SHINING LIGHT ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING SEE STORY, PAGE 3
WELLINGTON CHANGES ALCOHOL RULES SEE STORY, PAGE 4
THE
TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
Your Community Newspaper
INSIDE
Volume 41, Number 11 March 13 - March 19, 2020
Serving Palms West Since 1980
YBBII MARKS 20TH ANNIVERSARY 2020
Pages 20 thru 22
Groves Council Agrees To Put Road Rock On Collecting Canal
The Loxahatchee Groves Town Council approved spending a portion of its last remaining budgeted funds for road materials on Collecting Canal Road at its meeting on Tuesday, March 3 after some debate on where the road rock would be best used. Page 3
Premier Family Health & Wellness hosted a 20th anniversary celebration for the local breast cancer support group Your Bosom Buddies II honoring its founder Tee Franzoso on Thursday, March 5. Franzoso was honored for her dedication to breast cancer patients, even though Franzoso herself is not a breast cancer survivor. Shown above are YBBII board members Lorna Johnson, Tee Franzoso, Marie Phillips, Abbe Felton and Andrea Mattes. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 11 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
The Calvo Group At Keller Williams Opens New Office In RPB
Lori Calvo, CEO of the Calvo Group at Keller Williams, celebrated the opening of her team’s new office in Royal Palm Beach on Saturday, March 7. Originally from Chile and raised in New Jersey, Calvo has lived in Wellington for the last 18 years, building deep roots in the community for her family and her business life. Page 7
Kathy Foster Becomes First Woman On Founder’s Plaque
By Meredith Burow Town-Crier Staff Report Former Wellington Mayor Kathy Foster received a special surprise Tuesday, March 10 when the Wellington Village Council decided to add her name to the
Wellington Softball Squad Dominates Royal Palm Beach 10-1
The Royal Palm Beach High School girls softball team were perfect on the season until they faced rivals Wellington High School on Tuesday, March 10. Wellington senior pitcher Kate DeSimone gave up five hits and just one run as the visiting Wolverines used a nine-run sixth inning to prevail 10-1 in the contest. Page 17
Former Mayor Kathy Foster listens as the Wellington Village Council thanks her for her service to the community. PHOTO BY MEREDITH BUROW/TOWN-CRIER
Seminole Ridge Flag Football Girls Defeat Visiting Broncos 27-6
The Seminole Ridge High School girls flag football team hosted rival Palm Beach Central High School on Thursday, March 5 and defeated the Broncos 27-6, led by quarterback Haylie Young’s four touchdown passes. Page 17 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 15 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 6 SPORTS..........................17 - 18 BUSINESS............................. 19 PEOPLE......................... 20 - 21 SCHOOLS.............................. 22 CALENDAR............................ 27 COLUMNS............................. 28 CLASSIFIEDS................ 29 - 30 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
Founder’s Plaque on display at the Wellington Municipal Complex. After not adding anyone to the plaque since 2013, Foster’s is the second name added to the plaque over the past month. Former Mayor Tom Wenham, the village’s first elected mayor, was added at the Feb. 25 meeting. While Wenham was the first elected mayor, Foster was Wellington’s inaugural mayor. She played a pivotal role in the incorporation of Wellington 25 years ago and sat on the board of the Acme Improvement District, Wellington’s pre-incorporation government, before being elected to the inaugural Wellington Village Council upon incorporation. She was appointed mayor by her fellow council members at the new village’s very first council meeting. The sound of applause drowned out her footsteps as the visibly moved Foster accepted the invitation to the podium. There she was met with words of thanks, encouragement and appreciation for her service to Wellington, of-
fered by current council members. “It was clear to me that we hadn’t put anyone on the Founder’s Plaque in seven years, and there were names to me that were clearly missing,” Councilman John McGovern said. “The two people that I think set the course for this village and where we are today are Kathy Foster and Tom Wenham.” McGovern went on to express how he found it appropriate that Foster, the first mayor and first female mayor of Wellington — as well as the first woman whose name is to be placed on the Founder’s Plaque — should receive this honor during Women’s History Month. “I’ve talked a lot about the fact that I grew up in this community, and for me, the only example of what government was in those days was my family’s friend, Kathy Foster,” McGovern said. According to McGovern, when he joined the council in 2015, the first person he wanted to talk to was Foster. He met her later for See FOSTER, page 13
Groves Voters Set To Decide Three Charter Amendments
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report When Loxahatchee Groves voters go to the polls on Tuesday, March 17, they will vote on three ballot questions relating to the town’s charter. One is a housekeeping measure, while two would apply term limits to council members and the mayor. These ballot questions are in addition to the municipal election for Seat 5, where incumbent Vice Mayor Dave DeMarois is being challenged by former Councilwoman Marge Herzog. The town’s Charter Review Board spent a great deal of time last year going over the charter, finding portions that are no longer relevant or no longer apply. The first referendum question asks voters if they want to delete language in the charter that is outdated or no longer applicable to the town regarding boundaries as they relate to annexation prohibitions, qualifying periods, standards of conduct, transition schedules during the incorporation process and references to county taxing districts that no longer apply. The second question asks if the charter should be amended to provide that a council member may not be selected to serve more than two consecutive annual appointments as mayor unless an annual break of one election cycle (one year) has occurred. The third question asks if voters wish to provide that a council member may not serve more than two consecutive terms of three years each unless there is at a minimum a break of one regular election cycle following the end of the second term in which the person does not serve as a council member. The town has created an in-
