SHINE PROGRAM HELPS AREA SENIORS SEE STORY, PAGE 3
PINK PETALS & BOWS PARTY A SUCCESS SEE PHOTOS, PAGE 14
THE
TOWN - CR IER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
Your Community Newspaper
INSIDE
Volume 32, Number 43 October 28 - November 3, 2011
ROTARY HONORS JIM SACKETT
Lots Of Halloween Fun At Wellington’s Fall Festival The Palms West Chamber of Commerce and the Village of Wellington hosted the annual Fall Festival on Saturday, Oct. 22 at Village Park. Activities included haunted hallways, bounce houses, door-to-door trick or treating, a costume contest, hay rides and more. Page 2
RPB OKs Toys ‘R’ Us/ Babies ‘R’ Us Project
The Royal Palm Beach Village Council granted several variances last week allowing two parcels of land on State Road 7 to be combined, paving the way for the development of Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us stores on the site. Page 3
The Wellington Seniors Club Hosts Fall Dinner Dance At Binks Forest
The Wellington Seniors Club held its Fall Dinner Dance on Friday, Oct. 21 at the Binks Forest Golf Club. The band Whitestone played oldies tunes while members danced the night away. Page 5
Fun In The Pumpkin Patch At St. Peter’s
St. Peter’s United Methodist Church in Wellington held a party in the pumpkin patch Saturday, Oct. 22. Children were dressed up in costumes and got their faces painted, played games and took pictures with the scarecrow. Page 22
OPINION Enjoy Your Halloween, But Be Sure To Be Safe
Though it seems like it has been an ongoing event for the past few weeks, Halloween is this Monday. It’s the one night of the year when no one can look too ridiculous, and children and adults alike revel in the fantasy. But what can be a thrill for eager young trick-ortreaters can be a cause of consternation for parents. Page 4 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS ............................. 2 - 15 OPINION ................................ 4 CRIME NEWS ........................ 6 NEWS BRIEFS .......................8 SCHOOLS ..................... 16 - 17 PEOPLE........................ 18 - 19 COLUMNS .................... 27 - 29 BUSINESS ...................31 - 33 ENTERTAINMENT ................34 SPORTS .......................39 - 41 CALENDAR...................42 - 43 CLASSIFIEDS ...............44 - 48 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
The Wellington Rotary Club hosted its fundraising gala “A Night to Remember” on Saturday, Oct. 22 at Breakers West Golf & Country Club, honoring news anchor Jim Sackett. There was a cocktail reception, as well as silent and live auctions. Shown here is Jim Sackett (thir d from the left) with event committee members. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 9 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
Proposal Would Merge Palms West & Lake Worth Chambers By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Palms West Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Lake Worth Chamber of Commerce announced plans to merge last week, creating a regional entity that officials from both chambers believe will be more powerful, both politically and for the business community. “Palms West has about 750 members, and Lake Worth has about 450. That’s going to give us a combined chamber strength of about 1,200 members,” said Rick Tourville, chairman of the Lake Worth Chamber. “We will cover everything from the swamp to the ocean in central Palm Beach County.” Tourville said there is strength in numbers and that mergers are the wave of the future. He believes both chambers stand to benefit from this merger. “I would say that more than half of our members don’t actually have a business or live in the actual city limits of Lake Worth,” Tourville said. “We had some
crossover territory, but we were surprised to find out we only had 30 crossover members between the two chambers.” Palms West Chamber CEO Jaene Miranda said both chamber boards signed an “intent to merge” agreement Oct. 20. “We reached out to the Lake Worth Chamber just to explore the opportunity after we found out that their CEO had resigned,” Miranda said. “We put out the opportunity to them to see if they would be interested in sitting down and chatting about the opportunity. Their response was positive.” Then, Miranda and members of the Palms West Chamber board met with members of the Lake Worth Chamber board to present the idea to them and see if they would want to present it to their full board. “They did,” she said. “They were very positive, and we then each created a transition team, a merger exploratory team.” Each team wrote a white paper presented to their boards, and both agreed to proceed.
“Then we wrote an ‘intent to merge’ agreement that was approved by both boards,” Miranda said, explaining that they would do due diligence until Jan. 12 to evaluate the financial impact and give each chamber a chance to review assets from a branding perspective to decide what the new organization would look like. “The thought is that we would more than likely need to come up with a name for the organization that would be more representative.” The Lake Worth Chamber will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year, and Tourville said he would not want to see that history lost in the merger. “It was with great trepidation that we considered giving up that name,” Tourville said. Miranda said she appreciates the history of both chambers, including the 28-year-old Palms West Chamber. “The branding part, needless to say, is something that we both want to tread lightly on because See MERGER, page 20
Fair Has Big Plans For Centennial By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report The South Florida Fair is gearing up to celebrate its 100th anniversary, and members of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce got a taste of how the community staple will be celebrating at a luncheon held Wednesday, Oct. 26 at the Wanderers Club. Rick Vymlatil, president and CEO of the South Florida Fair, told chamber members that the fair would be doing 100 days of giveaways leading up to the first day of the fair. “You can go on our web site to register,” he said. “Every day between now and the opening day of the fair you’ll get an e-mail with your gift. They all have at least a $5 value.” Giveaways have included items like a $13 car wash for $1, $5 off at a restaurant, a coupon for pizza and more. But to be a part of it, you have to sign up, Vymlatil said.
