News from around the Ojai Valley

No short-term fix: Supervisors delay vote on valley vacation-rental plan

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Published on Thursday, 14 June 2018 13:21

Andra Belknap, Ojai Valley News reporter
Another Ventura County Board of Supervisors (BOS) discussion of short-term rentals in the unincorporated areas of Ventura County has come and gone, and a decision has yet to be made.
The BOS heard testimony from approximately 80 speakers June 12, from 5:45 to 9 p.m., said Kim Uhlich, a senior planner with the Ventura County Resource Management Agency.
The supervisors deliberated for approximately an hour, she said. They will continue their deliberation June 19, but will not take additional public comments during that session, according to  Supervisor Steve Bennett, who represents the Ojai Valley.

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End of an era: Students graduate amidst Summit campus uncertainty

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Published on Thursday, 14 June 2018 12:33

Ojai Valley News photo by Andra Belknap

Summit kindergarteners (from left) Cali Robinson, Max Martinez, JoJo Voyson, Ivan Barraza and Dylan Wilcox celebrate their promotion to first grade June 14.

Andra Belknap, Ojai Valley News reporter
Summit Elementary School celebrated the graduation of 11 sixth-grade students June 14. The celebration, that included speeches from each member of the graduating class, will likely mark the final sixth-grade promotion at the elementary school.
The Ojai Unified School District's (OUSD) School Board voted June 6 to suspend enrollment at Summit for the 2018 – 2019 school year. Just one month earlier, the Board voted to move OUSD sixth graders to Matilija Junior High School at the start of the 2019 – 2020 school year.
The day before graduation, Summit Principal Marilyn Smith led the school’s 38 students on a celebratory hike on Sisar Road.
Summit parents have begun investigating the prospect of transforming the Upper Ojai elementary school into a charter school, according to Summit parent Thea Wilcox, whose three children will attend Monica Ros School in the fall.

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Weekend events draw thousands to the valley

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Published on Thursday, 14 June 2018 11:52

Ojai Valley News photo by Tim Dewar

With a disappearing Lake Casitas in the background, Ojai Wine Festival attendees make their way to the event June 10.

Perry Van Houten, Ojai Valley News reporter
Ojai Music Festival CEO and president Jamie Bennett breaks it down by the numbers:
Thirty-five events over four days.
More than 100 musicians (one piece required eight trombonists).
Three-hundred volunteers, 300 donors and 60 families providing lodging for the players and technicians.
Apart from some hot weather, Bennett said the 72nd annual festival, held June 7 through June 10 in Libbey Bowl, went off without a hitch.
“It was highly successful. I couldn't be more pleased,” he said.

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Local tree die-off not as bad as in areas to the north

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Published on Thursday, 14 June 2018 11:48

Perry Van Houten, Ojai Valley News reporter
The one-two punch of drought and insects is still killing trees in the Los Padres National Forest (LPNF), but the die-off appears to have lessened.
“Tree mortality is slowing down in the Los Padres,” said Greg Thompson, a USFS forester based in Frazier Park. “We still have endemic levels of tree mortality, we're just not having epidemic levels.”
That's not the case in other parts of the state where the drought and bark beetles have killed an estimated 129 million trees, as of December's count.
Currently, there are more than a million acres with high levels of mortality across three affected forests.
Especially hard hit are the Sequoia and Sierra National Forests, that have lost more than 52 million trees combined.
By comparison, many areas in the LPNF have stabilized over the past two or three years, Thompson said.
“We're still seeing mortality in certain areas, but it definitely hasn't been to the level of what the Sequoias and northward are seeing,” he said.

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Nordhoff High School’s graduation ceremony set for June 15

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Published on Thursday, 14 June 2018 11:44

Nordhoff High School will hold its 2018 graduation ceremony June 15 at 6:30 p.m. in Ojai Community Stadium.
The following is a list of the 155 students who will be graduated during the ceremony:

Jonathan Achee, Abigail Alcantar, Adan Almaraz, Alexandra Anthonioz, David Arambula, Jacob Aranda, Sarah Avdeeff.

Daniel Bahamondes, Natalia Barragan, Landon Beaty, Victor Becker, Lydia Becket, Grace Bergmann, Abigail Bossart, Julia Botti, Sadee Broida, Jesse Brooks, Kaelyn Brown, Zane Budlong, Noahm Byle.

Aureliano Camargo Perez, Vanesa Carbajal, Sergio Cedillos, Cole Clinton, Madison Collins, Eric Conkright.

George Davis, Emely De Leon, Jonathan Demmond, Michelle Diaz, Richard Dubeau, Nathan Duque.

