PROMOTION FOR WELLINGTON’S BARNES SEE STORY, PAGE 3
VETERANS DAY IN ROYAL PALM BEACH SEE PHOTOS, PAGE 17
THE
TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
Your Community Newspaper
INSIDE
Two Key Polo Matches At Grand Champions
Volume 36, Number 45 November 20 - November 26, 2015
Serving Palms West Since 1980
‘COWBOY UP FOR A CAUSE’ BENEFIT
The USPA International Cup polo game and the Carlos Gracida Memorial Legends of Polo match will once again take place at the Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington on Saturday, Nov. 28. Gates open at 12:30 p.m., with the legends game at 1 p.m. and the international game at 3 p.m. Page 3
St. David’s Episcopal Church Women Host Fashionable Fundraiser
The Episcopal Church Women of St. David’s-in-the-Pines Episcopal Church held a fashion show Saturday, Nov. 14 at the Breakers West Country Club. The fashions were provided by Dress Barn. Models showed off casual, business and dressy fashions. Page 5
County Commission Taps Mary Lou Berger To Serve As Mayor
District 5 County Commissioner Mary Lou Berger was chosen unanimously as the new mayor of Palm Beach County for a oneyear term on Tuesday, replacing Commissioner Shelley Vana, who has held the ceremonial title for the past year. Page 7
Bacio Bacio Helps Military Brides Through Operation Wedding Gown Brides Across America held its annual Operation Wedding Gown campaign on Friday, Nov. 13 and Saturday, Nov. 14 at Bacio Bacio Bridal Salon in Wellington. Bacio Bacio was one of 60 bridal salons taking part in the national event benefiting military brides. Page 21
OPINION Refugee Fears Run Counter To Our LongHeld American Ideals
Thanksgiving is supposed to be a day of thanks, where Americans are reminded of the bounty of treasures that is a part of our lives. But Thanksgiving is also a call to action. We are reminded to give thanks and to share what we have — to share our economic and material wealth, and to share also with other people who could use our help. Page 4 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS................................. 3 - 9 OPINION.................................. 4 CRIME NEWS.......................... 6 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 8 PEOPLE................................. 13 SCHOOLS.......................14 - 15 COLUMNS...................... 16, 25 BUSINESS......................26 - 27 SPORTS..........................31 - 33 CALENDAR............................ 34 CLASSIFIEDS................ 35 - 38 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
Horses Healing Hearts and the Quinton Aaron Foundation hosted “Cowboy Up for a Cause” Saturday, Nov. 14 at the Van Kampen Arena in Wellington. Both organizations work to better the lives of children, one through horses and the other through working to fight bullying. The event featured actor Quinton Aaron, best known for his role in the movie The Blind Side. Shown here are Wellington Councilman John McGovern, Horses Healing Hearts founder Liz Olszewski, actor Quinton Aaron, Councilwoman Anne Gerwig and Mayor Bob Margolis. SEE PHOTOS, PAGE 7 PHOTO BY JULIE UNGER/TOWN-CRIER
ITID Board Approves Drainage Pilot Project At Moss Property
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors approved a pilot project Wednesday for drainage use on the Moss property owned by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. It could be a key step toward better drainage in The Acreage. The project has been under consideration for several years, initiated by resident and unsuccessful ITID candidate Alan Ballweg, and carried forward by Supervisor Gary Dunkley, who was elected to the board on a platform of improving drainage after flooding from Tropical Storm Isaac. The approval authorizes ITID staff to proceed with the purchase of a portable 50-cubic-foot-persecond pump and necessary facilities, as well as data recorders within the Moss property required to comply with a Florida Depart-
ment of Environmental Protection permit. The project garnered numerous letters of support from agencies that have interest in the project. Supporters note that the Moss property is in need of rehydration, and is cut off from other possible water suppliers. ITID Engineer Jay Foy explained that the 2,300-acre Moss property is a drainage easement located at the southwest corner of the J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area, but neither the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, which owns both Corbett and Moss, or the South Florida Water Management District, have legal access to the Moss property and need a permit from ITID. “The Moss property is badly in need of water,” Foy said, adding that the district has obtained a permit to set up the pilot project.
“There is no place where there is much water on the Moss property but for a small area in the dry season and a small area at the end of the wet season. They are in need of water tremendously. We have water, and we can give it to them. It would be the beginning of a possible relationship between us, whether we rehydrate the Moss property, and we have an additional outfall.” As a condition of the permit, Foy said, the FWCC wants three monitoring locations for the water levels so it would have an idea of the effect water discharge would have. Monitoring the water quality is also required. “You can’t just dump bad water on good wetlands, so we will have to monitor when there is water in the wetlands and show them that the water quality is good,” Foy said. “As you know from the past See ITID, page 19
Turkey Drive Nov. 21 Part Of Unified Food Drive In RPB
By Julie Unger Town-Crier Staff Report In addition to looking out for the safety and security of residents, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office is working hard to collect food for those in need — and the public is invited to help out by taking part in a turkey drive on Saturday, Nov. 21. For the fifth consecutive year, the PBSO has partnered with many local schools for a unified food drive. “Each participating school, through a healthy competition, gathers nonperishable food items from its students and faculty, and we collect them on Friday, Nov. 20,” PBSO District 9 Community Outreach Coordinator Diane Smith explained. The food items are collected over a one-month period. Participating schools are: Crestwood Middle School, Cypress Trails
Elementary School, Glades Day School, Golden Grove Elementary School, H.L. Johnson Elementary School, Ideal Elementary School/ Dream Middle School, Independence Middle School, Jerry Thomas Elementary School, the Learning Foundation, Limestone Creek Elementary School, Northmore Elementary School, the Renaissance Charter School at Palms West, Royal Palm Beach Elementary School, Royal Palm Beach High School and Western Academy Charter School. Last year, the united food drive collected 13,896 food items. This year, organizers hope for more. The school that collects the most items has its name put on a trophy, which gives the school bragging rights. Each school, Smith said, receives up to 20 complete Thanksgiving meals for its students and families in need.
