PRESCHOOL KIDS BECOME TOY TESTERS LOX GROVES TO HIRE TWO MAGISTRATES SEE STORY, PAGE 3 SEE STORY, PAGE 7 THE
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Shannon LaRocque Leaves County For Wellington Utilities Job
Volume 37, Number 37 September 23 - September 29, 2016
Serving Palms West Since 1980
CLEANING UP WELLINGTON STREETS
Assistant Palm Beach County Administrator Shannon LaRocque will become Wellington’s utilities director as of Sept. 29 after 11 years with the county, replacing Bill Riebe, who resigned recently. Page 3
Wellington American Legion Post Hosts Golf Tourney At Wanderers
The Wellington American Legion Chris Reyka Memorial Post 390 hosted its sixth annual Future Heroes Golf Tournament on Saturday, Sept. 17 at the Wanderers Club. Awards were given out at a buffet after the event. Page 5
Garden Club Teams Up With Village To Plant Shrubs At Preserve
The Village of Wellington and the Wellington Garden Club are partnering to celebrate National Public Lands Day on Saturday, Sept. 24. Page 7
Latin Music & Food Festival Of The Palm Beaches At Fairgrounds
The inaugural Latin Music & Food Festival of the Palm Beaches took place on Saturday, Sept. 17 and Sunday, Sept. 18 at the South Florida Fairgrounds. Latin music and folkloric dances were featured. Reggaeton duo Angel y Khriz, mambo and charanga musician Tito Puente Jr. and salsa singer Eddie Santiago were the headliners. Page 11
OPINION It’s Not Easy Finding Peace In Our Angry, War-Weary World
We remember — or, perhaps, like to think we remember — a time when our society was better capable of actually discussing and resolving disputes in a civil manner. But every day, the national headlines become more frustrating and disappointing, as seemingly trivial issues get blown out of proportion and cooler heads are unable to prevail. But for all of this, there are still individuals who still retain a sense of hope. Page 4 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 11 OPINION.................................. 4 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 6 PEOPLE................................. 12 SCHOOLS.............................. 13 COLUMNS.......................14, 21 BUSINESS..................... 22 - 23 SPORTS..........................27 - 29 CALENDAR............................ 30 CLASSIFIEDS.................31 - 34 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
The Village of Wellington held an International Coastal Cleanup event on Saturday, Sept. 17 along Greenbriar Blvd., Greenview Shores and the Folkestone/Yarmouth community. Dozens of volunteers patrolled the streets in groups to clean up Wellington’s roads. Shown above, Inara, Ugo and Megan Drainville take part in the cleanup. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 10 PHOTO BY BRIANNE SIMONE/TOWN-CRIER
Indian Trail Engineer Reports On Flood Control Progress
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Indian Trail Improvement District Engineer Jay Foy gave a presentation last week to the ITID Board of Supervisors on a new, larger bypass line recently completed on the M-1 Canal to add to the drainage of an old 84-inch pipe built in 1993. The Sept. 14 presentation was at the request of Supervisor Michelle Damone, who said residents had asked her what the construction activity was for and how much it cost, which was about $1 million. The new bypass at 71st Place North and the M-1 Canal will allow the reversal of stormwater flow to the south rather than the north, as had been conceived years ago. The second bypass project
involved the installation of more than 350 feet of a 7-foot-high by 9-foot-wide concrete box culvert, which, under certain conditions, will allow for the gravity flow of stormwater past Pump Station No. 2. The pump station pushes water north into the upper basin when needed. “We realized that the drainage was inadequate and only a small benefit to allow water to flow from the upper basin to the lower basin,” Foy said. “We changed the entire direction of flow. In order to get water to Pump Station 2, we had to help it.” After the rainfall from Tropical Storm Isaac in 2012, water levels fell after a week in the lower basin, but the water in the upper basin didn’t come down for 14 days, and the existing Pump Station 2 bypass was a major restriction
for post-storm drawdown of the upper basin. “What we have constructed is a much bigger bypass,” Foy said, explaining that the second bypass will allow the transfer of three times as much water as the old bypass. The construction required a coffer dam to be built in order to dewater the trench where the bypass was to be built. The rectangular duct was built with 7-foot by 9-foot by 8-foot precast concrete sections that were set in place in the trench with a crane and aligned so they could be pulled together. Sections that had angles had rebar installed and concrete poured onsite, Foy said. The finished pipe was then backfilled and compacted. The gated structure will provide See ITID, page 15
FPL Working To Strengthen Electrical Grid In Wellington
By Jason Stromberg Town-Crier Staff Report The Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) was busy at work last week, which is no different than any other week. With the hurricane season in full swing and several systems swirling in the tropical Atlantic, an FPL crew was at the Shell gas station on the corner of Wellington Trace
and Greenview Shores Blvd. last Thursday. There, the project included installing a stronger power line that is designed to withstand winds of up to 145 mph. It was done to speed up power restoration following storms. This upgrade is part of FPL’s ongoing work to build a grid to deliver electricity customers can count on in good weather and bad.
An FPL crew works to install the new concrete power poles in Wellington.
