The Royal Palm Beach Police Department may have merged with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, but the RPBPD’s prized Police Athletic League boxing program remains strong, serving approximately 350 boxers each month. STORY & PHOTOS, PAGE 17A
The Palms West Chamber of Commerce held its Tenth Annual Taste of the West & Chocolate Lovers Festival on Thursday, June 7 at the South Florida Fairgrounds. Sponsored by National City Bank, the event featured food tastings from the area’s favorite restaurants, as well as entertainment and business exhibitions. (Above) Special guest “Mr. Food” Art Ginsburg (center) with Amy Steinhauser, Meeghan Gehring, Colin Johnson and Brenda Browning. (Below) Publix Store Manager David Amazzo and Bakery Manager Mike Vostrejs from the Publix at Crestwood Square invite visitors to sample chocolate desserts. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 42A
By Carol Porter Town-Crier Staff Report
The Hospitality Shoppes project proposed for the old Palm Beach Polo Stadium property got a predictably cold reception from Wellington’s Planning, Zoning & Adjustment Board last week when the board voted unanimously to deny the developer’s request for a comprehensive plan amendment.
A group of investors has been trying to win approval for a commercial project on the prominent parcel on South Shore Blvd. near Pierson Road since late last summer. Most opposition has stemmed from
the proposal to remove the 7.8acre parcel from the village’s Equestrian Preserve Area (EPA), which tightly restricts permitted land uses.
June 7 marked the third time the PZA Board has recommended denial of the Hospitality Shoppes application for a land-use change from commercial recreation to mixed-use.
Last October, the first time the PZA Board recommended denial of the project, the Hospitality Shoppes consisted of 15 residential units, 40,000 square feet of commercial space and 40,000 square feet of office space.
The application the board de-
nied in January included a 65,000-square-foot, 96-bed assisted-living facility along with 20,000 square feet of commercial space and 10,000 square feet of office space.
The most recent version of the application includes the senior living facility along with 20,000 square feet of commercial space and 15,000 square feet of office space.
Developer’s agent Al Malefatto told the board that while his clients have the right to build 35,000 square feet of commercial, retail and office uses on the property without any special approvals, that
W Wellington Council ellingtonCouncil Cool On Sur CoolOnSurcharges charges For Heavy W Water ater Users
By Carol Porter Town-Crier Staff Report
The Wellington Village Council held off Tuesday on approving a proposal to impose penalties on water customers using more than 8,000 gallons per month while water restrictions are in effect.
The resolution proposed levying a surcharge of five percent on heavy users during Phase 1 restrictions, 10 percent during Phase 2 restrictions, 20 percent during Phase 3 restrictions and 30 percent during Phase 4 restrictions. Households of eight or more and commercial and government users of 15,000 gallons or more per month would be exempt from the surcharge if they could demonstrate a reduction of 10 percent of their average use for each phase of restrictions going into effect.
Lakefield North resident Sam Nebb spoke against the surcharge proposal, which he said would victimize larger families in Wellington.
“You wouldn’t ask children not to flush a toilet or to take multiple groups in a bath,” Nebb said. “I use from 9,000 to 11,000 gallons a month. I can
imagine how difficult it is with someone who has three to four children. I don’t think people can cut much further back. The only thing I can do to cut back is to wash the colored stuff with the white stuff.”
Village Attorney Jeff Kurtz noted that the surcharge would be waived if residents demonstrated they could cut back as the water restrictions increase in severity, and also noted that village staff suggested adding a medical waiver. Environmental & Engineering Services Director Gary Clough said he had received calls that day from residents who had medical needs.
“We received two calls today from residents who were concerned that they must use additional water,” Clough said. “We have their addresses. We are trying to check their water bills. We talked to them late in the day. Both of them are parents of a disabled child. They use 8,000 gallons a month. We do support a medical wavier for that.”
Councilwoman Laurie Cohen said she understood the rationale behind the surcharges, but was worried about their impact on larger families. She charac-
RPB Of RPBOfficials Expect ficialsExpect Small Drop In T SmallDropInTax Rate axRate
By Steve Pike Town-Crier Staff Report
Royal Palm Beach Village Manager David Farber told members of the RPB Village Council last week he believes Royal Palm Beach residents will receive a tax cut for the 13th consecutive year when the budget is presented to the council later this summer.
At the council’s June 7 meeting, Farber issued a bit of a caveat, however, because like all state municipalities, the village was awaiting the outcome of the Florida State Legislature’s special session, which began Tuesday.
If the Florida State House and State Senate pass a measure that would roll back local government spending in 2007 and cap it in future years, village residents will still get their tax cut, Farber told the Town-Crier Wednesday, but it won’t be as much as originally anticipated.
“When you reduce the tax base, it has an effect on the
rate,” Farber said, adding that he still expects the village to cut its millage from the current rate of 2.14 mills to 2.11 mills in the coming fiscal year.
One mill represents one dollar of tax on every thousand dollars of taxable property value. At a tax rate of 2.11 mills, a Royal Palm Beach property owner with a home assessed at $300,000 with a $25,000 homestead exemption would pay $580.25 in property taxes to the village next year.
Royal Palm Beach Mayor David Lodwick told the TownCrier Thursday that he is confident the village will indeed experience its 13th straight tax cut based on the first phase of the legislature’s proposed tax overhaul.
“That’s not by accident,” Lodwick said. “That’s by design of trying to run an efficient government.”
The council is scheduled to hold its annual budget workshop before its Thursday, July 12 meeting.
Tax Reform Fallout Concerns Municipal, County Officials
By Carol Porter Town-Crier Staff Report
Representatives of municipalities in the western communities offered perspectives Monday on pending property tax reform measures at June’s Palms West Chamber of Commerce luncheon held at Breakers West Country Club.
The state legislature began a special session Tuesday to review a bill designed to reform a property tax system seen by many as inequitable and burdensome to homebuyers and business owners.
The compromise measure between the State House and State Senate would require cities and counties to cut taxes in the upcoming fiscal year to 2006-07 revenue levels, according to a June 8 letter to legislators from Senate President Ken Pruitt and Speaker of the House Marco Rubio. Local governments would then be required to make an additional cut of three to nine percent, according to a formula that analyzes their taxing performance over the past five years against a statewide average.
The reforms would ultimately do away with Save Our Homes increase caps in favor of a “super exemption” of 75 percent of the first $200,000 of value for homesteaded properties. The letter said the reform would save taxpayers $31.6 billion over the next five years and would represent the largest tax cut in Florida history.
Representatives of local governments speaking Monday in-
cluded Royal Palm Beach Village Manager David Farber, Wellington Village Manager Charlie Lynn, Greenacres City Manager Wadie Atallah and Assistant Palm Beach County Administrator Brad Merriman. All said they are doing their best to plan for what is expected be a drastic falloff in revenues.
Lynn said Wellington’s village staffers are reviewing their budget priorities through a pyramid diagram representing four levels of service. The services most essential and required by law form the base of the pyramid, and those that enhance quality of life are toward the top.
“As the pyramid starts to taper, we move up higher and we consider those quality-of-life issues,” Lynn said. “We consider those services that enhance the quality of life, but are not essential to health, safety and welfare.”
Lynn said the Wellington Village Council will decide in workshops over the summer which upper-level services, if any, should be retained in the budget. Meanwhile, the village is anticipating a cut in its general fund budget of between $6 million and $10 million, and is aiming to lower its property tax rate. “Our current millage is 2.7 mills,” Lynn said. “We are looking to drop it to 2.2 mills or 2.0 mills.”
Atallah said he didn’t envy the legislators or the governor trying to unravel the unfairness of the property tax system.
“Let me give you an example of the unfairness,” Atallah said. “We have a condo bought in
1977, which is a homesteaded property. Today, they pay $252 in total property taxes, and $68 of that goes to the city. There is an unhomesteaded condo right next to it with the exact same dimensions. They pay $1,894 in property taxes compared to the $252. That’s the problem. We need to find a way to make that differential smaller so that it’s equitable.”
Atallah said having local governments take up the slack would not address the bigger issue.
“We’re going to deal with property tax reductions that vary anywhere from 44 percent to 29 percent. Imagine you are a businessperson, and they say that to you. Your revenue is going down by 29 percent to 44 percent. What would you do? That’s what we are dealing with. If anyone believes that there is
so much fat in the city and county government that it can be addressed by just cutting some frivolous expenditures, they really have to think hard about what the impacts are going to be on services.”
Royal Palm Beach Village Manager David Farber said that in attempting to provide whatever level of services his community wanted, he and his council sought opportunities to “outsource” some functions.
Farber said Royal Palm Beach had gotten out of the fire-rescue and law enforcement business because they found that Palm Beach County could do a more comprehensive job at roughly the same cost.
Farber said that in his 12 years with the Village of Royal Palm Beach, he and the council had overseen 12 consecutive millage rate decreases, lowering the
rate 30 percent in the same period.
“We believe we have done our part,” Farber said. “How many people have been complaining at our budget hearings? In Royal Palm Beach, I don’t think we’ve had more than four in a decade. This is a tax and equity issue. I will use myself as an example. I’ve lived in Wellington since 1988. I am taxed at a basis of $109,000, and my home is worth $400,000.”
Farber also chided the state for sticking local governments with the burden of tax relief. “I take umbrage at the governor’s suggestion that the people sitting up here have not done their jobs,” he said. “They are telling us how to run our businesses. I don’t see them reducing their budgets 12 years in a row. This is somebody trying to find a
Wellington Village Manager Charlie Lynn, Greenacres City Manager Wadie Atallah, Royal Palm Beach Village Manager David Farber and Assistant County Administrator Brad Merriman lead a panel discussion Monday about property tax reform.
PHOTO BY CAROL PORTER/TOWN-CRIER
Our Opinion Pool Safety For Infants Requires Supervision And Preparation
As the summer season continues, we’ll see our share of weather-related hazards in South Florida. But if the current drought and fear of hurricanes weren’t enough to worry about, there’s our biggest concern of all — the safety of our children. Now that school is out for the season, kids have more time on their hands. Much of that time will be spent in the water, whether in backyard or community swimming pools or in the ocean. While this may not be a problem for older children and teenagers, the littlest of the little ones should never be left unsupervised near any body of water. But it’s not just full-size swimming pools that pose a threat; bathtubs and kiddie pools can be just as dangerous.
The recent high-profile drowning of a toddler in Loxahatchee has returned the issue to the community’s conscience. As maddening as such incidents can be, they are not so easily dismissed by blaming a lack of adult supervision. All it takes is a few moments for an accident to become deadly. Fortunately, it is possible to lower the chances of such a thing happening — even during those instances when you’re not around.
National programs such as Infant Swimming Resource — which is offered locally by certified instructor Deby Dahlgren — give infants the survival skills
Spinelli: My Health Has Been Improving
Editor’s Note: Due to miscommunication, inaccurate information about Principal Keely Spinelli’s health and current position with the Palm Beach County School District was included in the article
“Dr. Julie Hopkins Tapped For Permanent Post At Binks Forest” published last week. Mrs. Spinelli would like to stress that she was not placed on lighter duty but was laterally transferred as a principal
they need to stay afloat. Because infants are too young to learn how to swim, ISR instructors work on developing their instinctive habits for survival. The most crucial of these is learning how to roll over and float on one’s back, something that can mean the difference between life or death.
In addition to water survival skills, a number of products are available to prevent children from drowning accidentally, ranging from gates to keep them out of certain areas to toilet seat locks to safety nets that can be stretched over an entire swimming pool. Cheaper and perhaps most essential are simple precautions, such as ensuring that all potentially lethal objects are nowhere near a child. Of course, no amount of training or safety devices can substitute for a parent’s supervision. But it makes no sense to put all your eggs in one basket, especially when the stakes are so high. So the next time you take inventory of the potential hazards throughout your home, determine where it’s safe to let your young ones play — and what would happen should your child be left alone for a few minutes. Every second counts.
For more information about Infant Swimming Resource, visit www. infantswim.com.
Letters To The Editor
on special assignment, and that her cancer has been in remission since January and she is currently in good health. The following letter was sent home to parents at the end of the school year.
Dear Parents:
You have probably heard that I will not be returning as principal of Binks Forest Elementary School next year and that Dr. [Julie] Hopkins will continue in the position. I would like to help dispel or confirm rumors about my health and professional career.
TOWN-CRIER
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Serving The Palms West Communities For 27 Years Published Weekly By Newspaper Publishers, Inc.
12794 West Forest Hill Blvd., Suite 31 The Original Wellington Mall Wellington, Florida 33414
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JODY GORRAN Associate Publisher DAWN RIVERA General Manager
As of May 29, the decision to place me at the district office as “principal on assignment” for the K-12 initiative was not my decision, but one of county administrators.
My health has been continually progressing in a positive direction, and I’m feeling strong enough to return to work this summer. My hopes, of course, were to come back to the school and your precious children, who I have grown so fond of over the past five years. I want to express my sincere gratitude for your support, encouragement and prayers. You have been an essential part of the school’s success and my continued healing.
As I leave Binks Forest, I will forever carry in my heart your kind words, caring efforts and warm smiles. It has been a pleasure and an honor to serve as the principal of such a wonderful school.
for reserves, they passed the burden down to property owners and increased their local property taxes.
Many people may not realize that almost half of the property tax dollars we pay go to our local school board to fund K12 education. Funding our schools, according to our state constitution, is “the paramount duty of the state” and as such, we would expect that the state would fund them. Instead of meeting this challenge of funding our schools, the state has been shifting the burden down to local governments and has been forcing the increase in local property taxes. For example, eight years ago the State of Florida paid more than 60 percent of the total amount needed to fund local schools. But during that time, the state began slowly shifting the burden down to local school boards. Today, the state pays less than half (45 percent) and requires that the rest come from local property taxes. The net effect is that local property taxes go up to pay for schools.
shelters, stormwater holding ponds, to name just a few, have all escalated in their costs to build and operate. We all must recognize that cities must purchase expensive property insurance and expensive gas needed for fire trucks, garbage trucks and police cars. We are working hard, and are finding even more cost-effective ways to provide these needed services. In fact, most cities try to meet these rising costs without raising the state-designed property tax because it is so unfair. The past ten years show average annual growth of municipal spending was only 6.9 percent.
BARRY S. MANNING Publisher JOSHUA I. MANNING Executive Editor RON BUKLEY Managing Editor
I now look forward to seeing you and your children when I am out and about in the community. It was fate that joined our lives together, and I have confidence that fate will make our paths cross again in the future.
Thank you for being part of the miracle of my healing. You are a very special community.
JASON BUDJINSKI Community Editor MARK LIOI News Editor
WRITERS/ Denise Fleischman • Paul Gaba • Lisa Keeney Steve Pike • Carol Porter • Leonard Wechsler
Founded In 1980 By Bob Markey Sr. Copyright 2007, Newspaper Publishers Inc.
The publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising.
Keely Spinelli, Principal Binks Forest Elementary Wellington
League Of Cities: State Mandates Unfair To Cities
Prepare to be surprised. The state budget signed by the governor mandates that local property taxes go up, not down. Yes, property taxes were just increased by your state leaders. Yes, the same ones who are returning this month to Tallahassee for the sole purpose of lowering your property taxes just raised them.
In the freshly minted state budget there is a requirement that the local property taxes used to pay for schools are to be increased by 7.44 percent. In so doing, the state was able to avoid paying nearly $550 million for schools. Instead of finding that money in their own $71 billion budget, which is in addition to the $7 billion set aside
Said a different way, during the same eight-year period the state has increased its share by less than one percent but has required local property taxes to nearly double to make up the difference. Every legislator who voted for the state budget voted for this.
For the record, we understand and sympathize with the need to increase education funding. Costs of building schools, providing hurricane insurance, paying teachers, and even paying for the healthcare of school employees have all increased significantly. These are real costs to provide real services to real people. Great cities make for a great state, and you do not have great cities without great schools. You do not have great schools without proper funding.
But just like the school and state governments, city governments have also faced significant cost increases for the services we provide. Salaries and benefits for police and fire workers (even the new ones mandated by the state this year without funding), providing expanded water and sewer services, ambulances, homeless
The point is, we all support a fair property tax, and new homeowners and businesses really deserve relief, but how can state lawmakers mandate increases in local property taxes while at the same time issuing a clarion call for reductions? We would ask lawmakers: make the property tax fair, and if they want to cut revenues to cities, they should also cut out the things they require us to do and cut out all the things they require us to pay for with the local property tax.
That would be fair, and it would be sensible. It would also be surprising.
Michael Sittig Executive Director Florida League of Cities
Cut The Bureaucracy
You people sitting on your dais at county and town meetings should hang your heads in shame.
Always when there is a socalled tax cut for the general population, the pencil-pushing, paper-shoving dingbats hiding in their offices scream, “I cannot spend all the money I want… we will cut the ‘working class’ (i.e., threatening firefighters and cops). Ah yes, that will get the general population in an uproar. My employment depends upon keeping this place in debt.”
Go back to school and learn fiscal conservation! Why do we not cut the big wheels’ pay and eliminate some of those self-serving paper-shoving jobs… half of which are useless? Of course all “civil ser-
The Town-Crier welcomes letters to the editor. Please keep letters brief (300 words). Submit letters, with contact name, address, and telephone number (anonymously sent letters will not be published), to The TownCrier, 12794 W. Forest Hill Blvd., Suite 31, Wellington, FL 33414; fax them to 793-6090
Letters
continued from page 4A vants” can prove “my job is essential” — yikes, a grade schooler can do that.
It seems every year someone’s son/ daughter sneaks through college doing spring break credits, and what have they learned? “Daddy/Mommy, create employment for me... jobs are hard to come by.”
Methinks Wellington could be classed among the worst for urinating money down the tubes. I am waiting for the big raise in utilities... we are not using enough water, will have to jack the rates up... Then they will eliminate that water rationing... after all, utilities keep a city solvent.
I repeat, cut pay scale on the upper echelon. They are all overpaid (in my opinion) for what they produce — ah, there is a good word… just what do they produce, except more taxes?
Raymond Parsons Wellington
Enriquez: Lipp Acted Unprofessionally
Recently I submitted a letter to the editor titled “Keep It Rural… And Clean” in which I questioned the inability of the environmentalists who fought so hard
against the Callery-Judge project, which was evident by the arrest of two green shirt protestors on a building rooftop across the street from the commission chambers the day of the Callery-Judge meeting, to hold their community up to the same standard environmentally as they did Callery-Judge.
On the evening of Friday, June 1, I received a call at home from both Doreen Baxter and Loxahatchee Groves Councilman Dennis Lipp questioning my labeling of Mr. Lipp as an environmentalist in my aforementioned letter to the editor. My initial reaction was disbelief that I would be contacted at home and intimidated about expressing my views publicly, especially by an elected official. First, we live in a free country where tens of thousands of brave men and women have given up their lives for our right to free speech without the fear of persecution. In 1960, my parents fled Cuba for that very reason.
Secondly, Mr. Lipp’s assertion to me on the phone that, and I quote him, “are you in bed with Mr. [Robert] Trepp” was very insulting. Mr. Lipp, I have been very happily married to my wife for 19 years. Your insinuations were out of line and do not characterize the professional conduct of a public servant.
Carlos Enriquez, The Acreage
Drug Companies Continue Efforts To Sway Doctors
Footloose and...
By Jules W. Rabin
According to the highly prestigious Harvard Medical School, 94 percent of physicians have a “relationship” with drug company representatives. Revealed in the New England Journal of Medicine, the interactions range from receiving drug samples (78 percent) to getting free meals (83 percent) to expenses for attending industry-sponsored meetings (35 percent).
What does the extra layer of “compatibility” mean? Well, for example, a two-year investigation by the Senate Finance Committee concludes that the companies, by funding continual medical education programs for doctors, etc., have been able to “increase their market for new products” and illegally promote off-label uses for their drugs, thus most probably increasing government spending for Medicare and even raising safety issues.
