RPB COUNCIL REVIEWS TUTTLE PLANS SEE STORY, PAGE 4
IL POMODORO OPEN IN GROVE MARKET SEE STORY, PAGE 7
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TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
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Willhite Sponsors Bills For Lox Groves Infrastructure Projects
Volume 40, Number 45 November 29 - December 5, 2019
Serving Palms West Since 1980
UNILOCAL TURKEY DRIVE IN RPB
State Rep. Matt Willhite (D-District 86) is working in Tallahassee to arrange for more than $5.1 million for infrastructure improvements in his district, many of them in the Town of Loxahatchee Groves, which has long been challenged by the poor condition of its roads. HB 4099 calls for nearly $770,000 for improvements to South D Road. Page 3
Thanksgiving Bags, Motorcyclists At Kids Cancer Foundation
The Kids Cancer Foundation in Royal Palm Beach hosted a Fall Fest Family Social on Saturday, Nov. 23. All the kids received a gift bag, Thanksgiving Harvest bag and a turkey. Meanwhile, a group of motorcycle enthusiasts sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints arrived with toys. Page 7
Panther Ridge Center Shows Off Big Cats At Special Twilight Tour
The Royal Palm Beach Unilocal Turkey Drive took place on Saturday, Nov. 23 at the Publix store at the Crossroads plaza. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Blue Bell Ice Cream, Sunny 107.9 and WFTL 850 AM radio sponsored the event, which collected a total of 750 turkeys. Shown above, PBSO volunteer Kim Leyendecker and WFTL’s Louis Rizzo accept two donated turkeys from Linda Smith(center). MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
By Meredith Burow Town-Crier Staff Report As a food service employee at Wellington Landings Middle School, Denise McClinton found herself in the lunchroom a little later than usual on Thursday, Nov. 21, as she stood before the 200 frozen turkeys her son purchased. While donating Thanksgiving Day dinners for families in need
has become a norm for New York Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins, his focus was typically on his hometown of Pahokee. His mother, however, moved to Wellington in recent years, and suggested to her youngest of three that he also turn his attention toward the middle school. “I told him, ‘OK, we’ve got Wellington Landings right down
Detective Robert Keating, William Jenkins, Kathy Dent, Principal Blake Bennett, Denise McClinton and Kevin McClinton volunteer their time to help families in need. PHOTO BY MEREDITH BUROW/TOWN-CRIER
On Wednesday, Nov. 20, the Wellington High School girls soccer team hosted Park Vista High School in a much-anticipated matchup. The Wolverines shut out the Cobras 2-0. The victory came amid an intense motivation to avenge last season’s playoff loss to the Cobras. Page 21 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 18 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 7 SCHOOLS........................... 8 - 9 COLUMNS............................. 16 BUSINESS............................. 17 CALENDAR............................ 18 CLASSIFIEDS................. 20, 23 SPORTS......................... 21 - 22 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
By M. Dennis Taylor Town-Crier Staff Report The Wellington Village Council expressed guarded optimism Tuesday, Nov. 26 that the six-month saga regarding an incorrectly built CVS Pharmacy building in the Wellington Town Square shopping plaza will soon be coming to an end. Work on the structure deemed to be unsafe by village experts has been on hold since last spring, but the site will show activity starting Dec. 3 when the entire building is scheduled to be demolished and removed. Wellington Building Official Jacek Tomasik updated the council, explaining that Wellington had received an application for a permit from the property owner for a voluntary removal of the structure, and that he had received a letter from CVS officials confirming that the demolition will occur starting next week. He related that they are past the point where they have any appeals left. Tomasik said the demolition contractor is experienced in the
area and that this is a small job for them. Their work will not occur during events in the village and should be finished before the Sunday, Dec. 8 parade that goes down Forest Hill Blvd., not far from the construction site. “They know it is in the middle of our town,” Tomasik said. “There will be no dust at the parade.” The foundation of the structure is sound, while other parts of the building were not built according to plan and buckled when the roof was poured. “The foundation can be saved so long as it doesn’t get damaged during demolition,” Tomasik said. The village has retained a structural engineer to monitor the project to ensure this fresh start is built according to regulations and plans. The structural engineer will ensure any damage to the foundation is repaired or if a replacement is necessary. “Once the owner of the property got involved, things began to happen,” said Village Manager Paul Schofield, who commented that See DEMOLITION, page 4
Giants Football Star Helps Out QUARTER AUCTION FUN Wellington Families In Need
The Panther Ridge Conservation Center hosted a Twilight Tour on Saturday, Nov. 23, offering a unique opportunity for the public to see the diverse exotic cat collection after dark. Many of these endangered and protected species are much more active at night than during the day. Page 15
WHS Soccer Girls Avenge Playoff Loss To Park Vista
CVS Building To Be Demolished
the road, so you can do it there,’” McClinton recalled. “He said, ‘Yeah ma, I’ll do it there.’’’ As a result, families who qualified gathered in the school cafeteria exactly one week prior to Thanksgiving to pick up a free turkey and sides, courtesy of the NFL star. “Growing up in a small town, we didn’t have many opportunities,” Jenkins said. “So, I feel like it’s only right to take advantage of every opportunity that I can, whether it’s giving back or helping out kids in the community or whatever else it may be.” Donating the means to buy the supplies was the easy step. Distributing them was another matter. Though Jenkins was in town for the Giants’ bye week a few days before, he was in New Jersey for practice during the dinner giveaway. In turn, his mother, father, cousin and stepfather donned Giants jerseys with “Jenkins” on the back and got to work. Starting out at 6 a.m., Jenkins’ father, complete with a U-Haul See JENKINS, page 18
Country Singer Emily Brooke To Lead Dec. 8 Holiday Parade
By M. Dennis Taylor Town-Crier Staff Report Everyone has “favorite holiday memories” and many of them will be on display Sunday, Dec. 8 at 1:30 p.m. when the annual Wellington Holiday Parade kicks off. In fact, that will be the theme of this year’s edition, which also features the hometown story of a local girl making it big when nationally known country music artist Emily Brooke, originally from Wellington and a top finalist on the hit TV show American Idol, returns to serve as grand marshal. Following the traditional route up Forest Hill Blvd. from Wellington Trace to the Wellington Amphitheater, the annual parade
produced by the Central Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce and Village of Wellington draws some 20,000 spectators. In order to provide for a safe path for them all, road closures will begin at 1 p.m. Chamber CEO Mary Lou Bedford said the theme “Favorite Holiday Memories” is drawing some very colorful entrants this year. “The parade has grown to be multi-generational over the years, with some cases of grandparents and grandkids coming out,” she said. “It reaches out to the community as a whole, to support and celebrate our entire area, and it is a nice beginning to our equestrian season.”
