Town-Crier Newspaper October 14, 2011

Page 1

COUNTY STARTS SR 7 EXTENSION BERM SEE STORY, PAGE 3

GANNON: BEWARE COUNTY POWER GRAB SEE STORY, PAGE 7

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TOWN - CR IER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE

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INSIDE

Volume 32, Number 41 October 14 - October 20, 2011

HAVING FUN IN THE SNOW AT PETCO

Wellington Christian School Hosts Boutique To Benefit Annual Gala

Wellington Christian School held its Fall Boutique Show on Saturday, Oct. 8 in its Family Worship Center. More than 40 vendors were on hand selling a varie ty of items and food. All proceeds will benefit the WCS auction and gala “Caribbean Nights” on Feb. 25. Page 5

Royal Palm Beach Decides To Keep Election In March

The Royal Palm Beach Village Council decided last week to keep its upcoming municipal election March 13, instead of moving it to coincide with the presidential primary Jan. 31. Page 7 Petco held an “Adopt-athon and Wag Weeunion” on Oct. 8 at its Wellington store to benefit A Second Chance Puppies & Kittens Rescue. There was real snow for kids and dogs, along with free seminars, microchips, vendors and more. Shown here playing in the snow is Dylan Bliss with adopted puppy Dallas and aunt Desiree Finkelstein. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 12 PHO TO B Y DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER

Cypress Trails Students Get Fit With Weekly Jog

Every Monday afternoon, approximately 110 student members of the Cypress Trails Elementary School Marathon Club jog around Katz soccer field to improve their fitness. Page 9

Women Of The Western Communities Meeting

Women of the Western Communities met Thursday, Oct. 6 at the Madison Green Golf Club. After dinner, Frannie Sheridan entertained with her observational humor. Page 12

OPINION Can Protests Transcend Our Political Divide?

It has been a month since the Occupy Wall Street protests began. What began as a single event has become a worldwide phenomenon. Because the protests won’t be ending soon, this can go one of two ways: Either it will devolve into more usagainst-them quarreling, or it will do something most Americans probably think is impossible at this point — transcend the political divide. Page 4 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS ............................. 2 - 13 OPINION ................................ 4 CRIME NEWS ........................ 6 NEWS BRIEFS .......................8 SCHOOLS .....................14 - 15 PEOPLE........................ 16 - 17 COLUMNS .................... 23 - 25 BUSINESS ...................27 - 29 ENTERTAINMENT ................30 SPORTS .......................35 - 37 CALENDAR...................38 - 39 CLASSIFIEDS ...............40 - 44 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM

ITID Drops 180th Ave. Paving In Favor Of Other Nearby Projects By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors on Wednesday withdrew a plan to pave about a mile of 180th Avenue North, saying that a key property owner in the area is not being cooperative on easement issues. Instead, the board decided to redirect more than $392,000 it had budgeted for the project to other nearby projects. District Administrator Tanya Quickel said the 180th Avenue North paving and sidewalk project from Alan Black Blvd. to Sycamore Drive has been in the budget since 2009. “We have come to the board several times as far as working on this,” Quickel said. “The first problem was that this project was approved for paving only.” Quickel said there was no sidewalk in the plan, which does not

comply with ITID policy. “We were tasked with getting the necessary additional easement to put a sidewalk in the design,” she said. “This road currently does not have enough easement width to construct a sidewalk.” Quickel said ITID staff has worked to obtain easements for about two years, and four of the five property owners signed the license agreement for the additional road easement. “The largest property owner, approximately 105 acres, has not signed and has submitted multiple modifications to the license agreement,” Quickel said, adding that the owner also has a problem with an access road that goes through his property. “We came to him in July with a proposal to purchase a strip approximately 30 feet wide and 1,800 feet long to correct our road placement so that it would

be in our property,” Quickel said. The district offered $45,000 for the property, which Quickel said amounts to about 1.2 acres. “He appeared amenable to selling that to the district to correct that problem, rather than us reconstruct that portion of the road. However, once again, the necessary agreements to make this happen have been changed, and his requested changes are not in compliance with the district’s current procedures and policies,” Quickel said. Quickel explained that the district’s engineer and attorney have also worked on the project, and it has come to a point where they no longer feel comfortable trying to pursue an agreement. “I believe too much has already been extended, that we will not be successful in this and the things See ITID, page 18

Serving Palms West Since 1980

PBSO Preparing To Move Into New Wellington Offices By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report The new home of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office substation in Wellington is just about complete, and deputies should be all settled in by the end of the month. The PBSO’s District 8 substation will take over Wellington’s old municipal complex on Greenbriar Blvd. now that the facilities have been retrofitted. Meanwhile, the current substation location at the original Wellington Mall will house senior activities while the Wellington Community Center is torn down and rebuilt. When Wellington staff moved into the new municipal center on Forest Hill Blvd., the old building was promised to the PBSO after the retrofit. “It’s going to be great for our deputies and for Wellington,” PBSO Capt. Jay Hart said. “It will give Wellington its own police station and help us serve residents.” The contract between Wellington and the PBSO requires the village to house the substation at no cost to the PBSO. Currently, Well-

ington rents space for the substation. Deputy Village Manager John Bonde said that by utilizing the old administration building, Wellington will save significantly on rental costs. The substation will occupy two of the three permanent buildings, while Wellington will use the third for storage. Changes to the structure included building a few new walls, updating some features, and installing a gym and locker room in the old Village Meeting Hall. The new building will give deputies and staff more space for operations and offices, Hart said. “There’s more space for everyone,” he said. “There’s more natural lighting. It will be a place for us to call home. Everyone is very excited about it.” Another major advantage to the new location is that it has a parking lot for deputies separate from public parking. Now, deputies share spaces at the mall with residents, leading to a shortage of parking that has caused problems in the past. “There will be a lot more parkSee SUBSTATION, page 18

