The Year in Review
Runkle rumblings, landfill expansion and one $39,000 police bill- the year that was in Simi Valley
 | | ACORN FILE PHOTO BRAVE HEART- Ventura County Firefighter James Craig carries Leo from a burning house on Celia Court in Simi Valley. The home's occupants lost one dog to the February fire, three others were saved. Shot by former Acorn staffer Michael Coons, this is Simi Valley Acorn's 2007 Photo of the Year. |
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January Heritage Oak, believed to be Simi Valley's oldest and largest oak tree, is cut down after an estimated 400 years along the Arroyo Simi because its base is dead and crumbling. Police arrest six members of a local tagging crew suspected of committing 60 acts of graffiti vandalism during a twoweek period. All are under the age of 19. Residents across Simi gather to celebrate Martin Luther King Day, including a large and energetic crowd at Simi Second Missionary Baptist, where Pastor Willie M. Gray led services. A sudden drop in temperature- down to 24 degrees outside of Camarillo- costs the county an estimated $94 billion in lost crops. Hardest hit are citrus fruits. A grassroots effort led by resident Judy Pepiot causes the City Council to adopt changes to the building code that reflect the concept of universal design, under which housing units are built to accommodate people of all ages and physical limitations. Despite pleas from friends and neighbors, the Simi Valley Planning Commission tells resident Ethyl Wortman the three pet dwarf goats living in her backyard must go. According to the city's zoning code, goats are considered farm animals, not pets. A new county task force spearheaded by Simi resident and County Commissioner Peter Foy pledges to remedy the dangerous conditions on Highway 118 between Moorpark and Camarillo. A report states 308 collisions, 161 injuries and one fatality occurred on the stretch of road in 2006. Mary Bibb, former president of the Simi Valley Boys & Girls Club board of trustees, becomes the first woman appointed to the planning commission since 1990. Ventura County firefighters use the Jaws of Life to rescue a resident from her wrecked car on the 118 Freeway near First Street. She is three months pregnant and escapes with minor injuries. Simi Valley Unified School District purchases a low-emissions school bus for $128,000. It is the first in the district's fleet to come standard equipped with seat belts. A late-night shooting at the intersection of Fourth Street and Ashland Avenue takes the life of Luis Torres, 18, a Royal High graduate who worked at a Thousand Oaks law firm. A police investigation begins. As part of its 10-year plan to end homelessness, the Ventura County Homeless and Housing Coalition takes a count of the number of homeless persons living in the county. Simi's total is 163. Linda Perkins, Nancy Mason, Caryl Van Arsdall, Marsteen Kotrbe and Teri Brotherton are selected as winners at the Simi Valley Education Foundation's sixth annual Lew Roth Awards dinner. The award honors standouts in the field of education. Royal High's Jade Anderson proves she's one of the best female wrestlers in the state by winning the CIF Southern Regional in the 138-pound weight class.
 | | HIT IT- Ventura County Firefighter Mike Mejia of Station No. 44 prepares to soak a fire remnant that was part of a grassland blaze which burned near Highway 118 and Madera Road on Monday, September 10. The fire, Simi's first of '07, consumed just 15 acres of brush but was very visible to residents. |
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February In the name of public safety, the City Council adopts an ordinance prohibiting sales by street vendors. The law makes it illegal for peddlers to sell products while standing or walking on city streets, medians or sidewalks. Simi Valley High retires the jersey number of 2001 alumnus and Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver. Weaver is accompanied by his brother, Jeff, whose Pioneer number is also retired. Homeless living near the Arroyo Simi are forced to move as Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District launches a campaign to eliminate health and safety hazards posed by illegal encampments. Several camps are bulldozed and two dozen transients are displaced. Report of Part I crime statistics reveals that violent crime in Simi was up 15 percent over 2006. Total crime is down 9 percent. Hundreds gather to mourn the loss of 13-year-old Jake Lucas, who was killed in a dirt bike accident while riding in the hills near his family's home. Jake was a student at Valley View Middle School. The Simi Valley Police Foundation raises an estimated $18,000 during its annual live auction and banquet in the Ronald Reagan Library's Air Force One Pavilion. Gary Marshall is presented the foundation's Distinguished Service Award. The Simi Valley Youth Council puts on its 2007 Youth Summit at the Rancho Santa Susana Community Center. The event, which is aimed at inspiring students to become active in their communities, is in its sixth year. Median home prices across the county see first significant drop. Mayor Paul Miller responds via letter to a Simi Valley Acorn editorial chastising the City Council's decision to ban street peddling. Miller defends "brick and mortar" businesses and says Ordinance 1109 was about "traffic flow, property impacts and personal safety." After successful regular seasons, the Simi Valley boys' and the Royal girls' basketball teams bow out of the Southern Section playoffs.
 | | IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers FITTING TRIBUTE- Barbara Selleh (center) strains to hold back tears as she accepts a folded American flag from Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton at the memorial service for her husband of 23 years, George Michael Selleh. Selleh was killed July 29 in a traffic accident on the 101 Freeway. He was on his way to a second job providing security for a Hollywood moviet set. |
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March Scores of Simi Valley Girls' Softball players brave high winds to celebrate the historic opening of Big Sky Park, a $2.8-million facility featuring four regulation softball diamonds. The big surprise: Gold-medal winning pitcher Jennie Finch is flown in last minute to meet the girls and sign autographs. Opposition by residents leads the City Council to delay voting on an antipanhandling ordinance until it can be reviewed by the four neighborhood councils. The law, which eventually passes, makes it illegal to solicit money from people in cars in Simi Valley. Nature advocates want several underpasses to be constructed under the 118 Freeway so wildlife can pass safely. Public works begins a $1-million project aimed at synchronizing 32 traffic signals around Simi. Guests of Simi Valley Education Foundation's annual gala shell out an estimated $70,000 for local schools during a live auction and charity dinner at the Air Force One Pavilion. Simi Valley Town Center holds its first-ever farmers' market. Daniel Ramirez, 22, a suspected Simi Valley gang member, is arrested in connection with the January murder of Luis Torres, 18, following an investigation by Simi police. Teens from Apollo and Royal High volunteer to assess stores for liquor placement and availability during a study conducted by the Coalition for Simi Valley Youth and Community, a private citizens group. Mayor delivers his State of the City address before a packed house at the Grand Vista Hotel. Said Miller, "It should come at no surprise at all when I tell you our city, overall, is in excellent fiscal condition and remains a safe place in which to raise a family and operate a business." Increased demand causes the Simi Valley Acorn to increase its circulation from 28,500 to 33,500 newspapers.
Former Secretary of State James Baker speaks at the Reagan Library. Simi
Valley Senior Center holds its Spring Arts & Crafts Fair. City leaders,
including Councilmembers Glen Becerra and Steve Sojka, travel to Washington,
D.C., to speak with U. S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein's staff about concerns over
Runkle Canyon. A long-debated proposal by Gary Seaton to allow Sunrise Senior
Living Inc. to build a 94
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| WENDY
PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers REMEMBRANCE- Simi residents Paula McNamee,
left, and Kathy Radley, on motorcycles with their husbands, reach
out to hold hands as they line up to be part of a procession of 20
local bikers riding to memorial services in August for their friend
Steve Comstock, who died after a long battle with Hodgkin's
lymphoma. | | bed assisted living facility on Tierra Rejada Road is approved. The much-anticipated 118 Freeway widening project breaks ground at Rocky Peak. Club teams from Simi Valley and Royal high schools compete in the groundbreaking California High School Skateboard Club, born out of Simi's Skatelab. It is the first high school sanctioned skateboarding league in the country.April Councilmember Barbra Willamson announces
plans to form a citizen-led watchdog group to follow Waste Management's plans to
expand the Simi Valley Landfill just one week before news of planned expansion
is released. Local Kiwanis members host a cleanup of Tierra Rejada Park.
Waste Management, operator of the Simi Valley Landfill and Recycling Center,
submits an application to the county to double the size of the landfill from 185
to 371 acres. With no expansion, the landfill will be filled by 2050, WM
officials say. State Sen. Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) comes to Calabasas to
talk to local politicians about the Santa Susana Field Lab and garner support
for Senate Bill 990, which she introduced on the floor in February.
