has been death and the devastation that it leaves with family, friends, and the community as a whole. Friends and families of addicts can often feel helpless when trying to figure out the best way to approach the situation.

The Alcohol and Drug Program, part of Ventura County’s Behavioral Health Program, will hold a meeting in Ojai at Chaparral Auditorium on Wednesday at 6 p.m. to help educate the community about the ongoing issue of drug use involving the valley’s young citizens. According to the ADP, the meeting will be geared toward educating the community about drug abuse and the causes that lead to it. The focus will be directed toward parents and how they can help their kids find other ways to deal with the negative aspects of life.

“We are going to explore with parents and the community about the risks and realities of substance abuse,” said ADP’s division manager Patrick Zarate. “Studies indicate that parents are the primary source of direction and influence that kids receive. Our goal is to raise awareness and get information out there.”

Bruce Gladstone, Ph.D., has years of experience with the valley’s youth, and is no stranger to the issues that kids face every day. While Gladstone believes that town meetings are a good thing for communities, he believes that the issue requires much more. “The problem is systemic,” he said. “We have an epidemic of drug abuse and it’s not going away. The problem is, these people that attend the meetings will take in what they hear, but after awhile, they push the snooze button and go back to sleep.”

Gladstone, who plans on attending the meeting, believes schools need to be more involved in drug prevention and awareness. He agrees that people need to learn how to live life without turning to substance use, but parents shouldn’t be the only source of drug abuse education in a youth’s life. “The key is education on a larger scale,” he continued. “Town meetings are important, but unless it gets into the educational system, not much will change. We need to really teach these kids how to cope with the difficult parts of life without turning to substance abuse. It’s a struggle because a lot of parents don’t have the time, energy or desire to be involved. Some parents have problems with substance abuse themselves. The kids need to know the downfalls of drugs and they need to grow up with that knowledge, starting at an early age.”

The ADP will have experts speak at the meeting, including their prevention manager Dan Hicks, and they expect a broad turnout of people who will represent the Ojai Valley. Ojai Police Chief Chris Dunn will be on hand to represent the law enforcement community. “I want to show support for what they (ADP) are trying to do,” said Dunn. “I will be there to answer law enforcement questions and put out some statistics. I also want to let the community know that we can always be a contact to direct people to the right place if they need help.”

One of the things that attendees can expect is a chance to find out where the local contacts are who can help with drug abuse prevention and education. “The valley has a number of resources that people can access,” said Zarate, “including the Youth Foundation, Safe Coalition and Help of Ojai. We are really targeting parents who want to connect to resources.”

For more information on the ADP go to vchca.org/bh/adp.

Illness doesn’t stop local tyke from enjoying life

By Misty Volaski

Micah Marshall can’t eat, move or breathe easily.But according to his mom, Chelsea, he’s still very much a 2-year-old.“He’s very funny!” she said. “He sticks his tongue out and blows raspberries. He can smile with his eyes, and he rolls his eyes a lot, because he knows it makes us laugh. He can’t make words, but he will holler at you. And when he gets mad, he frowns his eyebrows at you, or he will just close his eyes. He has that 2-year-old attitude all right!”These milestones, doctors told the Marshalls, were something they would probably never get to experience with their youngest son. When Micah was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy at 6 months old, “They told us he would live 9 to 18 months, max,” said Marshall. “But he turned 2 in June! And he is dong really well right now for what he is dealing with.”Micah has SMA, Type 1, which means his illness is terminal. There is neither treatment nor a cure for SMA, although the National Institutes of Health selected SMA as the neurological disease closest to treatment.For their son and for others like him, the Marshalls —- Chelsea, her husband Don and 5-year-old son Joseph, along with numerous friends and family — are hosting the second annual Micah’s March event this Saturday. After a 5K walk, participants will return to Ojai Valley Baptist Church for a barbecue, music and silent auction. Last year’s event earned $12,500 for Unite for the Cure. This year, the Marshalls are donating to the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation, which is raises money for promising gene therapy research.With almost 200 participants already registered for the 5K (double last year’s number) this year’s event should raise just as much or more. The silent auction will include four Dodger tickets (with parking), a round of golf at Soule Park (four people, two carts), haircuts, photo sessions, facials, ceramics, karate lessons, gift certificates and home decor, and more. Funds and auction items were donated by Contempo Hair Design, Ojai Pizza, Soleil Tanning, Ojai Community Bank, Chisum’s Floor Coverings, Brooks Chimney Sweep, The Wharf, Dr. Eggebraten, Coastal Pediatrics, and many others.The journey SMA has taken the Marshalls on, while difficult, has come with unexpected blessings.“At first (Micah’s diagnosis) crushed us all,” Marshall said. “We’d never seen anything like this in either of our families. But it’s been an incredible learning experience. It’s drawn our entire family closer together. And you can tell, he’s a happy kid. It’s amazing that he can be so sick and still be so happy. He absolutely adores his big brother, loves to be outside, loves to be snuggled. He’s just this amazing child who has taught us all so much about really appreciating every little thing.”

But SMA makes the Marshalls earn each one of those little moments. A look at their daily to-do list shows a slurry of machines, procedures and medications that consume each day from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. The family has spent the last two Thanksgivings in the hospital, and with school starting this week for Joseph, that means the Marshalls must be extra careful about germs. “Micah’s immune system is fine,” Chelsea said, “but if a bug gets into his lungs, he can’t cough it out like most people,” which can be very dangerous for him.

Still, the family wants Micah to experience the world as much as possible. Not surprisingly, it takes the family about an hour just to get Micah and his equipment ready before leaving the house. “It takes a lot,” Marshall said. “We have his battery, his breathing machine, his medical-grade stroller, his suction, an oxygen tank. We have to make sure it’s not too hot or cold outside — the equipment has to stay cool. But we don’t want to keep him home because he’s sick. We want him to be part of everything we can.”

That includes trips to the park, to visit family, even camping.

“I have to thank everybody, especially from our family,” Chelsea said. “This is all just amazing, the love everyone has shown us. We could not have made it this far without everybody.”

For more information about the Marshalls and their fight, visit micahsmarchinfo.blogspot.com. For more information on SMA and to donate to GSF, visit GwendolynStrongFoundation.org.

Pilot Mark King walks away from this Cessna 182 that crashed Monday afternoon on the 12th fairway at Soule Park. Photo by Logan Hall

By Logan Hall

A single-engine Cessna 182 registered to Ojai resident Bill Burr, crashed on the 12th hole at Soule Park Golf Course Monday at about 5:10 p.m. Pilot Mark King suffered minor cuts and scratches, and declined transport to the hospital. King said he was flying into Santa Paula Airport from Sacramento.

Norm Van Wieren and Adrian Frape were on the 12th hole, playing golf when they saw the Cessna overhead.

“We were on the tee box on 12 and we saw him above us at probably 1,000 feet,” said Van Wieren. “We heard the engine sputtering and thought he was training. After we hit our shots, we could hear him trying to start the engine back up.” It was then that the two golfers knew something was wrong.

“When he was coming down, I thought he was going to land on hole 11 into the wind,” said Frape, “but he banked right and to try to make it to 12 when he clipped the tree.”

