The Caribbean-Americans for Community Involvement (CAFCI) and the Village of Royal Palm Beach presented the Sixth Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Monday, Jan. 21 at the RPB Cultural Center. Speakers and entertainers paid tribute to Dr. King’s legacy. Shown here, CAFCI’s Elet Cyris addresses the crowd. SEE STORY, PAGE 10A
By Carol Porter
Staff Report
The Wellington Village Council stopped short of a vote on naming Community Services Director Paul Schofield as Wellington’s new village manager Tuesday, but will explore the possibility before their next regular meeting Feb. 12.
The council has already engaged the PAR Group to conduct a nationwide search to replace longtime Village Manager Charlie Lynn, who retired from village service Friday, Jan. 25. Schofield, who is serving as the acting village manager in the interim, has said he is not interested in participating in the candidate selection process.
Vice Mayor Bob Margolis raised the possibility of naming Schofield near the end of the council’s Tuesday meeting, saying Schofield possesses the qualities the PAR Group is being told to seek out in candidates.
Furthermore, Margolis said, Schofield would be able to step into the job “with little or no learning curve.” As the council must also soon begin a search for a new village engineer and will likely also face more budgeting challenges this year, the village already has plenty on his plate, he said. “We could have someone here
who could step into Mr. Lynn’s shoes and minimize the changes,” he said.
But Councilwoman Laurie Cohen noted that Wellington is maturing and entering a new phase of its development, and said the village might do with a fresh outlook from its top administrative official. “We need someone who is not tied down by existing relationships as the business model changes,” said Cohen, who will end her council service in March (see related story, page 2A).
While she assured fellow council members that she thought Schofield is “well qualified to lead the village,” she questioned whether he “would be able to not let personal relationships interfere with serving the village.”
Cohen said that while Lynn served well in Wellington’s formative years, she would like the village’s future management approach to be chosen cautiously.
“There are many changes I would like to see,” Cohen said. “This is no reflection on Charlie. Charlie has been a wonderful village manager. I have the utmost respect for Charlie, but we have grown up. This is a moment in our history as a village I want carefully considered.”
Councilman Dr. Carmine Priore said he would be willing to listen if Schofield
See SCHOFIELD, page 46A
The South Florida Fair has returned to the South Florida Fairgrounds. The fair’s theme is “Party with the Animals” and includes parades, amusement rides, big-act concerts, blue-ribbon agricultural displays, family shows, community competitions and more. Shown here are Heather and Jasmine Gee at the Doggies of the Wild West Show. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 19A
T Terms Of ermsOf Agr Agreement Holding Back Sale Of K-Park Par
By Carol Porter Town-Crier Staff Report
The Wellington Village Council directed village staff Tuesday to stay firm in its negotiation of a no-bid sale of prime real estate to a senior-housing developer.
The council agreed in November to sell 5.8 acres of its “K-Park” property fronting State Road 7 to the Virginiabased Sunrise Development for $5 mil-
By Steve Pike Town-Crier Staff Report
Property tax reform, Village Commons park and future development were among the topics discussed and debated Wednesday night by the three
lion on the promise that the company would build an assisted living facility for senior citizens on the site.
Village Attorney Jeff Kurtz told the council Tuesday that village staff had reservations about the terms Sunrise had offered on the purchase agreement.
“The big issues that are out there are the amount of the deposit and whether it would be refundable, the length of the
candidates seeking Seat 2 on the Royal Palm Beach Village Council. David Dangerfield, Tinu Pena and Martha Webster faced off at Village Hall for the first and only time before the Jan. 29 election.
Approximately 30 people —
deed restriction and the amount of the repurchase price.”
While Sunrise suggested a $375,000 deposit on the property, the village thought $500,000 would be more appropriate. Sunrise offered to accept a deed restriction lasting 20 years that would limit development to senior housing, but the village wants a 30-year restriction. Also, while staff figured the village should have the option of repur-
mostly friends and supporters of the candidates — attended the forum sponsored by the Palm Beach Chapter of the League of Women Voters. League member Sally Robinson moderated the hour-long event, which was broadcast on the Royal Palm Beach government channel.
There were no real fireworks among the candidates. The closest any of them came to sparks was when political veteran Webster questioned Pena’s joint endorsement by Royal Palm Beach Mayor David Lodwick, Vice Mayor David Swift and Councilman Matty Mattioli. Councilman Fred Pinto has not made an endorsement. “It’s just wonderfully amazing the mayor and the council called you in and spoke with one candidate and not the others,” Webster said to Pena.
A single mother of two and a civil engineer, Pena responded
chasing the property for $4.5 million if the senior housing is not a reality within a decade, Sunrise countered with a repurchase price equal to the sale price, and without guaranteeing the property would be free of liens or encumbrances.
Sunrise Development representative Aimee Carlson told the council that while she respected the village’s negotiators, some of their conditions were too oner-
See SUNRISE, page 32A
by saying she had never met the council members until the evening of the village’s holiday light-up ceremony last December. “My opponent [Webster] was there as well,” Pena said. “The mayor extended an invitation to come and speak to him and find out what my agenda was. In no way was the mayor or the councilmen breaking any laws. They met with me to talk about what it takes to run the city so that I can gain an understanding of this job should I represent the citizens. And that’s what I did.”
Webster ran unsuccessfully for Swift’s seat in 2006. Her current candidacy is endorsed by District 6 Palm Beach County Commissioner Jess Santamaria. Dangerfield has the backing of County Commission Chair Addie Greene. The trio of RPB incumbent endorsements of Pena plays into one of Webster’s campaign is-
sues — transparency in the village government. “As I continue this campaign, I’ve had many questions about the village’s involvement in ongoing public corruption investigations,” Webster said. “Public trust in the elected officials has been seriously eroded here in the village. As a councilwoman, I would work to restore that trust with honesty and integrity.”
A retired New York City firefighter and New York State emergency management official, Dangerfield said that overall he believes the council has done a good job managing the city’s affairs. “I admire the proactive work they’ve done in the anticipated growth of this community and in the ongoing cultural diversity of the community,” Dangerfield said.
Pena also said she was happy with the current council. “From my perspective, I believe
RPB Forum — Candidates David Dangerfield, Tinu Pena and Martha Webster at Wednesday’s candidates forum. PHOTO BY STEVE PIKE/TOWN-CRIER
Wellington’s Laurie Cohen Decides To Drop Re-Election Bid
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report
Wellington Councilwoman Laurie Cohen, whose term on the council expires in March, announced this week that she will not seek re-election.
Cohen told the Town-Crier that stepping down will allow her to spend more time with her sons, ages seven and 11. “I have always tried to include my family and children in all of my activities as a councilwoman,” she said Thursday. “It has been a good experience for them, but by the same token there have been many meetings that have pulled me away from them, and I look forward to devoting more time and attention to them.”
Cohen, 46, is an attorney with Siegfried, Rivera, Lerner, De La Torre & Sobel, where she concentrates her practice in commercial and construction litigation. She said her professional life has suffered during recent marathon budget sessions and special meetings as the village
struggles to cut down spending.
“This past year, with the all the issues that were presented, the meetings that were requested and budget workshops and agenda workshops and that sort of thing, it was just overwhelming in terms of time demands,” Cohen said. “It pulled away from my law practice more than it should have and more than is fair to my employer. I need to re-devote myself to that, so that is what I am going to do.”
Cohen said that post-council, she might be involved in some community projects, but she is going to guard her time jealously. She would also devote more time to youth-related activities at her church, St. David’s-inthe-Pines Episcopal Church, where her children attend Sunday school.
Cohen’s announcement signals the end of her five-year council stint, which started when she was appointed to a one-year term to fill one of two
vacant seats. Bob Margolis was appointed to one and Cohen was appointed to another from a field of well over a dozen candidates. “They did not know me,” Cohen recalled. “I was completely an unknown, but I went through the interview process with all the other candidates. I don’t know what factored into their decision-making, but I think they felt I didn’t have a particular agenda and that I would be a team player.”
The following year she fought to keep her seat in a three-way race that went to a runoff, in which she narrowly defeated local restaurateur Ron Miranda.
Cohen credits her foray into public service to her husband Irwin, who she said has always been supportive. “I have a wonderful husband,” she said. “He encouraged me to throw my hat in the ring way back when. I was the reluctant one. He was the one who thought I’d be good and pushed me to do it.”
As she gained experience, Cohen proved to be an indepen-
dent thinker on some issues, but she said she never lost her team spirit.
“I think the good thing about the council was even though we differed on the issues, it was healthy debate, and we still had respect for each other,” she said.
Cohen said she tried to follow her conscience at all times, regardless of public opinion. “I can honestly say there is not one time I voted for something that I did not believe was the right thing to do, and sometimes that made me unpopular,” she said. “At end of day I know that I did what I was elected to do. I’m not a rubber-stamper.”
Cohen wouldn’t rule out a return to public service. “I enjoyed serving on the council,” she said. “I have great respect not only for staff but the other council members I served with, and I wish everyone well. I will
RPB Vote Candidates Debate
continued from page 1A they’re doing an effective and efficient job,” Pena said. “With that said, I would like more awareness brought to the community whereby our residents have a sense that they can come to Village Hall and express themselves without feeling that it’s falling on deaf ears. I believe the council is doing a great job ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our residents are taken into account on a day-to-day basis.”
always be available to the village as a resource, and I will try not to meddle. Who knows? If my circumstances change I may go back to public life.”
If Cohen had not dropped out, she would be facing attorney Howard Coates, who for now is unchallenged in the March election. Cohen said she does not know Coates, but she hopes someone will step up and give voters a choice.
“I think that people need to have choices,” she said. “I’m not taking a position with respect to any of the seats that are up for re-election, but I think that if more people were to come out and run, it would serve the village because it allows an airing of ideas and gives the residents choices.”
Candidates have until Feb. 12 to file for election. The vote will be held March 12.
the new Village Commons park this spring or early summer. Pena and Dangerfield support the 160-acre project, while Webster questions the village’s ability to financially support its infrastructure.
“It was a good plan for the time, and at that time we had the money to spend,” Webster said. “It’s $42 million with $20 million for the first phase. Now we need to ask, what is it going to cost taxpayers in the long run? I think we really need, with the village and everyone’s input, to take another look at these phases so we can get the most out of them.”
Pena said that if elected, she wouldn’t change anything about the park plans. “Everything within the Village Commons park plan is what the residents requested,” she said.
In addition to choosing a new village council member on Jan. 29, Royal Palm Beach residents will vote on the state legislature’s property tax amendment. The council candidates are split on the issue, with Dangerfield in favor of the proposal, particularly portability for homesteaded residents. “It will stimulate the marketplace,” he said.
Dangerfield also took the hardest line of the three candidates regarding the economic impact on Royal Palm Beach if the amendment passes. The council, with Lodwick in the lead, is against the amendment, claiming it could cost the village as much as $800,000 in revenue out of next year’s budget. To offset that difference, Dangerfield said, the council could look at buyout packages for long-term employees.
“You can bring in two or three people for that one person’s salary,” Dangerfield said. “It’s an incentive, but hopefully it won’t come to that. Another option is increasing the millage rate to maintain the government.”
A program leader for the University of Florida Extension Service in Palm Beach County and former vice chair of the Greenacres Planning & Zoning Commission, Webster said she is against any layoffs as a way of trimming the budget. “It might mean freezing positions that are open, but there are much more creative ways of looking at it,” Webster said. “I think it’s doable, and we’re not going to lose services.”
Pena said she also is against job cuts, but warned, “let’s not promise people something that we can’t deliver. Let’s just stick to the bottom line. Should it happen, we’ll deal with it then and move forward.”
On the subject of moving forward, the village is expected to request bids for construction of
The nine-hole golf course proposed for the park is a big plus, Dangerfield said. “It’s a great opportunity for beginners to hang out there for an hour instead of taking three or four hours to play 18 holes,” he said.
“The park is a great opportunity to bring the community together.”
One addition he said he would like to see is an aquatic center comparable to what exists in neighboring communities. “An Olympic-sized pool, I think, would draw competition here from the local schools,” he said.
Dangerfield also proposed corporate sponsorship to help defray cost of the park project. He said he’d like to see more commercial industry in Royal Palm Beach in order to provide jobs beyond those offered at the big-box stores in the village.
Webster said the village’s rapid growth happened at the expense of its infrastructure.
“We are being overrun and being impacted by development that is empty at this time,” Webster said. “We have a market that is not sustaining the development that is in process.”
Pena added that she supports sustainable community development.
“It encompasses supporting and looking at our present infrastructure to make when we are proposing any development, we’re not going to impact it to an extent where the residents are going to feel an effect,” Pena said. “But at the same time we need to look at what we can do to alleviate such an impact should it have to occur.”
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 29.
Town-Crier Endorsement
Royal Palm Beach Council Election: Webster The Right Choice
As they head for the polls Jan. 29, the people of Royal Palm Beach should consider themselves fortunate. All three candidates vying for the vacant Seat 2 on the Royal Palm Beach Village Council — David Dangerfield, Tinuade “Tinu” Pena and Martha Webster — are eminently qualified to serve. Oftentimes, voters don’t have the best candidates to choose from, viewing their selection as a “lesser evil.” Whoever is elected will make a welcome addition to the council.
As a retired New York City firefighter who brought in new emergencyservice recruits after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Mr. Dangerfield has proven he can work through a difficult situation. His hard work was rewarded by then-New York governor George Pataki, who asked Mr. Dangerfield to take over emergency response programs for the New York State Department of Health. With that kind of resume, Royal Palm Beach should be proud that Mr. Dangerfield chose to retire in the community. However, he has only been here three years.
When Ms. Pena visited the Town-Crier office for her candidate interview, we were duly impressed by our conversation with her. Ms. Pena’s background in engineering definitely gives her a leg up when it comes to dealing with the village’s operational issues. And, of course, we commend Ms. Pena’s service to our nation as a soldier in the U.S. Army. Clearly, she is a rising talent.
Lodwick: Support
Pena For Council
I am compelled to write this letter to you in response to [County Commissioner] Jess Santamaria’s comments last week.
For the record, I have met personally with Jess prior to writing this letter, as I prefer to deal face to face to discuss concerns. We discussed many items that we agree on, and a
But Ms. Webster has more than two decades of public service to her name, having served on the City of Greenacres Comprehensive Plan Advisory Board and Planning & Zoning Commission before moving to Royal Palm Beach 11 years ago. Though she was unsuccessful in her 2006 bid for a seat on the Royal Palm Beach council, Ms. Webster has been a constant voice in village affairs for quite a while now. She may not agree with the incumbent council members, but she is clearly well versed in local, county and regional issues. While any of these people would make admirable council members, the point of view of this newspaper has long been that membership on a municipal council should come after long public service to the community. We believe Ms. Webster has not only proven her commitment to Palm Beach County for the past 22 years but, more important, to Royal Palm Beach; she has the strongest grasp of village issues. Council incumbents argue that Ms. Pena is a “better fit” for the council than Ms. Webster, who has openly disagreed with council decisions in the past. It is understandable they would support someone with a similar vision for the village. However, debate is a necessary element of democracy, and a council that always votes unanimously and rarely considers dissenting points of view is not a true representation of its constituents. Dissent is not always a bad thing.
The Town-Crier endorses Martha Webster for Royal Palm Beach Village Council Seat 2.
Letters To The Editor
few where we will simply agree to disagree, and we can do so with civility.
There is a matter that does need clarification, and that is why I endorsed Tinu Pena for the open Royal Palm Beach Village Council seat. Let me tell you why I endorsed her candidacy.
There are many similarities between Tinu and my own political beginnings in Royal Palm Beach: she is 34 years old (so
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was I when first elected); she is relatively unknown to many people (so was I); she is a U.S. Army veteran (as am I); she has an engineering degree (as do I).
Following her announcement to run, I offered to meet and discuss issues of concern. She impressed me at that meeting and has continued to impress along the campaign trail.
She is openly discussing ideas to help us increase our job base in the western communities, understands the need to work with other governing bodies to control the growth of the western communities, and understands the need to better manage our resources through her work on many “green” projects.
In my opinion, she would bring a fresh, talented, independent voice to our council, and I look forward to working with her.
Then along comes the strange: our village manager gave notice over two months ago and after a large “what are we going to do?” and since [acting village manager] Paul Schofield stated so unequivocally, “I have no desires to be the manager,” our council contracts with a company (we haven’t signed yet) to produce candidates.
Well, Schofield changed his mind and Councilman Bob Margolis and Mayor Tom Wenham jumped on the new bandwagon. Never mind the previous council vote, never mind that we (the taxpayers) will probably have to pay the agency something! Are these people really adults? Sixty-plus days to come to a full circle?
relief [amendment]. We should vote no on the amendment and let the politicians go back to Tallahassee and work out some real savings. Mr. Alperstein said savings will average $240 a year and homesteaders will be affected. Let’s just see what the real savings will be.
The Village of Wellington has recently signed a contract with Waste Management for trash collection that will cost us an extra $50 per homeowner. The council enacted an all-access park pass that will cut into the savings we will get. Any leftover money from undisclosed surcharges and fees I can use to possibly purchase a lottery ticket? His last letter a few months ago stated that people move every six to seven years, so voting yes will help you. I’m not sure who he was talking about, but I don’t plan on moving anytime soon.
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Mr. Santamaria’s letter gave her no credit for her background and/or skills. She is ready now to serve her community. The only litmus test is you, the voter. I met personally with Tinu after she announced her candidacy and have found her to be, by far, the best fit for the position.
The prior letter makes many assumptions on why I endorsed Tinu over other candidates. Now, as Paul Harvey likes to say, you know the rest of the story.
The bottom line is this: please do your own research and vote on Jan. 29 for the candidate of your choice. I do hope you will agree with me and vote for Tinu Pena.
Mayor David Lodwick
Royal Palm Beach
Unger: What’s The Rush?
It’s election time, so coincidences and strange things happen. Here we are, an election night and along comes a proposal for a senior citizens’ assisted-living facility (all previous attempts failed)!
To me, the salient point as a Wellingtonian and as an adult is: shouldn’t our “new village council” (in March) make this decision, as three of five council persons are up for election… what is the rush? Mr. Mayor, Charles Lynn says he’ll stay ’til April?
Of course, I (we) shouldn’t be surprised. This is but another fence-sitting display by our mayor — on again, off again, on again.
It’s time for change, it’s time for new ideas, it’s time to move the line on taxes (like Royal Palm Beach’s annual tax cuts). It’s time for real leadership. Fence-sitting has to end.
Perhaps even one day we will be a real village/city without having a strip mall and trailers for government buildings. So much money wasted, squandered during times of development. Our mayor’s legacy will be large tax increases with fewer services.
George Unger Wellington
Vote No On
Property-Tax Amendment
This letter is in response to the opinion of Mr. Morley Alperstein who said we should vote yes on the property-tax
All this rhetoric from a person whose home taxes have gone down every year since 2005 and has been in living in his house since he purchased it in 1998.
Craig Jacobson Wellington
Wellington Parks For Wellington Kids
How about a college campus instead of supporting travel teams? I really would like to see an analysis of what would happen if only Wellington kids got to play on Wellington fields. The answers would give some data as to how many parks Wellington really does need to support Wellington children. If the data showed that with proper management we have adequate fields with what is now in place if they were limited to Wellington kids, then the push should be to take the K-Park site and use it for an educational/cultural campus that would serve people of all ages and would create badly needed local employment.
It is my understanding that Palm Beach Community Col-
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The Political Landscape Is Shifting As Election 2008 Rolls On
The local political landscape has turned ugly (as in Royal Palm Beach) and complicated (as in Wellington), which is making for an interesting “silly season” as both communities elect new members to their prospective governing bodies.
In Royal Palm Beach, for example, the three-candidate race for the open Seat 2 council position has become a sort of side act to the main event of Mayor David Lodwick, Vice Mayor David Swift and Councilman Matty Mattioli versus County Commissioner Jess Santamaria. The council members are endorsing political newcomer Tinu Pena while the commissioner is supporting candidate Martha Webster.
Ironically, the elected officials’ endorsements have less to do with furthering their candidates’ cause on issues than with past disagreements. The council members are supporting Ms. Pena because they view her as a “team player” who would make a “good fit” on the council. Commissioner Santamaria claims he is supporting Ms. Webster because those council members are “tilting” the playing field against her and he wants to “level” it. The council members have responded that Commissioner Santamaria is interfering with the local election process. We’ll all know the outcome of this imbroglio on Election Day, Jan. 29.
The issue took on greater significance after a summit last Saturday between Mayor Lodwick and Commissioner San-
Letters
continued from page 4A lege is looking for sites in the western communities. It would make far more economic sense, especially in the upcoming tax crisis we will be facing, to donate the K Park site to PBCC rather then to spend $12 million to make it a park and another $5 million a year to maintain it as a park. As an educational/cultural campus it would serve all ages and give our kids, and not just Wellington kids, the chance to go to a local college as opposed to spending what will soon be $4 a gallon gas to drive to a distant campus. Regarding our Wellington kids not being able to play in their own community because they can’t make the cut, that is simply not right. Their parents pay taxes in Wellington to support the very parks being used by outsiders to such an extent that the Wellington parents have to drive so their kids can play in other communities. Having competed in sports all my life as both a kid and an adult, I know the great feeling of being on a winning team. Having coached, I also know the even greater feeling of seeing the smile on the face of not-so-great young athletes when they finally hit the ball and cross home plate after striking out half the season. Let’s make sure we give all our Wellington kids the chance for that smile.
