VOL. XXIX NO. 34
AUGUST 20, 2021
(Photo by Chris Frost)
Chief Financial Officer Kevin Riper
RIPER IS GRATEFUL TO OXNARD
By Chris Frost Tri County Sentry
Oxnard-Chief Financial Officer Kevin Riper is preparing for his next challenge as the new Director of Financial Management in Long Beach. His last day in the city is Tuesday, September 7. He is grateful to the city and staff in Oxnard that wanted to make the government a source of pride for its residents. During his interview process, Riper said Oxnard’s financial challenges were well known, but City Manager Alex Nguyen is considered one of the strongest city managers in Southern California, and Oxnard is a beautiful place to live. “Those three things together attracted me to Oxnard,” he said. “In local government, everything is public record, everything is n Grateful, see page 12
Meet-Up Clean-Up
BEAUTIFIES OXNARD By Chris Frost Tri County Sentry Oxnard-- The Meet-Up, Clean-up team is back in action, and the group was at Colonia Park, Saturday, August 14, making their community shine.
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OLUNTEERS arrived bright and early and worked hard on their space while the Little Leaguers competed at the ball diamond. Recreation Leader III Debbie Estrada led the event and said the Colonia Park Clean-Up was the first Meet-Up, Clean-Up for the season.
“We’re going to do whatever needs to be done, pickup, clean, weed, remove graffiti, and do whatever we can,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do in this area. We’re going to do a little painting around the basketball courts and do some trash pickup and graffiti removal.” She planned on a crowd of 20 people, including members of City Corps and the Youth D ir e c n Colonia Park, see page 5
Backpack program aids the homeless By Chris Frost Tri County Sentry
(Photo by Chris Frost)
Medical Professionals from the Ventura County Backpack program visit a homeless individual at the River Bottom.
Oxnard-- Ventura County Medical Professionals, along with homeless outreach professionals, the Ventura County Sherrif’s office, and Oxnard Police Department were in the river bottom, Monday, August 16, offering humanitarian aid to the homeless.
The team offered a myriad of aid, including housing, mental health services, healthcare, and Veteran services. Supervisors LaVere and Ramirez, along with District 2 and District 1 council members Gabe Teran and Bert Perello, have heard concerns from the community about encampments in the Santa Clara river bottom. “We’re here with the County
of Ventura, and they have a crew that goes out with backpack supplies to provide service to those who are living out there but also see what services they need,” Teran said. “We’re starting to look long term, and what are we going to do about this.” He noted that having these people at the river bottom is not a sustainable situation. n Backpack, see page 5