“We got to the crash site within seconds,” continued Van Wieren. “I saw the door kick open and he crawled out alive. I asked him if he was OK and he said ‘Ya, I’m alright.’ We couldn’t believe he was OK.”

Also golfing close by, was

A single-engine Cessna 182 registered to Ojai resident Bill Burr, crashed on the 12th hole at Soule Park Golf Course Monday at about 5:10 p.m. Pilot Mark King suffered minor cuts and scratches, and declined transport to the hospital. King said he was flying into Santa Paula Airport from Sacramento.Norm Van Wieren and Adrian Frape were on the 12th hole, playing golf when they saw the Cessna overhead. “We were on the tee box on 12 and we saw him above us at probably 1,000 feet,” said Van Wieren. “We heard the engine sputtering and thought he was training. After we hit our shots, we could hear him trying to start the engine back up.” It was then that the two golfers knew something was wrong.“When he was coming down, I thought he was going to land on hole 11 into the wind,” said Frape, “but he banked right and to try to make it to 12 when he clipped the tree.”“We got to the crash site within seconds,” continued Van Wieren. “I saw the door kick open and he crawled out alive. I asked him if he was OK and he said ‘Ya, I’m alright.’ We couldn’t believe he was OK.”Also golfing close by, was Justin Rhoades on the 13th tee box about to tee off when he saw the plane heading for the open areas of the course. “He started getting really low,” said Rhoades, who was golfing with a friend. “He was coming in too fast and started to turn when his wing clipped a tree and he just came down. I dropped my bag and we started running. When we came up to the plane, he (King) was just crawling out and he was looking for his glasses. We were asking him if he was alright, but he couldn’t really hear us at first.”

King was walking around and making cell phone calls when emergency crews arrived on scene. “I remember it hitting the tree and coming down,” said King. “I’m just glad I’m here talking about it.”

Witnesses said that the plane was gliding without engine power as it came down. There was a general consensus on the ground of disbelief that he walked away from the crash. “When we saw him comming down, we thought the worst,” said Mike Bryant, who was playing a round of golf with friends. “I’m just stoked to see the guy walk away.”

Van Wieren and Frape were also glad to see that King survived relatively unharmed. “I’m happy he made it out alive,” said Frape. “When we got there, it did not look good. The guy was lucky. Really, really lucky.”

The Ventura County Fire Department and Sheriff’s Department responded quickly and cordoned off the scene.

The crash is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Firefighters have the blaze under control as smoke still lifts from hotspots in the garage which was destroyed by the flames

By Logan Hall

Firefighters from stations all over the Ojai Valley came to aid in a house fire on Pepper Tree Lane. At 5:51pm the call was dispatched and firefighters from Oak View Station 23 quickly responded to the scene. There were no injuries in the blaze that consumed the garage and large portions of the house.

“At this point we are still trying to determine the cause of the fire,” said Battalion Chief Mike Milkovich, “but we haven’t found anything suspicious.”

Glenda Strosnider and Gerry Bradberry from the American Red Cross were on scene to help those affected, but friends of the home’s occupants had already offered accommodations and assistance.

By Lenny Roberts

Ojai’s Los Padres Bank was one of 14 branches closed Friday by the Office of Thrift Supervision, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as receiver.

According to a press release issued Friday, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Pacific Western Bank, San Diego, to assume all of the deposits of Los Padres Bank based in Solvang to protect the depositors.

Tom Farmer, vice president of business development, said it’s business as usual, and the bank’s five full- and part-time employees will remain.

“We don’t anticipate any staff changes at all,” Farmer said Tuesday afternoon. “Pacific Western is a strong bank. It’s the 14th largest commercial bank in the state, and we’re very optimistic. I’m excited about this.”

All 14 branches of Los Padres Bank reopened Monday as branches of Pacific Western Bank. Depositors of Los Padres Bank will automatically become depositors of Pacific Western Bank, and will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship in order to retain their deposit insurance coverage. Customers of Los Padres Bank should continue to use their existing branch until they receive notice from Pacific Western Bank that it has completed systems changes to allow other Pacific Western Bank branches to process their accounts as well.

Depositors of Los Padres Bank can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards, and checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.

As of June 30, 2010, Los Padres Bank had approximately $870.4 million in total assets and $770.7 million in total deposits. Pacific Western Bank will pay the FDIC a premium of 0.45 percent to assume all of the deposits of Los Padres Bank. In addition to assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank, Pacific Western Bank agreed to purchase essentially all of the assets.

The FDIC and Pacific Western Bank entered into a loss-share transaction on $579.8 million of Los Padres Bank’s assets. Pacific Western Bank will share in the losses on the asset pools covered under the loss-share agreement. The loss-share transaction is projected to maximize returns on the assets covered by keeping them in the private sector. The transaction also is expected to minimize disruptions for loan customers.

The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund will be $8.7 million. Compared to other alternatives, Pacific Western Bank’s acquisition was the least costly resolution for the FDIC’s DIF. Los Padres Bank is the 117th FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the eighth in California. The last FDIC-insured institution closed in the state was Butte Community Bank, Chico, which also closed Friday.

OJAI POLICE DEPARTMENT

MEDIA RELEASE

Nature of Incident: Possession of Stolen Property and Fraudulent Use of an Access Card
Location: Ojai Valley Area (Ventura County)
Date & Time: 8/10/2010 to 8/17/2010
Units Responsible: Ojai Valley Sheriff’s Station Patrol

ARRESTED:
Williams, David, 26
Transient in the Ojai Valley

Bridget Campbell, 21
Transient in the Ojai Valley

Narrative:
During the past two weeks the Ojai Valley has been plagued with several vehicle burglaries and thefts from vehicles. It was reported that a small red Toyota sedan was possibly involved in the thefts. Residents of the Ojai Valley assisted in helping the Ojai Valley deputies identify the suspects in the thefts by calling law enforcement for suspicious activity.

On 08/17/2010, the Sheriff’s Department Dispatch received several calls that involved a red Toyota sedan occupied by a male and female subject in the vehicle. During the investigation deputies located the two subjects and they were arrested for possession of stolen property and using a stolen credit card at a local restaurant. Stolen property from the Ojai Valley and the City of Santa Barbara was found in the vehicle. Some of the stolen property has been identified by victims and returned to them.

Both suspects were booked at the Ventura County Jail. Bail was set at $10,000 and $30,000.

Officer Preparing Release: Detective Mark Burgess. Ojai Valley Substation-Investigations

OJAI POLICE DEPARTMENT

MEDIA RELEASE

Nature of Incident: Increased Traffic Enforcement

Location: Areas around Ojai Valley Schools

Date & Time: Beginning August 24, 2010

Unit Responsible: Ojai Valley Station Traffic

With the new school year upon us, we wish for it to begin safely for the children as they find their way to and from their schools. The Ojai Police Department will be patrolling the areas around the schools and enforcing violations observed.

Many of the children will be finding their way to school on their bicycles. We wish to have the drivers make a conscious effort to be attentive to this fact. Parents of the children riding bicycles must make every effort to ensure their child’s safety as well.

