CHARTER REFERENDUM IN LOX GROVES SEE STORY, PAGE 3
VETERANS EVENT AT WESTERN PINES SEE STORY, PAGE 7
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TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
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Wellington United Sisterhood Hosts 10th Anniversary Toy Drive
Volume 40, Number 42 November 8 - November 14, 2019
Serving Palms West Since 1980
MURDER MYSTERY DINNER THEATER
As the holidays approach, many people are motivated to do something good for others. A decade ago, Sophie Diaz was inspired to reach out to friends and family and do something special for children in need. That is how the Wellington United Sisterhood came together in support of children by collecting and donating toys. Page 3
Royal Palm Seniors Enjoy Fun Halloween Party At Rec Center
The Royal Palm Beach Senior Activities Group held a Halloween party on Thursday, Oct. 31 at the Royal Palm Beach Recreation Center. Seniors dressed up for Halloween, and there was a contest for prizes. Attendees also enjoyed food while DJ Terry Harms played oldies dance music. Page 10
Annual Wellington Golf Classic Supports Local Boys & Girls Club
The 38th annual Wellington Golf Classic to benefit the Neil S. Hirsch Family Boys & Girls Club took place on Friday, Nov. 1 at the Wanderers Club in Wellington. The afternoon began with registration and boxed lunches, followed by scramble play on the golf course. Following golf was an awards celebration with light bites, cocktails, and silent and live auctions. Page 15
Wellington’s popular murder mystery dinner theater returned to the Wellington Community Center on Saturday, Nov. 2 with the theme “Murder at the Greatest Show on Earth.” The sold-out event hosted 200 guests, who were treated to an original show, along with dinner, music, costume contests and more. Shown above, Joe and Tricia Conlon, Janet Walters and Debbie Schatz get ready for the photo booth. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY CALLIE SHARKEY/TOWN-CRIER
ITID Moves Forward On Local Bill For Incorporation Study
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors ratified a local legislative bill last month that would authorize ITID to conduct an incorporation study. ITID President Betty Argue presented the proposed bill to the Palm Beach County Legislative Delegation on Oct. 3. The delegation asked for some changes and approved the local bill subject to those changes, and the board approved the final version on Oct. 23. The bill authorizes ITID to study the potential conversion of the district to a municipality, Argue told the Town-Crier on Wednesday. “We specifically want to look at the feasibility of converting the district to a municipality,” she said. “This bill will allow us to do that, and it will allow us to
do a charter and hold community meetings. If the electorate wishes, it can then petition the district to hold a referendum on incorporation, but we would have to have that petition before we could call a referendum.” Argue said that the ITID board had approved a preliminary reading of the local bill before it took it to the legislative delegation for approval, which put it on the legislative agenda for approval. “There were some minor changes during the whole process, so [Oct. 23] was a second reading with the changes that were presented to the local delegation, in which we had unanimous support,” she said. The bill still needs to go through the legislative process in Tallahassee and be passed by the legislature and signed by the governor.
Previous efforts to explore Acreage incorporation by private entities have failed, but Argue pointed out that this study would convert ITID into a municipality. “What we’re proposing is different than what has been done in the past. The past efforts have been private efforts, not necessarily ones sanctioned that had Indian Trail on board for,” she said. “In particular, the efforts from the PLAN [Preserve the Lifestyle of The Acreage Now] organization two or three years ago. Indian Trail is 110 square miles. They were only trying to incorporate 38 square miles of The Acreage proper, and they were trying to make Indian Trail dependent on them.” Argue said that proposal left out a huge portion of the district. “How do you deal with that? See ITID BILL, page 18
Wellington Equestrian Committee Continues Work On Horse Industry Report
Seminole Ridge Hawks Football Squad Defeats The Visiting Wolverines
The Seminole Ridge High School football team hosted Wellington High School on Friday, Nov. 1 for the regular season finale, defeating the Wolverines 10-0. The Hawks capped their regular season with a record of 6-3 and clenched a postseason berth. Page 21 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 18 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 7 PEOPLE................................... 8 SCHOOLS................................ 9 COLUMNS............................. 16 BUSINESS............................. 19 CALENDAR............................ 18 SPORTS......................... 21 - 22 CLASSIFIEDS................. 20, 23 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
By Gina M. Capone Town-Crier Staff Report Wellington’s Equestrian Preserve Committee continued Wednesday, Nov. 6 to explore the accuracy of the data that has been accumulated from various venues in and around Wellington to not only calculate an accurate number of horses that stable in the community during the winter season, but also to see how the horse industry is doing. In November 2018, the Equestrian Preserve Committee presented its Equestrian Plan of Action to the Wellington Village Council. Part of its goal was to develop better data to better understand how the equestrian industry impacts Wellington, and, therefore, assist in planning for short-term and long-term needs. Assistant Planning, Zoning & Building Director Michael O’Dell noted the objectives of collecting
