NEIGHBORS : Prize-Winning Fiddler Proves You Get Better With Time : Ventura resident beats out 41 other contestants to take home top honors for the third time in the over-70 division.

Marvin Johnson of Ventura came back from his native Idaho with a smile after winning his division in the National Old Time Fiddle Competition last month.

“I won the senior, senior division. That’s for fiddlers over 70.”

Johnson, his fingers nimble as ever, is 80 years old.

For 70 of those years he has lived in Ventura County. He was born in Burley, Ida., 100 or so miles from Wizer, where the contest was held.

“Some of the fiddlers here told me I could never be a contest winner,” said Johnson, whose first instruction was in classical violin at the age of 15. “They said the styles were too different.”

How wrong they were. Johnson has won the California Old Time Fiddle Competition, which features square-dance music, waltzes, polka and ragtime, nine times in 13 years. This is the third time he’s taken top honors for his division in the national competition.

On this outing, Johnson bested 41 other fiddlers to take home $225 and a belt buckle. He can put the buckle in his garage with more than 50 other trophies he’s won. Johnson can be seen during gigs around the county with accordionist Frank Umbro.

As for how to keep the fingers nimble, Johnson says, “Practice, practice, practice.”

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More music news. Nathan Thomas, a new resident of Oxnard, announced his arrival in the county by singing his way to the top of the Ventura County Vocalists of the Year Competition. Nathan beat out 16 competitors in the rhythm and blues category.

The event raised money for Save Our Kid’s Music, a group dedicated to preserving music education in Camarillo’s elementary and junior high schools. Organizer Atz Akkerman estimates the event raised $3,000.

Thomas, a professional singer for 20 years, has claim to the title “King of Karaoke.” Past king, anyway. Two years ago he beat 2,200 contestants in a national karaoke competition to win an all-expense-paid trip to the world karaoke championship in Hong Kong.

Now that he’s settled in his new home, he has plans.

“I’m going to bombard this area with Nathan Thomas.”

He just released his first single (on his own label) and the album will follow in September.

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Brody Loring, 17, of Ventura spent the Independence Day weekend in Washington as part of a select group of high school students participating in the National Young Leaders Conference.

During the six-day conference, he attended a discussion led by prominent journalists at the National Press Club, visited embassies and received policy briefings from senior government officials.

Fewer than 2% of high school students are eligible for the program, according to officials. Brody was elected by the youth leadership congress on criterion based on academic information collected nationwide to identify promising students. Loring, a regular name on the honor roll at Ventura High School before he began independent studies, is also listed in the Who’s Who Among American High School Students. In addition to his studies, he maintains two jobs outside school.

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A support group dealing with obsessive compulsive disorders met July 1 under the direction of the Ventura County Mental Health Services. First order of business: decide if they should meet Thursday.