‘TOMBSTONE’ DISPLAY A TRADITION SEE STORY, PAGE 3
BIG EXPANSION AT CALIFORNIA NAILS SEE STORY, PAGE 7
THE
TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
Your Community Newspaper
INSIDE Wellington’s Food Drive Again Seeks To Help At Thanksgiving
Volume 38, Number 41 November 3 - November 9, 2017
Serving Palms West Since 1980
HOLIDAY FUN AT SPOOKYVILLE
Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and people who call Wellington home are taking steps to ensure that none of their neighbors go without during this holiday season. The village’s Hometown Holiday Food Drive is now underway and lasts until Nov. 17. Page 3
Reach Estate Holds Grand Opening At Publix Plaza In The Acreage
Reach Estate LLC held the grand opening of its new real estate office in the Acreage Publix Plaza on Saturday, Oct. 28. Owner Chad Hanna was joined by staff members, family and friends for the occasion. Attendees enjoyed live music, face painting, a cake cutting, presentations and more. Page 9
Young Professionals’ Wicked Costume And Casino Party A Success
The Young Professionals of Wellington hosted its annual Wicked Costume and Casino Party on Saturday, Oct. 28 at the Wanderers Club. The money raised at the event will support YPOW projects, such as Xcelerate Wellington and the Wellington Community Garden at the Neil S. Hirsch Family Boys & Girls Club. Page 17
OPINION
Honor Our Veterans And Keep The U.S. Military Above Politics
Unfortunately, the complexities of life in today’s America have brought the military into the political forefront, making it a challenge for this crucial national institution to stay above the fray of day-to-day politics. This Veterans Day, we must honor everyone who has served and make every attempt to fight this politicization. One thing on which the vast majority can agree is that our military has immense respect from the populace it protects. Page 4 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 13 OPINION.................................. 4 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 6 PEOPLE................................. 14 SCHOOLS.............................. 15 COLUMNS...................... 16, 25 BUSINESS......................26 - 27 SPORTS..........................29 - 31 CALENDAR............................ 32 CLASSIFIEDS................ 33 - 36 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
Yesteryear Village at the South Florida Fairgrounds hosted Spookyville, an old-fashioned Halloween for families and children. Highlights included trick-or-treating, carnival rides, costume contests, bounce houses, a barrel train and more. There was also old-fashioned games, arts and crafts, a spooky house, food and vendors. Shown above are Chuck and Iliana Knapick as Robin Hood and Tinkerbell on a 1923 firetruck. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
Royal Palm Beach Election Season Off To An Early Start
By Jack Lowenstein Town-Crier Staff Report The 2018 election season in the Village of Royal Palm Beach has gotten off to an early start, with three incumbents and one challenger already coming forward to run. Mayor Fred Pinto and Seat 1 incumbent Councilman Jeff Hmara plan to seek re-election, as does Seat 3 incumbent Councilwoman Selena Smith. Smith has drawn an early challenger in businessman Sam Roman. Previously, filing for Royal Palm Beach elections did not close until mid-February. However, due to recent changes in state law, the village has moved its filing period to early January. The date of the election has not changed and is scheduled for Tuesday, March 13, 2018. After winning her seat in 2016, Smith is up for re-election for the first time this coming year. Smith recounted her previous election and the main topics she
focused on for her campaign. They remain relevant to her and to the village, she said. “When I ran for election, I had three main topics on my platform. One was our seniors to make sure that we are continuing to allow them… the opportunity of remaining in the village,” she said. “The other thing was our small businesses, to make sure that they thrive, as well as communication.” Smith served as the council liaison to the Senior Citizen Ad-Hoc Committee, which was created to oversee and review a senior needs study that PMG Associates was contracted to do and complete earlier this year. “I’m proud and honored to have served on that committee, as well as the results that have come from it, so we do have a guide with a lot of information that our over 55 community can benefit from,” Smith said. “We do have a very active senior community that has really put their mark on this, in addition to starting two facilities that
are going to be assisted living as well as memory care in the village, which we did not have before.” With the election season on its way, Smith still wants to serve the community of Royal Palm Beach. “I continue to serve because I love the village, and I feel that I still have quite a bit to contribute,” she said. “And as long as I have something to continue to help make the village an amazing place to live, I will serve in the capacity that I’m able to.” Roman has filed to oppose Smith for Seat 3 in the upcoming election. He believes he can fill the role and took issue with some of the responses Smith gave on village concerns this past year. “The wishes of the community really weren’t met,” Roman said, explaining that Smith’s vote on a traffic-calming initiative for Sandpiper Avenue triggered his decision to run. “The residents’ wishes were to have this initiative in place,” he See ELECTION, page 19
By Craig Campbell Town-Crier Staff Report Veterans Day is just days away, and both Wellington and Royal Palm Beach have commemorations planned to honor those who served in the United States Armed Forces. The events will both take place on the actual holiday — Saturday, Nov. 11 — and not on Friday, Nov. 10, which is the recognized holiday this year. Wellington will host its events in the morning, while Royal Palm Beach’s will be in the evening. Wellington will begin with a parade at 8:15 a.m. starting at the Wellington Municipal Complex — located at 12300 W. Forest Hill Blvd. — and will proceed down the road to the Wellington Veterans Memorial at the corner of Forest
Hill and South Shore boulevards. The parade will be followed by a ceremony at 8:30 a.m. Veterans are invited to walk in the parade and are asked to gather in the parking lot at the start of the parade route by 7:45 a.m. If you are an active service person or retired veteran attending the event, you will have an opportunity to register at the Wellington tent that morning, and your name will be recognized during the ceremony. “We want to celebrate the veterans for their service,” Community Programs Manager Michelle Garvey said, adding that Wellington is partnering with American Legion Chris Reyka Memorial Post 390 for the event. Post 390 Commander Jim Napuli said several different groups will be part of the parade, includ-