It is required by law that all children under the age of 18 wear a safety helmet while riding. It is also required that bicycle riders ride with the direction of traffic, not against it. We have observed many bicyclists not stopping at intersections as required and riding on the sidewalks along Ojai Avenue where it is prohibited by Ojai city ordinance.

Many of the violations that have been observed / enforced are listed below:

Speeding in the school area when students are present. The speed limit in a “SCHOOL ZONE” is 25 mph unless other wise posted.

Passing school buses when red lights are flashing and stop signs are displayed. This is required for drivers on both sides of a roadway, unless there are more than one lane in each direction and a median separating the traffic lanes.

Failing to yield the right of way to pedestrians within a crosswalk. It is also the responsibility of the pedestrians to remain in a location until it is safe to enter the crosswalk.

Drivers parking / stopping in areas where it is prohibited by posted signs. This is a large problem on El Paseo, in the area of Matilija Junior High School and Ojai Valley School.

Failing to stop for stop signs or red traffic signals and pedestrian control signals.

Talking on the phone while driving. Adult drivers, 18 yrs and older, are required to use a hands free device. Drivers under the age of 18 cannot use any cellular phone devices. Texting while driving is also prohibited.

The members of the Ojai Police Department wish to make an effort to educate the community members of the various laws and violations that are frequently violated and place drivers and pedestrians at risk. Therefore, we will be out patrolling the areas around the schools and will be enforcing the laws and citing violators to maintain safety for everyone at this time of year.

Safety for the children is everyone’s responsibility. Don’t get caught up in the high-speed daily activities and fail to see the children on their way to school. We can all do our part to become part of the solution, rather than part of the problem. Drive and ride safely.

Officer Preparing Release: Senior Deputy Jim Popp

Approved By: Sergeant J.P.Ruby #1852

Rides will be stopped after Sept. 17
as budget cuts take yet another toll

By Misty Volaski

Reader Davy Millard got an unwanted surprise a week ago when he and his son opened a Nordhoff High School information packet for the 2010-2011 school year.

Nordhoff, they read, will no longer be offering bus transportation in the afternoons. With dad at work in Simi Valley, that means Millard’s son must now find a new way to get from Nordhoff to his home off Encino Drive.

School starts Tuesday — which doesn’t leave Millard much time to find an alternative.

Wednesday afternoon, NHS principal Dan Musick initially said that the note in the information packet was meant as a “reminder” to parents, not as a first notification.

“We were simply reminding parents of a decision made by our board last spring,” said Musick. “I guess there apparently have been people thinking — the community thinking —they’re just hearing it for the first time, but in my mind this is something we’ve known for the last three months. So we just put the info out a couple weeks ago as a reminder.”

When asked whether the parents were formally notified by the school before the information packet was mailed, Musick conceded that NHS “didn’t do a specific mailer” about the transportation change.

However, Ojai Unified School District superintendent Hank Bangser said Thursday morning that “after talking with Dan and (transportation director) Eric Ordway, in my opinion … it would’ve been difficult for people to have followed the conversation about it in the public forum. Dan did a phone message home last week. (But) In our opinion, that was not sufficient time to make adjustments in getting their students home.”

Musick, Bangser continued, will send out another phone message to parents this week to inform them that, because of the short notice, Nordhoff will be extending its afternoon bus transportation through Sept. 17.

This, he said, will “give everyone the opportunity to make adjustments, get car pools, etc.”

The decision to discontinue the afternoon bus transportation from Nordhoff was made as a result of the additional $2.8 million OUSD budget cuts that were necessary this year. “We did an extensive amount of research and analysis,” Bangser explained, “to determine who the (bus) riders were.”

They determined that around 50 to 55 Nordhoff students use the bus service to get home each school day. “Not a huge number, but significant,” Bangser continued. “The decision we had to make was whether this reduction of services was relatively comparative” to the others that were made and recommended. It was, so Bangser recommended the cut, which the board approved (along with a plethora of other cuts, as reported). That service cut alone will save the OUSD about $52,000 annually.

Bus services will remain relatively unchanged for all the other OUSD schools with the exception of the kindergartens.

Again, with plenty of research done, Bangser and his team discovered that only about 12 of the approximately 250 OUSD kindergartners use the bus to get home each day. “The great majority of parents pick their children up or (are) in car pools,” said Bangser. “The elementary school principals are working with parents to be sure that all the kids get home.”

That cut saved the OUSD an additional $30,000 annually.

Also worrisome were rumors that Nordhoff would begin to charge student athletes for transportation to and from out-of-town games. While the strategy is becoming more and more common, Bangser hastened to clarify that schools may not force students to pay a transportation fee. “However, it is permissible to seek donations. And the people to whom we’d go first would be the people who use the service.”

No fee schedules have been set up, as a final decision has not yet been made. Bangser said more research and discussions with school representatives such as athletic director Dan Monson were necessary. But if Bangser makes that recommendation and the OUSD board members approve it, they won’t be the only ones. A Google search for “athletic transportation fees” yielded dozens of pages from schools across the country, most of which ask for between $5 and $100 per student. Some have multi-sport or multi-student discounts.

“It’s the belief of some school districts that it’s an individual decision to be an athlete,” Bangser said. “You could be a full-time student and not play athletics. So, if that’s the case, and they have a cost to transport you, then (asking for a donation) is reasonable.”

See ojai.k12.ca.us, under “Administration: Departments: Transportation” for complete bus schedules and updated information.

Animal rights activist Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Calif., makes a point to Cyndy Treutelaar and Sherry Brockus at Wednesday’s Humane Society of Ventura County ground-breaking ceremony.

Valentine’s $2.3M donation makes vision possible

By Logan Hall

Imagine being abused and tormented, and being unable to reach out for help. Imagine if, in the time of your greatest need, you couldn’t communicate with anyone around you. This is the life that abused, neglected and sometimes tortured animals throughout the world have to endure every day.

Thanks to organizations like the Humane Society of Ventura County, animals not only have a voice, they have genuine help from dedicated HSVC staff and volunteers.

The HSVC Ojai Shelter has recently boosted its ability to aid animals in need by breaking ground on their new expansion project. Thanks to a $2.3 million donation from Harry Valentine who died before seeing his vision come to fruition, the project will update the aging facility that has served the Ojai Valley since 1982.

The ground-breaking ceremony took place outside the shelter’s front entrance where the new Visitor’s Center will be built. After a prayer and blessing from Bishop Bill Downey from the Liberal Catholic Church, shelter president Cyndy Treutelaar thrust the shovel into the earth and marked the official start of construction.

While including a new Visitor’s Center and renovations to the administration building and parking lot, the main focus of the project will be the expansion of the shelter’s existing spay and neuter clinic. According to the HSVC, there is currently an eight- to 10-week waiting period for people who need to bring their pets to the clinic. The expansion will help reduce that waiting period by increasing the number of surgeries veterinarians can perform from 17 a day to about 28.

The ground-breaking ceremony, which took place on Wednesday, was a chance for Humane Society staff to officially move forward on the plan and express their gratitude to everyone involved with the project. “We have a lot of volunteers that help out our staff,” said Ojai Shelter President Cyndy Treutelaar as she addressed attendees of the ceremony. “Our staff and volunteers are absolutely the backbone of this shelter.”

