City Backs Off Cost For School Cop
School District’s request for $31k voted down 3-1
By Sondra Murphy
During times of economic hardships, difficult debates occur over the toll funding losses take on human lives.
The Ojai City Council was faced with such a debate Tuesday as it considered a request from the Ojai Unified School District to help pay the cost for the school resource officer at Nordhoff High School.
Due to state-level cutbacks, funding for the police position will be short about $31,000 for the remainder of the school year. City staff recommended that the city cover the remainder of the officer’s salary for this year, as well as authorize application for a federal grant to cover the expense for three more years.
Currently, the city and OUSD pay for about 80 percent of the costs associated with a full-time deputy. The cost is about $162,000 each 9.8-month school year, with each entity paying $81,000. The city’s share of the expenditure comes from a state grant.
“We have had a safe campus because we’ve had a police officer here for eight or nine years,” said NHS assistant principal Susana Arce. “We’ve had issues, but they’ve been quickly resolved because of the police presence.” Arce said that before the SRO was in place, there were two staff members handling discipline, but now she is the only person to cover the job. She added the SRO helps with everything from the campus atmosphere to calming out of control students.
The Sheriff’s Department has further anticipated it will be unable to fund the position for the 2.2 months that school is not in session, but Federal Community Oriented Policing Services Hiring Recovery Program Grant funds recently made available in effort to retain law enforcement positions subject to termination because of the economic crisis. The grant is very competitive.
City staff recommended the council approve the additional $31,000 expenditure so as not to lose the officer this year. “That will only cover the officer until the end of this year,” said city manager Jere Kersnar. “That is a problem to us because the officer can respond faster to a situation at Nordhoff.”
Councilwoman Carol Smith asked Ojai Police Capt. Chris Dunn how soon the position would be eliminated if the council did not approve the request. “Almost immediately,” he answered.
Mayor Joe DeVito asked Kersnar to remind him of the projected surplus at the end of this fiscal year. “We had a projected surplus of $260,000,” said Kersnar. “That’s a very moving target, but if the prediction held true, then we would reduce that surplus to about $230,000.”
Councilwoman Betsy Clapp said that she understood the school’s desire to have a safe campus for their students, but had concerns about the city’s ability to finance it. “In recent article in the Ojai Valley News, (OUSD board member) Kathi Smith said she’d rather have a music program than an officer and several others agreed and felt staff was capable of performing those duties,” said Clapp. “In light of that fact, the school district would know what it’s capable of providing … I question whether it’s our fiduciary responsibility to fund the school district. I think it may not be the best use of our money at this time.
“The cost is about $162,000 each 9.8-month school year..” REALLY? Great Job- bad use of taxes.
ojai mom
16 Apr 09 at 8:21 pm
Ridiculous! The disagreements between the school board and the city are impacting our students who deserve a safe campus. The Resource Officer has made a huge impact on our school and has worked diligently to establish a good relationship with students.
Ojai teacher
16 Apr 09 at 10:06 pm
Let’s face it public servants are not cheap, especially the fire department. It seems they are outfitted better than the military. Why pay them to sleep? They shoud be 9 to 5 like everyone else.
The probem? Their lobby. Who needs a million dollar engine to respond to a fender bender? The solution: paramedics respond to accidents.
Nordhoff needs a couple private security officers at $15 an hour, not a cop at$100. You do the math.
Ret. Lieut. John Doe
Aide to James Hatch
John Doe
16 Apr 09 at 10:09 pm
So… I guess this means that the special Nordhoff officer has been getting paid $16,530/month?
Looks like we need a collective REALITY CHECK here, folks.
That’s just gross.
Matt
17 Apr 09 at 12:16 am
Do we need the resource officer? Absolutely yes, given the violence that happened Wednesday at Nordhoff, when a back up officer was needed to quell the gang fight.
anonymous
17 Apr 09 at 5:17 pm
It was not a gang fight
Ojai teacher
17 Apr 09 at 5:42 pm
Not a gang related fight, perhaps you should check with their probation officer.
anonymous
17 Apr 09 at 9:18 pm
Oh and I also like to wear leather with a red apple in my mouth.
