STUDENTS STOP BY RAINFOREST CLINIC SEE STORY, PAGE 3
ROLLATINI TRATTORIA NOW OPEN IN RPB SEE STORY, PAGE 7
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Royal Palm Council OKs Cultural Center Site Modifications
Volume 38, Number 8 February 24 - March 2, 2017
Serving Palms West Since 1980
KIDS LIP SYNC SHOW AT PBIEC
The Royal Palm Beach Village Council approved a landscape waiver and site plan modifications for the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center last week that would eliminate berms on the south side of the property and along a portion of Royal Palm Beach Blvd. in order to preserve drainage and existing vegetation. Page 3
JCPenney Store At Wellington Green Hosts Child Safety Experience
The JCPenney Child Safety Experience, hosted by Wellington’s first responders, was held Saturday, Feb. 18 outside the JCPenney store at the Mall at Wellington Green. The event, designed to educate children about the importance of safety, featured free bicycle helmets and fittings, car seat installations, identification cards and more. Page 6
Horses, Hounds And Humans Come Together For A Great Fundraiser
The eighth annual Friends of Greyhounds fundraiser hosted by Jeri Caprio, Kim Van Kampen and Jane Bistline of the Horses and Hounds Charitable Foundation took place on Sunday, Feb. 19 at Horses & Hounds Farm in the Homeland community. Page 7
OPINION We Must Take Action To Stem The Rising Tide Of Anti-Semitism
There has been a noticeable rise in anti-Semitic activities across the nation over the past few months, with the most recent high-profile case taking place in suburban St. Louis, where more than 150 gravestones were found damaged or toppled at a historic Jewish cemetery earlier this week. This is unacceptable, and our leaders must be more forceful in their words and actions to stem this rising tide. Page 4
DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS................................. 3 - 8 OPINION.................................. 4 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 7 PEOPLE................................. 13 SCHOOLS.......................14 - 15 COLUMNS...................... 16, 25 BUSINESS......................26 - 27 SPORTS......................... 33 - 35 CALENDAR............................ 36 CLASSIFIEDS.................37 - 41 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
The ninth annual Kids Lip Sync Show to benefit Danny & Ron’s Rescue was held Sunday, Feb. 19 at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center with a 1950s Sock Hop theme. Proceeds raised will help fund medical care and adoptions for homeless dogs. Shown here, the “Elvis” team won the Battle of the Barns. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 20 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
RPB Council Approves Traffic Calming Policy
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Royal Palm Beach Village Council approved a traffic calming policy last week intended to establish a process that residents can follow to petition the village to bring traffic calming to their neighborhoods. Discussion of the traffic calming policy on Feb. 16 was a continuation from the Feb. 2 meeting, where council members postponed approval so they could get more public input. Village Engineer Chris Marsh said that village staff had looked at statistics from other municipalities since the previous meeting, as well as the use of flashing radar signs. Consulting traffic engineer Brian Kelley with Simmons & White reviewed the responses to questions brought up previously. “One of the things that was heavily discussed was about the residential approval process,” Kelley said. “It’s important to get
a consensus for the speed humps because any kind of traffic calming has its pros and cons. That’s one of the reasons that we do have this policy in place.” He explained that not many Palm Beach County municipalities have a traffic calming policy in place, but there were enough to gather a sample, and the average required 65 to 75 percent approval of residents in the neighborhood. “That’s quite a bit,” Kelley said, adding that the methodologies differ. Kelley said that Port St. Lucie, for example, requires 50 percent plus one approval to do the study, but requires 75 percent to actually install traffic calming. “One of the lower ones was Boca Raton, which had 35 percent for a petition [and] 60 percent to install,” he said, pointing out that about half of the calming devices had to be removed later. “The majority of those we See RPB TRAFFIC, page 19
ITID To Decide On Manager’s CHAMBER’S COLORFEST Contract Extension Or RFP
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors will discuss the renewal of District Manager Jim Shallman’s contract or whether to send out a request for proposals (RFP) for a new manager at its meeting on Wednesday, March 15. At the board’s meeting on Feb. 15, human relations attorney Lara Donlon said she was looking for direction regarding Shallman’s contract, which expires on April 23. “While that may seem far away, it is around the corner, so I’m looking to find out whether the board wants to enter into a new contract with Mr. Shallman, which is certainly one option,” Donlon said. “It does not have a renewal provision, so that is why I say ‘new contract.’ It does not extend or anything like that, so we need to take some ac-
tion prior to April 23.” If the board wants to go in another direction, Donlon said she would need to know that, as well as whether to do a search or hire someone in-house. ITID President Jennifer Hager said she prefers to keep Shallman as manager. Supervisor Betty Argue said she does not want to renew Shallman’s contract without an evaluation and would prefer an RFP. “Mr. Shallman did not have his evaluation last year, but I would like to actually put it out for a proposal and have Mr. Shallman compete with others,” Argue said. “I think part of considering Mr. Shallman’s new contract, and the competition would be part of his evaluation.” Supervisor Carol Jacobs, who was attending the meeting by telephone, said she was starting her 11th year on the board, and during
that time, ITID has gone through five different managers, including Shallman. “We’ve had personnel/board member problems with each one,” Jacobs said. “You’re not going to find the perfect manager, no matter how hard you look. Jim came into a time that we’ve had massive amounts of things going on. From Minto to GL Homes, I can go down the list. People have got to realize that Jim’s got to do his job, and he has been pretty nice by letting everybody come in on him and taking up his time.” Jacobs said she was worried at first that Shallman, who was moved up from finance director to manager in 2013, would be able to do the job. He was hired in October 2013, at first with a six-month tryout. “He did a great job, and I think it was a slap in the face that he came See SHALLMAN, page 4
