WELLINGTON CARES ANNUAL LUNCHEON SEE STORY, PAGE 3
RPB FALL FESTIVAL SET FOR OCT. 27-28 SEE STORY, PAGE 4
THE
TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
Your Community Newspaper
INSIDE
RPB Council OKs New Cell Rules But Agrees To Future Changes
Volume 38, Number 38 October 13 - October 19, 2017
Serving Palms West Since 1980
CFF HOSTS ANNUAL ARTHUR’S JAM
The Royal Palm Beach Village Council put in place a new ordinance regulating wireless communications Thursday, Oct. 5, but not until after promising to continue updating the ordinance after listening to objections from several wireless service providers. Page 3
Royal Palm Seniors Enjoy Halloween Fun At RPB Rec Center
The Young At Heart Club hosted a Halloween luncheon at the Royal Palm Beach Recreation Center on Friday, Oct. 6. Male and female duo It Takes Two performed for the spooky occasion, as guests enjoyed lunch provided by Pasquale’s Pizza & Italian Eatery. Page 5
Binks Forest PTA Holds Party With A Purpose Fundraiser At Romeo’s
The Binks Forest Elementary PTA held its “Party With a Purpose” fundraising event at Romeo’s Italian Cuisine in Wellington on Saturday, Oct. 7. PTA members were joined by Principal Michella Levy, school parents, family and friends, as everyone enjoyed food and drinks while playing casinostyle games. Page 6
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation held its annual Arthur’s Jam gala on Saturday, Oct. 7 at Palm Beach Polo & Country Club in Wellington. This year’s “Sports Tailgate” theme had guests dressed in their favorite team attire. There were silent and live auctions and a “bid for a cure.” Shown here are Geoffrey Fear, J.J. Grodensky, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Executive Director Chanda Fuller and Paul Torrey. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 19 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN /TOWN-CRIER
Flying Cow Ranch Equestrian/ Aviation Project Gets Board OK
By Ray Burow Town-Crier Staff Report Wellington’s Equestrian Preserve Committee granted a series of approvals last week that would allow the development of Flying Cow Ranch, a 30-lot equestrian/ aviation project on the western edge of the community. Flying Cow Ranch is located approximately four miles south of Southern Blvd. at the northwest corner of Flying Cow Ranch Road and 160th Trail South. If approved, the project would allow for equestrian and aviation use on each of the proposed lots in the approximately 150-acre development. The plan was approved, with conditions, by committee members at the Oct. 4 meeting. “What has been presented here certainly gives us an opportunity to
make Wellington that [world class] place, where you can own your two acres or three acres — heck, I guess you can buy four acres — and have a nice place to fly in and to fly out,” Committee Member Dr. Sergio Guerreiro said. At the meeting, the committee heard four items related to Flying Cow Ranch, including a comprehensive plan change amending the future land use map, zoning text amendments, a rezoning and a master plan approval. The committee heard a presentation for amending the future land use map designation of the parcel and to extend Wellington’s Equestrian Preserve Area boundaries to incorporate the area. This would include adding additional trails and paths to Wellington’s equestrian trail system.
