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The Tri County’s Only Multicultural Newspaper
The Tri County’s Only Multicultural Newspaper
TRI TRICOUNTY COUNTY
ENTRY ENTRY VOL. XXVIII NO. 14
APRIL 3, 2020
Frosted Thoughts
Greetings from the edge of reality n See page 3
Jean Hooper is a Hoopin' Angel among us By Chris Frost chris@tricountysentry.com Oxnard-- The Tri County Sentry's Angels Among Us series continues in April with the story of child advocate Jean Hooper, who founded "Hattie Hooper’s Heroes” in Oxnard.
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HE group hula hoops at the Boys and Girls Club of Oxnard and Port Hueneme and shares characters they created with Jean while building esteem and selfconfidence. A Hooper Hero always lends a helping hand and helps others discover what they're good at with creative ideas and words of encouragement. A Hooper Hero is someone who participates in random acts of kindness, either on their own or with
their community, and willingly volunteers to help their community by staying positive and by offering to help those in need. They share their gifts and talents while bringing positivity to their friends, family, and their community. A Hooper Hero never gives up on themselves or others and doesn't have to be strong in the beginning but finds strength by being grateful and giving.
she got bullied, and that stuck with her. "I was supposed to be a secretary, and that was me fighting with my parents," she said. "All my cousins worked at some kind of office job. In high school, they had me take shorthand and typing, and I hated that. I would put my head down in typing class and fall asleep. My teachers would write on my report card that I daydream too much in class." To this day, she still dreams. "You should never stop," she said. n Jean Hooper, see page 6
Growing up shy, but strong Looking back, Jean said her parents helped her to be a strong person. Jean said as a child,
Union MOUs
cause significant overtime in Oxnard By Chris Frost chris@tricountysentry.com Oxnard-- The Finance and Governance Committee's Overtime cost analysis continues with the cost of overtime versus the cost of hire. The audit, performed by Internal Auditor Price Paige, examined all departments that issue overtime hours to staff and covered four fiscal years. Audit Partner Henry Oum told the committee that nine of the 11 top positions that use overtime are related to public safety. That need is not unique to the City of Oxnard. "We can see that the fire captain, police officer, and fire engineer comprise the top three overtime use positions in the City of Oxnard," he said. "We took that data and compared it to Modesto, Glendale, and Huntington Beach, and they all have the same job description classifications that use overtime." Oum requested that the fire department breakdown how they use overtime, and
(File photo)
Henry Oum
the police department has 100 different overtime codes and uses a different system to track those costs. "The majority of the overtime being requested is related to backfill and enforcement detail," he said. Backfill implies a vacant position or if someone is out on vacation or sick leave, and someone n Union MOUs, see page 3
Living one day at a time amid the Coronavirus By Chris Frost chris@tricountysentry.com Milan-- The conversation with Chandra Alley, who moved with her family to Italy on Aug. 31, 2018, when her husband got transferred from the United States continues with how the Coronavirus has affected her shopping habits to feed her four children. Chandra grocery shops for her family every five days, which she said is her regular schedule.
She heard a podcast that recommended that she clean items that many people touch in the store before you put them in the car, which Chandra doesn't do, but she does clean the item before she puts it into her refrigerator. "A grocery store is a place you want to visit less often because you are around so many people," she said the podcast advised she listened to recommended. "Here, they only allow 15 people in the store at one time. I have a friend who waited for
two hours to get her groceries the other day." In Italy, social distancing between people is one meter (3.28 feet), but people are distancing themselves by two-plus meters because of the virus. "I have been to my local store once since they implemented these rules, and I waited for about a halfhour to get into the store," Chandra said. "Buying some things in advance is good, but stockpiling things like toilet paper is not necessary. The n Coronavirus, see page 2
The Alley family is keeping the faith.
(Courtesy photo)