The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 211

LOS ANGELES TIMES VC WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1999 B5 VENTURA COUNTY NEWS Judge Upholds Valli's Battery Conviction The Agenda Court: He rules jurors weren't biased. Singer's wife was found guilty of slapping Moorpark restaurateur. 700 Temple Ave, Camarillo. Participants of all ages and levels of ability are invited to play. $1.75.

Information: 482-1996. Discussion Group The Independent Thinkers will meet from 7 to 9 p.m. at 2231 Hyland Ventura. The group meets for informal discussion on philosophy, politics, psychology and other subjects. Free.

Information: 653-1121. tion of a missing Oak View teen, Kali Manley, in December. "That's the expletive who let the little girl lie in a ditch in Ojai," one juror testified, referring to the male juror's alleged statement. "He said, guess I should have mentioned that to the judge before I was Samonsky, a longtime criminal defense attorney who attempted to protect suspect David Alvarez by concealing the location of Manley's body, contended the juror hid a bias throughout Valli's two-week trial in April. Samonsky said he was disappointed in the ruling and had expected the judge to rule in his client's favor.

"The judge made a factual finding that he intended to believe Juror 11 over several other jurors, and that finding made it easy for him to determine that there was not a significant bias shown," he said. Samonsky said he and Valli had not decided whether to ap peal. Deputy Dist. Atty. Allyson Kimmel said she was pleased with the judge's decision, and hopeful the case would now draw to a close.

"He evaluated the law and the evidence presented and found that the motion should be properly denied," Kimmel said. "We are very pleased that a proper verdict stands." A court hearing is set for Thursday, when the attorneys are expected to discuss how the case should proceed. Valli, a Calabasas resident who faces six months in jail and a $1,000 fine, has not been sentenced on the battery conviction. Kimmel said she will request the matter be set for sentencing. "I think it is best for all parties if it ends," she said.

"A lot of time was expended on this case and on these motions." Wilson Is a Times staff writer, Blake Is a Times Community News reporter. released late Tuesday, Judge Herbert Curtis disagreed. Curtis ruled the juror did not express a bias strong enough to invalidate the jury's unanimous decision. "Assuming the court were to find that Juror No. 11 did express negative opinions about defense counsel, such comments did not automatically sustain a claim of actual prejudice against defendant herself," Curtis said in his ruling.

"In the final analysis, eVen if the court were to find that bias existed, it clearly had a harmless effect on the verdict." In June, the defense called three jurors to testify on statements allegedly made by that juror. They told Curtis the juror criticized defense attorney Louis "Chuck" Samonsky for his role in a high-profile murder case, saying Samonsky was the same lawyer who withheld information on the loca By TRACY WILSON and CATHERINE BLAKE SPECIAL TO THE TIMES Upholding Randy Valli's misdemeanor battery conviction, a Ventura County judge Tuesday denied the homemaker's request for a new trial on grounds jurors in her Ventura County Superior Court trial were biased. Valli, the wife of '60s singing icon Frankie Valli, was found guilty of misdemeanor battery four months ago for slapping a Moorpark restaurant owner during a dispute over the price of a meal. The lengthy post-trial litigation centered on allegations a male juror made angry remarks about Valli's lawyer during deliberationsremarks the defense contends biased the jury against Valli. In a 20-page written ruling THINGS TO DO SEPTEMBER 1 Inventors Month The Gull Wings Children's Museum will hold a craft workshop for children at 4 p.m.

at 418 W. 4th Oxnard. As part of famous inventors and inventions month at the museum, participants will learn about compasses. $3.50 general, free for children under 1. Information: 483-3005.

Painting Exhibit Work by artists Arlene Ori-goni and Tom Hardcastle will be on display in "Wild Planet," an exhibit of wildlife and landscape paintings, from noon to 4 p.m. at the Ojai Center for the Arts, 113 S. Montgomery St. The show will run through Sept. 30.

Free. Information: 646-0117. Mummy Lecture Stuart Tyson Smith, anthropology professor at UC Santa Barbara, will lecture on "Unraveling the Mummy Death and Burial In Ancient Egypt and Nubia" at 7 p.m. at Church of the Nazarene, 2770 Borchard Road, Newbury Park. The program will be presented by the Ventura County Archeological Society.

Free. Information: 485-3570. Geology Talk The Oxnard Gem and Mineral Society will meet at 7:30 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center, Ventura Room, 800 Hobson Way, Oxnard. Geologist Steve Mulqueen will discuss the minerals, mining history and geology of Searles Lake in the Mojave Desert town of Trona.

Free. Information: 482-3052. Clinic Screenings The Oxnard Community Clinic will offer blood pressure screenings from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at 650 Meta St.

Free. Information: 487-5351. Volleyball Offered The Pleasant Valley Recreation and Park District will hold open play volleyball from 6 to 9 p.m. at Los Altos School, Ik Decorative arts instructor Rita Faulders will begin a four-week series on "The Art of Jewelry 1900-1950" at 9:30 a.m. at the Stagecoach Inn Museum, 51 S.

