SPECIAL WCC MEETING TO DISCUSS SR 7 SEE STORY, PAGE 4
CASABLANCA WINS FIRST IPC TOURNEY SEE STORY, PAGE 17
THE
TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
Your Community Newspaper
INSIDE
Volume 36, Number 2 January 9 - January 15, 2015
Serving Palms West Since 1980
POLO SEASON UNDERWAY AT IPC
Organizers Predict Great Season For WEF, Global Dressage Fest
The 2015 Winter Equestrian Festival and the Adequan Global Dressage Festival kicked off this week at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center, and show promoters are predicting a record-breaking year. Page 3
PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
Unity Rally Supports Law Enforcement
A “Unity Rally to Support Law Enforcement and First Responders” was held on Friday, Jan. 2 at the Wellington Amphitheater. Participants gathered at the nearby Patriot Memorial before the amphitheater program. Community leaders spoke in support of the fine job that law enforcement officers do to protect the public. Page 5
Flag Football Tourney Raises Money For The Cancer Society
The 8th annual Flags for the Cure fundraiser was held over five days in late December and early January at Acreage Community Park, raising $30,000 for the event’s beneficiary, the American Cancer Society. Page 20
OPINION Polo, Show Jumping And Dressage: Great Family Entertainment
From the thundering hoofs of polo to the precision of show jumping and the graceful moves of dressage, Wellington’s 2015 equestrian season is now in full swing. High-goal polo kicked off last weekend at the International Polo Club Palm Beach, followed quickly by the opening of the Winter Equestrian Festival and the Adequan Global Dressage Festival. Three distinct sports, all showing off at their highest level right here in our midst. Page 4 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS................................. 3 - 9 OPINION.................................. 4 CRIME NEWS.......................... 6 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 8 PEOPLE................................. 13 SCHOOLS.............................. 14 COLUMNS...................... 16, 25 BUSINESS......................26 - 27 SPORTS..........................31 - 33 CALENDAR............................ 34 CLASSIFIEDS................ 35 - 38 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
The 2015 polo season opened Sunday, Jan. 4 at the International Polo Club Palm Beach. On the field, Casablanca claimed the Herbie Pennell Cup with a 13-11 victory over Villa Del Lago. On the sidelines, the glitz and glamour of the polo season was on full display. Broadway stars Ann Hampton Callaway and Liz Callaway performed the national anthem, while Oscar-winning actress Tatum O’Neil performed the ceremonial coin toss. Shown here are Ann Hampton Callaway, Tatum O’Neil and Liz Callaway with IPC’s John Wash. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 7 PHOTO BY JULIE UNGER/TOWN-CRIER
Wellington Zoners Approve Alzheimer’s Facility At Church
By Julie Unger Town-Crier Staff Report Wellington’s Planning, Zoning & Adjustment Board approved a conditional use application Wednesday to allow St. Michael Lutheran Church to host an adult daycare facility for Alzheimer’s patients. St. Michael, located at 1925 Birkdale Drive, was approved as a new site for Alzheimer’s Community Care after the board made adjustments to the application’s conditions based on a presentation by Associate Planner Cory Lyn Cramer and clarifications from Alzheimer’s Community Care President & CEO Mary Barnes.
With a proposed schedule of 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday for up to 45 participants, St. Michael is working on acquiring its Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) licensing and regulation. The program will have a ratio of five participants to one employee, and expects that the vast majority will be Wellington residents. Cramer noted that there already is a child daycare facility at St. Michael. The adult facility will come to fruition in two phases, first where the maximum number of participants is capped at 25 based on the provided outdoor area of 2,500 square feet, which
will then be increased to a total of 45 participants once an additional 2,100 square feet of space is added. Cramer said that Wellington is currently reviewing its code regarding the issue of outdoor space. The current code, she said, currently requires 100 square feet of outside area per participant. “We’ve done a little more research with what the required standards are from AHCA and also what the county and the health department require,” she said. “We are most likely, in the next few weeks, going to bring in front of you and in front of the council a zoning text amendment to modify See ALZHEIMER’S, page 19
New Leg Of SR 7 Extension Opens With Ribbon Cutting
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report A ribbon-cutting ceremony led by Palm Beach County officials officially opened the second leg of the State Road 7 extension, from Persimmon Blvd. to 60th Street North, and west to Royal Palm Beach Blvd., on Wednesday morning. County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay thanked local leaders for attending, including some from Royal Palm Beach, Wellington,
Loxahatchee Groves and the Indian Trail Improvement District, as well as officials from the Palm Beach County Metropolitan Planning Organization. “Most important has been the Indian Trail Improvement District, which has been our partner on this project,” McKinlay said. “We’ve got President Carol Jacobs and supervisors Michelle Damone, Ralph Bair and Gary Dunkley, and District Manager Jim Shallman.” McKinlay also recognized her
County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay speaks at the opening of the State Road 7 extension to 60th Street North.
