Town-Crier Newspaper March 26, 2021

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WELLINGTON THANKS HOSPITAL HEROES CLEAN UP YOUR RIDE AT SOMERSET SUDS SEE STORY, PAGE 3 SEE STORY, PAGE 7 THE

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

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INSIDE ITID Postpones Covered Arena At Park In Favor Of Safety Upgrades

Volume 42, Number 7 March 26 - April 8, 2021

Serving Palms West Since 1980

SUNSET POLO & WHITE PARTY AT IPC

It has to be safety first when it comes to plans for the Nicole Hornstein Equestrian Park, the Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors agreed at a special meeting on Wednesday, March 10. That means plans for a covered arena will have to be shelved for now with the focus shifted to improved fencing. Page 3

Horses & Hounds Hosts Tri-County Fundraiser

The 12th annual Horses and Hounds Charitable Trust fundraiser hosted by Jeri Caprio and Dr. Jane Bistline was held Sunday, March 21 at Hounds & Horses Farm in the Homeland community. The money raised will help Tri-County Animal Rescue care for dogs needing adoption. There was a fun dog costume contest and parade, along with professional dog portrait photography, vendors and more. Page 13

Brooke USA’s Sunset Polo & White Party “Special Edition: Latin America,” presented by Lugano Diamonds, was held Thursday, March 18 at the International Polo Club Palm Beach. The money raised will help alleviate the suffering of working equines and the people who depend on them in the poorest parts of the world. Shown above are Janice Smith, Larry Coyle and Mari Pati. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 18 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER

Sparks Fly As Reshaped Lox Groves Town Council Meets

Eagle Scout Noah Borges Places Flag Retirement Box At Park

Local Eagle Scout Noah Borges of Boy Scout Troop 222 recently unveiled a new flag retirement box at Royal Palm Beach Veterans Park. A ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by local officials was held Tuesday, March 23 to welcome this new addition to the park. Page 16

Area Hoops Star Jahnae Midget Honored At Basketball Tourney

During this month’s March Madness youth basketball tournament in Wellington, co-hosted by the Wellington Wolves travel basketball organization and U.S. Amateur Basketball, there were 97 teams competing in 17 age groups. But the biggest spotlight was focused on a girl who didn’t even play in this year’s tournament — former Wellington Wolves standout Jahnae Midget. Page 21 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 18 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 7 SPORTS..........................21 - 24 PEOPLE................................. 25 BUSINESS............................. 27 COLUMNS............................. 28 CLASSIFIEDS................ 29 - 30 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM

By Louis Hillary Park Town-Crier Staff Report There’s a new lineup on the Loxahatchee Groves Town Council, but the core issues dividing the group — road paving, commercial development and private property rights — remain the same, and it didn’t take long for those differences to resurface. At the council’s Tuesday, March 16 meeting — the first since the Tuesday, March 9 municipal election — Mayor Lisa El-Ramey departed the dais, but not before issuing a warning to her former colleagues. “The election was no means a strong statement on the direction of the town,” she said. “I hope for the sake of bringing this town and its residents together, council members will review their roles as leaders in the community and conduct themselves accordingly.” El-Ramey, an equestrian profes-

sional who already is considering a bid for one of two council positions open in 2022, also questioned the ethics of some sitting council members. Newly elected Councilwoman Marianne Miles, who defeated El-Ramey by 14 votes, was sworn in and took her seat. Vice Mayor Marge Herzog shifted to the center of the dais to serve as acting mayor. A new mayor will be tapped from among the sitting council members at a future meeting to fill the largely ceremonial position. Also sworn-in for a new term was Councilwoman Phillis Maniglia, who defeated former Councilman Dave DeMarois in this month’s election. Miles thanked her supporters. “Everyone up here has a voice and a vote,” she said. But over the course of the meeting, Miles expressed frustration that the council was unable to find

consensus on a number of issues, especially related to the frequently poor and sometimes dangerous conditions of the town’s miles of canal-side dirt roads. “I don’t know what to say about adults who act like kids,” she said. “I don’t know what it is going to take… one more death in our canals?” As the meeting progressed, Maniglia pressed Town Manager Jamie Titcomb and Town Attorney James Brako to clarify with an eye toward strengthening the town’s right to restrict traffic through the community. Maniglia reiterated her concern that developers owning parcels north of the town might attempt to use C Road as a cut-through to Southern Blvd. By council consensus, Titcomb and Brako were directed to look into how the town’s rights regarding traffic flow could be See LOX COUNCIL, page 14

Council Leaves Wellington Green ‘Conservation’ Label Unchanged

By M. Dennis Taylor Town-Crier Staff Report The Wellington Village Council discovered Tuesday, March 23 that sometimes not to decide is to decide. When faced with correcting a map error that once fixed could lead to the development of wetland parcels near the Mall at Wellington Green, the council decided to take no action, leaving the area’s master plan map unchanged. The decision came after more than three hours of discussion, which included presentations by village staff, the developer and comments from dozens of residents, with public sentiment decidedly against the change. The South Florida Water Management District apparently

couldn’t agree on the matter either regarding the proper designated use of the land, deadlocking when it considered a related item. It is the rematch of a matter last heard in 2019 that attracted lots of attention due to a single word with a deep meaning. That word is “conservation.” It’s printed on a map in the master plan document, and its message contradicts the words describing the map in the master plan, which has the final legal say. Meeting records do not indicate any decision to add the word “conservation,” and the other land with the same legal zoning does not bear this written designation on the map. Yet it has See WETLANDS, page 14

