Delray Newspaper | January 2018

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Delray Fashion Week returns (7) What laser can do for your skin (21) Belt out at Karaoke night (32) A look at 2018 real estate (37)

DELRAYNEWSPAPER.COM JANUARY | 2018

Atlantic High School senior wins national award through perseverance By: Joanie Cox-Henry Contributing Writer Jackson Destine is a survivor. Overcoming impossible odds since childhood, the 17-year-old senior at Atlantic High School was selected among a pool of top students from more than 30,000 schools around the country, as a national winner of Wendy’s High School Heisman Scholarship. Destine, who was chosen along with Soleil Gaylord of Colorado, took home a $10,000 college scholarship. Growing up in Delray, Destine admits he started selling drugs by the age of five.

Delray Beach Fire Rescue Chief Neal de Jesus and Delray Beach Police Chief Jeff Goldman lead the way on the groundbreaking of the new Boundless Dreams playground next to the Miracle League of Palm Beach County field at Miller Park in Delray Beach. Photo by: David DiPino

Now children can all play together at Boundless Dreams Barrier-Free Playground By: David DiPino Contributing Writer The Miracle League of Palm Beach County (MLPBC) has partnered with several Delray Beach community-focused organizations to raise money to build Boundless Dreams, a barrier-free playground at Robert P. Miller Park. The Boundless Dreams playground is budgeted to cost just south of $250,000 and is located adjacent to the Miracle League field at Miller Park, 1905 Southwest Fourth Avenue.

Boundless Dreams addresses the problem of playgrounds being dangerous especially for children with physical and emotional limitations, and for all children for that matter. Working proactively as a community team, the Miracle League and dedicated community residents, took the idea for a rubber playground even a step further to include amenities focused on all children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), each year in the United States, emergency departments (EDs) treat more than 200,000 children ages 14 and younger for

playground-related injuries. More than 20,000 of these children are treated for a traumatic brain injury (TBI), including concussion, In fact, MLPBC and community members, made the Boundless Dreams playground plans unique by adding features aimed at going above and beyond in exceeding Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. Boundless Dreams will include an ADA approved ramp, specialized rubber surface and equipment, sensory play panels, custom baseball-themed play elements and sunshade protection. The team at MLPBC

Your stay includes private beach club

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“I didn’t have a mother or father figure. I just had my grandma. My uncles were getting drunk everyday and eventually became homeless. Later, I got kicked out of middle school.” Although his future looked bleak, Destine said his grandma encouraged him to focus on his education to elevate him from his situation. “I found my positive role models at school,” Jackson said. “In seventh grade, I really start[CONT. PG 2]

Soleil Gaylord of Telluride, Colorado (left) and Atlantic’s Jackson Destine (right) pose with their Wendy’s High School Heisman Award. Photo by Simon Russell / Getty Images.


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