PHOTO BY RON BUKLEY/TOWN-CRIER
former bosses, Assistant County Administrator Brad Merriman and County Administrator Bob Weisman, as well as County Engineer George Webb. “I would be remiss if I stood up here and tried to take credit for this project,” she said. “It was actually my predecessor, former Commissioner Jess Santamaria, who was sitting on the dais when these decisions were made.” McKinlay pointed out that the SR 7 extension will be a welcome relief for roads that are over capacity in the area, and especially for residents along Orange Grove and Persimmon boulevards, who have taken the brunt of traffic from the first leg of the extension in the past several years. “The county is absolutely committed as this project continues to push northward in working with all the neighbors to address some of their concerns, and make sure that the full connection that has been promised for many, many years goes all the way up to Northlake Blvd.,” McKinlay said. Jacobs said the county had stuck to its promises to complete the See SR 7, page 19
ITID Reviews Traffic Calming Ideas For Acreage Roadways By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Joseph Capra of Captec Engineering gave a rundown of traffic calming alternatives to the Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors in a workshop session on Wednesday. The workshop was called by ITID President Carol Jacobs in preparation for projects to be carried out over the coming year. Capra reviewed more costly ideas and some more immediately affordable alternatives for the board to consider, as well as detailed maps of district roads, which the board plans to consider more closely at its regular meeting in February. He pointed out that many roads in the district, including Grapeview, Avocado, Orange and Persimmon boulevards, already have traffic calming measures. “They’re all over the district, and my purpose in showing you
this is it not only shows you where traffic calming is today, but it also shows you the accidents,” Capra said. “It shows you that the roads with less traffic accidents have traffic calming on them, so they are working in some sense.” He also pointed out that Hall Blvd., which has been a problem area, is pretty much a through road with very few stops, and traffic on all roads entering Hall are required to stop. “When people are moving along on that road and you hold everybody on the side streets stopped, we feel that is why there have been so many accidents on that road,” Capra said. “The bottom line is those are the kinds of things we want to fix. That’s one-and-a-half, two miles of unimpeded road. They’re hoping everybody’s going to stop. Sometimes they don’t.” Capra said that one of his recommendations will be to add some See ITID, page 19
CAFCI RINGS IN 2015
Caribbean-Americans for Community Involvement (CAFCI) rang in 2015 on Wednesday, Dec. 31 at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center. There was a bountiful buffet catered by Chef G (Lloyd Grant), while DJs Ernie Garvey and Wayne Carvalho (shown here) kept the music playing for dancing the night away. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 9 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
Lox Council Asks County To Transfer Land To The Town By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Loxahatchee Groves Town Council approved a resolution Tuesday directing town staff to go ahead with negotiations with Palm Beach County to waive payment for the transfer of ownership of property at F Road and Southern Blvd. where the Central Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce building is located. The chamber leases the property from the county for $1 a year, but the town, which is looking to purchase the building from the chamber, would like to own the property outright. Town Manager Bill Underwood said the transfer of ownership was the last remaining obstacle for the town to purchase the building. The town has gotten two appraisals of $581,635 and $583,824, which does not include the land because
that belongs to the county. “The council has been providing guidance to the staff to negotiate with the chamber, but we ran into this little snag about the land issue, and this resolution is to solidify and make known that the council would like to get that free of charge,” Underwood said. “It is in the best interest, as indicated in the resolution, for both parties, county residents and town residents, as dollars would just be switching from the town to the county, and vice versa.” He pointed out that the town would have a permanent residence in the county park and it would have some oversight of the property, including the park, during daylight hours when the offices are open. “We could structure it so that the commissioner could have that See LOX COUNCIL, page 19
High Schoolers Develop Project To ‘Save The Pulp’ By Julie Unger Town-Crier Staff Report Three Wellington High School juniors have created an initiative that has helped to enrich the lives of farm animals, decrease waste at a local franchise and show other students that they truly can help the environment. Known as “Save the Pulp,” the idea was inspired by their involvement with the Pine Jog Environmental Education Center’s fellowship program at Florida Atlantic University. Sarah Sattanno, Miranda Holt and Kelly Cuthbertson are participating in a three-semester program learning about environmental issues. Their goal was to create an environmentally sustainable project for the community to embrace. As the girls considered a few
different ideas, they came up with a feasible concept. “Our project is overall looking to resolve wasteful disposal at Jamba Juice. We’re giving natural food to animals, and we’re supporting local farming,” Sattanno said. It began with a few phone calls. They called around to markets to learn what they did with produce and food waste. They were told that Whole Foods Market allows pulp from its juice bar to be picked up and fed to farm animals. “We loved the idea of that,” Sattanno said. “A few people are doing that and going to Whole Foods and making that happen, so we wanted to introduce that at Jamba Juice and make it a program where we could take it to a local farm.” Contacting Jamba Juice, the girls learned that currently the
excess pulp is thrown out, but gained some cooperation. With permission to gather the pulp, now they needed somewhere to bring it. After calling several farms, Holt said, they found Jojo Milano at Goodness Gracious Acres in The Acreage (www.goodness graciousacres.com). “When they first called me, I really didn’t know what to make of them,” Milano said. “The first time… my goats kind of put their nose up to it. But the second time they came out, my goats were killing themselves to get to it.” Milano’s 12 goats each consume somewhere between 3 and 5 pounds of food a day, so adding the vitamin C-rich pulp has been a special healthy treat to supplement their food. “They would come on a See SAVE THE PULP, page 4
Goats feast on orange pulp recycled from Jamba Juice.