The day begins at Holiday Park at the Wellington Amphitheater at 10:30 a.m., which continues until after the parade at 3:30 p.m. “There will be live performances from local elementary schools, exhibitors offering arts and crafts, food, interactive displays with local businesses and more,” explained Bedford, who thanked the many sponsors who help bring this holiday tradition to life. That includes title sponsor Wellington Regional Medical Center. “For 36 years, the chamber’s annual parade has served as a great way to kick off the holiday season, and Wellington Regional Medical Center is so happy to be See PARADE, page 7
The Village of Royal Palm Beach and Quarters for Kindness held a quarter auction fundraiser on Monday, Nov. 25 at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center. There were raffles at the vendor tables. Gift baskets and dining cards were also raffled off. The event benefited the Royal Palm Beach Scholarship Program. Shown above is Cheryl Shenker of Lula Roe, with Liz Thal and Sandee Setton. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 4 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
ITID Adds Third Culvert Crew To Expedite Work
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors last week approved more than $800,000 to add a third culvert crew to its workforce. At the Wednesday, Nov. 20 meeting, ITID Executive Director Burgess Hanson pointed out that the district has several hundred culverts that are either outdated or close to the end of their life expectancy. Recently, the district made a policy to use in-house staff rather than contractors to install new culverts. There are currently two culvert crews, with the second having been added just over a year ago. “We do have the appropriate budgeting to do this,” Hanson said. “We will be coming back at a later date with the approval for the equipment. Tonight, it’s just
moving forward with creating the third culvert crew. Staff tried to be as accurate as possible with what the costs would be, which comes to $810,408 for fiscal year 2020.” He pointed out that the cost is at 75 percent of the annual cost because the crew would not be operational until the second quarter of the year. “We will be able to cover that moving into the future. That’s something this board made a decision on a few years ago, to continue to expand the capital projects, especially the culvert crews, so we’re just moving in line with what the board has requested,” he said. The estimated cost includes $525,500 for equipment, $186,170 for personnel salaries, $93,085 for benefits, $5,653 for uniforms and $912 for cell phones. The cost does not include maSee CULVERTS, page 4
Farm City Lunch Features Agriculture Commissioner
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Florida Agriculture & Consumer Services Commissioner Nikki Fried was the featured speaker at the Central Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce’s Farm City Luncheon held Wednesday, Nov. 20 at the South Florida Fairgrounds. Fried, born and raised in Miami, received her law degree from the University of Florida. She narrowly defeated former State Rep. Matt Caldwell (R-District 79) in November 2018 to become commissioner of agriculture and is now the highest-ranking Democrat in the state, and the first woman elected to the position. “This lunch is pretty important
to me for a lot of reasons, but most importantly, it was the first place I spoke last year,” Fried said. “This time last year, we were still going through a recount. I had not yet been officially declared the commissioner, but you all welcomed me here with the thought that I would become victorious at the end of the recount.” Fried believes she was elected because she did not look like or have the same ideas as her predecessors. “They wanted somebody who would come into this position thinking outside the box, thinking of ways that we can improve not only agriculture, but also our consumer services arm of this department,” she said. “We have
been bold, and we have been trying to fix every single part of our department to make sure we’re responsive to our citizens and make sure that we are working together to expand agriculture.” Fried reminded attendees that agriculture is the second-largest economic driver in the state, employing 2 million people with a $137 billion economic impact to the state and $4.2 billion in exports to 164 different countries. Florida is also the specialty crop capital, with more than 300 specialty crops. Palm Beach County alone employs 20 percent of its workforce, 170,000 people, in agriculture. “Palm Beach County is the largest agricultural county in the
entire State of Florida,” she said. “It is also one of the largest counties in the nation when it comes to agriculture.” But Florida also faces challenges, particularly with the economy, changes in the environment, and with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). “[NAFTA] was a bad deal for Florida farmers 25 years ago. USMCA today is no better,” Fried said. “I have heard from our farmers all across our state. I have gone up to Washington, D.C. I have met with our congressional delegation and all of our industry leaders and made sure that our delegation See FARM CITY, page 18
Florida Agriculture & Consumer Services Commissioner Nikki Fried speaks at the luncheon. PHOTO BY RON BUKLEY/TOWN-CRIER