Also present at the ceremony was Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Calif., who spoke to the crowd and praised the good work that the Ojai Shelter has accomplished. “My greatest pleasure is helping make these things happen,” said Gallegly, who is an outspoken animal rights activist. “There are lots of fine people in this community. This is an example of how Ojai is ahead of the curve.”

The Ojai Shelter seems to be unique in that much of the staff has been with the shelter for many years. Shelter director

Imagine being abused and tormented, and being unable to reach out for help. Imagine if, in the time of your greatest need, you couldn’t communicate with anyone around you. This is the life that abused, neglected and sometimes tortured animals throughout the world have to endure every day.Thanks to organizations like the Humane Society of Ventura County, animals not only have a voice, they have genuine help from dedicated HSVC staff and volunteers. The HSVC Ojai Shelter has recently boosted its ability to aid animals in need by breaking ground on their new expansion project. Thanks to a $2.3 million donation from Harry Valentine who died before seeing his vision come to fruition, the project will update the aging facility that has served the Ojai Valley since 1982. The ground-breaking ceremony took place outside the shelter’s front entrance where the new Visitor’s Center will be built. After a prayer and blessing from Bishop Bill Downey from the Liberal Catholic Church, shelter president Cyndy Treutelaar thrust the shovel into the earth and marked the official start of construction.While including a new Visitor’s Center and renovations to the administration building and parking lot, the main focus of the project will be the expansion of the shelter’s existing spay and neuter clinic. According to the HSVC, there is currently an eight- to 10-week waiting period for people who need to bring their pets to the clinic. The expansion will help reduce that waiting period by increasing the number of surgeries veterinarians can perform from 17 a day to about 28.The ground-breaking ceremony, which took place on Wednesday, was a chance for Humane Society staff to officially move forward on the plan and express their gratitude to everyone involved with the project. “We have a lot of volunteers that help out our staff,” said Ojai Shelter President Cyndy Treutelaar as she addressed attendees of the ceremony. “Our staff and volunteers are absolutely the backbone of this shelter.”Also present at the ceremony was Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Calif., who spoke to the crowd and praised the good work that the Ojai Shelter has accomplished. “My greatest pleasure is helping make these things happen,” said Gallegly, who is an outspoken animal rights activist. “There are lots of fine people in this community. This is an example of how Ojai is ahead of the curve.”The Ojai Shelter seems to be unique in that much of the staff has been with the shelter for many years. Shelter director Jolene Hoffman read a list of staff and volunteers and the time they’ve been with the shelter. Treutelaar has been with the shelter for about 20 years. Linda Allison has been on staff for 22 years, and Hoffman herself has been with the Ojai Shelter for 28 years. All hold a passion for their positions and the animals at the shelter.

Also present at the ground-breaking was project contractor John Johnston who was on hand to answer questions about the project design and show people where the construction will be taking place. Johnston, like the others who work for and with the Humane Society, thinks of the project as much more than just a job. “The Humane Society here is such a great group of people with great ideas,” he said. “The thing I found most compelling was how the people here need the animals as much as the animals need them. Everyone really cares.”

“He has spent many hours at the site,” said shelter executive director Sherry Brockus on Johnston’s involvement. “He has really done an excellent job.”

One point that was emphasized at the ceremony was the need for more donations from the public. While costs of the expansion and renovation are covered by funds from the late Valentine’s estate, things like food for the animals and maintenance of the facility are covered solely by donations. “We rely totally on our donations to keep the doors open,” said Brockus on the HSVC web site. “These funds (from Valentine) are designated and restricted. They must be used specifically for Mr. Valentine’s wishes.”

The project is scheduled to be completed mid-2011 and the shelter will remain operating as much as possible through the construction process. Log on to hsvc.org to donate to the Humane Society.

By Mary M. Long

The Ojai Planning Com-mission met Wednesday with interim city manager John Baker to discuss the following issues.

The proposal to install a vault rest room at Sarzotti Park had been continued from the Aug. 4 meeting to study the cost effectiveness of putting a standard sewer line in instead of a self-contained rest room. The vault rest rooms are pumped out at a cost of $350 per clean-out. Bob Daddi pointed out that the capacity of the tank could be reached in one day during an event the size of Ojai Day. While the stumbling block was the price of upgrading the sewer line to handle the larger rest rooms, this turned out not to be an issue when the independent company, AM PM Rooter & Plumbing, inspected the existing line and found that was in good condition. Daddi, acting on behalf of Skate Ojai is looking into the possibility of a sewer hookup for the new Skate Park rest rooms and will be negotiating to reduce fees for the installation.

The Hummingbird Inn was approved as a Best Western Motel, which created a bit of concern from both citizens and commissioners. The Planning Commission had thought that the approval would come to them as an agenda item, and seemed surprised that Baker had approved it. Baker made it clear that he, consulting with city attorney Monte Widders, was operating by the book and his decision was in keeping with the tenants of the Chain Store Ordinance. The Best Western motels do not qualify as chain stores according to the current Ojai Chain Store Ordinance.

The property on the corner of North Montgomery and Franklin Street which was acquired by the city came up for discussion. The city is interested in possibly using it for the construction of affordable housing. While it is zoned R-2, it has been considered for as many as four units. Commissioners John Mirk and Cortus Koehler expressed their concerns about having that kind of density on that property. “I don’t want to put the city in the position of over-developing this property,” said Mirk. Koehler also handed out a list of citizen groups which he felt should receive the first consideration for affordable housing which included veterans, military families, city employees and seniors. He also feels that affordable housing should include the consideration of rehabilitating older houses, which will help preserve existing homes. Baker reminded them that the future of the property would probably be driven by the economy and that with less density than four units it would probably not be feasible to develop it for affordable housing.

The subject of publicizing subcommittee meetings was the most debated topic of the evening. There are two new subcommittees. One is the subcommittee to study the state ordinance requiring cities to follow the state model for water-wise landscaping. Commissioner Kathy Nolan is the chair for that subcommittee and Commissioner Susan Weaver also sits on that committee. They are working to come up with an “Ojai compatible” ordinance which will then go before the Planning Commission and City Council to meet the state requirements on water conservation. The second subcommittee is the Complete Streets Committee which will study the suitability of streets for pedestrians, motorists and cyclists in compatibility with the Circulation Element. Since the subcommittees do not fall under the Brown Act they are not legally subject to noticing requirements. However it was the decision of the commission to exceed the requirements and the discussion was on how to notify the public. It was decided that the notices will be posted on the chamber door, the city website and will be published in the Ojai Valley News, as well as Channel 10. Baker also recommended mass e-mailing notices to interested parties. Those who wish to be placed on the e-mail list need to contact the Community Development Department at 646-5581.

