MEET THE 2015 VALEDICTORIANS AND SALUTATORIANS FROM LOCAL HIGH SCHOOLS SEE STORY, PAGE 3 THE
TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
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INSIDE
Volume 36, Number 20 May 15 - May 21, 2015
Serving Palms West Since 1980
CULTURAL DIVERSITY DAY IN RPB
Royal Palm Seniors Group Celebrates Mother’s Day In Style
The Royal Palm Beach Seniors Activities Group celebrated Mother’s Day on Friday, May 8 at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center. Mothers received a flower corsage and a carnation. A pot luck lunch was served, while the No Strings Attached acoustic rock duo provided the entertainment. Page 10
Caribbean-Americans for Community Involvement (CAFCI) and the Village of Royal Palm Beach presented the 13th annual Cultural Diversity Day on Saturday, May 9 at Royal Palm Beach Veterans Park. There was food, dancing and music from different cultures. Shown here are AfroQuena Dance Corporation’s Lynette Otero and Anthony Rivera on stage. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 17 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
Ceremony Welcomes Coates To Court Bench
Howard K. Coates was invested as a judge of the 15th Judicial Circuit Court on Friday, May 8 at the Palm Beach County Courthouse. An attorney and former Wellington Councilman, Coates was named as a judge by Gov. Rick Scott in December. Page 15
Elbridge Gale Kids Enjoy ‘Pennies For Pasta’ Luncheon
Wellington’s Olive Garden restaurant hosted the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Pennies for Pasta luncheon with Elbridge Gale Elementary School students Monday, May 11. The school collected $17,400 in donations, making it the 17th out of 27,000 schools in the country. Page 15
OPINION Thoughts For The Graduates: ‘Be Not Afraid Of Greatness’
Next week, the South Florida Fairgrounds will host commencement exercises for the four public high schools serving the western communities. We won’t be on stage presenting grandiose oral dissertations to those donned in cap and gown. But that doesn’t stop us at the Town-Crier from stepping behind our virtual podium and offering words of wisdom as well. We start with a quote from William Shakespeare: “Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.” Page 4
DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 10 OPINION.................................. 4 CRIME NEWS.......................... 6 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 7 PEOPLE................................. 11 SCHOOLS...................... 12 - 13 COLUMNS.......................14, 21 BUSINESS..................... 22 - 23 SPORTS..........................29 - 31 CALENDAR............................ 34 CLASSIFIEDS................ 36 - 39 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
High School Graduations Next Week At The S.F. Fairgrounds
By Julie Unger Town-Crier Staff Report The South Florida Fairgrounds Expo Center will become graduation central next week as thousands of local students move their tassels from the right to the left sides of their caps as they cross the stage and leave behind their high school years. All four public high schools serving the western communities will hold graduation ceremonies at the fairgrounds next week. Royal Palm Beach High School’s graduation starts off the bunch on Monday, May 18 at 7:30 p.m. The school’s Project Graduation party will be later that evening at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center. Principal Jesus Armas is excited about the ceremony, where he will join other dignitaries giving speeches to the student body. “We’ve always taken pride in our graduation,” he said. “We believe it is a formal, dignified event. We believe that the timing of it is right — we give everyone their due while at the same time making sure we’re not wasting people’s time. We believe that is a good, crisp ceremony.”