A volatile comment by an AstraZeneca sales manager, which of course got
him fired, was one very hot item on the Internet. The zealous pitchman said forthrightly, “there’s a big bucket of money sitting in every [doctor’s] office… every time you go in, you reach your hand in the bucket and grab a handful.” Another study found that “reps scour a doctor’s office for objects — a tennis racquet, Russian novels, whatever, to establish personal ties.”
Finally, a break, if small, for the longsuffering consumer. After a couple of Congressional hearings, Citibank (others will probably follow) has dropped its heinous “Universal Default Penalty” on all of its credit cards. This little publicized clause allows card issuers to jump interest rates as much as 35 percent if a cardholder is late paying any other unrelated bill, such as a mortgage — even if the cardholder has never been late with a credit card payment. Most times Congress moves at a chelonian pace, but here government pressure paid off.
Teen Council Leaders Address Wellington Village Council
By Carol Porter Town-Crier Staff Report
The end of the school year also marks the end of the second term of Wellington’s Teen Council. Members of the council met with the Wellington Village Council Tuesday to look back on their accomplishments.
Teen Council Chair Christine Erie and Vice Chair Alyssa Ventriglio are now both high school graduates and leaving the council. They told village council mem-
bers they will recall with pride their efforts to shape the village-sponsored group.
“I wanted to become actively involved with the community, and the Teen Council gave me the opportunity,” Erie said. “The Teen Council has grown from five members to 50. We helped organize volunteers at various events, including the Wellington Rotary Club Peace Pole dedication, the Fall Festival, the Safety Fair, the Father/Daughter Dance, the Mother/Son Prom, Just an Egg Hunt, the
Fourth of July event, the concert series, and the 50+ Fun & Fit Games. I believe our work benefited the community. Everyone worked hard organizing fun events for people in Wellington as well as in other communities.”
Erie said serving on the council was a gratifying experience.
“I take pride in my position,” she said. “I am most grateful for the opportunity of representing my peers, and being their voice and making their ideas come to life. I have made friends and have met many leaders along the way. It has been a fun two years I will never forget.”
Ventriglio said she decided to sign up for the Teen Council when she heard about it at school, and took part in shaping the group and realizing its goals.
“We created the mission statement, created the structure of the Teen Council and the logistics,” Ventriglio said. “The best part was organizing the Mix [teen band concert] and volunteering for other events. I was able to be active and work with a diverse group and see my decisions in action.”
Ventrilgio told members of the village
council that her second year on the council broadened her perspective immensely. “The first year was a memorable one and so much fun,” she said. “The second year, I was voted in as vice chair. I can sympathize with all of you. My sense of responsibility changed when I became the vice chair. Taking care of others taught me how to speak up. Teen Council is one of the best ways to learn responsibility and caring for others.”
Members of the village council congratulated the Teen Council for their contribution to the community.
“It’s amazing to me how far you have come and how you have personally matured through the experience,” Councilwoman Laurie Cohen said. “As stated in your comments, it’s a fantastic experience. It’s important for people to know they can have an impact on the community, and to know there is a benefit to them in service, and in commitment and responsibility. I think this group has shown that. You will continue to be involved in your community and government. Thank you all for all you have done for this village.”
For The Record
In the article “Austere Budget Means Big Cuts In Wellington” published last week, Councilwoman Laurie Cohen’s comment regarding the use of village reserves should have included that her suggestion was to use the reserves only in the event of a catastrophic emergency such as a hurricane, not for normal funding. The TownCrier regrets any confusion this might have caused.
Alyssa Ventriglio and Christine Erie of the Wellington Teen Council.
Drug Arrests In Royal Palm; Residential Burglaries In Wellington
By Jason Budjinski Town-Crier Staff Report
JUNE 6 — A traffic stop in Royal Palm Beach last Wednesday turned into a drug bust after the driver was found to be in possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia. According to a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office report, a deputy from the RPB substation was heading southbound on Royal Palm Beach Blvd. at approximately 2:09 a.m. when he observed a vehicle traveling 26 mph over the posted speed limit. Upon making contact with the driver, 18-year-old Samantha Lord of RPB, the deputy detected a smell of alcohol and noticed that her eyes were glassy and bloodshot. After Lord refused a DUI test, the deputy gained consent to search her vehicle and found a glass pipe with marijuana resi-
CRIME NEWS CRIME NEWS
due and a plastic baggy containing 4.4 grams of marijuana. Lord was arrested and taken to the Palm Beach County Jail.
JUNE 6 — A Royal Palm Beach man was arrested last Wednesday after a PBSO deputy from the RPB substation observed him using cocaine in a parking lot on Okeechobee Blvd. According to the PBSO report, the deputy was on foot patrol behind a business, due to the area’s known history of drug activity, when he observed a black pickup truck occupied by a male and female. Because the windows were not tinted, the deputy could see inside. While walking by the truck, the deputy witnessed the male, 37-yearold Timothy Coombs, snorting cocaine above the center con-
sole. Upon making contact with Coombs, the deputy discovered a plastic baggy containing cocaine, which Coombs had thrown in the back of his pickup truck while outside the vehicle. Coombs attempted to flee the scene and resisted attempts to secure him, according to the report. He was arrested and charged with possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia, resisting arrest without violence and tampering with evidence.
JUNE 8 — The PBSO substation in Royal Palm Beach responded to two calls last Friday from residents of the Willows subdivision regarding vehicle burglaries. According to the first victim, who met with a PBSO deputy at approximately 7:30 a.m., at some time the previous night, unknown suspect(s) entered his unlocked work van and stole approximately $1,600
Crime Stoppers of Palm Beach County is asking for the public’s help in finding this wanted fugitive:
• Trevor Fischer is a white male, 6’ tall and weighing 170 lbs., with blond hair and blue eyes. His date of birth is 09/29/73. He has scars on his abdomen and right arm. Fischer is wanted for violation of probation on a conviction for vehicular grand theft. His occupation is cook. His last known address was Spinnaker Court in Wellington. Fischer is wanted as of 06/14/07.
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.
worth of various air conditioning tools. The suspect(s) also entered another unlocked vehicle, which was parked in the driveway, and removed a stereo, amplifier and speakers. According to the second victim, who lives next door to the first, unknown suspect(s) entered her two unlocked vehicles at some time during the previous night, rummaging through papers, which were found strewn throughout both vehicles. Nothing was taken, according to the PBSO report. There was no suspect information at the time of either report.
JUNE 11 — A deputy from the PBSO substation in Wellington was dispatched to the Dillard’s department store in the Mall at Wellington Green on
JUNE 13 — The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s assistance with identifying a suspect wanted for grand theft after robbing the Dillard’s department store at the PBSO
Monday regarding a strong-arm robbery. According to a PBSO report, at approximately 1:35 p.m., a Dillard’s security officer observed an unknown suspect take items from the men’s department and exit the store. When the officer approached the suspect, he pushed the officer and fled. The officer then caught up to the suspect, who responded by striking the officer in the chest and fleeing to his vehicle. The suspect is described as a white male approximately six feet tall and weighing approximately 250 pounds, according to the report.
JUNE 12 — A security officer from the Wal-Mart Supercenter on Belvedere Road called the PBSO substation in Royal
Seeks Suspect In Mall Robbery
Mall at Wellington Green on Wednesday. According to a PBSO report, at approximately 1:16 p.m. an unknown Hispanic male entered the store with a large black trash bag, bent down next to a table display of polo shirts and proceeded to fill the trash bag with the shirts. The suspect stole approximately 40 shirts, which were valued between $2,500 and $3,000 total. The suspect then fled the store to a vehicle waiting in the parking lot. The suspect appeared to be in his late 20s or early 30s.
Anyone who can identify the suspect is asked to contact Detective Suzanne Read at (561) 688-5425 or Crime Stoppers at (800) 458-TIPS.
Trevor Fischer
Equestrian Committee Postpones Vote On Commercial Stable Codes
By Carol Porter Town-Crier Staff Report
At a meeting Wednesday, Wellington Equestrian Committee members were cool to a proposal that would amend village code to create guidelines for commercial equestrian arenas.
The proposal, presented by Community Development Director Marty Hodgkins, is intended to give the village groundwork to review Stadium Jumping’s planned new arena in Section 34. Last month, Stadium Jumping submitted its plans for a new arena on 179 acres within a larger southern Wellington development called the Wellington Preserve.
The text amendments would create a new section in the village’s Land Development Regulations that outline the requirements for commercial arenas and eliminate the need for special use permits each year for the Winter Equestrian Festival. The amendments would also address arena sizes, location, compatibility with the surrounding community, vehicular access, parking, exterior lighting, manure management and setbacks.
But the Equestrian Committee, wary of consequences either intended or unintended, voted unanimously to table the amendments until next month, holding a workshop in the meantime with members of the equestrian community.
Hodgkins said the zoning text amendment had been designed by staff to give the village tools to establish this type of use in Wellington in place of a special-use permit, which is laborious.
“Every year, we issue a special-use permit that runs into numerous pages for the Winter Equestrian Festival,” Hodgkins said. “We have fairly extensive experience with the special-use permit. Many items in the proposed draft ordinance address items that are identified or have occurred continuously or occasionally over the past few years. To a certain extent, some of the requirements in the proposed draft are nothing more than reminders about current code requirements we have.”
During public comment, David Burton Sr. of Littlewood Farms said it appeared to be a way for a business like Stadium Jumping to fast-track a new facility instead of going through
Blotter
continued from page 6A Palm Beach Tuesday regarding a shoplifter. Upon arrival at approximately 1:10 p.m., a PBSO deputy met with the officer, who said he witnessed 48-year-old Louis Simeone of West Palm Beach and 38-year-old Dale Hofmeister take items from the store, place them in a bag and use an old receipt to get a $62.53 cash refund at the service desk, according to the PBSO report. At that time, the security officer apprehended the pair. They were arrested and taken to the county jail.
JUNE 13 — A deputy from the PBSO substation in Wellington was dispatched Wednesday to a home on Sawgrass Court regarding a residential burglary. According to the PBSO report,
the process he had been going through for the last few years. Burton also asserted that some of the ordinance’s wording is harmful to the equestrian industry, such as a provision that tents not be allowed. Burton suggested that a change in the comprehensive plan would be a better way to address what is going on, rather than the proposed zoning text amendment, which he felt would bypass much of the public commentary and input.
“A lot of people commented on my application when it came before you all, and it came to the council,” Burton said. “This is bypassing all that. It’s also three or four times the size of my facility. The public has a right to know. Some of the things in this regulation are also harmful to the equestrian industry. It’s not economically sound for a short period of time to have all permanent facilities and no temporary facilities be allowed.”
Cynthia Gardner, former chair of the committee, said she was concerned about the apparent need to develop new layers of land-use regulations for something already in place.
“Let’s have a workshop and a public forum to address some of the things people want to see, and things that people think are problems,” Gardner said.
Palm Beach Polo consultant Mike Nelson agreed that the proposed ordinance should be aired in a public forum, and said the proposed ordinance had come upon the scene awfully quickly.
Nelson also expressed concerns about the ordinance’s impact on Flying Cow Road, which he noted is owned by the county and the Village of Wellington has long fought to prevent the road being used as a cut-through.
Nelson added that the equestrians had also fought to prevent Lake Worth Road from going through. “The more improvements we do in the Equestrian Preserve Area,” Nelson said, “the better shot the county will have to make a run through Wellington.”
Hodgkins said the language for the zoning text amendment would have to go through the Equestrian Committee and the Planning, Zoning & Adjustment Board before council review. He said any new project that comes under review would have to
at some time between 2:45 and 6:30 p.m., unknown suspect(s) entered the unlocked garage and removed a ten-inch table saw and stand, which was valued at approximately $550.
JUNE 13 — A resident of Palm Beach Polo & Country Club called the PBSO substation in Wellington on Wednesday regarding a vehicle burglary. According to a PBSO report, at some time between 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday and 6 a.m. the following morning unknown suspect(s) broke the right rear window of her vehicle and stole a Compaq laptop computer, an iPod and its connecting cord, valued at approximately $1,370 in total.
JUNE 13 — A deputy from the PBSO substation in Wellington responded on Wednesday to
‘When I first read it, I felt no negative feelings. But when I put it into context of what else is happening, I feel the equestrian community is under siege.’
— Robert Howe
meet the Village of Wellington’s comprehensive plan requirements.
Equestrian Committee Member Robert Howe said after recent attempts to remove portions of land from the equestrian overlay, the amendments seem to be one more barrage to compromise the district.
“When I first read it,” Howe said, “I felt no negative feelings, but when I put it into context of what else is happening, I feel the equestrian community is under siege. I support the suggestion of having a workshop that involves the people most concerned with it.”
Committee Member Brad Scherer also said he was worried the ordinance would move forward without the equestrians in the community being able to have comments on it. He also supported a workshop. Scherer wanted to know if there was an accelerated push to move the ordinance along without the feedback from the people that it impacted the most, the community’s equestrians. He also wanted a deed restriction placed on the property.
Scherer said he was concerned that the ordinance would give people the go-ahead to pull 50 acres of land together and build commercial arenas all over the place.
Agreeing with the others, Committee Chairman Michael Whitlow said he was not ready to approve the ordinance that evening.
“I would like to look this over carefully,” Whitlow said. “I just got it a couple of days ago. I’m not ready to jump on the bandwagon and say it’s great. I need to study it and understand it a lot more.”
Committee Member Don Dufresne initially made a motion to deny the ordinance, but then changed it to a motion to table it to next month, which was seconded by Committee Member Mary Martin. It passed unanimously.
a home on Golf Brook Drive in reference to a grand theft. According to the PBSO report, at some time between 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday and 10 a.m. on Wednesday, a Cannondale 21speed bicycle was stolen from the sidewalk near the front door of the residence. The victim described the bike as royal blue and valued at approximately $1,200. There were no suspects at the time of the report.
JUNE 13 — A resident of Old Country Road called the PBSO substation in Wellington on Wednesday regarding a residential burglary. According to the report, at some time between 1:30 and 11 a.m., unknown suspect(s) entered a bedroom window and stole two laptop computers, a cell phone and two credit cards.
Amateur Radio Club To Host Emergency Preparation Event
On Saturday, June 23 and Sunday, June 24, the Palms West Amateur Radio Club will host the American Radio Relay League’s Field Day behind the Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue station on Okeechobee Blvd. near D Road in Loxahatchee Groves. The purpose of the event is for ham radio operators to experience emergency situations. The club will have a station set up for anyone to go live on air and make contacts with other locations across the United States and Canada. This emergency test of radio operators and their equipment can become invaluable in the case of disaster situations. Call PWARC President Rob Pease at (561) 358-9999 for more info.
Alzheimer’s Awareness Event Saturday In WPB
The Alzheimer’s awareness event “Let’s Take a Stand Against Alzheimer’s Disease” will take place Saturday, June 16 at the ElderCare Resource Center (801 Village Blvd., Suite 303, West Palm Beach). This event is the first of its kind and will not only help raise awareness of the disease, but will give the community the opportunity to stand up for the patients who live with Alzheimer’s. At 10:10 a.m., the group will join thousands of other across the nation as they stand silently, arm in arm, to symbolize the quiet that envelops individuals living with the disease. Light refreshments will be served immediately following the event. For more information, call (561) 471-3122 or email eldercareresources@msn.com.
Sport Horse Auction Scheduled For 2008 At The Ridge Farm
Nona Garson and George D’Ambrosio recently announced that the fifth annual Intercontinental Sport Horse Auction will be held on Feb. 22, 2008. The auction will be held at Garson’s Ridge Farm, which is located in Wellington’s Palm Beach Point. Held during the height of the winter show season, the sale is like none other in the United States. Garson, an Olympic veteran, travels to Europe each year and handpicks each horse that will be offered at the auction.
In addition, each prospect has a complete set of pre-purchase X-rays taken no more than three months before the auction and a full set of graded flexions no more than ten days before the auction. The auction veterinarian in past years has been USET vet Dr. Brendan Furlong.
Last winter, Garson offered about 30 horses for sale and estimated that she will bring in a similar number in 2008. Aside from importing horses, she also accepts several prospects from the U.S. and Canada, and some consignment horses. Horses can be tried or viewed by appointment.
For more information, visit www.interconsporthorse.com or call the Ridge Farm at (732) 681-4379.
Wellington Council Recognizes Young Art Contest Winners
By Carol Porter Town-Crier Staff Report
Hundreds of youngsters participated in a recent art competition celebrating National Garden Week in the Village of Wellington ( see related story, page 38A ).
The competition was a result of a proclamation on May 22 when the Wellington Village Council designated the week of June 3 through June 9 as National Garden Week in the Village of Wellington. Four artist members of the Wellington Art Society reviewed over 300 contest entries and selected first, second and third place winners for each grade. All winning entries were displayed at the Wellington Community Center during National Garden Week.
The winning entries were done by Frances Herman, Alexa McAvoy, Nisuka Williams, Breanna White, Brandon Schloss, Lucas Zavalia, Morgan Wilson, George Valderrama and Alexis Williams.
Water Surcharge Idea
Postponed
continued from page 1A
terized the proposal as “overkill.”
“We need to educate people and try to get them to reduce their usage,” Cohen said. “People are struggling anyway with trying to make ends meet. People are looking for lower taxes and lower insurance, and all the things we have been talking about. To add this additional penalty is a little too much. I don’t think it’s necessary.”
Councilman Dr. Carmine Priore said that while he agreed with much of what Cohen said, he still felt there should be some penalty for heavy users. He
stressed that residents should fully understand the importance water as a scarce natural resource and be more mindful of the amount they use.
“It’s a serious issue,” Priore said. “We need to come up with a solution. Otherwise, it’s assumed we are looking the other way and not doing anything.”
Councilwoman Lizbeth Benacquisto asked whether the surcharges were substantial enough to make an impact. “My concern is that you are being penalized $4 or $3 a month — is it enough to change a household?” she asked.
Benacquisto said she expects water restrictions to become a permanent facet of life in Florida and that the village should take a proactive stance on water
use, including education. She suggested a closer examination of usage figures, the 8,000-gallon benchmark, and the possibility of applying surcharges only during heavier restrictions, with a wider range of options ready for consideration at the council’s next meeting June 26.
Village Manager Charlie Lynn added that he had a memo from Vice Mayor Bob Margolis, who could not attend the meeting but opposed the resolution because the surcharges were not high enough.
Benacquisto made a motion for the item to come back to the council on June 26, with the concerns raised by council addressed and some additional options. Priore seconded the motion, which passed 3-1 with Cohen opposed.
Winning artist five-year-old Morgan Wilson shows her drawing.
Council members salute winning artists in the Wellington Garden Club contest.
Wellington Council Agrees To Move Forward On Senior Housing
By Carol Porter Town-Crier Staff Report
The Wellington Village Council voted Tuesday to study the potential of developing affordable senior housing on a village-owned parcel on Lyons Road.
The council first voiced support for donating land for an affordable senior housing project in 2005, and the Senior Citizen Task Force it created the same year identified such housing as one of the strongest needs for local seniors. A resolution approved by the council Tuesday identifies the village’s 15-acre Village Walk Civic Site as the potential location for such a development.
Wellington resident Tony Fransetta, president of the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans, reminded the council that affordable housing received more votes as a top priority than any other item in a survey of Wellington seniors.
“A priority mission should be to assist Wellington seniors to achieve their goal to age in place for as long as it is socially and medically possible through affordable community-based options,” Fransetta said. “We believe there is a need to review current public policies and programs to ensure that they focus on the present and future needs of elder seniors seeking self-sufficiency.”
The resolution requests a re-
port analyzing the required land-use and zoning changes, the definition of “affordable housing,” recommend the type, density and quality of the housing, details on costs and funding services and the level of financial commitment the village would be asked to make.
Fransetta also urged the council to develop policies that would help both older and younger homebuyers.
“While not a part of this proposal,” Fransetta said, “we believe there is also an opportunity to develop intergenerational housing policies that promote incentives and programs to encourage older homeowners to sell their existing homes to younger working families and to promote the development of suitable and affordable senior condos within Wellington for Wellington seniors who need or wish to downsize and remain in Wellington with their friends and family.”
