Town-Crier Newspaper September 28, 2018

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CULTURAL CENTER NEARS COMPLETION SEE STORY, PAGE 3

RPB CRACKING DOWN ON NIGHTCLUBS SEE STORY, PAGE 4

THE

TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE

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Wellington Board OKs Cocoa Berry, But Refuses Oregano Spice

Volume 39, Number 37 September 28 - October 4, 2018

Serving Palms West Since 1980

BINKS FOREST PTA FUNDRAISER

At issue at Wellington’s Architectural Review Board meeting on Monday, Sept. 24 were the proposed architectural designs for the new GSB Law building to be developed in the Binks Commercial Center, as well as two homeowners requesting to have their houses painted colors not on Wellington’s approved color chart. Page 3

Indian Trail Approves Purchase Of Equipment To Outfit Culvert Crew

The Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors approved the purchase of two excavators, a wheel loader and some accessories last week to outfit an in-house culvert installation crew. “Back when we were doing the budget, we had earmarked $883,000 as carryover,” District Manager Rob Robinson said. “We identified those for the culvert replacement crew to get that up and running.” Page 7

Wellington Garden Club Hosts Tree Planting At Peaceful Waters

On Saturday, Sept. 22, the Wellington Garden Club held a ceremony to plant Florida native trees and plants at Peaceful Waters Sanctuary near Village Park on Pierson Road. Page 7

The Binks Forest Elementary School PTA held its second annual Party With A Purpose Casino Night & Auction on Saturday, Sept. 22 at the Wellington National Golf Club. The money raised will go toward upgrading playground equipment at the school. Shown above, are PTA executive board members Treasurer Michelle Chamlee, Secretary Jesse Kearney, Vice President Advocacy Kristen Kearney, Principal Michella Levy, President Jenn Appel, Vice President Ways & Means Jamila Abraham, Vice President School Services Farryl Brooke and Vice President Volunteers Jennifer Rodriguez. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 15 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER

ITID Officials Discuss Flooding Concerns With Congressman

By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Congressman Brian Mast (RDistrict 18) visited the Indian Trail Improvement District on Monday, Sept. 24 to tour the J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area levee at the invitation of district officials, who seek funding to complete the half-finished levee and pursue other flood-control plans in The Acreage. The state funded about $4 million for the first half of the levee, following problems with the dike after the heavy rains of Tropical Storm Isaac in 2012, but funding for the second half never came. Mast sits on a committee charged with infrastructure, which is important to help address flooding problems, and he came to listen to ITID’s presentation. “The first thing we’re going

to talk about is funding for the second half of the Corbett levee,” ITID Engineer Jay Foy said. “Half a levee doesn’t do much good. The first half is now sound. It was designed and constructed through the [South Florida] Water Management District.” Foy explained that the original levee is actually an earthen berm that could still breach and cause severe flooding to homes in The Acreage. He said that the SFWMD recently upped the estimated cost to $5.8 million to finish the levee because construction costs have gone up. Foy added that the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission has been maintaining the water level higher in recent years for the 60,000-acre Corbett area. “They’re trying to hold their

water levels higher to enhance wetlands rather than game harvesting,” he said, explaining that Corbett’s water levels are often at 22 feet. “Our control down here is 16 [feet] in the wet season, so there have been numerous breaches through seepage through the berm. In the new section, that doesn’t happen. It’s very well engineered.” ITID Manager Rob Robinson said that during Tropical Storm Isaac, the level in Corbett rose to 30 feet. “We had breaching coming in from Corbett in several locations,” he said. While homes weren’t damaged, there was damage to roadways and septic systems. “There is only 5 feet of water level differential that is allowed,” Robinson said. “If we drop our canals too low, it allows water See ITID MAST, page 18

World War II Vet Speaks To Students At Western Pines

Wolverines Rebound With Big 49-21 Win Over John I. Leonard

By Chris Levy Town-Crier Staff Report On Tuesday, Sept. 25, World War II veteran Carl Arfa addressed the eighth graders of Western Pines Middle School in The Acreage. He

was accompanied by his daughter, Debra Katzman, who often assists her father in such presentations, helping with visual aids. Arfa is originally from Monticello, N.Y., and is the son of Jewish

One week after the Wellington High School football team lost to district rival Palm Beach Central High School, the team rebounded with a 49-21 victory over John I. Leonard High School on Friday, Sept. 21. Page 19 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 15 LETTERS.................................. 4 PEOPLE................................... 8 SCHOOLS................................ 9 NEWS BRIEFS....................... 15 COLUMNS............................. 16 BUSINESS............................. 17 CALENDAR............................ 18 SPORTS......................... 19 - 20 CLASSIFIEDS................ 21 - 22 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM

Debra Katzman, World War II veteran Carl Arfa, Western Pines teacher Steven Gordon and Principal Bob Hatcher.

