WHS SET TO GRADUATE 535 ON MAY 25 SEE STORY, PAGE 3
LOX COMMITTEE MEETS TO TALK ROADS SEE STORY, PAGE 4
THE
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INSIDE
Attorney Talks To RPB Senior Committee About Elder Abuse
Volume 38, Number 20 May 19 - May 25, 2017
Serving Palms West Since 1980
CULTURAL DIVERSITY DAY IN RPB
Elder care attorney Leonard Baer gave a presentation on senior consumer fraud and abuse at the Royal Palm Beach Senior Ad Hoc Committee meeting on Friday, May 12. Baer has given talks across the country about financial abuse to the elderly, including for the AARP and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Page 3
Wellness Experience Hosts A Customer Appreciation Day
The Wellness Experience held a Customer Appreciation Day on Saturday, May 13 in the Kobosko’s Crossing shopping center in Wellington. Several vendors set up booths on the sidewalk. Lady Luck Animal Rescue had a few pets needing adoption, and the Hatch Cats performed music. Chiropractor Dr. Randy Laurich’s office served refreshments. Page 5
Western Academy Kids Entertain RPB Seniors
The Royal Palm Beach Seniors Activities Group held a Mother’s Day Celebration on Friday, May 12 at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center. Members of the Western Academy Charter School chorus sang Broadway show tunes and invited the seniors to play along with kazoos. Page 11
OPINION
Class Of 2017: Go Out And Help Make The World A Better Place
Next week, the South Florida Fairgrounds will host 2017 commencement exercises for the high schools serving the western communities. Seminole Ridge High School’s graduation ceremony will lead off the series on Monday, May 22 at noon, followed by Royal Palm Beach High School’s ceremony the same day at 7:30 p.m. Palm Beach Central High School’s ceremony is set for noon on Tuesday, May 23, while Wellington High School concludes the quartet at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 25. Page 4
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CAFCI and the Village of Royal Palm Beach hosted Cultural Diversity Day on Saturday, May 13 at Veterans Park in Royal Palm Beach to celebrate cultures while increasing knowledge of others and sharing diverse heritages. Shown above are Lauren Cheek, Amber Ballew and Dawn Rhys of the Sirens Dance Collective. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 9 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
At Chamber Lunch, Bellissimo Urges Investment In Wellington
By Julie Unger Town-Crier Staff Report The Wellington Chamber of Commerce held a special luncheon Wednesday, May 17 at the International Polo Club Palm Beach featuring IPC owner and horse show promoter Mark Bellissimo. Bellissimo is also managing partner of Wellington Equestrian Partners and CEO of Equestrian Sport Productions, the company that produces the Winter Equestrian Festival. At the luncheon, Bellissimo focused on innovation and his plans for the future. Bellissimo and his partners are looking to expand the equestrian season in Wellington; provide a location for festivals, tournaments and sporting events; and make Wellington more of a destination location. “Ten years ago, when I came here, Wellington was in a very different place,” he said, noting
that WEF was much smaller, there wasn’t a dressage festival with a dedicated venue and polo wasn’t where it is today. As someone who wasn’t a longtime equestrian, Bellissimo said, he challenged the convention by asking questions. “It was a large horse show,” he said. “It was not that impactful. There were farms that existed here, but it wasn’t there.” In 2004, he and his family moved to Wellington. His partnership later purchased what is now the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center and was able to turn it from a members-only atmosphere to something that was accessible to not only riders of all levels, but also to non-equestrians. The economic impact of the equestrian sport that Bellissimo and his team have created, investing more than $300 million into Wellington, has resulted in
Operation Desert Shield, among other operations. “These military veterans will be speaking about what Memorial Day means to them and what message they want to get out to the public, such as how people can get involved in veterans and memorial programs,” Morales said. The Royal Palm Beach High School advanced chorus will sing the national anthem, and local religious groups will be there to participate. There will also be a task performance along with a gun salute. “I think this is a great way to give a tribute back to our local participants of the event,” Morales said. The Royal Palm Beach Community Band will be at the event to perform both before and after.
By Julie Unger Town-Crier Staff Report While groups opposed to the long-planned extension of State Road 7 to Northlake Blvd. have vowed to keep fighting, a recent judge’s ruling puts the project back on the Florida Department of Transportation’s front burner. Plans to connect SR 7 to Northlake Blvd. have been in the books since 1945. Legal wrangling on the subject doesn’t go back quite that long, but it sometimes feels that way. The City of West Palm Beach has led the effort, fighting the connection tooth and nail, to the tune of more than $2 million in legal fees. West Palm Beach objects to the planned route adjacent to the Grassy Waters Preserve and near the Ibis Golf & Country Club. John Fumero, special outside counsel to the FDOT, is confident that the legal wrangling is nearing an end. “There was a yearlong, rigorous challenge to a permit for the State
Road 7 extension that was issued by the South Florida Water Management District to the Florida Department of Transportation and Palm Beach County, as co-applicants. We went through an almost six-day-long trial,” he explained. In late March, Florida Administrative Law Judge Bram Canter wrote a long-awaited 51-page analysis not only building the coffin for every argument against the road’s extension, he hammered in almost all of the nails. “In that order, the judge’s role was to determine if FDOT complied with all of the applicable permit criteria and all of the pertinent environmental protection criteria in order to qualify for the State Road 7 extension project,” Fumero said. “The judge categorically determined that the FDOT, in all cases, either met or exceeded all of the permit criteria and all of the environmental requirements.” All eyes now turn to the SFWMD. The order, Fumero See STATE ROAD 7, page 14
FINE ARTS FESTIVAL
Mark Bellissimo speaks at Wednesday’s chamber lunch.