Although the resolution originally specified the creation of a task force to complete the report, council members directed staff to complete the work with public input in order to speed up the process.
“I just want to say that the council has previously expressed a commitment to consider this parcel as a possible use for senior affordable housing,” Councilwoman Laurie Cohen said. “A task force, while having some benefit, would slow down the process. I would like to see staff put
together a package, and we would consider it based on that with input from people in the community.”
Councilwoman Lizbeth Benacquisto concurred. “I would agree with this,” she said. “There is an incredible amount of work that goes into it because of the multiple millions of dollars we are talking about. We will have the input of our seniors and we welcome that.”
Councilman Dr. Carmine Priore said he supported the resolution and looked forward to village staff members further exploring the issue. “I would like to see staff sit down with engineering and planning and zoning staff to analyze the subtler points and attack it,” he said. “We need to address the most critical issues that would make it happen first.”
Cohen made a motion to accept the resolution with the concerns raised by council, which was seconded by Benacquisto. It passed unanimously.
The council also gave the nod Tuesday to a future review of an ordinance allowing “bullpen” or tightly stacked parking in conjunction with valet services.
Village Manager Charlie Lynn explained that the zoning text amendment was requested by the owners of the Tavern on the Green restaurant to alleviate problems they face in creating a site plan that provides all required parking on their property. The ordi-
nance would be applicable village-wide, he said, and would potentially apply to all valet parking situations.
Current Wellington parking regulations mandate a specific number of parking spaces based upon the specific type and size of use. The amendment does not change the number of parking spaces required, but will allow two or three vehicles to be parked in a single space in an area designated for valet parking. The amendment would also allow off-site valet parking to be located up to 2,000 feet from the use for which the parking is provided.
The resulting change would allow Tavern on the Green to park all vehicles within the current site of the club, alleviating problems now resulting from use of the parking lot across Equestrian Club Road.
While council members said they had no issue with letting the proposed amendment make its way through the review process, Cohen said she didn’t want to encourage applicants to feel out the council’s support before undergoing review.
“We had a lengthy discussion about this yesterday,” Cohen said. “This was presented to us to get our feeling on whether we would consider it. Some of us were uncomfortable with the process. When things like are presented to us, they are presented to us in the form of an ordinance, and they go through the [De-
‘A priority mission should be to assist Wellington seniors to achieve their goal to age in place for as long as it is socially and medically possible through affordable community-based options.’
— Tony Fransettta
velopment Review Committee] and the [advisory] committees. I don’t want to get into the habit of having applicants take our temperature, whether we are in favor of something or against something.”
Community Services Director Paul Schofield told the Town-Crier the ordinance should be ready for review by the village’s Planning, Zoning & Adjustment Board sometime in August or September, and then by the council in October.
“It’s a significant departure from our current ordinance,” Schofield said Wednesday. “We wanted to make the council aware of it, and we got the direction from them that I needed. We can go back and create an ordinance that planning staff can live with and go through the process. We will take it and write the ordinance with all the details in it, and council will see it in a hundred days or so.”
795-1404
Town’s First Budget Takes Shape
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report
Members of the Loxahatchee Groves Town Council got their first look Tuesday at a first-year budget of about $1.23 million to get the fledgling municipality running.
About $500,000 of the budget will be raised through ad valorem property taxes at a preliminary rate of 1.5 mills. At that tax rate, a Loxahatchee Groves property owner with a home assessed at $300,000 with a $25,000 homestead exemption would pay $412.50 in property taxes to the town next year.
Atlantis City Manager Mo Thornton, an Acreage resident, prepared the budget on a volunteer basis. She, council members and newly appointed Interim Town Manager Irv Rosenbaum of New Community Strategies acknowledged that some of the figures are tentative because there is no precedent budget to draw from.
The biggest guess was $500,000 for law enforcement services from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. Councilman Dave Autrey said he had spoken with PBSO Major Mike Veccia, who handles municipal contracts, and said the figure would be closer to $240,000 annually if the department works out of district offices.
“I asked him if he would come out and say this to us and he said ‘yes, absolutely,’” Autrey said, adding that Veccia told him the PBSO understands that Loxahatchee Groves is a new municipality and money is tight.
Autrey, however, suggested retaining the $500,000 figure in the budget. “Until we have him actually walk in the room and say it, we should stick with this,” he said.
In addition to $500,000 anticipated revenue from ad valorem taxes, Thornton’s budget projects $135,000 in franchise fees from Florida Power & Light, $168,000 in communication tax money, $50,000 in business tax receipts, and $235,000 in sales tax revenues. An estimated $70,000 in gas tax reve-
nues will go directly to the Loxahatchee Groves Water Control District for road maintenance.
Council members also discussed re-establishing a public service tax, which was previously on residents’ utility bills but was removed when the town incorporated. “It’s something the people have been accustomed to paying,” Mayor Dave Browning said.
The budget allots $100,000 for office salaries or personnel contracts, while code enforcement was budgeted at $50,000, which drew some discussion. Thornton recommended professional code officials rather than volunteers, and Rosenbaum said New Community Strategies could locate some recently retired code enforcement officials who could work part-time.
Thornton said the code enforcement board in Atlantis meets once a month. Interim Town Attorney David Tolces said an attorney either consulting a code enforcement board or acting as a special magistrate would cost about $150 an hour.
Autrey said conversations with knowledgeable residents convinced him code enforcement might be done effectively by a property management company, but favored an interlocal agreement with the county in the near term.
Tolces said the number of code complaints to his office had gone down after a high number of calls about irrigation violations and a complaint about a resident who raises birds.
Other expenditures in the budget include $10,000 for insurance, $7,200 for rent, $2,000 for communications, $5,000 for postage, $10,000 for advertising, $2,800 for operating supplies and $10,000 for capital outlay, including $5,000 for software licenses.
The town plans to send out three newsletters per year. Rosenbaum said the first newsletter would be critical, having essential numbers, and people would be most likely to keep it for future reference.
Thornton said advertising will vary depending on the number
of legal notices and whether they are zoning ads requiring a quarter page in a broadsheet newspaper. Councilman Dr. Bill Louda asked if the expense of zoning ads could be passed on to the developer, but Thornton said the town would have to advertise for its comprehensive plan and related items, adding that those expenses will go down after the first year or two.
The $7,200 for rent is for the town’s recently acquired office in the Palms West Plaza on Southern Blvd. next to Farm Bureau Insurance.
Legal fees of $130,000, the second highest expense behind law enforcement, also drew some discussion. Tolces said it was anticipated the legal fees would go down with the level of involvement following the initial setup of government.
The budget includes $100,000 for the formulation of the comprehensive plan, which council members said will probably cost about the same in the second year of the project.
Autrey noted that Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council officials told him they could do the comp plan for about $250,000. Autrey said the advantage is that Treasure Coast is also one of the regulatory agencies and would help with the visioning.
“They also thought CalleryJudge was a good idea,” Louda said.
“Did they?” Thornton asked. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
Rosenbaum suggested keeping the comp plan budget at $100,000 but to keep in mind there will be a lot of correspondence and a lot of meetings. “It could go up,” he said.
Thornton put in $50,000 for other professional services including studies on water quality. Louda noted that water quality standards are expected to become more stringent in the next five to ten years.
As part of the truth in millage law, the town must set the preliminary millage rate in July, after which it can lower the rate but not raise it. Final adoption of the budget will be in September.
National Hurricane Center Director Visits With SFWMD
By Carol Porter Town-Crier Staff Report
South Florida Water Management District employees got a chance to meet new National Hurricane Center Director Bill Proenza last Friday. Proenza replaced the Miami-based center’s longtime director Max Mayfield, who retired in January.
In her introduction, SFWMD Executive Director Carole Ann Wehle said Proenza rose through the ranks of the National Weather Service after graduating with a meteorology degree from Florida State University. His most recent assignment was as director of the NWS’s Southern Region, the nation’s most active severe weather region, including New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and eastward all the way to Florida.
“Through his experience in the southern and eastern portions of the United States, Bill has gained a unique familiarity with many different types of weather, from tropical to intense winter weather and severe local storms,” Wehle said. “He is extremely well qualified for his position.”
Proenza said he wanted to visit the SFWMD to get a better picture of what the district does and its relationship to other agencies in order to improve the overall emergency management partnership. “I was born in New York and raised in Florida,” Proenza said, “and indeed we are an interesting nation. We are a vulnerable nation when it comes to severe weather. We have certainly always appreciated how we can be more resilient as a people. As a part of the National Weather Service, and a part of the great partnership we have with the South Florida Water Management District and all the emergency management organizations across the nation, we need them to get the latest information and have the partnership in place.”
As a peninsula extending into the ocean, Proenza said, Florida is very vulnerable. “There is no question about it,” he said. “We are in the path of these hurricanes and tropical storms, and yet we are looking at a state that has been very resilient. The state has had a tremendous history of tropical storms and hurricanes, but at the same time, it has a growing population as well.”
Proenza said the United States is entering a more active cycle of hurricanes and tropical storms after quieter times of the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s. He said conditions such as lower-than-normal sea surface temperatures suggest the 2007 season will indeed be very active, and that the El Niño weather pattern, which suppresses storm formation and made the 2006 season an anomaly, is no longer present. “We don’t have El Niño,” Proenza said. “We are looking to 13 to 17 named storms. This is an outlook. It isn’t a forecast. It stresses the capabilities of the science. It looks at the energy factors in the atmosphere plus the circulation patterns to give us an estimate of how active a season we will have. It doesn’t tell us where the storms are making landfall.”
Proenza said increasing numbers of Floridians live near the coast, which presents many challenges. Across the nation, 53 percent of the population lives within 50 miles of the coastline, many with no experience dealing with hurricanes and tropical storms.
Before 1996, the cost of hurricane impacts was four to five billion dollars annually, and it now averages $19 billion a year. Even the main event of the 2006 storm season, the short-lived Hurricane Ernesto, proved economically damaging.
“It was a hurricane southwest of Hispaniola,” Proenza said. “It was affected by the mountains of southwest Haiti. It went across the eastern portions of Cuba,
which had a lot of land in the area, and also hills, and into most of Florida. As it moved northward, it never regained its strength. It caused some rains in the North Carolina area, and the storm’s total impact was $500 million.”
Proenza said the branch offices of the National Weather Service, including the National Hurricane Center, do the best they can to track storms with the technology and tools at their disposal. He noted that gathering early and accurate data from the far-off birthing areas of tropical storms and hurricanes is crucial in order to issue the proper warnings.
The National Hurricane Center relies on NASA’s QuikScat satellite, which gathers comprehensive data on surfacelevel wind direction and speed. QuikScat was launched in 1999, has outlived its intended life and is experiencing problems. Proenza said getting a replacement launched is one of his top concerns, because failure of the satellite would impair the ability of meteorologists to issue accurate warnings and forecasts.
“I am very optimistic,” Proenza said.
“There are a lot of forces across the nation realizing that this is important and vital to us. We are working on a replacement. It’s a priority, and it has arisen as one of the nation’s needs.”
Proenza said greater accuracy is needed in predicting a storm’s path and gauging its intensity in order to issue better and earlier reports and evacuation orders.
“We need to have a better awareness of what the intensity of the storm is, and a better capacity of forecasting it three to four days out,” Proenza said. “We need to get more accurate about forecasting our intensity. In addition to that, science and technology has to be brought in. We need to maximize what is out there. After all, we’re dealing with an event in this nation that’s increasing its cost and impact to the nation. And in spite of us being in the 21st century, we still have episodes like Katrina, which have a tremendous impact and a tragic impact on the nation and show how vulnerable we still are.”
For more info., visit www.nws. noaa.gov.
Bill Proenza, the National Hurricane Center’s new director.
Shoppes PZA Still Dislikes Project
continued from page 1A wouldn’t meet the needs of Wellington seniors. He said that the proposal they were offering would allow the village a much greater opportunity for oversight.
“If you were to move this application to council and then to the [Florida] Department of Community Affairs,” Malefatto said, “we would come back in for a rezoning and master plan approval. There would be a lot of public input, and a lot of input from this board. If we were to go to a use-by-right approval, we would have to meet routine setbacks and that would be it. Assisted-living facilities don’t generate much traffic at all. I clearly think our plan, which would have a lot more oversight by the village, would be the preferred plan. It also would serve the needs of the seniors.”
Malefatto dismissed claims that removing the parcel from the EPA would set a dangerous precedent, and asserted that the ongoing conflicts between various factions of the equestrian industry pose a far greater threat.
“We are talking about removing eight acres from the overall preserve,” Malefatto said.
“There has been a lot of talk that this will threaten it. It won’t. It’s 7.8 acres on the edge with commercial zoning across the street. If anything is threatening the Equestrian Preserve Area, it’s
the infighting, not removing less than eight acres.”
Sunrise Senior Living has proposed to construct the senior living facility, and the company’s vice president Rocky Goins appealed to the board to approve the project.
“There is a huge need here,” Goins said. “This community has two hospitals, and we don’t have an assisted-living facility. Everyone is concerned about affordability. We have been looking for three years for a site in the western communities.”
During board comments, Vice Chair Steve Delai said that he was concerned about removing the land from the Equestrian Preserve Area, especially in light of the fact that the village had taken great care to codify and protect an equestrian area within the community.
Delai said he was concerned about a “domino effect” if the board granted the approval and someone came in with another application and asked for a similar use. Delai said he didn’t want a piecemeal process and that the EPA should be considered as a whole.
Delai also said that a meeting between the PZA board and the village council on the future of the EPA had not yet taken place, and he was hesitant to remove any part of it until hearing more about the council’s vision for the area.
“We have asked for the PZA Board to meet with council about what they want to see in the EPA and give us direction,” Delai said.
During public comments, Aero Club resident Janixx Parisi
said she opposed the proposal and asked the board to consider her own neighborhood as an example. Parisi said that when she bought her home, her homeowners’ association indicated that she needed to retain space for an airplane hangar.
“If I don’t follow the rules and save room for my hangar,” she said, “the neighbors would do the same thing. The entrance would become adulterated. It would no longer have the promise of being an aviation community. The entrance of the Equestrian Preserve Area is the beginning for a reason. If you chip away at the entrance, the next one can be chipped away. You can’t unring the bell.”
But Lakefield West resident Sam Nebb said he supported the proposal because the senior facility would complement medical offices already approved for properties along South Shore Blvd. While the seniors need living space, he said, the stadium presents only a liability.
“At this time, it’s an actual liability to the community, and it’s an eyesore,” Nebb said. “It’s a no-brainer. They would complement the medical facilities and create a sizeable tax revenue for Wellington. Last year, a survey was sent to Wellington seniors, and they said an assisted-living facility would be among the things needed to create a community for a lifetime. The equestrian community has parents and grandparents who say they may benefit. Nobody benefits from an empty eyesore of a polo stadium.”
Many equestrians spoke
against the project. Former Equestrian Committee chair Cynthia Gardner said the need to justify the land use-change had not been demonstrated, and the project’s representatives were short on specifics about the senior living facility.
“We have been hearing about the Hospitality Shoppes and the assisted-living facility for a year,” Gardner said. “They base their presentation on something they say we need, and it’s something so wonderful. But they can’t say how much it would cost or if it would be affordable to the seniors who live here.”
Wellington seniors advocate Sandy White said her husband had recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and that she would need an option other than the home where she currently lives. “It’s only a matter of time before we have to go to an assisted-living facility,” White said. “All our friends are here. My church has good support for me if I stay here. Where can I find an assisted-living facility in Wellington?”
Michael Whitlow, chairman of the Wellington Equestrian Committee, noted that his committee did not support the project. “The Equestrian Preserve is the only thing that makes Wellington different from any other bedroom community,” Whitlow said. “I want to emphasize the word preserve. This is only eight acres. There is only eight acres next to it. That is how you lose it. The equestrian industry is what makes this community special.”
Board members voiced
doubts about removing the land from the EPA. Board Member Eugene DiFonte added that he also had concerns about access to the senior facility and its location.
“I don’t think this is a very good location for an assistedliving facility,” DiFonte said. “You talk about visibility, yet you put it way back. It’s not very visible. I don’t see a lot of merits. I think it’s troublesome to the community. I also think it will set a bad precedent if we include this.”
Board Member Howard Sohn said he was concerned that the project representatives could not offer any firm numbers about pricing, and was also concerned about adding more commercial and office space to a community he felt is overloaded. He also noted that twice the board had reviewed the application during the equestrians’ off-season. “I am concerned we heard this proposal back in October, before they came into town,” Sohn said, “and in June, they are not in town.”
Delai said he assumed the applicant had bought the property knowing the restrictions associated with it, and called it a bad business decision. A municipality, he said, should not have to bail a developer or anyone else out of a bad business decision.
“I won’t support it,” Delai said. “It has not changed in the three times I have heard it. It’s not good public policy.”
DiFonte made a motion to deny the proposal, which was seconded by Sohn. It passed unanimously.
•
ITID Board Votes To Close 91st Place-Northlake Connection
By Leonard Wechsler Town-Crier Staff Report
The Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors voted June 6 to close off the connection of 91st Place North to Seminole Pratt Whitney Road and provide access to the affected block from the west.
The board decided to study closing the connection after hearing county plans last month to improve the intersection and realign Northlake Blvd. with 91st Place North, which runs west from Seminole Pratt.
A culvert would cross a small canal to allow residents to ac-
cess Murcott and Banyan boulevards. The district contacted the 12 affected property owners and received ten acknowledgements. Six owners spoke at a May 30 workshop, three in favor of closing, and three against.
Residents providing comments to the board last week spoke in favor of closing the road, and ITID Vice President Mike Erickson said that opposition had come mainly from the owners of properties along Seminole Pratt Whitney Road seeking land-use designation changes, one to build an urgent care clinic and one to build a com-
mercial center. Erickson said he opposed commercialization.
Supervisor Ralph Bair said the Acreage Neighborhood Plan created by the Acreage Landowners’ Association prohibits any commercial development on property smaller than ten acres and that neither owner had nearly that much land. He said surrounding properties are all residential areas.
Supervisor Sandra Love Semande asked who would pay for the cost of the culvert, and District Administrator Bob Mearns said county representatives had agreed to do that.
In other business:
• The district is moving for-
ward with plans for a skateboarding/inline skating area at Acreage Community Park, most likely at the north end of the park. Mearns told the board that he had located more than the $30,000 in the budget the supervisors had requested last month, which would be useful since the necessary equipment would be somewhat more expensive. He offered a rough estimate of $42,000, which he said the budget could cover. The board directed him to get a precise figure and move forward immediately with plans for the project. A final vote on building the project is scheduled for the board’s July 11 meeting.
• The board voted unanimously to create a position for a district planner. Erickson, who made the motion to create the job, said the district has an increasing number of projects, many of which require much time of the district’s engineer and attorney. He said a planner could save money by handling some of that work, as well as helping improve the road and drainage systems. Mearns said the district has enough money to fund the position immediately instead of waiting until the next fiscal year.
• The board voted unanimously to seek intervenor sta-
See ITID, page 15A
LGWCD Budget: Pact With Town Avoids Assessment Hike
By Carol Porter Town-Crier Staff Report
Anticipating the receipt of gas tax revenues from the Town of Loxahatchee Groves, the Loxahatchee Groves Water Control District Board of Supervisors approved a budget for fiscal year 2008 Monday with no increase in assessments.
The board also approved a revised interlocal agreement with the town governing the funding of road work, wherein the town agrees to include the districtowned roads in calculating its share of gas tax revenues and promises to hand the money to the district.
The district’s FY 2008 budget anticipates total expenditures of $1.2 million, a drop of 20.5 percent from the previous year.
Operating expenses total about $632,000, a 36.1-percent reduction from the previous year.
LGWCD Administrator Clete Saunier told the board he had previously recommended a peracre assessment increase of $6.70 to fund the district’s D Road Canal maintenance program and other activities, but with $77,000 in anticipated gas tax revenues for 2008, the assessment rate could remain at the current $137.95 per acre.
