SIMI'S REAGAN COUNTRY MEMORIAL EVENTS CAST TOWN IN BRIGHTER ROLE.

Byline: Andrea Cavanaugh Staff Writer

Simi Valley's role as the beating heart of Reagan Country has never been stronger than during the last week.

The city, home to Ronald Reagan's presidential library and bisected by a freeway bearing his name, shone in the national spotlight during a week of tribute to the nation's 40th president.

An estimated 106,000 mourners came to the city to file solemnly past Reagan's flag-draped casket as television stations from around the world broadcast live from the Reagan Library.

The last time Simi Valley was under the national microscope was in 1992, when a Ventura County jury acquitted four Los Angeles police officers of savagely beating motorist Rodney King.

For many Americans, Simi Valley was symbolic of that verdict, which sparked riots in Los Angeles that caused $1 billion in damage and left 53 dead.

This time around, television viewers saw Simi Valley residents coming to the entrance of the Reagan Library in droves, paying tribute to the late president with flowers, flags, balloons and hand-lettered signs.

City officials were thrilled to see saturation television coverage of the events at the Reagan Library, with a Simi Valley dateline in the corner of the screen.

``There will be a lot of people from outside the area who will come here and see we're not the rogue city depicted in the Rodney King trials,'' Mayor Bill Davis said. ``People have seen what a great wonderful city we have.''

Nancy Kincaid, 62, a Simi Valley resident since 1964, said the Reagan memorial events helped polish the image of a city tarnished by the King verdict.

``Rodney King put us on the map, but now we have Reagan,'' she said. ``This is a positive thing.''

The memorial events, which have been meticulously planned for years, showed Simi Valley residents as the proud Americans they really are, Davis said.

``American flags were out everywhere,'' Davis said. ``People have shown their patriotism and their respect for a man they loved.''

Civic boosters hope the Reagan Library events will leave an indelible impression on people around the country.

``It's certainly always a positive thing when your city is seen in a positive light,'' said Marshall Schrago, an operations officer for the Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce. ``We hope people will come and visit.''

Although Ventura County voters have been nearly split in the last two presidential elections, with President George W. Bush edging out Al Gore by just 1 percentage point in the 2000 race, conservative sentiment runs deep in the east county cities of Simi Valley, Moorpark and Thousand Oaks.

``The county is not Reagan Country, but Simi Valley is,'' said Bob Clement, 61, a Simi Valley resident since 1978. ``Did I vote for Ronald Reagan? Did I campaign for him? Yes, I did.''

Republican candidates for state and national office, including Rep. Elton Gallegly, have traditionally won by resounding margins here.

And Reagan, who successfully blended conservative politics with a familiar, down-home appeal, has always been popular here.

Linda Brown, 42, who cut roses from her Wood Ranch yard to place at the entrance of the library the day after Reagan's death was announced, has been a frequent visitor to the library in recent years.

``We go there a lot,'' she said. ``We were fans of Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan.''

Chuck Dolan, 54, a firefighter from Simi Valley, mourned the former president's death at the library on Saturday, the day Reagan died from pneumonia and complications of Alzheimer's Disease at 93.

``He did us a lot of good while he was in office,'' Dolan said. ``I thought he was a great president.''

Andrea Cavanaugh, [phone]

andrea.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

12 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Former President Ronald Reagan's motorcade passes a heart mowed into brush off the 118 Freeway on Monday.

(2 -- color) Residents await the Reagan motorcade Monday with flying flags on the Cochran Street overpass over the Ronald Reagan Freeway.

Dean Musgrove/Staff Photographer

(3 -- color) Dane Senser, 52, of San Luis Obispo, waits at the entrance to the Reagan Library.

(4) At the entrance to the Reagan Library, well-wishers have left pictures of Ronald Reagan, flowers and cowboy boots.

(5) Ronald Prescott Reagan, son of the former president, touches his father's casket during the sunset service in Simi Valley on Friday. He talked about his father's decency.

(6) An honor guard carries the casket of former President Ronald Reagan on Wednesday from the Reagan Library to a hearse for its trip to Washington, D.C.

(7) As Ronald Reagan's casket lay in his presidential library, estimates of more than 100,000 people from Simi Valley and from much farther away filed past to pay their last respects.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer

(8) The hearse carrying the casket of former President Ronald Reagan arrived at the Reagan Library on Monday.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer

(9 -- color) - Ovi Pepelea

(10 -- color) - Johnny Tadeo

(11 -- color) - Robin Mooney

(12 -- color) - Braven Greenelsh