Anon.5
18 Apr 09 at 7:52 am
The school district now only pays for half. Why should the city pay more than half? If the OUSD could get their act together and stop blaming declining enrollment for everything then maybe they could come up with the $30K. How about cutting out one adminstrator that should pay for the entire $161K.
anonymous
18 Apr 09 at 8:15 am
Villanova, Here we come!
Ojai Mom
18 Apr 09 at 9:16 am
Kids need to be home schooled, or their needs to be youth labor camps for deviants, and separate Obama Youth schools for those that excel.
Zeek Hield
18 Apr 09 at 10:55 am
Let’s face it, the real problem is the kids. The youths are out of control. Whatever happened to repeated discipline to break the will of the child? What good is threatened punishment if the kids know nothing will ever happen? Ever try to teach a dog by just saying no? We all know that doesn’t work.
James Hatch supports a belt-driven corporal punishment system for the smallest mistake. Everyone knows that if you make small mistakes that go unpunished it will lead to bigger mistakes. Do we really want to breed a generation of murderers and thugs? Because that is exactly what we are doing when we fail to properly discipline. You know and I know that our lack of discipline will send us straight to the status of a third world country. What would you rather have, strict enforcement of rules now or begging for a grain of rice later?
James Hatch speaks common sense that we all know and understand. It is about time that we pay attention to the obvious.
Ret. Lieut. John Doe
Aide to James Hatch
John Doe
18 Apr 09 at 11:09 am
I do not think we need third world justice where a child loses a hand for stealing and a young girl can be stoned for being in public alone. Parents step up and do not be afraid to say no to your child. And the OUSD could help, close the campus at Nordhoff.
anonymous
18 Apr 09 at 1:25 pm
Anon 18Apr09 at 1:25pm, don’t look now, but we already do have a third world justice system. Not the extreme punishment examples you mention, but non-existant punishment and deterrance, somehow everyone from teachers to admin to students have a victim mentality where ‘life just happens’ to them, and nobody is responsible.
Anonymous
18 Apr 09 at 3:00 pm
This is a huge mistake that the kids, the parents, the OUSD, the no-voting Council members, and the Valley itself will come to regret in more ways than they can imagine. Kudos to Steve Olsen for being the only stand-up Council member, and thumbs down to the school board and superintendent for not being capable of figuring out a way to come up with the shortfall, even if they had to beg the public. You folks must be worse at handling money than anyone else in Ojai.
Anonymous
19 Apr 09 at 9:33 am
This is a no brainer. OUSD you find the $30,000 and quickly and keep the police officer on the Nordhoff campus. This is the time parents are thinking of enrolling their kids in other schools.
anonymous
19 Apr 09 at 9:57 am
WITH ALL OF THE BUDGET CUTS HAPPENING OUSD COULD SAVE THAT MONEY FOR CLASSIFIED JOBS, TEACHERS, AND CLOSE THE NORDHOFF CAMPUS. WHY IT SHOULD BE A PRIVILEDGE TO BE ABLE TO GO OFF CAMPUS, IF THEY CLOSED IT THE KIDS WOULD HAVE TO BUY LUNCH,SNACKS ETC AT NORDHOFF, THE FOOD SERVICE DEPT WOULD ALSO MAKE MONEY, THERE WOULD BE LESS TRAFFIC ON THE STREETS AS WELL. I SAY GET RID OF THE OFFICER, AND CLOSE THE CAMPUS, WIN WIN SOLUTION.
ANONYMOUS
19 Apr 09 at 2:06 pm
Maybe if parents would teach their children right and wrong and that everyone should be treated with respect there might not be fighting. $161 K for an officers presence is inflation to the max. Fighting never solves anything, just causes bruises,cuts and medical bills. We don’t have to like everyone but it would be nice if people could just get along, regardless of race, grades,or econimical differences.
ANONYMOUS
19 Apr 09 at 2:13 pm
I doubt that the teachers want to be involved with campus security. Keep the resource officer, Nordhoff open campus is an accident waiting to happen.
anonymous
19 Apr 09 at 4:19 pm
A closed campus without a resource officer would only cause more problems
ojai teacher
19 Apr 09 at 9:37 pm
When I was at Nordhoff millions of years ago, only Seniors and Juniors were allowed off campus. Make leaving for Lunch a privilage and secure the campus, 161K seems steep, perhaps have the TAs help the current resource officer with a shift or two..