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Matilija graduates 217 students June 14

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Published on Thursday, 14 June 2018 11:42

Matilija Junior High School held its 2018 graduation ceremony June 14 at 7 p.m. in the Ojai Community Stadium at Nordhoff High School.
The following is the list of 217 students who were graduated during the ceremony.

Nina Ahumada-Forester, Ashley Allen, Arianna Alonso, Brianna Alonso, Jacob Andersen, Ryan Ando, Andrew Andrade, Dylin Andrews, Maxwell Arce, James Arellanes, Grant Ashton, Veronica Avila, Mayleana Ayala.

Elijah Bailey, Franko Barragan Maldonado, Carlos Bautista, Arthur Becker, Martin Bernabe  Jr., Jade Bledsoe, Spencer Bradley, Madelyn Brannan, Aric Brevik-Wolk, Noelle Brown, Reily Brown, Landon Buck-Kennedy, Marley Burroughs, Leanna Bustamante.

Yahir Calderon, Ava Caliri, Eduardo Cano, Ezra Carrasco, Jonathan Carrera, Alejandro Castro, Luis Centeno, Raniya Chaoui, Rene Churchill, Alexis Clark, Evelyn Clerou, Sydney Coffman, Molly Coker, Chance Colon, Alexander Cosby, Karina Cruz, Sebastian Cuevas, Emily Currier.

Logan Daily, Benny Davis, Dylan Davis, Tabitha DeLano, Lorenzo Del Nagro, Ellis Del Vecchio, Pablo Diaz, Hunter Doan, Elizabeth Donnelly, Jennifer Donohue, O'neil Drury, Ethan Duke, Elijah Dvortcsak.

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Villanova holds graduation event

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Published on Thursday, 14 June 2018 11:37

Villanova Preparatory School held its graduation ceremony June 2. The following is a list of students graduated during that ceremony:

Riley Nicole Ambrose, Peter Richard Fowles Appleby. 

Madison Michele Bailey, Keagan Torrevillas Brillantes, Cameron Michael Brock, Cole William Burk.

Robert Troy Caron, Ting Chen, Andrew (Yu Man) Chou, Isabella Marguerite Colmenar, Faith Elizabeth Cottam, James Riggs Cummins, Hannah Nicole Cunningham.

Victoria Morgan Delamora, Joseph Michael Donohue.

Lucy Grace Ebers, Hayden John Edmonds.

Maggie Michelle Fitzgerald, Sydney Elizabeth Fleet. 

Conrad Lee Gramckow. 

Haiden Grahm Henderson, Annedrea Derek Hyndman. 

Taylor Anna Johnson.

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Ojai Valley School graduates 21

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Published on Thursday, 14 June 2018 11:35

Photo by Misty Hall

Ojai Valley School graduates gather for graduation ceremonies June 1 in the school’s Carl S. Cooper Amphitheater. The 21 graduates include Celeste Addison, Clara Addison, Joy Campbell, William Castagna, Huiru (Sunny) Chang, Samuel Desmond, Leila Giannetti, Emma Gustafson, Wen Hang, Yen-Lin (Ellen) Hou, Andrew Meng, Usmon Mirzoaliev, Kase Skillern, Jacob Tadlock, Philip Trompke, Yifan (Evan) Wang, Peter Weckerle, Rong (Albee) Xu, Shotaro Yamamura, Jiawei (Tony) Yang and Juning (Jenny) Zhang.

Oak Grove School graduates 10 students

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Published on Thursday, 14 June 2018 11:19

Photo by Oliver Cornell

Oak Grove school graduates (from left) You Wu, Ophena De La Rosa, Bryce Brewer, Sydney Heikes Stump, Jackson Mitchell, Xiujing Xiong, Sycamore Mitchell, McKenna Lynch, Zifeng Peter Hu and Grace Emmeline Story receive their diplomas June 6 in a ceremony at the school.

Chaparral, adult grads earn diplomas

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Published on Thursday, 14 June 2018 11:17

Chaparral High School held its 2018 graduation ceremony June 14 at 5 p.m. The following is a list of the students graduated during the ceremony:
Alexandria Brittain Yanez, Ana Marie Dale, Bryant Antonio Garcia, Dakota LeAnn Strben, Dylan Patrick Winbury, Ernesto Jimenez, Haley Lynn Zimmerman, Hannah May Hollebrands, Josericardo Gonzalez Torres, Kaitlin Rose Moniot, Luz Maria Juarez, Sage Nicolas Tate, Silvia Magdalena Barnett, Victoria Amada Trevino and Yadira Morales Juarez.
The Ojai Unified School District’s Adult Education program graduated seven students during the ceremony as well. The following is the list of those graduates:
Christopher David Bunheirao, Dalia Jacqueline Gutierrez, Kyle Jon Canessa, Helder Godinez, Jorge Rios Gomez, Gabriel Scott Luboff, Rane Suapeyague Tumamait-Stenslie.

