Town-Crier Newspaper November 1, 2019

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WRITING CONTEST AT PALM BEACH STATE BEAUTIFUL HARMONY AT VILLAGE MUSIC SEE STORY, PAGE 3 SEE STORY, PAGE 7 THE

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

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RPB Zoners OK Plans For Apartment Units At Tuttle Royale

Volume 40, Number 41 November 1 - November 7, 2019

Serving Palms West Since 1980

WICKED VII HALLOWEEN PARTY

The Royal Palm Beach Planning & Zoning Commission met Tuesday, Oct. 22, and most of the items on the agenda pertained to the Tuttle Royale project located on the south side of Southern Blvd., just west of State Road 7. The portion of the large, multi-phase project currently under review is Pod 2, the portion of the project designated for 401 rental units on 30 acres. Page 3

Wellington Holds Ribbon-Cutting For Pedestrian Bridge

On Saturday, Oct. 26, a ribboncutting ceremony was held at the new Binks Pointe Pedestrian Bridge connecting the Binks Forest community to Flying Cow Road. Page 10

Wellington Hosts Child Safety Experience At Community Center

Wellington hosted a free Child Safety Experience for local families on Saturday, Oct. 26 at the Wellington Community Center. Wellington’s Community Services Department and Parks & Recreation Department partnered with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and Palm Beach County FireRescue on the event. Page 11

Broncos Claim District Crown With 28-14 Victory Over Gardens

The Palm Beach Central High School football team hosted district foe Palm Beach Gardens High School for a game Thursday, Oct. 24 that would determine the District 10-8A champion, and the Broncos defeated the Gators 28-14 to earn the team’s third-straight title. Page 19 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 18 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 7 PEOPLE................................... 8 SCHOOLS................................ 9 COLUMNS............................. 16 BUSINESS............................. 17 CALENDAR............................ 18 SPORTS......................... 19 - 20 CLASSIFIEDS................ 21 - 22 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM

The Young Professionals of Wellington hosted the Wicked VII Costume & Casino Night on Saturday, Oct. 26 at the Wellington National Golf Club. The evening included ghoulish costumes and groups displaying themes. The best costume of the night was awarded to Jenny Schutzler. Shown above are Matthew and Nicole Apelbaum with Jenny and Derek Schutzler. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY GINA M. CAPONE/TOWN-CRIER

Village Observances Will Honor Area Veterans Nov. 11

By M. Dennis Taylor Town-Crier Staff Report Monday, Nov. 11 is the 101st anniversary of the armistice that ended the hostilities of World War I, then called the Great War. The observance has since become the modern Veterans Day holiday, which will be commemorated once again with events hosted by the Village of Royal Palm Beach and the Village of Wellington. These local observances bring out hundreds of attendees, who turn out each year to honor veterans in the community. “We have something new this year. It is the first time we have done it, and we want it to grow each year and make it an annual

event,” Royal Palm Beach Parks & Recreation Director Lou Recchio said. “We want to address veterans on a face-to-face basis. We are inviting them to a breakfast for them and their families, free of charge.” The pancake breakfast, complete with bacon, sausage, grilled potatoes, biscuits and gravy, pastries, fresh fruit and assorted juices, begins at 9 a.m. at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center, located at 151 Civic Center Way. “The program begins around 10 or 10:30 a.m. after everyone has eaten and includes guest speakers, the mayor and the council,” Recchio said. “We want to thank and honor the veterans on a personal basis and shake their hands. We

want to give the veterans something to remember this particular Veterans Day.” Residents interested in attending the free breakfast should RSVP to (561) 790-5196. Recchio said that about half the seats are already spoken for as of press time. The ceremony includes military guest speakers as well as the village dignitaries. The Seminole Ridge High School and Royal Palm Beach High School JROTC cadet escorts will be on hand, and veteran support organizations will also be at the event to assist veterans. The Royal Palm Beach Community Band is scheduled to See VETERANS, page 4

Marine Conservation Club Gives WLMS Students A Hands-On Science Lesson

By Callie Sharkey Town-Crier Staff Report Students at Wellington Landings Middle School have the opportunity to join some unique after-school clubs, and one that provides hands-on learning combined with participation in real science is the Marine Conservation Club, sponsored by seventh grade civics teacher Mary Jackson. “I started the club five years ago, and the whole reason is because

I’m an avid free diver as well as a scuba diver, and I love to teach. It grew from teaching civics to go into marine biology because of my passion for the ocean,” Jackson said. “We didn’t have a Marine Conservation Club, and I was vice president of my club back in high school, so I wanted to start one here.” Presently about 50 students are active members, and at their most recent meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 30, they heard a presenta-