The Sage Redneck
20 Apr 09 at 8:24 am
That is very interesting. Why would a closed campus at Nordhoff cause more problems?
anonymous
20 Apr 09 at 8:27 am
YES I TOO WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW A CLOSED CAMPUS WOULD CAUSE MORE PROBLEMS? (OJAI TEACHER) PLEASE LET THE REST OF US KNOW. THANKS
ANONYMOUS
20 Apr 09 at 10:49 am
Seems to me some of us are in the wrong business, $161k. That is a huge amount of money and to spend that kind of money just seems to be wasteful. There has to be a more reasonable way to watch our children at school and protect them at the same time. Does anyone have any suggestions?
ANONYMOUS
20 Apr 09 at 10:54 am
YES I TOO WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW A CLOSED CAMPUS WOULD CAUSE MORE PROBLEMS? (OJAI TEACHER) PLEASE LET THE REST OF US KNOW. THANKS
It would cause more problems for the teachers who would no longer get a mid-day break from the kids, I think. Isn’t that what it’s really about?
I know that traffic wouldn’t be as crazy at lunch if it were a closed campus. (The fast food places would probably complain like crazy, though.)
Anonymous
20 Apr 09 at 12:01 pm
Yes $161K is substanial, but this is for a Sheriff deputy that includes all the investigational resources of the sheriff’s department. Fortunately the OUSD only has to pay for half of this. But if some teachers do not want the resource officer and want to do extra duty I suppose that could be part of the discussion. I say keep the cop.
anonymous
20 Apr 09 at 1:02 pm
WHY WOULD A TEACHER NOT BE IN FAVOR OF CLOSING THE CAMPUS AT NORDHOFF???
anonymous
20 Apr 09 at 3:57 pm
Am I the only person who scans a comment, sees that it’s all caps, and then proceeds to ignore that comment no matter what the content might be?
Anonymous
20 Apr 09 at 5:22 pm
A closed campus would fit in with the district’s goal of going greener. Less traffic at lunch etc.
Anonymous
20 Apr 09 at 5:40 pm
Teachers should not have the responsibility of watching the students at lunch. It is not that we do not care about the students – many of us have students in our rooms at lunch, either getting help or just “hanging out”. I imagine that most readers with full time jobs have a lunch break.
There are teachers who supervise during snack and lunch, but they cannot legally do the same things that an officer can do. Students trusted our resource officer, and knew that they could confide in her. This alone prevented many problems between students from escalating.
For those suggesting that leaving at lunch should be a privilege, it already is. Juniors and seniors who have parent permission, a minimum 2.5 GPA, no suspensions, and fewer than 7 tardies (in all classes combined), may leave campus at lunch. The off-campus passes are reviewed each quarter for the above criteria.
another nordhoff teacher
20 Apr 09 at 6:45 pm
The minimum standards to leave at lunch time seem to be pretty low and probably represent 50% of the student body. I can not think of a single good reason why any student should leave campus for lunch.
anonymous
20 Apr 09 at 7:20 pm
The entire student body of nearly 1000 students all on campus during lunch creates many more tensions. The 40 minute lunch requires several supervisors as it is. Many less than 50% of the students have lunch passes.
ojai teacher
20 Apr 09 at 8:25 pm
its a right to leave off campus. The upperclassmen do it.You probably did and most kids carpool. The cop has to be there for other reasons most of the incidents are not even at lunch. There’s a pretty good atmosphere at Nordhoff.
Anonymous
20 Apr 09 at 8:53 pm
And It wasn’t a gang fight. I was two lame kids trying to be tough.
Anonymous
20 Apr 09 at 8:54 pm
Having the student body of 1000 kids on campus for lunch is a problem? What is the problem? You have about 35 teachers, 5 adminstrators, several lunch supervisors, and a resource officer. That is a ratio of approximately 1 adult for 50 students. Do you need more staff to help with these kids?
anonymous
21 Apr 09 at 8:00 am
Yawn. I think I will go watch a movie.