LGWCD Chairman David DeMarois asked what would happen if for some reason the town and the district do not receive the gas tax revenue. Saunier said he would have to adjust his budget accordingly, and that he would not begin any survey work until the money is at his disposal.
Marcella Blvd. resident Frank Schiola expressed worries that the Palm Beach County League of Cities would oppose the district’s interlocal agreement with the town. “I know the town and the district have agreed on the interlocal agreement,” Schiola said, “but I believe we are still waiting on the League of Cities to act on this. Is there a possibility that the league may decide this may not happen or it may not be legal, so you would not get the money?”
Saunier explained that regardless of whether the league accepts the interlocal agreement, the town will receive its revenue for 2008 calculated only on population, and a greater portion the following year.
“There are two different divisions,” Saunier said. “There
is one for population and one for lane miles. During the first year of incorporation, they will receive only the population portion. The lane miles will be for fiscal year 2009.”
Supervisor Ron Jarriel said he had approached County Commissioner Jess Santamaria to help out in case the money falls through. Schiola asked if the district could also approach Santamaria about discretionary funding, and DeMarois said Santamaria would be contacted in the near future to discuss that issue.
The supervisors congratulated members of the town council and each other for their cooperative stance. “I think we are starting out on the right foot,” Jarriel said. “It will continue to get better than that. The two
entities will make the town work and save the people money. I’m glad the interlocal went faster than what I expected.”
LGWCD Vice Chair Don Widing made a motion to approve the budget and the per-acre assessment rate of $137.95, which was seconded by Supervisor John Ryan. It passed unanimously.
During supervisor comments, Supervisor Robert Snowball said he wanted to see further discussion about use of calcium chloride, which suppresses dust on the roads. He also said he wanted to see some data reflecting the county-funded improvements to F Road, including resurfacing with open graded emulsified mix or OGEM.
“This year we can coast and
See LGWCD, page 31A
Chamber Property Tax Reform Bill
continued from page 2A solution on somebody else’s back rather than doing their own hard work.”
Assistant County Administrator Brad Merriman noted that the county and its municipalities don’t know what will emerge from the special session and so cannot factor it into the budgets they are currently planning.
“The county commission is looking at various budget-cut scenarios,” Merriman said.
“We’re looking at cuts from this year’s budget from $60 million to $100 million off the govern-
ment’s operating budgets. There are so many arguments as to why it’s a bad idea, starting with the inherent unfairness of superimposing a one-size-fits-all reduction on all 67 counties and over 400 municipalities. Palm Beach County is the only county that enjoys a triple-A bond rating. They don’t just give those rankings away.”
Merriman also said the reforms suggested by the legislators would affect decisions already made by county taxpayers for years to come.
“The other unfairness of it is that it completely removes the local officials’ and the county’s ability to make decisions themselves,” Merriman said. “A cou-
ple of years ago, we put to the voters the idea of new libraries, new parks, improved parks and environmentally sensitive lands. The bond issue and the ballot questions were overwhelmingly approved. What this does is removes the ability to complete many of those projects. Many of the reductions will come out of the capital programs and improvements to the infrastructure of the community. These are things that the voters have asked for. Does anyone think that the Board of County Commissioners, if we had known that there would be reductions or property tax caps, would have funded Scripps to the level they did? Probably not.”
Monday’s chamber luncheon was sponsored by Citibank. The bank’s Community Relations Director Barbara Romani told members that Citibank is increasing its presence in the western communities, most recently with the opening of a new branch near the Mall at Wellington Green. “We are proud of our newest branch which opened in March, and we are getting anxious in anticipation of opening our Royal Palm Beach financial center at the end of this year,”
ITID Library Location
continued from page 14A tus in ongoing negotiations between the county and the Florida Department of Community Affairs over outstanding issues regarding the Sector Plan. ITID Attorney Charlie Schoech told board members that Palm Beach Gardens, Royal Palm Beach and West Palm Beach had all asked to be named as interveners in the Sector Plan, giving them status as participants able to intervene in the negotiations instead of being merely observers.
“Remember that this district does not have any land-use capabilities, so you have no power over zoning, planning and building,” Schoech said. “However, things like density do affect roads and drainage, so that you can certainly take part and have input.”
Erickson made a motion that the district seek intervenor status, seconded by Semande. Su-
Romani said. “We are eager to be a trusted and contributing partner in this growing and vibrant community, not only to the business community but to the local economy… Since opening our first office in Miami-Dade in 1920, Citibank has provided local communities with the very best in financial products and services.”
For more information about the Palms West Chamber of Commerce, call (561) 790-6200 or visit www.palmswest.com.
pervisor Carol Jacobs suggested Erickson be the district’s lead person regarding the negotiations.
• The board discussed locating a possible site for an Acreage branch of the county library, with staff suggesting seven acres the district owns near the Publix property on Seminole Pratt Whitney Road. Erickson noted that Callery-Judge Grove had previously offered to donate land for the library, which is last on the county’s list of library projects.
“Originally land for the library was to be donated by CalleryJudge when their DRI was approved,” Erickson said. “But since it was turned down, any donation is now seemingly off the table. We need to find some land, but we should only give it up if it means the building of the library moves off the end of the line.”
By consensus, the board directed district staff to engage the county in finding a satisfactory site.
(Above) Palms West Chamber of Commerce President Joanna Boynton thanks Barbara Romani and Karen Cohen of luncheon sponsor Citibank. (Right) Dorian Zimmer, general manager of the Mall at Wellington Green, picks up one of the chamber’s Business of the Year awards. PHOTOS BY CAROL PORTER/TOWN-CRIER
PBSO’s PAL Program Continues To Thrive In Royal Palm Beach
By Steve Pike Town-Crier Staff Report
The sounds and smells of a boxing gym are perhaps the most unique of any sport in the world. The popping of leather on leather infiltrates the ears from the moment one steps through the doors; the smell of sweat is a violation of the senses. You have to love it. And in a room on the backside of Christ Fellowship Church in Royal Palm Beach — where the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Police Athletic League runs its boxing program — the pugilistic love is evident.
It’s a standard Thursday night, perhaps a bit slower than other nights because of the summer season. Boxers as young as 10 years old test their skills, stamina and courage for PBSO Deputy Craig Llewellyn and PAL head boxing coach Bill Connors. Llewellyn is director of the PAL boxing program in Royal Palm Beach. The PBSO also has programs in Belle Glade and Palm Beach Gardens.
Inside the blue-bottomed ring shadow-boxes David Colon Jr., who recently won the Florida Golden Gloves championship in the 10-year-old division; outside the ring, other boxers jump rope, pound heavy bags and hit mitts with other coaches.
Llewellyn knows the routine. He’s seen it since 2003 when he was assigned to what was then the boxing program operated by the Royal Palm Beach
Police Department. When the department merged with the PBSO last October, Llewellyn stayed on in that same role. “My job is to make sure the coaches keep coming back,” Llewellyn said.
It’s more complicated than that, of course. Llewellyn is the behind-the-scenes man in terms of paperwork, transportation and equipment.
Some of that paperwork includes keeping track of the nightly sign-in sheet. Each boxer is required to sign the sheet before he — or yes, she — is allowed in the gym.
“Ninety-eight this week,” Llewellyn said as he flipped through the pages on his clipboard. “That’s a lot of kids.”
The PAL boxing program, Llewellyn said, averages approximately 350 boxers per month. Those boxers come from throughout Palm Beach County.
Colon, for example, comes with his father David Sr. from Palm Beach Gardens. Elevenyear-old Cody Cost comes with his mother from West Palm Beach. Malcolm Stamphil, 19, is a graduate of Royal Palm Beach High School.
Stamphil, a welterweight (152 pounds), and 17-year-old Justin Diaz, a light welterweight (141 pounds) from Lake Worth, are the lords of the PAL ring. Each is considered one of the top amateur boxers in his weight class in the state. Diaz in particular is considered a ris-
ing star in the ranks of USA Boxing, the national governing body for Olympic-style boxing.
“He’s a good kid who is all business in here,” Llewellyn said. “He acts like a professional. He’s got a great work ethic.”
Stamphil, who later that night stepped into the ring and sparred with West Palm Beach professional Max Cuevas, has been boxing since he was a freshman at RPBHS.
“Probably about two years ago, I got real serious about it,” Stamphil said. “I always liked watching boxing. So I picked it and started doing it.”
Like all quality fighters, Stamphil, polite and well spoken, doesn’t lack for confidence.
“Not everybody can do what I do,” said Stamphil, who has compiled a 9-4 record. “It’s not a sport that anybody can just walk in and be good at. Boxing takes a lot of hard work. And I’m planning to turn professional soon.”
Most of the boxers in the PAL program, however, don’t have such lofty aspirations. In fact, a boxer isn’t even required to spar unless he or she wants to step into the ring.
“The kids all go through the same program, the only difference is their individual abilities,” said Connors, a former Portland, Ore., police officer who has been coaching the program since 2000. “Some kids pick it
up faster than other kids. The biggest thing here is that we don’t make the kids spar. A lot of gyms require sparring. The first thing you know, a kid is getting his brains beat in. I don’t believe in that. We teach these kids a little bit about protecting themselves and the skills involved in the sport.”
The PAL’s door, Llewellyn said, is open to anybody who wants to participate at no charge.
“As long as they behave themselves and are responsive to what the coaches are teaching them, they’re welcome,” Llewellyn said.
For more information about the PAL boxing program, call Llewellyn at (561) 718-1202.
PBSO Deputy Craig Llewellyn oversees the boxing program.
Malcolm Stamphil of Royal Palm Beach.
Tiffany Lopez hits mitts with volunteer David Colon Sr. Shawn Smiley works on the heavy bag with coach Bill Connors.
David Colon Jr., 10, is the youngest participant in the PAL boxing program.
It’s No Fun Getting Removed From A Car By The ‘Jaws Of Life’
There’s a popular notion going around right now centered on accomplishing 100 certain things before you die. Various destinations must be visited, books read, movies watched or information gathered before you can peacefully relinquish yourself to the Great Beyond. The implication is that if you are careless enough to die before you’ve ticked these items off, you’re going to suffer an eternal nagging feeling that you missed something “important” here on earth. My personal list, unfortunately, is topped with “leave some assets for the children,” and doing that takes valuable time away from fun things like traversing Tibet by yak.
One thing that was definitely not on my list but which was nonetheless accomplished last week: “be removed from car by Jaws of Life.” Oh, yeah.
Before I get down to details, let me say that this experience was somewhat disappointing. I always envisioned the Jaws of Life working something like those arcade games where a big claw
comes down, perhaps through the sunroof, lifts one up and then deposits one into the Bucket o’ Safety. Turns out it’s nothing more than giant pliers. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Last Wednesday, Mark and I decided to take an unusual midweek jaunt. We were on U.S. Highway 1 up in Flagler County when an SUV containing five people came flying out of a housing development. Choosing to forgo the timehonored tradition of stopping at the intersection, the driver sped right out into our lane and T-boned our car. I remember watching from the passenger seat as she came, bracing myself, listening as our brakes squealed and watching as we narrowly missed a post. We eventually came to rest, tires blown, in the lane going the opposite way. For some lucky reason, no tractor-trailers were bearing down upon us at this point.
“Are you OK?” Mark asked, shaking.
“She hit on your side.”
“I want to get out before the car bursts
into flames!” I yelled, relying on my vast TV-watching experience to tell me what to do next. I wanted to get out, but I couldn’t. In the first place, my neck hurt. In the second place, the door wouldn’t open. When the paramedics showed up, one reached through the back door and held my head while another covered it with a sheet, somewhat scaring the driver of the other car.
“This is just so you won’t get cut when we break the glass,” he said.
Break the glass? The next sound I heard was, yes, glass breaking rather loudly and rather close by, then a generator starting up. The paramedic counted them down for me as the firefighter cut the hinges off the door. They took the sheet off my head, and the door was gone! I saw it lying up against the other car and remarked, “that looks expensive.”
“Not for you,” the paramedic replied.
Next, Mark and I were strapped and duct-taped to body boards and carted off to the hospital.
“Ooh, how did you like that new hospital?” someone asked me later.
“All I saw were the sky and the ceiling tiles,” I answered. “The ceiling tiles seemed nice.”
Upon being discharged, Mark and I found ourselves out in the parking lot, looking at each other, realizing our vehicle wasn’t there and asking, “now what?” The car rental places were closed but, through the kindness of strangers, we eventually made our way home.
One more thing off the list of Things to Do Before I Die — “hitchhike home from the emergency room.”
Make Sure You Get A Chance To See The Movie ‘Knocked Up’
Knocked Up is the funniest movie I have seen this year. Although I must warn my most sensitive readers that the movie is filled with gross jokes and language not allowed on broadcast television. But it is also a warm, funny, moral film.
Katherine Heigl plays Alison, a devoted career woman whose sister decides they must celebrate a promotion by going out to a bar. At the bar she hooks up with a man she would normally have no interest in (Seth Rogen), a slacker par excellence living with a group of friends who are constructing a web site tracking film nudity. The two get drunk and wake up the next morning to learn they have nothing in common.
Eight weeks later she finds out they actually do have something in common: impending parenthood. She has to learn
how to trust; he has to grow up. He asks, when she tells him she’s pregnant, “then why are you hitting on me?”
The nicest thing about this very funny film is that it really focuses on ways people change, and does so in a realistic manner. The woman finds out she can trust the people around her. Her family provides support. She decides not to tell her employers about the pregnancy. When, somewhere in the eighth month, they point out that it might have been better to trust them, she is flabbergasted to discover that they are pleased about the pregnancy and want her to interview pregnant celebrities. The boyfriend comes through and grows up.
The characters, although apparently stereotypical at first, begin to grow and show unexpected twists. Alison’s sister-
and brother-in-law (Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd) have marriage problems. He describes marriage as “an unfunny version of Everybody Loves Raymond but it doesn’t end after 22 minutes. It lasts forever.” She follows her husband, expecting to find him involved in illicit sex, and finds something even worse (although funnier). Rudd, by the way, gives the best Robert DeNiro impression I’ve ever seen.
There are constant laughs throughout the film. I noticed that the women in the theater were laughing even harder than the men, despite the foul language and occasional gynecological humor. There is a sequence interviewing gynecologists that will never be shown on broadcast television but managed to come across as both hysterically funny and true to
By Leonard Wechsler
life. And then there is the “crowning moment,” another occasion for laughter.
All the actors are very good but Heigl, best known as a lead on Grey’s Anatomy, is a revelation. She plays most of the movie as “straight man” but when she is funny, she is very funny. Her conversation with Rogen about their new apart-
See WECHSLER, page 31A
PLENTY WAS LEARNED AT THE FAIRGROUNDS’ STORM EXPO 2007
Storm Expo 2007 was held Saturday and Sunday, June 9 and 10 in the Expo East Building at the South Florida Fairgrounds. The event featured Trauma Hawk landings, educational seminars, rescue demonstrations, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office K-9 and bomb squad demonstrations, and plenty of vendors offering home safety items. In addition, there were children’s activities, raffles and giveaways, and even animals available for adoption.
The Community Emergency Response Team’s Marvin Galanty and Tove Gershen “help” training exercise victim Joe Swierzko.
PBSO Deputy Luis Ledbetter with K-9 Deputy Clue, an American bloodhound.
Registered nurses Bill Crafa (left) and Paul O’Leary (right) with pilot Dan Angles by the Trauma Hawk.
Randy Mosher and Richard Crofutt of Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue Station #31’s Special Operations unit.
News Channel 12 weatherman Michael Ehrenberg presents Jean Scanlon with the storm tracker she won.
PHOTOS BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
Star Shutters’ Grace Kuratomi and Camila Chaves.
LITTLE CHEF CAMP IN RPB
Chef Camp started June 5 at Wild
Cafe in Royal Palm Beach. For their first lesson, Chef Chris Paul Falci helped the children create pizzas. The kids picked their favorite toppings. The children will take a total of eight classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays in June. Each child received a goody bag with measuring cups and spoons, plain aprons, a journal for writing down their recipes, and a chef’s hat. A second session will start in July. For more info., visit www.wildorchidscafe.org or call (561) 204-5640. (Above) Eric Nowaczyk, Alexia Ward, Ciara Rock, Jamie Panariella, Alyssa Newlan wearing their chef hats. (Right) Chef Chris Paul cuts the pizzas.
Little
Orchids
Wellington Team Shows Stellar Sportsmanship At District Game
By Steve Pike Town-Crier Staff Report
Players on a Wellington travel baseball team proved themselves real winners last month. Although the Hammertime Hurricanes are no more than 11 years old, they won new friends and fans from Wellington to Miami while playing a North Miami team in an Amateur Athletic Union district tournament in Jupiter May 26.
The Hurricanes won the game, but then the North Miami Red Sox weren’t nearly as talented on the field or as privileged off the field. The Hurricanes wore new uniforms and played with fresh leather gloves and shining aluminum bats, while the Red Sox played in hand-me-down uniforms and with barely enough equipment for each player in the field. One of their bats was actually a softball bat; another was a T-ball bat.
None of these things went unnoticed in the Hurricanes’ dugout.
“I sit on a bucket in front of
the dugout during games and call pitches,” Hurricanes Manager Scott Ryder said. “I heard our kids say, ‘they’ve got nothing. And we’ve got so much.’ You’re talking about 11-year-old kids who have every toy in their bag. They’re starting to realize how lucky they are.”
The Hurricanes’ roster includes Dallas Ryder, Branden Willey, Eric Roginski, Mitchell Goldhaber, Tim Becker, Adam Bruggeman, Gage Morey, Jake Summey, Jordan Beller, Marshall Riddle, Hunter Goldberg and Carson Kiowann.
The players approached Ryder during the game and asked if they could donate some of their equipment to the Red Sox.
“I told them to check with their parents and if it’s OK just put it all in the corner of the dugout,” Ryder said. “I walked over to the corner, and there must have been six or seven bats, some gloves and batting gloves.”
This all took place during the
game. Not wanting to offend the Red Sox, Ryder asked North Miami Manager Brian Russell if his team would accept the Hurricanes’ equipment.
“We arranged a meeting in right field after the game,” Ryder said. “As a team, we met with their team and our kids started giving them equipment.”
Ryder’s voice began to crack as he continued the story. “It was funny, the kids on the North Miami team started greeting each of our players. It was like a little bonding going on.”
So much so, Ryder recalled, that Russell was moved to tears. “He gave me a hug. It was just an outstanding moment,” Ryder said. “That’s what it should be about. And that’s what we’re losing in baseball. It’s become so competitive that we forget they’re 11-year-old kids playing a game.”
A few days after the game, Ryder said he began receiving calls from other local teams and other age groups praising the Hurricanes’ goodwill gesture. “They said, ‘we’re going to tell
On Friday and Saturday, July 20 and 21, a team of Wellington majorettes will compete in the Drum Majorettes of America Nation Championships at Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina. Team Wellington — consisting of majorette teams from Wellington Elementary School, Wellington Landings and Polo Park middle schools, and Wellington High School — will compete in a number of varied routines, show corps and a parade. The hard work of the girls, combined with their achievements in numerous competitions throughout the year, earned them this trip to nationals. The team is coached by Adrienne Brady.
PHOTOS BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
our boys about your boys,’” he said. “So it started to spread like fire.”
On May 30, Ryder received an e-mail from Russell telling him that the Hurricanes’ generosity led to sponsors and city leaders offering to help his program. “Your actions will make it possible for my team to have the summer of their lives,” Russell wrote.
That summer will include an-
other game against the Hurricanes on Aug. 4 in Wellington. Before then, the Hurricanes will meet Mayor Tom Wenham and other village council members during the council’s meeting July 10 and begin play in the National AAU Tournament in Orlando July 14. The goal, of course, is to win the tournament, but the Hurricanes have already shown themselves to be winners.