The Ojai Planning Com-mission met Wednesday with interim city manager John Baker to discuss the following issues.The proposal to install a vault rest room at Sarzotti Park had been continued from the Aug. 4 meeting to study the cost effectiveness of putting a standard sewer line in instead of a self-contained rest room. The vault rest rooms are pumped out at a cost of $350 per clean-out. Bob Daddi pointed out that the capacity of the tank could be reached in one day during an event the size of Ojai Day. While the stumbling block was the price of upgrading the sewer line to handle the larger rest rooms, this turned out not to be an issue when the independent company, AM PM Rooter & Plumbing, inspected the existing line and found that was in good condition. Daddi, acting on behalf of Skate Ojai is looking into the possibility of a sewer hookup for the new Skate Park rest rooms and will be negotiating to reduce fees for the installation. The Hummingbird Inn was approved as a Best Western Motel, which created a bit of concern from both citizens and commissioners. The Planning Commission had thought that the approval would come to them as an agenda item, and seemed surprised that Baker had approved it. Baker made it clear that he, consulting with city attorney Monte Widders, was operating by the book and his decision was in keeping with the tenants of the Chain Store Ordinance. The Best Western motels do not qualify as chain stores according to the current Ojai Chain Store Ordinance. The property on the corner of North Montgomery and Franklin Street which was acquired by the city came up for discussion. The city is interested in possibly using it for the construction of affordable housing. While it is zoned R-2, it has been considered for as many as four units. Commissioners John Mirk and Cortus Koehler expressed their concerns about having that kind of density on that property. “I don’t want to put the city in the position of over-developing this property,” said Mirk. Koehler also handed out a list of citizen groups which he felt should receive the first consideration for affordable housing which included veterans, military families, city employees and seniors. He also feels that affordable housing should include the consideration of rehabilitating older houses, which will help preserve existing homes. Baker reminded them that the future of the property would probably be driven by the economy and that with less density than four units it would probably not be feasible to develop it for affordable housing. The subject of publicizing subcommittee meetings was the most debated topic of the evening. There are two new subcommittees. One is the subcommittee to study the state ordinance requiring cities to follow the state model for water-wise landscaping. Commissioner Kathy Nolan is the chair for that subcommittee and Commissioner Susan Weaver also sits on that committee. They are working to come up with an “Ojai compatible” ordinance which will then go before the Planning Commission and City Council to meet the state requirements on water conservation. The second subcommittee is the Complete Streets Committee which will study the suitability of streets for pedestrians, motorists and cyclists in compatibility with the Circulation Element. Since the subcommittees do not fall under the Brown Act they are not legally subject to noticing requirements. However it was the decision of the commission to exceed the requirements and the discussion was on how to notify the public. It was decided that the notices will be posted on the chamber door, the city website and will be published in the Ojai Valley News, as well as Channel 10. Baker also recommended mass e-mailing notices to interested parties. Those who wish to be placed on the e-mail list need to contact the Community Development Department at 646-5581.

By Bill Buchanan

I hated to miss the ground-breaking ceremony for the Ventura County Humane Society. My trip back to Ojai was delayed, and I didn’t get to attend the ceremony. But all pet lovers have to be excited about the proposed expansion, which will also allow more services to help the least fortunate animals in our community.

My wife and I have always been supporters of the Humane Society. All of our dogs (and cats, when we had them) have been strays. Some have come from animal shelters, some from friends who knew about a dog who needs a home, and several were animals Ava just picked up off the highway. I think they make the best pets. They seem to understand what a good deal they have now, and show their appreciation every day.

One of the great things about Ojai is that everyone seems to have a dog — or two. Dogs on leashes are everywhere, which I absolutely love. Being allowed to pet others people’s dogs makes me miss my own a little less.

So, for all the dog lovers here in town, I wanted to let you take the following test to see if you merely own a dog, or if you have a special animal. Simply select the answer below that best reflects how your dog is treated.

• You have just bought new living room furniture.

A. Your dog is not allowed on the furniture under any condition.

B. Your dog is allowed on the furniture occasionally but only if there is a blanket or towel underneath him.

C. Your dog has his own special chair.

• At Christmas, your dog:

A. Is treated no differently than he is during the rest of the year.

B. Receives some type of special holiday treat.

C. Has his own stocking with the dog’s name on it, which is hung up with the rest of the stockings and stuffed with goodies on Christmas Day.

• When you go to a fast-food restaurant for a hamburger or ice cream cone, your dog:

A. Is not allowed to come along.

B. Is allowed to come along and receives a small bite of whatever you are eating.

C. Gets his own hamburger or ice cream cone, which you feed by hand to the dog while getting mustard, ketchup, ice cream and/or dog slobber all over you.

• Whenever you are eating something and your dog begs for some of it:

A. The dog is told to hush, and lie down.

B. You simply ignore him until he stops whining and begging.

C. Your spouse scolds you unmercifully until you share with the dog.

• When you go on a trip:

A. The dog is always left with friends or is boarded in a kennel.

B. The dog is taken along on some trips, but only if convenient.

C. The dog is pretty much always taken along and, if necessary, is sneaked into the elevator where you are staying, and then into your hotel room.

• When you go on a trip where you simply cannot take the dog and it must be boarded, you:

A. Take the dog to the vet, drop him off.

B. Take the dog to the vet, send a toy along.

C. Take the dog to the vet; go into hysterics about leaving him; take his favorite toy as well as a back-up toy; take his blanket; take his favorite food and some snacks; give the vet a two-page list of dos and don’ts; break down again out in the car; continue to cry, or at least sniff intermittently all the way to the airport.

Let’s grade the results:

If you chose “A” to most or all questions, then you are lord and master over your dog, and you recognize it for what it is — an animal.

If you chose “B” to most or all questions, you allow your dog a few liberties, but you maintain a healthy superiority over him, and both you and your dog recognize and respect the established hierarchy.

If you chose “C” to most or all questions, then you are a hopeless dog lover and are the proud owner of a “special animal.” In fact, because of your love and devotion to your dog, every animal you ever have will be a special animal. Love and enjoy them.

I hated to miss the ground-breaking ceremony for the Ventura County Humane Society. My trip back to Ojai was delayed, and I didn’t get to attend the ceremony. But all pet lovers have to be excited about the proposed expansion, which will also allow more services to help the least fortunate animals in our community.

My wife and I have always been supporters of the Humane Society. All of our dogs (and cats, when we had them) have been strays. Some have come from animal shelters, some from friends who knew about a dog who needs a home, and several were animals Ava just picked up off the highway. I think they make the best pets. They seem to understand what a good deal they have now, and show their appreciation every day.

One of the great things about Ojai is that everyone seems to have a dog — or two. Dogs on leashes are everywhere, which I absolutely love. Being allowed to pet others people’s dogs makes me miss my own a little less.

So, for all the dog lovers here in town, I wanted to let you take the following test to see if you merely own a dog, or if you have a special animal. Simply select the answer below that best reflects how your dog is treated.

• You have just bought new living room furniture.

A. Your dog is not allowed on the furniture under any condition.

B. Your dog is allowed on the furniture occasionally but only if there is a blanket or towel underneath him.

C. Your dog has his own special chair.

• At Christmas, your dog:

A. Is treated no differently than he is during the rest of the year.

B. Receives some type of special holiday treat.

C. Has his own stocking with the dog’s name on it, which is hung up with the rest of the stockings and stuffed with goodies on Christmas Day.

• When you go to a fast-food restaurant for a hamburger or ice cream cone, your dog:

A. Is not allowed to come along.

B. Is allowed to come along and receives a small bite of whatever you are eating.

C. Gets his own hamburger or ice cream cone, which you feed by hand to the dog while getting mustard, ketchup, ice cream and/or dog slobber all over you.