Anon.5
21 Apr 09 at 10:25 am
Anonymous 8:53 PM is confused. It is not a right to leave campus at lunch time. It is a privilege.
anonymous
21 Apr 09 at 11:19 am
Perhaps those who suggest the teachers and administrators should supervise lunch period should consider donating their time to come and supervise instead. Give the money to support school programs like music and art.
Just a Dad
21 Apr 09 at 12:21 pm
“Just a Dad”, you have a good idea it is just backwards. Have parents consider donating their time to the music and arts programs and have staff handle the supervision of students. Safety has to be the priority.
anonymous
21 Apr 09 at 1:32 pm
anonymous 8am:
The lunch supervisors ARE teachers and administrators. The teachers doing the supervision get paid for doing it, as this is otherwise their contractual duty-free lunch. Teachers who have students in their rooms at lunch (and there are many of them) are giving up their break by choice. The students really look forward to being able to have their off-campus passes, and, they are, for the most part, great people. Closing the campus will NOT prevent tensions from escalating, as they sometimes can with any group of people who spend several hours together every day.
another nordhoff teacher
21 Apr 09 at 10:43 pm
Nordhoff is a safe campus because of the committed presence of a school resource officer. Sara Valenzuela and past resource officers encouraged this climate by being a source of support and information for students, teachers, counselors and administration. I spend my lunch period helping students who need the extra attention and believe that is critical to making connections and supporting them academically. To suggest that teachers don’t deserve a lunch break and should supervise is completely problematic. It is a shame that our resource officer is no longer with us. I hope that this can be solved so that we can have her support again.
P.S. Fact check: There are not five administrators at NHS. There are three who are paid as administrators.
Another Nordhoff Teacher
21 Apr 09 at 11:53 pm
I appreciate the input from Nordhoff teachers. But please answer the question. Why does Nordhoff need to have an open campus? Your competitors Villanova, Ojai Valley School, and Thacher all have closed campuses. You saw it in a blog comment above how one parent will not send their kid to Nordhoff, “Villanova here we come”.
anonymous
22 Apr 09 at 8:02 am
If I was a teacher I wouldn’t want the job of telling a huge teenage boy, he better get his butt back on campus.
Sarah
22 Apr 09 at 9:22 am
Sarah,
Your comment bleeds of battered wife syndrome. Might does not make right. What if a big kid speaks out in class? Same response? Get your priorities straight
For my readers, I am no longer aide to James Hatch.
Ret. Lieut. John Doe
Pres., Truth Consortium Group
john Doe
22 Apr 09 at 10:03 am
It is apparent that the townsfolk have gone and the city idiots have taken over. We would be wise to realize we have too many police and that the town pays too much to the high and mighty sheriff. Bring back a local police department and eliminate foolish spending at the local high school.
Wise Peabody Smith
22 Apr 09 at 11:32 am
John,
You are a moron. Get a life you jerk. Good luck with all the failures you will meet as you go through life.
James Hatch offer solutions where others see only problems.
;ames Hatch
22 Apr 09 at 11:35 am
In the line of current thinking of the ones who decide how to spend our public funds, we clearly need helicopter support for the ‘support’ sheriff on campus, and a dog. With the helicopter circling and the dog barking teenagers will be too scared to do anything. Video cameras are a must too, along with big gates because the kids are in a sort of jail judging from the need for the police and the fear people have of the children. Lets just ban children because we ‘adults’ obviously are incapable of putting children in their place.
Taxed Citizen 2
22 Apr 09 at 11:37 am
The issue of closing campus was suggested as a way to control the students, but there have not been problems tied to students leaving campus at lunch. Some people will not like teenagers no matter what they do. Our students are generally well-behaved, and those who are not are not eligible for an off-campus pass. Since the students do not pose a danger to the community, and the community does not pose a danger to the studnets, there is no reason to completely close the campus. The private schools mentioned include a fair number of boarding students, who are not allowed to drive while they are at school. Students from these schools frequently get rides into town however – they are not in lock-down.
Anyone who feels that private school automatically means a better education, fewer drugs, and better behavior should spend a little more time at each school. Teenagers are largely the same at all of them – mostly good, with a few squirrelly ones thrown in.
another Nordhoff teacher
22 Apr 09 at 2:46 pm
Oh, If your wisdom was rotted through a tooth!!