Ventu Park Road, Newbury Park. The series will continue Thursdays through September. $20 for the series or $7 per class for museum members; $25 and $8 nonmembers. Information: 498-9441. The OJal Woman's Club will hold its annual fashion show and luncheon at 11:30 a.m.

at Casa de la Luna, 710 S. La Luna Ojai. $14. Reservations: 646-3668 or 646-7536. The Conejo Valley Macintosh Users Group will meet from 7 to 9:30 p.m.

at Camarillo Airport's Cowan Center, 550 Airport Way. Free. Information: 484-2259. The Slml Valley Breast Cancer Support Group will meet at 7 p.m. at the Aspen Center, 2750 N.

Sycamore Drive, Simi Valley. Free. Information: 583-3313. Theatre for the Community will present "Godspell" at 8 p.m. at Libbey Bowl, Ojai Avenue between Signal and Montgomery streets, Ojai.

The show will continue through Sunday. $15, $10 and $7.50. Information: 654-4189. The Conejo Valley Cloggers will meet at 6:45 p.m. at Old Meadows Park, 1600 Marview Drive, Thousand Oaks.

$5 adults, $3.50 children. Information: 527-6185. The Agenda, a daily listing of events, is compiled by Leo Smith. All events must be open to the public. Please address items, with a publishable tele-' phone number, to The Agenda, Los Angeles Times, 93 S.

Chestnut Ventura 93001. Items can also be faxed to The Times at 653-7576 or 653-7548. i I Jfif r- 4 LANDMARKS OF FAITH THE MUPPET SHOW Henson Programming THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW Hallmark Entertainment Programming ait 1 SJOiJ Fop. I I i I rj-MK. Obituaries i Harriet Henson; Former Mayor of Ventura Odyssey is the entertaining, smart alternative for today's family.

It is a place that celebrates the diversity of today's family by providing programming for the individual and shared experiences. Hallmark Entertainment, The Jim Henson Company, Liberty Media and the National Interfaith Cable Coalition (NICC) have joined forces with Odyssey, creating television that is magical, mystical, spiritual and always entertaining. Odyssey, the First Network for Today's Family. 'JyjJJ A- fN- s- rw I -r1 rj-V IV www.odysseychannel.com A Henson Hallmark Entertainment Network 0 Harriet Farrell Kosmo Henson meeting at 7 p.m. with commemorative remarks in honor of Henson.

Contributions in her name may be made to the Ventura Missionary Church. Memorial services are scheduled at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Ventura Missionary Church, with Pastor Leonard DeWitt officiating. Arrangements are under the direction of the Charles Carroll Funeral Home in Ventura. HALLMARK ENTERTAINMENT -COMPANY-.

Harriet Farrell Kosmo Henson, former mayor of Ventura, died Sunday at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura. She was 63. She was born on April 27, 1936, in Keene, N.H. She graduated with honors from Simmons College in Boston. In 1964, she moved to Ventura, where she volunteered as a PTA room mother and worked in the library at Poinsettia Elementary School.

Henson was president and director of the Ventura County League of Women Voters from 1967 to 1971. She became active in civic affairs and was a member of the Ventura County Taxation Revision Committee. Beginning in 1971, she served on the Ventura Planning Commission. Henson was elected twice to the City Council, serving from 1976 until 1984. From 1978 through 1982 she was mayor, the first and only female mayor of the city.

City Clerk Barbara Kam said, "She was one of our finest mayors and was delightful to be around." Henson was a board member and chairwoman of the Ventura County Regional Sanitation District, the Ventura County Assn. of Governments and the Ventura Redevelopment Agency. In 1981, she was named Citizen of the Year by the Ventura Board of Realtors. She also received an award as Role Model for Women by Ventura Community College. Henson received the Petit Award for outstanding service from the Ventura Chamber of Commerce in 1982.

From 1987 until her retirement in 1998, Henson was an officer and director of Golden Odyssey Travel Agency in Ventura. She is survived by her husband, retired Judge Burt Henson; sons Fred Kosmo of San Diego and David Kosmo of Santa Barbara; daughter Linda Zavala of Phoenix; step-children, Lynn McMahan, Charlene Theurer, Deborah Hen-son-Conant, Julie Rapattoni and Alisa Houck; sister Hazel Gordon of Mill Valley; and 17 grandchildren. Flags throughout the city of Ventura will fly at half-staff today through Friday. Mayor Jim Friedman will open Sept. 13 council 1 Now on Channel 1 97 818 376-0333 Blowers, Richard, 87, of Thousand Oaks, retired.

Pierce Bros. Valhalla, North Hollywood. Brooks, Marian 75, of Camarillo, retired manager for Emery Worldwide. Pierce Bros. Griffin Mortuary, Camarillo.

Hill, Margaret "Kelly," 83, of Oxnard, homemaker. Joseph P. Reardon Funeral Home, Ventura. Oseguera, John, 28, of Ojai, mechanic at Mark's Auto Repair. Clausen Funeral Home, Ojai.

Ventura County obituaries are compiled by Linda Herron. They are published free of charge as a public service to readers, based on In formation provided by mortuaries. Cos Attctcs 3fanc0 Back Review Sundays L-- if i f. vi "a.