Mike Nelson Wellington
tamaria, during which neither budged from their position. An insider told me “they agreed to disagree.” Meanwhile, both Ms. Pena and Ms. Webster have each continued what could best be described as low-key campaigns, leaving the heavy lifting to their surrogates. Lost in all this back-and-forth has been the third candidate for the vacant seat, David Dangerfield, who has done little campaigning for the seat.
The Wellington election is shaping up to be a dandy campaign. Longtime Mayor Tom Wenham is facing perhaps his most formidable opponent ever in challenger Darell Bowen. Councilwoman Laurie Cohen, after first saying she would seek re-election, dropped out shortly after political unknown Howard Coates (like Cohen, an attorney) filed against her. Village political insiders are jokingly referring to Ms. Cohen’s seat the “lawyer seat.” And incumbent Councilman Dr. Carmine Priore is facing challenger Duane Christensen, who waged a spirited but unsuccessful campaign two years ago against Mayor Wenham.
Mr. Bowen, president of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, is facing some image issues, such as whether he might be aligned with the council’s declared “enemy No. 1 of Wellington,” Glenn Straub. During lunch with him last week, Mr. Bowen denied any such connection to the Palm Beach Polo CEO, despite the fact that Straub employee Mike Nelson will serve as the next pres-
Louda: FPL Should Invest
In Alternative Energy
Recently, Florida Power & Light presented a $100,000 check to the Palms West Chamber of Commerce. This occurred while numerous citizens, environmentalists, scientists and decision-makers are either reconsidering the merit of or actively opposing the FPL West County Energy Center.
Reconsideration of the siting of this plant obviously arises from its placement within one mile of the Everglades Protection Area. That is, it is to be about 4,000 feet north of Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge and the stormwater treatment areas that will serve as the functional headwaters to the Everglades. It will house over ten million gallons of diesel fuel, burn natural gas with sulfur contents of 15,000 parts per billion (0.0015 percent) and be using deep-well injection of waters of presently unknown constitution into geologic strata that are poorly understood by all.
This “donation” of monies that derive from your power bills and my power bills is nothing more than influence-peddling in order to attain goodwill from the chamber of commerce. Remember, you gave FPL this money to pay for electric power. Should they not use it for more altruistic endeavors such as pursuing solar power in place of fossil fuel at this
ident of the Wellington chamber, leading to speculation that the chamber might be wrestling for control of the council.
Mr. Bowen is also siphoning off a blue list of former longtime Wenham supporters who have crossed over to the challenger. Mr. Bowen has significant name recognition and was even mentioned as a potential county commission candidate two years ago. For his part, Mr. Wenham has always been a popular member of the Wellington Village Council and still holds the record for the most number and highest percentage of votes. He has continuously served as a Wellington official since before incorporation. Neither Mayor Wenham nor Mr. Bowen should have any problem raising the $50,000 to $60,000 that will be required for the campaign.
Mr. Christensen has a formidable task in unseating Councilman Priore, who is himself slated to assume the presidency of the prestigious Florida League of Cities, a position noted for bringing home the bacon to the presidential municipality. With the filing period not closing until Feb. 12, look for other names to come forward.
Here’s another interesting note in both Royal Palm Beach and Wellington. While Ms. Pena is running a grassroots campaign and Mr. Dangerfield is apparently running a kitchen table race, Ms. Webster has hired the political consulting group Patriot Games, which also helped Mr. Santamaria’s campaign for county
site? As a scientist involved in Everglades restoration research and a professor of environmental chemistry, I know that there are alternatives, and I know that this is the wrong plant in the wrong place. How the game is played. It stinks, literally.
Councilman Dr. Bill Louda Loxahatchee Groves
Football Tourney A Success
The First Annual Susan G. Komen Girls Flag Football Tournament, held Jan. 12 and 13 at Okeeheelee Park, was a huge success! Chris Matthews and the entire Acreage Girls Flag Football Board and volunteers did an outstanding job organizing every detail of this action-packed tournament. Each board member spent the entire weekend working at this event: cooking breakfast and lunch at Coach Bob’s Cafe, selling Remembrance Ribbons, and raffling gift boxes. The Acreage Extreme Cheerleaders also sold carnations for this worthy cause. These fundraisers, along with generous donations from tournament sponsors, helped raise approximately $8,000 for the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
As the mother of a football player and the daughter of Karen Senderling, who lost her five-year battle with breast and throat cancer two years ago, I truly appreciate all of the hard work and dedication from the Acreage Girls Flag Football League Board, volunteers and spon-
By Don Brown
commissioner. Mr. Bowen has hired the same firm. One of the firm’s principal consultants is Francine Nelson of Wellington, brother of Mike Nelson (see above comments on the chamber and Mr. Straub).
Finally, there is a municipal election on March 11 in teeny-weeny Loxahatchee Groves — its second ever. In its second year in the municipality sisterhood, only Dennis Lipp’s Seat 5 is up for grabs. The filing period is from Jan. 29 until Feb. 5. Mr. Lipp has already announced his candidacy. Mr. Lipp won his seat during a spirited campaign between pro-incorporation and not-so-sure factions. The pro-incorporation candidates won, including Mr. Lipp. Yet again Mr. Santamaria’s fingerprints: Mr. Lipp was the commissioner’s selection to the county’s Land Use Advisory Board and one of his top supporters in the fight against Callery-Judge Grove’s development project last year. So far, no declared challengers.
Stay tuned. Things might get even dicier.
sors who helped make this tournament a huge success. I can’t wait to be a part of this event next year!
Molly Harding Loxahatchee
LGWCD
Mishandled
Culvert Replacement
Editor’s note: The following letter was written by a Loxahatchee Groves resident whose property was mentioned in the article “LGWCD Steps In To Settle Culvert Dispute On D Road” published last week. It was sent to the Town-Crier to clarify the situation from his point of view.
I know this is rather long and complicated, but there isn’t much I can do to make it any simpler.
The letter we received from the Loxahatchee Groves Water Control District requiring us to replace our culvert was the first exercise of the new, normal procedure for handling failed culverts. Many others in Loxahatchee Groves will eventually receive such letters. We think it is a good and necessary procedure. We fully agree that our existing culvert is in bad shape and needs replacement, and have expressed it many times. There are four affected property owners who received this letter. We and another neighbor responded to the letter by the deadline. Two of my other neighbors, includSee LETTERS, page 46A
Man Arrested For Stolen DVDs, Pork Loins In Royal Palm Beach
By Steve Pike Town-Crier Staff Report
JAN. 4 — A West Palm Beach man was arrested on shoplifting charges Friday, Jan. 4 in the parking lot of the WinnDixie supermarket on Royal Palm Beach Blvd. According to a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office report, a deputy from the substation in Royal Palm Beach observed a vehicle with an expired tag leave the parking lot at approximately 10:30 p.m., traveling westbound on Okeecho-
CRIME NEWS CRIME NEWS
bee Blvd. After initiating a traffic stop and discovering the vehicle was unregistered and uninsured, the deputy gained consent to search the vehicle. According to the report, the deputy found a green backpack that contained four unopened DVDs, ten various brands of hygiene products and two packs of pork loin back ribs. The deputy discovered that the backpack belonged to the passenger, 44-
Crime Stoppers of Palm Beach County is asking for the public’s help in finding these wanted fugitives:
• Steven Guidi is a white male, 5’9” tall and weighing 175 lbs., with black hair and brown eyes. His date of birth is 10/26/87. He has tattoos on his right arm and neck. Guidi is wanted for sale of cocaine. His occupation is unknown. His last known address was 43rd Road North in Loxahatchee. Guidi is wanted as of 01/24/08.
• James McKee is a white male, 6’2” tall and weighing 230 lbs., with brown hair and brown eyes. His date of birth is 03/22/60. He has scars on his chin and forehead. McKee is wanted for failure to appear in court on the charges of possession of cocaine and driving while license cancelled, suspended or revoked. His occupation is catering. His most recent address was Pepper Tree Court in Wellington. McKee is wanted as of 01/24/08.
Remain anonymous and you may be eligible for up to $1,000 reward. Call Crime Stoppers at (800) 458-TIPS (8477) or visit www.crime stopperspbc.com.
THE INFORMATION FOR THIS BOX IS PROVIDED BY CRIME STOPPERS OF PALM BEACH COUNTY, WHICH IS WHOLLY RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS CONTENT.
year-old Douglas Fowler. Upon further investigation, the deputy determined the DVDs were stolen from the Blockbuster Video store in Wellington and the ribs were stolen from the WinnDixie in Royal Palm Beach; the status of the hygiene products was unknown, according to the report. Fowler could not produce a receipt for any of the items. He was charged with shoplifting and transported to the county jail.
JAN. 5 — A West Palm Beach woman was arrested on
drug charges Saturday, Jan. 5 at the intersection of Okeechobee Blvd. and Wildcat Way in Royal Palm Beach. According to a PBSO report, a deputy from the substation in Royal Palm Beach stopped 24-year-old Angela Walton for driving a car with an obscured registration decal at approximately 11:30 p.m. A registration check showed the tag was expired. The deputy noticed a smell of marijuana coming from the interior of the vehicle, according to the report. A search of the vehicle revealed a plastic bag that contained marijuana. Walton was cited for driving with an expired tag, no seat belt and possession of marijuana less than 20 grams. She was issued a notice to appear in court.
JAN. 5 — A resident of Martin Circle called the PBSO substation in Royal Palm Beach on Saturday, Jan. 5 to report a vehicle theft. According to a PBSO report, at approximately 9 a.m. a deputy met with the victim, who said his Honda Civic was stolen sometime between 9:15 p.m. on Jan. 4 and 8:30 a.m. the following morning. The victim said that somebody possibly pushed the car out of his driveway because it had a loud exhaust and nobody heard the vehicle start anytime overnight, according to the report. The car was entered into the National Crime Information Center database as a stolen vehicle. There were no suspects at the time of the report.
JAN. 14 — A deputy from the PBSO substation in Welling-
ton arrested a man and a woman on drug charges early last Monday morning at a restaurant on South Shore Blvd. According to a PBSO report, a witness observed 22-year-old William Ross of St. Lazair, Quebec, and 24-year-old Susan Caroline of Midhurst, Ontario, inhaling cocaine on the hood of a car at approximately 1:45 a.m. Ross and Caroline were both charged with possession of cocaine and transported to the Palm Beach County Jail.
JAN. 16 — A Royal Palm Beach man was arrested last Wednesday for driving with a suspended license on State Road 7. According to a PBSO report, a deputy from PBSO substation in Wellington stopped a car driven by 27-year-old Terence Maxwell at approximately 1 a.m. for not having a tag light. According to the report, Maxwell was issued a notice to appear in court for driving with a suspended license.
JAN. 23 — Two men were arrested on drug charges early Wednesday morning on Southern Blvd. According to a PBSO report, a deputy from the PBSO substation in Wellington stopped a vehicle for running a red light at approximately 1:20 a.m. The deputy made contact with the driver, 20-year-old Michael Capolongo of West Palm Beach, and the passenger, 19-year-old Arthur Shendell of Wellington. According to the report, the deputy observed Shendell sitting on some marijuana. Capolongo and Shendell were charged with possession of marijuana under 20 grams.
James McKee
Steven Guidi
New Palm Tran Service Coming To RPB
By Carol Porter Town-Crier Staff Report
Palm Beach County’s public transit authority Palm Tran is set to launch a pilot program for a new shuttle service next month, with one line serving the western communities.
Palm Tran’s Executive Director Charles Cohen and Community Affairs Manager Lilliane Agee spoke at County Commissioner Jess Santamaria’s community forum last week in the original Wellington Mall to publicize the new service.
Of the seven Palm Tran Link lines beginning service next month, the Gold Link will convey riders between Palms West Hospital at Southern Blvd. and the intersection of Okeechobee and Royal Palm Beach boulevards, both stops for main Palm Tran routes, via Crestwood Blvd. The novelty of the statefunded program, however, is that it is a “route deviation” service that will make stops up to three quarters of a mile beyond the regular route.
Agee urged listeners at the Jan. 16 forum to give the service a try and to contribute feedback. “This is something new,” she said. “This is a pilot program. It’s a test. You can make it work. I am here to ask for your help. Ride the Link and call us for information about it. I need your help in getting the word out. We can’t do this alone.”
The Link routes are designed to serve residential areas where Palm Tran’s regular fixed route service is not easily accessible, and is geared especially toward seniors, although all riders are welcome to use the service. Unlike Palm Tran Connection service, the Link will not offer door-to-door transportation. The fare will be 50 cents per passenger. As a pilot program, the Link’s seven lines are each limited to operating one day a week, Monday through Thursday. The Gold Link serving the western communities will operate Thursdays.
Agee said the key to continu-
ing the service will be public input and positive feedback. “That is what is great about a pilot program,” she said. “If we get positive feedback, we will get the funding to run it a second year. We will be doing a healthy marketing program. Anything you can do to help us would be appreciated. We hope the program continues.”
Link services are scheduled to start countywide on Feb. 11. For info., call (561) 649-9838 or visit www.palmtran.org.
Also at the forum, the county’s Airports Director Bruce Pelly described recent and upcoming improvements at Palm Beach International Airport.
“The one thing I enjoy telling people is we are self-funding,” Pelly said. “We generate our own revenues. We live on our own cash. All of our dollars come from aviation and ticket taxes, and the revenues we generate at the airport. If you don’t use it, you don’t have to pay for it. We have $70 million that we generate on an annual basis. We run about seven million passengers a year, and we service about 21 airlines. We are one of the biggest economic generators in the county. We have 159 employees, and we think they do a heck of a job.”
Noting that PBIA recently opened a new $64 million parking garage, Pelly said the airport is constructing three new gates
PHOTO BY CAROL PORTER/TOWN-CRIER
at its Concourse C, terminal connection bridges in service for two decades will soon be replaced, and a long-overdue administration building will hopefully be ready in March.
But the airport’s biggest project, Pelly said, is an improvement program that would expand some of the runways, cut back on another, and double the airport’s capacity. The work should be finished in 2014, he said. “I think it’s possible it could take longer because of possible litigation,” he said. “We would have to see what happens.”
Santamaria noted that future needs for even more capacity will eventually require a new, larger airport, with some suggesting a location further toward Lake Okeechobee.
Pelly said people had been talking about relocating the airport, and the Glades is one option, but with increasing growth to the north, there will also be consideration of Martin and St. Lucie counties. “We will need a facility north of here to serve those counties and those citizens,” Pelly said.
While Pelly said he would prefer the area’s next major airport to have easy access to Interstate 95 or Florida’s Turnpike, airports are a “not in my back yard” proposition. “Everyone wants to use them, but nobody wants to be affected by them,” he said.
County Preparing For Possible Budget Cuts
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report
About 100 residents and several state and county elected officials turned out at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center Wednesday for a county staff presentation and public-input session in preparation for possible budget cuts next year.
The input session was one of five held around the county this week to gather input in advance of a Jan. 29 property tax reform amendment that could lead to the budget cuts.
Assistant County Administrator Brad Merriman estimated that passage of the amendment would reduce revenue for Palm Beach County by about $35 million, Palm Beach County FireRescue by $11 million and the library system by about $2 million, assuming the county millage rate remains at 3.78.
Merriman asked attendees to participate in a survey so county officials will have some public input to guide their possible budget-cutting decisions. He said information about the county’s budget process and the survey are available online at www.pbcgov.com.
“What we want you to do for
us, either here tonight, at home online or on hard copy — fill it out and drop it in the mail, it’s already self-addressed and stamped — is help us prioritize these programs so that when we develop the budget process we can have meaningful input from the public,” he said.
Merriman said the county would like respondents to provide input by the end of January so it can be compiled into a meaningful report by the end of February. “When we actually start our formal budget in March, we can have the information that we need,” he said.
During public comment, Loxahatchee Groves nurseryman Joey Quinn was one of more than a half dozen people who asked the county to preserve the funding for the Cooperative Extension Service, which came under scrutiny during the last budget session. “Throughout the years, the Agricultural Extension Service has been a useful tool for me both personally and professionally,” Quinn said. County Administrator Bob Weisman said he doubted the possibility of maintaining the status quo. “We need to change our thinking to reflect the tax concerns,” he said. “I think you
Engineering PAC Supports Pena
The Florida Engineering Political Action Committee (FEPAC), the leading political action committee for the engineering community, has endorsed Tinuade “Tinu” Pena in her race for Seat 2 of the Royal Palm Beach Village Council. Pena is an active member of the Florida Engineering Society. FEPAC is a political action committee that supports the election of candidates who are supportive of engineering concerns.
Rowing Lessons In Wellington
The Florida Rowing Center will host a free introductory sculling lesson for ages 12 and older. The lesson will take place on Sunday, Jan. 27 from 1 to 3 p.m. on Lake Wellington. Participants should wear comfortable (but not baggy) clothing and plan to arrive at the boathouse behind the Wellington Community Center by 12:45 p.m. Each participant will have the opportunity to get in a boat and try sculling under the guidance of rowing coaches Gordon Hamilton, Harvey Rubenstein and Marlene Royle. The lesson is limited to ten participants. For information, call (561) 753-2484.
Wellington Garden Club Meeting
The February meeting of the Wellington Garden Club will take place Friday, Feb. 1 at the Wellington Community Center (12165 W. Forest Hill Blvd.). The meeting begins at 11:45 a.m. with a light lunch supplied by the members, followed by a business meeting and speaker Gene Joyner, who recently retired after 35 years as the extension agent for Palm Beach County. Guests are welcome to the free event. For more information, call Deborah Russell at (561) 793-7360.
Gastesi-Bezerra Perform Jan. 27
Wellington’s Piano Duo Gastesi-Bezerra (left) will perform Jan. 27 at 4 p.m. at the First Unitarian Universalist Church in North Palm Beach as part of the church’s Candlelight Concert series. The duo will present an exciting program blending new and traditional works for duet, including works by Mozart, Debussy and Poulenc, as well as Ronaldo Miranda and Dimitri Cervo. For more information, call (561) 627-6105.
have to balance some of these comments with financial realities and decide what we’re going to do in future years.”
Other speakers included Loxahatchee Groves Councilman Dennis Lipp, who suggested that the county use more contracted services. Weisman said the county has gone to many contracted services, but in some cases went back to county provided services because the contractors were unsatisfactory.
Ira Rabb, a retired New York State Supreme Court justice and vice chair of the county’s Criminal Justice Advisory Committee, spoke on behalf of the Northwood Youth Empowerment Center aimed at keeping youth out of the criminal justice system. Rabb said that while the Northwood program is new and vulnerable to cuts, keeping youth out of jail is five times less expensive than putting them there.
County Commissioner Jess Santamaria said he favors the program. “Programs like this are going to save us money,” he said. “It’s an investment in the beginning, but it will prevent the youth of our our communities from getting into gangs and becoming criminals.”
Transportation Discussion — PBC Airports Director Bruce Pelly, Palm Tran Executive Director Charles Cohen, PBC Planning Director Lorenzo Aghemo and County Commissioner Jess Santamaria at the Jan. 16 community forum.
RPB Council Will Allow Minto To Phase-In Residential Project
By Leonard Wechsler Town-Crier Staff Report
The Royal Palm Beach Village Council approved a major site plan amendment last week to allow developer Minto Communities to delay building almost half the homes in its PortoSol development.
Minto originally received village approval last March to build the PortoSol development on a 250-acre portion of the former Fox property north of Okeechobee Blvd. near the Super Target store in a single phase.
Minto’s new plan for the gated community of 443 single-family homes is to build 262 homes, landscaping buffers and roads in the first phase of construction, followed by a clubhouse and associated recreation facilities in the center of the development as the second phase of construction. The remaining homes would
be built in the last phase.
Among the conditions village staff recommended placing on the site plan amendment, Minto must apply for the building permit for the development’s secondphase recreation center before a certificate of occupancy is issued for the hundredth home in the first phase of development, and the certificate of occupancy for the recreation center must be issued before that of the two-hundredth home.
The first phase must be completed within a year, and the third phase within two years, although Minto has the possibility of obtaining a two-year extension. The developer must post completion bonds it might forfeit if the village’s conditions are not met.
At their Jan. 17 meeting, the council chose to shorten the threshold for the recreation center certification to the completion of the 175th home.
Attorney Al Malefatto of Greenberg Traurig, representing Minto, agreed to the conditions, noting that the infrastructure for the first phase is already mostly in place. The council approved the site plan amendment 3-0, with Vice Mayor David Swift absent.
In other business:
• The council approved a site plan for a 149,406-square-foot self-storage facility, with 4,400 square feet of retail uses and truck rental service on a vacant 6.19acre parcel behind the Golden Corral restaurant on Okeechobee Blvd.
Although self-storage is not a permitted use in the village’s General Commercial zoning classification, the developer is taking advantage of Palm Beach County land-use regulations as the property has not yet been added to the village’s future land-use map. The village annexed the property last June.
Planner Russell Scott, representing property owner SS Development, said the differences between the development plans and the village’s rules are minor. “We are putting in five parking spots for rental trucks,” Scott said, “and Royal Palm Beach usually only would have two. The county approved a ten-foot buffer zone while the village wants 25. However, we are setting the buildings back another ten feet. Also, our roof is 35 feet high and the village only allows 32.5 feet.”
Scott also noted that project would be well buffered from nearby homes. In response to questions from council members, he affirmed that the tenants would keep normal business hours and that there would be no high-intensity lighting on the property.