• Whenever you are eating something and your dog begs for some of it:

A. The dog is told to hush, and lie down.

B. You simply ignore him until he stops whining and begging.

C. Your spouse scolds you unmercifully until you share with the dog.

• When you go on a trip:

A. The dog is always left with friends or is boarded in a kennel.

B. The dog is taken along on some trips, but only if convenient.

C. The dog is pretty much always taken along and, if necessary, is sneaked into the elevator where you are staying, and then into your hotel room.

• When you go on a trip where you simply cannot take the dog and it must be boarded, you:

A. Take the dog to the vet, drop him off.

B. Take the dog to the vet, send a toy along.

C. Take the dog to the vet; go into hysterics about leaving him; take his favorite toy as well as a back-up toy; take his blanket; take his favorite food and some snacks; give the vet a two-page list of dos and don’ts; break down again out in the car; continue to cry, or at least sniff intermittently all the way to the airport.

Let’s grade the results:

If you chose “A” to most or all questions, then you are lord and master over your dog, and you recognize it for what it is — an animal.

If you chose “B” to most or all questions, you allow your dog a few liberties, but you maintain a healthy superiority over him, and both you and your dog recognize and respect the established hierarchy.

If you chose “C” to most or all questions, then you are a hopeless dog lover and are the proud owner of a “special animal.” In fact, because of your love and devotion to your dog, every animal you ever have will be a special animal. Love and enjoy them.

Badham to field questions at outdoor screening at Ojai Valley Inn Saturday

By Mary M. Long

As the haunting melody of Elmer Bernstein’s one-fingered piano underscores the opening credits of the timeless movie, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” so the sun will sink slowly in the western skies of the Ojai Valley and the gibbous waxing full moon will rise slowly over the fading “Pink Moment” of the Topa Topa Mountains. Nobody who has ever read the book, or seen the movie, is left untouched by its nostalgic tale of civil rights, morality and dignified courage, and few more than those who were involved in the filming. Fifty years after Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book was published and 48 years after it was released on screen, the Academy Award-winning movie, starring Gregory Peck and Mary Badham, is being presented by the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa in concert with Diablo Magazine’s Peter Crooks as part of their Outdoor Classic Film Series.

The movie is told through the eyes of 6-year-old tomboy Scout, played by Badham, who was the youngest actress ever to win an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Badham now resides in rural Virginia with her husband of 36 years, and takes time away from home to travel with “Mockingbird” to share its message, and her passion for literacy with another generation. Just as Peck’s character, Atticus Finch, is remembered as one of film’s greatest heroes, Scout has a special place in the hearts of American readers with children still named after the plucky tomboy many years after the film’s release. The story revolves around an incident which was set in the 1930s involving the alleged rape and beating of a white Southern girl by a wrongly accused black man. In the famous courthouse scene, the prosecutor asks, “What were you doing the night of Aug. 21?” Ironically, the Ojai Valley Inn booked the screening of “Mockingbird” Saturday, Aug. 21.

Although the date of the booking was entirely coincidental, one might ask if anything in Ojai happens by accident, or does this echo the very substance of the book in its complexity of life’s random circumstances.

Badham will be hosting a question-and-answer session before the screening, giving classic film buffs a rare opportunity to meet one of film’s most enigmatic personalities, for as she refers to Gregory Peck as Atticus, so entwined is she in the character of Scout, it’s impossible to tell if Badham defined the character or the character defined Badham.

Badham responded to the following questions in a phone interview from her home in Virginia:

OVN: How did you get the part of Scout?

Badham: They had a big cattle call in Birmingham, Ala. They probably had interviewed 4,000 kids before they even got to Birmingham. They interviewed kids all throughout the South. They wanted Southern children … they wanted real Southern accents.

OVN: Did they explain the story line to you? Were you aware of the racial message?

Badham: No, they didn’t explain it, I am not even sure we got full scripts. I don’t think I saw the full story until later.

OVN: I understand that your mom was an actress, and took you to the interview.

Badham: My mother had been the leading lady for years at the local theater where I tried out. She was the real thespian in the family, she and my brother, John. John wanted in the business in the worst kind of way. At the time he was at studying drama and philosophy at Yale and he got this phone call, “Guess what, your baby sister is going to be in a movie!”

OVN: Did your mom dress you up or cut your hair to look the part of Scout for the audition?

Badham: No, that haircut was the haircut that I had. I would rather have been mucking stalls, than dressing up and going to a party.

OVN: Do you ride horses?

Badham: Oh yes, that’s all I wanted to do. My goal in life was to be large animal veterinarian.

As the haunting melody of Elmer Bernstein’s one-fingered piano underscores the opening credits of the timeless movie, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” so the sun will sink slowly in the western skies of the Ojai Valley and the gibbous waxing full moon will rise slowly over the fading “Pink Moment” of the Topa Topa Mountains. Nobody who has ever read the book, or seen the movie, is left untouched by its nostalgic tale of civil rights, morality and dignified courage, and few more than those who were involved in the filming. Fifty years after Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book was published and 48 years after it was released on screen, the Academy Award-winning movie, starring Gregory Peck and Mary Badham, is being presented by the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa in concert with Diablo Magazine’s Peter Crooks as part of their Outdoor Classic Film Series.

The movie is told through the eyes of 6-year-old tomboy Scout, played by Badham, who was the youngest actress ever to win an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Badham now resides in rural Virginia with her husband of 36 years, and takes time away from home to travel with “Mockingbird” to share its message, and her passion for literacy with another generation. Just as Peck’s character, Atticus Finch, is remembered as one of film’s greatest heroes, Scout has a special place in the hearts of American readers with children still named after the plucky tomboy many years after the film’s release. The story revolves around an incident which was set in the 1930s involving the alleged rape and beating of a white Southern girl by a wrongly accused black man. In the famous courthouse scene, the prosecutor asks, “What were you doing the night of Aug. 21?” Ironically, the Ojai Valley Inn booked the screening of “Mockingbird” Saturday, Aug. 21.

Although the date of the booking was entirely coincidental, one might ask if anything in Ojai happens by accident, or does this echo the very substance of the book in its complexity of life’s random circumstances.

Badham will be hosting a question-and-answer session before the screening, giving classic film buffs a rare opportunity to meet one of film’s most enigmatic personalities, for as she refers to Gregory Peck as Atticus, so entwined is she in the character of Scout, it’s impossible to tell if Badham defined the character or the character defined Badham.

Badham responded to the following questions in a phone interview from her home in Virginia:

OVN: How did you get the part of Scout?

Badham: They had a big cattle call in Birmingham, Ala. They probably had interviewed 4,000 kids before they even got to Birmingham. They interviewed kids all throughout the South. They wanted Southern children … they wanted real Southern accents.

OVN: Did they explain the story line to you? Were you aware of the racial message?

Badham: No, they didn’t explain it, I am not even sure we got full scripts. I don’t think I saw the full story until later.

OVN: I understand that your mom was an actress, and took you to the interview.

Badham: My mother had been the leading lady for years at the local theater where I tried out. She was the real thespian in the family, she and my brother, John. John wanted in the business in the worst kind of way. At the time he was at studying drama and philosophy at Yale and he got this phone call, “Guess what, your baby sister is going to be in a movie!”