PHOTO BY JASON STROMBERG/TOWN-CRIER
“FPL is committed to building a stronger and smarter grid for our customers to deliver reliable service,” FPL spokeswoman Florencia Contesse said. “The work we are doing in Wellington here today includes installing a new concrete power pole designed to withstand winds of up to 145 miles per hour.” Why was this particular power line identified? “This power line is a main power line serving Wellington, including more than 2,500 local residents and businesses and critical facilities, such as Palm Beach County Fire-Station 20, Wellington Landings Middle School, gas stations and businesses in the local area,” Contesse said. “The reason it is important is because following a major storm, these facilities help our community get back up.” Not only the gas station, but nearby banks and the local Publix store are essential in giving community members that comforting feeling that everything will be all right when living through the aftermath of a hurricane. Kellen Lewis, an FPL line speSee FPL, page 15
Extension Of SR 7 Remains The Top Priority For MPO
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report At the Royal Palm Beach Village Council meeting on Sept. 15, Vice Mayor Jeff Hmara reported on the Palm Beach Metropolitan Planning Organization meeting earlier that day, saying that completion of the State Road 7 extension to Northlake Blvd. remained the MPO’s No. 1 goal in its 2018-22 work plan. Hmara, who is the village’s alternate member on the MPO, said completion of the SR 7 extension from 60th Street North to Northlake Blvd. has been an MPO priority for several years, but it has been so over the objections of the two West Palm Beach representatives who sit on the board. West Palm Beach has been a vocal opponent of the SR 7 extension due to its decades-old road plan that runs on the west side of Ibis. “There were two major actions this morning, and the most significant one to my way of thinking was the approval of the fiscal year 2018 to 2022 work plan,” Hmara said. “The priority list… becomes the basis for the Florida Department of Transportation’s work
plan. That becomes construction in our area.” Hmara pointed out that the village had recently sent out a letter to local media signed by Mayor Fred Pinto explaining why the council believes the extension is important, also posing a serious question whether the extension is a legitimate environmental threat, as stated by the City of West Palm Beach. “I was prepared to provide copies to everybody and take them through a couple of the highlights,” he said. “Lo and behold, the members from West Palm Beach seemed to have acquiesced to the inevitable outcome of the votes, which have historically been two or three against, and everybody else in favor of maintaining the top priority as State Road 7.” Hmara said the comments from the West Palm Beach representatives were very brief, so he decided not to agitate the situation and refrained from distributing copies of the letter. “I think the recognition is that the MPO is not the environment with which to persuade people See STATE ROAD 7, page 15
PONIES AT THE HOSPITAL
Magic Man and Cookie Face, two special therapeutic ponies from Personal Ponies Florida, came to visit children at Palms West Hospital on Monday, Sept. 19. The ponies met with emergency room patients, pediatric patients and staff as they toured the hospital, bringing pony cheer. Shown above, Cookie Face visits with Rose Roger. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 17 PHOTO BY JULIE UNGER/TOWN-CRIER
Implementation Of Lower Speed Limits Divides Lox Council
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Town of Loxahatchee Groves has ordered 30-mileper-hour speed limit signs for Okeechobee Blvd. and Folsom Road, but the Loxahatchee Groves Town Council is not united about how to implement the change. The council unanimously approved a resolution in June reducing the speed limit on the two roads from 45 to 30 mph. On Tuesday, Town Manager Bill Underwood said he is still working on details of implementation, including an agreement with Palm Beach County on the responsi-
bilities of the town regarding road maintenance. Although the signs are ordered, about 30 in all, Underwood said additional financing may be necessary if the county imposes other responsibilities on the town, such as maintenance of caution lights at the fire station and elementary school, currently being handled by the county. They also are still negotiating other issues, such as road striping. Councilman Todd McClendon said he had read through County Engineer George Webb’s e-mails See SPEED LIMITS, page 7
Suitor Who Met Match On Field Executes Sneak Play
By Julie Unger Town-Crier Staff Report The lives of a young couple, William “Billy” Munker and Paulena Vanna Wermuth were forever changed last Friday, Sept. 16 at Royal Palm Beach High School during the school’s homecoming game halftime festivities. “I started planning this back in May,” Munker said. That’s when he found the perfect ring for his bride-to-be, and set the wheels in motion for a surprise proposal to his high school sweetheart. “I got with her mom, I got with my parents, and that’s how it worked,” he said. Munker coordinated with his former coach, Eric Patterson, now
the athletics director at the school, to orchestrate a surprise proposal. Munker was the center on the football team, wearing jersey No. 60 from 2006 to 2010, while Wermuth was the captain of the cheerleading team. They met on the football field. He told Wermuth his jersey was going to be retired, and he was going to receive an award. “He asked me to walk on the field with him so he would have support, because he was scared,” she said. “And then, the huge thing happened.” It didn’t take much for Munker to convince Wermuth that he needed the support, he said, explaining that he really is nervous in front of crowds — an irony he
is well aware of as a star football player both in high school and in college. Lori Deutsch, Wermuth’s mother, and Munker’s parents helped orchestrate the event, which completely surprised Wermuth. Less than two months ago, Deutsch and the Munker family really got to work. “It was the most amazing thing to be involved in,” Deutsch said. She reached out to the cheerleading coaches, and was able to get the cheerleaders to dance by while Bruno Mars’ “Marry You” came over the sound system and Munker proposed. “I couldn’t be happier. She couldn’t have a better man and a See PROPOSAL, page 15
William “Billy” Munker proposes to Paulena Vanna Wermuth at Royal Palm Beach High School on Friday, Sept. 16.
PHOTO BY JULIE UNGER/TOWN-CRIER