Mayor David Lodwick said that alSee RPB COUNCIL, page 46A
Acreage Athletic League Will Enact Football Weight Restrictions
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report
Following several months of contention, the Acreage Athletic League announced last week that it will introduce weight regulations for its youth tackle football program.
Acreage Athletic League volunteer Cheryl Lojewski e-mailed AAL parents Jan. 15 to announce that the AAL’s executive board had met with the president and vice president of the football board the previous day and reached the decision.
“We have come to a decision that effective with the 2008 tackle football season, we will implement weight restrictions,” Lojewski wrote. “Should you have any further questions, we ask that you come straight to the sources.”
The e-mail provided the phone number for AAL President John Meredith as
well as the AAL answering service at (561) 795-5908.
Meredith told the Town-Crier Wednesday that the AAL is beginning the process of defining the regulations. “We have a committee that is working on weight restrictions, and we are going to meet with them, I believe next week, and see what they came up with,” he said.
Meredith said the meeting’s specific date and time were not firm because not all the committee members had yet been reached. He said weight restrictions will probably be put in place for most divisions, with the possibility that the older divisions will remain unrestricted.
The AAL tackle program serves hundreds of children ages five to 15 in a season that begins in August and runs to the end of the year.
When the program was launched in 1992, teams played only at the Indian Trail Improvement District’s Acreage
Community Park on 140th Street south of Orange Blvd. The league now also plays games at Palm Beach County’s Samuel Friedland Park at the end of Hamlin Blvd., which opened in October 2006.
North County Parks Coordinator Cliff Battles said the county only recently became aware that the AAL operated without weight restrictions. Battles said all other leagues in the county have weight restrictions, as far as he is aware.
“Weight restrictions are something the league did. It really had not come to our attention,” he said. “Weight restrictions are basically a common practice. This came about due to public inquiries. There are sanctioned leagues out there nationally that operate by age only, but the current practice locally is weight restrictions. That’s the county’s position, largely for safety reasons.”
With some play on county fields,
Battles said the county also has liability concerns. But he added that the AAL’s discussion of weight restrictions offers all participants an opportunity to provide input as they are developed.
“We’ve been getting a lot of inquiries from concerned parents on the opposite side of the fence who say, ‘why does the county force the Acreage Athletic League into weight restrictions? I don’t want my nine-year-old playing with a 15year-old,’” he said. “This is the perfect time for parents to have input, and since there are going to be weight restrictions they can say, ‘these are the type of weight restrictions I don’t want to have.’”
Battles said he believes Acreage Athletic League organizers will be very open to suggestions.
“It’s just going to be very difficult for them to balance out and please everybody,” he said. “They are in a very See WEIGHT LIMITS, page 46A
Final Questions For Royal Palm Beach Village Council Candidates
For the past five weeks, the Town-Crier has asked questions for publication to the three candidates seeking the vacant seat on the Royal Palm Beach Village Council on Jan. 29. The two final questions are: “Are you happy with the current management/operation of the village? What, if anything, would you like to change?” and, “Why should voters choose you over the other candidates in this race?”
TINUADE “TINU” PENA
The Village of Royal Palm Beach has been operated and will continue to run in an efficient and effective manner. It would be naïve of me to say the management team is perfect, but I can say that they ensure that the safety, security, needs and best interest of the citizens of Royal Palm Beach are addressed expediently. I would like to see the current management bring more awareness to the people as to what it offers in form of community organizations. These organizations allow us to identify ourselves as part of the community and can provide a niche. I believe this can be accomplished by providing links or contact information on the village’s web site. Also, continuing to inform the citizens of Royal Palm Beach that the council members are available to address their issues will bridge that gap and get rid of any misnomer regarding accessibility to the council members. I commend the operation team for their continued dedication to maintaining our neighborhoods and quality
of life. Overall, I believe the current management/operation of the village is performing well in ensuring that the quality of life that we all came to Royal Palm Beach is maintained or enhanced through the facilities and amenities provided to the citizens of Royal Palm Beach.
The citizens of Royal Palm Beach should vote for the candidate who will serve our best interest, uphold the values and principles of our community and maintain or enhance our quality of life. In essence, I stand for all those fundamental ideologies and will work diligently to be the ears, eyes and voice for our community. My military and engineering background will serve as the backbone that will aid me as I work with the present council to address the needs of our community. Remember, I am your next door neighbor. So a vote for Tinu Pena is a vote for integrity, leadership, commitment and dedication.
MARTHA WEBSTER
As I continue to meet and talk with residents during this campaign, questions continue to arise about any village involvement in the on-going public corruption investigations. Public trust in all elected officials has been seriously eroded. As councilwoman, I will work hard to restore that trust, with honesty and integrity. As your councilwoman, I would like to see: more transparency, open discussion and deliberation of agenda items, with greater community input; more attention and great-
er responsiveness to resident’s concerns — residents shouldn’t be left feeling frustrated or that their concerns fell on deaf ears; more community outreach — council members should make more of an effort to bring important issues to residents, neighborhood associations, community groups, etc., rather than expect residents to come to city hall; and more respect for village employees, their hard work, and their expertise in serving a quality village.
I am an 11-year village resident and a 42-year county resident. I have served on numerous boards and committees and been active in village issues, something that distinguishes me from my opponents. As the former vice chair of the Greenacres Planning & Zoning Board, I have experience reviewing development projects, working on their comprehensive plan and shaping land use policy — ex-
perience that will be invaluable to the village as we proceed with the new county overlay plan. I want to limit the impacts of traffic and over-development on the village, keep taxes low and maintain our unique quality of life.
DAVID DANGERFIELD
I would like to acknowledge the current village administration and their staff for their hands-on approach with the anticipated growth of our culturally rich and diverse community. When elected, I will work closely with them on fiscal and other issues concerning our village.
Since I moved into the community, I want to make it clear that I have been actively involved. Presently, I am the Student Advisory Council chairperson for Royal Palm Beach High School. I was appointed to African-American Advisory Council for the State of Florida. I am
the committeeman for REC for our district. I am part of the Health and Wellness Committee, established through the BEO, where I had the privilege to participate in the Thanksgiving turkey distributions to charitable organizations throughout Palm Beach County.
The registered voters in the Village of Royal Palm Beach should vote for me, David C. Dangerfield, over the other two candidates in this race. They should be looking to fill this vacant, non-partisan, council seat not based on gender, race or political affiliation. My goal is to serve the community. It is to continue with the vision of maintaining and sustaining Royal Palm Beach with a comprehensive “smart growth” plan. I am the candidate who will be their voice. I will address the residents’ issues on the village and county matters. I have the enSee ANSWERS, page 32A
David Dangerfield Tinuade “Tinu” Pena Martha Webster
RPB Celebration Honors The Contributions Of Dr. King
By Carol Porter Town-Crier Staff Report
If Dr. Martin Luther King were alive today, he would likely be pleased with the array of diverse entertainment presented at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center on Jan. 21, the holiday honoring his birthday. Youngsters who would inherit the legacy of Dr. King highlighted the event with the presence of a step troupe, a local Boy Scout troop, string performers and more.
Speakers included representatives from the CaribbeanAmericans for Community Involvement (CAFCI), the Royal Palm Beach Village Council, local dignitaries and also journalist, actor and veteran Shawn McAllister who read Dr. King’s immortal “I Have a Dream” speech delivered at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. in 1963.
Royal Palm Beach Councilman and CAFCI Board Member Fred Pinto thanked the audience for coming to reflect on a key moment in U.S. history and the important legacy represented by Dr. King.
Pinto said he remembered Royal Palm Beach’s first MLK celebration six years ago and how the celebration had grown every year. The work and legacy of Dr. King, Pinto said, made America the great nation it is today. He urged people to remember and honor the legacy of people like him and continue to build on that legacy.
“This is a wonderful sight,”
said Pinto, looking out at the diverse and multiethnic crowd seated in the Cultural Center. “I want to go back and be part of a very special moment in time in recognizing and celebrating the wonderful work that Dr. King has done for this country. America is a wonderful place to live. It’s people like Dr. King who made America, America. You have to sometimes force that democracy to live up to its deeds, practices and policies.”
Royal Palm Beach Mayor David Lodwick said he, too, was glad to see the representatives of different cultures and races assembled. Lodwick praised event chair Elet Cyris other members of CAFCI for putting the event together and keeping the spirit and memory of Dr. King alive. “Your heart and soul is in this,” Lodwick said. “We thank you so much for putting this together.”
Lodwick said the memories of Dr. King and his legacy are important in light of the current presidential campaign, and how the candidates running all need to pause and take a moment and reflect on the dreams and goals of a martyred Southern Baptist minister who had done so much to bring about racial equality in the short time he lived.
“What has struck me in watching the national politics, when you get to that level, it should be a higher level, and we’re watching it not get to that level,” Lodwick said. “That reminds me why we need to be here today and remember these things. Dr. King talked about a
movement. It’s only a movement if it keeps on moving. You young people have an opportunity to talk to people who don’t just remember the history but lived it. You can hopefully build some dreams of your own. We have come a long, long way as a society, but we’re not as good as we can be yet. We can be better.”
Journalist, author, actor and Vietnam veteran Shawn McAllister said he well remembered the civil rights movement in the 1960s because he was a part of it. McAllister said King was remarkable because he was a simple young black southern minister caught up in a movement that carried him more than the other way around.
“Like most icons, he was no superhero,” McAllister said. “He was a young black Southern Baptist minister who rode to the forefront of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. It is a testament to the greatness of Martin Luther King that every major city in the United States has a school or street or building named after him. It is a measure of how sorely his achievements are misunderstood that most of them are located in black neighborhoods.”
McAllister noted how during mid-20th-century America, many blacks were denied the most basic rights. “If you were black, you could not eat at lunch counters,” McAllister said. “If you were black, you could not rent a home, or buy a home wherever you wish. If you were black, you had to sit at the back
of the bus. And quite often, if you were black, you were compelled to get off the sidewalk and stand in the street when a Caucasian walked by.”
Keynote speaker State Sen. Dave Aronberg talked about the diversity of his district and about how Dr. King’s vision of the future is becoming realized.
“Dr. King’s heroic vision foresaw a day in the future when white farmers, laborers, doctors and lawyers, sisters and brothers would leave work early to hear the words of a young African-American black presidential candidate,” Aronberg said. “It was Dr. King’s vision that foresaw the day when a white Republican governor from a southern state would buck his own
party, and his own attorney general, and in his very first public policy decision, would give a million people, most of them minorities, the right to vote and the ability to earn a living, and a chance for redemption. It was also Dr. King’s vision that foresaw a day when a white Jewish legislator would stand before an audience of different races, ethnicities and nationalities to reflect on a man who was great not because of his race but because of his deeds, and who was a hero not because of the color of his skin but because of the content of his character. Some of Dr. King’s future dreams are in our present. It is up for us to heed the rest of his call.”
(Left) Royal Palm Beach Councilman and CAFCI Member Fred Pinto reflects on Dr. King’s legacy. (Right) Bridgett Anderson sings “Ave Maria.”
Supervisors To Discuss Varied Concerns At Visioning Session
By Leonard Wechsler Town-Crier Staff Report
While the mandate of the Indian Trail Improvement District is limited to drainage, roads and parks, each of the ITID supervisors will emphasize priorities at their visioning session scheduled for Jan. 31.
ITID President Mike Erickson said he will stress planning. “I believe in planning for the long run,” he told the TownCrier Tuesday. “We need to be very efficient. When you change something, it can have an impact somewhere else. For example, if you change one street, it will change traffic on neighboring ones. I want to focus on creating overall plans that will move traffic where we want it to go.”
Erickson said planning even extends to job descriptions. “We need effective short- and long-term programs for drain-
age, roads and parks,” he said. “Also, we need to make certain that we have the right people doing the best possible jobs through defining their roles better. And we need to discuss how to use the budget process to pay for the things we all feel we need and want here in The Acreage.”
Supervisor Carol Jacobs said her heart is in developing the district’s equestrian trail system and expanding Hamlin Equestrian Park. “That’s where I’m going to be focusing my attention,” she said. “We are an equestrian community but some riders are leaving and going to other communities because of the lack of support they found here in the past. We want to use equestrianism as one part of our work to make certain that we have a family-friendly environment. That will attract more people looking for homes and help the market here.”
Treasurer Ralph Bair said he wants to
see work on Acreage Community Park completed. “And of course, we should complete the building on our expanded Hamlin Park,” he said. “Every member of the board will also be spending time and attention on making certain that State Road 7 is extended all the way to Northlake Blvd. We need to plan out which of our roads needs to be resurfaced as part of our district-wide traffic planning.”
Bair also has a strong interest in finding ways to use alternative energy in the district. “We’ve learned not to trust Florida Power & Light for everything,” he said. “They won’t give us a break on anything. I remember being one of the first people here in The Acreage years ago who put up solar panels to make certain that I had power for my pumps whenever the power went out. I wanted to make sure my family had fresh water even when we were the last item
on FPL’s agenda.”
Bair said the district once used solarpowered outdoor lighting. “We’ve moved away from that,” he said, “but I would like us to be as independent as possible as well as to lower our carbon footprint.”
Supervisor Michelle Damone said she would like to secure more grant funds. “We could use them to build our equestrian and pedestrian trails,” she said. “Years ago we were able to get our parks built because of grants, without the money coming directly from our residents. We should try to raise as much money as we can that way.”
Damone said the district’s workforce documentation needs review. “We need an updated table of organization that lists and describes the assignments of each job in the district,” she said. “Also, we have to return to our structured comSee VISIONING, page 46A
Groves Council Negotiating With New Trash Collection Firm
By Leonard Wechsler Town-Crier Staff Report
The Loxahatchee Groves Town Council voted Tuesday to pursue contract negotiations on solid waste services with new provider Waste Pro, which will also collect solid waste for the county in nearby unincorporated areas.
The council requested bids on a new contract after learning of a hike in costs by current provider Onyx Waste Services. While Onyx parent company Veolia Environmental Services bid to provide services at $834 per household annually for the new contract, Southern Waste Systems bid $488 and Waste Pro bid $354.
Council members expressed concerns that Waste Pro offered to collect only
six cubic yards of vegetative waste per household each week, in line with the Solid Waste Authority’s contract requirements, while the other two companies offered to pick up any amount.
Waste Pro Regional Vice President Russell Mackie said the company would be flexible in working out details of the contract, particularly since many piles of vegetative waste are composed of contributions from multiple customers.
Interim Village Clerk Matthew Lippman will negotiate contract terms with Waste Pro, and failing an agreement, with second-choice bidder Southern Waste Systems. The new service is set to begin in October.
In other business:
• The council approved an ordinance
barring roadside employment solicitation in order to regulate traffic on Okeechobee Blvd., where trucks stopping to pick up day laborers cause backups and pose safety issues.
The ordinance bars solicitation on public rights of way, in commercial parking areas and from the common areas of multi-family residential areas. The ordinance is similar to regulations adopted by the municipalities of Jupiter and Lake Worth. Currently, the town encourages day workers to meet in the parking lot of Acts 2 Church, which is in the process of creating an employment and resource center for the workers.
Mayor David Browning noted that the ordinance is content-neutral and not intended to limit free speech or aid undocumented immigrants, only to protect
pedestrians and vehicle occupants.
“The ordinance is not aimed at assisting illegal aliens or anyone else,” he said.
“There is nothing in our regulations that in any way reflect on whether or not the workers are illegal aliens. It is illegal for companies to hire them, but the town has no legal authority to deal with the issue.”
• The council unanimously adopted a resolution to request that the Palm Beach County Commission rescind a January 2006 resolution approving the rezoning of part of the Palm Beach Aggregates property to build a residential development as the Highland Dunes PUD, conditional on the widening of Southern Blvd. toward the development to six lanes. The company is currently seeking
See GROVES, page 46A
Royal Palm Beach’s Internationally Renown Pianist
Endorses MARTHA WEBSTER
for Royal Palm Beach Village Council
“Martha is the only candidate for Village Council with a proven track record of community involvement and a sincere interest in making Royal Palm Beach a better place to live. I strongly endorse her candidacy - Vote For Martha , my friend and neighbor, on Tuesday, January 29th.”
Copeland
Nat Roberts: County Needs To Become More Business-Friendly
By Leonard Wechsler Town-Crier Staff Report
Apparently still stinging from the rejection of Callery-Judge Grove’s “new town” proposal last May, Managing Partner Nat Roberts squarely blamed Palm Beach County government last week for making the county a difficult place to do business.
Speaking to members of the Acreage Rotary Club Jan. 16, Roberts warned that Palm Beach County is likely to face huge economic losses if it does
not become more businessfriendly. “Two of the new biotech companies that the county wanted to attract through Scripps decided they preferred St. Lucie County because the public and private sectors work together,” he said. “Friends of mine in St. Lucie tell me they’re very pleased that this county is so screwed up. Businesses looking to relocate to South Florida come here and look at a place where 30 percent of our commissioners have gone to jail
and the licensing requirements are onerous. If things continue like this, families will move out and it will become a rich people’s retirement community.”
Roberts said that even though estimates suggest the county’s population will grow by 550,000 in the next 15 years, the number of children enrolled in county schools is declining. “People are retiring up north and having a hard time paying their bills,” he said. “Florida taxes and prices are relatively better, so they come down here because
of the lower relative cost of living. And that means there will be a lot less done for families.”
Roberts said Callery-Judge is using some of its 4,000 acres for other agricultural purposes as problems with citrus canker continue. “We’ve planted 190,000 trees, either timber or for palm nurseries,” he said, “and we put in 70 acres of sorghum which will be expanded to 140 acres by late spring.”
Roberts said “after the debacle of last spring,” when the Palm Beach County Commis-
sion turned down the grove’s large development plan, his company is not focusing on another such proposal. “There was a window of opportunity to build a major project like this that would have meant jobs and new business,” he said, “but that time is past.”
Instead, Callery-Judge has filed an application for 2,999 homes, which Roberts said will be at a lower density than the surrounding area. “It’s less than .8 units per acre,” he said,
Indian Trail To Reissue Requests For Engineer, Attorney Posts
By Leonard Wechsler Town-Crier Staff Report
The Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors voted last week to revoke and reissue requests for qualifications issued last month regarding two top district jobs because of several flaws in the preparation of the documents.
Supervisor Michelle Damone said the requests, concerning the district’s engineer and attorney positions, contained an anti-lobbying clause without board direction to do so. The engineer’s request solicited fee quotes when it should not have, and the two requests were not reviewed by district legal staff.
Damone also said the documents made no mention of supervisor review of qualifications.
“There is no mention of input from supervisors,” she said. “We only have three people who work directly for us. Those are
the district administrator, the district’s engineer, and the district’s attorney. But there is no mention of our providing input in the RFQs.”
ITID President Mike Erickson agreed. “We don’t want to have the regular kind of mess we inherited from our predecessors,” he said. “It would be better to make sure we’re doing this right. And we need to make certain that at least one supervisor is involved in the selection of each of these two posts.”
The district is seeking to draw up fresh service contracts for the positions because current contracts with service providers have already been extended numerous times.
Several supervisors apologized to current ITID attorney Mary Viator for not presenting the documents for her review. She will examine the new ones before they are issued. The supervisors also approved the anti-
lobbying clause, which bars applicants from contacting district officials during the selection process.
In other business:
• The board voted to extend by six months two service contracts that had expired in November and December. District Administrator Chris King told the board he had tentatively negotiated six-month extensions on the contracts of Allied Trucking and Palm Beach Grading, although the district expects to invite bids on new contracts later this year.
When Damone asked why the extensions were so lengthy, King replied that issuing requests for proposals and accepting bids would occupy the remaining months. The board unanimously voted to approve the extensions.
• The board agreed to seek to pave the half-mile stretch of Persimmon Blvd. between Avocado Blvd. and 140th Street
North, which residents say has been damaged by school bus traffic, as soon as possible.
Erickson said the road there, unlike the rest of Avocado Blvd. and the section of 140th Street North adjacent to it, had been paved with millings. “Millings are not designed for heavy traffic,” he said. “And this section of road is the oldest stretch of millings that has not been capped with asphalt.”
Damone told other supervisors the county still considers a road covered with millings to be unpaved. “To some degree we are responsible for the problem since we improved all the other roads around this one and that attracted the school buses,” she said. “Also, we need sidewalks there for the kids who walk to school.”
Supervisor Ralph Bair asked where the paving funds would come from, and Damone replied that reserve funds for Develop-
ment Unit 3, where the road is located, would cover the cost.
Bair also asked why the board did not wait until the completion of its five-year road plan, and Erickson replied that the road is perhaps the district’s worst. “If we don’t cap this road now,” he said, “we will be paying a lot more later to fix up the road.”
Bair asked why the school district could not ensure the buses do not use the road, particularly since they are supposed to use 54th Street North. Supervisor Sandra Love Semande said her calls to the school district’s transportation department have not been returned. “We need an official letter to the head of the transportation department complaining of the destruction,” she said.
The board voted to request a meeting with school board and school district officials to discuss the issue.
LEAGUE OF CITIES MEETS IN LOXAHATCHEE GROVES PARK
The monthly Palm Beach County League of Cities meeting was held Wednesday morning at Loxahatchee Groves Park on Southern Blvd. (Above) Loxahatchee Groves Councilman Dennis Lipp speaks while league members Tom Lynch and Mo Thornton look on. (Below) Ginger Baldwin of State Sen. President Ken Pruitt’s office chats with Loxahatchee Groves Vice Mayor Marge Herzog and Town Clerk Matt Lippman. PHOTOS
Community Meeting To Discuss Overlay Plan
A community meeting will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 30 at 6 p.m. in the media room of Seminole Ridge High School regarding future development in the central-western communities.