GREAT FUTURES POLO

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County’s 2021 Great Futures Polo Day was held on Sunday, March 14 at the Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington. The Celebrity Polo Cup featured Nacho Figueras, Nic Roldan and Nacho Novillo Astrada leading teams of young polo players. There was also a private field-side brunch and live auction. The event raised $180,000 to benefit the Neil S. Hirsch Family Boys & Girls Club. Shown above are Julie Kime, Christine Martin, Nic Roldan and Olexa Celine. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 8 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER

Growth In Variant Strains A Expansion Planned Concern For County Officials For Aldi Store In Royal Palm Beach

By Callie Sharkey Town-Crier Staff Report While local health officials work alongside county, state and federal organizations to get Palm Beach County residents vaccinated with one of the three FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine options, looming concerns cloud the forecast. As state and federal agencies continue to adjust their vaccine requirements, Florida Department of Health-Palm Beach County Director Dr. Alina Alonso was back before the Palm Beach County Commission on Tuesday, March 23 for an update that included warnings against dropping your guard, even after being vaccinated. “I want to talk about the COVID-19 variant report. This is very concerning,” said Alonso, as she shared a frequently updated map from the CDC. “When we came last time, we were in the 600s, even with Michigan. We are now at 1,070 [variant] cases in Florida. The total variants [in

the U.S.] are 6,638, so about onesixth of the total variants belong to our state.” To break the numbers down further, most of the variant cases are in Broward County. “This is very serious, because if the variant becomes the predominant virus, that means it spreads much easier. It’s not more lethal, but it does spread quicker,” Alonso said. “Instead of getting one or two people sick with the virus now, this will get four or five people sick at one time.” Alonso believes the fact that Florida is hub for international travel is partly to blame for the spike in variants. She also discussed the spring break crowds and problems going on further south, particularly in Miami-Dade County. “I’ve lived here all my life. I’ve gone to spring break, so I know what it is like. But this was something nobody’s ever seen before. They had to shut down and put in a curfew,” she said. “So, I

encourage all our businesses, all our population, to realize we are not out of the woods yet. We have got to wear our masks, we have got to watch our distance and we have to enforce this. You have to hold yourself back.” Alonso also explained that variants are only tested when suspected outbreaks occur. The process includes three steps: the department of health asks for local approval to recognize the suspicion of variant cases, then that information goes to the state for approval and eventually to the CDC for actual testing. “We know for a fact there are a lot more variants than what we have tested because not every positive case gets tested for this,” Alonso said. “The fear is [the variant] will become the predominant virus. It has in Europe.” Because Alonso’s department has aggressively requested more vaccines from the state’s supply, the county continues moving See VIRUS, page 4

By M. Dennis Taylor Town-Crier Staff Report Plans are in the works for the Royal Palm Beach location of popular food store Aldi to get a new wing. The expansion plan received unanimous approval from the Royal Palm Beach Planning & Zoning Commission on Tuesday, March 23, which moved the measure forward to the Royal Palm Beach Village Council. The store on State Road 7 in Royal Palm Beach, next to the company’s regional distribution center, received board approval to modify the parking lot and expand the building. Planning & Zoning Director Bradford O’Brien presented the application to the commission, and Aldi representatives were available via telephone to answer any questions. O’Brien said that the 1,416-square-foot expansion will

be to the south side of the building, which is the front portion facing SR 7. “The applicant seeks to reconfigure the parking area to increase the number of spaces,” O’Brien said. The proposal closes the existing entrance and moves it to the south side of the parking lot, removing one row of parking and adding another, so the net result is a gain of 92 parking spots. The parking lot will receive additional landscaping where the changes are made. Aldi has worked through various issues regarding the relatively small addition. “Staff recommends approval of the project,” O’Brien said. Founded in 1961 in Germany and opening its first store in the U.S. some 45 years ago, Aldi built a distribution center in Royal Palm Beach and opened a store on SR 7 See ALDI, page 4

World Cup Invitation A Shock For Rider Sahar Hirosh

By Callie Sharkey Town-Crier Staff Report One of the most difficult equestrian competitions to qualify for is the FEI World Cup Finals. So, Wellington resident and dressage rider Sahar Daniel Hirosh was shocked to receive an e-mail inviting him and 18-year-old gelding Whitman to compete in Gothenburg, Sweden in late March and early April of this year, representing his home country of Israel. “I wasn’t sure if it was a mistake or not. I didn’t expect it. It wasn’t even on my agenda,” Hirosh said. “I was aiming for the European Championship. I didn’t think that the World Cup would be an option because qualifying is harder.”

Hirosh sent three e-mails requesting confirmation before he was willing to celebrate and was greeted with the response of a smiley face and clarification — “Yes, you did qualify.” The first person Hirosh shared the wonderful news with was Whitman’s owners, Salomon and Jane Suwalsky. “I could not make it without the owners’ support and the whole team,” said Hirosh, who gave most of the credit to his equine partner. “In every [equestrian] sport, at the end of the day, the horse has to want to do it with you. The horses are so amazing with their ability to connect, and if you treat them right, they just give you their heart.”

One huge issue that came up immediately was the cost for such a trip. The FEI does provide some funds, but to transport a horse and rider around the world and back is nearly $40,000. “I remember when we got the call, with Israel being a small country, we didn’t have the funds, so it was troublesome. I told my partner, and he’s so supportive. He said, ‘Don’t worry, you are going to make it there.’ We managed to raise the funds within 48 hours,” Hirosh recalled. Friends and supporters from around the world rallied and raised the funds for Hirosh and Whitman to make their historic journey. Receiving the invitation is an See HIROSH, page 7

Israeli rider Sahar Daniel Hirosh at the AGDF in Wellington.

PHOTO BY SUSAN J. STICKLE


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Town-Crier Newspaper March 26, 2021 by Wellington The Magazine LLC - Issuu