Epiphany of amalgam
23 Apr 09 at 12:00 am
so what truth would you say?
amalgam of epiphany
23 Apr 09 at 12:51 am
Thank you to the teachers who took the time to share their thoughts with the rest of us. The OUSD is sitting on the edge of a financial disaster and it would be nice if the board would share their plan for the future of the school district.
anonymous
23 Apr 09 at 9:32 am
The OUSD cannot afford the resource officer, because it is at the end of its ropes as far as a budget goes, how many more teachers or classified people will be affected by this if OUSD chooses to keep the officer at the expense of staff?
ANONYMOUS
23 Apr 09 at 11:33 am
Can you really put a price on the importance of safety and positive campus climate? We need to keep ALL of our faculty and staff! Our schools get less and less funding, but our employees continue to put out 100% of themselves for students. We also need a resource officer because campus safety has improved immensely since we got the SRO.
ojai teacher
23 Apr 09 at 1:23 pm
Message to OUSD. Please put a copy of the budget and include a copy of the expenditures for the 1st quarter of 2009 online. I am sure we will find the $30,000 needed for the resource officer.
anonymous
23 Apr 09 at 1:31 pm
Yes the price is $80K. Which will seem small compared to the lawsuit that a parent will file if something happens to their child at Nordhoff now that it has been established that the SRO has improved campus safety.
anonymous
23 Apr 09 at 3:14 pm
You cannot stop us from leaving campus. We do what we want.
Nordhoff Student
23 Apr 09 at 8:07 pm
School board meetings are open to the public, and anyone who wishes to speak to the board is given three minutes to speak about whatever issues concern them. There are usually only three or four people at the meetings, other than the board. It would be nice to see more members of the community taking an active role . Meeting dates and agendas are posted on the OUSD web site.
another nordhoff teacher
24 Apr 09 at 6:10 am
Attending a school board meeting is unfortunately an exercise in futility. In the past I have spoken to the board and they were clearly not open to anything but their own convictions. Overall addressing the board is a negative experience.
There is a paradigm shift occurring in education and the board looks paralysis. These blogs are the only message board for a frustrated public.
anonymous
24 Apr 09 at 8:12 am
If enough people attend these meetings, speak, and have the same experience you have had, then perhaps they will mobilize to find better candidates for the board in future elections – or a recall of current members and start over.
another nordhoff teacher
24 Apr 09 at 9:43 am
In today’s OVN former chief of police Jim Barrett speaks to the benefits of having a SRO at Nordhoff. However he is mistaken about the funding issue. It is the OUSD (Dr. Baird & 5 boardmembers) who are responsible for canceling the funding for the SRO. The City of Ojai has already paid its half of the $161,000.
anonymous
24 Apr 09 at 3:32 pm
If enough people attend these meetings, speak, and have the same experience you have had, then perhaps they will mobilize to find better candidates for the board in future elections – or a recall of current members and start over.
another nordhoff teacher
24 Apr 09 at 9:43 am
Actually, moving one’s children to a private school is a better option. The education will be much better, a safer and healthier environment, with more accountability. Leaving one’s kids in the public school system, with the entitled unionized teachers and sclerotic bureaucracy, not to mention the bottom 25% of the student body that drags down the rest, is a pretty big gamble for a child’s future.
Anonymous
24 Apr 09 at 5:03 pm
DOES NORDHOFF REALLY HAVE A CRISIS ON THEIR HANDS TO AFFORD A SRO? ITS A SMALL SCHOOL IN COMPARISION TO OTHERS AND TO PAY OUT THAT KIND OF MONEY FOR A PROBLEM THAT MIGHT HAPPEN ( TOO MUCH $$$$$). WHEN I WAS IN SCHOOL THE TEACHERS AND OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF HAD TO DO THEIR JOBS AND WATCH THE CHILDREN, MAYBE WE NEED TO GO BACK TO THAT AND KEEP MORE $$ SO OUSD CAN KEEP SOME STAFF.
ANONYMOUS
24 Apr 09 at 8:19 pm
Times have changed, yes Nordhoff needs the SRO, just ask the chief of police and the Nordhoff adminstrators and teachers.
anonymous
24 Apr 09 at 9:11 pm
It is very foolish and unrealistic to believe that private school children do not engage in the same activities that public school children do. If you actually believe this, your head is buried in the sand. There are high achieving students and low achieving students in each sector.