WELLINGTON MAJORETTES TO COMPETE IN NATIONALS IN JULY BASEBALL BASEBALL
Team Wellington members range from kindergarteners to high school seniors.
Third grade captains Kelly Gerboch and Mary Rodriguez, and fifth grade captain Angela Mozdzierz.
The team from Wellington Elementary School.
The team from Wellington Landings Middle School.
The Wellington High School team.
Wellington Landings Middle School team captains Krisa Koper, Ashley Domark, Patricia Eboli, Caitlin McNally, Lindsay Flicker, Samantha Mozdzierz, Jennifer Eboli and Nicole Eboli.
Wellington’s Hammertime Hurricanes and the North Miami Red Sox celebrate after an AAU district game in Jupiter.
Martial Arts Champ Overcomes Adversity To Come Out On Top
Wellington resident and martial arts champion Shifu Paul Knight defended his Grand Champion title at the 30th Battle of Florida National Martial Arts Championship held Saturday, June 9 at John I. Leonard High School.
Knight’s road to success has been an inspiration to both children and adults. In 1994, Knight, already a competitor on the national martial arts circuit, was a well-known Florida state champion when he was in a motorcycle accident that left his left foot almost completely severed above the ankle. After reattaching the limb, doctors gave Knight a 50/50 chance of ever walking again.
Knight was in intensive therapy, and after six months began teaching martial arts from his wheelchair. He found that meditation and visualization
techniques were indispensable to his rapid healing. Knight was determined to show, by example, the power of the martial arts as a therapeutic tool and a way of life.
A little more than a year after his accident, Knight returned to martial arts competition and took first place in the first tournament he entered. The following year, he went on the National Sports Karate Association competition circuit. Two years later he became a NASKA World Champion as well as the NASKA national champion for middleweight fighting. He has won the Battle of the Arts Grand Championship 13 times.
Among his numerous accolades, Knight has been inducted into the United Hall of Fame as Competitor of the Year, the World Martial Arts Hall of Fame
Palm Beach Kiwanis Golf Tourney June 23
The Palm Beach Kiwanis Foundation’s 45th annual charity golf tournament will be held at Breakers West on Saturday, June 23. The foundation’s prior golf classics were enjoyed by all, and even greater success is anticipated in this year’s annual fundraiser.
The golf course has been fully redesigned and renovated and today is one of the premier courses in Palm Beach County. A wonderful Breakers’ buffet, raffles, awards and prizes will round out the event.
The Kiwanis Club of Palm Beach is also pleased to an-
nounce its donation of a second new retrofitted immunization RV to the Palm Beach County Health Department. This vehicle replaces the original RV the club provided in 1994. These efforts have helped increase the percentage of fully immunized young children to 95 percent in Palm Beach County.
Breakers West is located on the south side of Okeechobee Blvd., just east of State Road 7. For more information, or to register, call Stuart Shulman at (561) 351-5012 or Jim Dowling at (561) 838-4605.
and into the Battle of the Arts Hall of Fame as a 12-time grand champion.
Knight attributes his accomplishments in martial arts and in life to his strong family background and to the superior instruction he received as a martial arts beginner training under Shifu Andre Springer and Sijo George Crayton Jr.
Knight has taught children’s martial arts classes at numerous New York area recreation centers and public schools as well as a series of martial arts classes at the Children’s Home Society/James McLamore House in Miami. He created the popular Mar-Med program which combines martial arts with meditation, which has shown to be effective in addressing impulse control issues affecting children and adults.
National Qualifiers — The Wellington Warriors 11 and under travel baseball team finished runner-up at the recent Triple Crown Memorial Day Tournament. This qualifies the team for the fall nationals. Pictured here are team members Alex Amazzo, Kevin Bramhall, Chris Canavan, Bryce Dalton, Anthony Hotujec, Justin Kleinman, Logan Masta, Scott Murphy, Joey McKenna, Alex Recio and Gabe Santana with coaches Keith Canavan, Greg Dalton and Marco Santana.
Knight now hopes to reach children worldwide through his Kidz’R Kickin DVD series. He is currently working on creat-
ing a program of martial arts and meditation for the benefit of children who have been diagnosed with cancers.
Martial arts champ Paul Knight
Keller Williams Golf Tournament Raises Money For Adopt A Family
Keller Williams Realty Wellington held its first KW Cares Golf Tournament on Thursday, June 7 at Atlantis Country Club to benefit Adopt a Family.
The first-time event featured 54 players in a scramble format, competing to make a hole-inone and win a car donated by
Baseball Champs — The Acreage Allstars 10-U travel baseball team won first place and went undefeated at a recent tournament in Lake Worth. The team members include (front row) Brandon Wedemen, Bobby Biskupiak, David Moss, T.J. Adorno, Domenic Lemongello and David Carnicella; (second row) Clayton Williams, William Butzbach, Johnny Spring, Thomas Schmedes, Austin Wilson, Jake Calabrese and Matt Kuehn; and (back row) coaches Jim Carnicella, Chris Spring and Tony Adorno.
Wayne Akers Ford. Serving as celebrity announcer was NewsChannel 5 weekend anchor Jay Cashmere. Fortunately for Wayne Akers, there was not a hole-in-one winner. However, there were first- and secondplace winners, as well as awards for longest drive, closest to the pin and closest to the
line. Mulligan tickets were available, as well as raffle tickets for the variety of items that were distributed at the luncheon immediately following the tournament. More than $5,000 was raised for Adopt a Family, a Lake Worth-based organization that helps prevent homelessness.
Golf tournament winners Paul Finley, Roger DiGregorio, Robert Schweitzer and Chuck Heath relax on the fairway.
Alan and Stacey Scott with Kitty and Dennison Lanier. Kitty is an Adopt a Family representative.
Channel 5’s Jay Cashmere with Nancy Jennings.
(L-R) Dina Blanco, Arlene Boyd, Debbie Sanacore, Kelly Prince and Carol O’ Brien.
FLORIDA DEMOCRATS PARTY
Crestwood Performing Arts League 2007-08 Season Tickets Available
The Crestwood Performing Arts League (C-PAL) has begun its preseason membership drive. Season tickets are being offered at the reduced rate of $65 for six shows from Oct. 21, 2007 to April 13, 2008.
The 2007-08 performance schedule is as follows:
Sunday, Oct. 21 — Legacy is the real deal when it comes to the music of the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. It’s like hearing all the groups and songs you know and love, wrapped up into one. Legacy is a group of guys who as teenagers sang on the streetcorners of New York and played to those good old “basement bands.”
Sunday Nov. 18 — Nunsense features songs with titles such as “Nunsense is Habit-Forming,” “Tackle That Temptation With a Time Step” and “I Could’ve Gone to Nashville.” It’s fun, feisty and faithful to religious life of days gone by when sisters made the best of community life in reverential sort of way.
Sunday, Jan. 20 Pedro Roman’s Latin Review showcases the fire and excitement of Latin rhythms combined with numerous types of international music. Pedro Roman has taken all his talents and put them together for one amazing show, sure to please all audiences. Roman and his talented cast have performed on stages in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and London. The group’s dancers have been in music videos with artists such as Madonna and Shakira.
Sunday, Feb. 17 — Broadway Babes takes audiences on a musical journey from classic musicals to present-day sensations. The amazingly talented cast of 10 professional performers will sing and dance their way through some of the most high-energy
dance numbers from Chicago, The Lion King, Cats, The Wiz and Kiss of the Spider Woman
Sunday, March 16 — A Tribute to West Side Story centers on the starcrossed romance of Tony and Maria, a native-born Polish boy and a Puerto Rican girl newly arrived in America. However, it is not your ordinary love story — it is one of racial strife between rival New York street gangs, juvenile delinquency and inner-city problems of the mid-20th century. Songs and lyrics by Leonard Bernstein and Stephan Sondheim.
Sunday, April 13 — All American Broadway and A Tribute to Irving Berlin promise beautiful voices, dazzling costumes, and an evening filled with show-stoppers from the great classic American musicals such as A Chorus Line , Gypsy , Guys and Dolls , Show Boat , Oklahoma , South Pacific and many more. Fully staged, costumed and choreographed, this dynamic cast celebrates the last 100 years of the best of American musical theater.
Concerts are subject to change without notice. As a season ticket holder, you will receive what amounts to one free concert. Tickets cost $13 during the season. Proceeds from paid memberships enable C-PAL to present grants to music departments in 18 schools.
C-PAL’s exciting 2007-08 calendar of events includes programs of varied interest. With patrons subscribing now, C-PAL will be able to control the number of tickets the box office can sell prior to each concert. Over the past 26 years, C-PAL has managed to sell out most events. For more information, call (561) 798-0941, (561) 7932308, (561) 793-2984 or (561) 7933618.
Local politicos mixed with national leaders last Saturday when the Florida Democratic Party’s Jefferson-Jackson Dinner was held at the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa in Hollywood. The keynote speaker was Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco). (Above left) Palm Beach County Tax Collector Anne Gannon at the podium. (Above right) Pelosi gives her speech. (Below) State Senator Dave Aronberg says hi to U.S. Senator Bill Nelson. PHOTOS BY CAROL PORTER/TOWN-CRIER
Question:
How can we save the lives of 350 dogs and cats that are currently being euthanized at our county shelter each week?
Answer
Adopt a dog or cat from the local shelter. Open your heart and your home and enrich your life. A shelter pet will remain a true best friend for life.
N
euter
or This is the single most important action you can take to save a life.
S pay
Write, call or email your state and local lawmakers. Let them know that euthanizing thousands of dogs and cats is not acceptable and that you’re counting on them to support free spay/neuter programs and public humane education.
Educate yourself, your family and your friends. Learn the facts about pet overpopulation and share this knowledge with others. Demand that humane education become part of the curriculum in your county’s public school system.
Responsibility. It rests on everyone’s shoulders. Humans created this crisis. We can no longer simply ignore it. We’ve always had the ‘ANSWER’. Now let’s educate the public and demand responsible action.
LGWCD No Tax Hike
continued from page 14A
see how everything will go,” Snowball said. “I would like to see some talks regarding calcium chloride. I would like to get some data from F Road and put some of these roads on a rotational plan, and what it will cost. I would like to start exploring that.”
Supervisor John Ryan said he was pleased to see the improvements to F Road. He also said some features such as speed humps discourage drivers from outside the community who use it as a cut-through road. “We have a good working group on getting the interlocal agreement to address the issues we thought were important,” Ryan said. “I would agree with Mr. Snowball about what I have seen on F Road. I made two or three trips down there. Everyone is confident that the speed humps are preventing speeders. People have noticed they cannot go fast on that road. It’s a step in the right direction.”
Saunier said the district is nowhere near done with the improvements, and district personnel are still working with
Wechsler
‘Knocked Up’
continued from page 18A ment in East L.A. and the resulting mock argument about which gang colors they should wear is sort of tossed off but typical. My wife said Heigl must be the most tolerant woman in the world, because no woman would ever want to use in public the language she has to use in the movie. But she does and carries it off well.
Knocked Up is similar to a lot of movies designed for younger audiences: gross humor masking a very moral message. Judd Apatow, the movie’s creator, used his movie The 40-Year-Old Virgin to make the point, albeit through low humor, that
the contractor resurfacing the road.
Supervisor Ron Jarriel said some residents had asked him why F Road had gotten the OGEM before they did, and why it had not been put on A, B or C roads, although he noted that the improvements to F Road began with a request by a resident to former County Commissioner Tony Masilotti years ago.
Jarriel said he was sure other residents would submit applications for OGEM, and that the petitions ought to be reviewed in order of receipt and approved. The money could come either through the county’s interlocal agreement with the district or through the gas tax revenues, he said. “Whichever way we can afford it, we can take the first road and work on it next,” Jarriel said. “The crews did an excellent job on it, and it will only get better because of Clete and the crew keeping a close eye on it and checking it out when it’s finished. I have not had anyone give any negative comments on it. It’s a test strip.”
Jarriel was also happy that the project did not look out of character for the area. “It didn’t take away from the looks of Loxahatchee Groves,” he said. “The difference is it’s safer and smoother.”
it is all right to march to your own drummer and save sex until the time is right. This film is similar in that it promotes the best of family values: love, trust and nurturing. That the families it shows consist of a large group of slacker friends whose main interests are drugs and porn, as well as uptight, harried relatives, simply add the necessary spoonful of sugar to make the moral medicine go down. Go see the movie. My guess is that it will be one of those movies that everyone will be talking about. Unlike most of the movies of this summer (and many of the past), the characters seem real, there is a real plot, and a lot of good belly laughs. I will keep an eye out for more by talented director Apatow.
Contents Prepared by the Town-Crier Marketing Dept
• DANCE ARTS CONSERVATORY DANCE CAMP — We are in a great location for your summer fun! This summer dance camp is conveniently located in the heart of Wellington at the Wellington Marketplace, right next to the movie theater, just behind the fountain. Our camp program promises to be fun filled with huge hits such as hip hop, jazz, tap, ballet, acro, drama, arts & crafts, fun and games and musical theater. To compliment your family’s busy summer schedule, we are offering affordable and flexible half-day, full day and weekly sessions. The Dance Arts Conservatory is a family owned and operated studio with the mission to be a positive presence in each of our student’s lives. Please join us this summer as we come together for a great vacation celebration! Sessions from June 4 through Aug. 17. For more information about our program, check us out on the web at www.danceartsconservatory.com or contact Rocky Duvall, our artistic director at (561) 296-1880
• WESTCHESTER GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB SUMMER CAMP — For the past 2 years Westchester Golf & Country Club has offered a Summer Junior Golf Program for children Ages 7-17. This program is great for any golfer beginners to intermediates. Its a great way to have fun this summer, so enroll now. Call John Harbison or Jason Hogan for details (561) 369-1000.
• CASPEREY STABLES HORSE CAMP — is a small, fun-filled day camp for children ages 7 to 14. With four riding opportunities each day, arts & crafts and outdoor games, our campers find little time to be bored. Our low counselor/child ratio ensures your child will receive individual attention. There are camp sessions for spring and winter school breaks, and during the summer, each two-week session has a theme, such as Indian Days, Circus Days, and Medieval Days. We have a weekly swim party and end each session with a horse show and family BBQ! Call soon — this small, quality program fills quickly! To learn more about our camp, located at 2330 D Road in Loxahatchee, call us at (561) 792-4990 or visit our website at www.caspereystables.com.
• ROYAL GYMNASTICS CENTER — Summer Camp for Boys & Girls, runs from June 4 - Aug. 15 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. with extended hours of 7:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. A variety of camp activities are offered; Gymnastics, Swimming, Skating, Bowling, Movies, Crafts, Field Trips, Karate Classes, Preschool,Trampoline, Tumbling, Recreational Team, Level 2 -Level 9. National and Junior Olympic Champions. The 6,500 sq. ft. Air Conditioned facility is located in Wellington at 3141 Fortune Way, Bay 20 in the Wellington Commerce Park. For more information on the variety of programs Royal Gymnastics has to offer call them at 561-793-5028 or visit their website at www.royalgym.com
• LAZY ACRES FARM — Our successful camp is better than ever this year! Besides teaching our riding and grooming skills, we also have live demonstrations, horse shows, field trips, arts and crafts and more! Register now, space is limited to 10 campers a week. A Free personalized camp tee-shirt is included in price. Please call Shannon Reilly at 561-289-00096 for more information.
KIDS MAKE FATHER’S DAY GIFTS AT ROYAL PALM BEACH LIBRARY
In preparation for Father’s Day, youngsters took part in an arts and crafts event last Saturday at the Royal Palm Beach library to make paper holders for dad. Library special events coordinator Gina Sousa, along with the kids’ mothers, helped the youngsters with their projects.
Special events coordinator Gina Sousa looks over the children’s progress.
Four-year-old Georgia Motsinger works on a paper holder for dad.
Four-year-old Andres Iniguez gets help from his mom Elizabeth.
Kids hard at work on the crafts.
Georgia Motsinger, brother Kenny and sister Hope assemble their Father’s Day gifts. Sousa reads a book to the youngsters.
Dance Camp — Royal Palm Beach High School and MJ’s Place Dance Studio, under the artistic direction of Michele Blecher, sponsored a two-week dance camp June 4 through 14 in the school’s dance studio. Shown above are the girls in One Musical Theater: (sitting, L-R) Raev’en Mills and Jessica Ngo; (standing) Kayla Meoetith, Alexa Blecher, Haley Settle, Delany Brown, Hunter Drew, Hailey Galko, Blithe Parsons, Rachel Walker, Loren Estebanez, Kaleelah Harris and Alyssa Durivou. Pictured below are the girls in Telephone Hour: (sitting, L-R) Kayla Meoetith, Rachel Walker, Delany Brown, Loren Estebanez, Kaleehlah Harris, Haily Galko, Blithe Parsons, Raev’en Mills and Jessica Ngo; (standing) Alexa Blecher, Alyssa Durivou, Haley Settle and Hunter Drew. Not pictured: Sarah Tyson, Samantha Scalpi, Amanda Burgess, Amber Amersea and Bridget Saint Laurennt.
Missionary Speaks To Graduates At Wellington Christian School
Steve Saint recently served as the commencement speaker for senior graduation at Wellington Christian School. Steve’s incredible stories from the mission fields of Ecuador gave him a unique perspective from which he challenged this year’s graduates.
Steve was born and raised in Ecuador where his parents were missionaries. While trying to connect with the Waodani Indians in 1956, his father Nate Saint was killed along with four other missionaries.
Two years after the killings, Steve’s aunt Rachel went back to the Waodani to minister to them. Incredibly, she was invited to live among the tribe. While growing up, Steve regularly visited his aunt and the Waodani. He spent his summers getting to know the men who killed his father.
As he worked with the tribe, he came to love them and was even embraced by them as an adopted son. This incredible story of forgiveness and grace has been captured in the recent motion picture End of the Spear
Steve was in Wellington for only a few hours and spoke for about 20 minutes, but the impact and perspective he was able to impart to the 2007 graduates and attendees will last a lifetime.
WHS Hosts ESOL Conference
Approximately 200 educators gathered at Wellington High School last Tuesday and Wednesday to learn instructional strategies and get free resources for their efforts to teach their English languagelearning students. The Third Annual ESOL Conference was organized by the Multicultural Education Department and featuring national and local presenters. Last Tuesday’s keynote speaker was Dr. Isabel Beck, a professor of education and senior scientist at the University of Pittsburgh. Last Wednesday, keynote speakers were John De Mado, an advocate of language acquisition, and Dr. Margarita Pinkos, deputy director of the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) and senior policy advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Education.
A number of breakout sessions were held each day and included topics such as “Forget Rock ’n‘ Roll... Let’s Learn
and Roll!” and “Picture Dictionaries,” “What a Way to Learn” and “The Math Party: Learning Math Through Music.” Participants also had the opportunity to visit with more than 40 vendors.
Camp At Folke Peterson
The Folke Peterson Wildlife Center (10948 Acme Road, Wellington) will host day-long camp adventures that will provide children with a fun-filled and educational day learning about Florida’s native wildlife. The camp will be held July 11 for first through fifth graders and July 18 for sixth through eighth graders. The program runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Limited enrollment costs $40 per child. Supplies and snacks provided. Parents must pack a lunch. For info., e-mail education@ fpwildlife.org or call (561) 793-BIRD.
Steve Saint
Bronson Warns Of Mosquito Explosion
Drought-plagued Florida has had one benefit from its water shortage: a significant drop in the mosquito population usually seen this time of year.
But Florida Agriculture & Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson is urging residents to prepare for that to change. As soon as the normal rain patterns return, Florida is likely to see a mosquito population explosion.
The lack of water has prevented eggs from hatching. But mosquito eggs from certain species can be very resilient, lying in wait for the next heavy rain for up to several years. When the wet weather arrives, all the eggs hatch at once, creating a huge increase in the number of pesky pests.
Bronson said people need to keep that in mind and be ready for a possible onslaught of mosquitoes, and with them the potential for mosquito-borne illnesses.
