ARROYO SIMI CROSSING GUARDS : VOLUNTEERS PATROLLING FLOOD CHANNEL.

Byline: Alicia Doyle Daily News Staff Writer

Providing a temporary solution to discourage kids from crossing the Arroyo Simi until a permanent bridge is built, the City Council has decided to post volunteer guards at shortcuts often used along the flood control channel.

Colleen Hubler of Moorpark is one of about a dozen community volunteers who has signed up so far. And the reason she volunteered is a noble one: guarding the arroyo, she said, will give her personal satisfaction in knowing she may prevent another child's death.

``This is urgent, and something that has to be done,'' said Hubler, former vice president of the Moorpark Little League, in which drowning victim Joel Burchfield used to play with her son, Jeffrey. ``Joel's death affected everyone. Moorpark cannot lose another child.''

Volunteers from the Moorpark Police Resource Center - who are already trained in emergency response - will team up with volunteers from the community and local organizations such as Hubler to prevent kids from crossing the creek to and from school, said Capt. Mike Lewis of the Moorpark Police Department.

Volunteers will be strategically placed along the river at Liberty Bell Road, Moorpark Avenue and Belltramo Ranch Road. They will work Monday through Friday during peak crossing hours - two hours before school and two hours after school. Times will fluctuate on days students have different schedules. The guards will join a handful of volunteers who have been manning trouble spots since the first rainfall this season.

The serious effort to keep children away from the bridgeless river spurred from the death of Burchfield, an 11-year-old who drowned in the creek almost a year ago while taking a shortcut home from Chaparral Middle School. The swollen waters were too swift for Joel - a boy smaller than most kids his age. Though the flood control channel appeared shallow, its deceiving, rapid waters swept the boy off his feet. Joel's body was found on the arroyo bank seven miles away.

The brief walk across the arroyo is a common shortcut for children walking home from Chaparral school. Youngsters living in Mountain Meadows and surrounding areas shave at least one mile off their trek by crossing the stretch, where the creek is lined with concrete for county flood control trucks and emergency vehicles. The riverbed is normally dry. But even when it rains, kids fearlessly lift their pant legs and hop through the cold, rushing water, neighbors say.

Building a permanent bridge is the best possible solution to preventing further deaths, Lewis said. Until then, he believes the guards will be an effective deterrent.

``The best answer is a bridge,'' Lewis said. ``But in the meantime, we can use this volunteer approach to remind the kids to go around the arroyo.''

Officials have planned to build a bridge near Liberty Bell Road since the mid-1980s. But coordination between public and private agencies has slowed the process, officials said.

The volunteers will guard the arroyo until a permanent bridge is built. Bids for the project opened Wednesday night, and a contract is scheduled to be awarded next week. City officials expect construction on the bridge to begin in January.

At a City Council meeting Wednesday, officials turned down an offer from a Westlake Village company that wanted to donate a $300,000 temporary bridge from Long Beach to be built over the arroyo.

City officials said the cost and time to dismantle the bridge, move it to Moorpark and obtain necessary permits and easements outweighed the benefits.

``It was a generous offer,'' said Moorpark Mayor Pat Hunter, who added that the guards are a more immediate, short-term solution. ``The volunteers are a more effective way to accomplish our objective.''

Volunteers

Volunteers willing to guard the Arroyo Simi before and after school may call the Moorpark Police Resource Center at 531-9113 or 531-9468. Volunteers will be provided with rain gear.

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Photo, Box

Box: Volunteers (See text)

Photo: (Color only in Simi edition) Jean Atzei and Ken James of the Moorpark Police Resource Center patrol an area of the arroyo where kids have been known to cross.

Andy Holzman/Special to the Daily News