Town-Crier Newspaper August 2, 2013

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ART SOCIETY ‘MEET THE ARTISTS’ AUG. 6 SEE STORY, PAGE 3

ROBBIN LEE NAMED NEW CEO AT WRMC SEE STORY, PAGE 7

THE

TOWN - CR IER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE

Your Community Newspaper

INSIDE Nicole Hornstein’s Father Pushing Helmet Laws Across The Nation

Volume 34, Number 31 August 2 - August 8, 2013

THIRD ROW CENTER WOWS CROWD

The Acreage father who spearheaded the drive to require that juvenile horse riders wear helmets in Florida has taken his campaign to other parts of the nation. Gary Hornstein has gotten a similar law through the New York legislature. Page 3

Across District And Locally, Tough Year For School Grades

Four of the 20 elementary and middle schools in the western communities saw their school letter grades change this year. In one instance, the change was an improvement, from a B to an A. But in three other schools, the news wasn’t as good. Page 3

Central Chamber Bids Farewell To Miranda

The Central Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce held a farewell party for CEO Jaene Miranda on Friday, July 26 at DiSalvo’s Trattoria. Co-workers and friends gathered to wish Miranda good luck in her new job as CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County. Page 10

Royal Palm Hosts Indoor Flea Market

A summer indoor flea market was held on Friday, July 26 at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center. Shoppers were treated to music and free cake and coffee as they shopped for bargains and treasures from various venders. Page 15

OPINION Communities Can Solve Water Woes Better By Working Together

Each community has its own needs and strategies in dealing with excess water. This is further complicated by the South Florida Water Management District, which controls how much water a community can drain and where that water can go. But several area leaders believe the answer is to work together to move water out of our area, and the Town-Crier agrees. Page 4 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS ............................. 3 - 10 OPINION .................................4 CRIME NEWS .........................6 PEOPLE ............................... 13 NEWS BRIEFS..................... 14 SCHOOLS ............................ 15 COLUMNS .................... 21 - 22 BUSINESS .................... 23 - 25 ENTERTAINMENT ................ 26 CALENDAR ................... 30 - 31 SPORTS ........................ 33 - 35 CLASSIFIEDS ................ 32 - 37 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM

The Third Row Center Singers presented “A Royal Songfest” on Sunday, July 28 at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center. Approximately 200 people came to watch as the Third Row Center singers performed a wide variety of music. Members of the Young Singers of the Palm Beaches performed solos, while the Women of Note Octet provided vibrant harmonies. Shown here, Third Row Center performs “Ain’t Misbehavin’.” MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 17 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER

Some Wellington Departments Might Resume Friday Hours By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report Some of Wellington’s departments could be going back to a five-day workweek as part of an effort to provide better customer service for residents on Friday. At a budget workshop Monday, members of the Wellington Village Council asked staff to look into the cost of moving some departments back to working five days. Wellington enacted a four-day workweek three years ago as an effort to curb costs. It was largely successful, but some council members remain concerned that residents can’t get needed help on Fridays. “Do you have any opinion whether customer service would be improved by going back to five days?” Vice Mayor Howard Coates asked. Village Manager Paul Schofield said he hadn’t heard many complaints but was considering it. “Going back to a five-day workweek has been an item of serious discussion among the management team,” he said. “Should the council desire, we are prepared to take elements of the village back to a five-day workweek.”

Coates said that in the private sector, it’s common to use Fridays to go for permits or other tasks outside the office. “I don’t hear it a lot, but occasionally I hear grumblings from residents,” he said. “I know there is some discontent that we are not open for customer service on Fridays.” Schofield said one option was to have customer service open on Fridays, but stagger the employees’ work schedules so they work only four days, but have different days off. This would also allow the village to keep customer service open later hours, he said. “The problem with a traditional five-day workweek is we find our residents like the ability to be here between 5 and 8 p.m.,” Schofield said. “We are considering being open five days, but keeping employees on a four-day workweek.” Councilwoman Anne Gerwig said she thought that could be a good compromise. “I’ve seen people here on Fridays trying to come in,” she said. “I get complaints from residents that they can’t even get in the door. But they also really like those ex-

tended evening hours. If we can vary people’s days off so customer service is open late and open Monday through Friday, I think that would be the ultimate compromise for residents.” Schofield said there has been discussion of moving some departments back to a five-day workweek, but others benefited from working four extended-hour days. “There are certain parts of the village that I would not recommend we ever take back to a five-day workweek,” he said. Among these are utility field workers and public works crews, who are able to get more field time and more accomplished in four days than they could in five. “We get more out of them in a four-day workweek, principally because we eliminate 20 percent of their mobilization and demobilization,” Schofield said. It also allows the crews to focus on and finish projects as they crop up, rather than having to delay them for a day. “If they are coming in at 7:30 a.m. and leaving at 3:30 p.m., and a project crops up in the afternoon, they generally aren’t able to start See WORKWEEK, page 4