Bronson is urging horse owners to make sure that their animals are vaccinated against two of the diseases — West Nile virus (WNV) and eastern equine encephalitis (EEE).
“So far there this year there have been no reports of human cases of mosquito-borne illnesses in Florida, and we’ve had five EEE cases in horses compared with a high of 207 cases in 2003,” Bronson said. “We haven’t seen any West Nile cases either, and I hope with proper protections we can continue this trend.”
In addition to WNV and EEE, mosquitoes can transmit St. Louis encephalitis and malaria.
Floridians and visitors can protect themselves against mosquito-borne disease by taking common-sense steps, including:
• Limit time outside during dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are most active.
• Wear long-sleeved shirts and pants to cover skin and reduce the chance of being bitten.
• Eliminate standing water in yards, such as in birdbaths, kiddie pools, old tires and other receptacles. Stagnant water is an excellent breeding ground for mosquitoes.
• Use insect repellent that contains DEET, which is an effective repellent.
Horse owners are also urged to check with their veterinarian to make sure that their animals have received current vaccinations against WNV and EEE, and that these shots are kept up to date.
“Florida’s mosquito control districts have done a tremendous job with ongoing monitoring of mosquito populations and taking action when necessary,” Bronson said. “But ultimately, it is up to people to take steps to protect themselves and their animals from mosquito-borne diseases.”
Across Florida, there are 56 mosquito control districts that routinely conduct proactive mosquito surveillance with specific and effective research. They have improved methods of controlling mosquitoes, improved identification of mosquito species that transmit disease, established procedures for the early detection of new mosquitoes, and researched environmental factors that make mosquito disease outbreaks more likely.
For more information on mosquito-borne diseases and pre-
vention, consumers can call the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services at (800) HELP-FLA (435-7352), or visit the department’s web site at www.doacs.state.fl.us.
Information on the subject also is available at the Florida Department of Health’s web site at www.doh.state.fl.us.
Cultural Trust’s One Night Stand Up
On Saturday, July 14, the Cultural Trust of the Palm Beaches will present another installment of its popular comedy series. One Night Stand Up will feature comedians Richard Lewis, Kevin Pollak and Chelsea Handler. The event will take place starting at 7:30 p.m. at the South Florida Expo Center at the South Florida Fairgrounds (9067 Southern Blvd.).
Lewis has been performing standup comedy for the past three decades. He is best known for his HBO specials, appearances on Late Night with David Letterman in the 1980s and, more recently, his role on the
HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm. Pollak has appeared in dozens of movies throughout his career, including The Usual Suspects, End of Days and The Whole Nine Yards. Handler has appeared on numerous television shows, such as the Oxygen Network’s Girls Behaving Badly and her own program, The Chelsea Handler Show, on the E! cable channel.
Tickets cost $125 for premium seating and $95 general seating (as well as tax and a convenience fee). To purchase tickets, call the Cultural Trust box office at (877) 77-CLICK or visit www.culturaltrust pb.org. For more information, call (561) 333-4948.
Fransetta Remains FLARA President
At its annual convention held June 4 and 5 at the Florida Hotel and Conference Center in Orlando, the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans (FLARA) reelected all its current officers for another three-year term.
Wellington resident Tony
Fransetta will again serve as president. Other officers include Treasurer Marna Davidson of Boca Raton, Recording Secretary Barbara Devane of Tallahassee and Vice President James Weldon of Fort Lauderdale.
FLARA has more than 213,000 members in more than 100 clubs throughout Florida. Issues the alliance is focused on include creating a single-payer national healthcare system, affordable housing for seniors, and ensuring that Florida remains a destination for retirees.
The goal of FLARA is to influence government on senior issues at the federal, state and local levels. Its mission is to ensure social and economic justice and full civil rights for all citizens, so they may enjoy lives of dignity, personal and family fulfillment and security.
The Florida Alliance for Retired Americans, formerly known as the Florida State Council of Senior Citizens, was founded in 1963. For more information about FLARA, visit the alliance’s official web site at www.flara.org.
Tony Fransetta
County Public Affairs Earns Award
The Palm Beach County Public Affairs Department earned an Award of Excellence in the government print media category of the 2007 Communicator Awards for the “Palm Beach County Days Update.” The Communicator Awards is a leading international awards program recognizing creative excellence in the communication field. Entries come from all 50 states and numerous foreign countries. Submittals are judged on quality, creativity and resourcefulness.
The “Palm Beach County Days Update” is a newsletter distributed three
times a year to sponsors, participants and legislators involved in Palm Beach County Days in Tallahassee. The publication provides pertinent information for attendees prior to the event, and a legislative wrap-up and survey results after the event.
Other 2007 Communicator Award of Excellence winners include the AARP, American Express, Costco, Glamour magazine, Lockheed Martin, the Los Angeles Times, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Reader’s Digest and Ohio State University.
The Phantoms Review
CAMELOT
at the Broward Center through June 24
British stage and film legend Michael York heads a star-studded cast in this magnificent new production of Lerner and Loewe’s timeless masterpiece… King Arthur’s enchanted kingdom of Camelot is a place where honor and chivalry and peace reign. But can this idyllic land survive the conflict when Queen Guenevere falls in love with Sir Lancelot? The splendid, memorable music score includes the romantic and haunting “If Ever I Would Leave You,” the captivating “How to Handle a Woman” and the majestic “Camelot.”
Rediscover the grandeur of one of legend’s greatest love stories.
Camelot is a revised version of the 1960 musical play by Alan Jay Lerner (book and lyrics) and Frederic Loewe (music), which ran on Broadway for 873 performances, winning four Tony Awards and spawning several revivals, including this excellent production, along with highly successful foreign
productions and a film version.
Michael York’s film credits include The Three Musketeers, Cabaret and the Austin Powers films, while his Broadway credits include Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me, The Little Prince, Bent and The Crucible
Rachel York is beautiful and glamorous in her portrayal of Guenevere and has been seen on Broadway in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Victor/Victoria and Kiss Me Kate. James Barbour rounds out the love triangle as Sir Lancelot. His Broadway credits include Assassins, Jane Eyre and Beauty and the Beast
Good seats are still available for Camelot now through June 24. Performances are Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Ticket prices are $21-$65 and can be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at (561) 966-3309 or visiting www.browardcenter.org.
Camden Promotes
Vidale Smith
Camden Military Academy in South Carolina has promoted Vidale Edward Smith of Loxahatchee to corporal for his upcoming ninth-grade school year. Smith also lettered in track as an eighth-grade student and
won a gold star for his second semester. He is the son of Kasandra Smith of Loxahatchee.
William Bains On Samford Dean’s List
William Mellor Bains, a Wellington native, has been named
PEARSON, PEREZ ENGAGEMENT
Roxanne and Kevin Pearson of Royal Palm Beach announced the engagement of their daughter Brittany Kathleen Pearson to Nicholas Luis Perez, son of Maria Viega of West Palm Beach and Luis Perez of Miami. The wedding will be held in late 2008, after the groom-to-be finishes Marine basic training.
to the dean’s list for the spring semester at Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law.
Bains is one of several Florida residents to achieve this recognition. Ashley Elizabeth McGrane of Coral Gables and Laurea Ann Matlosz of Jupiter also received the honor. In order to qualify, the students needed to earn at least a 3.0 grade point average out of a possible 4.0 while attempting at least ten credit hours of coursework.
Local Artists On Display At PBIA
Wellington artists Tito Mangiola and Lisa Rockford of Wellington are among numerous Palm Beach County participants in Art in Public Places’ Fun About Town at the Palm Beach International Airport.
The show features photography, painting and mixed-media works by 15 Palm Beach County artists. Featured works showcase residents and visitors immersed in the natural environment and cultural scene of Palm Beach County.
The exhibition is on display through Oct. 3 in the airport’s concession level 2. The public is invited to attend an artist reception on Sept. 19 from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Fun About Town also features works by Becky Anderson of Boca Raton; Tom Melillo of Delray Beach; Karen Flint and John Math of Jupiter; Lupe Lawrence of Lake Park; Pamela Marie Banker and Benjamin Kenagen of Lake Worth; Susan Tancer of Palm Beach Gardens; and Maria Amatulli, Carol Co-
hen, Karen Knight, Connie Kurtz and Raymond Neubert of West Palm Beach.
Selected works were chosen by Palm Beach County’s Public Art Committee. Through a grant from Palm Beach County’s Cultural Council, HMS Host helps support Palm Beach County’s Art in Public Places exhibition at the Palm Beach International Airport. Selected works are exhibited for four months, with
changing cultural and travel themes for every exhibition. For more information about Palm Beach County’s Art in Public Places, visit www.pbcgov.com/ fdo/art.
Artists interested in receiving a “call to artists” for upcoming airport exhibitions and other Art in Public Places projects can submit their contact information through the artists’ registry page of the web site.
The MOMS Club of Wellington held its second annual end-ofyear brunch at the Wellington Golf & Country Club on June 11. The MOMS Club is a non-profit support group for stay-at-home mothers. The group provides age-specific play groups, all-ages field trips and holiday parties, and organizes service projects for various community charities. Pictured here are past and present board members: (L-R, seated) Ginny Botello, Melissa Mondello and Kia Levine; (standing) Katie Baliban, Debbie Bechalany, Jen Sherry and Brandi Ellerton. Not pictured: Carol Rhodes.
Wellington Garden Club Celebrates National Garden Week June 3-9
The Wellington Garden Club held several activities in celebration of National Garden Week, June 3-9. At the May 22 Wellington Village Council meeting, Mayor Tom Wenham presented a proclamation to Garden Club President Linda Leemon and First Vice President Stormi Biven declaring National Garden Week in the village. Posters commemorating National Garden Week were placed in many businesses throughout the community.
In partnership with Habitat for Humanity, District X of the Florida Federation of Garden
Clubs and the West Palm Beach Garden Club, the Wellington Garden Club participated in planting activities June 2 at three Habitat homes in Westgate Village in West Palm Beach. The Internet company Periwinkle and Bloom provided all the plants through its Perfectly Simple Giving program, while garden clubs supplied the containers and potting mix. Florida Federation Garden Clubs from Boca Raton, Wellington and West Palm Beach participated locally.
As an opportunity to help make children aware of the beauty of gardens, the Welling-
ton Garden Club asked students in Wellington’s elementary schools to participate in a coloring competition. Students in kindergarten through second grade at Binks Forest, New Horizons and Wellington elementary schools, using crayons and markers, colored a drawing of garden flowers. The criteria were simple: winners would be chosen on their creativity and use of color. Four artist members of the Wellington Art Society reviewed the more than 300 entries and through the process of elimination selected first-, second- and
third-place winners from each school. All winners received a certificate suitable for framing. In addition, first-place winners received $25 Barnes & Noble gift certificates. Second- and third-place winners received gift certificates to Patty’s Parlor. Winning entries were displayed at the Wellington Community Center during National Garden Week. The first-place winners from Binks Forest are:
kindergarten, Frances Herman; first grade, Alexa McAvoy; and second grade, Nisuka Williams. First-place winners from New Horizons are: kindergarten, Breanna White; first grade, Brandon Schloss; and second grade, Lucas Zavalia. Wellington Elementary School’s firstplace winners are: kindergarten, Morgan Wilson; first grade, George Valderrama; and second grade, Alexis Williams.
Girl Scout Auction Nets $42,000
More than 250 supporters of the Girl Scouts of Palm Glades Council attended the Fifth Annual Girl Scout Silent Auction April 21 at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach. Guests bid on items including a Tiger Woods autographed flag, vacation packages and jewelry, helping generate more than $42,000 for the council. Proceeds will support Girl Scout educational programs for the more than 9,300 girls in Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee counties. The keynote speaker was Steven Ford, son of former president Gerald Ford. Former Girl Scout and Ph.D. candidate Patti Davis shared her story about how the organization influenced her life.
Wellington Mayor Tom Wenham and council members present a proclamation to Wellington Garden Club First Vice President Stormi Bivin, left, and President Linda Leemon.
The Wellington Art Society’s Adrianne Hetherington, Susan Rose, Ursula Fernandez and Linda Ravoli judge student artwork.
WHS Graduate To Be A Presenter At Psychological Association Convention
Alison America, a 1996 graduate of Wellington High School will make a presentation at the 2007 American Psychological Association’s 115th Annual Convention in San Francisco in August along with Professor Len Milling of the University of Hartford.
The presentation by America and Milling describes a study of the efficacy and psychological mechanisms of over-thecounter vitamins for reducing or preventing depression symptoms in college students.
America has also been invited to make an additional presentation at a special session for excellent graduate student research sponsored by the APA Board of Scientific Affairs and the APA Science Student Council.
America received her master’s degree in general experimental psychology from the University of Hartford in 2004. She received her bachelor’s degree from Towson University in Baltimore. America works for an outside contract company at the Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory in Groton, Conn.
Among her responsibilities is statistical analysis on the personal information of men who are applying for submarine duty. Last June, she made her first dive in a submarine. She also teaches a psychology class at the University of Hartford.
America has traveled far and wide, testing recruits, attending seminars, attending conventions and reporting on lab research. Her travels have taken her to conventions and naval facilities in Newport News, Chicago, Seattle, New York, New Orleans, Hawaii, Istanbul and Singapore. Earlier this year she made a pre-
sentation in Perth, Australia. She has also led a group of her colleagues on a 120mile bike tour through Connecticut for multiple sclerosis. While doing this, she gained the title “Captain America.” She also leads a spinning class at the submarine base. The program is the original indoor group cycling class.
While a student at Wellington High School and a member of the debate team, America made it individually all the way to the national tournament. She is the daughter of Meg America and Charlie Lockmiller of West Palm Beach.
Send Palms West People items to: Town-Crier, 12794 W. Forest Hill Blvd., Suite 31, Wellington, FL 33414. Fax: (561) 793-6090. E-mail: news@goTownCrier.com.
Church Honors Its Graduates
The Women’s Group of Palms West Presbyterian Church recognized graduating seniors and hosted a reception in their honor following the Sunday service on June 3.
The honored graduates are: Jenna Widness, University of Florida; Jordan Pelfrey, Dreyfoos School of the Arts; Brandon Balkishun, Suncoast High School; Matthew Patelsky and Caressa Kazee, Seminole Ridge High School; and Megan Scully and Conrad Thirbenny, Royal Palm Beach High School.
Jordan Pelfrey
Phyllis Hoffman, president of the Women’s Group presented the annual college award of $1,000 to Jordan Pelfrey for academic excellence and community involvement. Pelfrey will attend Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. in the fall, where he has been accepted in the commercial music vocal performance program. Pelfrey has been selected for and participated in several prestigious honor choirs. Last summer
he was one of only 21 vocal soloists chosen to participate in FSU’s honors vocal solo camp.
Pelfrey has performed in Australia, New York City, Miami and Los Angeles, and has dedicated over 150 hours in designing lesson plans and conducting vocal classes for underprivileged children ages 5 to 11 at Dreyfoos’ arts camp. Pelfrey is well known for his volunteerism in Palm Beach County and has performed at the Kravis Center, SunFest, Roger Dean Stadium, the South Florida Fair, Palms WestFest and many events hosted by the Caribbean-Americans for Community Involvement (CAFCI). Jordan is one of four students to receive a $500 award from CAFCI under their Student Assistance Program.
Palms West Presbyterian Church is located at 13689 Okeechobee Blvd. between E Road and F Road in Loxahatchee Groves. For more info., call (561) 795-6292.
Dreams Come True Dancers To Perform June 16 At RPBHS
The “Dreams Come True Dancers” will perform at the Royal Palm Beach High School auditorium on Okeechobee Blvd. in Royal Palm Beach on Saturday, June 16 at 6 p.m. These students with disabilities have been working hard on their routine for the past five months. The routine promises to lighten the hearts of attendees.
These children with varied disabilities attend class at Donna Tucci’s School of Dance in Royal Palm Beach. Tucci, a
licensed physical therapist assistant and former professional dancer, runs the class along with several volunteer students from her school.
The dancers also perform each year at the Very Special Arts Annual Holiday Showcase at Palm Beach Community College’s Duncan Theater. They will participate in the recital, along with many other dancers from Donna Tucci’s School of Dance. For more info., call (561) 795-0053.
Alison America
P.W. CHAMBER’S ANNUAL TASTE OF THE WEST A SWEET SUCCESS
The Palms West Chamber of Commerce held its Tenth Annual Taste of the West & Chocolate Lovers Festival on Thursday, June 7 at the South Florida Fairgrounds. Sponsored by National City Bank, the event featured food tastings from the area’s favorite restaurants, as well as music, business exhibitions and a personal appearance by Art Ginsburg, better known as Mr. Food, the nationally syndicated TV personality and cookbook author. A People’s Choice trophy was awarded to Breakers West Country Club for the best chocolate dessert. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Explorer program and Palm Beach Habilitation Center, which runs a training program for developmentally disabled adults. PHOTOS BY
Deputy B.
and members of the
111 get a taste from the
Royal Palm Beach Jamba Juice Manager Charlie Thornton with Laura Geller, Alexandria Paulino and Savannah Thornton. Nancy Felix and Tony Benson of Hoffman’s Chocolates.
Sheriff’s
Hegele (right)
Explorers Post
Brass Ring Pub.
The Breakers West team won the People’s Choice trophy for best chocolate dessert.
BJ’s Wholesale Club’s Kim Reynolds serves cake.
Palms West Chamber of Commerce ambassador Terri Wescott, Membership Director Debi Leed, Executive Director Jaene Miranda and volunteer Maggi Rosenberg of Rhythm Design Productions/SOR Entertainment.
National City Bank’s Leidy Cardona, Midiala Ortega, Joan Scherer, Ryan Carney, Paul Funk and Brad Shotsall.
Christina Waters and Rachael Giles of Christy’s Bakery.
Steak ’n Shake General Manager Tracy Alexander and District Manager Chris Bates.
Dale & Thomas Popcorn employee Courtney Cannitello and Manager Rudy Brown.
Stacy Lienhart, Carol Polimeni and Joseph Polimeni of Dean Anthony’s Express in the Plaza at Wellington Green.
“Mr. Food” Art Ginsburg (center) with Amy Steinhauser, Meeghan Gehring, Colin Johnson and Brenda Browning.
PALMS WEST
A TOWN-CRIER Publication
Evolution Personal Fitness Opens New Location In EvolutionPersonalFitnessOpensNewLocationIn W Wellington ellington
By Steve Pike Town-Crier Staff Report
When Bryan Nichols opened his personal fitness gym five years ago, he aptly named it “Evolution Personal Fitness.” His unique personal training system offers a revelation as much as evolution. That is, unlike many trainers, Nichols goes beyond simply recommending exercise programs to his clients and then letting them fend for themselves in a jungle of free weights and machines.
A personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise, Nichols crunches the numbers (fitting, because he was an accountant in a previous career) to give clients the best opportunities to meet their fitness goals. For example, Nichols said, humans lose muscle at a rate of a half-pound per year after age 20. So by age 40, a person has conceivably lost approximately ten pounds of muscle.
The Evolution personal fitness system, Nichols explained, helps people regain that lost muscle and lose weight at the same time. The system is based on a 1992 book by William Evans and Irwin Rosenberg titled BioMarkers. In the book,
still popular with fitness enthusiasts, Evans and Rosenberg assert that proper diet and highintensity weight training slow the aging process and reduce the risk of medical conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and osteoporosis. “I read the book in 1992,” Nichols said. “It talks about reversing the aging process. The information in BioMarkers taught me that aging is a choice. I knew immediately this was my calling.”
So Nichols, who graduated from the University of Rhode Island with an accounting degree, gave up counting numbers to help himself and others count pounds, carbs and calories. He moved to Florida in 1992 and began work as a personal trainer at Bally’s in Davie. He eventually started his own fitness center — Broward Sports Club — which he sold seven years ago. In 2002, Nichols opened the original Evolution Fitness facility in the Southern (Kmart) Center at State Road 7 and Southern Blvd. in Royal Palm Beach. He moved out of that location earlier this year and opened the Wellington facility on Fairlane Farms Road six weeks ago. Evolution Personal Fitness is not one of those muscle-head gyms where grunting and pos-
ing are part of the workout regimen. Instead, it is 2,600 square feet of personal attention. Nichols and fellow trainer Will Holloway take no more than four clients per hour and put them through individually prepared programs designed to meet specific goals.
