Ojai Valley News Blog

Each year, the Ojai Valley News provides its readers a change to look back on the year that was in the Ojai Valley. Here, the first six months are highlighted. The final six months of the year will appear in the Jan. 2, 2013 edition.

JANUARY

There is a new kind of service organization coming to the Ojai Valley and the Ventura River Watershed area, called EcoRotary, affiliated with Rotary International. The new EcoRotary Club will specialize in hands-on community eco-projects.
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The California State Assembly Transportation Committee rejected a bill that proposed a restriction on the length of trucks on Maricopa Highway on Monday.
The bill, introduced by Assemblyman Das Williams in February last year and backed by Ventura County Supervisor Steve Bennett and Ojai Stop the Trucks! Coalition members, was rejected after the committee voted to deny the proposal.
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Plaza Pantry owner Beryl Tognazzini celebrates 30 years in business Jan. 21.
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Approximately 250 people paid tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Libbey Park fountain Monday, according to organizers Zelda Grove, executive chair of the Ojai Valley Youth Foundation’s MLK Day Committee and Gus Hoffman, a 2010 Nordhoff High School graduate who helps put on the event.
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At 19, Haven Whipple, now a junior, will be the youngest among a group of six Gettysburg College students to spend six weeks on the Baltic Sea kayaking 250 miles from Helsinki, Finland, to Stockholm, Sweden, as part of an experiential education program at the college.
Whipple is a 2009 Nordhoff High School graduate.
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Federal agents arrested local property owner John Appel last week on charges of illegally dumping debris on his 30-acre property near the Arnaz Grade.
Agents from the Environmental Protection Agency took Appel into custody Thursday, after which he was arraigned in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles and released after posting a $15,000 bond.
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Ojai Valley residents got a chance to don rain gear over the weekend for the first time this season. Small storms dumped their payloads on the valley Saturday and Monday, and puddles began to form on street corners and gutters. As those puddles dry up however, Ojai still faces drought conditions.
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The city of Ojai is proposing a ban on  “single-use carry out plastic bags.”
If passed, the ban would apply to all merchants, restaurants, grocery stores, and retail shops within the Ojai city limits, except in cases where it would create undue hardship or when the health and safety of the public might be affected.
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When Ranch House owner David Skaggs agreed to participate in the inaugural Ventura County Wine Trail Local Food and Wine Challenge last Friday night, he said he would do so on one condition: “That we be paired with Ojai Vineyard.”
His decision turned out to be a good one; the two took top honors in the competition, which pitted 11 other restaurant and winery teams against each other in an Iron Chef-inspired showdown.
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Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, announced last weekend that Pete Ells will join the Inn’s management team as the new managing director effective Jan. 23.
In his new role, Ells is responsible for overseeing all aspects of management at the 308-room Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, including Spa Ojai and George C. Thomas-built premier championship golf course.
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Competitors from all over the United States — including Ojai brothers Dane and Quinn Wilson, ages 16 and 14 — competed in the qualifying event for the Youth World Championships in Long Beach Jan. 13 to 17. Winners of the four different sailing classes represented qualify to become members of the U.S. Sailing Olympic Development Team managed by the U.S. Sailing Association.
Of the 90 teams competing, just seven, including the Wilson brothers, earned a spot on the team.
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After Ojai’s request for a hearing with the California Public Utilities Commission was rejected last year, the city has been given notice that a public participation hearing will be held regarding Golden State Water Company’s proposed rate increase.
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The Meiners Oaks Business & Artists Association is raising money to mount a “Welcome to Meiners Oaks” sign at the corner of El Roblar Drive and Highway 33. They are inviting bids from sign makers  and are accepting donations to fund it.

