THOUSAND OAKS : What’s in a Name? Sometimes Too Many Unnecessary Vowels

A sign gremlin has hit both sides of an often-divided Thousand Oaks City Council.

The names of Councilman Frank Schillo and Councilwoman Elois Zeanah, who have clashed repeatedly, were misspelled recently on a prominent sign in front of the Civic Arts Plaza at Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Conejo School Road.

In Schillo’s case, someone had added an extra “i” to the veteran councilman’s name, making it “Schillio.”

That mistake was corrected after Schillo pointed it out to the public works department.

Zeanah was also the victim of a superfluous vowel. Her first name was listed as “Eloise.”

Zeanah noticed the mistake awhile back and was tempted to call the city manager to chide him.

“But then I thought, fiddle-dee-dee, why bother?” she said.

The sign bears the names of all five council members because they also serve as directors of the city’s Redevelopment Agency, which has put up funds for the $63.8-million Civic Arts Plaza.

“Everybody makes mistakes,” Schillo said. “It’s just human error. I hope it has nothing to do with the fact that the union didn’t support me in the last elections.”