OVN: Did your mom dress you up or cut your hair to look the part of Scout for the audition?

Badham: No, that haircut was the haircut that I had. I would rather have been mucking stalls, than dressing up and going to a party.

OVN: Do you ride horses?

Badham: Oh yes, that’s all I wanted to do. My goal in life was to be large animal veterinarian.

OVN: “To Kill a Mockingbird” won the Pulitzer Prize. Was there a dog fight over the rights to produce it in Hollywood?

Badham: Oh no, as the story goes, the director and the producer … took it around to the different studios and nobody wanted anything to do with it, so they started to shop it around to major actors. They sent it to Gregory Peck — and he couldn’t wait until morning to say, “If you want me I’m your boy.”

OVN: How did they decide who would do the script?

Badham: Horton Foote did the screenplay. He was a man of the South, he was a man of the age … he said that when he met Harper Lee, that they were like matched souls … because they so understood the times of the South.

OVN: Atticus Finch was named No. 1 film hero in 2003 by the American Film Institute. What qualities made him a hero?

Badham: In his most famous roles, he (Peck) played the guy trying to do the right thing. What made Atticus a hero, was the fact that he took this case, he didn’t really want it, but he knew there was nobody else in town that would give it their full effort. He put his life on the line, literally, and most of all, his children’s lives.

OVN: I have a theory the leading men of that time had a masculinity and “realness” about them because they were drafted into acting.

Badham: Oh yes, if you look at Gregory Peck, he was going to be a doctor when he was at U.C. Berkeley and then he got in with (was asked to join) an acting group and he realized, “Gosh, this is fun,” and he changed his major. People like Jimmy Stewart — gosh, there are so many of them that during the war, they went ahead and served. These guys today have studied acting, some make it, some don’t.

OVN: In “Mockingbird,” they describe courage as the will to keep fighting when you know you can’t win. There is a nobility to this that I think you don’t see as a theme in many modern movies. Do you agree with this?

Badham: Yes, I think that you see it more in the independent films. The big blockbuster movies are just, blow them up and shoot them up. I feel like we need to dig a little deeper and the corporate heads need to step outside of the box and look at what the independents are doing. The independent filmmakers are hitting the nail right on the head and they are giving the public what they want to see.

OVN: Is there anything out there you can recommend?

Badham: I’ll tell you a piece that I did a few years ago. It was a really great little film and the studios wouldn’t touch it. It’s called “Our Very Own” (2005) and it was a sweet picture by Cameron Watson who is an incredibly talented writer, producer and director. It was his story about growing up in Shelbyville, Tenn. He asked me to do the film, and I said, “Send me the script.” I read it, and loved it and did it, with Allison Janney, Keith Carradine, and Jason Ritter (John Ritter’s son). If I don’t do anything else, it’s a very nice little bookend for “Mockingbird.”

OVN: When you say “bookend,” are you saying it has similarities to “Mockingbird”?

Badham: Yes, it has all the same symbolism, it says all the same things … it’s a terribly good film, and there are so many alcoholic families. It couldn’t find a distributor so they ended up putting it up for sale and Miramax bought it. That’s a film that should have been in major theaters, in my opinion.

OVN: Tell me about Gregory Peck. I understand that you had a very special relationship with him that lasted a lifetime.

Badham: Yes, it was nothing for me to pick up the phone and call; he’d say, “Hi there, how’re ya doing? If he was going to be back East he’d give me a call and let me know he was going to be here. Sometimes he’d pick me up from work and take me wherever he was going — or send me a plane ticket so that I could join him. He was wonderful, I was lucky to have such a great male role model when I was growing up.

OVN: You didn’t stay in acting?

Badham: No, I retired when I was about 14.

OVN: Gregory Peck always said that “Mockingbird” was his favorite movie, why?

Badham: It brought in everything that he believed in, and everything that he was trying to make happen in the world was wrapped up in that film. The message of tolerance and all the basic principles of who we are as human beings resonated with him. Atticus was so close to who he was … the Gregory Peck I knew was the Gregory Peck you saw in the film. Harper Lee said it best, “When he played himself he gave us himself.” That’s who he was.

OVN: How does it feel to watch yourself in “Mockingbird”?

Badham: It’s difficult — when I was a little kid it was embarrassing. Now I can’t watch the film because it’s just too upsetting, almost everyone in it is gone. Those were all the people I loved. That’s why that jail room scene was so hard to film, because I knew that was the last day of shooting and I thought I was never going to see these people again. I was devastated with having to let go — when you work so closely for five months, they become family like family. They were my family.

OVN: Fifty years after the movie, people are still naming their children after your character. I believe Bruce Willis’ daughter, Scout, is named after your character?

Badham: Right, yeah (laughter) and I was almost in a film with them. They had come to Richmond and they were auditioning people. I thought if I saw them I would just walk up casually and say, “Hey, you named your daughter after me, huh?”

OVN: You received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 1962. You were the youngest person ever to receive a nomination for that award.

Badham: Yes, my mom was on cloud nine. Yeah, I went to the Academy Awards. I was all dude-ied up. I remember the dress because I wore it two more times. I think I had the same haircut because it was just so easy to care for. When you’re in Alabama and you’re out with horses and it’s a thousand degrees you want a haircut you can wash and run with.

OVN: Would you consider acting again?

Badham: I would not mind working in the industry again. It’s the greatest job in the world — how much fun to go and play somebody else. The difficulty is in finding a good script and a good crew to work with. As for now, this is my dream. I’m just so blessed, this farm, just to get up in the morning and see green grass and trees, it’s just so healthy.

Marisa and Nathan Knupp

Facebook helping Oak View family cope with illness

By Amber Lennon

If you log on to “Nathan’s Journey” on Facebook, you’ll see a caption beneath the picture of 2-year-old Nathan Knupp that reads: “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” It’s this kind of community attitude that organized Sunday’s barbecue benefit in Oak View. With more than 600 attendees, the Knupp family will take home $30,000 to put toward Nathan’s medical expenses.

Nathan was diagnosed with a glioma brain tumor in April of 2009, and since then the Knupp family has struggled to keep up with the cost of treatment. When Nathan’s mother, Marisa, decided to organize a fund-raising event, the response from the community was overwhelming. Volunteers and donations abounded, and all throughout the Ojai Valley, signs and fliers for “Nathan’s Journey” advertised the event.

“It was amazing,” says Ashley Meier, longtime friend of the Knupps, who also helped organize the event. “We had to use our back-up tickets because we ran out of the 400 bracelets we had.”

With the far-reaching capabilities of Facebook, even the greater Los Angeles area became aware of Nathan’s story when it was profiled on KCAL-9, adding to the extensive coverage of local media and radio.

The leverage of pre-event efforts was matched by the variety of activities and displays at the Oak View Park and Resource Center. Above rows of polished semi-trucks, vintage cars and old tractors parked on the grassy lawn, the long arms of crane trucks towered and seemed a candid symbol of the strength gathered to support Nathan and his family.