CFF GALA KICKOFF

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation held a kickoff celebration Wednesday, Oct. 5 at Beef Wellington Steakhouse & Social Club for its annual Wellington’s Finest Gala. The gala will take place Feb. 11, 2012. Shown here are honorees (front row) Dr. Jeffrey Bishop, Mike Sterlacci and Jeremy Slusher; and (back row) Charlene Bishop, Sharon Melnick, Lauren Sterlacci and Silvia Garcia. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 2 PHOTO BY JESSICA GREGOIRE/TOWN-CRIER

Scouts’ Anti-Smoking Royal Palm To County: Postpone Project Brings Signs Roebuck, But Buy Right-Of-Way To Wellington Parks

By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Royal Palm Beach Village Council agreed last week to allow the planned Roebuck Road extension between Jog Road and State Road 7 to be moved off Palm Beach County’s five-year road plan, as long as the county purchases the necessary right-of-way to eventually build the road. The decision came during discussion Thursday, Oct. 6, about a recent joint meeting between officials from Palm Beach County, Royal Palm Beach and the Indian Trail Improvement District, during which they set priorities for the SR 7, Jog Road and Roebuck Road extensions. Village Manager Ray Liggins said the county had requested that the village agree to allow Roebuck Road to be moved off the five-year road plan, but not off the road plan altogether. “In 1999, Roebuck Road was

needed for the development [along] Okeechobee Blvd.,” Liggins explained. “It was needed by traffic projections at that time for concurrency of those developments.” It was envisioned that Roebuck Road would have long since been constructed by now, Liggins noted, but with the slow pace of current development due to the economy, coupled with the recent improvements to Southern and Okeechobee boulevards, Roebuck Road is not currently projected to be needed until after 2016. Liggins added that West Palm Beach wants Roebuck Road completely removed from the comprehensive plan, but he said that would not be wise. “I don’t think we should have a problem with removing it from the five-year construction plan, with the caveat that the right-of-way be secured,” he said. Liggins pointed out that the

original 1994 agreement expires in 2014, and he recommended acquiring a remaining mile of the 3-mile right-of-way that has not been secured. “That agreement laid out very specific things that needed to be done,” he said. “One of them was acquiring the right-of-way, so my recommendation would be it’s fine to remove it from the fiveyear plan, but secure the right-ofway now.” Liggins noted that there is money in the county budget for that purpose. “As far as removing it from the comp plan, my recommendation would be not to remove it,” he said, stressing that it will eventually be needed as an alternative to relieve congestion on Okeechobee Blvd. The way the Palm Beach Metropolitan Planning Organization plan is drafted, the alternative to See ROEBUCK, page 18

By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report Wellington parks are smokefree, thanks to the efforts of Girl Scout Troop 20244 at Panther Run Elementary School, which approached the Wellington Village Council with the idea and has since installed more than 75 signs throughout Wellington. During a presentation to the council Tuesday, Oct. 11, troop members explained how the project began in September 2010. Girl Scout Jill Rooney said that they were participating in the International Coastal Cleanup on Lake Worth Beach when the problem came to their attention. “We noticed that we were picking up more cigarette butts than anything else,” she said. At that time, they met Palm Beach County Health Department worker Janiece Davis, who later attended a meeting to educate the troop on the dangers of tobacco. Davis told them of her work in

Lake Worth to keep the parks and beaches tobacco-free. “As a troop, we discussed the cleanup and what we could do,” Girl Scout Emma Romano said. “We began to think about what it was like to go to a park and play and to have someone smoking near us. We thought about how important it is for us to have a safe, healthy environment for kids to play.” The troop also learned about how laws are made, Girl Scout Tabatha Levy said. “We decided that we wanted to do something to help create smoke-free parks,” she said. The troop also advertised the issue, Girl Scout Alexis Blumberg added. They made posters, with the help of the health department, illustrating the dangers of tobacco. “Those posters were put up around Panther Run so that parents, staff and visitors could unSee SMOKING, page 18

County Zoners Approve Palms West Hospital Expansion

Taller Hospital — An artist’s rendering of the expanded Palms West Hospital building, showing the planned fourth floor.

By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Palm Beach County Planning & Zoning Commission last week recommended approval for the planned expansion of Palms West Hospital and the Children’s Hospital at Palms West. After the Oct. 6 zoning approval, the project now heads to the Palm Beach County Commission for approval. That hearing is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 27. The $16 million project is scheduled to begin in December and will increase the capacity of

the hospital from 175 beds to 209 beds, according to hospital representative Lisa Gardi. The 43,199square-foot addition will expand the hospital from 229,131 square feet to 272,330 square feet. “This will expand our adult medical surgical unit, the patients that are coming off our adult ICU units, our pediatric units, our pediatric ICU and also expand the laboratory,” Gardi said. For adult medical surgical, the beds will increase from 30 to 46, adult ICU will go from 14 to 18, pediatric will increase from 24 to

42, and pediatric ICU will go from eight to 10. “Essentially, this is a vertical expansion on the east tower of our building,” Gardi said. Gardi said the medical surgical department, now on the second floor, will move to the new fourth floor, which will create space to expand the existing pediatric department on the second floor. “It’s going to connect into the second floor of the west tower, where medical surgical currently is,” Gardi said. “That would be the See HOSPITAL, page 4


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