Within the community, in addition to the food drive, this is the fifth year that the PBSO, Publix, County Ice, Sunny 107.9 and 97.9 WRMF have partnered for the turkey drive. On Saturday, Nov. 21, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at three Publix locations, the PBSO and WRMF’s KVJ Show stars — Kevin, Virginia and Jason — will be collecting turkeys. Participating Publix locations are the Crossroads at Royal Palm Beach Publix (1800 Royal Palm Beach Blvd.), the Marisol Walk Publix (6251 PGA Blvd., Palm Beach Gardens) and the Lantana Plaza Publix (5970 S. Jog Road, Lake Worth). The first 100 people to donate a turkey at each Publix will receive a free Publix pie. Kevin from the KVJ Show will be at the Royal Palm Beach locaSee TURKEYS, page 19
Anne Gerwig Files To Run Against Bob Margolis For Mayor
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Ending months of speculation, Wellington Councilwoman Anne Gerwig filed to run for mayor last week. She will challenge incumbent Mayor Bob Margolis in the March 15, 2016 election. The mayor’s seat is one of four seats on the ballot in March. In fact, Gerwig’s Seat 2 is the only Wellington Village Council seat not on the ballot. Gerwig agonized for months about whether to run because it would mean giving up her council seat. However, she said that she is more at ease resigning to run due to the possible passage of a charter amendment that will call for a special election to fill her seat, rather than have the council appoint someone, as the current charter calls for. Gerwig, who was elected to the council in 2010 and re-elected in 2014, told the Town-Crier that she is running to give the village a
stronger leader holding the gavel. “I just felt it was necessary,” she said. “We really have lacked leadership for the past three-anda-half years.” She believes that the council needs more direction in its decision-making process. “I don’t think you have to have an aggressive personality to do this job, but there have just been too many situations that I feel like we could have done so much better as far as public engagement, having a vision and moving forward as a team,” Gerwig said. “It really has been lacking, and I feel like my input was really disregarded because of the majority.” Gerwig also believes that the council can work better with its staff than it has, adding that some council members have been overbearing with staff members. “My personality style is quite different,” she said. “I try to use levity when situations are tense. See GERWIG, page 4
YOUNG SINGERS BENEFIT AT IPC
The Town-Crier newspaper, the International Polo Club Palm Beach and the Palms West Planning Committee hosted a special golf ball drop fundraiser at the International Polo Club Palm Beach on Saturday, Nov. 14 to benefit the Young Singers of the Palm Beaches. Shown here are Don Gross, Brian Hanley, Young Singers CEO Beth Clark and Barry Manning. SEE PHOTOS, PAGE 9 PHOTO BY JULIE UNGER/TOWN-CRIER
Swift Progress On New Wellington Community Center
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Construction on the new Wellington Community Center is progressing on schedule, with completion set for next June. “It’s coming along really well,” Village Manager Paul Schofield said. “The walls are up, and they aren’t far from putting the roof on. The underground work is mostly complete. They haven’t started paving yet, but they won’t do that until they get further along on the building. It looks to be on schedule.” The project was designed by Song & Associates, with the work done by Pirtle Construction, which are the same firms that designed and built the new Wellington Tennis Center. Assistant Village Manager Jim
Barnes is overseeing the project. “The structure itself is being put in place and, hopefully, in the not-too-distant future, it’ll be dried in and have a roof put on it, so the interior improvements can begin,” Barnes said. “Our intent is to meet the schedule of midsummer to be able to reopen and begin operating out of that facility.” Barnes said the Wellington Community Center will provide a greater number of programs and functions similar to the old community center. Some of those programs are on hold, while others have moved to the Village Park gymnasium on Pierson Road and other facilities. While the old building, torn down earlier this year, was originally built as a country club, the See BUILDING, page 19
Crestwood Strives To Be A ‘No Place For Hate’ School
By Julie Unger Town-Crier Staff Report A new program began at Crestwood Middle School this week when the Royal Palm Beach school embarked on its journey to become a “No Place for Hate” school. All school staff members attended a special presentation and training session Monday led by the Anti-Defamation League as part of the program. Over the summer, Assistant Principal Melissa Kaliser attended the superintendent’s symposium on anti-bullying and learned about the No Place for Hate program, which she later introduced to the school. Principal Dr. Stephanie Nance embraced No Place for Hate, an
initiative created to help with harmony among a diverse school group. It is an anti-bullying program that challenges prejudice, bigotry and name-calling, focusing on respect. “The program is… educating educators on how to create environments where diversity is embraced, respected and valued, and providing us with skills that we can use if we are experiencing some differences of opinions in terms of cultural awareness,” Nance said. “One aspect of it is providing us with tools and information that we can use to actively address issues that arise between students at school.” Attendees learned what bias and stereotyping are during the special presentation, including things like
what it looks and sounds like, in addition to discussing bullying and cyberbullying. During the training session, everyone was asked to share their personal experiences with bullying, eighth-grade business education/keyboarding teacher Jina Barthelemy said, including how bullying impacts them as teachers. “We all are affected by bullying, directly or indirectly,” she said. Whether they know someone being bullied, or someone doing the bullying, there are consequences to the behavior, Barthelemy explained. “It’s our job, it’s our duty, not just as teachers, but parents, just being older than the students, having more experience, to help them See CRESTWOOD, page 19
Doug Cureton of the Anti-Defamation League leads this week’s “No Place for Hate” training at Crestwood Middle School.