MARCIA ANDREWS UPDATES ED BOARD SEE STORY, PAGE 3
ITID WILL HOST OPEN HOUSE ON MAY 19 SEE STORY, PAGE 4
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TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
Your Community Newspaper
INSIDE Wellington Senior Committee Seeks Resident Participation
Volume 39, Number 20 May 18 - May 24, 2018
Serving Palms West Since 1980
BENEFIT PAINTING PARTY AT OAK
Getting more senior residents involved in future meetings and events was the key discussion at Wellington’s Senior Advisory Committee monthly meeting on Thursday, May 10. Considering that seniors make up a sizable percentage of Wellington’s population, the committee is actively seeking the opinions, advice and feedback from other senior citizens. Page 3
‘The Wizard Of Oz’ On Stage At Acreage Pines
On May 8, the Acreage Pines Elementary School Drama Club put on their production of “The Wizard of Oz: A Very Foxy Version.” The play featured approximately 30 students from all different grades under the direction of Christe LaVigna and Karen Williams. Page 5
Independent, Student Film Fest Aims To Bring People Together
Bringing people together on a global scale and inspiring today’s youth is the hope of teacher Jean-Michel Millien, who held a film festival at the Movies at Wellington on Thursday, May 10. Millien will be holding another film festival on Sunday, May 27, at the Alco Boynton Cinema. Page 7
Wellington Elementary Fine Arts Academy Performs ‘Lion King’
On Tuesday, May 15 and Wednesday, May 16 the Wellington Elementary School Fine Arts Academy Musical Theater Group staged its presentation of Disney’s The Lion King Kids. Approximately 50 students performed songs from The Lion King under the musical direction of Dave Morrison. Page 7
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Oak Bistro & Wine Bar in Royal Palm Beach hosted a benefit painting party for the U.S. Marines 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion Association on Thursday, May 10. Participants created signed wooden flags to be sent to Camp Pendleton along with a check. The money will be used to create a living memorial and pay medical bills for U.S. Marine veterans needing assistance. Shown above are Joanne Kaminski, Jackie Grebinar, and Madison, Al and Lenyce Boyd with their flags. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 19 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
ITID Board Picks Tim Sayre To Fill Dunkley’s Seat
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors chose Acreage Landowners’ Association President Tim Sayre on Wednesday, May 16 to fill the vacancy created by the April 28 death of Supervisor Gary Dunkley. The board is required by state statute to fill a vacant seat within 30 days. Supervisors were asked to cast ballots for four candidates, with five points for the most favorable candidate and progressing to one point for the least favorable. In the voting process, Sayre received 13 points, to narrowly outpace former Supervisor Michelle Damone, who received 12 points, and Dunkley’s son, William Dunkley, who received 11 points. Accountant Larry Tibbs received nine points. Sayre, who ran unsuccessfully against Dunkley in 2016 in a
four-way race, will serve until the upcoming election in November, when the seat will appear on the ballot with three other seats that are up for election. The seats currently held by supervisors Ralph Bair, Jennifer Hager and Carol Jacobs are up for four-year terms this year, while the seat now held by Sayre will be up for a two-year term, to finish out the unexpired portion of Dunkley’s term. Sayre introduced himself after offering condolences to Dunkley’s family. “I did spend a lot of time talking to Gary at the meetings and privately,” he said. “We discussed a lot of issues that are going on around here.” Sayre noted that he has attended nearly all board meetings over the past three years. “I believe that I am aware of See SAYRE, page 17
FDOT Southern Blvd. Widening Work About To Get Underway
CULTURAL DIVERSITY DAY IN ROYAL PALM