the data in the report. “One of the goals and objectives of this report was to find that baseline that we can measure on a yearly basis,” O’Dell said. “When we talk about data gathering — and being able to measure it year in and year out — it has to be the same information. When you are gathering the information, know what you are gathering.” While counting horses in the sports of show jumping and dressage is a fairly straightforward collection of data, the sport of polo is not organized the same way. When it comes to polo, counting horses versus counting teams was a key topic discussed. Equestrian Preserve Committee Chair Jane Cleveland explained her interpretation. “We have the manure count, which are actual horses,” Cleveland said. “The state of the industry is basically how the industry is
doing. We must measure the state of the industry, so next year we can compare.” O’Dell agreed that once the methods are determined, it will make the process easier in the future. “What we are learning as we do these studies is these are the building blocks for next time,” O’Dell said. “The idea of the teams for polo, seems to be one methodology of tracking that industry through the teams participating in tournaments.” Equestrian Sport Productions President Michael Stone was invited to discuss the data with the committee. He expressed concerns with the methodology, particularly given that the sport of polo is in a state of flux due to recent changes by the United States Polo Association. “What will you do with the See HORSES, page 4
CVS Contractor Given 15 Days For Plan To Fix Building Or Face Demolition
By M. Dennis Taylor Town-Crier Staff Report Work on a new CVS Pharmacy building in Wellington’s Town Square shopping plaza has been stalled since last spring due to structural problems, and Wellington officials this week gave the construction company working on the building 15 days to fix all the deficiencies or tear down the existing portion of the building and remove it. The problem-plagued project was halted abruptly in May when an incorrect concrete roof pour developed a cracking issue. Village officials have since been grappling with the deficiencies and the failure of the builder to adhere to the approved plans during the construction. “We are giving them 15 days to fix or demolish and remove the structure, based on the fact that several letters that we received from them are insufficient, and it has been since May 8 when the incident with the roof happened,” Wellington Building Official Jacek Tomasik told the Town-Crier on Wednesday. “Now we are in November, and [all] the problems have not been identified and the fixes have not been submitted.”
The 15-day ultimatum is just one of the ways that Wellington is working to get a permanent fix for the dangerous eyesore. Tomasik said that during several meetings and on-site visits this week, submitted documents by the contractor were inadequate, information was withheld on additional deficiencies and no adequate plan was offered to fix the deficiencies. “After we reviewed the documents that they submitted, they were completely insufficient,” Tomasik said. “We scheduled a meeting on the site because we had concerns about the structural integrity… [there] we discovered significant [additional] structural deficiencies on the building.” Originally slated to open in July, the project was supposed to provide new retail space for CVS Pharmacy in central Wellington. It is part of a phased renovation to the Town Square shopping center. As part of the years-long project, the Provident Jewelry store was added, Publix was renovated and a building along Forest Hill Blvd. was demolished to allow CVS to relocate from an in-line store to a stand-alone building. Failure of the contractor to adSee CVS, page 4
Wellington building officials have found a number of structural problems with the CVS Pharmacy building under construction in the Town Square shopping plaza.
ARDEN FARM OPENING
About 900 people visited Arden’s neighborhood farm on Saturday, Nov. 2 in celebration of the new “agrihood.” The community off Southern Blvd. west of Wellington is centered around a community farm. Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, visitors were invited to enjoy the various vendor booths, cooking demonstrations, farm tours, free food and more. Shown above, Ava Johnson decorates her canvas at a rock painting booth. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 17 PHOTO BY MEREDITH BUROW/TOWN-CRIER
Bobcat Ringers Debut At RPB Ed Board Meeting
Members of the Bobcat Ringers during their performance at the Royal Palm Beach Education Advisory Board meeting.
By Callie Sharkey Town-Crier Staff Report The Royal Palm Beach Education Advisory Board meeting on Monday, Nov. 4 opened to a packed house. Principal Tracy Gaugler of Royal Palm Beach Elementary School brought along the school’s chorus and its new handbell group for a special performance. “This presentation is much more about the students and families at Royal Palm Beach Elementary School. I’m excited to be here and share with you some of the exciting things that we have going on at our school,” Gaugler said. “Katie Kovalsky is our brand-new music teacher this year, and we are thrilled that she is now a bobcat. As
you can see, she has started some new programs at our school. She has formed our first ever Bobcat Ringers, and this is their debut performance.” The group of fifth graders played two songs for the board. In addition to the Bobcat Ringers, the Bobcat Chorus is at its largest with more than 50 students participating in the program. The chorus performed the national anthem and “Oh, Shenandoah” for those present. Gaugler, with her signature “woo-hoo” for various accomplishments, followed up the students with a detailed presentation on various school programs and current test scores for the school. She highlighted the involvement
of parents as contributing to the school maintaining its A rating. “Last year, our volunteers logged more than 5,500 hours of service,” Gaugler said. “We were the first school with a Watch DOGS (Dads of Great Students) program. Nearly every day we have at least one of our Watch DOGS on campus.” Gaugler and her staff shared information on programs and student incentives, like the Bobcat Golden Tickets, Pawesome Positive Referrals, students of the month and a peer mentorship program that pairs gifted students with those in the ASD program. With an emphasis on social and emotional learning, the staff See RPB BOARD, page 18