ing the Boy Scouts and members of the ROTC program at area high schools. Napuli added that the speaker at the ceremony will be Vice Commander Loren Heistand, who is the only female member of Post 390. She served during the Gulf War in the 1990s. “We want to especially honor those brave women who have faithfully served our country, and sometimes their service is overlooked,” Napuli said. Heistand is a nuclear engineer now, and was a nuclear reactor operator on the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier from 1996 to 2002. Her ship spent a lot of time in the waters off Middle Eastern countries during the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom. Heistand said that during her See VETS DAY, page 19
FDOT Official: Start Of SR 7 Extension Project Is Imminent
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report About 50 residents and officials attended a town hall-style meeting Wednesday to learn about final plans for the completion of State Road 7 from Okeechobee Blvd. to Northlake Blvd. The meeting was held at Palm Beach County’s Vista Center complex, organized by State Rep. Matt Willhite (D-District 86) and District 6 County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay. All agencies involved in the project were invited to participate in the panel presentation and discussion, although some declined to attend, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, due to litigation still underway brought by the City of West Palm Beach. McKinlay led off the discussion. “This road is very important to the western communities, as we learned during the last hurricane,”
she said. “Evacuation routes in this county are not plentiful, and we need to do whatever we can to make sure that this road project happens.” She said the 2010 projections for the impact of the completion of the extension showed a reduction of 4,000 cars daily on Seminole Pratt Whitney Road south of Northlake Blvd., 5,000 on Royal Palm Beach Blvd., more than 3,000 on Jog Road and almost 2,000 on Florida’s Turnpike. “Those are significant traffic reductions in an area that is getting close to capacity,” McKinlay said. “One of the reasons Mr. Willhite reached out and asked if we could work together on this is because there are a lot of misperceptions about this project. There are some recent mailers that went out to residents in the City of West Palm Beach that discussed the danger of See SR 7 FORUM, page 19
HALLOWEEN AT PWH
The Children’s Hospital at Palms West held its annual Pediatric Patient Halloween Parade on Tuesday, Oct. 31. Hospital staff, joined the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue and superheroes to make the holiday special for pediatric patients and their families. Shown above, Leah Elena Murillo Avila and her parents celebrate Halloween at the hospital. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 7 PHOTO BY JACK LOWENSTEIN/TOWN-CRIER
Lox Council OKs Wellington, Royal Palm Beach Emergency Road Plan Vets Day Events Nov. 11 Maintenance Work By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report In a special meeting Thursday, Oct. 26, attended by an overflow crowd of residents, the Loxahatchee Groves Town Council voted to conduct emergency grading and fill to roads that are in the most need of repair after being damaged during Hurricane Irma. During public comment, several residents said the roads are in worse shape than they have ever been, with some potholes deep enough for cars to fall into them. Mayor Dave Browning said the meeting had been called to give town management direction regarding grading services. Town Manager Bill Underwood explained that the town had recently assumed additional work on roads conveyed by the Loxa-
hatchee Groves Water Control District. Some were in disrepair before the storm. “We need to be able to take care of that,” Underwood said. “Thus far, the town has only managed the roads for the last 27 days. The roads didn’t get the way they are in the last 27 days, maybe the last 10 years. At any rate… we’ve been handling crisis issues in the roads. What we want to do is have a contractor or multiple contractors that can provide grading services.” Underwood noted that he had expressed to the council during various budget meetings that this was going to be a very difficult transition year taking on the additional roads. “We don’t have in place the monetary mechanism to get fundSee LOX ROADS, page 19
Westlake Grand Opening Draws A Sizable Crowd
By Jack Lowenstein Town-Crier Staff Report Minto Communities hosted the grand opening of its new Westlake community within its own newly established municipality on Saturday, Oct. 28. Interested potential residents from near and far joined together at the interactive sales center to become informed about new homes in the community, as well as meet Westlake officials and Minto representatives. Michael Belmont, president of Minto Communities, said the two key components instilled in the new community are affordability and lifestyle. He said prices for new homes start at $276,000, reaching up to $500,000. “We want to have a vibrant and active community. We’re going to provide amenities and a great
lifestyle. As the retail, the town center and the employment centers come in, that will really make it a true community,” Belmont said. “We’re currently offering a 3 percent discount to civil servants, first responders, school teachers and the military. We also have a 3 percent down payment assistance program for those who qualify.” John Carter, a vice president with Minto Communities, is excited to see the start to a new community that has been in its development stages for many years. “It’s really exciting to see the extremely large amount of community interest to buy a home in Westlake,” Carter said. “It’s an opportunity for not only the residents who are going to live in the City of Westlake, but also the residents that live around us, to live, work and play — and that has been the
whole notion of the fundamental planning concepts that have been put in place in this community.” Carter added that Westlake “has been designed so that it integrates into the fabric of the area that surrounds us.” Along with Minto, the new Westlake community will be governed by its own council. “I’m excited today. We have a lot of people who have come out to purchase homes. There are a lot of families out with their children,” Westlake Vice Mayor Katrina Long-Robinson said. “So, we’re excited about this because we know this, of course, is a city of innovation, and we’re going to bring innovative things to our city: jobs, families and things of that nature.” During Saturday’s event, rain See WESTLAKE, page 20
Karen and Minto President Mike Belmont with Westlake Vice Mayor Katrina Long-Robinson and Minto Vice President John Carter at the grand opening event. PHOTO BY JACK LOWENSTEIN/TOWN-CRIER