Approximately 500 students will be graduating as part of the RPBHS Class of 2015, including valedictorian Zerin Islam and salutatorian Jessica Gostinski. Next is Palm Beach Central High School’s graduation on Wednesday, May 20 at 8 a.m. Project Graduation will take place later that evening at Village Park on Pierson Road. It will be a traditional ceremony, Principal Darren Edgecomb said, but the real highlight is the program itself. “We feature some of the academic leaders at our school on the program. We feature, of course, the valedictorian and the salutatorian; we also feature the senior class president, as well as the student government association president,” he said. “We took a unique stand this year in that we also featured one of our finalists for the National Merit Scholarship. So, we have five students on the cover of the program.” The National Merit Scholar student, Jared Greenberg, scored in the top one-half percent of students in the country on college entrance exams. Additionally, more than 70 stu-
dents will be recognized with the Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) Diploma, an advanced qualification program. “This will be the first group going through,” Edgecomb said. The principals from the feeder middle schools also will be onstage during graduation, which will be unique to Palm Beach Central. “One thing that I’m featuring in my speech is about being in education for 27 years. I speak about that, and this is the most amazing group of kids that I’ve had the honor of working with. It’s a pretty special group, and it’s my first year at the school. I’ve only got to know them one year, but it has been a pretty incredible year,” Edgecomb said. Approximately 675 students will be graduating, along with valedictorian Brooke McFarland and salutatorian Adriana McCabe. Wellington takes its turn at the fairgrounds on Thursday, May 21 at noon. The WHS Project Graduation will be staged that evening, also at Village Park on Pierson Road. Wellington High School’s seSee GRADS, page 16
LGWCD Sends Trail Agreement To Town Council
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Loxahatchee Groves Water Control District Board of Supervisors approved an agreement Monday with the Town of Loxahatchee Groves to allow the construction of multipurpose trails along district canal easements, as long as they are fenced to protect property owners that abut them. LGWCD Administrator Steve Yohe said the district had also received communications from Town Manager Bill Underwood advising that the town would prefer not to get permits for development of the trails, but Underwood had been advised that the town would need to have a permit, for which the board approved a form. “The town manager was also advised that fences must be constructed where they are currently not in place to protect landowners and [provide] a level of respect to the landowners, and also to protect the equestrians,” Yohe explained. LGWCD Attorney Mary Viator
said that there had been an issue regarding the fencing and explained that attorney Frank Palin had been working on language consistent with the town’s comprehensive land use plan. Palin said the language does not require the town to construct trails or improvements to the rights of way, but if trails are initiated, the town would be required at a minimum to install fencing along the canal easements on lettered roads to the extent necessary to ensure the safety of riders, animals and residents. “The key language I’m using here is taken directly from the town’s comprehensive plan,” he said. Viator said the proposed amended interlocal agreement and permit form would be final if the town approved them. Supervisor John Ryan said he was concerned that the town might not approve the amended form and felt that the issues could be worked through at a joint workshop set for See LGWCD, page 16
VINCEREMOS BREAKS GROUND ON NEW BARN
The Vinceremos Therapeutic Riding Center held a groundbreaking for its new barn Friday, May 8. The barn will provide a safe, permanent home for the therapy horses. Shown here is supporter Victoria McCullough with Vinceremos Executive Director Ruth Menor. STORY & MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 7 PHOTO BY JULIE UNGER/TOWN-CRIER
Wellington Council Postpones Manager Wellington Council OKs Home Contract Discussion Away From Home Expansion
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Wellington Village Council gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a conditional use application for the Home Away From Home daycare center and preschool to increase its capacity from 171 to 299 children. Home Away From Home is located at the southeast corner of Binks Forest Drive and Bent Creek Road. Growth Management Director Robert Basehart said Home Away From Home, located in the Binks Commercial Center, is expanding its space by 5,643 square feet to a total of 14,686. The original approval was in December 2008. “Currently, four lots are occu-
pied,” Basehart said of the 15-lot commercial center. “Home Away From Home occupies lots one through three. This application will involve the addition of lot four.” Several businesses occupy another lot, while the rest of the center is undeveloped, he said. “We think that there are a number of advantages to this application and benefits to the community,” Basehart said. “These people have done a great job since the inception of the facility, and now they’re going to be able to accommodate more children.” He added that the traffic patterns will be improved with a connection of the center’s internal road to Binks Forest Drive, which will enable two one-way traffic circula-