Marisa and her husband, Jestin, could be found embraced by friends and strangers, while Nathan played in the kids’ zone. Marisa said that the crowds and the heat were hard on Nathan, If

If you log on to “Nathan’s Journey” on Facebook, you’ll see a caption beneath the picture of 2-year-old Nathan Knupp that reads: “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” It’s this kind of community attitude that organized Sunday’s barbecue benefit in Oak View. With more than 600 attendees, the Knupp family will take home $30,000 to put toward Nathan’s medical expenses.

Nathan was diagnosed with a glioma brain tumor in April of 2009, and since then the Knupp family has struggled to keep up with the cost of treatment. When Nathan’s mother, Marisa, decided to organize a fund-raising event, the response from the community was overwhelming. Volunteers and donations abounded, and all throughout the Ojai Valley, signs and fliers for “Nathan’s Journey” advertised the event.

“It was amazing,” says Ashley Meier, longtime friend of the Knupps, who also helped organize the event. “We had to use our back-up tickets because we ran out of the 400 bracelets we had.”

With the far-reaching capabilities of Facebook, even the greater Los Angeles area became aware of Nathan’s story when it was profiled on KCAL-9, adding to the extensive coverage of local media and radio.

The leverage of pre-event efforts was matched by the variety of activities and displays at the Oak View Park and Resource Center. Above rows of polished semi-trucks, vintage cars and old tractors parked on the grassy lawn, the long arms of crane trucks towered and seemed a candid symbol of the strength gathered to support Nathan and his family.

Marisa and her husband, Jestin, could be found embraced by friends and strangers, while Nathan played in the kids’ zone. Marisa said that the crowds and the heat were hard on Nathan, who was unaccustomed to so much activity. A motor home was parked on the premises, where the Knupps could retreat before emerging again to mingle.

Among the many faces Marisa saw that day was a 6-year-old boy named Aaron Easley, who has been living with a brain tumor since 18 months of age. Marisa was especially drawn to Easley and his grandmother when fate found them in the same hospital lobby while Marisa awaited her son’s diagnosis in 2009. Easley’s grandmother proved to be a well of information and support along this tough road.

“For her to be there was so awesome,” said Marisa. “She drove from Hemet with a special needs kid that just finished six weeks of radiation treatment.” Along with her donation, Grandma Easley wrote a note for Marisa that read, “We will fight.”

The silent auction boasted an array of items from local merchants ranging from tattoos to a pendant necklace, along with raffle items to accommodate a wide range of needs and wants, such as haircuts, tires and electronics. Nate Minkel, who donated a plasma television and his dirt bike, said, “One of the great things about living in a small town is seeing everyone come together with big hearts to give back to the community.” He added, “A bike is replaceable, a life is not.”

While people perused auction and raffle items in the shade, the smoke of La Salle’s BBQ signaled that lunch soon would be served. In the meantime, kids could be found cavorting in the Jolly Jump, getting their faces painted or twirling in front of the live entertainment. Tunes from Vaughn Montgomery on Wurlitzer piano were followed by singer-songwriter Ted Lennon, whose song, ‘Face Up,’ seemed to speak of the event with his appeal, “People, oh people, come on and do what you can!”

To cap it all off, the band Caught Red Handed spiced up the afternoon with classic rock covers as people meandered between big trucks, the beer garden and the food line for La Salle’s roasted meats.

Many attendees agreed that the community’s reward for doing their part along Nathan’s journey was when he made cameo appearances with his endearing smile. Said Meier, “He’s just such a happy little guy.”

“To Kill a Mockingbird” trailer

By Bill Buchanan

For those who are planning to attend the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa’s Aug. 21 screening of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” you are in for a treat. I do not mean just the movie itself, which, of course, is a terrific film — a classic that was far ahead of its time. You are in for a treat seeing one of the movie’s stars —Mary Badham, who will do a Q&A for the movie prior to its showing. Ms. Badham, who was age 10 when she made the movie, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, the youngest actress ever nominated in the category at that time.

I developed an instant crush on “Scout,” the lively young daughter of Atticus Finch. I don’t remember exactly when I saw the film for the first time — I was probably around 8 or 10. But I remember three things that struck me immediately — I didn’t understand why the girl was named Scout; I could not believe that she got away with calling her daddy by his first name; and Scout was tomboyish but very, very cute.

I had the good fortune a few years ago to meet Ms. Badham in person. I was active with Theatre Tuscaloosa, which sponsored the Alabama Stage and Screen Hall of Fame. Ms. Badham was a guest at two events, one in 2000, and again in 2001. You would have thought we were her guests rather than the other way around. She was friendly, charming and absolutely delightful. And still very cute.

“To Kill a Mockingbird” was a rare “double” — both the book and the movie were outstanding. They are both classics. So many times a great book is made into an average or even disappointing movie. In my opinion, there are very few cases where the movie is as good as the book, and almost none that are actually better. For me, four exceptions come to mind.

The first is “The Shawshank Redemption,” from the Stephen King novella “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption.” I don’t know that it is entirely fair to say the movie was better than the book. The book was a novella, very readable, but pretty short. The movie, while being true to the book, goes into much more detail and really fleshes out the characters. The narrator, “Red,” is given particular attention. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that “Red” is played by Morgan Freeman, one of my favorite actors. I would listen raptly to Morgan Freeman reading the phone book for three hours. I thought he was just incredible in this role. The movie also does an outstanding job of providing many memorable minor characters that enhance the richness of the film without diluting the main characters or story.

Next on the list would be “The Godfather.” I read the book long before I saw the movie, which came out a few years later. I thought the book was pretty good, but some of this had to do with my being in high school when I read it. When I reread the book as an adult I tended to agree with the reviewer who said something to the effect that Mario Puzo wrote the first 100 pages of the book, but typed the rest of it. “The Godfather” also has the distinction of being one of the few movies where the sequel was as good (some would say better) than the original. I loved them both.

Then there is “Terms of Endearment.” In this case, I saw the movie first. I enjoyed it initially, saw it a few more times, and liked it even better. I had seen the movie probably four or five times before I finally read the book. What a disappointment — and I, like Larry McMurtry, felt the movie was so much better. James L. Brooks was not only the director, but was also credited with the screenplay. He did a fine job with both. Another big reason for the movie outshining the book was the strength of the cast. What talent with Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Debra Winger, Jeff Daniels, and John Lithgow. Even I could probably make a good movie with that cast. But in my mind, Shirley MacLaine’s performance really stands out. Her character drives the movie, and lifts it up several notches. She certainly deserved the Academy Award she received for Best Actress.

Finally, there is “Forrest Gump.” I will never write a novel, much less one that will become a major motion picture. But if I ever do, I want the guy who adapted Winston Groom’s novel to adapt mine to the silver screen. That guy is a genius. When I saw the movie, I thought it was wonderful — touching, humorous and just plain fun.

Then I read the book, which I thought was meandering, and often silly with several cartoon-like characters. To me, the book and movie are two different animals, and the movie is much better. In preparing to write this column, I looked at a couple of reviews of the book which touted it as “a superb novel,” stated that it was “unfortunate that most people are more familiar with the movie,” and added, “it is not by any stretch a substitute for the book.”

Maybe that guy read a different book than I did. OK, readers, do you have others for the list? Let us hear from you about what movies you think are as good as the book — or perhaps even better. Go to ovnblog.com and give us your list.