FEBRUARY

The Ojai Rock Quarry may be going out of business. After construction company Cushman Contracting Corporation recently canceled a purchase order of materials from the quarry, the mine is losing $390,000 in sales to Cushman, according to the quarry’s owner, Larry Mosler.
The deal had Cushman buying 10,000 tons of a construction material known as rip-rap from the quarry, to be used in the Ventura Port Revetment Repairs project.
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Next Tuesday, the Ojai Unified School District board members will consider the possible lease and/or sale of its property at 414 E. Ojai Ave., the current site of Chaparral High School, the school district offices and the OUSD preschool.
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Should Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax ballot initiative fail to pass this November, things could go from dismal to desolate in the California education system. For Ojai Unified School District, the failure of the initiative — which calls for a half-cent sales tax increase and a 2 percent income tax increase on those making $250,000 or more a year — would mean the reduction of almost $3 million from the 2012-13 budget.
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The discussion during the Ojai City Council meeting Tuesday about the Smart Meters Southern California Edison plans to begin installing in Ojai sometime this spring was electric. Though council members expressed a desire to place a moratorium on the devices in Ojai, former city attorney Monte Widders advised council that because the California Public Utilities Commission had already granted Edison and PG&E permission to install Smart Meters, it would not be possible for the Council to adopt a moratorium.
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The sight of shuttle operator Dutch Vanhemert’s big white bus might soon be a thing of the past in the Ojai Valley.
Last week, Vanhemert was convicted by a jury of evading an officer with willful disregard, and could face up to three years in prison and fines up to $10,000 after his sentencing next month.
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Last week’s regularly scheduled Ojai City Council meeting was preceded by a special meeting with the Historic Preservation Commission to discuss the completed “windshield” survey of historic properties in Ojai.
“Study was done over an extensive period of time to streamline the historic resource review process, which resulted in a survey that the Council was asked to adopt, which raised some public outcry,” consultant Mitch Stone of San Buenaventura Research. “The question is how to move forward on the goals of the survey, but address the concerns of the public,” he added.
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Dr. Steve Sallen, owner of the Ojai Village Veterinary Hospital on Ojai Avenue, was hospitalized yesterday after allegedly being attacked by a client.
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The Ventura County Planning Division has given the OK to Ojai Rock Quarry owner Larry Mosler to continue operating his business.
In a public hearing Dec. 15, the County Planning Commission gave Mosler a chance to work with county staff to abate violations, and post an adequate amount of money — called the Financial Assurance Cost Estimate — to back up an approved reclamation plan.
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Oak View resident Scott Doornbos was released last week after being arrested Thursday for allegedly assaulting Dr. Steve Sallen, owner of the Ojai Valley Village Pet Hospital on West Ojai Avenue.
On Thursday afternoon, Doornbos, 55, turned himself in at the Ojai Police Station.

MARCH

Ojai’s citizens made no secret of their feelings toward Golden State Water Company Wednesday during two public water rate hearings. The public participation hearings, held at 2 and 6 p.m. in Chaparral Auditorium, regarded GSWC’s latest rate case. The company is requesting a 25 percent increase in water rates by 2015.
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On Tuesday night, the Ojai City Council approved a second reading of the proposed ordinance that would ban retailers within city limits from providing single-use plastic bags. If passed, the ordinance would prohibit the distribution of the bags as of July 1, with the end goal of reducing the valley’s contribution of plastic trash, not only to landfills and litter, but also via the Ventura River,to the ocean.
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The Ventura County District Attorney’s office has upped the charges against Scott Doornbos, alleged attacker of Ojai veterinarian Steve Sallen.
Doornbos was originally charged with one count of felony battery with serious bodily injury after allegedly assaulting Sallen in the Ojai Village Veterinary Hospital last month. Doornbos faces felony counts of making terrorist threats, assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury and the original charge of battery. The district attorney also added sentencing enhancements to the charges that would authorize a judge to impose harsher penalties for Doornbos if he is convicted.
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Going into their CIF-SS final game against Mission Prep, the Lady Wildcats of Villanova knew they were going to have their hands full. Despite falling behind early, Villanova stormed back to tie the game late but they could not overpower the Royals and Mission Prep won the hard-fought game, 56-45.
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The Ojai Unified School District is moving forward in its process of examining the feasibility of leasing or selling part or all of its property at 414 E. Ojai Ave.
At Tuesday night’s meeting, the OUSD board members accepted a report from the 7-11 Committee, which has met several times since its formation in May 2011, to look into all aspects of the potential sale and/or lease.
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Ojai Valley Trail users won’t have to worry about rising creek waters during storm season stopping them in their tracks. The County of Ventura completed construction on a new, 480-foot bridge that spans San Antonio Creek at its convergence with the Ventura River near Casitas Springs.
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Partiers who rely on Adrianus “Dutch” Vanhemert’s free downtown shuttle service may have to find another way home from the bars this summer. On Friday in Superior Court, Vanhemert was sentenced to 180 days in Ventura County Jail and given three years probation for evading Ventura County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Michael Harris in April 2010.
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Heads turned and eyes gazed upward as the Ojai Valley Museum’s condor sculpture soared into its new position in front of the museum on Wednesday.
The 5,000-pound sculpture, donated to the museum in 1997 and titled “Soaring in Stone,” previously located in the courtyard behind the building.
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Whether they adamantly oppose them, don’t know much about them, or think they are the wave of the future, Ojai residents are buzzing about Smart Meters. Southern California Edison began to replace the analog meters used to measure a household’s electricity consumption with new, wireless meters nearly four years ago, and the transition has now made its way to Ojai.
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Scott Doornbos, alleged attacker of local veterinarian Steve Sallen, pleaded not guilty to three felony charges during his arraignment in Ventura County Superior Court Friday morning, according to court records.
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A dog was shot and killed by an officer with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department Thursday afternoon, while on a call investigating suspicious activity.
“Officers feared they were going to be bitten, and had to dispatch the poor animal,” explained Patrol Supervisor Sgt. Frank Underlin. “It’s a tragic thing, we hate to do it, but at that point we don’t have any other options.
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Robert Mullane, AICP, was hired by the city of Ojai as the new community development director. Mullane replaced interim director Ann McLaughlin on March 12. He will be responsible for the community development department, planning division, building and safety and code enforcement.

