ROYAL PALM PLANS WEST FEST SEE STORY, PAGE 3
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SOUTH FLORIDA FAIR ENDS RUN SEE PHOTOS, PAGE 7
Volume 35, Number 6 February 7 - February 13, 2014
Serving Palms West Since 1980
Church To Close Entire Wellington Christian School
INSIDE Hart: Wellington Crime Rate Continues To Fall
Overall crime is down in Wellington, with retail theft and vandalism decreasing the most, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Jay Hart told the Wellington Village Council last week. Page 3
Father-Daughter Dance Returns To Village Park
On Saturday, Feb. 1, Wellington’s annual father-daughter dance returned to the Village Park gym. Many fathers and daughters came together at an event sponsored by Simon Orthodontics and the Wellington Preservation Coalition. Page 5
WRMC Launches Beauty On The Spot
Wellington Regional Medical Center hosted a launch party Thursday, Jan. 30 for a new addition to its hospital campus called Beauty on the Spot. The fee-based service offers hair styling, nail treatments, massages and facials by appointment. Page 9
Gary Carter Family Brings Music To The PWH Pediatrics Unit
Palms West Hospital held a dedication for its new pediatrics unit piano on Friday, Jan. 31. The family of baseball legend Gary Carter donated a Kretzer piano to the pediatric unit. Page 9
OPINION Shutting Wellington Christian Would Be A Terrible Loss
Wellington will lose a valuable part of its community later this year if doors to the longstanding Wellington Christian School are shut as planned. Wellington Christian has been a pillar of the community for more than 30 years. While it’s a devastating loss to the school families who are now displaced, a possible sale of the land means new questions and concerns for surrounding residents. Page 4 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS ............................. 3 - 11 OPINION .................................4 CRIME NEWS .........................6 NEWS BRIEFS........................ 8 PEOPLE ............................... 13 SCHOOLS .....................14 - 15 COLUMNS .....................16, 25 BUSINESS .................... 26 - 27 CALENDAR .......................... 30 SPORTS ........................ 31 - 33 CLASSIFIEDS ................ 33 - 37 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
Country music star Hunter Hayes with Paige Bellissimo, Alex Crown and Nicole Bellissimo at the Great Charity Challenge. PHOTO BY LEXEY HALL
Great Charity Challenge Awards $2.25 Million To Local Nonprofits By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report In a record-setting display of generosity, more than $2.25 million was distributed to local charities on Saturday, Feb. 1 as part of the fifth annual FTI Consulting Great Charity Challenge presented by Fidelity Investments. Donors in the equestrian community and throughout the area helped the event smash its fundraising goal, giving away more money this year than ever before. “It’s an amazing night. It exceeded my expectations,” said Mark Bellissimo, who founded the event in 2010 with his daughter, Paige. “We raised half-a-million dollars more than we targeted. It truly shows the passion of the equestrian community for Wellington and greater Palm Beach County.” The night was topped off with an electric performance by country music star Hunter Hayes, whose own charity — MusiCares — took third place and received more than $100,000 to help struggling artists. His performance helped bring more exposure to the great causes championed by the participating charities, Bellissimo said. “I love being a part of an event that does so much good for so many nonprofits,” Hayes said. “The sheer number of charities and important causes that receive funding through the FTI Consulting Great Charity Challenge is un-
matched, and it’s very meaningful to me to be able to add music and entertainment to the event.” Amid cheers from a record crowd at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center, teams of riders raced over a course of jumps to determine their charity’s placing. In the top slot, winning $150,000, was Speak Up For Kids, whose team included 10-time Olympian Ian Millar, Kelly Soleau and Emily Kinch. Roger Rich of Speak Up For Kids said the money will go to help children who are abused, abandoned or neglected. “Just the fact that we were selected was so exciting, but to win is just fantastic,” Rich said. “It has given us great exposure. We are so thankful to be involved and grateful to all the people who run this event.” Speak Up For Kids provides support to children as well as their court-appointed Guardian ad Litem volunteers — advocates for children who are involved in dependency court proceedings. “Many times, children are kicked out of their homes and all they have is a garbage bag of clothing,” Rich said. “We try to supplement that by giving them a sense of normalcy. We make sure they have proper school clothing, along with all the things they need for a normal life.” The $150,000 prize will help more than 1,700 kids currently going through the dependency court system. “The money will help us