“Ninety-five percent of the people who come in have a similar goal. They want to reduce body fat and increase muscle tone,” said Nichols, who has trained more than 4,000 clients over the past 15 years. “The best way to do that is through weight training. Pushing and pulling causes the body to produce adrenaline that produces endorphins. The endorphins produce growth hormones. If you use progressive resistance training on all six muscle groups two to three times per week, your health will dramatically and permanently improve. The benefits of weight training are incredible.”
And, Nichols said, not expensive. The cost of an Evolution Personal Fitness program can be as low as $14 per session, depending on the frequency. Most clients, Nichols said, train three times per week.
“Many people I’ve talked to over the years have told me that
they can only afford a monthly gym membership,” Nichols said. “But I think they’re wasting their money by not participating in a personal training program. I wanted to create a personal training program that’s more affordable.”
Evolution Personal Fitness is located at 3121 Fairlane Farms Road, Suite 7, in Wellington. It is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. Call (561) 452-2980 for more information.
Fitness Guy — Evolution owner Bryan Nichols brings 15 years of personal training expertise to his new Wellington facility.
Palms West Chamber Honors RPB’s Armand Professional Services
Armand Professional Services was honored with one of the Palms West Chamber of Commerce’s Business of the Year awards on Monday.
Armand Professional Services is a full-service company specializing in pest control, termite control, lawn care and fertilization, lawn maintenance, landscape design and installation, water features, irrigation, landscape lighting, shutter service and house-sitting. The Armands take pride in their ability to provide clients with custom designed services for their homes and businesses.
Armand Professional Services was founded in 2005 by Scott and Michael Armand and their wives Mary and Patricia after the brothers each spent more than 20 years in the pest control industry working for two well-known pest control firms in Palm Beach County.
Scott Armand was born in New Jersey, and relocated to Palm Beach County in 1977. He started in the pest control industry in 1983 as a service technician with Palm Beach Exterminating and held various positions in service, sales and management until 1989 when he accepted a position with Hulett Environmental Services as the operations manager and was given the task of growing the small regional business. He was later promoted to general manager and was a driving force in the growth and expansion of the company. His responsibilities included the day-to-day operation of the business, marketing, finance, advertising and acqui-
sitions. In early 2004, Scott left to pursue other interests, consulting for other service industries in the Palm Beach areas.
Scott realized that he missed pest control and, along with his wife Mary, returned to the industry. Mary was born in Philadelphia and has been a resident of Florida for 24 years. She has held various management positions in the retail and customer service industries, including working for both Palm Beach Exterminating and Hulett Environmental Services, where she and Scott first met. Mary is now the voice of Armand Professional Services and oversees the customer service division. Scott and Mary have five children and are longtime residents of Royal Palm Beach. Both are active in the Palms West Chamber of Commerce and are involved in local community activities.
Michael was also born in New Jersey and began his career in the pest control industry, learning the business while still in high school. At Palm Beach Exterminating, he studied treatment practices, specializing in pest, lawn, termite control and sales. Michael then went to work at Hulett, where he held numerous positions in service, management and operations. He quickly advanced within the company and was promoted to director of information technology and was instrumental in the technological upgrades for the numerous company locations throughout Florida.
Michael left the company in 2004 to pursue other career opportunities. He and Patricia
purchased a pest control firm in Palm Beach County in 2005, which they successfully operated until they were approached by Scott and Mary with the idea of combining their efforts and creating the present family partnership, Armand Professional Services.
Patricia, who was born on Long Island, had a successful career in executive administra-
tion with Goldman Sachs before relocating to Florida. Since moving to Palm Beach County, she has worked in the real estate investment field and the healthcare industry. With her experience in finance and administration, Patricia is an invaluable addition to the Armand Professional Services team. Michael and Patricia have two young children and are longtime resi-
dents of western Lake Worth. The Armand team’s goal is to become a leader in customer service at reasonable prices, while providing the most effective techniques available in the industry. The company is run from an office on Okeechobee Blvd. in Royal Palm Beach. For more information, call Armand Professional Services at (561) 7933700.
Business of the Year — Scott, Mary, Patricia and Michael Armand of Armand Professional Services display their award in front of Scott and Mary’s house in Royal Palm Beach.
PHOTO BY RON
New Chicken Kitchen Location Opens In Royal Palm Beach
By Leonard Wechsler Town-Crier Staff Report
Residents of the western communities had reason to be delighted last Saturday when the new Chicken Kitchen opened at Cobblestone Village in Royal Palm Beach. The franchise, part of a chain whose nearest branch was previously in Boca Raton, provides a range of chicken dishes that are both inexpensive and delicious.
Franchise owner Archibald Barrant is a Jamaican who lived in New York for years before coming to Royal Palm Beach a few years ago.
“I owned a Caribbean restaurant up there,” he said, “but running a place like this is far easier. We can train our staff so much better. And I’m one of those people who believe very strongly in customer service. We want our food to be excellent, but we also want people to be served quickly and with courtesy.”
Chicken Kitchen Regional
Manager George Sabag said the chain is doing very well. “This is an ideal food for a health-conscious area,” he said. “The food is very wholesome and tasty. People who like the food come in often.”
Baywinds resident Harry Kremer agreed. “This food is great,” he said enthusiastically. “I’m a bachelor, and I hate to cook for myself. I’ll probably eat here a few times a week. It’s not expensive, and it’s delicious.”
Customer Carolyn Fearday agreed. “My husband and I thought we might just be getting another chicken place,” she said. “But they have all different kinds of chicken, and they’re all very tasty. There’s something for everyone here.”
The menu features “ChopChops,” which consist of chopped chicken breast meat over rice with a variety of different flavorings and salad. The Cuban Chop-Chop comes with black beans over the rice. The
Mexican is served with sour cream and guacamole. The Teriyaki is immersed in sauce. There is also a Vegetarian ChopChop with all the different extras but no chicken.
Most of the dishes also come in a salad version, without the rice and with a lot of extras added in the salad. The store also provides grilled chicken on its own as well as a range of sides that include yellow and white rice, black beans, plantains, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, sweet potatoes and chicken soup. Pita pocket versions of the Chop-Chops are also available. There is also a “healthy kids” menu.
Barrant said he will feature variations as weekly specials.
“I’m a Jamaican,” he said with a big smile, “so we’ll probably at least have jerk chicken some of the time, and there are a lot of other varieties we want to try.”
The restaurant chain has about 30 locations, mostly in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, but there are also locations in Tampa and Orlando, and also several in Houston, Texas.
The new Chicken Kitchen location is in the Cobblestone Village shopping center near SuperTarget on Okeechobee Blvd. just west of State Road 7 in Royal Palm Beach. It is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10:30 a.m. through 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. through 8 p.m. on Sundays. Call (561) 793-3850 for more information. Delivery is available.
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Located in warm and breezy Palm Beach County, Newport Place is close to world-renowned beaches and museums.You’ll be amazed at the wide range of cultural and recreation activities available daily. Whatever it is you’re looking for,you’ll find it at Newport Place
Lovely apartment homes are available,and no large buy-in fees are required.Call Newport Place today at (561) 586-6455.
Chicken Kitchen customers Carolyn Fearday, Rudy Bernard, Pat Bernard and Jim Fearday enjoy their meal.
Opening day at the new Chicken Kitchen restaurant.
Cigar Connoisseur Golf Tournament Benefits Boys & Girls Club
A round of golf on a challenging course, prizes worth hundreds of dollars and a great dinner are just a few of the reasons Cigar Connoisseur owners Joe Fiori and Fred Popper declared their Second Annual Golf Tournament to benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Wellington a success. The tournament, sponsored by Tabacalera Perdomo Cigars, Schumacher Buick and Starbucks Coffee, was held on Saturday, May 26 at the Links at Madison Green in Royal Palm Beach.
The tournament began with the distribution of goody bags filled with fine Perdomo cigars,
golf balls and other gifts for every golfer. A putting contest was next, warming up the golfers before the shotgun start of play began. Immediately following the tournament, the awards presentation began with the top three foursomes receiving a box of specialty cigars packaged and inscribed with the tournament name and date. Tabacalera Perdomo owner Nick Perdomo and his top sales executive Arthur Kemper presented the awards to the first-place foursome (Danny St. Louis with daughter Tovy, Kevin Malys and Wellington Boys & Girls Club Board Vice Chair Shawn Whisenhant),
second-place foursome (Gary Thomas, Laura Thomas, Steve LeBlanc and Donnie Pantel) and third-place foursome (Jeff Solito, Ted Newhook, Bob Larson and Nate Leavenworth). The Closet to the Pin Award went to Tovy St. Louis. Fiori and Popper look forward to next year’s tournament being even bigger and better. All net proceeds will directly benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Wellington on South Shore Blvd. The money will help the club provide much-needed programming for more than 600 children in the Wellington area. The club is a safe, supervised facility for area children ages six to 18.Its mission is to inspire and assist all young people to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens.
Open after school on weekdays and school vacations, the club promotes activities that include education and career development, health and life skills, technology programs, character and leadership programs and of course, sports programs. Plans are currently underway to build a 25,000-square-foot facility to serve even more youth in the future.
The annual Cigar Connoisseur Golf tournament is one of the key fundraising events for the club and interested sponsors, donors or golfers interested in participating in the 2008 tournament should contact Fiori or Popper at the Cigar Connoisseur (561)204-2299. For more about Wellington Boys & Girls Club programs, call (561) 7900343.
(Above) Second-place winners Gary Thomas, Laura Thomas, Steve LeBlanc and Donnie Pantel with Nick Perdomo, Fred Popper and Arthur Kemper. (Below) Nick Perdomo of Tabacalera Perdomo with Fred Popper of Cigar Connoisseur.
First-place winners Tovy St. Louis, Danny St. Louis, Kevin Malys and Shawn Whisenhant receive their plaques.
P.W. CHAMBER RIBBON CUTTING FOR BANKUNITED IN WELLINGTON
The Palms West Chamber of Commerce recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of BankUnited’s first Wellington branch. The bank is decorated in an equestrian theme to reflect the interests and passion of the local neighborhood. BankUnited is located at 11924 W. Forest Hill Blvd. in Wellington Town Square. For more information, call (561) 204-3573 or visit www.bankunited.com. Pictured here is Vice President/Bank Manager Darlene Curti with other BankUnited representatives and chamber ambassadors.
Wellington Chamber Hosts CUTTER
On Wednesday, June 27, the organization Citizens Urging Total Tax Education and Reform (CUTTER) will speak at the Wellington Chamber of Commerce’s June luncheon at the Outback Steakhouse in Royal Palm Beach.
CUTTER is a grassroots movement of people who want local government to take a serious and proactive approach to implementing greater efficiency in spending and cutting taxes for the greater good of its citizens and the region.
The luncheon will begin at noon. The cost to attend is $15 for members and $25 for nonmembers and the general public. Outback Steakhouse is located at 11101 Southern Blvd. Space is limited. To RSVP for the luncheon, call the chamber at (561) 792-6525.
Business Tradeshow In West Palm Beach
On Thursday, June 28, the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County will present “Encompass: A Business Solutions Tradeshow” at North-
wood University in West Palm Beach. The show will address a variety of issues of interest to business owners, executives and other top-level managers.
Encompass is the brain-child of the BDB’s Business Resource Task Force, a group that undertakes a variety of projects on an ad hoc basis. The purpose of Encompass is to provide a unique opportunity for leaders of small- to medium-sized businesses to learn more about critical issues currently affecting the business community through the variety of breakout sessions, panel discussions and keynote addresses, in addition to offering an opportunity for companies to connect with potential vendors and suppliers via the more than 60 exhibitors.
Topics will include the state of property insurance in Florida, qualified retirement plans for your business, grants and incentives, building a business plan for employee benefits, identity theft and the future of Palm Beach County.
Speakers will include Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarthy, Palm Beach Community College President Dr. Dennis Gallon, Keyes Company General Manager Fritz
Hawkins, JFK Medical Center CEO Gina Melby, World Trade Center Palm Beach Founder and Chairman Al Zucaro, Economic Development Research Institute Executive Director Greta von Unruh and Business Development Board of Palm Beach County President Kelly Smallridge.
The free event will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Northwood University’s Student Life Center (2600 North Military Trail). For more information, call (561) 835-1008 or visit www.bdb.org.
Audition Workshop
Having recently relocated to Florida, Broadway director, choreographer and film/television/ stage writer Michael Leeds will teach an ongoing audition workshop at CityPlace starting Tuesday, July 3.
The classes, which will be held Tuesday nights from 6 to 9:30 p.m., will run for six weeks. The cost is $175 and includes a free private coaching session. A $50 non-refundable deposit is required.
For more information, call (561) 827-8967 or visit www. leeds-workshop.com.
Father’s Day Gift Ideas From The Mall At Wellington Green
With Father’s Day being celebrated this Sunday, many shoppers are wondering what to buy for dad. Merchants from the Mall at Wellington Green have some unique ideas. One store in particular — the Sharper Image — has come up with a once-in-a-lifetime gift: a “G-Force One” flight that will allow dad to fly like an astronaut in space.
Offered by ZERO-G, it’s the only company in the world approved by the Federal Aviation Administration to offer this new kind of “adventure tourism” to the general public. The flight lasts approximately 90 minutes and features 15 parabolic maneuvers. Participants will lie quietly on a padded floor, and in the next moment, will rise slowly and begin to float freely in the air — absolutely weightless. The cost is $3,675 plus a five percent excise tax.
For those on a smaller budget, other Sharper Image gifts that are expected to be popular include an Axis air foil electric shaver for $129.95, a four-piece
barbecue set with leather glove for $119.95, and a shiatsu massage cushion for $149.95.
Father’s Day gift ideas offered by Brookstone include a five-day wireless weather forecaster for $85, a digital photo keychain for $50, a motorized grill brush for $25 and a Heritage hammock essential package for $299 (normally $370).
Other stores’ suggestions include a wooden Boyet watch valet for $39.99 and a London flat humidor for $79.99 from Boyet. The Walking Company will be giving away a free multi-tool pocketknife with any two pairs of regular priced shoes or a purchase of $150 or more. Godiva will offer a box of milk chocolate cigars. At L’Occitane En Provence, shoppers will receive a free travel size men’s product with the purchase of select men’s gift sets for Father’s Day.
For more Father’s Day shopping ideas, visit www.shopwellingtongreen.com.
Zounds Now Open At The Mall
On Wednesday, hearing aid manufacturer Zounds hosted a grand opening celebration for its new retail location in the Mall at Wellington Green. The store is located on the second floor, between Dillard’s and JC Penney.
The Zounds store was opened as part of a national rollout and features a specially designed sound room and multiple kiosks where customers will have the ability to “experience” the difference between Zounds and other high-end hearing aids. The unique Zounds hearing aids also come with convenient remote controls and are rechargeable,
eliminating the need to constantly replace batteries.
Zounds was founded by Arizona electrical engineer Sam Thomasson as the fulfillment of a father’s promise to his young hearing-impaired daughter. Thomasson pledged to himself and his daughter that he would develop the ultimate hearing aid to overcome many of the problems currently frustrating to so many wearers. Zounds’ breakthrough technology is the result of that promise.
For more information, visit www. zoundshearing.com.
Affordable Gate Systems: Inexpensive And Easy To Operate
resident Keith Shivers, owner of Affordable Gate Systems, with daughters Sydney, 11, and Kylie, 8.
Tax Certificate Sales Increase 36 Percent
Reflecting dramatic increases in local property values and the difficulty it has caused for citizens to pay affordable property taxes, Palm Beach County Tax Collector Anne Gannon completed the annual sale of tax certificates on June 1.
“This year’s sale is unprecedented,” Gannon said. “We sold 15,318 certificates for a total of $50,849,862.44 in 2005. On June 1, 2007, we sold 24,237 certificates for a total of $125,361,581.38. That’s an increase of 36 percent in certificates and 60 percent in dollar value. I think it is a sign of the current valuation and taxation issues we are facing across a state.”
In addition, the number of taxpayers seeking to pay taxes using the Tax Collector’s installment plan has more than doubled from last year’s 12,000 to 26,000 in 2007. On June 1 of every year, the Palm Beach County Tax Collector is required by law to sell tax certificates on all real estate properties with delinquent taxes. A tax certificate is not the sale of the property but rather a lien on the property. The property owner then has a minimum of two years to redeem the tax certificate without fear of the property being sold. For more information, visit www.pbcgov.com/tax.
Getting in and out of your gated driveway can be as simple as pushing the button on a remote control. The gate starts opening, and you didn’t have to get out of your car to open it. It is an affordable luxury to have an automatic gate opener on those rainy days when you don’t want to get out of your car to open the gate — or on those days you are running late.
Affordable Gate Systems owner Keith Shivers makes it his business to provide the convenience of an automatic gate opener. After repairing his own gate over the course of 10 years, Shivers decided it would be a great service to help others. In March 2006, Shivers completed the GTO training course and became a certified service center for GTO products.
Affordable Gate Systems provides gate operator sales, installation and repairs, and offers a full line of slide and swing gate operators. He also stocks replacement parts and accessories. “My family enjoys the convenience of our automatic gate opener, especially on those rainy days in South Florida,” Shivers said. “I enjoy seeing my customers’ satisfaction and smiling face when I install their new gate opener. I always hear the same thing… they should have purchased one sooner.”
Gate openers are priced from $499. If you need a repair, call Shivers and ask how he can help. In many cases, an existing operator can be repaired for $200 or less, which is a lot more affordable than buying a replacement. Shivers can also
have a gate fabricated in any style and size. “It’s sometimes hard to run a business and compete with the Internet, but I am a firm believer in supporting our local businesses and keeping our money in our community,” Shivers said.
As a native of Palm Beach County and a 15-year resident of The Acreage with his wife Loretta, Shivers is involved in the community. He owns a pool service business serving the western area, coaches his two young daughters in flag football and softball, and served on the Callery-Judge Neighbor Advisory Committee.
If you are in the market for an automatic gate opener, or have one that needs repair, call Shivers at (561) 358-1933 for more information.
Rain Catchment Systems Could Help Solve Area Drought Woes
Rain catchment systems may one day make an essential contribution to resolving the water crisis. South Florida gets plenty of rain; the trick is to retain it for when we need it. As residential irrigation accounts for nearly 50 percent of the typical household’s water consumption, rain catchment systems can significantly reduce the use of treated tap water, lowering monthly water bills substantially. Some rain catchment systems consist of a large tank and require cover, filtration and treatment. However, other methods of water collection from rooftop runoff can provide an ample supply of “soft” water that contains no chlorine,
lime or calcium. Because it tends to have fewer sediments and dissolved salts than municipal water, rain water is ideal for gardens, planter beds, indoor tropicals like ferns and orchids and even automobile washing. While lined retention ponds can irrigate large tracts, simple rain barrels provide enough water for the average homeowner. Rain barrels, made from food-grade black recycled plastic, hold 57 gallons of water. They’re attached to the gutter downspout and come with a five-foot overflow tube which can be directed to planter beds. The spigot at the base of the barrel connects to a garden hose. “While homeowners can
irrigate new plantings enough during the first month to get their root systems established, rain barrels and catchment ponds could really cut the strain on our limited water resources when used on the rest of the landscape,” said Elise Ryan, nursery owner and member of the Grow Smart Task Force. It only takes a quarter-inch of rainfall runoff from the average roof to completely fill the 57gallon barrel. Rain barrel assembly shouldn’t take more than an hour to install. For more info., call the South Florida Water Management District at (561) 686-8800 or the Palm Beach County Extension Master Gardener Hotline at (561) 233-1750.