Encino man charged with threatening goes to court

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Published on Thursday, 14 June 2018 11:07

Perry Van Houten, Ojai Valley News reporter
An Encino man facing a felony charge for allegedly threatening a construction crew on Highway 33 north of Ojai appeared in a Ventura courtroom June 11.
Jonathan Vigil, 54, had his early disposition conference moved to July 11.
“The defense attorney and the prosecutor will discuss the matter to see if they can resolve it,” said Deputy District Attorney Chelsea Noble. “If it cannot be resolved then eventually it will be set for a preliminary hearing.”
A preliminary hearing set for June 13 was cancelled.

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Police Blotter as of June 14:

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Published on Thursday, 14 June 2018 09:51

Crimes
• Vehicle burglary was reported in the 11300 block of Santa Ana Road June 3.
• Burglary and vandalism were reported in the 300 block of Foothill Road June 6.
• Disturbing the peace was reported in the 1300 block of Maricopa Highway June 6.
• Grand theft was reported in the 11700 block of Creek Road June 6.
• Battery was reported in the 1100 block of Tico Road June 7.
• Assault with a deadly weapon was reported in the 4000 block of Crooked Palm Road June 7.
• Burglary was reported in the 8900 block of Nye Road June 7.
• Vehicle theft was reported in the 200 block of Burnham Road June 9.
Arrests
• A 38-year-old man was arrested in the 1300 block of Maricopa Highway June 4 for making criminal threats. Bail was set at $20,000.

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Memorial Day parade photo album

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Published on Wednesday, 13 June 2018 14:15

(Ojai Valley News photos by Tim Dewar)

Members of the Kalpulli Kuauhziuatl Danza Azteca perform at this year's Oak View Memorial Day parade.

Oak View's 13th Annual Memorial Day Parade May 28 honored the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military.
The theme of this year’s parade was “Honor Their Sacrifice.”
The parade featured 18 entries, fewer than last year, but each entry had more participants, according to parade organizer Kim Armstrong.
Parade entries included Jill Olivares Insurance: Allstate – vehicle, Ventura Corvette Club – two vehicles, Ventura County Fire Department – antique Mack fire truck, David and Peggy Stanwood – 1952 Chevy pickup, Greg Rents – backhoe, Rotary Club of Ojai, Living Treasures – vehicle with riders, Sunset School – marchers, Girl Scout Troop 65011 – marchers, Topa Topa Flywheelers – tractors, Regan Family English National Grand Champion, Girl Scout Troop 61137 – marchers, Ojai Valley Patrol – vehicle, Ventura County Model A Ford Club – five antique cars, Rancho Los Dos Amigos – horses and mariachis, Calvary Chapel of the Ojai Valley – float, Tom's Vintage Tractors – tractors, Ventura County Fire Department, Oak View Station #23 – fire trucks and the Kalpulli Kuauhziuatl Danza Azteca – Aztec dancers.

Click here to view Memorial Day parade photo album

Fourth of July activities on tap

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Published on Wednesday, 13 June 2018 07:58

Ojai Valley News photo by Tim Dewar

Two 2017 Fourth of July parade watchers work out who will get to wave a flag.

Perry Van Houten, Ojai Valley News reporter
Ojai Independence Day 2018 will start with a baton and end with a boom, crackle and pop.
The festivities begin July 3 at 7 p.m. with a free concert by the Ojai Summer Band at Libbey Bowl.
Ojai Band Director Laura Denne said the evening will include patriotic favorites with lots of opportunities to sing along, an armed forces salute and a performance of "The Ojai Song" by actor and singer Phil Harvey.
Other featured soloists will include Dewayne Boccali singing "God Bless America" and Dick Dodd singing favorites from World War II.

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Yoga studios to hold joint event

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Published on Tuesday, 12 June 2018 15:42

Photo submittted

Organizers of the Ojai International Yoga Day Celebration (from left) are Gabriella Chesneau, Isha Ferraz, Francesca Gold, Ellen Bain and Alana Mitnick.

Andra Belknap, Ojai Valley News reporter

Cruise by Libbey Park the evening of June 22 and you'll see scores of yogis immersed in practice.
Isha Ferraz, owner of Meiners Oaks' Hamsa Studio, decided she wanted to host an event that would bring Ojai's numerous yoga studios together.
The Ojai International Yoga Day Celebration will bring together practitioners from seven local yoga studios.
Ferraz has lived in the valley for the past four years, and in her memory, the disparate studios have never come together for a collaborative event.
“The spirit was there, someone just needed to jumpstart it,” she said.

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