The Board of County Commissioners is considering establishing an overlay to guide development in an unincorporated area of approximately 43,000 acres, generally located west of Royal Palm Beach between Northlake and Southern boulevards.
The overlay would replace the Sector Plan, which was adopted by the commissioners in 2005 but was found not to be in compliance with state requirements; it was subsequently repealed.
The meeting will update residents on the planning effort and allow for public comment and input on issues and topics related to development in the rural-residential area. Seminole Ridge High School is located at 4601 Seminole Pratt Whitney Road.
For more information, contact the Palm Beach County Planning Division at (561) 233-5300.
4-H NICA Auction Jan. 30
The Palm Beach County 4-H Club will sponsor at National Independent Concessionaires Association (NICA) auction Wednesday, Jan. 30 at the South Florida Fairgrounds. Bidding starts at 3 p.m. in the 4-H tent located in the Agriplex Arena (near Yesteryear Village). All proceeds will support 4-H youth events. Auction items include themed “baskets” containing all types of prizes, put together by 4-H youth members and clubs.
Also, don’t forget to stop by the 4-H tent to see exhibits, presentations, demonstrations and plenty of other exciting events presented by 4-H youth. For more information, call the 4-H office at (561) 233-1731 or e-mail fourh@pbcgov.com.
Keep
PBC
Beautiful Launches ‘Pack And Go’
Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful Inc. has launched a fundraising campaign to raise money targeted to continue its work providing supplies and grants to volunteer community groups and other organizations to do beautification projects throughout Palm Beach County.
For a donation to the organization, Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful will provide donors with “Pack and Go” bags, providing a unique reusable bag to replace plastic bags while grocery shopping. These large bags have hooks that attach to the grocery carts, holding it open, making it a convenient and reusable way to load and offload groceries while helping the environment.
“Plastic bags like those used by the millions in grocery stores take up space in landfills and often kill marine life,” said Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful Executive Director Lourdes Ferris. “This fundraiser is a way to help fund our beautification projects in Palm Beach County while at the same time doing your part to reduce the use of plastic bags while grocery shopping.”
For a $15 donation, donors will receive one bag; for a $30 donation, two bags and for a $40 donation, the donor will receive three bags.
For information on where to send donations and order bags, visit www. keeppbcbeautiful.org or call (561) 6866646.
Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful is a non-profit organization and local affiliate of Keep America Beautiful Inc. It follows a practical approach that unites citizens, businesses, organizations and government to find solutions that advance issues that include preventing litter, reducing waste, recycling and beautifying Palm Beach County communities.
SOUTH FLORIDA FAIR KICKS OFF ITS ‘PARTY WITH THE ANIMALS’
The South Florida Fair returned last Saturday to the South Florida Fairgrounds (9067 Southern Blvd.). The fair’s theme is “Party with the Animals” and it will include a parade, amusement rides, big-act concerts, blue-ribbon agricultural displays, family shows, community competitions and more. The fair is open from noon to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and Midnight Madness each Saturday night is from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. The fair closes at 8 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 3, the final day. For more info., call (561) 7930333 or visit www.southfloridafair.com.
PHOTOS BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
This Year’s Miss South Florida Fair winner Jessica Wittenbrink rides with Congressman Tim Mahoney.
The Wellington Elementary School twirling group marches in the parade.
The Seminole Ridge High School marching band.
Sally, Brittney, Carley and Nadean Anderson with Zoe and Minnie the sea lions.
Steve Barnard of Sea Turtle Tappers clogs on the porch at Yesteryear Village.
Civil War re-enactors Ian Wagner, Randy Deal, David and Brian Wysong at Yesteryear Village.
Ken Turner with some fair treats for sale.
Palms West Amateur Radio Club members Jeff Beals, Hugh Conolly, David Fowler, Louise Conolly, Walt and Betty Peace, and Myra Kitchen.
Miami Dolphins mascot T.D. with seven-year-old Kimberly Hoff of Loxahatchee.
OPENING NIGHT GALA KICKS OFF THE 2008 SOUTH FLORIDA FAIR
A VIP gala was held Thursday, Jan. 17 at the Americraft Expo Center to kick off the 2008 South Florida Fair. The gala featured the silent auction “Quiet as a Mouse,” tables full of food from area restaurants and a preview of Ridgeway & Johnson’s illusion and escape show. In addition, last year’s Miss South Florida Fair Brooke Helvie entertained the crowd with a few country songs.
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WPEC Channel 12 weatherman Michael Ehrenberg with Laura Heatherington.
The fair’s Vicki Chouris with Jorge Pesquera, president of the PBC Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Loxahatchee Groves Vice Mayor Marge Herzog with husband George and granddaughter Rose Rodriguez.
Dorothy Bradshaw with Wellington Mayor Tom Wenham and his wife Regis.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw and wife Dorothy with Ellen and Russ Morley.
Americraft’s Dave Hurley (second from left) with chefs Dan Galligan, Patty and Bill Hickey, Lorin Igo and Virgil Tanner.
Uncle Chester May Be Famous... I’ll Know Within The Hour
You probably don’t know my Uncle Chester but he is well known among my family members as my mother’s brother, the one who makes stuff. OK, even that is not specific enough, because everyone in my family makes stuff.
My mother sews, crochets and knits. My father fiddles around in the garage. My uncles and aunts on both sides all create something. Even I do needlepoint. But what sets Uncle Chester apart is that he’s gone commercial — he sells his stuff. This is a talent none of the rest of us seems to have mastered.
Uncle Chester determined his “target market” early, however, and that makes selling his stuff easy. He sells homemade Green Bay Packer tchotchkes to people in his hometown — Green Bay.
Now if you read my column last Friday, you know I was all excited about the possibility of the Green Bay Packers going to the Super Bowl. As of Sunday, that will not be happening. And this is why Uncle Chester may or may not be famous.
It all started when my sister Pam, a flight attendant, was working a flight out of New York. She was helping people board on Sunday morning when Sherri Shepherd, a co-host of the TV show The View, noticed her earrings and went wild.
Now Pam’s earrings were not just any earrings, they were miniature Green Bay Packer helmets, lovingly handcrafted by Uncle Chester — out of walnuts.
Oh, were you misled for a moment? Did you think Chester created things out
of gold or silver? That he formed clay prototypes for things later cast in bronze? Or that he painted iconic sports star portraits in oils?
Ha ha ha. You make me laugh. Using quality materials is not our way of doing things. Our way of doing things is to take something worth nothing (or that we would have to pay someone to haul away) and create something unique out of it. I never said Chester’s items were high class. Virtually all his stuff is made of walnuts, acorns, bits of balsa wood, paperclips — you get the picture. So the fact that this TV star even cared about Uncle Chester’s nuts (ahem) was amazing. When Sherri asked if she could talk about the earrings on the show, Pam immediately slipped them off and handed them to her.
So now I’m typing with one hand and working the remote with the other, waiting to see if Uncle Chester will go down in history. Of course, Green Bay’s loss didn’t help Chester’s bid for fame, but you can’t blame the Packers — they had no idea how much was riding on that game.
We Need More Flexibility Than Mandatory Sentencing Laws
Last week, State Attorney Barry Krischer blamed the creation of mandatory minimum sentencing as a major reason courts in the county have been overburdened.
“I have no trouble with life imprisonment without parole or the death penalty for first degree murder, and sexual predators who attack children need to be in jail for long periods of time,” he told the Palm Beach County Legislative Delegation. “But when the mandatory minimum sentence in a lot of drug cases is 30 years and there is no judicial discretion involved, defendants usually think it’s smarter to roll the dice and see if they can get off.”
Krischer is of course correct. While murder is a very specific crime and child predators overwhelmingly are repeat offenders, cases involving drugs range across a wide spectrum. Those who follow drug case arrests, and most of us have little choice since local TV news programming is more interested in young
malefactors than the great majority of kids who follow the rules, understand that some people with drugs are simply unfortunate users while others are major pushers. Some are violent; others are not. For years, minority kids with crack were punished far more heavily than middle-class kids with cocaine even though they are essentially the same thing.
We need some flexibility, if only to allow some common sense to creep in. When I was a school administrator in New York, the city did not have a “zero tolerance” policy on drugs. That meant that if a girl had a couple of Midol pills with her I did not have to label her a drug user.
Of course, such toleration meant there was a real active traffic in Tylenols. I should add that when a student was carrying a “controlled substance,” particularly a powerful one, he or she was suspended and usually arrested. It was a smart policy and a sane one.
Unfortunately, in many parts of the country schools have given up sanity and instead of having an intelligent policy that demonstrates drugs are wrong, they instead demonstrate to our children that many fools determine educational policy.
The same holds true with our court system. Until very recently, the “Rockefeller laws” in New York State guaranteed long prison terms for even many minor drug-related crimes. Have a bit too much marijuana in your closet and you could spend far more time in jail than a murderer.
We need flexibility as the state attorney requests. The problem comes from a minority of judges who confuse discretion with stupidity. “Jessica’s Law” was passed here to give a mandatory minimum of 25 years to first-time sex offenders. Some critics pointed out that there that someone could do a variety of things to be labeled a sex offender and that the law might be a bit vague.
By Leonard Wechsler
Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly campaigned to get the law passed in every state. Vermonters were not interested. In response, O’Reilly relayed the story of one Vermont judge who imposed a 60-day sentence on a man who regularly raped a six-year-old girl over a four-year period, while another gave only probation to a man convicted of molesting a fouryear-old.
That is the main problem with discretion. Most judges will be rational and work with prosecutors to get criminals off the street more easily but a handful
Ice Skating Is A Bigger Pastime In Florida Than I Thought
Last Sunday number-two son Ronnie called and asked me if I wanted to go ice-skating. I reminded him we live in South Florida, not New York. He went on to inform me that there is an ice-skating rink on Lake Worth Road near the turnpike. Now I drove by this place hundreds of times, and I always thought this joint was a roller rink. Well, guess what — it is actually two ice rinks and one roller rink under the same roof!
I went on to tell my son I haven’t been on ice skates in over 30 years. He reminded me that in another life I managed an outdoor ice-skating rink for three years. I told him the last time I was at an ice-skating rink was about 25 years ago when he and his brother won trophies for coming in first place in speedskating races for their age brackets.
OK, maybe it was time to visit the ice rink. I told my son I would go. I changed from my shorts, undershirt and flip-flops to long pants, heavy
socks and a sweatshirt. I was now ready for the ice.
After my son picked me up and we were on the drive to the ice rink, I asked him how he was going to handle his baby on the ice. I figured the other four kids could fend for themselves. He told me that’s where I come into the picture. It was at this point I found out my job at the ice-skating rink was to watch Jackson (the baby) while everyone else was having a good time on the ice.
When I learned of my assignment, I was actually relieved. I really didn’t want to go on the ice, and to watch my youngest grandson for three long hours was right up my alley. I figured we would do some male bonding.
When we got to the rink I was amazed at how busy it was. The very large parking lot was full. It appeared there were at least 400 people on the ice. I was wondering how could I not know this place was here for all these years.
While my family went out on the ice, I decided to wander around with Jackson and explore the place. I found the other ice-skating rink next door. On this rink, a very serious hockey game was taking place. It was kids who appeared to be no older than eight having a great time playing hockey. The stands were packed with proud parents and grandparents.
I wandered around a little more and I found a roller rink. I think I heard disco music from the ’70s blasting out of the loudspeakers.
As I made my way back to the ice rink I started to engage some of the folks in conversation. Everyone I spoke to originally came from the north. I couldn’t spot one native Floridian on the ice. I was very surprised to see a lot of condotype folks skating better then they could walk.
While I was watching all of the action on the ice, the DJ (yes, the ice rink had a
live and in-person DJ) announced to the crowd it was time to go to center ice and do the Electric Slide. Now this was a sight to see, over 100 people young and old, on ice skates doing the Electric Slide.
I didn’t get to bond with Jackson, as he slept for most of the session, but I did meet some very nice and interesting folks. I can’t wait ’til my son goes to the ice rink again and drags me along to watch my grandson. I must admit it was one of the better afternoons I had in a long time.
The 2008 Miss South Florida Fair is Jessica Wittenbrink. The Northwood University student and Wellington High School graduate was crowned Saturday in a splendid pageant that featured a field of 14 contestants. First runnerup was Meghan Orsley, the second runner-up was Charlotte Murphy and Jenna Hooker was third runner-up. In addition to winning the title Miss South Florida Fair, Wittenbrink now advances to the Miss Florida pageant this summer, a Miss America qualifier. She also claims a $4,000 scholarship from the South Florida Fair. The 21-year-old business major competed on a personal platform of “Treasure Our Elders.” Her career ambition is to become a brokerage dealer and CEO of a stock brokerage firm. (Above) Wittenbrink (third from left) with Hooker, Orsley and Murphy. (Right) Last year’s Miss South Florida Fair Brooke Helvie, also of Wellington, sings at the pageant.
PALMS WEST HOSPITAL CELEBRATES MLK DAY
Rev. Willie Lawrence of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church visited Palms West Hospital Monday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Rev. Lawrence spoke about Dr. King’s fight for the freedom, equality and dignity of all races. The hospital’s FANS choir also performed. (Above) Rev. Lawrence with Palms West Hospital employees Cheryl Smith and Gwen Hall. (Below) The FANS choir in action.
Girl Scouts’ Cookie Sale Continues Through Feb. 4
The Girl Scout cookie sale program is America’s leading business and economic literacy program for girls. And during the 2008 sale, which runs now through Feb. 4, local Girl Scouts will put their sales and marketing skills into action as they strive to reach an unprecedented goal: to sell one million boxes of cookies. Last year, local Girl Scouts sold 778,124 boxes and earned $512,000 for troop programs and activities.
“The skills girls develop by participating in the Girl Scout Cookie Program will stay with them throughout their lives,” said Girl Scouts of Palm Glades Council CEO Denise Valz. “Setting and achieving goals and helping to decide how to spend the money they earn provide girls with a tremendous sense of accomplishment.”
The cookie sale is one of the most anticipated events of the year by both Girl Scouts and their customers. Held just two weeks each year, girls sell outside local retail establishments, door-todoor in their neighborhoods and at their parents’ places of employment. For most Girl Scouts, participating in the cookie sale provides an opportunity for girls to develop plans and budgets, design and implement creative marketing strategies, and master the art of both sales and customer service.
Troops and groups earn between 60 and 70 cents for each box sold, depending on their total volume and growth over the prior year. To reach the goal of one million boxes, girls will need to sell an average of 140 boxes each. Last year, the average number of boxes sold per girl was 137. The troop with the highest average number of boxes sold per girl of the council’s 18 each service units will receive a $500 bonus for their troop treasury. The troop with the highest average
number of boxes sold per girl in the council will receive an additional $500 bonus for a total of $1,000.
In addition to traditional sales outlets, Girl Scouts will use the cookie program as an opportunity to spark some marketing creativity. Some will make formal presentations in corporate boardrooms, others will create displays that outline their troop goals and how they will use the money. The annual Cookies for the Military program will provide customers with an opportunity to donate cookies to the women and men serving our county overseas. Last year, more than 11,300 boxes were shipped to places including Iraq and Afghanistan.
Girl Scouts of Palm Glades Council serves almost 9,800 girls in Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee counties. For more information, call (561) 427-0177 or visit www.gspgc. org.
Brownies hard at work.
Palm Beach Central Tops Seminole Ridge 4-1 In Quarterfinals
By Lisa Keeney Town-Crier Staff Report
The Palm Beach Central High School boys varsity soccer team shut down Seminole Ridge 4-1 in District 9-6A quarterfinal action Tuesday afternoon.
Sean Wotring, Mariano Gelso, Aaron Macri and Sebastian Castano each scored a goal for the Broncos. The lone goal for Seminole Ridge came from Brett Bonincontri off a header by Alexander Ponce de Leon.
Royal Palm Beach and Well-
SOCCER
SOCCER
ington high schools faced teams within the district in quarterfinals scheduled for Tuesday, but the games were postponed until Wednesday evening due to inclement weather. Results were not available at press time.
The district tournament, hosted by Wellington, will enter the semifinal stage Friday with the district championship game rescheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m. PHOTOS BY LISA
Wellington Defeats Palm Beach Central 6-2 To Take District Title
By Lisa Keeney Town-Crier Staff Report SOCCER SOCCER
Star Bollinger’s hat trick led Wellington High School to their fourth-straight district title last Friday night by a score of 6-2 against the Palm Beach Central girls varsity soccer team.
Wolverines Tawnee Sparling, Kaelin Ferreira and Natalie Punal each scored a goal. Alexandra Hoover and Franchesca Gianoli scored a goal for Palm Beach Central. Both teams advanced to the regional quarterfinals Thursday, Jan. 24.
Wellington hosted Spanish River and the Broncos were on the road facing Boca Raton. Results were not available at press time.
Palm Beach Central’s Mariano Gelso collides with Michael MacInnes, temporarily benching the Hawks’ goalkeeper.
Seminole Ridge’s Rafael Hurtado uses his body to gain control of the ball.
Bronco Juan Correa takes aim at the ball.
Palm Beach Central’s Sean Wotring runs down the ball.
Bronco Mariano Gelso edges out Seminole Ridge’s Michael Fioramonti and goes on to score a goal.
Wellington players raise the district championship trophy.
Palm Beach Central’s Carly Sills controls the ball.
Palm Beach Central goalkeeper Kim Mockel runs down a scoring attempt by Wellington’s Kayla Jurado.
Heather Kobus passes the ball for the Broncos.
Palm Beach Central’s Brittany Dawkins and Wellington’s Star Bollinger battle for control of the ball.
PHOTOS
Palm Beach Central Basketball Boys Topple Wellington 61-43
By Steve Pike Town-Crier Staff Report
The Wellington High School gymnasium has a reputation as a tough place for visiting teams to find their shooting eyes. It’s rare when a Wolverines opponent shoots more than 40 percent from the field. The Palm Beach Central High School boys varsity basketball team proved to be an exception Tuesday night. The Broncos shot 55.5 percent from the floor to defeat Wellington 61-43.
“It seemed like every time they shot it went in,” WHS coach Dan Sineway said.
The victory was a boost for the Palm Beach Central team on a number of fronts. One, it was their third consecutive victory and improved the Broncos’ record to 6-12; two, it avenged a 57-53 home loss to the Wolverines; and three, it moved Palm Beach Central one game closer to the fourth seed at the district
BASKETBALL BASKETBALL
tournament next month at Royal Palm Beach High School.
The Broncos (5-9 in district play) played at Royal Palm Beach on Thursday and hosted Palm Beach Lakes on Friday. Scores were not available at press time. “If we win one of those two games, I think we’ll have the fourth seed,” Palm Beach Central coach Tom Atkins said. “But we’re taking it one game at a time and putting it all together. We’re playing very well right now.”
Wellington (10-12) can attest to the latter. After tying the game at 23 on Taylor Welte’s three-point basket with three minutes and 39 seconds remaining in the second quarter, the Wolverines were overrun by the Broncos’ athleticism and red-hot shooting. Palm Beach Central broke down Wellington’s defense and
outscored the Wolverines 11-1 the remainder of the quarter for a 34-24 halftime lead.
“That took a lot out of us,” Sineway said. “We never really recovered.”
The Wolverines cut the lead to 36-31 with 6:32 left in the third quarter, but that was the last run they made. Junior forward Chandler Morford scored five points, including a three-point basket; senior guard Diego Torres-Malaga and senior forward Rudy St. Germaine added an alley-oop dunk that sparked a ninepoint run that extended Palm Beach Central’s lead to 45-36 with four minutes left in the third quarter. The Broncos coasted from there.
Palm Beach Central hit 12 of 19 fieldgoal attempts in the second half, with Morford getting 12 of his game-high 17 points in the second half. Tyree Ingram finished the game with 12 points; St. Germaine added ten. “The
FOOTBALL CHAMPS
The 9-10 Chargers recently captured the inaugural I9 Sports Flag Football Championship in Wellington. The Chargers finished the regular season with a 10-2 mark, then defeated the Raiders 34-18 in the championship game. The Chargers will go on to face the winner of the I9 Sports Boca Raton Division championships. Pictured here are the Chargers (front row, L-R): Brandon Haberman, Kapil Sirivolu, Cody Hughes, Neil Brown and Joe Romano; (back row): Steven Salgado, Armando Rodriguez, Adam Bilkis, Tanner Brown and Coach Chris Brown.
kids were ready to play, especially after losing to them at our place,” Atkins said. “They got into a good flow and played team basketball. They weren’t doing that earlier in the season, but it’s starting to come now. We lost five or six games in a row early. We had the lead in each game and gave it away. We’re a very good basketball team. I’m very pleased.”
While the Broncos appear to have worked out some of their early-season problems, the Wolverines have headed in the opposite direction the past three games. WHS has lost three consecutive games, including games against district foes Palm Beach Gardens and Centennial, although the Wolverines led late in each contest.
“It has been like the perfect storm,” Sineway said. “We needed to regroup with a win against Palm Beach Central, and we didn’t get it done.”
Ashley Brasovan Named Gatorade Cross-Country Runner Of The Year
In its third decade of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, the Gatorade Company, in partnership with RISE magazine, awarded Wellington High School junior Ashley Brasovan the 200708 Gatorade National Girls Cross-Country Runner of the Year.