Anonymous
25 Apr 09 at 11:41 am
I sure took a big gamble and sent my kids to public school — and they have better careers than many of their friends in private school. Get real!
ojai teacher
25 Apr 09 at 1:45 pm
Why do private schools provide a better education? Because they do not have to accept all students. If a student under performs or cause a problem at a private school that student is asked to leave. Public schools have to take the good and the bad, no questions asked.
anonymous
25 Apr 09 at 3:58 pm
ANNON @9:11 P.M.
WHAT IS THE CHIEF OF POLICE AND ADMINISTRATORS AND TEACHERS GOING TO SAY? WE HAVE A MAJOR DRUG PROBLEM, WE HAVE MAJOR GANG WARS, AND WITH ALL OF THAT WE CAN’T TEACH? ARE YOU SERIOUS?
ANONYMOUS
25 Apr 09 at 6:04 pm
Private schools only “say” they don’t accept all students and if private schools are without any problems of their own, why are so many private school kids now transferring to public schools? Private schools offer people the feeling that they are privileged and getting more than everyone else because they are paying for it. It is a system based on elitism at it best and you only further demonstrate that attitude by posting the idea that there no problems or low achieving students in private schools.
anon
25 Apr 09 at 7:32 pm
anon 7:32, you are delusional. If money was no object to parents the public school system would be out of business.
anonymous
25 Apr 09 at 9:34 pm
I have a solution. I work for Ventura County as a crisis counselor in the special ed setting.My job description is to de-escalate volatile situations and handle behavior problems of all types. I am very experienced(15 yrs), and have a BA in Psych and a Masters in Special Education. Hire me, save some money and let me serve the community I live in. Wendy
wendy
26 Apr 09 at 5:50 pm
Wendy, can you carry a firearm?
anonymous
26 Apr 09 at 7:44 pm
ARE YOU SERIOUS, WHY IS IT THE FACULTY CAN NOT KEEP CONTROL OF STUDENTS THAT THEY NEED SOMEONE WHO CAN CARRY A GUN. IT ALL COMES DOWN TO RESPECT OF ONES ELDERS, ( NO DISRESPECT TO THE OLDER GENERATION). THAT STARTS AT HOME AT AN AGE WHEN CHILDREN SHOULD BE TAUGHT RIGHT FROM WRONG. BEING A PARENT DOES NOT COME WITH AN OWNERS MANUAL BUT DAM IT IF YOU NEED HELP SWALLOW YOUR PRIDE AND ASK FOR IT LIKE THE NUMBER 211
TICKED OFF PARENT
29 Apr 09 at 8:20 pm
I can’t believe I just read that Kathy Smith said she would rather have a music department than a police officer on campus at Nordhoff. Easy for her to say when her own son vandalized Villanova but got off scott free. Nordhoff students need a safety officer on campus now more than ever due to the increasing tension after the gang-related killing. Many are afraid of racial tension and retribution. The kids need protection! People are on edge. It is insane to let the officer go NOW!
Someone Who Knows
8 May 09 at 7:50 pm
A note to those claiming there are no “problem students” in private schools. You are ignorant. Enough said.
Someone Who Knows
8 May 09 at 7:54 pm
Someone who knows, if you are going to start naming names and becoming your own personal newspaper about other peoples personal lives then maybe you should mention your own name. Thanks to you I now know more about Kathy Smiths family than I wanted to know.
Anonymous
8 May 09 at 8:34 pm
The information on the Villanova vandalism by youths including Kathy Smith’s son was well documented in the all local newspapers and blogs. That is where I read about everything I mentioned, including what I read here–that Ms. Smith would rather have a music department than a safety officer at Nordhoff. You may look it all up yourself if you wish and so please note I am not trying to be “my own personal newspaper” or mention anything that has not already been mentioned in the paper and blogs many times.
My concern is about the loss of the officer on Nordhoff campus. This frightens me for the sake of the children at Nordhoff, especially because of this recent gang related killing. I’m sure many parents of Nordhoff students feel the same.
