Town-Crier Newspaper June 2, 2017

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COUNTY PROPERTY VALUES GOING UP SEE STORY, PAGE 3

VILLAGE TO ALLOW MORE SENIOR CARE SEE STORY, PAGE 4

THE

TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE

Your Community Newspaper

INSIDE

PLAN Meeting Reviews The Advantages Of Acreage Incorporation

Volume 38, Number 22 June 2 - June 8, 2017

Serving Palms West Since 1980

VILLAGES OBSERVE MEMORIAL DAY

Preserve the Lifestyle of the Acreage Now (PLAN), a group initiating an effort to incorporate The Acreage, met again at the Acreage library on Tuesday, May 30, where members reviewed small changes in its feasibility study and proposed charter. Page 3

The villages of Wellington and Royal Palm Beach held Memorial Day observances on Monday, May 29. (Above) Mike Carroll, Major Keith Anderson, Mayor Fred Pinto, Oliver Brown, Lucien LaGrange, State Rep. Matt Willhite and Joseph Sophie lay a wreath at the Royal Palm Beach ceremony. (Left) Mayor Anne Gerwig and American Legion Post 390 Commander Alan Ziker lay one of the wreaths at the Wellington observance. WELLINGTON PHOTOS PAGE 9 ROYAL PALM BEACH PHOTOS PAGE 19

Senior Awards Night At Palm Beach Central

Palm Beach Central High School celebrated the Class of 2017 at its annual Senior Awards Ceremony on Thursday, May 18 in the school auditorium. Special awards and scholarships were given out by a number of organizations. Page 5

PHOTOS BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN AND JACK LOWENSTEIN/TOWN-CRIER

Ribbon Cuttings For Two Men And A Truck, Burlington Self-Storage

Two Men and a Truck franchisees Joel and Janelle Dowley held an open house and Central Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, May 24 at their new location in Wellington, located at 3220 Fairlane Farms Road, Suite 13. Friends, family, local business leaders and village leaders gathered for the celebration. Burlington Self-Storage of Wellington, located nearby, also held a chamber ribbon-cutting ceremony. Page 16

OPINION

With Storm Season Underway, Take The Time To Be Prepared

The Atlantic hurricane season has arrived here in South Florida. This means that we need to remind area residents the importance of incorporating the Boy Scout motto of “Be Prepared” into their lives for the next several months. This is especially important since the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) expects 11 to 17 named storms this season. Page 4

DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 11 OPINION.................................. 4 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 6 PEOPLE................................. 12 SCHOOLS.............................. 13 COLUMNS.......................14, 21 BUSINESS..................... 22 - 23 SPORTS..........................29 - 31 CALENDAR............................ 36 CLASSIFIEDS.................37 - 41 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM

Wellington Is Prepared To Meet Hurricane Season Challenges

By Julie Unger Town-Crier Staff Report Thursday, June 1, was the official start of 2017’s hurricane season, and officials in Wellington are prepared to meet storm challenges. Wellington, and the surrounding areas, have been lucky for the past decade-plus. Hurricane Matthew, last October, brought some rain, power outages and minor damage. Tropical Storm Isaac, in 2012, brought more than just a little rain. However, for the most part, Wellington has been spared from the wrath of a large hurricane bringing major damage. Wellington Assistant Village Manager Jim Barnes is confident in Wellington’s storm preparation. “We have a standard procedure that we go through in preparation

every year, and we do that in advance of hurricane season, which is to basically exercise the procedures that we would utilize during an actual storm event,” he said. Preparations include participating in a mock drill that is done in conjunction with Palm Beach County and state agencies. Wellington-specific procedures also are gone through, such as securing facilities. “In addition to the day-to-day operating supplies, Wellington has identified and allocated supplies for emergency events,” Barnes said. “Those are kept up-to-date and are checked to ensure they are well-stocked.” Some of the supplies include barricades and cones, in addition to short-term provisions for staff working through a storm event.

“We make sure that we’re stocked up and ready to go,” Barnes said. There are many different methods available for residents to keep informed during a hurricane. Wellington utilizes its social media accounts, particularly Facebook and Twitter, keeping them as up-to-date as possible. “Should access also be available, we’ll also keep the web site updated,” Barnes said. Additionally, in the past, an emergency call-in line has been utilized, which is manned by staff members who can direct residents to more information. News outlets are also kept up-to-date about utility availability and flooding. “The web site offers streaming See WELLINGTON, page 4

RPB Urges All Residents To Be Prepared For Tropical Weather

By Julie Unger Town-Crier Staff Report June 1 through Nov. 30 is hurricane season, and Royal Palm Beach officials believe that the village is up to the challenge. “We have our annual events where each individual department has checklists of items we make sure are in place at the beginning of the season,” Royal Palm Beach Village Engineer Chris Marsh said. “We did participate in the statewide exercise held in May.” Royal Palm Beach activated its EOC — Emergency Operations Center — as part of the training, and went over Hurricane Matthew action summaries from 2016. “That worked out to be a fullscale training event because that storm didn’t hit us,” Marsh said.