Acreage
OKEEHEELEE CAMPERS VISIT MCCARTHY
WILDLIFE SANCTUARY
On Tuesday, June 12, Okeeheelee Nature Center campers ages 12 to 14 took a field trip to visit McCarthy’s Wildlife Sanctuary in The Acreage. Sanctuary owner Mark McCarthy gave the kids a guided tour filled with facts about the animals he cares for, from birds of prey to large snakes and turtles. McCarthy’s Wildlife Sanctuary is located at 12943 61st Street North. For more info., call (561) 790-2116 or visit www.mccarthyswildlife.com. For more information about day camps at the Okeeheelee Nature Center, call Meghan Murphy at (561) 233-1400.
Some of the campers hold Snowball, a male albino Burmese python, while Mark McCarthy looks on.
Mark McCarthy shows Emily Ballance a scarlet macaw.
Mark McCarthy shows campers Tequila the Gila monster.
Mark McCarthy and the campers discuss tortoises.McCarthy with a tortoise.
(L-R) Camp counselor Mo Kieffer with campers Nicole Hulen, Erica Jones and Kelly Snow.
PHOTOS BY DENISE
TBZ’s Pre-K Graduation Ceremony Leaves Me Quite Impressed
A couple of weeks ago, my twin grandsons Carter and Chandler “graduated” from pre-K at Temple Beth Zion. A total of 40 kids graduated in front of a full house of parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters and anyone else from the neighborhood who decided to drop in. (Maybe they came for the treats after the graduation!) There was not an empty seat in the house — it was standing room only.
If I were a betting man, I would say at least half of the 40 kids in the graduating class were not Jewish. But you know what? All the kids got along with each other, not caring what each other’s religion was. These kids can teach all the adults a lesson in getting along. I used to worry about the future of our country, but after watching this group of kids interacting, I no longer worry about our future.
Director Gerry Barron did a great job as the master of ceremonies. And of course the teachers Mrs. Morrow, Mrs. Crespo, Dr. La Torre and Mrs. Seltzer did a great job getting these four- and five-year-olds ready for this great day.
The kids sang eight songs. I now have a new respect for how much four- and five-year-olds can learn. When the children first marched in to the cheers of all assembled, they did the pledge of allegiance to the American flag. They then sang “America the Beautiful.” Yes, they got every word correct in this beautiful song. This was followed by “We Are Here to Welcome You,” “What a Wonderful World,” “This Land Is Your Land,” “Sing a Song,” “Kindergarten Here We Come” and finally, “Hey, Hey, Goodbye.”
Rabbi Bertram Kieffer gave the kind of speech I like the best. To the point and very short. My wonderful daughter-in-law Ashlee also gave a speech represent-
Wondering And Wandering
With Ernie Zimmerman
ing the parents. I knew my daughter-in-law was smart, but I had no idea she could speak so well in front of a large crowd.
The real story here is about my grandson Chandler. For the last ten months, Chandler has been telling me about a girl in his class named Corrine. Every time I saw Chandler, he told me how much he loved Corrine. I didn’t pay much attention to these conversations because I kept thinking, what does a four-year-old know about love? (Yeah, OK, what does a 55-year-old male know about love?)
At the graduation, Chandler proudly introduced his “girlfriend” to me. If I say so myself, my grandson is a chip off the old block. His girlfriend is beautiful. I don’t blame him for always talking about her. Chandler has good taste.
As the graduates sang their last song, I saw Chandler go to his girlfriend and give her a big kiss on her cheek. Both kids appeared to be on Cloud Nine.
As we were walking to the car, Chandler kept telling me how much he loves Corrine. But this time he added something new. He told me this was the girl he was going to marry. This was the first time I had ever heard this bit of information. (I was going to tell him about the pitfalls of marriage, along with the good things, but
I figured that conversation can wait until he is at least seven.)
I didn’t want to bust my grandson’s bubble, but I asked him if he and his girlfriend would be going to the same kindergarten. He told me no. I also know they will not be going to the same middle school or to the same high school. Can this case of puppy love handle 13 years of separation? Stay tuned — I will keep you informed.
Don’t Worry If Your Citrus Trees Lose Some Fruit This Month
Many people who enjoy citrus grow it in their home landscaping or as large container specimens on a patio or in a pool area. Many types of citrus will grow fairly big in relatively small containers, so this lends to their use as container plants.
Gardening With Gene
By Gene Joyner Extension Agent Palm Beach County
This time of year, most citrus trees should have abundant crops of developing fruit, but don’t be shocked if you start seeing some of that fruit, maybe golf-ball-size or bigger, dropping off the tree. Citrus trees initially set far more fruit than they can possibly maintain, and over a period of months they gradually abort excess fruit they can’t handle. This dropping of excess fruit will generally continue through the whole month of June, then stop once we get into July or August.
If you’re over-watering the tree or causing it stress, you might increase the amount of fruit that’s dropping off. Many people hate to see even one fruit fall off since they think that every single one should develop to full maturity. Little can be done to influence the amount of fruit that’s dropped by the tree except making sure you’re not guilty of over-wa-
tering. Trees that become excessively dry will also react by dropping fruit in addition to leaves, but in many cases that is not a serious problem.
For most people, harvesting citrus will be a little bit late this year because so many varieties had such a late bloom. Expect two to six weeks delay in the fall harvest period of most of our common varieties. That can’t be avoided, because the tree simply bloomed later than normal.
Inspect trees regularly and look for signs of insect or disease problems, particularly as we start getting more regular rainfall. Any trees that seem to require treatment should be treated promptly with an approved product. If you have new trees or trees that are less than one year in the ground, watch those very carefully since they can become excessively stressed in our current weather conditions and may abort a large percent of their crop.
If you need to prune citrus, it can be done at any time. Unwanted suckers or limbs can be thinned out or removed at pretty much any season.
Any plants planted around the base of your citrus compete for available water
and nutrients, so in many cases it’s a better idea to keep the base of the citrus tree cleared of any flowers, ground covers or other materials. This way you won’t be subjecting the tree to stress and competition.
If you have questions about the care of dooryard citrus, the Palm Beach Coun-
ty Extension office has a number of free publications that can be picked up during normal business hours. Also, if you have problems, you can take samples to the Mounts Building for a free analysis. If you can describe your problem well enough over the phone, you should call (561) 233-1750.
My grandson Chandler with his “girlfriend” Corrine.
$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@adelphia.net
HELP WANTED/BOOKKEEPER EXPERIENCED; Familiar with QUICKBOOKS - Full-Time position. Pay commensurate with experience. Fax resume to A. Silver - 561-432-2825
CLEANERS RESIDENTIAL FT — Car required, Pd. Training. North and West Palm Beach Cty. Up to $10/hr Start. 561-756-2282
RECEPTIONIST — For Lawyer and Accounting Office. Fax resume to 561793-1470
NEEDED: Experienced home care providers for a 65-year old woman with health problems. Flexible part-or-fulltime/9AM--5PM. Must have references and driver’s license. Spanish-speaking preferred but not required. Wellington 561-793-2903 HELP WANTED
Earn $800 - $3200 Monthly to drive brand new cars with ads placed on them. www.AdCarDrive.com
WORK FROM HOME NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED Let your home computer work for you! Your House. Your Business. Our proven system.Free personal coaching earn up to $500 - $5,000 PT/FT visit our website
www.kmm.Theonlinebusiness.com
HELP WANTED IRRIGATION FOREMAN — Great Pay/Full Time. 7 years
experience minimum. Residential/Commercial Clean Class D Drivers. Lic. Drug Free (561) 436-3621 OR (772) 260-3691
Wellington Law Office - needs individual with strong MS Word Skills for Word Processing & general office duties. PT or FT Hours available $10 - $12/hr. Will Train. Fax resume 561-333-1824
PART-TIME-WEEKEND CASHIER PINCH A PENNY - WELLINGTONResponsible Individual - Pool & Spa Retail Store. No Nights - apply in person. 11924 W. Forest Hill Blvd. - Wellington. Town Square Center @South Shore & Forest Hill Blvd.
DOUBLE NICHE IN ROYAL PALM ME-
MORIAL GARDENS MAUSOLEUM — Includes 2 openings & closings. Current price $2,800 asking $1,995 OBO. 772219-8153
22 FT. 1980 CATALINA SAILBOAT — with swing keel on trailer 2006 4 horse power outboard Yamaha, sleeps 5, portable head, gallery and radio. Asking $2500. Call 561-385-3606
KIDS BEDROOM - T loft bunk w/desk dresser chair. Wood, excellent condition. $450.00 OBO. 352-3012. Moving must go by June 11th.
MATTRESSES QUEEN/KING $189. Call 561-848-8765 brand new in the plastic.
MARBLE DINING ROOM TABLE - with marble base and 6 chairs. Bunk Bed, full size bottoms/twin size top (WOOD) Best Offer. 561-204-1776
HURRICANE SHUTTERS - all sizes $10 each 27" Televisions $50/Each. Microwave $100. 561-784-2991
1999 DODGE CARAVAN — New tires. AS IS. $1,000 FIRM! 561-315-1508
2004 TOYOTA TUNDRA SR5 — Access Cab 4 D — Excellent Condition – tan/tan Off Road Pkg. Towing Pkg. 45K mi. $18,900. Call 561-385-3605
POSTAL OFFICE NOW HIRING — Avg. Pay $20/hour or $57K annually including Federal Benefits and OT. Paid Training, Vacations. PT/FT. 1-800-584-1775. Ext. 2900 USWA
ABUSED DOG — Desperately seeking safe, loving, forever home. “Bella” young, female, hound mix. Sweet disposition. Good with animals & children. Please open your home and heart . Fully Vetted. Inquiries 561-632-6144
MUST SELL B CLASS SERAMAS — Cheapest price around. Pure Malaysian. 561-204-1145 Cell: 561-985-2445
MOVING SALE THIS SATURDAY, JUNE 16, 7:00 A.M. - 12550 Shoreside Ln. Wellington Lakes. Big Blue/SouthShore. \ WELLINGTON PRIVATE OUTSIDE ENTRANCE — to large furnished room & bath, in gated community. Microwave, fridge cable. All utilities included. No Pets. No Smokers. Need 1st, security & references. $650/month. Call (561) 7902326
1/1 ½ Condo furnished in Century Village, over 55 Community. Corner unit, Central Air. Has been remodeled. Beautiful Clubhouse with many activities, pool, gated community. $650 Mo. 561791-0699 or 459-9558
WELLINGTON 3BD/21/2BA/3CGAR UPSTAIRS LOFT — gated golf community. Lakefield West, unfurnished with Washer/Dryer. Large Master with walkin closet, double vanity in master bath. Screened patio. $2,500/MO. Available 08-01-07 904-669-2477
WELLINGTON 3/2 ½ TOWNHOUSE IN BRIER PATCH - Corner unit on canal. Recently refurbished with many upgrades. $1,450 MO. Pets OK. 561-6023765
Wellington Roomate wanted — at lovely Wellington condo. Rent
LOWEST PRICES! — Nobody beats our Price! Free Est. Complete A/C units from $1,150. Repair Specialists. Lic./ins. 561-795-1130 toll free 888-981-9815
Air Conditioning Special — REDUCE ELECTRIC BILL!! ALL POINT TUNE-UP
Including: Freon, Relay, Air Flow, Voltage & Ampage Draws, Cooling Loss, Condenser Coil, Drain Lines, Calibrate Thermostat. FREE Reusable Filter. BEAT THE HEAT CALL NOW! 561-333-7274. AIR CONDITIONING Repairs • Installation • Immediate Services. Mazella Mechanical Inc. Lic. #CMC1249709
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.
pool fence, emergency repairs. Free Estimates. Call 561629-6637
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
HOME STANDBY GENERATORS — Complete packages including fueled system - Best Prices & reliable new Generator systems installed from 15 to 200KW “More Practical and much quieter” Maintenance & Service for all types of generators. Factory Authorized Dealer. 561-707-0575 Palm Beach. Tropical Power Systems, Inc.
CAN FIX IT — build it, move it, plant it, and more. Call Bruce, 793-2494. TFN
BILLY’S HOME REPAIRS, INC. — Interior Trim, crown molding, rottenwood repair, door installation, minor drywall, kitchens/cabinets/countertops, remodeling, wood flooring. Bonded/Insured U#19699. 561-791-9900
I’M A HANDYMAN — Rent me hourly/ job. Slightly used craftsman practicing all trades while designing & constructing own home. Any job from hanging a fan to remodeling.Textured walls, painting, flooring, cabinets/vanities etc. Make your repair honey-do-list, free estimates, Greg. 561-531-3141
COMPLETE AUTO SHOP LOCATED IN THE MIDDLE OF LOXAHATCHEE!!Services provided; Brakes, Steering and Suspension, Belts and Hoses, Complete Engine Repair, Oil and Filters, Motor Tune Ups, Custom Exhaust Systems, A/C Repair, And Much More!!! Pick-up/Deliver Mark Hamilton Auto Repair "ASE Certified" Office: 561-793-1010 o Cell: 954-605-8416 MV#62390 Visa/MC/Amex accepted.
Learn Quickbooks One-on-One. Have a small business & need to learn Quickbooks? I will teach you: Stacy 561383-5661
HOUSE CLEANING AVAILABLE — Over 13 yrs. experience. Great references. Very Dependable. Karen. 561-632-2271
HOUSE CLEANING — Available flexible hours/No Job too Big or Too Small. References upon Request. Please call Dina 561-951-2770
CLUTTER FREE CLOSETS — For all your organizing needs. Custom closets. NOW OFFERING THE AMAZING BOOKSHELF BI-FOLD CLOSET DOOR. Robert Powell/Owner. FREE ESTIMATES. 561-422-7999 Lic. & Ins.
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 MOBILE -TEC ON-SITE COMPUTER SERVICE — The computer experts that come to you! Hardware/Software setup, support & troubleshooting www.mobiletec.net 561-248-2611 $25 Off Labor Home & Office e-Masque InteractiveHas your computer gotten slow? Do you get unwanted Pop-Ups? Does your computer seem to have a mind of its own? Would you like to connect multiple computers to the internet? Spyware & Virus Removal•Repairs •Websites•Networking Upgrades•Programming•Security call: 561-795-0559 we do make house calls www.e-masque.com CONCRETE RESURFACING — Pools, decks,
"I'LL DO IT HANDYMAN SERVICES — All interior/exterior. Repairs and renovations. Painting & Plumbing. Affordable & professional. 561-452-5033.
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
ATLANTIC SHORE HOME IMPROVEMENT — Kitchen & Bathrooms/Remodel, Ceramic & Wood Floors, Carpentry & Handyman Services, Doors & Windows. References upon request. 561-756-0428 Anthony Palermo Lic. #CGC057252 Ins.
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
QUALITY HOME IMPROVEMENTS Af-
fordable Prices — Painting Interior & Exterior, Drywall, Knockdown Texture, Fire & Water Rest., Crown Moldings, Bathroom Remodeling, Kitchen Remodeling, Tile & Marble. AND MUCH MORE... 10% OFF with this ad! One Stop Shop. Creative Concepts Construction 561-471-7874 Lic. & Bonded Home repair. Quality Work. Free estimates. Fast on time service. "For all your home improvement needs" Lic. & Ins. 561-685-5360 561-308-6677.
LITL AUDIO/VIDEO SERVICE — specializing in Home Theatre Installation Satellite Services and communications.
“I will Beat Retailer’s cost & Installation fees”! Call George for immediate service at 954-263-4189 561-784-4858 Office. Res./Comm. Lic. & Ins.
COMPLETE IRRIGATION — PVC/PIPE
supplies.Citrus ,Vegetables, Power units. Water Wheels, design services, Fairways Polo fields, Pumps/Engines mowing of all types. 1-863-675-6333.
UNIVERSAL IRRIGATION SERVICE & INSTALLATION — New Installations sprinkler repair pumps/Time Clocks. We Service all brands. Monthly Maintenance. Fast Response. Lic. #U-10740 Bonded Insured. 561-795-9735
FRANK’S BUSHHOG SERVICE — Lot mowing, Lawn Maintenance, Landscaping, Lot cleaning and TREE TRIMMING reasonable rates. 722-4403 Lic.& Ins. TNT LANDSCAPING & LAWN CARE 561-644-8683 — Lic. & Ins. Landscape design, low maintenance gardens, professional plant installation, mulching, monthly property maintenance, sprinklers maintenance & repair, expert hedge & tree trimming.
EVERGREEN LANDSCAPING INC. Let us take care. Residential & Commercial, Lic. & Ins. Professional landscape design & installation. Reasonable & reliable. Waterfall & Ponds, exotics, landscape & flatstone. Butterfly gardens, tropical and Mediterranean. www.evergreensgardens.net 561-7236166 LAWN MAINTENANCE CARL SAMUELS LAWN CARE — Complete lawn maintenance, mowing, edging, trimming & much more. Free estimates. Quality work at affordable prices! Lic. & Ins. 561-633-3687
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
Personal Assistant - Shopping , errands, pet sitting, light housekeeping. References, Please Leave Message. 561-6938761
561-601-4707 THE DOG NANNY — Wellington and individualized pampering for Wellington & Western Communities. Dogs at their Home & Office surrounding. Dog walks, Doggie Moi Play Sessions & sleepovers. American Red Cross Pet CPR/FIRST Aid Certified.
HORIZON ROOFING INCORPORATED — Quality Work & Service. Free estimates. NO DEPOSITS/Pay upon completion reliable & on time. Written warranty/credit cards accepted, residential/commercial. Reroofing, State cert. Roofing contractor. 15 yrs. Serv. So. Florida. 561-842-6120. Lic. #ccc1325633
JOHN’S SCREEN SERVICE –– Pool & patio rescreening. Stay tight, wrinklefree, guaranteed!Lic.#9001390.7983132.
ROLL DOWN SHUTTERS — Accordion
shutters, storm panels and rolling shutters...prices that can’t be beat. All shutters Systems, Inc. 863-0955 AFFORDABLE HURRICANE PROTECTION — 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
NEED HELP DEALING WITH THE IRS?
— IRS Tax Mediation Services, specializing in all collection matters. Including liens, levy, installment agreements and offers-in-compromise. Business or Personal 561-313-3955 Free Initial Consultation. Authorized to practice before the IRS.
PROFESSIONAL TILE AND GROUT SERVICE — Cleaning, Sealing, Grout coloring. Old fashion customer service. Western Community resident. HOME BEAUTIFUL INC. Lic. CBC087928 INS. 561-543-1582
TGK TILE
“You dealt with the rest now deal with the best” maintenance and repairs. Inquire about 1 months FREE service. 561-7915073 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 SIGMA III CORPORATION PRIVATE INVESTIGATIVE SERVICE — Domestic investigation, surveillance, missing persons. Background investigation into that new boyfriend or fiance, hidden assets located and more. Lic. & Ins. 561-3124386 Member of Better Business Bureau Lic. #A2300091
PRIMROSE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT, LLC — Full Service. Residential Home Care for full or part time residents. Weekly inspections,
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. #U-11006.790-0763 or 641-4592. BD 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 A ROOFING REPAIR SPECIALISTS INC. — All work guaranteed. 40 years exp. Family owned & operated. Radio dispatched 791-8855
Imy bank!
Charles D. Belcher
Belcher Electric
Joyce Belcher Belcher Orion Realty
Cheri Coates Coates Law Firm
Howard Coates Coates Law Firm
Billie Jean Ewing Ewing Optical
Bobby Ewing Ewing Optical
Michael Gauger
Riza Gilpin
Kittys Wonderbox
Warren Gilpin
Kittys Wonderbox
Jerry Roach
Zoe Roach
Al Schiff
Dan Saraceno
Florida Pool Service
Jimmy Viggiani
Florida Pool Service
PaulWassel
Champion Pest Control
These are just a few of Palm Beach County’s residents who love hometown banking at Riverside Bank.
Friendly People...Helpful Solutions...Local Decisions From people who care about doing what’s right.
Stop by any of our 7 Palm Beach County locations today! Call 561.966.2888 for the location near you.