hire more staff to assist Guardians ad Litem in advocating on behalf of the children,” he said. Wellington children were also in the winnings, as the team of Ken Berkley and Chloe and Lilly Hymowitz jumped the Wellington PTO/PTA/PTSA group into second place for $125,000. The event has given almost $300,000 to Wellington schools in its last three years. Binks Forest Elementary School PTA President Tanya Siskind called the prize a “huge gift.” “It takes so much time for us to fundraise money, so this is a wonderful win for us,” she said. “To receive this much money from one source is a huge gift.” Wellington’s 13 schools split the prize, with each school spending its portion to assist students however it is most needed. “We’ll continue to further our technology,” Siskind said. “We still have great needs in that area. Everyone fills their own individual needs, but the need is there.” Polo Park Middle School PTSA teacher liaison Nora Bernstein agreed. “There are so many things our schools can use that money for,” she said. “Public schools are only given a small pot of money each year, and we have to meet the needs of all our children. This is really a blessing.” Bernstein said Polo Park probably would use the money for tutorial programs for the Florida ComSee GCC, page 7
County Gives Developer More Time To Build Acreage Plaza By Julie Unger Town-Crier Staff Report The Palm Beach County Commission voted 6-1 last week to let developers of the Shops at Indian Trails, a new shopping plaza planned in The Acreage, divide the commercial project into two phases and delay the start of construction. Commissioners considered the request Thursday, Jan. 30 to adopt a resolution reconfiguring the site plan for the 31-acre property at the southwest corner of Northlake and Coconut boulevards, moving some square footage, modifying conditions of approval and restarting the date for the commencement of development. Commissioner Jess Santamaria, who represents the western com-
munities, cast the lone dissenting vote. The project, approved in 2011, includes about 107,000 square feet of commercial space, including a restaurant with a drive-through, about 89,000 square feet for shops, two banks with drive-through lanes, medical office space and a convenience store with gas pumps and a car wash. Robert Bentz of Land Design South, representing the developers, said his client was not seeking to change the approved square footage, percentage of open space, site access or retail uses but, rather, to build in two phases, move some square footage and extend the build-out date. Bentz said the planned traffic light on Northlake would be in-
stalled on the eastern portion of the tract and then moved later to the original planned location farther west. Neighboring residents voiced concerns that the area could become a strip mall, that traffic would overwhelm the community and that the gas station could lead to drinking-water worries in an area that uses primarily well water. The issues raised were similar to the concerns brought up in 2011 when the development was approved. The developers’ representatives emphasized that the scope of the project, the use of the land and the types of businesses to occupy the plaza already have See PLAZA, page 4
By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report After mounting a fight to save its high school, parents of Wellington Christian School students were shocked last week by the news of a decision by Wellington Presbyterian Church leaders to close the school entirely and sell the site it sits on. A $9 million contract has been offered to church leaders from an undisclosed source, but parents have mobilized efforts to find a source of financing that could purchase the property and keep the school together. Last Thursday, parents were mailed a letter from the Session — the group of elders and leaders at Wellington Presbyterian Church that governs its operations. “We are at a point in the history of the church and school where important, long-range decisions must be made and, at this time in the life of the church, it is the Session’s opinion that we must redirect the ministry of Wellington Presbyterian Church by closing the school after the completion of this school year, selling the prop-
erty and relocating to a new site,” the letter explained. Wellington Christian School is owned and operated by Wellington Presbyterian Church, though families do not have to be members of the congregation to attend the school. Late last year, parents were notified that because of financial constraints, the school might have to cease offering high school classes. A group of parents mounted an effort to find funding, but church leaders said it would need a $1.6 million commitment to keep the high school running. “We had a very large group who worked together with the information we got in December hoping to impact change with the high school,” said parent Lainie Guthrie, who spearheaded the fundraiser. “I don’t regret doing that event. A lot of people supported us, like the entertainers and the Village of Wellington. I’m sad we weren’t able to accomplish what we set out to do.” WCS PTF President Nathalie Drahos, who has two daughters See WCS CLOSING, page 20