“The other concern among the residents is noise,” she said. “We talked to them about a noise wall, and they wouldn’t accommodate us at this time, based on a finding that is four or five years old.” Gribble noted that there is much more development planned in the area, which makes a wall even more crucial. Carline Dumornay, who lives on Tangerine Blvd., filled out a comment card and was also concerned about the noise. “My concern about the road is the noise that it’s going to bring, especially in the afternoon when you’re coming from work and trying to relax, and all those cars will be going back and forth during rush hour,” Dumornay said. “I would like some buffering and a wall to contain the noise.” Ken Johnson of Loxahatchee Groves said he would like semitractor trailers kept out of the left lane to allow faster traffic to pass. “You’ve got big trucks traveling side by side,” he said. “They should be limited to the right-hand lanes.” Loxahatchee Groves Mayor Dave Browning said he was pleased that the town got traffic lights at important intersections along the road. “We’ve got traffic lights at F, D and B, and those were what we were hoping for,” Browning said,
The 17th annual Cultural Diversity Day, presented by the Caribbean-Americans for Community Involvement (CAFCI) and the Village of Royal Palm Beach, was held on Saturday, May 12 at Veterans Park in Royal Palm Beach. Music, dancing and food from different cultures entertained guests. Shown above, Western Academy Charter School students sing, led by Music Director Kelley Hubbard. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 13
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Florida Department of Transportation held a preconstruction open house Thursday, May 10 at Loxahatchee Groves Town Hall to discuss the upcoming project that will add two lanes to Southern Blvd. from west of Lion Country Safari Road to Forest Hill/Crestwood Blvd. The meeting was attended by about 30 local residents. The project, beginning this month, will widen the road from four to six lanes along the 7.2-mile stretch and add buffered pedestrian and bicycle lanes. Several residents living near the road expressed concerns about lighting and the lack of walls or berms in the plans that would limit the amount of vehicular noise to neighborhoods, which they said is already excessive. “We’re working with them on lighting so they don’t do what they did on Seminole Pratt [Whitney Road], where they lit it up where it was bright,” said Nancy Gribble of Fox Trail, which is immediately north of Southern Blvd. west of Seminole Pratt Whitney Road. After numerous complaints by residents along Seminole Pratt about the lighting, the county retrofitted the lights so that they were lower, spaced farther apart and more focused on the roadway, Gribble said.
adding that some complaints from residents using other intersections, such as C Road, that have to turn right and go a half mile and make a U-turn to go east, are difficult to accommodate. “It’s going to be a high-use road, and you just cannot have too many people coming straight across. I was surprised they put one at E Road. I think that might have been a mistake, but we’ll be looking at that. E is only one block down from D, and there’s a light there already.” Loxahatchee Groves Councilwoman Phillis Maniglia said she would like additional greenways for equestrians in addition to a planned pedestrian/bike path, and she is also concerned about noise from the road. “I live right behind the [Palms West] Plaza, and I hear the traffic,” Maniglia said. “At certain times of the day it’s going to get worse, so I would suggest a nice vegetation barrier or noise reduction wall.” She added that getting a traffic signal at D Road is important. “We’ve had so many accidents there,” she said. Maniglia would like to get D Road paved, although FDOT turned down the town’s request, pointing out that Big Dog Ranch Rescue gave the town some money to get it paved at Okeechobee Blvd. along the Big Dog property See FDOT, page 4
Observances To Honor Fallen Heroes This Memorial Day
By Erin Davisson Town-Crier Staff Report On Monday, May 28, Wellington and Royal Palm Beach will honor our fallen heroes at separate Memorial Day observances. Wellington’s observance will start at 8:15 a.m. with a parade, to be followed at 8:30 a.m. with a ceremony. The parade starts at the Wellington Municipal Complex on Forest Hill Blvd. and will continue to the Wellington Veterans Memorial at the corner of South Shore Blvd. and Forest Hill Blvd., where the ceremony will be held. Wellington’s parade will be a
meaningful event with Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops participating, along with veterans’ groups, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard and representatives of Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue. Expect fire trucks and SWAT vehicles in the parade. The main ceremony begins after the parade. Community Programs Manager Michelle Garvey, who has organized the Memorial Day service since 2010, said that all local veterans are welcome to join in the ceremony. “This is an important event in our community. It helps us recog-