APRIL
There’s a new face in charge of the ranks of law enforcement in the Ojai Valley. On Monday, Capt. Dave Kenney transferred to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department Ojai Substation, taking the place of former Ojai Police Chief Capt. Chris Dunn. The transfer is part of a normal personnel rotation within the department.
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A Ventura County Superior Court Judge ruled Monday that the court would hold a competency trial for 17-year-old accused killer, Alex Medina. The teenager was charged with the murder of 16-year-old Ojai resident Seth Scarminach in 2009.
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Local shuttle operator Adrianus “Dutch” Vanhemert has been granted a 40-day reprieve from beginning his jail sentence by the Ventura County Superior Court, according to his attorney. Vanhemert was convicted earlier this month of evading Ventura County Sheriff’s Department deputies after a traffic stop, and sentenced to 180 days in county jail and three years probation.
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The Ojai City Council passed an ordinance Tuesday night banning the distribution of single-use plastic bags within the city limits. The ban will go into effect July 1, to give retailers time to run through their current, already-purchased stock of plastic bags. The ordinance also requires grocery stores to charge 10 cents for recyclable paper bags distributed to customers. Restaurants, however, are exempt from the ban; their single-use bags of either paper or plastic are still permitted for the transportation of food.
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Skaters and other members of the public are getting a breath of fresh air as the city begins a project to re-do the bathroom at the Ojai Skate Park.
Previously considered by locals as a glorified Porta-Potty, the bathroom is being overhauled to accommodate running water and flushing toilets. The project calls for the demolition and removal of the old pit used for collecting waste. Replacing the pit, plumbing will connect new fixtures to the existing sewer line on the Ojai Unified School District property where the park is.
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Members of the Ojai Unified School District Board heard a presentation on the possible lease or sale of its Chaparral High School property Tuesday night.
OUSD real estate attorney Andreas Chialtas walked the board through the steps it would need to take to eventually sell or lease part or all of the property at 414 E. Ojai Ave., which contains five parcels of land.
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The annual Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament is under way as matches play out all over the Ojai Valley, leading up to the Pac-12 championship finals scheduled to be held at Libbey Park on Sunday.