Mixed Reviews For Changes At Wellington’s Town Square Plaza
By Jack Lowenstein Town-Crier Staff Report Wellington’s Architectural Review Board gave an informal review on the future locations of CVS Pharmacy and Provident Jewelry in the Wellington Town Square shopping plaza on Wednesday, Feb. 15. Both chains currently operate stores in the shopping plaza but are planning stand-alone locations. Board members liked the planned upgrades to the plaza, but had some concerns, notably with the designs for the new CVS location. “It’s going to be a really nice change there,” Board Member Deidre Newton said. “I think you all know that this is just the first run, but I think it’s going to be a really nice project and a very welcomed addition.” CVS will move to the current Star Liquor location near the plaza’s main entryway off of Forest Hill Blvd. The current building
will be demolished, becoming a modern, stand-alone CVS location with a drive-through. CVS will then vacate its in-line location at the shopping center. Provident Jewelry will eventually move out of its current location in the plaza when its new building is constructed. The future location will be at the end of the Town Square plaza with the façade facing South Shore Blvd. This area will see part of its current structure demolished and rebuilt to meet Provident’s requirements. The western portion of the shopping center will have 8,750 square feet of the location demolished to make room for additional parking and to enhance the Provident façade. The CVS location is slated to be more than 13,000 square feet. The design is similar to how most modern stand-alone CVS locations look today, with the adaptation of some current design elements in the shopping plaza, paying hom-
age to the plaza’s barrel tiled roofs. “The Provident Jewelry looks completely different than the CVS, and they’re right next to each other,” Board Member Ron Shamash said. “So, I’m not comfortable with it.” Board Member Roger Grave de Peralta felt differently than Shamash but still had issues with the CVS design elements. “I don’t know that there’s a problem that there are different styles within the shopping center. I think it may actually help break the monotony of the shopping center,” Grave de Peralta said. “It’s potentially OK bringing in some of the materials there. I understand it’s a CVS, so it has very tall walls, but looking at the elevation, I don’t see the hierarchy.” There was concern that the side of the building facing Forest Hill Blvd. would not be aesthetically pleasing. “Give it more depth because See PLAZA, page 19
The Wellington Chamber of Commerce’s 2017 ColorFest 5K was held Sunday, Feb. 19 at Village Park in Wellington. Many leaders from the village’s health and wellness community participated in the run. During the event, volunteers threw colorful powder on the participants. Shown here are Johnny Meier of My Community Pharmacy and Dr. Vincent Apicella of Premier Family Health & Wellness after the run. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY JACK LOWENSTEIN/TOWN-CRIER
Garden Club Plans Activities To Mark Garden Week
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Wellington Village Council approved a proclamation last week designating March 12-18 as Wellington Garden Week. The proclamation was at the request of the Wellington Garden Club, which is holding its Plants Galore & More event at the Wellington Amphitheater on Sunday, March 12 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Wellington Garden Club, which is a member of the American Federation of Garden Clubs and National Garden Clubs Inc., has designated the second week of March as Wellington Garden Week with a purpose to promote interest in horticulture and further the art of amateur gardening. Mayor Anne Gerwig said she plans to attend the Wellington Garden Club’s event and invited members attending the Feb. 14
council meeting to tell others about it. Wellington Garden Club President Kathy Siena said they hope to make the village more beautiful than it is during Wellington Garden Week, and added that the club will be holding its next regular meeting on Monday, March 6 at 9:30 a.m. in the Lakeview Room at the Wellington Community Center. Former Wellington Garden Club President Twig Morris said Plants Galore & More will have great seminars to teach everybody all they ever wanted to know about gardening. “We have Home Depot coming to do some things for the kids, and we have a local company in Wellington called Growums that’s also going to be here with information and kits that they put together for the kids, so it’s a great family See GARDEN CLUB, page 4
Events At RPBHS Celebrate Black History Month
By Julie Unger Town-Crier Staff Report Black History Month was celebrated at Royal Palm Beach High School with activities, assemblies, fairs and special programs throughout the month of February. On Thursday, Feb. 16, the school hosted a special assembly featuring African dance by the Emerald & Onyx Club, guest speakers, music and awards. A special guest, Donna Allen, a competitor on The Voice, came to speak with the students as they learned about the legacy, pride, heritage and contributions of African-Americans. The following day, Friday, Feb. 17, during lunch, the school staged a Black History Month Student Activities Fair in the courtyard.
RPBHS teacher Dasie Greenland chaired the committee that put together the fair. Additional committee members include Neal Hagans, Winsome Haye, Monique Paramore, Novice Johnson, Dionne Lewis, O’Mekia Palmer and Zoraida Fonseca. “Today, each club is setting up, introducing their club and their organization to the student body and also giving them their criteria for joining in the club and giving them the overall expectations of the club,” Greenland said. Each club, she explained, was offering some sort of Black History Month game or activity. “What they’re doing is promoting their clubs through black history and doing an activity,” Greenland said.
There were special cheers with stomping and stepping, and clubs were offering trivia, games and selfie stations. Greenland has been working on the fair since she first came to the school. “I thought that the children need to learn our culture and also learn [about] some of the people who were instrumental during that time,” she said. “Think of the people right now who are growing up and identify with these people, know who these people are in the community and be familiar with some of the achievements of African-Americans.” The school has been supportive of the event and activities surSee RPBHS EVENT, page 19
Black Student Union students Valeria Calderon, Wildeline Florexil, Chelsea Decaillette and Tyreik Jones.
PHOTO BY JULIE UNGER/TOWN-CRIER