nize our fallen heroes and honor them,” Garvey said. The invocation speaker this year will be Rabbi David Sislen from Temple B’nai Jacob, and Wellington Idol 2018 winner Carly Cantor will sing the national anthem. The guest speaker this year will be Henry Tocci, a U.S Marine Corps Korean War veteran. American Legion Chris Reyka Memorial Wellington Post 390 is once again working in partnership with the Village of Wellington on the Memorial Day service. Local veterans will be listed during the See MEMORIAL, page 17
PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
LGWCD Seeking Ownership Of Canal Easements
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Loxahatchee Groves Water Control District Board of Supervisors is looking into purchasing the easements for its canals and adjoining property, the ownership of which have been in question since 1918. The purchase price of $27,000, from Southern States Land & Timber, is a good deal, although it has not yet been established completely that the company is the true owner of the easements. LGWCD President Anita Kane led the effort to settle the longstanding question of ownership. “This is something that has been a long journey for me,” Kane said, explaining that a year ago, she had a conversation with District Administrator Steve Yohe, asking him who actually owns the canals and banks. “He said, ‘I don’t know.’ I said, ‘How about if I click on the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser?’ Lake Worth [Drainage District] owns its canal banks.
Wellington owns its canal banks. It says nothing when you click on us. There’s no name. Nobody owns it. There’s this swatch of land that’s unowned.” Kane and Yohe consulted with LGWCD Attorney Mary Viator, and they hired a consultant, Attorneys’ Title Fund, to do a search. “It was a much longer process than I thought, but we finally received a decision from them, whether Southern States Land & Timber was one of the original land and development companies that used to own, or still owns, those canal banks and that original 60 feet since 1918 or 1925,” Kane said. She noted that the district’s legal staff has its own opinion of the status, and had found another possible owner, now defunct, which was a Southern States subsidiary. She added that Yohe had contacted the company believed to be the owner and negotiated a deal to purchase the rights of way for $27,000. “You’re talking about See LGWCD, page 4
Graduation Ceremony Honors RPBHS Class Of 2018
By Dani Salgueiro Town-Crier Staff Report Royal Palm Beach High School bid farewell to more than 500 members of the Class of 2018 on Wednesday, May 16 at the South Florida Fairgrounds. The RPBHS seniors were among the first students to graduate in front of new Palm Beach County School Superintendent Dr. Donald Fennoy, who encouraged the graduates to feel proud of all of the hard work that they put into their academics, but to never forget the people who have helped them achieve success. “No one truly accomplishes anything that is worth accomplishing alone,” Fennoy said. “So, students, before this day is over,
I want you to take a moment to say thank you to the people who helped you get here today.” Fennoy also encouraged the graduating students to remain focused and present throughout their future lives. He encouraged them to keep using their energy and voices for the better. “I am humbled and honored to stand before the Class of 2018. I have high hopes that [this] generation begins the next chapter, that [will] bring us all closer together despite our many differences,” he said. “So, don’t go too long these next few days without setting your alarms — getting out of bed with purpose is the most common denominator in achieving every goal for the rest of your lives.”
This year’s salutatorian, Olivia Tidd, graduated with a 5.01 HPA and a 3.96 GPA, as the recipient of the Cambridge Scholar Award and having accumulated nearly 300 hours of community service. Tidd will be attending Stetson University in the fall. In her farewell speech Tidd echoed some of the words said by Fennoy in relation to the many aspects of life that divide people. “In our short lives, we have witnessed and experienced numerous tragedies and hardships — terrorism, police brutality, gun violence and school shootings, along with a plethora of personal obstacles that each of us have faced,” Tidd said. Through every obstacle, though, See RPBHS GRAD, page 9
Bruce, Veronica and Christian King celebrate after the ceremony.
PHOTO BY DANI SALGUEIRO/TOWN-CRIER