tion patterns for the drop-off and pickup of children. “The [new] connection was always contemplated,” Basehart said. “When the park originally went through, the applicants actually preferred to stub the street and allow it not to connect at that point because it would have taken a comprehensive plan amendment application for the council to approve, and they didn’t want to go through that process. However, it was always the intention that someday that connection would be desirable, and with the increased activity on this site… we think this connection is going to make a very positive difference.” The number of employees will See EXPANSION, page 4
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Wellington Village Council postponed discussion Tuesday of Village Manager Paul Schofield’s employment contract until July so that village staff could gather comparative information, although council members did spend time discussing it. Mayor Bob Margolis, who had asked that the item be put on the agenda, explained that they had a lengthy discussion at their agenda review meeting Monday and decided to postpone it. A renewal decision must be made on Schofield’s contract by September, but it doesn’t expire until Feb. 14, 2016. “We had a lengthy discussion yesterday about this issue, and it’s clearly evident that the council needs more time to digest this
and get some more information,” Margolis said. Council members want to find out their options by looking at current contracts from other municipalities. “I understand that while I may have been willing to move forward, that may have been a little bit premature for the other council members,” Margolis said. “What I would like to do is get the council’s consent not to discuss this tonight, but think about discussing it before the end of August.” He pointed out that the council has only one meeting in July, and that newly appointed Councilman John McGovern wanted as much time as possible to study the question. “We’re coming up with different issues,” Margolis said. “We have See MANAGER, page 16
Verdenia Baker Chosen As New County Administrator By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Deputy Palm Beach County Administrator Verdenia Baker was selected Tuesday to succeed her boss, County Administrator Bob Weisman. Weisman will retire in August after 35 years with the county, 22 as the county administrator. The Palm Beach County Commission spent the day Tuesday interviewing six finalists for the county’s top job. The field had been narrowed from 80 candidates, and included four out-oftown finalists selected from a nationwide search. Baker has been with the county for 28 years. She started with the Office of Financial Management
& Budget in 1986 as a budget analyst and has served as a deputy administrator under Weisman for 14 years, having been involved with virtually every major project during that time. She oversees Planning, Zoning and Building; the Office of Small Business Assistance; and the Tourist Development Council. She is also the liaison to the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council. The other in-house finalist was Assistant County Administrator Shannon LaRocque, who joined the county in 2005 as the liaison for the Scripps Florida program. A professional engineer, LaRocque manages the Department of Economic Sustainability, Palm Tran, Palm Beach County Water Utili-
ties, Scripps, Max Planck and the Convention Center Hotel Project. She serves as the liaison to the Housing Finance Authority, the Workforce Development Board, the Business Development Board, Westgate CRA and the Community Land Trust. The other candidates were Thomas Himler, deputy chief administrative officer for Prince George’s County, Md.; John Pulomena, county executive for Middlesex County, N.J.; Michael Rogers, vice president for advancement for the University of the District of Columbia; and Bruce Romer, vice president of Westat Inc. and a former executive of Montgomery County, Md. Commissioners used a ranking
sheet that gave their preferred candidates the lowest scores. The two in-house candidates topped the list. Baker received 12 points, and LaRocque had 15, while Rogers came in third with 27. Baker received three first-place votes, LaRocque had two and Rogers one. Himler also received a firstplace vote. It was generally known that Baker was Weisman’s favored candidate. After the scores were tallied, Palm Beach County Mayor Shelley Vana said she considered the results close and asked Weisman to weigh-in on the results. “About 20 years ago, I picked Ms. Baker out of the county staff and promoted her, eventually into
the administrative ranks,” Weisman said. “After being assistant administrator, I promoted her to the deputy administrator position, and I felt she has served this board, the county and myself in an admirable manner for all these years. I’ve always supported her. I would also say that I was pleased that I could hire a person of Shannon LaRocque’s capabilities, and with the outstanding job that she has done for me and this board over all these years.” Weisman said he was proud of the credentials of both local candidates. “To have two internal candidates is a great pleasure to me,” he said. “With Verdenia being See BAKER, page 16