PHOTO BY JULIE UNGER/TOWN-CRIER
a $200 million economic impact each year, 150,000 bed nights for Palm Beach County and 8,000 bed nights in Wellington. “Ninety-four percent of bed nights leave this community evSee BELLISSIMO, page 7
Villages To Host Memorial Day Ceremonies On May 29
By Jack Lowenstein Town-Crier Staff Report This year, Memorial Day falls on Monday, May 29, and the villages of Wellington and Royal Palm Beach will host observances that morning to honor the nation’s fallen heroes. Royal Palm Beach’s Memorial Day ceremony begins at 9 a.m. at Veterans Park on Royal Palm Beach Blvd. According to Program Supervisor Carlos Morales, two veterans will speak at the event. U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Andrew Cuthbert, who served during Operation Iraqi Freedom, will be one of the speakers. He will be joined by Sgt. Maj. Keith Anderson of the U.S. Army National Guard, with the 254th Transportation Battalion of West Palm Beach, who served during
Officials Confident State Road 7 Plans On The Fast Track
“The one thing I always look forward to is we have the local fire station involved,” Morales said. “They always bring out a ladder truck, and they hang a huge American flag. While the whole ceremony is going on, it’s basically like a reflection. You look at the huge flag — it’s overwhelming, flapping in the wind — and that is something that sticks out to me. The whole moment when you’re thinking about what Memorial Day really means.” Once again, American Legion Post 367 has partnered with Royal Palm Beach to help commemorate the day. “We’re working with the American Legion to do what we call a battle cross presentation,” Morales explained. “We’re going to do an See MEMORIAL DAY, page 4
Western Pines Middle School hosted a Fine Arts Festival on Friday, May 12 in the cafeteria. Students had a chance to show their school projects from the year to family members. There were refreshments served and a silent auction, as well as a band performance. Shown here, student Caiden Woodard shows his digital dragon artwork. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 8 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
County Administrator Receives Five-Year Contract Extension
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Writer The Palm Beach County Commission approved a five-year contract extension for County Administrator Verdenia Baker on Tuesday at her current annual rate of $273,183. Baker replaced longtime County Administrator Bob Weisman in August 2015 after serving as his deputy administrator for 15 years, and 30 years as a county employee. Her current contract expires Aug. 26. Mamie Kisner, a member of Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church where Baker is also a member, recalled how she stood before the commissioners two years ago asking them to do the
right thing and promote someone who was prepared, educated and had been mentored by Weisman, who recommended Baker as his replacement. “Not only is Verdenia respected in this county, in this state, but throughout the nation, and so I think we have a jewel in Verdenia Baker,” Kisner said. “Yes, she is a member of our church, but I have been able to serve on boards with Verdenia and seen her leadership separately from just here in front of the dais, so we fully support her. She has faced a lot of challenges during these two years, but the transition of her leadership in the last two years, I think she deserves a better chance to show See BAKER, page 14
Board OKs Design For Joe DiMaggio Pediatric Center
By Jack Lowenstein Town-Crier Staff Report Wellington’s Architectural Review Board approved a request for elevations and signage Wednesday, May 17 for the planned Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital at Memorial Pediatric Specialty Center on State Road 7. The facility will be a satellite location for the main Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Miami. It will be the sole tenant of the Wellington Parc Commercial Center property, located at 3315 State Road 7. It is on the west side of the street just south of Palomino Drive. Alan Benenson, president of Wellington Office Parc LLC, was at the meeting to request design approval for the new 31,000-squarefoot facility. The main requests regarded an update to signage
and appearance of the building as a whole. The proposed building will have neutral colors and ashlar stone. This brings in elements of the adjacent residential townhome portion of the Wellington Parc project. The building will also have bright red trimming — “red tomato,” as described in the exhibit designs. Key features of the building include the logo for Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital and a silhouette of the man himself along with his name. ARB Board Member Ron Shamash was concerned with the elevations in regard to children who visit the facility. The rear portion of the building, which faces the residential area, is proposed to have the baseball player silhouettes, but under village code, See DIMAGGIO, page 4
An artist’s rendering of the new Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital at Memorial Pediatric Specialty Center on State Road 7.