Brasovan is the first student-athlete to win the award. The Gatorade Company announced the addition of girls crosscountry to the Player of the Year program last October.
The award, which recognizes not only athletic excellence but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the course, distinguishes Brasovan as the nation’s best high school girls cross-country runner.
She is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year Award.
PHOTO BY LISA KEENEY/TOWN-CRIER
RPB Youths Nominated For National Honors
The Pop Warner Royal Palm Beach Wildcat Football and Cheer program coming off its first season has nominated 29 local student athletes for national honors. The Wildcats include youths ages five to 15 who play and cheer in the Treasure Coast Pop Warner Football Conference. Athletes in grade five and up are eligible for nomination.
Pop Warner is the only youth sports program in America that rewards its athletes for their outstanding performance in the classroom. Each year the most academically accomplished kids compete for the All-American status and scholarships.
At the inaugural banquet, the following athletes were recognized and may
win college scholarships from the Pop Warner National Little Scholar program: Griffin Schrauth, Carson Ruffa, Grant Morris, Brandon McNall, Joseph McKenna, Tyler Gordon, Nick Feick, Cody Walker, Cory Risland, Ben Kennedy, Trevor Campbell, Doug Ashley, Josh Smoot, Cole Smallridge, Austin McMullin, Kyle Houck, Steven Edlund, Trystan Drew, Grant Smallridge, Mike Perez, Stefan Nicho, Dustin Nelson, Anthony Loffredo, Taylor Carretta, Tiffany Haber, Kenall Curtis, Patrice Neely, Katie Gregory and Saintania Fertil.
For more information on Pop Warner Royal Palm Beach Wildcat Football and Cheer program, visit www.rpbwild cats.com.
WRESTLING VICTORY FOR
The Palm Beach Central High School varsity wrestling team topped visiting Wellington High School Wednesday night 48-24. District competition begins Feb. 2 at Seminole Ridge High School. Bronco Justin Sitzer and Wellington’s Zach Pincus are among the favorites to win their respective weight classes. (Above) Wolverine Mike Redmond struggles while wrestling Chase Van Wagner. (Below) Sitzer outmaneuvers Wolverine Brian Nelson.
PHOTOS BY LISA KEENEY/TOWN-CRIER - FOR MORE PHOTOS,
Ashley Brasovan with her parents Donna Peterich and Louis Brasovan.
Bassmasters Tourney Kicks Off 2008
The Royal Palm Beach Bassmasters held their year-opening tournament on Jan. 13 out of Clewiston on Lake Okeechobee.
First place was awarded to the team of Dave Wise (boater) with five fish weighing 14 lbs. and partner Jeff Helms (non-boater) with five fish weighing 9 lbs., 5 oz. for a total team weight of 23 lbs., 5 oz. Second place went to Mike Gershberg (boater) with five fish weighing 11 lbs., 9 oz. and partner Bill Davis (nonboater) with five fish weighing 10 lbs., 10 oz. for a total team weight of 22 lbs., 3 oz. Third place was Tex Miller (boater) with no fish weighed in and partner Tim Meehan (non-boater) with five fish weighing 14 lbs., 12 oz. for a total team
weight of 14 lbs., 12 oz.
The Big Fish and Lunker Fund winner for the tournament was Tim Meehan with one fish weighing 7 lbs., 13 oz. The Individual Heaviest Weight winner was Tim Meehan with five fish weighing 14 lbs., 12 oz. Second place was Dave Wise with five fish weighing 14 lbs. Third place was Mike Gershberg with five fish weighing 11 lbs., 9 oz.
Royal Palm Beach Bassmasters meetings are held on the second Thursday of each month at the Royal Palm Beach Recreation Center. Tournaments are held the following Sunday. Dues are $25 a year; tournament entry fees are $25. For more information, call Irene at (561) 793-7081.
Briana Cox Memorial Tourney Feb. 8-9
The Second Annual Briana Cox Memorial Softball Tournament will take place Friday and Saturday, Feb. 8 and 9 at Wellington Village Park. Varsity games will be played Friday, Feb. 8 at 7:15 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 9 at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., with championship taking place at 6 p.m. Junior varsity games will be played Feb. 8 at 5 p.m. and Feb. 9 at 8 a.m. and noon, with the championship taking place at 4 p.m.
The following high schools will play on the varsity field: Palm Beach Central, Forest Hill, West Boca Raton, Coconut Creek, Flanagan and Key West. Playing on the junior varsity field will be Palm Beach Central, Park Vista, Jupiter, Seminole Ridge, Palm Beach Gardens and Riverdale. For more information, call PBCHS Athletic Director Jeff Schwartz at (561) 433-7911 or e-mail schwartzj@ palmbeach.k12.fl.us.
she and her pony Pinehurst’s Quench Your Thyrst won the prestigious High Point Pony Hunter Award for the 2007 PBCHA Circuit. Shown here is Damone with her trainer Sean Jones of Pinehurst Stables in Jupiter.
Spor ts Injuries
Spinal Injec tions
Spinal Cord Stimulators B otox Injec tions
Chronic Pain Management
Stroke Rehabilitation
Spinal Cord Injur y Rehabilitation
Traumatic Brain Injur y Rehabilitation
Outpatient D etox Program
Pony Hunter Award — Marissa Damone from The Acreage was pleasantly surprised Saturday, Jan. 19 at the Palm Beach County Horseman’s Association Banquet when
Jeff HelmsDave Wise
Sunrise Still Negotiating
continued from page 1A ous and would make it difficult for her company to get a bank loan. She said Sunrise is only asking for a fair and equitable contract. Regarding the village’s insistence on a 30-year deed restriction, Carlson said three decades was too long a stretch.
“Who knows what will happen in the future,” Carlson said. “There is nothing we would like to do more than bring you a Sunrise facility in Wellington. You all know how many times we have been before you. It’s a very difficult market and to get credit, it’s getting harder and harder. Every restriction that is unusual scares creditors and lenders.”
During public comment, senior activist Howard Trager urged both parties to reach a compromise. “This is a very important project for the senior community,” he said. “We have listened to you and watched you work. We understand that you really want this to happen. My only comment is, let’s find a way to make it happen. If you recall, when you turned down the project in the equestrian area, I asked you if not there, then where? This is where. I urge you to find a common ground and find a way to build this for the community.”
Councilman Dr. Carmine Priore said he welcomed Sunrise’s plans for senior housing, but wanted to make sure the land would serve the senior community. On the other hand, he said the community had already waited far too long for such an opportunity, and it would not serve anyone well if it slipped away at the last minute.
“I am trying to find a middle ground,” Priore said. “We are putting items in here that are breaking down this possibility. I think we should have the right of first refusal. I have some problems with the difference between the 10 and 20 years, and the contingency plans and the legal
challenges, but I think those issues can be worked out. I don’t want to see this go away. The issues that are represented to us should be resolved so we can bring this community to life.”
After some further discussion, Councilwoman Laurie Cohen suggested staff continue to negotiate with Sunrise. “I don’t want to sit here and negotiate a contract with Sunrise,” she said. “I make a motion that we accept staff recommendations. We authorize staff the ability to negotiate a deed restriction somewhere between 20 and 30 years, that we include the repurchase language, but reject the purchase price of $4.5 million and okay the $5 million and include the right of first refusal with the option for the village to buy it back.”
Vice Mayor Bob Margolis seconded the motion, which passed 4-0 with Benacquisto recused because of a conflict of interest due to work she is doing for Sunrise.
In other business, the council approved a nine-month extension of an ordinance requiring licensing and inspection of residential rental units, amid doubts by some council members as to its effectiveness.
The ordinance, enacted in 2006 and previously set to expire next month, requires yearly registration, licensing and inspection mainly of apartment-type rental units, and is intended to maintain minimum housing standards, preserve the village’s housing stock and encourage property owners to maintain and improve their property.
Community Development Director Marty Hodgkins, who was seeking a twoyear extension of the ordinance, told the council that while some property owners have voluntarily complied with the ordinance, several hundred others are about to undergo code enforcement hearings for non-compliance, which is one reason for the extension. Another reason, he said, is to allow village staff to better gauge its effectiveness.
“I would say that the replacement of
landscaping is the most contentious issue,” Hodgkins said. “Most of the units go back to the old Palm Beach County [Code] days. One of the things that was discussed during the adoption of the ordinance was that it was not an overnight approach. It takes time. We took time to identify all the owners, to notify them and give them time to respond, and to give them time to make any corrections. It took several months to get the program implemented, and we are beginning to see some results in that area.”
Cohen said she did not see enough assurance that the program is working, citing her own glimpses of discarded furniture and other refuse lining the streets of some village neighborhoods.
“I would like to see some more data on the value of the program versus the costs, what you envision and why you think it should be extended,” she said. “I appreciate the fact that the landscaping has been improved, but I thought the intent of the ordinance was to address some of the more egregious problems we have seen in some of these rental areas and multifamily areas.”
After some further discussion and staff assurances that more data on the effectiveness of the ordinance would be available in the fall, Cohen made a motion to extend the ordinance to October, with an update then from village staff. The motion was seconded by Benacquisto and passed unanimously.
Answers Dangerfield Comments
continued from page 9A dorsement of our Palm Beach County Commission Chairwoman Ms. Addie Greene.
Senior citizens and veterans are a vital part of our socially inclusive community. We have to acknowledge their character and wisdom and incorporate this in a “youth and wisdom workshop.” This workshop can bridge the
Goodbye, Charlie! —
The Wellington Village Council bade farewell to Village Manager Charlie Lynn Tuesday with a proclamation recognizing more than a decade of village service and wishing him well in his future endeavors. Lynn thanked the council in return and said he appreciated the opportunity to serve with them.
PHOTO BY CAROL PORTER/ TOWN-CRIER
generation gap with a plethora of facts and ideals from old and young, black and white, male and female. It will possibly give our youth the insight to help their future development. I will closely examine the pros and cons of annexation and border expansion, with economic and community impact reviews to assure that they are in the public’s best interest. I will partner with our neighbors to the west to share their visions of a sound “smart growth” plan that will not impact our vital infrastructure.
Saturday, Jan. 26
• The South Florida Fair continues through Sunday, Feb. 3 at the South Florida Fairgrounds (9067 Southern Blvd.). This is Florida’s top-rated fair and Palm Beach County’s oldest and largest outdoor event. Advance tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children and $7 for seniors. Tickets at the gate are $15 for adults, $8 for children and $9 for seniors. Children five and under are admitted free. Parking is free. For more info., call (561) 793-0333 or visit www.southfloridafair. com.
• The 2008 CN Winter Equestrian Festival continues through April at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (14440 Pierson Road, Wellington). Call (561) 793-5867 for more information, visit www. equestriansport.com.
• The Palm Beach Opera will continue Beethoven’s Fidelio through Monday, Jan. 28 at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts (701 Okeechobee Blvd., WPB). Call the box office at (561) 832-7469 or visit www. kravis.org for performance times.
• The Wellington Art Festival will take place Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 26 and 27 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Cultural Trust site near the Mall at Wellington Green. Admission is free. Categories include ceramics, glass, jewelry, photography, sculpture, painting, watercolor, mixed media and crafts. The Cultural Trust of the Palm Beaches will receive a portion of each $5 parking fee. For more info., call Artful Events at (561) 241-6262.
• Thousands of discerning auto collectors and supercar enthusiasts from across the globe will gather along the downtown West Palm Beach waterfront on Saturday, Jan. 26 for Supercar Weekend, the world’s largest supercar show. Gates open at 10 am. Tickets are $40. Visit www.palmbeach supercarweekend.com or call (561) 355-5353 for more info.
• St. Therese de Liseux Catholic Campus (11800 Lake Worth Road in Wellington) will host a neighborhood swap shop and green market on Saturday, Jan. 26. Setup will begin at 6:30 a.m. and continue through 1 p.m. The cost is $20 for a 30by 30-foot space. For $5 participants may set up behind their vehicle and keep the money from sales. A Peggy Adams pet-adoption mobile will be there. For more info., call (561) 784-0689.
• The Mounts Botanical Garden (559 North Military Trail in West Palm Beach) will host “Refining the Garden: A Tropical Gardening Symposium” on Saturday, Jan. 26 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It will feature workshops and lectures by renowned gardening experts. Attendees will receive a continental breakfast, boxed lunch and tea on the Mounts terrace. Tickets are $100 for members and master gardeners, and $125 for non-members. Call (561) 573-7845 for more info.
• The Village of Royal Palm Beach Parks and Recreation Department will hold a Kids Garage Sale on Saturday, Jan. 26 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Veterans Park on Royal Palm Beach Blvd. This is a kids items only sale, with everything from baby clothing and furniture to toys and sporting equipment. Anyone interested in par-
ticipating should call the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center at (561) 790-5149.
• The Kravis Center for the Performing Arts (701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach) will present the Aquila Theatre Company in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar Jan. 26-27 in the Rinker Playhouse. Tickets are $35. For more info., call the box office at (561) 832-7469 or visit www.kravis.org.
• The Just World International Fundraiser & Training Show will be held at Belle Herbe Farm Jan. 26-27. The fundraiser dinner party and silent auction will be held Saturday, Jan. 26 with an Asian theme. For more info., call Jessica Newman at (561) 346-0243 or Belle Herbe Farm at (561) 7920552.
• The Florida Hindu Cultural and Religious Association presents “An Unforgettable Magical Journey” Saturday, Jan 26 from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center. The event will feature internationally renowned illusionist Heman Faroy, as well as dance groups and skits. Admission costs $10 for adults and $5 for children. Snacks and beverages will be on sale. Sunday, Jan. 27
• Centennial Square in downtown West Palm Beach will host Kaleidoscope 2008 on Sunday, Jan. 27 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The public is invited to tour the villages and learn about the countries and cultures at this award-winning multicultural event. Admission is free. For info., call (561) 822-1515.
• Summit Christian School (4900 Summit Blvd.) will hold an open-house picnic on Sunday, Jan. 27 from 2 to 5 p.m. The picnic will include campus tours and refreshments. For more info., call (561) 686-8081, ext. 319 or visit www.summit christian.com.
• The Cresthaven Stamp Club will hold its monthly Stamp and Postcard Show on Sunday, Jan. 27 from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center (3151 N. Military Trail, West Palm Beach). For more info., call Arnold Zenker at (561) 969-3432 or e-mail arnoldzenker@bellsouth.net.
Tuesday, Jan. 29
• Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 29 for the presidential preference primary election and the property tax reform referendum. The Royal Palm Beach Municipal Election will also be held. For more info., visit www. pbcelections.org.
Wednesday, Jan. 30
• The Wellington library (1951 Royal Fern Drive) will host a Poetry Discussion Group on Wednesday, Jan. 30 at 6:30 p.m. Engage in a provocative discussion of several published poems written by various poets. Pick up copies of the poems at the information desk. To pre-register, call (561) 7906070.
Thursday, Jan. 31
• The Palm Beach County Parks & Recreation Department, Prime Time Palm Beach County and the Palm Beach County School District will host the tenth annual Out-of-School Programs Resource Fair on Thursday, Jan. 31 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Club Managers Association of America Therapeutic Recreation Complex at 2728 Lake Worth Road, east of Congress Avenue near Palm Beach Community College. This free vendor fair is for after-
school and summer-camp programmers and directors, childcare providers, and recreation programmers. Check-in begins at 8:45 a.m. For info., visit www. pbcparks.com or call (561) 9666600.
Saturday, Feb. 2
• The Wellington Rotary Club’s gala “Magic of Giving” will take place Saturday, Feb. 2 at 6:30 p.m. at the Wycliffe Golf & Country Club. The cost is $175 per person and will benefit Rotary’s family of charities and the Rotary Scholarship Foundation. Join the Rotary for dinner, dancing, and live and silent auctions. Sponsorships are available. Contact Laura Jaffe at (561) 252-4426 for more info. • The Palms West Chamber of Commerce will host its inaugural Wild West Poker Tournament & Membership Drive on Saturday, Feb. 2 at the Links at Madison Green clubhouse in Royal Palm Beach (2001 Crestwood Blvd.) The event starts at 6:30 p.m. and features professional dealers and tables in a Texas hold ’em tournament. The cost to enter the tournament is $30 per person in advance; tables of ten are available for $300. Space is limited to the first 100 registrants. To register, call (561) 790-6200.
Tuesday, Feb. 5
• St. David’s-in-the-Pines Episcopal Church (465 W. Forest Hill Blvd., Wellington) will host a Shrove Tuesday pancake supper on Tuesday, Feb. 5 from 5 to 8 p.m. Admission costs $5 for adults and $3 for children under 12, and tickets will be available at the gate. The event is open to the public. All proceeds will support youth outreach programs and hurricane relief efforts. For more info., call the church office at (561) 793-1976 or Father Harvey Klein at (561) 351-8115.
Thursday, Feb. 7
• The Royal Palm Beach Writing Group will present New York Times best-selling author Lucia St. Clair Robson on Thursday, Feb. 7 at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center (151 Civic Center Way). St. Clair Robson is author of the books Ride the Wind and Shadow Patriots She will speak about her experience as a writer. The event begins at 10 a.m. Space is limited. For more info., call Marge at (561) 793-5893.
Thursday, Feb. 14
• The Wellington library (1951 Royal Fern Drive) will host Teen Advisory Group (TAG) meetings on the second Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m. to discuss ideas for teen programs. Enjoy snacks, conversation and good ideas. Call the library at (561) 790-6070 for more info.
Friday, Feb. 15
• The West Palm Beach Home & Garden Show will return to the South Florida Fairgrounds Expo Center Feb. 1517. More than 500 exhibitors will feature the latest trends in home improvement, decorating and gardening, including some of the newest products in the marketplace. Experts will conduct live interactive seminars and demonstrations. Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 15 and Saturday, Feb. 16, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 17. tickets are $9 for adults, $4.50 for children six to 12, free for children five and under and $6 for seniors on Friday only. For more info., visit www.florida homeshows.com or call (888) 254-0882, ext. 319.
B-BALL AT ST. PETER’S CHURCH
St. Peter’s United Methodist Church began its first season of Upward Basketball on Saturday, Jan. 19. More than 230 kids from the community are participating in the program, which is run by a group of over 70 volunteers from St. Peter’s. Upward is a sports ministry based in South Carolina. Applications are still being accepted for this season. For more info., call (561) 793-5712, ext. 22. (Above) Tom Leinwol coaches the girls. (Below) Pastor Rainer Richter, coach Mike Giudicy, Ryan McDermott of Youth Ministries and Children’s Ministries Director John Sullivan.
PHOTOS BY CAROL PORTER/TOWN-CRIER
Large-Scale Renovations Underway At Wellington Elementary
By Carol Porter Town-Crier Staff Report
Hard hats and reconstruction work are all too familiar to Wellington Elementary School
Principal Mike Borowski, who in his first year as the school’s principal is witnessing a $21million renovation of the village’s oldest school.
Borowski experienced reconstruction work in the last few years of his decade-long stint as principal at Liberty Park Elementary School in Greenacres, and has the hard hat in his office to prove it.
“I just came from a school that finished a construction project,” he said. “We just completed a two- to three-year construction project over there, and I guess part of the reason why I’m here is what I’ve been through. I’ve been through enough already, and I brought my helmet with me. It’s good to have had that experience. You kind of know some of the things to watch for and look for from that school’s point of view.”
Borowski said demolition of some of the smaller and older buildings on the campus has already taken place to make way for a new cafeteria. Other changes in the phased project include the construction of a new administrative wing, the removal of portable classrooms and the remodeling of the present administrative wing into a building with 32 new classrooms.
The new administrative build-
ing will be placed closer to Big Blue Trace, he said, so parents dropping off kids will have easier access, as will staff and students.
“Then they will come back and knock down the old cafeteria once the new cafeteria is open. They will put in a new two-story classroom and take the administration building we are in, and they are going to convert that into classroom space. They will also do some things with parking and driveways as well, but the major changes will be the addition of the classroom building, a new cafeteria and a new administration building, and the remodeling of the old administration building into classrooms.”
Borowski said the opening of the new administrative building is probably a year away.
The new cafeteria will be a vast improvement on the present one, he said.
“The food services also will move into a new kitchen, and it will be a major kitchen,” he said. “It will probably be five times bigger than what they have now,” he said. “The cafeteria will be at least twice the size of the one that’s over there, and this cafeteria will have a real stage. Our current cafeteria doesn’t have a stage so the children can’t perform in assemblies.”
While the construction workers were able to conduct the first round of demolition during the holiday break, Borowski said other work will unavoidably take place when students and
staff are on campus. If the construction firm waited until school was out to do their work, the renovation process would take ten years rather than two or three, he said. While some teachers and staff may feel nostalgic about the school’s older buildings and the history connected to them, Borowski said the new buildings
will serve students and teachers much better and will create new memories.
“A lot of people are excited, and some of the people who have been here a long time may be nostalgic for remembering the old buildings as they go away,” he said. “That’s understandable. It’s a human reaction.”
BY CAROL PORTER/TOWN-CRIER
‘I just came from a school that finished a construction project... It’s good to have had that experience. You kind of know some of the things to watch for.’ — Mike Borowski
Renovation — Wellington Elementary School Principal Mike Borowski holds plans for the school’s $21-million renovation project.
PHOTO
First Semester A Charm For Wellington High School Band
The Wellington High School Band and its members have had a very successful first semester this year.