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| BILL
SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers NOT SO BRILLIANT- Royal High students Hila
Assifi, 17, Celene Fuller, 17 and Lisa Chauv, 17, assessed stores
for liquor placement and availability as part of a watchdog program
conducted Friday, March 16 at 15 local alcohol retailers. Students
from both Royal and Apollo highs volunteered to be part of the study
that was organized by the Coalition for Simi Valley Youth and
Community. | | The bill would require the field lab to be cleaned to the EPA's highest standards. The Simi Valley Barbershop, operated for more than 50 years by resident Manuel Banaga, is relocated from its location along Los Angeles Avenue to Strathearn Historical Park for safekeeping. Inaugural class inducted into National Honor Society at Grace Brethren High School. Holocaust Remembrance Day is recognized in an emotional program at Mount Sinai Memorial Park in Simi. Efforts by a family of longtime Spanish-speaking strawberry vendors and their supporters convince the City Council to revisit its ban on street vending, leading to a temporary halt on enforcement of the law. The group eventually gets immunity from the ordinance through a city-approved grandfather clause and returns to work. Valley View Middle Schools earns its second Distinguished Schools Award from the state department of education. More than 800 residents from across the county get up early to participate in a walk to benefit MS research. Daniel Ramirez pleads not guilty to the murder of Luis Torres. Simi Valley Police Chief Mike Lewis asserts, "Simi is safer now than it was 20 years ago," citing per capita crime statistics and greatly decreased police response time at his firstever chief's luncheon at Lost Canyons Golf Club. Simi Valley High grad Officer Brian Young is named Simi Valley Police Department's Officer of the Year for his work combating gangs.  | | IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers PRIDE AND JOY- Laura Wilund of Simi Valley, tears of joy in her eyes, embraces her son David after graduation ceremonies for the class of 2007 at Moorpark College on Thursday, May 24. The community college handed out 300 diplomas to graduates, many of whom will be going on to four-year universities around the state and country. |
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May A Ventura County grand jury releases a report recommending that the park district keep better records of crimes committed on its properties and make those statistics available to the public in an annual report. Local commuters are angered when Caltrans installs two traffic signals at the intersection of Olsen Road and Highway 23, causing major rush hour backups. City Manager Mike Sedell says the city never received prior notice that the signals were being put in. After a controversial double play by Royal High School junior Matt Magill, the Highlander baseball team wins against the Simi High Pioneers 9-8, causing them to slip past Simi in the Marmonte League standings. Royal High School junior diver Melani Meister wins the Marmonte League Diving Finals for the third year in a row. Ten Republican candidates gather at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library for a GOP presidential debate- the library's first. City officials say the debate is financially beneficial to the local economy. Meetings of the Simi Valley Planning Commission are now being streamed live onto the Internet via the city's homepage at simivalley.org. City Councilmember Barbra Williamson announces the appointment of a seven-member citizen task force to investigate the impacts of the proposed expansion of the Simi Valley Landfill. The state Senate passes Senate Bill 990 by a 21-16 vote. The bill moves on to the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee for review. The park district passes a ban making smoking illegal in any of the city's 34 public parks or 10 hiking trails.
 | | BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers GOLDEN ARM- Pitcher Jennie Finch, Olympic gold medalist and the biggest celebrity in softball today, prepares to throw the ceremonial first pitch for the start of Simi Valley Girls Softball season at Big Sky Park Saturday, March 3. Despite the strong winds and dusty conditions, hundreds of community members turned out to see Finch and the park district's new $2.8 million facility. |
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June The Ventura County clerk and recorder's department proposes to open a satellite office in the Simi Valley courthouse in January, to start bringing more county government services to the East County. Waste Management agrees to set aside a piece of its property within the Simi Valley Landfill's proposed expansion site for a new firearms training facility for the Simi Valley Police Department. The Simi Valley school board approves the sale of a 42-acre plot of surplus land to the park district. Park officials say the land, at the top of First Street on Long Canyon Road, will be used to create a new hiking trail. The Simi Valley Planning Commission votes 4-1 to recommend approval of an amendment to the city's zoning code that would allow certain types of mobile street vendors to sell on commercial or industrial property with the property owner's permission. Local residents Frank Serafine, Terry Matheney, Patricia Coryell and John Southwick- who call themselves the "Radiation Rangers"- tell the City Council they paid nearly $4,000 to an independent lab for tests on soil and surface water samples from the proposed Runkle Canyon development site. The residents assert their lab results revealed elevated levels of poisonous arsenic and other heavy metals.