Within the zoning text amendment proposal, an area labeled Subarea G would be created, establishing development regulations, along with regulations for the landing strip, taxiway and hangars. Hangars would only be allowed as accessory structures and will be consistent with the same style of the residence, and no structures will be allowed within 50 feet of the runway. Some committee members had questions concerning the maximum density per acre. The plan overall allows an average of 0.2 dwelling units per acre, and the minimum lot size is two acres. “Since they’re such small lots comparing to some of the other equestrian areas, where they have extremely small lots, is there going See FLYING COW, page 17
LGWCD Prepares To Sell Road Equipment At Auction
Community Comes Out As Green Market At Wellington Opens
The Green Market at Wellington held its first event of the new season on Saturday, Oct. 7. Members of the public walked about the market, sampling local artisan’s products, accompanied by live music. Food trucks were also present for a cold drink or a quick bite during the event. The market is held near the Wellington Amphitheater on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Page 7 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS................................. 3 - 8 OPINION.................................. 4 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 7 COLUMNS...................... 13, 23 PEOPLE................................. 14 SCHOOLS.............................. 15 BUSINESS......................24 - 25 SPORTS..........................27 - 29 CALENDAR............................ 30 CLASSIFIEDS.................31 - 34 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report In anticipation of no longer maintaining roads after voting to turn the remaining ones over to the Town of Loxahatchee Groves last month, the Loxahatchee Groves Water Control District agreed Monday, Oct. 9 to hire an agent to help auction its road-related equipment, including two graders and water trucks. LGWCD Administrator Steve Yohe presented a list of equipment he recommended being declared surplus and put up for auction, which also included two large pumps for filling the water trucks and a copier that has been replaced. Yohe pointed out that most of the equipment, except one grader,
was currently not in service, needing expensive repairs. Although the LGWCD has now turned control of all its roads over to the town, several residents spoke about the deplorable condition of town roads at Monday’s meeting, and urged the supervisors to keep the equipment in the event it could somehow work with the town on road maintenance. After listening to residents’ complaints, Supervisor Simon Fernandez made a motion to postpone hiring the agent for 30 days. Supervisor Laura Danowski said she didn’t want to kick the can down the road another 30 days. “I am shocked by the condition of the roads,” Danowski said. “I’m not finger-pointing, but it’s
the result of not working together. We need to do better. If the district does become dependent, the equipment is an asset. Selling it is an enormous waste of money.” She added that most of the equipment is useless in the condition it is now, but the district should keep some of the equipment in reserve. Supervisor Connie Bell agreed. “I never thought we needed to rush into selling, but I would be OK with either,” Bell said, agreeing that most of the equipment is in disrepair. “We have a grader with no reverse. Everything on the list has some kind of condition. If you look at the list, it looks like all the equipment is in disrepair See AUCTION, page 4
PBSC To Construct Dental Building On Loxahatchee Groves Campus
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Palm Beach State College Board of Trustees unanimously approved the relocation of its dental health programs building to the Loxahatchee Groves campus on Tuesday, Oct. 10. Public forums were held last week at both the Loxahatchee Groves campus on Southern Blvd. and at the Lake Worth campus, where the dental health programs have been based since 1964. The decision follows a monthslong debate on whether to move the college’s dental hygiene and dental assisting programs from the Lake Worth campus to Loxahatchee Groves. Royal Palm Beach Mayor Fred Pinto said he had been surprised that there was any debate over where the dental building was going to be after college representatives had pledged that health programs would be centralized on the new Loxahatchee Groves campus. He was glad to see that the western communities came together in support of the Loxahatchee Groves location. Pinto and his council agreed to send a letter to PBSC President Ava Parker showing support for the Loxahatchee Groves location. “Everybody had made the assumption that the new dental school would be built over here in the western communities at that campus,” he said. “I spoke about this with President Parker about a month ago, and she explained to