formation page online at www. loxahatcheegrovesfl.gov that answers frequently asked questions on the referendums, as well as other election information and a sample ballot. “It lists the three ordinances that are the subject of the referendums,” Town Manager Jamie Titcomb told the Town-Crier on Wednesday. “It gives the description on the ballot, and it gives a brief explanation of what a ‘yes’ vote means and what a ‘no’ vote means. I wrote that for the charter committee to put on the web site because I wanted some explanation from the town about what these meant to the lay person. However, we can’t advocate for or against the outcome of the vote.” The charter committee started out with 15 members appointed by the council. Four members left, leaving 11 members to finish the completed product approved by the council in November. Bill Ford started as chair, which has since been turned over to former Loxahatchee Groves Water Control District Supervisor Don Widing. Titcomb said the charter committee will continue to meet regarding other possible changes, but the referendum questions that will appear on the March 17 ballot were produced on a timeline that fit with the Supervisor of Elections schedule. He explained that the first question would remove provisions that are no longer relevant, such as details regarding the transition of the town upon incorporation. “Much of that language was unique to the snapshot in time of going from unincorporated to incorporated,” he said. “None of it is relevant or pertinent anymore. It See QUESTIONS, page 4
PURIM CARNIVAL
ALA To Meet With Indian Trail On Incorporation Strategy
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Acreage Landowners’ Association agreed Tuesday, March 10 to arrange a joint meeting with the Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors regarding the question of incorporation. The decision was in the wake of the state legislature letting a proposed ITID charter amendment die in subcommittee recently that would have allowed the district to research the feasibility of incorporation. “That will be on the ITID agenda for Wednesday, March 18, and the purpose of it would be for the ALA and Indian Trail to discuss the parameters and arrange a workshop to discuss what ITID
would support,” ITID President Betty Argue told the Town-Crier on Wednesday. At the Tuesday ALA meeting, President Bob Morgan said the ALA has a poll up on its Facebook group regarding having a feasibility study done on incorporation, which he said would be a step toward the possible incorporation of The Acreage community. “It seems like we’re getting a lot of positives,” Morgan said. “We do have a few people who are against it. The problem is it’s quite expensive.” He added that the web site questionnaire asks residents if they would be interested in donating toward a study on incorporation. “Whether we get some crazy amount of $20,000, $30,000 or
$40,000 is probably a pipe dream, but it’s out there,” Morgan said. “We’ll see what the consensus says. If it comes where people aren’t interested, we’ll drop the subject, and 10 years down the road we’ll try again.” ITID Supervisor Tim Sayre, who was attending the meeting, said that 10 years would probably be too late to consider incorporation. ALA Board Member Dixie Thiery said she would like to see some facts about incorporation, especially the financials. “Let us know financially if it’s going to go,” Thiery said. “I would love to see what’s really going to happen… keep our own rules, keep our rural atmosphere — evSee ALA MEETING, page 13
Temple Beth Torah and Temple B’nai Jacob of Wellington joined together to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim at Temple Beth Torah on Sunday, March 8. Guests enjoyed food, games, music, bounce houses, prizes, crafts, a martial arts demonstration, a costume contest and a Hamantashen contest. Kids and adults came in colorful costumes and enjoyed a wonderful afternoon of fun. Shown above are Councilman Michael Drahos, Mayor Anne Gerwig, Councilman John McGovern and Councilwoman Tanya Siskind with costume contest winners ghostbuster Lillian Koenig (second place) and barista Asher Goldman (first place). MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 15 PHOTO BY CALLIE SHARKEY/TOWN-CRIER
Elbridge Gale’s White Honored As Teacher Of Year
By M. Dennis Taylor Town-Crier Staff Report For many starting out a Thursday at work, about 9:15 a.m., only to have your boss, three camera crews and the print media, as well as many co-workers, barge into your office might throw you off your game. But after a few tears of joy, Palm Beach County Teacher of the Year Syndie White maintained control of her emotions — and her class. Palm Beach County School District Superintendent Dr. Donald Fennoy brought the news to White in her classroom at Elbridge Gale Elementary School in Wellington on Thursday, March 5, presenting her with a bouquet of flowers in
front of her well-behaved class, which seemed a little in awe of the spectacle. White, a third-grade math and science teacher at Elbridge Gale, has been teaching for eight years and has already earned an Elementary Math Teacher of the Year Award and an Educator/ Collaborator Award. She has been teaching as a national STEMcertified teacher at Elbridge Gale for the past five years. In the first four years of her tenure, she taught math to fifth graders before moving on to her current assignment teaching third graders. The first thoughts White spoke were of her father. “He mowed lawns for 30 years so I could be here,” she said. “He
wanted something better for me.” Speaking to the Town-Crier later in the day, White detailed her background. “My father came from Haiti, and I was the third child born in the U.S. My mother passed away when I was in first grade,” she recalled. Today, White has a son who is three and a six-year-old daughter, who attends Elbridge Gale. Her husband is an electrical engineer with Comcast. She is proud to have started and still leads the school’s engineering club. The first thing on her list that White said she enjoys most about teaching is, “The relationships you build. Parents are entrusting See TEACHER, page 4
Teacher of the Year Syndie White is surprised in her classroom by Superintendent Dr. Donald Fennoy and School Board Member Marcia Andrews. PHOTO BY M. DENNIS TAYLOR/TOWN-CRIER