MEET TEEN ANGLER EMILY HANZLIK SEE STORY, PAGE 3
LOX COUNCIL SEEKS VISIONING RESULTS SEE STORY, PAGE 4
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TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
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Lox Council OKs Town Center Changes With Water Storage Plan
Volume 41, Number 2 January 10 - January 16, 2020
Serving Palms West Since 1980
STABLE DOOR WINS IGLEHART CUP
The Loxahatchee Groves Town Council gave final approval Tuesday, Jan. 7 for modifications to the Groves Town Center site plan, which will include a retention pond that could serve as a model for how the town resolves water conservation and water quality issues that could arise as the result of federal regulations. Page 3
‘Town-Crier’ To Be Honored By Royal Palm Beach Rotary
Royal Palm Beach Rotary President Dan Morales recently announced that the Town-Crier newspaper and its staff will be honored by the club as “Citizens of the Year” on Saturday, April 4. Page 7
The International Polo Club Palm Beach’s new season of Sunday polo action opened with a heartpounding match Sunday, Jan. 5, as Palm Beach Equine Clinic and Stable Door Polo battled it out for the 2020 Iglehart Cup. In a neck-and-neck battle, Stable Door emerged victorious 10-8. Shown above with the Iglehart Cup is the winning Stable Door team of Robert Orthwein, Henry Porter, Santino Magrini and Matias Magrini. MORE PHOTOS ON PAGE 5, STORY ON PAGE 25 PHOTO BY MEREDITH BUROW/TOWN-CRIER
Flags For The Cure At Acreage Park Raises Money To Fight Cancer
The 13th annual Flags for the Cure flag football tournament took place Thursday, Jan. 2 through Sunday, Jan. 5 at Acreage Community Park. A total of 47 teams helped raise money for the American Cancer Society. One key highlight was a march for survivors and caregivers on Saturday, Jan. 4 honoring those who have fought, are fighting or have lost the battle against cancer. Page 11
Host Broncos Shine At Fourth New Year’s Holiday Tournament
The Palm Beach Central High School basketball program hosted its fourth New Year’s Holiday Tournament last weekend, drawing eight teams to compete in the two-day event. Royal Palm Beach High School was the lone local school aside from the host Broncos. Page 23 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 20 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 7 PEOPLE................................... 8 SCHOOLS................................ 9 BUSINESS............................. 17 COLUMNS............................. 18 CALENDAR............................ 20 CLASSIFIEDS................ 21 - 22 SPORTS.......................... 23, 25 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
Horse Shows Gallop Back Into Town With Big Plans For 2020
By Meredith Burow Town-Crier Staff Report The 2020 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) and the 2020 Adequan Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) opened in Wellington this week, and to welcome back the three-month equestrian season, a special event was held in the Wellington Club at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center on Tuesday, Jan. 7 featuring five top figures in equestrian sports. The panel included Equestrian Sport Productions President Michael Stone, two-time show jumping Olympic gold medalist Beezie Madden, 2019 Pan American Games dressage individual gold and team silver medalist Sarah Lockman, top hunter rider and trainer Christopher Payne and 2019 Pan American Games show jumping team bronze medalist Alex Granato. The group offered competition updates, noted recent changes and issued an invitation for the public to come observe world-class athletes in action at this season’s WEF and AGDF competitions. With the cumulative prize money at $13 million, the stakes are
Dressage rider Sarah Lockman discusses the upcoming season as show jumper Alex Granato and Equestrian Sport Productions President Michael Stone look on. PHOTO BY MEREDITH BUROW/TOWN-CRIER higher than ever. For those festival hugely to that, and we’re looking enthusiasts who might remember it forward to a great season.” as only $9 million just a few years According to the 2020 WEF prior, Stone said they’ve been Prize List, awards vary greatly, steadily adding money to the prize with many classes in the $1,000 lists each year, sometimes without range, but top prizes for big events the general public even knowing. well over $100,000. “We never really updated that The production team has also — we just kept giving more mon- upgraded the footing at the facility, ey away,” Stone said. “We’re very including the iconic International pleased about that, and we thank Arena. Stone said he expects the our sponsors — especially Rolex geotextile — a material laid beand Adequan — who contribute See HORSE SHOWS, page 4
Lox Groves, ITID Prepare For Palm Beach County Day In Tallahassee
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Representatives from the Town of Loxahatchee Groves and the Indian Trail Improvement District are ready to trek to Tallahassee next week for Palm Beach County Day to lobby for bills that include road and water improvements that have made their way through prelegislative committee hearings. Palm Beach County Day will be held Tuesday, Jan. 14 and Wednesday, Jan. 15, where dozens of county representatives will converge on the state capitol to lobby representatives for their favorite projects. ITID President Betty Argue said its representatives will include ITID Executive Director Burgess Hanson, Supervisor Joni Martin, Supervisor Tim Sayre and herself. “Our three legislative initiatives this year are the M-O Canal outfall, we need $400,000 for that,” Argue said. “The second initiative is a charter amendment, which would give us the right to do a feasibility study [on incorporation], and the third item is State Road 7 being added back. We still support State Road 7 going to reach Northlake Blvd.” The M-O Canal runs along the northern boundary of ITID and separates The Acreage from the J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area. “We have an outfall gate there that over the years has deteriorated, and as a result of it deteriorating, and Corbett operating at a much higher level than it was designed for, we can’t withdraw water,” Argue said. “We have to hold it a little bit higher, otherwise it puts pressure on the canal bank, and it’s made worse because of the levee not being completed. So, we need to get that gate replaced so