MAY
After almost a year of planning and the biggest production in the history of the department, the Nordhoff High School dance students reached their goal of attending the 2012 Pasadena Dance Festival.
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Local personal trainer Jeff Hoefling was diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma in 2010.
With rising medical costs and a desire to provide for his children in the event of a worst-case scenario, Hoefling is getting a helping hand from his friends and co-workers. On Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m., a benefit will be hosted by the Ojai Valley Athletic Club where he works as a trainer and fitness expert.
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Depending on their operating system, Ojai Valley News readers saw either a blank page or the warning of a possible Trojan horse virus, when logging on to the newspaper’s website.
Mitec Solutions spent much of the weekend analyzing each of the thousands of files required to publish the Ojai Valley News online edition.
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Ojai Quarry owner Larry Mosler is suing the State of California Department of Conservation for damages he claims are approaching $2 million. The mine owner also stated that the Ojai Valley Chamber of Commerce is opposing his business, even though his rock quarry is a chamber member.
The Ojai Stop the Trucks! Coalition, in conjunction with the chamber, is appealing a decision by the county to allow the quarry to continue operating.
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Local residents heard booms and felt shudders as small earthquakes occurred just north of Ojai early Monday morning. Two quakes — a magnitude 2.8 at 2:07 a.m. and a magnitude 2.6 at 2:25 a.m. — occurred about four miles north of town and about .7 miles below the surface, according to specialists with the U.S. Geological Survey.
No damage was reported.
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The Ventura County Planning Commission voted four to one yesterday afternoon to deny Stop the Trucks! Coalition’s appeal of the Commission’s decision to allow the Ojai Rock Quarry to continue operating under its conditional use permit.
The decision came after almost seven hours of testimony from both supporters and opposers of quarry owner Larry Mosler’s operation.
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Ojai Valley News owner Bill Buchanan has announced that Tim Dewar will become publisher effective July 1.
“When I took on the day-to-day duties of running the newspaper two years ago,” said Buchanan, “I said that I would stay on until I found the right person to run the newspaper. Tim Dewar is that person.”

JUNE
Casitas Municipal Water District officials are keeping a tight lid on their process regarding a possible takeover of Golden State Water Company. A year has passed since Ojai Friends of Locally Owned Water handed a petition to the CMWD with 1,900 citizen signatures, showing support for their efforts to oust Golden State from operating in Ojai. Now, a year after presenting the 1,900 signatures to Casitas, F.L.O.W. supporters believe that CMWD’s board of directors is closing in on a decision.

On Tuesday, Ojai became the first city serviced by Southern California Edison to pass a moratorium on the installation of smart meters. All other communities with similar bans have been Pacific Gas & Electric customers, which serves northern and central California. Ojai City Council, minus absent Councilwoman Sue Horgan, voted unanimously in favor of the urgent ordinance, which does not require a second reading and goes into effect immediately.
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Marijuana growers  above Ojai took a hit last week after Ventura County Sheriff’s Department narcotics officers cleared a pot farm in Los Padres National Forest.
According to VCSD officials, 22,478 pot plants were eradicated after the Department’s air unit flew over a large area of forest and spotted the grow operation. Reports say that it took officials five hours to eradicate marijuana plants from two separate sites that were less than a half mile apart.
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Bill Rosen never really meant to get into junior high school education; his aim was to become a high school English teacher. But a miscommunication with the L.A. Unified School District led to him to a position at Dana Junior High School in San Pedro.
This fall, Rosen will join the Matilija Junior High School administrative team as its new principal. He is taking over for Emily Mostovoy, four-year principal, who was promoted to district director of special education and student services.
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A Sunday evening crash in the Lake Nacimiento area took the life of an Oak View man, according to the Templeton, Calif. CHP office.
Scott Kenton, 42, was driving his 1989 Ford F-250 on Gage Irving Drive at about 6:30 p.m.
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Sunday’s 26th annual event found roughly 4,300 people at Lake Casitas enjoying food, wine, beer, music and products from a variety of vendors. Attendees got the opportunity to taste offerings from 60 California wineries and 15 premium beers and microbrews.
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A competency trial is slated to begin July 12 for an Ojai Valley teen facing murder charges, after the Superior Court of Ventura County determined at Monday’s appearance that an additional psychological assessment is reasonable beforehand.
The competency trial will determine whether Alex Medina, 17, is capable of assisting his attorneys, Scott Wippert and Robyn Bramson, during his defense in his criminal trial, where he will be tried as an adult. The criminal proceedings have been suspended while competency is determined.
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It’s official, summer has arrived and just in time to usher in the ninth annual Ojai Valley Lavender Festival. This Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., more than 130 vendors will transform Libbey Park, in the heart of downtown Ojai, into an open-air marketplace.
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Longtime Ojai Valley resident Tiana Coudray is on the fringe of making the 2012 Olympic team in the equestrian three-day event. Known as the triathlon of equestrian riding, the event consists of dressage, cross-country course with obstacles and stadium jumping. After the three days of competition, the scores are tallied to determine the top rider and horse. Coudray was recently placed on the short list of nine American riders that are competing for five spots on the Olympic Team.
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Ojai’s Amber Workman, 37, was arrested by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department Wednesday on suspicion of grand theft — embezzlement. Between January 2007 and December 2009, Workman served as treasurer of the Ojai Eagles Youth Football League, a nonprofit organization for area kids ages 7 to 14.