Town-Crier Newspaper March 6, 2020

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BIG WIN FOR ELBRIDGE GALE ROBOTICS SEE STORY, PAGE 3

SCHOOL DISTRICT FOCUSED ON SAFETY SEE STORY, PAGE 4

THE

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

Your Community Newspaper

INSIDE

Volume 41, Number 10 March 6 - March 12, 2020

Serving Palms West Since 1980

WILD WEST PARTY AT YOU FARM 2020

Pages 20 thru 22

Lox Council OKs Having One Non-Resident Landowner On Boards

The Loxahatchee Groves Town Council approved resolutions and ordinances Tuesday, March 3 that will allow non-resident property owners to hold positions on town advisory boards. Each board was limited to a maximum of one non-resident property owner. The decision came after a long discussion with negative pushback from some residents. The change was approved by resolution for all advisory committees except the Planning & Zoning Board, which required an ordinance due to it being a quasi-judicial body. Page 3

You Farm in Loxahatchee, together with JC Western, hosted a Wild West Party fundraiser Saturday, Feb. 29 to benefit Horses That Help, a nonprofit animal rescue that uses horses to help families in need. Visitors could shop at vendor booths, snack from food trucks, play games, ride ponies, enjoy the petting zoo, hop on a hayride and more. Shown above are Horses That Help volunteers Madison Jackson, Marlo McClymont, Adeline MacIntosh, Hannah Moritz and Isaac Rivera. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 13 PHOTO BY MEREDITH BUROW/TOWN-CRIER

Relay For Life Returns To Fairgrounds On March 14

St. Therese Church Hosts Fashion Show Luncheon At Mayacoo

The St. Therese de Lisieux Church Council of Catholic Women held its Spring Fashion Show “Leap Into Fashion” at the Mayacoo Lakes Country Club on Saturday, Feb. 29. Along with the fashion show, there was a raffle and Chinese auction. Models showed off spring clothes from SteinMart featuring looks for morning, afternoon and evening. Page 15

Seminole Ridge Hosts Region Three Tourney For Area Grapplers

On Friday, Feb. 28 and Saturday, Feb. 29 the Seminole Ridge High School wrestling program hosted the Class 3A, Region 3 tournament. The district qualifiers collected in the SRHS gymnasium to compete at the regional tournament. The top four qualifiers in the tournament were guaranteed a spot to compete in the state tournament at the Silver Spurs Arena at Osceola Heritage Park on Friday, March 6 and Saturday, March 7. Page 17 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 15 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 6 SPORTS..........................17 - 18 BUSINESS............................. 19 SCHOOLS...................... 20 - 21 PEOPLE................................. 22 CALENDAR............................ 27 COLUMNS............................. 28 CLASSIFIEDS................ 29 - 30 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM

By Deborah Welky Town-Crier Staff Report On Saturday, March 14, from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., the public is invited to enjoy a day of community fun for a great cause when the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life of Western Palm Beach County returns to the South Florida Fairgrounds. If you are wondering where you can take the kids for a fun, low-cost outing featuring legions of dedicated survivors, caregivers and volunteers walking, running and even dancing around the relay course, look no further than the Relay for Life, a fundraising event like no other. The public is invited to attend the spectacle, which will feature face-painting, bounce houses and tons of other activities, in addition to its more serious mission of raising money to support the various local programs of the American Cancer Society.

And if you haven’t signed up to take part in the actual relay, it’s not too late to join a team or start your own. The event will open at 2 p.m. with a moving ceremony recognizing approximately 150 survivors and their caregivers. After the opening ribbon is cut, they will take the first celebratory lap while teams and the public line the track, supporting them with cheers and applause. They begin the walk silently in observance of the sacrifices, strength and courage it takes to battle cancer, then retire to the Survivors’ Tent for dinner as the other 65 teams take the field. After securing pledges from family, friends and co-workers, an expected several thousand team members from Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, Loxahatchee, The Acreage and beyond will “pass the baton” as they do laps for eight hours straight. When not walking the course, participants will join

the public to check out the raffles and other fun activities taking place at each team’s “home base” tent as they compete to amass the largest total donations for the day. Each team is required to have a representative walking the track at all times but, for those not taking their turn walking, there’s plenty of socializing, music, school performances and other entertainment, as well as the fun of visiting other teams’ tents. Some teams sell craft items at their tents, mini massages or food. “The theme of this year’s event is ‘Holidays,’ so my team is doing Mardi Gras,” said Lisa Noel, the American Cancer Society’s community development manager for the western communities. “Jojo’s Raw Bar & Grill is giving us a big pan of New Orleans barbecue shrimp over rice, and we’ll be selling king cake as well. Other teams will be selling hotdogs, meatball See RELAY, page 4

