A “Yellow Ribbon” for Solvang soldier on duty in the Middle East

A “Yellow Ribbon” for Solvang soldier on duty in the Middle East

A “Yellow Ribbon” was recently mailed to Colonel A. Art Kaslow from Solvang. Col. Kaslow is a U.S. Army Reserve officer stationed in Iraq.

The “Ribbon”, a 6–foot–long fabric banner, is decorated with hundreds of hand-written messages. After affixing their good wishes to the banner, members of his Rotary Club, pictured here, carried it around Solvang, gathering the messages.

Friends and neighbors at the local Friday night football game signed, including many of the players. The staff of his dental practice signed. Countless patients signed. Members of local service clubs signed. Retailers signed. The banner carried an abundance of caring good wishes.

This project is one of several being carried out by the Solvang Breakfast Rotary Club. Members are also collecting magazines and personal items for shipment to troops in the war zone, among which is yet another member of the community, Sergeant Chris Ream. Chris is the son of one of the Rotarians. As the items are collected, they are packaged and mailed by members of the club.

State fires impact National Forest

Los Padres National Forest’s trails and hiking areas will remain closed until officials declare the 2007 California fire season is over, which could take weeks.

Forest Supervisor Peggy Hernandez made the decision to completely close the nearly 1.75 million acres to visitors Oct. 23, “as a result of current extreme fire activity in the Southern California Province, very low fuel moisture, and fire suppression resources being stretched to the limit.”

Private property owners within the forest are not included in the emergency order and neither are those with special use permits.

Through traffic on county roads or state highways will not be interrupted but drivers are urged to be heightened alert for any fire related activity.

Part of the reasoning behind the closure order was the continuing efforts to contain the so-called Ranch Fire which started in the Angeles National Forest on Oct. 20 and moved into the eastern region of Los Padres near Lake Piru, said spokesman Victor Gutierrez.

Two days later 22 firefighters from Santa Barbara County --- five engine companies, a strike team leader and a trainee joined the assault on the blaze. They have since been reassigned.

A total of 53 Santa Barbara firefighters and one hand crew were dispatched to assist with fires in the state.

The conflagration of fires in Southern California created a “draw down” of personnel but with specific limits, Gutierrez said. The public here is still being fully served. Seasonal help around the state were also deployed to the active fire zones.

Father pleads to drugs, child abuse

SANTA BARBARA – A father of three who allegedly hid a baggy of methamphetamine in a child’s “sippy cup” at home was sentenced Oct. 25 to 90 days in the county jail.

Israel Lara Gutierrez, 29, agreed with the prosecution that he was guilty of possession for sale of methamphetamine and cocaine and guilty of felony child endangerment

Santa Barbara County sheriff’s narcotics detectives raided Gutierrez’ Carpenteria home on Oct. 17, acting on information that he was dealing drugs in the area. They discovered the drugs in various locations around the home, and “a digital scale, commonly used to weigh narcotics for sales, was found in a diaper bag inside of a crib,” according to Sgt. Erik Raney, the sheriff’s spokesman. They also found more than $1,000 in cash, “packaging material and other items associated with the sales of narcotics,” Raney said.

Gutierrez’ children, three years old and younger, were in the home when the search warrant was served. They ultimately were allowed to stay there with their mother.

This was Gutierrez’s first arrest, said Deputy District Attorney Brian Cota. The defendant was ordered to attend parenting classes and, once released, will be on felony probation for four years. Should Gutierrez violate that probation, a prison sentence could be imposed by the court.

Local bank changes name

The former Valley Oaks Bank has been renamed Montecito Bank & Trust, Valley Oaks Branch, officials announced earlier this month.

“Our Valley Oaks Branch team … is committed to providing the same great service and meeting the deposit and credit needs of Santa Ynez Valley residents and business owners,” stated Janet A. Garufis, president and chief executive officer of Montecito Bank and Trust, a locally owned community bank founded in 1975.

The bank has branch offices in Solvang, Goleta, Santa Barbara, Montecito. Carpinteria and Westlake Village.