Someone Who Knows
8 May 09 at 9:03 pm
This alarmed me. I was reading and found the following October 23, 2007 article. If you read the article please note that it mentions Gabriel Arellano (OSL). According the all the papers who wrote of crime, he is the OSL member who drove Alex Medina to the home where he murdered Seth Scarmanach. I am posting this here to mention that there IS youth gang activity in the valley and many are worried about what will happen at Nordhoff after the recent youth gang related violance without the safety officer’s presence.
Here is the article:
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Gang Crackdown Nets Six
Sheriff’s Gang Unit makes arrests after gang-related attacks
By Nao Braverman
Six suspected Ojai Valley gang members were arrested on Oct. 17 and 18 after a month-long investigation by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Gang Unit. Investigators examined the events of three separate attacks over the past month and arrested Kyle Root, Christian Hames, Fidel Duran, Rocky Holbert, and two juveniles.
Twenty-year-old Root, 18-year-old Hames and a juvenile suspected to be an Oak View Gang member, were charged for assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly attacking a 39-year-old male and 65-year-old female on the 500 block of Santa Ana Boulevard in Oak View on Sept. 18.
Gang investigators believe the Santa Ana Blvd. location to be the residence of a rival Ojai Surenos Locos gang member and suspect the attack to be a retaliation for a separate attack committed by the rival gang.
Duran, 18, a suspected member of the OSL was arrested for conspiracy in relation to a Sept. 27 incident where Duran, along with previously arrested Gabriel Arellano and another OSL member, allegedly threw a cup filled with soda into a car occupied by two female adults and a 2-year-old toddler, on Ojai Avenue at Fox Street, striking the female passenger. Investigators believe that at least one of the passengers had ties with an OVG gang member.
Holbert, 18, was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon during the most recent Oct. 6 OVG attack where six individuals, ranging from 13 to 20 years old, were hit with a metal pipe, in front of Dahl’s Market in Oak View. Though the victims had no association with any gang, the assailants mistakenly identified them as members of the OSL gang.
The OSL, a Hispanic criminal street gang based in Ojai, has about 15 to 20 gang members and has been in the area for about 20 years said Ojai Police Capt. Bruce Norris. The OVG, a predominantly white, territorial, criminal street gang that claims the unincorporated area of Oak View, has about 10 to 15 members and has also been around for about 20 years, probably going by different names in the past, Norris said.
He added that the the conflict between the two gangs appears to be racial and territorial.
Though the police department has been working to tackle problems with the two gangs fighting over the past two years, gang-related violence in Ojai had been very low this year, up until the middle of September, said Norris.
The six person, Sheriff’s Gang Unit, created in February, was introduced to address a recent rise in gang-related crime within Ventura County, and is often called upon where a gang enhancement is included in the charge.
Residents are encouraged to call the Gang Tip Hotline at 1-88858GANGS to anonymously report criminal gang activity.
Posted by OVN administrator at 6:15 PM
Labels: ojai
Someone Who Knows
8 May 09 at 10:13 pm
Oh Sorry. The above article was on the Ojai Valley News Blog. Tuesday, October 23, 2007.
Someone Who Knows
9 May 09 at 6:36 am
To someone who knows: Has it ever crossed your mind to know less.
Maury Gould
10 May 09 at 1:19 pm
Maury. No it has not. It obviously has not crossed your mind to know more. Do you care?
Someone Who Knows
10 May 09 at 7:27 pm
I also used the name Someone who knows only because I have experienced certain things in this area, not because I am trying to be a know it all.
I realize music and the arts are vital programs in our schools. Believe me I have always worked very hard to raise money (and have raised a lot) and awareness for these programs in this valley and everywhere else I have lived. However, our children’s safety must come before everything else in our schools or anywhere else. I think all of us can agree with that. I do not wish to fall into petty arguments with anyone, nor do I have time to do so.
Oh, and whoever told me I was breaking the law by quoting an entire article, I did not copy the entire thing. I left off the Blog title! So I’m very sorry but you most likely can’t sue me for that. How absurd!
Someone Who Knows
10 May 09 at 7:49 pm
Yawn. Anyone know the weather report?
Anon.5
11 May 09 at 7:40 pm