Santamaria Forms Task Force To Address Drainage Issues By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Palm Beach County Commissioner Jess Santamaria has mobilized a flooding task force to address drainage and weather issues that appear to be cropping up not only in Palm Beach County, but nationally. “I would say next to the inspector general, my highest priorities are flood prevention,” Santamaria told the Town-Crier on Tuesday. “Every time I watch TV, what’s happening in the Midwest, what’s happened in New Jersey during Hurricane Sandy, and I’m reminded of New Orleans, and I’m thinking that could happen right here. It could cost lives and billions of dollars in property damage. That

has got to be a priority for us in the western communities.” He pointed out that flooding is a crucial issue not just in the western communities, but in other areas of the county, too, such as Delray Beach, which also had flooding recently. In addition, Santamaria is concerned about the condition of the Herbert Hoover Dike and rising water levels in Lake Okeechobee. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers activated its emergency operations center last week in response to the high water level, which stood at 15.82 feet on Wednesday and has been rising an average of 6 inches per week. “If the levees break, it affects not only the Glades, but other ar-

eas as well,” he said. Tied into the issue is the J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area berm, which threatened to give way after Tropical Storm Isaac last year. Money has been set aside on the state level to strengthen the berm. “I think we had something to do with the governor approving the $4 million for reinforcing the Corbett berm, so that is a good thing,” Santamaria said. “We know the potential damage from floods because it happened last year.” Too often, he said, the county gets caught up in small issues and ignores the larger ones. “This is something that could be serious, and even if it’s only a 5 percent See TASK FORCE, page 16

Serving Palms West Since 1980

Rule Change For Vet Clinics Concerns Equestrian Board By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report Members of the Wellington Equestrian Preserve Committee decided Wednesday to postpone a recommendation that could make veterinary offices a permitted use in certain parts of the Wellington Equestrian Preserve Area. Committee members wanted a second look at the ordinance with amended language to set standards for the clinics — including allowing only equine veterinary clinics as a permitted use — before sending the item to Wellington’s Planning, Zoning & Adjustment Board. The petition was brought by Palm Beach Equine Clinic and would change the master plan to make veterinary clinics a permitted use in sub-area D of the Equestrian Preserve Area, which stretches from Lake Worth Road north to Pierson Road and from 120th Avenue South west to Palm Beach Point. Palm Beach Equine Clinic Pres-

ident Scott Swerdlin said he was trying to get the allowed use so he could fix up and expand the clinic, noting that he has had troubles under the current zoning. “We’ve been in the same location since 1983,” Swerdlin said. “Up until recently, we could just go into the village and ask for an application for development. In 2006, the hurricane tore down a bunch of stalls, and when we went to submit a permit, we found it was going to be more complicated.” Because of the weak economy, Swerdlin said he decided to wait to replace the stalls. Then, in 2010, when he looked into it again, he found his property exceeded the allowed floor area ratio and was now an illegal use. We were a non-conforming use,” he said. “Everything had been fine since 1983.” Swerdlin said one option was to come in for a commercial recreSee VET CLINICS, page 16

SCHOOL LANDSCAPING

Equestrian Trails Elementary School revealed its recently finished landscaping makeover Tuesday, July 30. Seacrest Services donated its time and all materials, including plants, to beautify the school courtyard and repair the irrigation system. Shown here is Silke Corredor, with daughters Leah and Nathalie, in front of the flower arch with Paul Licata of Seacrest Services and Equestrian Trails Principal Michele Johnson. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 10 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER

ITID: More Money For Drainage Projects, Less Toward Parks By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors met for a budget workshop Wednesday, July 24, with the primary goal of reallocating a larger percentage of its budget to drainage issues. The workshop had been called by Supervisor Gary Dunkley to focus more of the budget on drainage, telemetry and equipment necessary to keep the district’s water systems functioning smoothly. Acting District Administrator Jim Shallman said ITID has a budget they can work with in the current year to create additional financing for some of those projects. “We’re looking for direction from the board on when these projects ought to be done,” Shallman said. Shallman also noted that ITID Vice President Carol Jacobs wanted to address staff reassignments and salaries. Jacobs said she wants to eliminate some office positions in or-

der to put more employees in the field; reducing the salary and scope of the vacant district administrator’s post and changing it into more of a manager’s position. Shallman said he had met with Dunkley, newly appointed District Engineer Jay Foy and several residents to discuss developing a long-term plan for drainage improvements within the framework of the existing budget. Foy, who stressed that his contract with ITID had not yet begun, said they were trying to figure out what the numbers in the budget actually meant. “I’m really just in the first phase of investigating this, but in my opinion, you don’t have enough in there for canal maintenance,” Foy said. “You have a failing infrastructure, which is typical of all governments that have been around for any time. Culverts wear out, especially metal culverts. You’re going to have to start replacing them or you’re going to See ITID, page 16

Music Teacher Gets National Kudos For Nutrition Show

Students dressed in recycled materials for the show.

By Anne Checkosky Town-Crier Staff Report A local music teacher received national recognition last month for a production she helped plan and put together to help kids learn about nutrition and recycling. Estibaliz Gastesi, music teacher at Golden Grove Elementary School in The Acreage, came up with the idea of having the choir — made up of third- to fifth-grade students — join first- and thirdgrade students at her school perform a show based on a nutrition program the Palm Beach County School District rolled out last year. The district introduced the “Or-

ganWise Guys” to all elementary schools in 2011-12. It is part of a national program that uses 10 characters to teach children about how to be healthy and smart from the inside out. The 10 characters are: Sid and Kid the Kidney Brothers, Sir Rebrum, Pepto, Peri Stolic, Windy, Hardy Heart, Madame Muscle, Calci M. Bone, Peter Pancreas and Luigi Liver. Their motto is: “We love who we live in, so please take care of us.” The organization started by performing at assemblies in elementary schools throughout Georgia in 1993. Now OrganWise Guys is

in more than 5,000 schools in 20 states. It has a monthly national enewsletter, The OWG News, that goes out to subscribers. The July edition included a story on Gastesi and Golden Grove. Gastesi hit on the idea of creating a show after seeing the OrganWise Guys posters in her school cafeteria. Songs from the organization’s CD were used, and different activities from art, physical education and the cafeteria were integrated into the performance. The school used recycled materials from trash for the costumes, such as plastic bags from Target, See GASTESI, page 7


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