During Hurricane Matthew, Royal Palm Beach’s EOC was activated, which allowed any issues to be resolved. “That worked out to be a good exercise for us,” Marsh said. Royal Palm Beach residents also receive a hurricane preparedness newsletter. The general information directs residents to other web sites, what supplies to have on hand, when not to trim vegetation and more. Also, Marsh added, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s flood maps have been adopted, and the village has updated its ordinance. For residents, Marsh stressed the importance of planning ahead and having a hurricane kit. “My advice is to create a plan. Have your supplies ready prior to

the event — this is a good time to get batteries, obviously some bottled water. You should always keep a supply at the beginning of the year,” he said. “Know what your plan is for the storm.” Royal Palm Beach is not in an evacuation zone, Marsh said, so most residents do not evacuate during a storm event. “Make sure your shutters are in good working order. If you have accordion ones, now is probably a good time to exercise those. If you have the traditional ones, you put them up last year. If you’re missing any hardware, now is a good time to go out there and find the missing pieces and get them ready,” Marsh said. Royal Palm Beach utilizes soSee RPB STORM, page 4

Marketing/Branding Among Top Goals For Wellington Officials

By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Wellington Village Council conducted its Directions 2017 Summary Workshop on Friday, May 26, with a focus on marketing the village outside the community. Village Manager Paul Schofield said that after the original workshop in March, village staff took about 25 items away from the meeting that they had some direction on. These included addressing multifamily neighborhoods, code enforcement issues, increasing community participation, zoning incentives and adjustments, conceptual planning, Great Neighborhoods grants, creating model blocks and a redevelopment marketing plan, the Welcome Wellington program, senior home safety, community signage, roadway enhancements, small business grants, commercial coordination and more. “They go from looking at multifamily neighborhoods to dealing with code enforcement,” Schofield said. Staff grouped those diverse issues into seven different areas: quality of life, infrastructure investment, community investment, individual investment, business

investment, redevelopment reinvestment and marketing. “Those boil down to what are essentially three focus areas for budgets: quality of life, sustainability programs and marketing/ branding,” Schofield said. “The programs for budgetary purposes will be grouped into these three major areas.” A senior staff member will oversee all the working groups, Schofield said, explaining that Director of Administrative & Financial Services Tanya Quickel will oversee quality of life, Assistant Village Manager Jim Barnes will manage sustainability programs and Utilities Director Shannon LaRocque will oversee marketing and branding. “As each of these work groups put together things that go into the budget, people have to make sure that they work with those who are assigned to that,” Schofield said. Some of the topics are in more than one category, but quality of life takes in schools, community participation, Welcome Wellington, Great Neighborhoods grants, senior home services and safety, cultural arts, work skills education, the clean team, small business grants and house colors. Sustainability programs are See WORKSHOP, page 7

ART AT WHOLE FOODS

The Wellington Art Society held an artist reception for member Joanne Baker MacLeod on May 26 at Whole Foods in Wellington. MacLeod has been painting since she was a child, and most of her work is nature themed. Shown above is MacLeod with her painting The Everglades. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 9 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER

ITID, Lox Groves CERT Prepared For Storm Season

By Jack Lowenstein Town-Crier Staff Report Loxahatchee Groves and The Acreage have a history with hurricanes, so both areas are prepared annually to brave the possibilities of a catastrophic event. Team leader Pat Johnson of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), based in Loxahatchee Groves, said her team is prepared for the season, while Indian Trail Improvement District Manager Jim Shallman said that his organization is as well. One of Shallman’s primary goals is making sure that residents keep their own properties stormready. “By the end of June, definitely have all your trimming and everything done and out of the way, and normally you would have a little preparation time to remove items

from your pool decks and patios and whatever might blow away,” Shallman said. Shallman said there is always communication between ITID, Palm Beach County and the South Florida Water Management District regarding storm preparations. “Definitely, we rely on other agencies,” Shallman said. “We have a very close relationship with Palm Beach County and their [Emergency Operations Center] system, and if a storm is imminent, there are conference calls with the South Florida Water Management District and Palm Beach County. Everybody pretty much works together at that point.” ITID also has contracts with companies that handle debris management after a storm. “We just went out for an RFP See ITID/LOX STORM, page 4

Wellington High School Celebrates The Class Of 2017

By Jack Lowenstein Town-Crier Staff Report Wellington High School graduated its Class of 2017 on Thursday, May 25 at the South Florida Fairgrounds Expo Center. This year’s WHS seniors were the final graduating class to sit before soon-to-be-retiring Principal Mario Crocetti. He encouraged them to not let fear or failure be shackles that keep them from living a full life. Central Region Superintendent Dr. Frank Rodriguez, speaking on behalf of Palm Beach County School Superintendent Dr. Robert Avossa, carried forth the central message that Avossa shared in a video to students — to embrace change and use it to propel oneself forward in life, as the graduates

transition to their lives after high school. “Congratulations, Class of 2017. Your future is without boundaries, and that video shows just how quickly limits are stretched and broken to really accelerate change,” Rodriguez said. “Dr. Avossa has had the pleasure of watching six generations of students cross the stage, and he can honestly say that the Class of 2017 has experienced some of the most dramatic changes in technology, entertainment, pop culture and world events than the generations before you.” Rodriguez expressed how proud everyone was of Wellington’s Class of 2017. “We hope this motivates you to truly believe that nothing is

impossible after you walk across this stage today,” Rodriguez said. Crocetti will retire in the middle of the 2017-18 school year, ending his nine-year tenure as principal of Wellington High School, 20 years as a principal in the Wellington community and 35 years as an educator in Palm Beach County. Crocetti spoke about his own personal struggles with Crohn’s disease and recent triumphs, which opened his life up to being painfree for the first time in years. His message emphasized how fear can wreak havoc with the decisionmaking process. “Many times, it’s by choice. Some people will not seek treatment, for fear that family or friends will think badly of them, or that See WHS GRAD, page 11

WHS grads Rachel Diaz, Emily Fonticiella and Faith Moorhead.

PHOTO BY JACK LOWENSTEIN/TOWN-CRIER


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