PHOTO BY CHRIS LEVY/TOWN-CRIER

immigrants. His father jumped ship in Brooklyn during World War I while serving as a crew member aboard a Russian vessel collecting war supplies. After graduating high school, he enlisted in the United States Army, where he was assigned as a bazooka gunner to the 271st AntiTank Regiment of the Fighting 69th Infantry Division. Arfa landed in Rouen, France, and then moved into Belgium. During the Battle of the Bulge, after two members of his unit were killed by machine gun fire, Arfa returned fire with his bazooka and obliterated a German machine gun nest in a steeple. For this action, he was awarded the Bronze Star. During the early stages of the battle, overcast conditions prevented aerial supply. Arfa and his men spent three days in a foxhole without food before slaughtering See ARFA, page 4

Wellington Finalizes Budget With Tax Rate Of 2.48 Mills

By Chris Levy Town-Crier Staff Report The Wellington Village Council finalized its tax rate and budget for the 2018-19 fiscal year on Tuesday, Sept. 25 after another round of trimming designed to further reduce a proposed tax rate increase. Earlier this month, the council outlined a plan to lower the proposed tax rate from 2.55 to 2.50 mills, still slightly higher than the current year’s 2.43 mills. At this week’s meeting, Councilman John McGovern sought clarification from Director of Administrative & Financial Services Tanya Quickel regarding plans to trim raises for village employees. Quickel previously stated that the reductions would include reducing the consumer price index (CPI) wage increase to all village employees from the proposed 3 percent to 2 percent. This reduc-

tion was at odds with what McGovern had originally intended, which was to exclude village employees making more than $75,000 a year from a separate 1 percent merit increase. According to Quickel, the proposed $96.8 million budget — which is down $13.6 million from the current year — focuses on the three most relevant needs of village residents. These are law enforcement, neighborhood safety and flood control/drainage. After discussion between staff and the council, the tax rate was again reduced — this time to 2.48 mills. The additional cuts will come from external services, which Village Manager Paul Schofield said would be performed by inhouse staff. Schofield further added that the rate of 2.48 mills is lower than See WELL BUDGET, page 4

WORLD PEACE DAY

The Rotary Club of Wellington and the Village of Wellington hosted a World Peace Ceremony at Wellington Rotary Peace Park on Sunday, Sept. 23. The ceremony honored students from local schools. Shown above, Binks Forest Elementary School’s Belen Rivera, shown with her teacher Lisa Gifford, was the overall winner of the poster competition. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY CHRIS LEVY/TOWN-CRIER

Palm Tran Offering Free Trial Of New Route System

By Chris Levy Town-Crier Staff Report On Sunday, Sept. 30, Palm Tran will introduce its new Route Performance Maximization (RPM) project. The three stated benefits of the program are improved travel times, more direct service and better customer service. This will be achieved by adjusting some routes to improve their coverage, efficiency and frequency. Routes will be simplified, and service will be more direct in order for the regional bus network to work better at providing more connections to more destinations. All bus routes will be free from Sunday, Sept. 30 through Wednesday, Oct. 3 to give riders the opportunity to test the new routes. A new rider’s guide has been printed to help travelers under-

stand the changes, which is available for free on buses and is also available at www.palmtran.org. The bus routes are also linked with Google Transit, allowing customers to use Google Maps to plan their rides and connections. In addition, free wi-fi will be offered aboard every bus as part of the rollout of RPM. This, coupled with the inclusion of USB chargers on Palm Tran’s new 1700-series buses, is designed to make the service more technologically relevant and broaden its appeal to consumers. Statistics provided by Palm Tran show that 24 of the new buses with USB chargers are currently operating on routes throughout Palm Beach County. The transit hub for the western See PALM TRAN, page 18

Teacher’s FPL Externship Inspires Classroom Work

By Callie Sharkey Town-Crier Staff Report National STEM Day may be coming up on Thursday, Nov. 8, but some individuals find ways to celebrate and grow their knowledge of science, technology, engineering and mathematics throughout the year. That was the case this past summer for local teacher Sean Streed of Wellington Landings Middle School. While students enjoyed time off from school, Streed spent the month of July embracing an externship with NextEra Energy’s Reliability Assurance Center Lab through Florida Power & Light. Since 2009, Streed has taught all aspects of science at Wellington Landings, ranging from biology to astronomy. While he is always exploring new avenues, such as his trailblazing lessons using Chromebooks and a Smart whiteboard, this summer was his first opportunity

to explore a paid externship. Such work-study experiences allow teachers a fresh perspective on answering the indominable student question, “When am I going to use this in the real world?” by providing educators with realworld applications and first-hand knowledge. After learning of the program at the Palm Beach County School District’s annual Science Symposium, Streed was interested, but the program was offered only to high school teachers. This was the first year that middle school teachers were admitted, and he was quick to apply. He is always looking for new ways to connect with his students. “I don’t want to be stuck handing out worksheets just because that’s how things have been done for 20 years,” Streed said, explaining that new technology is just the way to do it.

Welcomed into his externship like any other employee, including orientations and safety trainings, Streed was stunned by the acceptance he felt. “They showed me everything. It was like a tidal wave trying to grasp it all. It was lots of fun, and they were incredibly knowledgeable,” he said. For an entire month, he showed up for work in FPL gear from his hat to safety gloves to protective boots. He was able to work directly with components in need of repair, in addition to experiencing time in the field. Engineers took him from the Flagler office all the way to Miami-Dade County, exploring the power grid and letting Streed see how the entire powering process works from start to finish. Watching the FPL crew’s problem-solving skills was perhaps the most impactful part of the externship for him, Streed explained. See STREED, page 18

Teacher Sean Streed in his classroom at Wellington Landings.

PHOTO BY CALLIE SHARKEY/TOWN-CRIER


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