The “Mighty Wolverine Sound” Marching Band members earned their 13th straight Superior rating at the Florida Bandmasters Association District Marching Assessment, held at Santaluces High School on Oct. 27.
The band earned Superiors in all judged categories, including music, marching, general effect, auxiliary, and percussion. The marching band also hosted its an-
nual dinner concert on Veterans Day 2007, sponsored by the Wolverine Band Booster Association. The band was honored to have many veterans attend the event, including Wellington Mayor Tom Wenham and Councilman Dr. Carmine Priore.
Two members of the Wellington High School Band were selected for the TriState Honor Bands, which performed at Florida State University on Dec. 2.
Senior Ali Otero and junior Meagan Kovacs were selected on the basis of
Local Student Named An Intel Talent Semifinalist
Alexander W. Dreyfoos Jr. School of the Arts senior Zaki Moustafa of suburban Lake Worth has been named a semifinalist in the Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS) for his four-year study of a fringing Red Sea coral reef.
Three hundred seniors across the country are semifinalists of the Intel STS.
This year’s semifinalists were selected from 1,602 entrants hailing from 45 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Male and female entrants were represented equally, and their research projects cover all disciplines of science including biochemistry, chemistry, physics, mathematics, engineering, behavioral science and medicine and health.
Over the past 66 years, the STS has produced winners of the world’s most prestigious academic honors. Six former finalists have gone on to win the Nobel Prize. STS finalists have also been awarded the Fields Medal, the National Medal of Science and MacArthur Foundation Fellowships.
On Jan. 30, 40 of the 300 semifinalists will be named as finalists and will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Wash-
ington, D.C. for a week-long event in March. Of these finalists, 10 students will be chosen for top honors with the grand prize winner receiving a $100,000 scholarship.
Fuddruckers Benefit For RPBHS Project Graduation Feb. 5
Royal Palm Beach High School’s Project Graduation is having a fundraiser at Fuddrucker’s on Forest Hill Blvd. in Wellington on Tuesday, Feb. 5 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Attendees will enjoy a great meal and be helping a worthy cause at the same time.
Present this article at Fuddrucker’s and let them know that you are supporting Royal Palm Beach High School Project Graduation.
Project Graduation is a not-for-profit organization that is planning and preparing for an alcohol-free and drug-free lockdown celebration on the night of graduation.
musical skill and achievement, and were chosen to perform with the top 400 band students in Florida, Georgia and Alabama.
Brad Samore, a senior, was selected by audition for the All-District Jazz Band. He performed along with the top jazz students of Palm Beach County in a concert on Nov. 15.
The band’s national champion majorettes, under the direction of Coach Adrienne Brady, were also honored with two parade championships in Decem-
ber. The girls earned the Grand Championship trophy in the Lantana Holiday Parade on Dec. 7 and won Overall Best Entry in the Lake Worth Holiday Parade on Dec. 8.
To help support the Wellington High School Band program, the Wolverine Band Boosters Association has started a corporate sponsorship program. Sponsorship rewards are available for donations as small as $50. For more information and a sponsorship form, visit www.whsband.com.
Binks Fourth Graders Learn About Polo — Fourth-grade students at Binks Forest Elementary School enjoyed learning about the game of polo recently and were able to watch a match first hand. Several polo players visited Binks Forest on Jan. 16 to acquaint students with the rules of polo. The players answered many questions. On Jan. 22, the students were given the opportunity to observe a live polo match at the International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington. Students and teachers alike said they benefited from the experience. Pictured here are polo players Brandon Phillips, Jeff Hall, Nick Roldan, Todd Offen and Tony Coppola with Binks Forest fourth graders.
Seminole Ridge Wrestlers Take Bronze At Conference Dual Meet
Seminole Ridge High School wrestlers finished in third place with a record of 2-2 at the conference dual meet tournament Jan. 12, narrowly losing to Palm Beach Central and Wellington but pinning both Royal Palm Beach and Glades Central. The team’s overall record is now 3-4.
Winning all four matches for Seminole Ridge were Lamark Blair, Will Jones, Roman Manuel and Brandon Scott. They were named conference champions. Conference runners-up, winning three of their matches, were Blake Moorhead and Bola Olofin. Wrestling coach Mr. Frank Lasagna congratulates his athletes on a fine showing at the meet.
• Girls Soccer Finishes Season at Quarterfinals — The varsity girls soccer team went out with a bang against Centennial in the district quarterfinals at Palm Beach Central, losing 6-2. Katie Emerson, the team’s only senior, scored the first goal of the night for either team, but the Hawks could not hold off the strong offense of the Centennial Eagles. Christina Taylor put another one in the back of the net in the second half, but the Eagles came bounding forth with conduct that earned them a few yellow
cards for foul language and dangerous plays, thus resulting in their six goals.
Competing with one defensive player out due to a back injury, the girls played tough and showed amazing character. Coached by Hawk social studies teacher Mrs. Amanda Rosenfried, the following 12 committed young ladies did an outstanding job and should be congratulated on a great season: team captains Jamie Edelstein and Katie Emerson, Kristen Alban, Becky Crumm, Brittany FilhoMoore, Daryl Fuentes, Brittney Gault, Liz Hautamaki, Erin McCoy, Christina Taylor, Cynthia Torres and Natalie Villante.
• Fish at the Fair — The SRHS National Art Honor Society has entered their Wahoo Party Fish (you’ll know it by its strobe-light eye) for judging in the South Florida Fair. The fish is on display in the fair’s main exhibition hall, along with many butterflies and fish from other schools.
NAHS students went all out on the fish and worked tremendously hard.
Anyone who likes the fish is encouraged to vote for it. Washington Mutual has ballots and a ballot box at their exhibition booth.
School District, PBCC Create Apprenticeship Program
Palm Beach County School District employees working in the trades now have an opportunity to earn their journeyman status through a free apprenticeship program at Palm Beach Community College.
The apprenticeship program consists of a combination of classroom instruction offered at PBCC and related on-thejob training at the School District. Currently, 29 district employees participate in the apprenticeship program and attend
class two nights a week learning both the theoretical and practical aspects of highly skilled occupations such as carpentry, electrical, fire sprinkler, HVAC, plumbing and sheet metal fabrication. In four years, district employees can earn journeyman certification and 27 credits that can be applied toward an associate’s degree in industrial operations management.
For more information, contact Yelena Gonzalez at (561) 687-7111.
Bill T yson’s
Sponsors Sought For Carnival At Loxahatchee Groves Elementary
The Loxahatchee Groves Elementary School PTO will host its annual carnival and silent auction on Friday, April 25. The carnival is a family activity that brings everyone from the school and community together for a day of fun. The PTO is looking for community businesses to help sponsor the event. New events planned for this year include obstacle courses, a laser-tag maze, bumper cars, a bounce house, rockclimbing wall, a rascal rocket and a gyro space ball. The cost to sponsor one of these events ranges from $150 to $600.
In return for a sponsorship, the PTO will acknowledge each company the day of the carnival. You will also be allowed to provide flyers and business cards for participants. The PTO estimates 1,500 to 2,000 people are in attendance each year. The PTO can arrange to pick up items a business donates, or they can be mailed directly to: Loxahatchee Groves Elementary School, 16020 Okeechobee Blvd., Loxahatchee, FL 33470. For more information, call PTO President Stacy Dietrich at (561) 333-4364.
The National Art Honor Society’s Wahoo Party Fish is on display at the South Florida Fair.
Poinciana Students Study Wild West
Eighth-grade Poinciana Day School students studying American history have been learning about the western frontier during the post-Civil War era. As they learned about cowhands, vaqueros, vigilantes and cattle drives, students romanticized about what life was like living in the wild west of the late 1800s.
As a whole, the students decided that they would have liked to live during the frontier period, and working on a cattle drive would be fun — they would eat well. Steak every day... yum! But they learned it affected profits to kill off the cattle before reaching the final destination.
Social studies teacher Jenni Amestoy prepared chuck wagon chow that would have been common in the late 1800s. The menu, which would have been the same for many days on the trail, was dried beans boiled with a little salt and pepper, dried fruits, beef jerky and biscuits made
with no sugar. An apple pie was served, rather than flat bread filled with fruit that the cowhands would have had.
Grace McLaughlin tasted the beans and spat them out. Nat Harry said, “I’m not going to eat that!”
Trevor Lang said, “I couldn’t live on this!” The students decided that life on the frontier might not have been as much fun as they thought.
The class also analyzed cowboy songs to see what the words reflected about life in the 1800s. They also researched a significant person from the time period. The students then played a game to guess who the different famous characters were, such as Buffalo Bill, Chief Joseph, Sitting Bull, Buffalo Bird Woman and George Custer.
For more information about Poinciana Day School, call (561) 655-7323 to schedule a tour or visit www.poinciana dayschool.org.
Frontier Life — Gibe Mansion of Lantana, Michelle Martin of Royal Palm Beach and Shelby Hailer of West Palm Beach help themselves to chow.
Foundation Donates iBOT To RPB Vet DISNEY STAR VISITS WITH FAN
Army Sgt. 1st Class Steve Holloway of Royal Palm Beach was injured by sniper fire in Iraq in January 2007, which left him partially paralyzed below the waist. The 34-year-old Florida National Guard infantryman has been provided with a $25,000 robotic chair by the Independence Fund, a Florida-based nonprofit dedicated to helping injured veterans regain their mobility.
“I can think of few things more devastating than for an athletic service member to lose their mobility at a young age,” said Marine Lt. Col. Steve Danyluk, founder of the Independence Fund and a Marine reservist who served in Iraq for most of 2004 with a West Palm Beachbased Marine Corps Reserve unit.
Holloway received his iBOT in a ceremony on Friday, Jan. 25 at E.R. Bradley’s Saloon in Palm Beach. His chair is being funded by the Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation Inc. of Annandale, Va., which donated $100,000 to the Independence Fund. Independence Technology of New York, a Johnson & Johnson company, specially manufactures each chair, which allows its users to raise themselves, go up or down stairs and climb curbs.
For more information about the Independence Fund, visit its web site at www. independencefund.org. For information about the Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation, visit www. purpleheartfoundation.org.
JWV Donates $1,500 — The Sylvia & Hyman L. Solomon Post 684 Jewish War Veterans in Royal Palm Beach recently donated $1,500 to the West Palm Beach Veterans Administration Medical Center to help indigent veterans. The post has donated over $100,000 to the center to help hospitalized, disabled and needy veterans. (Above) Supervisor of Ambulatory Care CarlaPaula da Silva, Post 684 Quartermaster Jules Horowitz and Chief of Voluntary Recreation Therapy Services Mary Phillips.
ing around” in Wellington. Linley was the special guest of Kelly Jacobs, who struck up a friendship with the 18-year-old actor. Shown here, Linley plays guitar while Jacobs listens.
Volunteer Training Program At P.B. Zoo
The Palm Beach Zoo, in partnership with Forest Hill High School’s Adult Education Program, will hold a volunteer teaching guide (docent) training course beginning Feb. 7. This seven-week course focuses on zoology, wildlife conservation, the history of zoos, customer service, public speaking and presentations. It will be held weekly on Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the zoo.
Upon completion of the course, participants are strongly encouraged to continue participation in the zoo’s volunteer programs. There are many responsibilities and opportunities for volunteer teach-
ing guides to assist the zoo in many capacities.
Applicants must be at least 18 years old and must present proof of a negative TB test administered within the past year. Additionally, new docents must shadow a veteran docent for ten hours in order to successfully meet all training requirements. To register, call Forest Hill High School at (561) 540-2417 by Jan. 25. For more information, contact Palm Beach Zoo Volunteer Programs Manager Karrie Hamilton at (561) 533-0887, ext. 239. The $50 fee applies that will be due at registration, which includes a $10 nonrefundable fee.
Teen heartthrob Cody Linley, best known for his role as Jake Ryan on the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana, recently spent a busy weekend “hors-
Fran Lerner, Eileen Penta, Cindy Sachnoff, Alice Rosenblatt and cochair Cari Sukienik.
Sole To Soul Walk-A-Thon March 9
On Sunday, March 9, the Wellington Chapter of Jewish Adoption and Foster Care Options (JAFCO), together with their teen coordinators, will host the inaugural Sole to Soul Walk-a-Thon to raise money to help send the children of JAFCO to summer camp.
High school, middle school and elementary school children, along with adults from Wellington and surrounding areas, will raise money by walking four miles together as a community to give the JSFCO children an experience of a lifetime. JAFCO is looking for supporters to help make a difference in the lives of these abused and neglected children.
Individuals should contact Stacy Chertock at uptotheplate@aol.com by Friday, Feb. 22. Those unable to participate but wishing to make a donation can send a check payable to JAFCO, c/o Sole to Soul Walk-a-Thon, 4200 N. University Drive, Sunrise, FL 33351.
Check-in will be at 9:15 a.m. on March 9 at the Wellington JCC, 13889 Wellington Trace in the Wellington Marketplace.
Donations of $36 raised per walker will include breakfast after the walk. A $50 donation per walker will include a keepsake t-shirt and breakfast after the walk. Prizes will be awarded to the five children who collect the most money.
JAFCO is a nonprofit child welfare agency currently serving 350 abused and neglected children in South Florida. JAFCO programs include family preservation, foster care and adoptive services, and the JAFCO Children’s Village, which provides shelter for 50 children with a 24-hour emergency shelter and six residential group homes for children from Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.
Visit www.jafco.org for additional information.
Lox Rider On Wrangler Rodeo Team
Leaders of the National High School Rodeo Association (NHSRA) have appointed Christopher Smith of Loxahatchee to the Wrangler High School All Star Rodeo Team, the first-ever corporate-sponsored youth team. Smith is currently first in bareback and third in saddleback with the Florida High School Rodeo Association. He earned a position on the Wrangler High School AllStar Rodeo team based on leadership qualities, academic eligibility and athletic achievements. The team is fashioned after the Wrangler Champion Pro Rodeo Team, which has included Trevor Brazile, Joe Beaver, Dan Mortensen, Dustin Elliot, Kelly Kaminski, Will Lowe and the late Jim Shoulders.
Stella Greenblatt Dies — Stella Greenblatt, 87 of Avoca, Neb. and a former resident of Royal Palm Beach, died Dec. 1 at Syracuse Good Samaritan Home. Mrs. Greenblatt was born in Lynn, Mass. on Feb. 23, 1920. A librarian, pianist and recorder player, she retired to Royal Palm Beach before moving to Avoca in 2005. She and her husband William were staunch supporters of the Crestwood Performing Arts League, serving as coordinators for its music scholarship program since its inception in the early 1980s. Greenblatt is survived by daughters Susan G. Sawyer and Deborah Greenblatt, sons-in-law Marc Sawyer and David Seay, and grandsons Wilson Greenblatt-Seay and Django Greenblatt-Seay. (Above) Stella Greenblatt and her husband William.
Christopher Smith
Feldman and Lisa Seltzer; (back row) Jamie Shapiro, Ilene Adams, Laurie Chaplin, Wendi Sealing, Beth Caiman, Lisa Libyan, Audrey Michaels, Careen Jacques, Jen List, Elizabeth Thai, Paula Steersman, Ellen Solomon, Ilene Racher, Louise Marks,
WESTERN PINES SPECIAL OLYMPIANS SELL TORCHES AT PUBLIX
Justin Tyler Bornschein — son of Sophia Maria and Robert Bornschein of Wellington was born at Wellington Regional Medical Center on Dec. 21.
Cameran Jashua James — son of Shameka James of Royal Palm Beach was born at Wellington Regional Medical Center on Dec. 21.
Keagan Lewis Epstein — son of Karen and Joel Epstein of Wellington was born at Wellington Regional Medical Center on Dec. 24.
John Wayne Crocker — son of Jamie and Jared Crocker of Wellington was born at Wellington Regional Medical Center on Dec. 26.
Amati Ta’Nia Jenkins — daughter of Kameisha Burgess and Terry Jenkins Jr. of Palm Beach was born at Wellington Regional Medical Center on Dec. 26.
Evelyn Nahir Hopchak — daughter of Patricia Mendieta and Diego Sebastian Hopchak of Palm Beach was born at Wellington Regional Medical Center on Dec. 27.
Wyatt Conan Hoehn — son of Monica and Conan Hoehn of Loxahatchee was born at Wellington Regional Medical Center on Dec. 27.
Samantha Rose Newiger — daughter of Tara Rose and George Joseph Newiger of Wellington was born at Wellington Regional Medical Center on Dec. 27.
Jordan Deshon Monroe — son of Jaketta Taylor and Gregory Monroe of Royal Palm Beach was born at Wellington Regional Medical Center on Dec. 28.
Skylar Alexis Colson — daughter of Susan Khemcaj and David Colson of
Five Special Olympians from Western Pines Middle School helped promote Special Olympics Palm Beach County Jan. 15 at Publix in The Acreage as part of their community-based instruction. They talked about what they did in Special Olympics and sold torches to help raise money in the statewide fundraiser. (Above) Special Olympian Jessica Welsh purchases a torch from cashier Diane Esterling. (Left) Tiger Olympians show off the torches that will be displayed as part of a month-long fundraiser for Special Olympics.
Wellington was born at Wellington Regional Medical Center on Dec. 29.
Ariana Leia Gerena — daughter of Jessica Narvaez and David Ariel Gerena of Royal Palm Beach was born at Wellington Regional Medical Center on Dec. 29.
Camelia Sofia Hoet Martinez daughter of Daniela Martinez and Franklin Hoet of Wellington was born at Wellington Regional Medical Center on Dec. 29.
Madison Carolina Dobson — daughter of Nicola and Jim Dobson of Royal Palm Beach was born at Wellington Regional Medical Center on Jan. 1.
Saianna Patel — daughter of Roshni and Satyam Patel of Wellington was born at Wellington Regional Medical Center on Jan. 1.
Keira Zepplyn Geoffroy — daughter of Amanda Howell and Pierre Geoffroy of Wellington was born at Wellington Regional Medical Center on Jan. 2.
Torrie Rose Atkins — daughter of Elaine and Andrew Atkins of Loxahatchee was born at Wellington Regional Medical Center on Jan. 2.
Morgan Marie Sledge — daughter of Christina Cotromano and Chad Sledge of Wellington was born at Wellington Regional Medical Center on Jan. 2.
Sidney Elizabeth Scionti — daughter of Amie and Timothy Scionti of Wellington was born at Wellington Regional Medical Center on Jan. 2.
Lama Caled Hamed — daughter of Haya Hamed of Wellington was born at Wellington Regional Medical Center on Jan. 3.
ARTWALK 2008 VISITS WELLINGTON ARTISTS IN THEIR HOMES
Twelve studios and 17 artists were represented as part of the Wellington Art Society’s ArtWalk 2008, held Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 19 and 20. The openstudio tour showcased the artists’ talent in the areas of painting, sculpture, ceramics and photography. Artists included Ursula Fernandez, Adrianne Hetherington, Norman Gitzen, Tito Mangiola, Penny Thorsen, Linda Rovolis, Jeanette Pomeroy Parssi, Susan Rose, MAG, Gail Erickson, Joanne Baker MacLeod, Nancy Tilles, Jean Talbot, Corinne Ingerman, Ron and Marianne Davidson and Richard Infantino. For more information about the Wellington Art Society, call Susan Rose at (561) 795-1691 or visit www.wellingtonartsociety.org.
Ron and Marianne Davidson in their home studio.
Leslie Pfeiffer and Donna Donelan sell tickets at a booth near the Wellington Community Center.Jeanette Pomeroy Parssi with some of her paintings.
Artist Gail Erickson with her daughter Andrea.
Artist Corinne Ingerman displays one of her pieces.Joanne Baker MacLeod at work in her home.
PHOTOS BY CAROL PORTER/TOWN-CRIER
Schofield New Manager?
continued from page 1A reconsiders taking the job, but he didn’t feel the council should make such a weighty decision that evening. He suggested the council discuss the issue in a workshop setting and determine what Schofield would want, and if both sides were able to work it out, he could have the job.
“I would like to sit down and talk to Paul, and then we get together and talk about this in a workshop,” Priore said. “That is a reasonable way to approach this. Paul had originally said he was not interested in this. I don’t want to try to
RPB Council Library Expansion
continued from page 8A though the village prefers its own regulations, he was still pleased that the project would be built in the village and “add to our tax base.”
The council voted to approve the site plan and architectural elements 3-0.
• The council unanimously approved a site plan modification allowing the county to expand its branch library near the intersection of Royal Palm Beach and Okeechobee boulevards from 7,995 to 20,485 square feet.
The application also included a landscaping waiver requiring 25 feet of buffer on a portion of the western edge of the property, in order to accommodate an onsite water retention area adjacent to the M-1 Canal. “This project has
Roberts Rotary Comments
continued from page 14A “which means there will be less traffic.”
Roberts said the Acreage area’s traffic problems are the fault of the county’s road development plans. “They have supposedly been on a pay-as-you-go basis,” he said. “It’s all part of concurrency where people can’t build unless infrastructure is in place. That was waived for The Acreage and roads were not built appropriately.”
Roberts had unkind words about the county engineer’s office. “Last year, for the first time ever, it examined the cost of bringing the roads up to standard. It would cost $495 million to bring it to adequacy, and that means the roads would be adequate without counting in any building at all from Callery-Judge, GL Homes, BE Construction and at Mecca.” Callery-Judge was always willing to
Weight Limits Coming Soon To The AAL
continued from page 8A tough position. I commend them. They are all volunteers, they put a lot of hard work in, and I think people don’t realize that.”