that we have a control there and can hold the water higher than what the structure currently allows us to do.” Argue noted that ITID has some grant money approved to help with the gate replacement, but it needs more money from the state. The Palm Beach County Transportation Planning Agency recently removed the SR 7 extension from its long-range plan in a 9-8 vote that left SR 7 supporters baffled. “Indian Trail is going to be holding a community meeting on Feb. 11,” Argue said, adding that the meeting will be at Seminole Ridge High School from 7 to 9 p.m. “The purpose of that meeting is to hear from the residents and garner their support and generate some activity to put some pressure on the TPA board members who voted to remove it from the long-range thoroughfare map. I think that maybe those members need to know what the impact is for our community and how our community feels about it.” Regarding the proposed charter amendment, it would allow ITID to do a feasibility study on incorporation and create a committee that will look at the pros and cons of converting ITID to a municipality and allow the district to draft a charter. “Nothing can happen until there is a petition of 5 percent of the registered electorate to hold a referendum on incorporation, or on the conversion of the district to a municipality, which would have to come from the community,” Argue said. Loxahatchee Groves’ legislative consultant Mary McNicholas said the town has received great support from State Rep. Matt Willhite See TALLAHASSEE, page 4
YOUNG AT HEART CLUB
Wellington Seeking Proposals For New Classes And Programs
By M. Dennis Taylor Town-Crier Staff Report Noted for its wide range of classes and enrichment programs available at the Wellington Community Center, the Village of Wellington is now seeking additional proposals to further expand its offerings. Wellington’s Parks & Recreation Department is looking for a few more talented, positive and innovative people who know how to do stuff and would like to share that knowledge and expertise with the community in classes and workshops as independent contractors who are not employed by the village. “We have a lot of great, talented
instructors, and we would like to branch out with new instruction,” Community Programs Coordinator Chris O’Connor said. Many instructors are regionally and nationally recognized for their work. He explained that in areas such as youth enrichment, they already have yoga, meditation, hip-hop dancing and tumbling, but are on the search for new ideas. O’Connor gave examples of offerings that the village is seeking. He stressed that the list is not limited to items that are already named, and that the village is open to ideas that are of interest to residents, including the youngest and oldest among them. “We are looking for do-it-your-
self, handyman and shop classes; photography and videography instruction; and cooking and food prep classes for meals that are healthy or made from scratch, or from different cultures,” O’Connor said. He added that classes could cover everything from topics of interest to children through senior citizens, including various styles of adult art, such as drawing, watercolor, oil or acrylic painting. Also of interest are education and STEM programs, as well as outdoor or nature-based topics. Wellness and fitness classes offered in the daytime are also among the areas that the village would like to See PROGRAMS, page 20
The Royal Palm Beach Young at Heart Club held its monthly luncheon on Friday, Jan. 3 at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center. This month’s theme was “Flower Power” and some guests dressed in costume. Shown above, 97-year-old Florence Kusmierek celebrates her special day. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 12 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
Willhite, Powell Host Pre-Session Town Hall In RPB
By Callie Sharkey Town-Crier Staff Report State Sen. Bobby Powell (DDistrict 30) and State Rep. Matt Willhite (D-District 86) held a town hall meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 8 at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center to discuss the upcoming legislative session that gets underway next week in Tallahassee. Powell and Willhite gave a joint presentation, sharing information about bills they are championing, committees they serve on and a snapshot of the expected major topics to be discussed in the state capital over the next two months. Willhite spoke first about bills he has introduced in Tallahassee. He expanded on the importance
of several in detail, including House Bill 861, a Bottled Water Excise Tax. “Nestle came into the Gainesville area and bought a water plant. They are pulling water out of our springs to sell bottled water. The problem is, Florida only has so many springs,” Willhite said. “In Miami-Dade County, Pepsi and Coca-Cola pay 12.5 cents a gallon for water. Right now, Nestle will pay $115 a year for their permit. We are just trying to level the playing field.” One issue that the two officials did not agree on was the proposal for term limits on school board members. Willhite presented the bill that would put a 12-year term limit on county school board of-
ficials, citing that other elected officials have term limits, and they should as well. Powell was not so sure. “I don’t agree with the idea of school board members having terms limits. I am elected, and realize being elected is a hard process,” Powell said. “There are people who should not be in office, and you get rid of them by voting them out of office.” Powell went on to explain his opinion that term limits takes power away from the people. Willhite also expressed concerns over public records and a loophole in the Sunshine Law that allowed individuals to gain, and then sell, personal information. See TOWN HALL, page 4
Royal Palm Beach Councilman Jeff Hmara, State Rep. Matt Willhite, State Sen. Bobby Powell, Vice Mayor Jan Rodusky, Councilman Richard Valuntas and Councilwoman Selena Samios. PHOTO BY CALLIE SHARKEY/TOWN-CRIER