Members of the Marine Conservation Club at Wellington Landings Middle School hold up their yellow drift cards with Dr. Amanda Waite of the ANGARI Foundation and teacher Mary Jackson. PHOTO BY CALLIE SHARKEY/TOWN-CRIER

tion by Dr. Amanda Waite of the ANGARI Foundation. Waite educated the students on the Lagoon Drift program, a Lake Worth Lagoon drift card study that first took place in November 2017. The program uses the carefully scheduled release of environmentally friendly placards into predetermined locations so the nonprofit can track the movement of water throughout Palm Beach County. This year, six different locations will release a total of 240 drift cards, and the WLMS Marine Conservation Club is joining in the project for the second year. At the meeting, students decorated bright yellow drift cards to release on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 3 p.m. at the West Palm Beach public dock. The cards will float along for about a week or two, where hopefully the messages and pictures the kids drew will attract enough attention to encourage people to find the cards and send in much-needed tracking information. “This is the second Lagoon Drift experiment that the Marine Conservation Club has participated in,” Waite said. “WLMS See SCIENCE, page 18

Westlake Council Approves Plan For 90-Acre Soccer Training Academy

By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Westlake City Council approved the initial phases of a master plan and site plan Monday, Oct. 28 for an international soccer school on 91.53 acres at the southern end of the community. The council also approved a second 7-Eleven convenience store on the west side of Seminole Pratt Whitney Road south of Persimmon Blvd. West. The council, sitting as the local planning agency, heard details on the plans for the International Sports Training Facility (ISTF), a cutting-edge international prep school proposed by Coral Springsbased Contraria Development and SOCR Ventures II. The plans were approved at the regular council

meeting immediately after the LPA meeting. The planned facility is located on the east side of Seminole Pratt Whitney Road at Waters Edge Drive in the far southern portion of Westlake just north of Sycamore Drive. Westlake Planning Consultant Nilsa Zacarias said the applicant is asking for approval of elementary and secondary schools, dormitories, medical facilities, seven soccer fields and a glass-enclosed observation deck. Zacharias added that the application meets all conditions of the city’s comprehensive plan and land use development codes. She said the site is divided into seven parcels. The first proposes See WESTLAKE, page 4

SRHS TRICK-OR-TREAT

Parents brought their outfitted offspring to Seminole Ridge High School on Saturday, Oct. 26 to participate in a trick-ortreat event hosted by the school’s Student Government Association. Families stopped for games and goodies at stations throughout the courtyard. Shown above, Rosalyn Mull embraces her little brother Max as the two trick or treat as Queen Elsa and her frozen friend Olaf. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 15 PHOTO BY MEREDITH BUROW/TOWN-CRIER

ITID Approves R3 Road Plan To Improve Access To District Services

By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report After a public hearing on Wednesday, Oct. 23, the Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors approved its R3 road improvement plan to pave or put millings on certain roads that the board has deemed will benefit all residents of The Acreage. The public hearing was before a full house with more than 50 residents attending, many of whom spoke either for or against the plan. Several wanted their particular road paved or milled. The purpose of the plan is to improve access to schools, parks, impoundment areas, ITID facilities and Palm Beach County FireRescue facilities. ITID Attorney Mary Viator explained that the R3 plan is designed to benefit all district

residents, whether or not they live on one of the particular roads being improved. “You’re probably trying to understand what the parameters are that we’re all here tonight under this public hearing,” Viator said, explaining that ITID operates under the standards of state statutes that outline procedures it must follow to improve its infrastructure. “In this case, it’s the R3 road paving plan. We’ve gone through this process of first creating the geographical areas or the lands that are going to be impacted by the road plan.” She explained that the ITID board approved a resolution to form the R3 area after months of discussions and public input meetings. “We advertised for objections, See ITID ROADS, page 18

Wellington Chamber Hosts County Elections Chief

By Gina M. Capone Town-Crier Staff Report The election systems in Palm Beach County are ramping up for another test, as Florida’s presidential preference primary and Palm Beach County’s local municipal elections are set to take place on the same day, just over four months from now. Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Wendy Sartory Link spoke at the Wellington Chamber of Commerce luncheon held Wednesday, Oct. 30 at the International Polo Club Palm Beach offering details about the voting statistics in the county, new equipment that is being implemented, looking ahead to 2020 and efforts to make changes in the system so

that elections run more efficiently. Sartory Link was appointed supervisor of elections on Jan. 18, 2019 by Gov. Ron DeSantis, after he suspended former Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher after problems following the closely watched 2018 statewide election. The newly appointed supervisor said her office is up to the task at making sure that the voting rights of all citizens in Palm Beach County are protected. “Our office will do everything that is possible,” Sartory Link told the Town-Crier after the luncheon. “We are going to be working with the FBI, Homeland Security, the Center for Internet Security and the state’s cyber navigators. They

will come in, scan our equipment and look at everything we have. They will make recommendations, where we may have any vulnerability, so we can correct those. We come in and do it again; it’s a continuous cycle.” Sartory Link is an attorney who has been in private practice for 25 years specializing in commercial real estate and general business transactions, and consulting. Sartory Link gave chamber members details about voting statistics in the county. She also brought in a voting booth that was set up in order to show the audience what new changes had been implemented. Palm Beach County has 965,927 See CHAMBER, page 4

Wellington officials discuss the new voting equipment with Supervisor of Elections Wendy Sartory Link.

PHOTO BY GINA M. CAPONE/TOWN-CRIER


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