July Simi Valley city officials and developer KB Home obtain soil and surface water samples from Runkle Canyon to test for the presence of arsenic and other heavy metals. Local resident John Southwick, who accompanies the officials, earlier asserted that he and a group of other residents found high levels of contaminants on the site, caused by nuclear testing at the former Santa Susana Field Laboratory. Longtime Simi Valley city clerk Alice Redondo retires after 27 years of service to the city. The Simi Valley Unified School District adopts a rewording of school board policy that allows campuses to be monitored by surveillance cameras. The Ventura County Board of Supervisors meet in Simi Valley City Hall for the first time, to give constituents an idea of County Supervisor Peter Foy's plan to bring more social services to the East County. The United Church of Christ in Simi Valley votes to become the first church in Ventura County to act as a sanctuary congregation for illegal immigrants. The Simi Valley Landfill Expansion Task Force, a citizen group led in an unofficial capacity by Councilmember Barbra Williamson, calls into question an agreement originally made in 1999 between the city of Simi Valley and Waste Management. The group asserts that the city agreed to fully support any future expansion efforts made by the waste hauler, including the current proposed expansion to double the landfill area to 371 acres, based on specific verbiage found in the agreement. The park district approves plans for Simi Valley's first dog park to be built on a site overlooking the Big Sky softball diamonds. The City Council adopts an ordinance requiring citizens to report cases of lost or stolen firearms within 72 hours of discovery. President Lech Kaczynski of Poland visits the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library to induct Reagan into his nation's Order of the White Eagle. The Simi U-12 Gold youth softball team finishes second in the state championships while Simi U-14 Gold finishes third. The results earn both teams the right to compete in the national championship tournaments.
August Simi Valley city officials, in response to assertions made by the landfill expansion task force, say their position in a 1999 agreement with Waste Management was taken out of context. City Manager Sedell tells the Simi Valley Acorn that the verbiage in the agreement referred solely to a minor expansion that was completed in 2002 and in no way applies to WM's 2007 expansion application. A Simi Valley couple, Barbara and Robert Callender are reported missing after family members said it was out of character for the couple to leave town without contacting them. The couple's bodies are found a month later near their crashed vehicle off the side of Malibu Canyon Road. The Simi Valley Youth Baseball U13 PONY AllStar team wins the PONY World Series national championship, after a 12-2 victory over Jefferson Parish, La. John St. Laurent, student resource officer known by many as "Officer Street," retires after 30 years of service with the police department The Ventura County Health Care Agency reveals its plans to expand and relocate the Sierra Vista Family Medical Center to a 32,867square-foot facility that was once the former Edwards Theaters in Mountaingate Plaza, off First Street and Los Angeles Avenue. The park district hires consulting firm HogleIreland Inc. to help them with public outreach for their proposed plan to expand the Sinaloa Golf Course. More than a month after city officials collected soil and surface water samples from the proposed Runkle Canyon development site, limited test results determine that the area poses "no immediate threat to the public." National "Coach of the Year" award winner Terry Gourley resigns from his position as athletic director and head football coach at Grace Brethren School. He is replaced by Mark Hoefler, the Lancers' defensive coordinator for six seasons prior. Local bikers ride through town together to commemorate the loss of 24-year-old Stevie Comstock, who died of Hodgkin's lymphoma after battling with the disease for seven years. Countrywide Financial Corp., the nation's largest mortgage lender with offices in Simi Valley, eliminates about 500 positions across the country and borrows $11.5 billion in order to continue making home loans and to fight the effects of an industrywide slowdown. The layoffs do not affect the Simi Valley offices. The City Council declares its support for state Senate Bill 990. Simi Valley resident Jim Dantona, 59, announces his decision to run for the state Senate as a Democratic candidate for the 19th District. Dantona ran for county supervisor the previous year but was narrowly defeated by Peter Foy.
YEAR IN REVIEW CONTINUED NEXT WEEK |
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