Battles said the AAL will probably adopt regulations similar to those of one of the other area leagues, such as the Western Communities Football League in Wellington.
Acreage football parent Gregg Webb initiated the effort to enact weight restrictions and launched a web site to keep other parents updated on the issue. Webb said AAL officials initially rebuffed his concerns, until he started a letter-writing campaign and the web site. He said
Groves Water In Canals
continued from page 12A to do the work at its own expense, and council members said they would like the town to have more say in the matter.
• Loxahatchee Groves Water Control District Administrator Clete Saunier told the council the district has made progress in convincing the South Florida Water Management District to grant a variance that will allow the LGWCD to keep canal water levels at a higher level.
twist anyone’s arms. I was fortunate to have done this once before. I would like to carry that experience forward having watched the manager over a 12-year period. This is something I suggest we do.”
Councilwoman Lizbeth Benacquisto said she would support Schofield taking the job if he really wanted to do so. “The comments articulated by Laurie are very appropriate,” she said. “We have all spoken to the PAR Group. We can assess whether he meets those qualifications. I would be concerned with his management style and vision. If we believe in his skills as a leader, it’s a great idea to look internally. If we want to make this decision soon, we should. I suggest we
us very excited,” Lodwick said. “We’ve watched the expansion of the Wellington branch and have wanted our capacity increased the same way.”
The existing building will become the children’s section of the expanded library as the square footage of the branch will almost triple. Plans call for a large meeting room as well as increased space for books and electronic media.
Village Manager David Farber told library representatives the village would waive a condition on the application requiring the library pay $5,000 to provide a nearby bus shelter. “We will pay for that ourselves,” he said. “We want to demonstrate how welcome you will be.”
Farber also promised cooperation with library officials to accommodate a bookmobile to serve residents during construction, which is expected to take 12 months.
adjust the density in its plans, Roberts asserted, but the county demanded they pay more than $200 million for roadbuilding costs while refusing to allow the grove enough construction to adequately cover those costs. “The fewer the number of homes,” he said, “the greater the cost for each home to pay for roads.”
Roberts said construction in The Acreage and Loxahatchee has generated hefty impact fees for the county, but residents have seen a slight return. “Good luck trying to find out from the county where the money went,” he said.
Roberts predicted that unless more people both business-friendly and business-savvy take part in government, the business environment will only get worse. “It is harder today to start a business than ever before,” he said. “We will have more condos down here and few businesses. The families will have moved out.”
he also met with county officials and asked representatives with the National Alliance for Youth Sports to speak with county representatives about the lack of weight restrictions in the AAL.
On Wednesday, Webb said he was pleased with the AAL’s willingness to enact the regulations. “They haven’t got into details, like what league they’re going to copy, such as Pop Warner or American Football USA, but it’s a start on weight regulations,” he said. “My goal was to get the last league in Florida to enact weight restrictions. There’s only two or three in the whole United States that are unregulated for youth.”
Area football leagues and their weight restrictions can be found on the county’s recreation web page at www.co.palmbeach.fl.us/parks and also Webb’s web site at www.acreagefootball.com.
“I think we have made progress,” Saunier said. “The people at the South Florida Water Management District indicated at our January meeting that they understand that there is leakage at the borders of the district and they seem to be willing to allow us to raise water levels in the canals if they drop too low. They have asked that we talk to [Palm Beach County] Fire-Rescue to get a recommendation based on their responsibilities and the availability of fire hydrants.”
all meet with him before the Feb. 12 council meeting.”
Mayor Tom Wenham said he was confident that Schofield could take over if he wants the job. “I have worked with Paul probably longer than anyone,” he said. “I think that Paul has demonstrated the ability to do the job. He’s capable. He’s energetic. I feel that Paul could step in. I was okay with him up front. I watched him. I am watching him now. He’s the person who can take us down the road we are looking at. I support that
Visioning Meeting Jan. 31
continued from page 12A mittees so we can have more support to our parks, traffic and equestrian needs.”
Vice President Sandra Love Semande has some very specific suggestions for the meeting.
“We need a recreation center for our kids and for the adults in this community,” she said. “We need to find more things to keep our kids occupied after school. We can combine that with creating a district-wide crime watch, particularly against vandalism.”
Semande said she is very concerned about the need for a strong, comprehensive emergency plan for the district.
“We need to be organized in case of emergencies,” she said. “Who calls who and when to they do it? Who handles specific problems? What will
Wechsler
Sentencing Laws
continued from page 21A will make the term “your honor” a bad joke.
State Rep. Shelley Vana told Krischer there are often orchestrated campaigns to get some of the most restrictive laws in place, usually inspired by horrid acts, and then mishandled by people with authority.
We need to come up with some way the public can be assured that ridiculous sentences will not be imposed. The word ridiculous can go both ways. Sentencing someone to spend most of his or her life in jail for something relatively minor is one use. But not punishing someone
Letters
continued from page 5A ing Mr. Todd McClendon, who had requested the culvert replacement, did not respond by the deadline. Replacing our culvert is estimated to cost approximately $15,000 per resident, for a total of $60,000.
Our objection, which we expressed to the board both in person and in writing, was that Mr. McClendon took it upon himself, without the permission of the other affected property owners, to destroy a culvert just north of our failed culvert. We had expressed to Mr. McClendon several weeks earlier that we were selling our house and wanted to explore with the LGWCD the possibility of using that north culvert as a temporary replacement for our failed culvert in order to defer the cost.
I protested the destruction of this north culvert at the December LGWCD board meeting. The LGWCD told me that they have no interest in the destroyed culvert and would not take any action against Mr. McClendon. The LGWCD said the affected property owners would have to pursue a lawsuit against Mr. McClendon if they wanted any satisfaction. I
Lippman said canals are currently at reasonable levels. “They are significantly better than last year at this time,” he said. “Based on our recent meeting with them, I don’t think they will let us down. What we need to do is to develop a long-term plan. We need to find ways to conserve water; we need a good fire protection plan. They want us to be proactive in terms of getting water for fires. Even more important, they want us to make sure that the public is aware of our problems and help in all conservation mea-
we all meet with Paul again. We are all comfortable with Paul being the manager if that is the way it will work out.” Schofield said he would be willing to talk to council members. “I have worked with you for six and a half years,” he said. “I never let a personal relationship interfere with a business decision. I did not want the council to be put in a position of making a difficult choice. I’d be glad to meet with all of you individually. The last thing I wanted was for this to be a drawn-out issue during an election.”
we do to back up our records? We have a lot of information on easements and rights of way that need to have some backup away from the district in case of emergency. We need to know where our equipment will go to repair roads at the very start.”
Semande said she would also like to see an ITID dog park. “Why not close off an area in Acreage Community Park?” she asked. “Right now dogs are running around, sometimes knocking into kids carrying food. And some owners don’t clean up after their dogs. If we made one small area of the park a dog park, we could contain the mess and allow the dogs to play freely without disturbing the children.”
The visioning session will take place on Thursday, Jan. 31 from 1 to 5 p.m. at the ITID office. The public is invited to attend.
proven dangerous is another. When you add in the fact that judges are “above the law” in that they can not be held accountable for their decisions (unless they actually commit a crime doing it) makes change difficult. Perhaps some of our brighter minds can look for an intelligent solution.
Wait. Can we really expect that? We still have the “zero tolerance on drugs” rule. If that were simply changed to a “zero tolerance on controlled substances” rule, it would make far more sense, but no one except this fearless columnist has suggested it. Krischer and the rest of the legal establishment would do better to really clean their own house up as part of trying to get a fairer judicial process. Frankly, I doubt it will happen.
asked the LGWCD twice, in writing, if anyone can destroy one of the many nonpermitted culverts still currently in use in Loxahatchee Groves without any consequence. I have not yet received an answer to this question.
Our other objection was that Mr. McClendon took it upon himself to construct a temporary culvert without the approval of the LGWCD or the other affected property owners. The LGWCD then informed us that this temporary culvert was not adequate, would need to be removed and all residents would share in the cost of removal.
We strongly protested our sharing in this cost but have not, after two requests, received anything in writing from the LGWCD absolving us of this responsibility. Additionally, the LGWCD allows this jury-rigged temporary culvert to remain in place. We requested a written statement from the LGWCD that we will not be liable if any injury, death or damage to the canal system results from the use of this culvert. We have not received any written confirmation of this either.
Larry Lefkowitz
Loxahatchee
Groves
sures, particularly for residents involved in nurseries and agricultural businesses. We already have our regulations up on our web site.”
Saunier said SFWMD officials indicated they would not be ready to address the issue in February, but he would have everything in place and ready for approval for a March meeting. “It is not all that difficult,” he said. “We already have the gates in place to allow in more water. But we want to work with them to make sure everything works right.”
PALMS WEST
A TOWN-CRIER Publication
Changes Coming T ChangesComingT ChangesComingTo o W Wellington’ ellington’s Silver Screen Cinema Café sSilverScreenCinemaCafé
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report
The Silver Screen Cinema Café in Wellington has been running recent releases and classic films in a homey atmosphere for 13 years. With their recent acquisition of a full liquor license, owners Liz Vanino and Steve Bell are celebrating by renovating the lobby to accommodate the theater’s wider offerings and give the neighborhood favorite a new look.
The theater is also presenting live entertainment starting this week. Whitestone, a five-piece classic rock band familiar to many Wellington residents, will perform Saturday, Jan. 26 from 8 p.m. to midnight for dinner and dancing. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Whitestone will return March 23.
Rod Stewart tribute artist Hot Rod will perform with a live band on Friday, Feb. 1 from 8 p.m. to midnight, and again on March 29.
The theater’s name has undergone an expansion, as the Silver Screen Cinema Café & Comedy Club also plans to add comedy acts.
Changes notwithstanding, Vanino said she plans to keep a small-town atmosphere. “We
try to keep it homey,” she said.
“Almost like Cheers, well, now that we have full liquor, we will be — except we have movies and great food. I have people call me and say ‘Liz, it’s me. Get my table reserved for me,’ and I have to remember where they normally sit, and, you know what? After 13 years, I do remember. I hope they’re going to be excited about the change.”
For the uninitiated, movie prices during the week are $2.50 and $3. On Friday and Saturday nights the prices are $2.50 to $4. Movies run seven days a week, with 5 and 5:30 p.m. screenings of family-oriented features.
“When there is no school, we are open all day,” she said.
The 7 and 7:30 p.m. shows are more adult-oriented. “Our 5 and 5:30 p.m. shows are more to come and enjoy a little bit of dinner with your children and family. The 7 and 7:30 is kind of like a date night.”
Most of Silver Screen’s movies are releases recently out of the premiere cinemas but not yet on DVD, she said. Last week they were showing the PG-rated August Rush, a movie Vanino describes as wonderful for anyone, adult or child.
“It’s such a pleasure seeing
people walking out of the theater and not after a shoot-’emup or killing,” she said. “It’s such an inspirational, beautiful film, August Rush.”
Playing on the theater’s other screen was a comedy. “We usually have a comedy and something else, or an action-adventure and something else,” Vanino said. “There’s always two movies going on with a balance of about five different movies throughout the day.”
The ticket prices are low to draw people in to eat, she said, but food prices are also affordable, including the weekly specials, none of which costs more than $19.95. “We try to give them something that’s affordable,” Vanino said. “The specials change every week.”
The leading special this week was twin beef Wellington: filet mignon wrapped in puffed pastry, served with potato and vegetables and soup or salad for $19.95.
Other choices for $19.95 this past week included ribeye steak or baked stuffed shrimp and lump crab with sides. Seafood fettuccini with soup or salad was available for $16.95, baked ravioli with garlic bread and soup or salad for $12.95, or chicken penne and mushrooms
with soup or salad for $14.95.
“Even our desserts change every week,” she said. “We have some of our favorites that we will keep, but we will add some different ones.”
Silver Screen also has the usual “movie food,” including box candy, popcorn and soda. They also host birthday parties, offering two slices of pizza, popcorn, refillable soft drinks and choice of the children’s movies available that week for $11.50 per child. “I don’t think mothers are aware that we do not charge a minimum. If the mother says she expects 50 children and only five show up, they are only charged for those who attend,” she said. Vanino said parents are welcome to stay for the parties at no charge. “In this day and age, parents are very skeptical about leaving their children,” she said. “They are welcome to sit and watch the movie for no charge.”
Silver Screen Cinema Café & Comedy Club is located at 12795 W. Forest Hill Blvd. in the Wellington Plaza. Information about shows and times, menus and live entertainment are available at www.silverscreen cinemaandcomedyclub.com. For reservations, call (561) 7953001. For movie times, call (561) 793-6657.
Big Changes — Owners Steve Bell and Liz Vanino in front of their Silver Screen Cinema Café & Comedy Club.
PHOTO BY RON
Anthony’s Famous Subs: Old Deli Style With A Modern Menu
By Leonard Wechsler Town-Crier Staff Report
Those people who love oldfashioned New York-style delis will be thrilled that Anthony’s Famous Subs is now open on State Road 7 in Royal Palm Beach.
Anthony’s serves the kind of subs, gyros and other treats that many of us remember from the “old days” when we had to struggle through snow and ice to get to a really good deli during the winter.
Owner Anthony Crusco understands. He ran an Anthony’s Famous in the Long Island town of Great Neck for more than a quarter-century. “Anyone from that area really knows their deli,” he said. “They can be very, very, very particular.”
Down in South Florida, there are many former New Yorkers, Philadelphians, Bostonians, etc. missing that old-fashioned taste. Crusco plans to turn his new restaurant, open just a couple of months, into their new deli hangout.
“It’s not that hard to get people to come in for their first sandwich,” he said with a smile. “Getting them to come back regularly, that means you have to make a great sandwich.”
On a busy lunch hour, patrons appreciate the samples Crusco cuts for them to taste as they wait in line. “Hey, sometimes the lines go out through the door,” he said. “People can smell the meat and all the fixings’. They get hungry. Today,
I was trying out some great Cajun turkey. Most people had never tried it before, but a lot of them wound up having it put on their sandwiches.”
The sandwich shop smells like an old-fashioned deli — and for good reason. “I use only the best meat,” Crusco said. “Boar’s Head makes a great product, and I use them because their meat is so good. And everything is fresh. That’s what discriminating customers want. If they get a bad sandwich they don’t come back, and that’s why we don’t make bad sandwiches. We make an old-style sandwich, with the meat piled high and with a real tang in it. We can even make any of our sandwiches into a wrap for those who like them that way, and we’ve started a new style for the weight conscious: the sub in a tub. We put everything in that would go in the sandwich, but there’s no bread at all.”
Meanwhile, those not on a diet can enjoy real overstuffed sandwiches.
“Some people eat half the sandwich right here and then eat the rest of it at home, we stuff it so full of meat,” Crusco said. “Not only that, but I hire the best possible help here. They’re young, eager and very friendly. I want people to have a great experience.”
Anthony’s, which was formerly Jersey Mike’s Subs, serves a wide variety of sandwiches, and also has one of the classic New York dishes, a gyro with either chicken or lamb. The menu includes most of the sand-
wiches one would expect, and also items like a real Philly cheese steak. “They’re the best,” customer Pat Sullivan said. “I love coming here. I’m from Philly and couldn’t get a decent sub until I found Anthony’s.”
Anthony’s also serves some old-fashioned soups, including pasta fagioli, chicken noodle, and pasta with beans. Desserts include cookies brought in daily from the Palm Beach Cookie Connection as well as one that can bring back memories — Rice Krispies treats.
Crusco lives in Wellington
with his wife Donna and his three college-age children.
“We’re a part of the community here,” he said. “We held a charity car wash here last Saturday, and it will be the first of many. We’re also working with a lot of teams to raise money. My kids went to Wellington High School, and we love the western communities.”
If you’re cost-conscious, Anthony’s has you covered. “Our prices are lower than our competition,” Crusco said. “I go around and check not only delis but also the supermarkets, and I keep prices lower. I know that
someone who buys our meat the first time because we’re the least expensive in the area will come back. And once they really get into our sandwiches, we’ve got them hooked.”
Anthony’s Famous Subs also caters, offering a wide selection of salads, appetizers, pastas, entrees and party platters not on the regular menu. Anthony’s Famous Subs is located at 109 South SR 7 near Lowe’s and is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, call (561) 753-9199.
Satisfied Customer — Anthony Crusco of Anthony’s Famous Subs in Royal Palm Beach with regular customer Pat Sullivan.
PHOTO BY LEONARD WECHSLER/TOWN-CRIER
Custom Painter Emil Mansour Offers A Variety Of Techniques
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report
Emil Mansour is a master of custom painting. Be it furniture surfaces, Venetian plasters, murals, trompe l’oeil or gold leaf gilding, Mansour is comfortable with it.
Mansour was a faux painter at Walt Disney World in Orlando for three years before he started his own business, Decorative Paint and Faux Finishes by Emil. In the Palm Beach County area, where he has lived for nine years, his work has included the Breakers in Palm Beach, where he painted several ceilings, as well as many Palm Beach homes.
Mansour has been trained to create beautiful work in marbling, wood graining and wood glazes, and fantasy finishes. He is also certified by master craftsman Pierre Ricard in European lime plaster techniques, and trained at the lime plaster specialist company Dimensions International in Palm Beach Gardens.
Mansour, 47, moved to the United States from Israel with his family in 1985. He became interested in faux finishes through his love of drawing and painting. “I like to create,” he said. “I like to paint scenery and landscaping. I love landscaping. I love everything about painting.”
He was trained in Israel by master artisans in mixing and artistic techniques. During travels in Europe, he visited many art museums.
In addition to faux painting, Mansour creates murals of landscapes, movie scenes or fantasy art. His portfolio includes ceilings painted to look like a Florida “skyscape,” which makes a low ceiling appear open to the outdoors. Other depictions include scenes from Alfred Hitchcock movies and a cartoon locomotive and railcars decorating the wall of a child’s room.
His faux finishes are studies in blending. “I like to develop on different ideas and ways to mix colors and how to put the right colors together to create the right effect and finishes,” Mansour said. “The faux finishes are very popular and go beyond the imagination. Everything is in your mind, you know, with the creations. I like to develop my own techniques. It’s a signature that no one can copy when they have their own technique.”
Mansour said an artist must have skill to mix colors to create patinas, which mimic the look of oxidized bronze. “I learned that in the old fashioned way, the old school, in the Mediterranean way, the European style of techniques,” he said. “I know the recipes. We used to create our own glazes from powder and beer and vinegar and other mixtures. I know how to mix my own colors and patinas without buying all these modern glazes.”
Mansour’s glazes are finished in polyurethane or acrylic or oil base paint, depending on the paint and the environment, whether it is inside or outside.
Venetian plaster simulates limestone, using marble powder mixed with glue that is troweled out and sealed in polyurethane.
“We can apply it on walls, bathrooms, kitchens, bedrooms, living rooms, ceilings, anywhere you want, in any color to match the furniture, to match the design of your house,” he said. “It can go with any color you can imagine.”
Using one of his samples, Mansour demonstrated how finishes such as the Venetian plaster can be used with stencils to create a three-dimensional basrelief effect.
“You put your hand on this; you can feel how it is coming out like three dimensions,” he said. “All this technique gives class and value to a house. These special techniques are much better than
wallpaper and are very durable. It lasts much longer than regular paint. It’s like putting marble on the walls. It lasts for a long, long time against mildew, against stains, against all weather problems.”
Mansour charges by the square foot, and his prices vary depending on the technique and the number of steps involved. In terms of durability, he said, his work is less expensive than wallpaper. “The fewer steps, the less money, but whatever you do it’s much better than wallpaper,” he said.
Mansour is fully bonded and insured and will supply resumes and references to potential clients. For more information, call (561) 371-6573 or (561) 7128930.
Other finishes in his collection include simulated Russian malachite stone, tortoiseshell, crackle, marble and wood. Mansour is proud of a basket-weave pattern he created himself. “When you have the right beautiful color and the right design and imagination, the wall will look magnificent,” he said. “I did a beautiful room in Palm Beach using this technique. They loved it. I did it seven years ago and it’s still up there with no peeling, no scratches.”
Decorative Painting — Emil Mansour of Decorative Paint and Faux Finishes by Emil displays some of the work in his portfolio.
PHOTO BY RON BUKLEY/TOWN-CRIER
Tavern Restaurant Now Open To The Public
The Equestrian Club by Tavern on the Green in Wellington, once a private club catering to the equestrian set, is now open to the public. The club welcomes anyone hungry for exciting, high-quality fare and the Tavern on the Green’s famed signature dishes — and perhaps just a bit of that Central Park magic.
“We are truly excited to be able to extend the invitation to everyone to come and experience the Equestrian Club at Tavern on the Green,” owner
Jennifer Oz LeRoy said. “We’ve brought something unique to Wellington, an alternative to the casual dinner house chains, a venue for private entertaining, and a source of quality catering services. It’s a thrill to now open our doors to everyone.”
Foodies are rejoicing at the opportunity to try the specialties of Tavern on the Green’s renowned kitchen and its eclectic menu of contemporary seasonal fare offering something for everyone, prepared by Chef Frank Heizler. Not to be missed are the beloved Tavern favorites from the New York menu: lobster bisque with tarragon crème fraiche; a true traditional Caesar salad with brioche croutons; the Tavern’s signature fries; wild mushroom strudel with a fines herbs and truffle cream sauce; and a range of appetizers and entrees including fresh pasta, seafood, filet mignon, rack of lamb, and barbecue dry-rubbed braised short ribs with mascarpone cheese polenta and guava reduction.