me that it hadn’t been determined and there was a push to keep it on the Lake Worth campus. I explained to her that a lot of promises had been made.” Loxahatchee Groves Mayor Dave Browning said the town and surrounding communities welcome the dental building, which would benefit local students who would not have to drive as far for classes, and local residents who could take advantage of free dental care for certain dental issues. “One of the obvious things that I want you to realize is the support you have for this campus in this community,” he said at the Loxahatchee Groves forum. State Rep. Matt Willhite (DDistrict 86), who spoke at the trustees’ hearing, said the dental building would be great for the community, and that the building is appropriate for the Loxahatchee Groves campus, which is developing as a health sciences campus. He added that the western communities were well represented at a public forum on the Loxahatchee Groves campus Oct. 4, with about 100 people, compared with a smaller showing at the Lake Worth campus forum. “The main campus has its fire and police academies, and now we have the dental school,” he told the Town-Crier on Wednesday. “It’s a great thing for the community.” Willhite added that many local dentists spoke at the forums, saying that if the students are educated See PBSC DENTAL, page 4
Enthusiastic OK For Wellington Elder Care’s Expansion
By Jack Lowenstein Town-Crier Staff Report The Wellington Village Council approved a conditional use permit Tuesday, Oct. 10 to allow Wellington Elder Care 2, a new senior care assisted-living facility, to be located directly adjacent to the current Wellington Elder Care facility on Lily Court. This week’s approval comes several months after the council finalized an ordinance to allow medium-sized assisted-living facilities to be closer together in some areas of the village — a change approved with Wellington Elder Care’s planned expansion in mind. “This operator is very impressive, and we do see an increased need for us to have our loved ones close by where we can visit,” Mayor Anne Gerwig said. “That has been a convenience factor that has been overwhelming, I think, to our residents. That’s why the
support has been overwhelming for this facility.” The second Wellington Elder Care will be a 21-resident, identical facility, independent of the first one. The new facility must be separately operated due to the current state of the village code. “So, the next best solution is to have one next door just like it. It will be a conversion of an existing quadruplex, a four-unit, multi-family structure,” Planning, Zoning & Building Director Bob Basehart explained. The application submitted to the council was compliant with all land development requirements for a type 2(B) congregate living facility in the planned unit development zoning district. “No variances are requested. One thing I should point out — the code says that all [type A, B and C] living facilities are supposed to be 500 feet from a residential district See ELDER CARE, page 7
Local Doctors Take Part In Global Wellness Summit
By Jack Lowenstein Town-Crier Staff Report The Breakers Palm Beach played host to the Global Wellness Summit 2017 this week, inviting experts in the health profession from near and far, national and international. Among those who were invited to take part in this unique three-day event was Dr. Vincent Apicella and Dr. Mariaclara Bago of Premier Family Health & Wellness in Wellington. Apicella and Bago spoke at roundtable discussions at the Global Wellness Summit on Monday, Oct. 9. “I would normally say it was overwhelming, but I want to use the word overflowing,” Bago said. “I was overflowing, not only with the shear amount of information, but the sense of gratitude, the sense of happiness, everything that comes with being. It was just an experience unlike any other conference that myself and Dr. Apicella have ever been to, where it felt it was very knowledgebased. This was an experience.” Among the many health professionals in attendance were giants
in the health community that included Dr. Mehmet Oz, Dr. Richard Carmona, Dr. Andrew Weil, Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Michael Roizen and Dr. Paul Limburg, along with Elissa Epel, PhD. “One thing that really stuck with me that Dr. Andrew Weil said is how we need to change the culture of medicine,” Apicella said. “We need to make wellness fashionable, meaning we have to get the younger population on board with thinking that a healthy lifestyle is here… and to get everyone from the millennial generation to the baby boomers on board with that. It’s not a chore to have a healthy lifestyle. It’s something that should be the right thing to do moving forward.” The entirety of the event gave Bago a sense of community on a grand scale. “To see so many organizations internationally proclaiming that same model of health and wellbeing was very inspiring to me to know that I’m not by myself, that I have resources, that I now have networks to tap into, and that I actually need to be more vocal about our model and what we do
to reach more people,” Bago said. Dr. Oz was among the main speakers. During his presentation, he proclaimed mental health as one of the leading healthcare issues of the 21st century. Apicella agreed and said it’s already noticeable. “We don’t have mechanisms for awareness, diagnosis and treatment that are strong enough in this country to help the mentally ill from multiple standpoints in our system. We have a difficult time treating the mentally ill population,” Apicella said. “That is having a spiral of effects in our culture, from people who are dysfunctional at work to domestic violence and abuse, to mass shootings and crime. All of that can lead back to the mentally ill and our inability to have a public awareness of it, to identify it appropriately, and give everyone from healthcare providers to families the options of treatment.” During lunch, Bago bumped into famed outdoorsman Wim Hof of the Netherlands, also known as “The Iceman.” “A lot of what he had to talk about was how he could be in an See WELLNESS, page 17
Dr. Vincent Apicella with Dr. Mehmet Oz at the Global Wellness Summit 2017 held this week at the Breakers Palm Beach.
PHOTO BY JACK LOWENSTEIN/TOWN-CRIER