ITID Bill To Allow Incorporation Study Dies In Tallahassee

By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report A bill that would have amended the Indian Trail Improvement District’s charter to allow it to conduct a study on the feasibility of incorporation has died in committee in Tallahassee. House Bill 975 would have revised the boundaries of the district, required the execution of an interlocal agreement with other governmental agencies, provided for a referendum and authorized the district to study the feasibility of an elector-initiated conversion of the district to a municipality. It was filed by State Rep. Rick Roth (R-District 85) on Dec. 17 but died in the Local Administration Subcommittee on Jan. 14. “It had to go through the subcommittee, and it never made it to an agenda to be heard prior to the end of the subcommittee meeting,” ITID President Betty Argue told the Town-Crier on Tuesday. “Essentially, it doesn’t go anywhere because it did not get on the agenda to be heard, and then it would go to the next stage.” Argue said she did not think anyone in particular held up the bill’s progress, but questions were raised about the petition process. “I think there were some things they did not like about it,” she said. “One of them had to do with the number that was presented in the petition in order to have a referendum, but it just never made it to the agenda.” The bill would have required

approval of 5 percent of the voting populace in order to qualify for a full referendum. “We had agreed to an amendment, but then they never put it on the agenda,” Argue said. “We thought we had one more week, and they abruptly canceled the meeting for that week. They weren’t having any more subcommittee meetings. I don’t think it affected just our bill. There were a lot of local administration bills that never got heard.” The bill would have allowed ITID to revise its boundaries, give it authority to do a feasibility study on incorporation and, with a petition signed by 5 percent of the electorate, hold a referendum on incorporation. She said there was some discussion about whether a petition signed by 5 percent of the electorate would be sufficient to trigger a referendum. “We had provided them with an amended bill with that taken out, but it never made it to the agenda,” Argue said. “I think there’s more going on at the state level with respect to local government, and we got caught in the crosshairs on it. I don’t think it was a specific objection to our charter amendment.” The bill was sponsored by Roth and managed for the district at the state level by lobbyist David Ramba. “The process is that you have to be heard at different subcommittees at each stage before you See ITID BILL, page 13

ROYAL HORSES AT JIM BRANDON

New Dunkin’ Coming To Royal Palm Beach, Right Next Door To Existing RPB Blvd. Location

By M. Dennis Taylor Town-Crier Staff Report At the Tuesday, Feb. 25 meeting of the Royal Palm Beach Planning & Zoning Commission, the Dunkin’ Donuts on Royal Palm Beach Blvd. received special exception use, site plan and architectural approval, along with a landscape variance, to build a new restaurant on the lot next door, just north of the existing location. Popular for the past 35 years in a building originally constructed as a Miami Subs in 1985, morning coffee and breakfast fans often back up onto Royal Palm Beach Blvd. waiting to get into the facility. Many residents may not have even realized a parcel exists be-

tween the current donut shop and the water to the north, but a .92acre pie-shaped lot at 1351 Royal Palm Beach Blvd. is part of the shopping center and is planned to be the new home of the popular eatery. Rebranded as just Dunkin’, the 3,183-square-foot restaurant will feature an improved drive-through and call-ahead pickup lane aimed at keeping traffic from backing up onto the boulevard. Easements on the parcel necessitated the landscape waiver, but village staff assured the commissioners that the same number of trees and shrubs will be used as if there were no variance. “Thank you for moving the traffic off of Royal Palm Beach Blvd.,” Commissioner June Per-

rin said to murmurs of consensus. When Development Review Coordinator Kevin Erwin reported that the facility would have 24 parking spaces when only 15 are required, Commissioner Ross Shillingford was concerned with the need for the extras. When told it was necessary during peak hours, he said, “I love the project… just don’t provide more pavement than we need.” A parking issue was the concern regarding the only other item on the agenda. This was a variance application to allow 143 parking spaces for a commercial development located at 11700 Okeechobee Blvd., at the corner of Royal Palm Beach Blvd. It’s a currently vacant office building known for See RPB ZONING, page 4

The Gala of the Royal Horses performed on Saturday, Feb. 29 and Sunday, March 1 at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center’s covered arena. Costumed riders performed a six-horse quadrille, a pas de deux and traditional Spanish rides with beauty and grace. Magnificent white Lipizzan and Andalusian horses performed the Levade, Spanish Walk, Airs Above the Ground and more. Shown above is Riding Master Rene Gasser with Habano. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 18 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER

Wycliffe Supports Innovative Israel Tennis Program

By Meredith Burow Town-Crier Staff Report Bracing brisk weather, an enthusiastic crowd attended an exciting tennis showcase Thursday, Feb. 27 during the Wycliffe Golf & Country Club’s third annual fundraiser in support of the Israel Tennis & Education Centers (ITEC). Approximately 425 people attended the match and following benefit dinner. ITEC is a decades-old organization which promotes education, safety, coexistence and fun for children living in Israel. Proceeds from the event this year will benefit ITEC in Arad, a city in southern Israel and one of the centers in desperate need of support. In a world filled with division,

ITEC, according to its representatives, strives to use tennis as a vessel for peace and a vehicle to help cultivate the well-being of children. The organization includes programs such as a coexistence program, a girls’ empowerment program, a special needs program and a program for at-risk youth. “The center in Arad is in critical need for funding,” said Yoni Yair, vice president of development for the organization and an ITEC alum. “Our center provides shelter and guidance to children with special needs, serves boys and girls at risk, and children who come from diverse backgrounds — Christians, Bedouin, Muslims and Jews. The Tennis & Educa-

tion Center in Arad is the flower of the city.” The organization has been in existence since the 1970s, but the name has recently been changed to include the word “education.” The reason for this, Yair said, is that to ITEC, education is the priority. “Most of our tennis centers are intentionally located in underprivileged communities, and our goal is to keep the children off the street,” Yair said. “Last year, when we came here, we were called the Israel Tennis Centers. We had a lot of discussions, and what we do in Israel is way beyond tennis. Education comes first.” Shadi Al Tori, a 20-year-old member of ITEC, spoke to the See TENNIS, page 7

Players Shadi Al Tori, Nir Skoletsky, Leah Hershkovis, Christina Shahla and Noa Hamenoo hold up teammate Majd Garra.

PHOTO BY MEREDITH BUROW/TOWN-CRIER


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