BARTENDING CELEBS
The Grille Fashion Cuisine in Wellington was the place to be Friday, Jan. 31 for celebrity bartending to benefit the American Cancer Society. The event was the kickoff for the Diamond Ball to be held Saturday, March 8 at the International Polo Club Palm Beach. Shown here, Jessica Bauer and Brandon Phillips tend bar. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 11 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
New Wellington Charter School To Open In August By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report The new Renaissance Charter School at Wellington is set to open for the 2014-15 school year, and enrollment is now available for it, along with several other Renaissance schools in the area. The Wellington Village Council voted last year to approve the school, along with a daycare center. Construction is already underway on State Road 7, south of Stribling Way. “Our schools all go by the same educational model,” spokeswoman Colleen Reynolds said. “The thing parents really like about the Renaissance Charter Schools is that the curriculum is personalized. Each child has a personal learning plan, and they set goals for students to meet. Everyone is involved in getting students where they need to be academically.” The 75,000-square-foot building will serve about 1,200 stu-
dents. The school will open with kindergarten through sixth grade, adding grades seven and eight in the following years. Reynolds said that parents like the school curriculum for its datadriven system. “We determine what benchmarks there are for students and revisit them often to determine where they need to be,” she said. “We have an information system called Power Schools where parents can get real-time data on their students.” This means parents will know sooner if issues arise in a student’s performance. “There is no more getting a progress report three-quarters of the way through the year to find out the student isn’t turning in their homework,” Reynolds said. “Parents can go on the computer and see how students are performing. If, say, a student bombed a See CHARTER, page 20
Tom Goltzené Claims A Second Term On Groves Council By Julie Unger Town-Crier Staff Report It became official at noon on Tuesday, Feb. 4: Tom Goltzené was not going to be challenged for Seat 5 on the Loxahatchee Groves Town Council. When the filing deadline passed without a challenger coming forward, Goltzené won a second three-year term by default. And, since no other seats were up for grabs, there will not be a Loxahatchee Groves municipal election this year. Goltzené’s goal for the next three years is to continue doing what
he has been doing. “I will continue to look out for the interest of the people in Loxahatchee Groves and to continue to give thoughtful consideration to each of the issues as they come up,” Goltzené said. Some of the issues include creating a consistent policy regarding town roads and the trail system. “I would like to see the trails and some greenways added and come into use, rather than just be in the planning stages,” he said. “I think we have to be very diligent in looking out for the commercial chang-
es being proposed for the town, both changes that we know and don’t know of yet.” Loxahatchee Groves is a unique area, and Goltzené wants its importance to be recognized. “The agricultural character, the historic nature of the town, is a refuge for people from the more urban and suburban parts of Palm Beach County and South Florida,” he said. “The wildlife in Loxahatchee Groves can be seen and lives with us. There are wild areas that are still here and open spaces that are still here because of the farms and nurseries.”
Often a dissenting voice on the council, Goltzené plans to continue raising issues that he feels need to be discussed. “I will continue to add a voice, hopefully, to add a voice of reason, and to balance out some things,” he said. “The forces of change are always with us, and I try to moderate that.” Goltzené explained that there is a culture clash occurring right now within Loxahatchee Groves. People who have lived in the community for years, he said, are used to the dirt roads and the low-service, do-it-yourself lifestyle, but there
has been an influx of newer residents who prefer that more services be available. There are issues such as how to create the right balance of services for the area, as well as many others that need to be debated and discussed. “It’s interesting times, and I wanted to continue to be a part of it,” said Goltzené, who has been a resident of Loxahatchee Groves since 1991. Aside from his work on the council, Goltzené runs a native plant nursery and does environmental restoration.