The Equestrian Club by Tavern on the Green seats 250 and offers five private dining rooms. It is open for dinner at 5 p.m. Monday through Sunday.
The Equestrian Club by Tavern on the Green is the equine-influenced joint venture between Oz LeRoy’s Leroy
Adventures and Mark Bellissimo’s Wellington Equestrian Partners. In 2001, LeRoy assumed the ownership and management of Tavern on the Green when her famously flamboyant father Warner LeRoy left it to her in his will. A lifelong equestrian, Jennifer Oz LeRoy wanted to bring a bit of that Central Park enchantment to her winter riding destination in South Florida. Together, LeRoy and Bellissimo turned a former private clubhouse into a restaurant that is now open to the public. The Equestrian Club by Tavern on the Green is located at 3401 Equestrian Club Road in Wellington. For more information, call (561) 3331150.
Nominations For Women In Leadership Awards
Executive Women of the Palm Beaches is accepting nominations to recognize Palm Beach County’s most inspirational female leaders at the 25th Annual Women in Leadership Awards. The awards recognize those who serve as an inspiration to others and influence positive change. The 2008 Executive Women of the Palm Beaches awards luncheon will take place on May 9 at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach. The deadline for the nomination process is Feb. 15. The organization hopes to receive nominations from dynamic business and community leaders in Palm Beach County. With over 600 plus attendees expected, proceeds from the luncheon will support the Executive Women Outreach scholarship program, the endowment fund and the Lois Kwasman Community Impact grants program awarded each year.
A candidate for the Women in Leadership Award must: have lived or worked in Palm Beach County for at least five years, have made a demonstrated difference in Palm Beach Coun-
ty, have excelled in the category for which she is being nominated and not be a current officer or board member of Executive Women of the Palm Beaches.
The Women in Leadership Awards are presented annually to outstanding women in the volunteer, private and public sectors of Palm Beach County. The awards recognize women who have sustained outstanding accomplishments and have displayed generosity of spirit, commitment to integrity and diversity, and genuine connectedness with others. Each award recipient will receive a $1,000 honorarium to donate to a charity of her choice. Executive Women of the Palm Beaches is currently seeking event sponsors. Celebrating its 25th year, Executive Women of the Palm Beaches helps women advance professionally and personally through networking, sharing resources and encouraging leadership. The organization inspires, promotes and recognizes women throughout Palm Beach County by providing financial support for scholarships and community projects, and hosting the annual Women in Leadership Awards.
For more information, call (561) 833-4241 or visit www.ewpb.org.
DiSalvo Fasel Joins Mentoring Program
Jill DiSalvo Fasel, a mortgage lending officer at Comerica Bank and Wellington Chamber of Commerce ambassador, recently became a mentor for icouldbe.org to try to help guide innercity teens toward their future career paths.
DiSalvo Fasel was honored as the Palm Beach County and National Woman of the Year for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in 2004 and has also served on the American Cancer Society Orchid Ball Committee. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with
her young son Ryan and her husband Jeremy. DiSalvo Fasel also enjoys skiing in Colorado and scuba diving.
DiSalvo Fasel obtained a master’s degree in business administration from Palm Beach Atlantic University in December 2004. She is currently working to obtain the certified financial planner designation and just recently completed the education requirement through Barry University. DiSalvo Fasel hopes to take the CFP certification exam in July 2008.
DiSalvo Fasel joined the chamber to help new members and existing members feel connected to the community. She has found that the best way to receive referrals is by giving them to other people.
Comerica Bank is located at 1037 State Road 7, Suite 117 in Wellington. For more information, call (561) 8041406.
Jill DiSalvo Fasel
Nikolits Attends Prudential Florida WCI Realty Meeting In Wellington
Clarifying the upcoming property-tax reform amendment on the Jan. 29 ballot was at the top of the agenda for Palm Beach County Property Appraiser Gary Nikolits when he visited the Wellington office of Prudential Florida WCI Realty on Friday, Jan. 18.
Nikolits was a special guest at the branch meeting attended by more than 40 Prudential Florida WCI Realty sales associates and their clients. Nikolits reviewed the proposed Amendment 1 property tax reform measure voters will see on the ballot in the Jan. 29 election.
The components of the amendment include property tax portability — a step Nikolits explained would allow residents with Save Our Homes assessment caps to transfer all or a significant portion of their tax savings to a new property. Another large piece of the amendment is a proposed doubling of the current $25,000 homestead exemption.
“Our goal having Mr. Nikolits here was to educate our sales associates about the basics of the amendment to be better prepared to vote on Jan. 29 and also so they are in a better position to answer questions from their buyers and sellers on the issues of property tax reform,” said Henry Heller, who recently as-
Property-Tax Discussion — Henry Heller, branch manager of Prudential Florida WCI Realty in Wellington, talks with Property Appraiser Gary Nikolits at their Jan. 18 meeting.
sumed the role of branch manager of the Wellington office. “It is critical that every voter is more knowledgeable on this topic as we approach the polls later this month.”
For more information about Amendment 1 and Palm Beach County property-tax reform, visit the property appraiser’s web site at www.co.palmbeach.fl.us/papa.
Since its inception seven years ago, Prudential Florida WCI Realty has grown to more than 45 locations throughout Florida and approximately 2,000 sales associates. It is the second larg-
est statewide residential real estate brokerage in Florida and was ranked the 33rd-largest residential real estate firm in the country in the May 2007 issue of Real Trends magazine. Prudential Florida WCI Realty also ranked the sixth-largest within the Prudential network nationwide. Prudential Florida WCI Realty is a division of WCI Communities Inc. Based in Bonita Springs, WCI has been creating amenity-rich, leisure-oriented master-planned communities for more than 50 years. Visit www.prudentialflorida wci.com for more information.
Bloom Earns QuickBooks Certification
Dara Bloom of Wellington recently became certified by Intuit as a QuickBooks proadvisor. This advanced level of achievement is reserved only for those professionals who have demonstrated exceptional knowledge of QuickBooks, the most widely used accounting software product for small to medium businesses.
Born and raised in Wellington, Bloom attended Wellington Elementary School and Wellington Landings Middle School before completing her high school education at the Dreyfoos School of the Arts. She graduated from the University of Florida in 2006 with a degree in finance.
After graduation, Bloom joined Ink & Toner USA, the first ink and toner retail store in Palm Beach County, established in 2004 in West Palm Beach by Bloom’s parents Jane and Bob Bloom. In 2006, the company
began licensing its business and training entrepreneurs to open ink and toner stores throughout the United States.
Bloom has been instrumental in developing the company’s QuickBooks training course, and so far she has taught it to the company’s licensees from Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and Texas. “In our twoweek training program, we teach our licensees how to run a successful ink and toner business,” Bloom said. “We have optimized QuickBooks to run in a retail environment and specifically for an ink and toner store. One of the important aspects of our training is extensive QuickBooks education — from the day-to-day store operation to the back-office bookkeeping.”
“Our training program is the most comprehensive in our industry, and our QuickBooks education customized for a retail environment is unmatched anywhere,” said Ink & Toner USA CEO Jane Bloom. “Our licensees are taught to do everything they need in regards to QuickBooks — even if they have no bookkeeping experience. Dara’s ProAdvisor certification is a testament to her knowledge and demonstrates our total commitment to our licensees.”
Ink & Toner USA is located at 1355 North Military Trail in West Palm Beach.
For more information, call (561) 296-4INK (4465) or visit the company’s web site at www.inkandtonerusa.com.
Dara Bloom
PHOTO BY CAROL PORTER/TOWN-CRIER
IRS Lists The Top Tax Scams Of 2007
The IRS identified the “Dirty Dozen” most blatant scams affecting taxpayers and warned people not to fall for these schemes.
Five new scams made the list for 2007. The IRS is actively investigating instances where tax preparers are preparing inflated refund requests. Also new to the “Dirty Dozen” this year are the following: abuses pertaining to Roth IRAs, the American Indian Employment Credit, domestic shell corporations and structured entities.
Topping it is fraudulent telephone tax refund requests. The Telephone Excise Tax Refund is a one-time refund available only on the 2006 federal tax return.
It is a refund of previously paid longdistance federal excise taxes listed on your telephone bill.
Taxpayers will be eligible to file for refunds of all excise tax they have paid on long-distance service billed to them after Feb. 28, 2003 and before Aug. 1, 2006.
Five of last year’s “Dirty Dozen” tax scams rotated off the list for 2007. However, the absence of a particular scheme from the list does not mean the IRS is unaware of it or not taking steps to counter it.
To view a complete list of the “2007 Dirty Dozen” tax scams, visit www.irs.gov.
Bloomberg Partners With Ariat Clothing Company
Grand prix rider Georgina Bloomberg of New York, N.Y. recently joined a panel of riders and VIPs for the opening press conference of the CN Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington. Bloomberg wore an Ariat shirt and spoke afterward about her horses, as well as her new partnership with the equestrian clothing company.
Bloomberg recently traveled to Florida from California, where she worked with executives from Ariat. “I’ve just started with Ariat,” she said. “They’ve been really great and supportive. It’s been really exciting for me because designing clothes for riding is something that I’ve wanted to do in the future. This has given me a step in the door that I wouldn’t have been able to get.”
Bloomberg said one of the reasons she got involved with Ariat Clothing is because the company believes in its products.
“I got to go out to California for two days and go through all of their products and say what I liked, what I didn’t like, improvements that they could make as far as color, design, and cut — things that I think riders need or ways they can become more appealing to different markets,” Bloomberg explained. “That’s a great thing for me too. I really learned a lot when I was out there. I’m really looking forward to building on that in the future and doing more of it. What Ariat is doing is teaching me about the business and getting me a feeling for what I would do if I made that part of my career.”
Georgina Bloomberg is now competing at the 2008 CN Winter Equestrian Festival. For more information about the festival, visit www.equestrian sport.com.
Small Business Tax Calendar Now Available
The 2007 Tax Calendar for Small Business and Self-Employed (Pub. 1518, catalog number 12350Z) is now available. This 12-month wall calendar is filled with information on general business taxes, IRS and SSA customer assistance, electronic filing and paying options, retirement plans, business publications and forms, and common tax filing dates. Each page highlights different tax issues and tips that may be relevant to smallbusiness owners, with room on each month to add notes, state tax dates, or business appointments. Copies of the tax calendar can be ordered online at www.irs.gov or by calling (800) 8293676.
Grand prix rider Georgina Bloomberg sports an Ariat shirt.
EMS Lounge — Palms West Hospital held a ribbon cutting last Thursday for its new emergency medical services (EMS) lounge. Shown here, hospital CEO Bland Eng and Board of Directors Chair Dr. Carmine Priore cut the ribbon while hospital staff members and Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue representatives look on.
We have the following positions available at our new location in Wellington, FL:
• Team Leaders (Entry-level Manager)
• Grooming Salon Managers
• Cashiers
• Sales Associates
• Bathers/Brushers
• Groomers (Pet Stylists)
• Canine Education Instructors
• Companion Animal Specialists (Aquatics, Reptiles, Small Animals, Avian)
We offer a casual, fun environment and excellent benefits. Please apply online at www.petco.com/jobs prior to attending hiring fair.
PETCO HIRING FAIR
Tuesday, January 22nd & Friday, January 25th 9:30 am - 4:30 pm Hampton Inn and Suites 2155 Wellington Green Drive Wellington, FL 33414 For directions call: (561) 472-9696 or Saturday, January 26th 11:00 am - 7:00 pm PETCO 1951 N. Military Trail West Palm Beach, FL 33409 For
GREENWAY CIRCLE SOUTH - For rent or sale. $850 Unfurnished $1050 furnished. "All new - everything" 55+ Community. 561-422-2910 5 CLEARED ACRES - for planting. 5 wooded acres for camping, secluded hunting, fishing, camp. Shopping close. Call for $$$ details. 561-644-9351
$18-$25/HR — Teachers/Tutors P/T. All subjects PreK to Adult. Certification/Experience required. Palm Beach County Areas Fax 561-828-8128 or E-mail Tutorking@WPB3331980.COM
HELP WANTED/BOOKKEEPER EXPE-
RIENCED; Familiar with QUICKBOOKS
- Full-Time position. Pay commensurate with experience. Fax resume to A. Silver - 561-432-2825
Fund your own reverse mortgage & get paid to help others do the same. Minimum $500. Madelyn 561-422-2910
WELLINGTON/RPB PEST CONTROL
OFFICE - Looking for General office person for FT M-F 8:00 - 5:00 p.m. exp. preferred. Call Stacy 561-784-8100 for details.
P/T MESSENGER - approximately 2 hrs/ per day. Flexible hours morning or early afternoon. Monday - Friday. Must use own car. 561-798-3731.
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT FOR OPERATIONS DEPT. - of busy commercial A/C Contractor in Wellington. Extremely organized team player needed to handle all aspects of service & maintenance contracts. Assist with quotes & bids. Must have good communication skills & be detail oriented. Experience in a service environment along with Excel, Word, Outlook & Quickbooks for Contractors a plus. FT position with benefits. DFWP - please fax resume with salary requirements to (561) 791-1693 or email to pas17@fdn.com
RECEPTIONIST FOR COMMERCIAL -
A/C Contractor in Wellington. Answer phones Service calls, Filing, Data Entry. Word, Excel & Outlook experience a plus. F/T w/benefits. DFWP Fax Resume with salary requirements to 561793-1693 or email to pas17@fdn.com HELP WANTED — for cleaning service, experienced/Spanish preferred. 561-790-6398.
CLEANING PART TIME - Buffing floors. Wellington Area. $9/hr 7 am to 10 am 1800-342-2104
HOUSECLEANING/MATURE LADY
NEEDED - 1 morning per week. Tuesdays or Friday. Must be experienced with references 561-795-7552.
JOHN C. HUNTON AIR CONDITIONING & REFRIGERATION, INC. - Service & new installation FPL independent participating contractor. Lic. CAC 057272 Ins. "We are proud supporters of the Seminole Ridge Hawks" 561-798-3225. Family Owned & Operated since 1996.
FRED LADWIG ARCHITECT, P.A. - Specializing in custom residential architectural design for over 20 years. New construction, renovations and additions. FL. Registration AA 2706, 561-333-3353.
The only non-profit petting zoo in the area. - featuring parrots, mini horses, ponies, pony rides, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, and Llamas and more and farm club. 561-792-2666
THE HANDYMAN CAN! - Craftsman with years of experience. Repairs, water damage, painting, wall/ceiling, texturing, moldings, flooring, organizers, plumbing, tile. Remodeling bath/kitchens. Big Savings on outdoor kitchen & bar using your grill or just hang a fan. Make your repair HONEY DO LIST. I show up & want your return business. References. Hourly/job. Call Greg 561531-3141
ANMAR CO. –James’ All Around Handyman Service. Excellent craftman Old time values. Once you’ve had me! You’ll have me back! Lic. Ins. Certified Residential Contractor CRC 1327426 561-248-8528
MCA CUSTOM WOODWORKING, INC. — “Make your home standout from the rest” Call us for all your home improvement needs. Kitchen & bathroom remodeling, custom wall units, design your home office, cabinetry, tile & drywall repair. Lic. #U-19564. Bonded & Ins. 561-723-5836
TWO SISTERS CLEANING SERVICE — No Job to small or too Big. Call Josephine 795-7067 or Dina 951-2770
D.J. COMPUTER — Home & office, Spyware removal, websites, networks, repairs, upgrades, virus removal, tutoring. Call Jeff 561-333-9433 or Cell 561252-1186 Lic’d- Well. & Palm Beach
COMPUTER REPAIR - We come to you! After hours and weekends services available. Spyware/Adware/Virus Removal, Networking, Wireless, Backup Data, Upgrades. Call Anytime. 561-713-5276
HOT WYRE ELECTRIC — For all your electrical needs. Panel upgrades, installations, repairs, lightening protection, troubleshooting. Licensed, Insured, Free Estimates. 561-313-0134
BILLS ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER SERVICE — New construction, repairs, upgrades, generators, cable, network. No Job Too Big or Too Small. 561-790-0000. Lic. EC13003167/INS
NEED CASH, REFINANCE NOW — rates are at record low! use equity to lower payments and pay-off credit cards! AMP Global/Funding/AL Aline. 967-4949 Evenings & Weekends Too!
HIGH QUALITY LAMINATE FLOORING
— at affordable prices. Hardwood floors. No deposit until delivery. Contractors welcome. Western Communities resident. Family owned and Operated. Licensed and Insured. Se Habla Español 561-568-6099
GUARDSMAN FURNITURE PRO — For all your furniture repair needs including finish repairs, structural repairs, upholstery services, chair regluing, antique repairs, kitchen cabinet refurbishing. 753-8689
LET US AD A LITTLE COLOR TO YOUR LIFE — Residential/Commercial. Licensed • Bonded • Insured. Owner/Operator. Ask for Paul 561-309-8290. COLORS BY CORO, INC. — Interior/ Exterior, residential painting, over 20 years exp. Small Jobs welcome. Free estimates - Insured. 561-383-8666. Owner/Operated. Lic.# U20627 Ins. Wellington Resident. RJA PAINTING & DECORATING — interior, exterior, custom colors, faux artwork, all work guaranteed. Lic. Bonded & Insured. 561-616-2255
PAINTING — HOME PAINTING Interior – Exterior. $1290 +tax up to 2500 sq. ft. (walls area) 561-674-HOME(4663) J&C’s Faux Painting Service, Inc. Lic./Ins. U14092
ROOFING REPAIRS REROOFING ALL
TYPES — Pinewood Construction, Inc. Honest and reliable. Serving Palm Beach County for over 20 years. Call Mike 561309-0134 Lic. Ins. Bonded. CGC-023773 RC-0067207 BD
GARABAR, INC. ROOFING & GENERAL CONSTRUCTION — 561-337-6798 www.garabar.com Lic. #CGC 1510976 CCC1327252. “Deal” Direct with owner. * Please see our display ad* Major credit cards accepted. Fast Free Estimates. Insurance claim specialists.
PAPERHANGING & PAINTING BY DEBI — Professional Installation & Removal of Paper. Interior Painting, decorative finishes, clean & reliable. Quality work with a woman’s touch. 26 years experience. No Job too big or too small. Lic. & Ins. References available. 561-795-5263
— Interior Trim, crown molding, rottenwood repair, door installation, minor drywall, kitchens/cabinets/countertops, remodeling, wood flooring. Bonded/Insured U#19699. 561-791-9900 Cell: 561-370-5293
“You dealt with the rest now deal with the best” maintenance and repairs. Inquire about 1 months FREE service. 561-791-5073 ELITE POOL CLEANING
J&B PRESSURE CLEANING — Established in 1984. All types of pressure cleaning, roofs, houses, driveways, patios etc. Commercial & Residential.Call Butch 561-309-6975 BD
PRIMROSE PROPERTY MANAGMENT FULL SERVICE RESIDENTIAL HOME CARE — Weekly inspections, repairs, & maintenance. Monthly reports, Reasonable rates. 561-602-6857. or email primrosepm123@aol.com
MINOR ROOF REPAIRS – Roof painting. Carpentry. License #U9 865. 9675580. BD SHAKE ROOF SPECIALISTS –– New roofs, repairs, preservation. License #CC025465. Shake Masters, Shake Chem. Members of Shake Bureau. 4396668 BD
ROBERT G. HARTMANN ROOFING ––Specializing in repairs. Free estimates, Bonded, insured. Lic. #CCC-058317 790-0763. BD
JOHN’S SCREEN REPAIR SERVICE — Pool & patio rescreening. Stay tight,wrinkle-free,guaranteed! Lic.#9001390. 798-3132.
ROLL DOWN SHUTTERS — Accordion shutters, storm panels and rolling shutters...prices that can’t be beat. All shutters Systems, Inc. 863-0955
AFFORDABLE HURRICANE PROTEC-
TION — 2 - 4 wks. Installed Guaranteed!
10% deposit . Will get you started. All products, Dade County approved. We manufacture our own product. 561-5686099, 772-342-8705 Lic. & Ins. CGC 1511213
SALES, SERVICE AND INSTALLATION FOR ALL TYPES — Windows, doors, accordion & panel shutters. Impact glass. USA IMPACT WINDOWS & DOORS. 561-502-1518
AQUATIC SPRINKLER, LLC - Complete repair of all types of systems. Owner Operated. Michael 561-964-6004 Lic. #U17871 Bonded & Ins. Serving the Western Communities Since 1990
ONE-ON-ONE TUTORING IN YOUR HOME
• All Subjects • Pre K- Adult • Home school • SAT/ACT/FCAT Test Prep • Study Skills CLUBZ TUTORING.COM 333-1980 America’s Largest In-Home Tutoring Co.
TEACHER/TUTOR - Specializing in Special Ed/Autism, Pre-K-8th Grade. Experienced, responsible and great with children. In your home or mine. Call anytime 561-792-2400
PARK VISTA HIGH SCHOOL MATH
TEACHER — will tutor in her Wellington home. Middle School thru Algebra 2. 5125424 $50/hr
M.S. ED 30 Years Experience Certified in FL and NY Specializing in Math grades 4-8. FCAT preparation. Reasonable. 561308-3857
B.K. WINDOW TINTING - Safety, security, storm & solar control, window film application. "We Beat Any Written Estimate From Another Company!" Completely mobile since 1992. Palm Beach 561-718-3536 Martin/St. Lucie 772-6074359 Melbourne 321-544-3163