“You can’t get it unless you opt in,” he said. The fair is also looking for guests to share their happy memories from the fair by visiting its Facebook page and adding pictures of their loved ones visiting the fair in years past. Vymlatil said he hopes to find memories dating back to the fair’s inception. “A lot of us have family members who have lived in the area a long time,” he said. “There have been many happy memories at the fair, and we’re hoping people will send them in.” The photos will then be used in a video that will run before entertainment on the Pepsi stage, he said. For the first time in 100 years, the fair will be forming a South Florida Fair Marching Band to perform in parades during the fair and throughout Palm Beach County. “If you’re a former high school
band member who loved being in marching band, we want you,” Vymlatil said. Tim Skinner, the band director at Seminole Ridge High School, has volunteered to lead the marching band, Vymlatil said. Already, about 30 people have signed up. Once the fair comes around, there will be a birthday celebration during the opening ceremonies, which have been moved inside this year. “We usually have a party on the patio,” Vymlatil said. “But this year we’re bringing it inside the Expo Center. There will be indoor fireworks and a great celebration to kick off the fair.” There will also be a ticketed dinner on the first Saturday of the fair, which will serve as another birthday celebration. Also new this year will be a kids mile run kicking off the first Saturday of the fair, starting at 8:30 See FAIR, page 20
Serving Palms West Since 1980
Wellington Council OKs New Access Points For PBIEC By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report A divided Wellington Village Council approved a master plan amendment Wednesday evening designed to allow better access to the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. After more than four hours of discussion, council members voted 3-2 to approve the revised master plan with Vice Mayor Matt Willhite and Councilman Howard Coates dissenting. The resolution amends the master plan to allow access to the equestrian center from a realigned Lake Worth Road, extended Southfields Road and Gene Mische Way to the west, all connecting through internal roadways to a re-aligned Equestrian Club Road — the main show grounds entryway. The amendments also allow for development of 479 dwelling units on the property known as Peacock Pond. Mike Sexton of Sexton Engineering explained that the extensions and re-alignments were being done to provide access and stem traffic problems caused by limited access to the show grounds. “This amendment provides needed access connection,” he said. “We’re looking at safety
improvements, better traffic flow, an alternate route for the internal [communities] to get to Pierson [Road] and South Shore [Blvd.], and we’re providing a secondary access for emergency vehicles.” Sexton noted that though the road extensions were near homes, a 100-foot buffer and bridle trail would separate the homes from the road. Supporters and opponents spoke on the plan for more than four hours, with nearby homeowners expressing concerns mainly about increased traffic outside their back doors. Attorney Janna Lhota, representing Victoria McCullough of Mida Farms, was concerned that the re-alignment and extension of Lake Worth Road would attract traffic from vendors, spectators and exhibitors going into the show grounds. “It is a de-facto extension of Lake Worth Road through the heart of the area,” Lhota said. “People will be able to use the road to bypass South Shore Blvd. and access Pierson Road and vice versa. It won’t be a road simply serving a residential community, but rather a new road attaching two major arterials. It will be a bypass that runs through the back yards See PBIEC, page 20
WHS HOMECOMING
Wellington High School celebrated homecoming week Friday, Oct. 21 with its homecoming ceremony at a varsity football game against Jupiter High School. Teddy Thomas and Brittany Middlebrook (above) were crowned homecoming king and queen. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY LAUREN MIRÓ/TOWN-CRIER
Public Gets Input On School Board Lines By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Using results from the 2010 U.S. Census, new districts are being drawn up for the seven members of the Palm Beach County School Board. Board members studied the new districts last week, noting that they will be more compact than the current districts, and also keep similar communities together. District 6 Board Member Marcia Andrews, who lives in Royal Palm Beach, said the new boundaries were discussed in a workshop session Wednesday, Oct. 19. “Now it’s out for community in-
put,” Andrews said. “There will be some more tweaking.” Andrews said that District 6, as well as all the other districts, has been tightened up. “It’s more city- and community-oriented, so that we can be closer together,” she said, explaining that not only are the central western communities united, but also all the communities around Lake Okeechobee will be part of District 6 as well. “In the proposal, Belle Glade, South Bay and Pahokee are together, instead of Pahokee being in District 1, as it is now,” AnSee DISTRICTS, page 20
Renovated Kidscape Park Takes Shape In The Acreage
Indian Trail Improvement District Parks Director Tim Wojnar at Kidscape P ark, under renovation. PHOTO BY R ON BUKLEY/TOWN-CRIER
SEE KIDSCAPE PARK VIDEO AT WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The playground at Kidscape Park in The Acreage is undergoing a $231,000 renovation, adding new playground equipment, upgrading drainage and improving the parking lot. The park is located just north of Orange Blvd. on the east side of Seminole Pratt Whitney Road. The Indian Trail Improvement District spent $213,000 for new playground equipment and $18,000 on drainage improvements and parking, according to ITID Parks Director Tim Wojnar. The design of the new park was put together with input from many residents, including strong involvement from members of the local Moms Club chapter.
“I was introduced to the Moms Club back in 1997 when I first came to work here, and since then they have always been very helpful in providing valuable input to our park system and playgrounds and various activities throughout the district,” Wojnar said. “When we decided to replace the existing playground, we met with Leanne Reid of the Moms Club on several occasions at the district office and selected from various options.” Money was designated for the replacement of playground equipment at Kidscape Park a year ago, and more than 20 design options were reviewed. Those were limited to two design options, which were presented to the ITID board for final approval in July.
The park has two playground areas, one for ages 2 to 5 and another for ages 6 to 12. Some of the work is being done in-house to save money, including the demolition of the old equipment, which saved about $8,000. However, the installation of the equipment itself was done by a contractor. “The playground installation as well as some of the concrete work was done by a contractor,” Wojnar said. “A lot of the work was done in-house for a substantial cost savings, which is good. If we can do it ourselves without interrupting any other maintenance areas, we will do it in-house.” Wojnar said Kidscape is one of the district’s most heavily used See KIDSCAPE, page 20