RUNOFFS FOR TWO AREA COURT RACES SEE STORY, PAGE 3
ROTARIANS HOST PEACE OBSERVANCE SEE PHOTOS, PAGE 7
THE
TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
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INSIDE
Pesky Beetles Stepping Up Attacks On Pine Trees In Wellington
Volume 37, Number 38 September 30 - October 6, 2016
Serving Palms West Since 1980
WRMC MARKS 30TH ANNIVERSARY
Pine trees in Wellington are having a problem. They’re stressed, and Ips engraver beetles and black turpentine beetles are taking advantage of that stress, killing trees that aren’t perfectly healthy. Page 3
Green Apple Day Of Service At Elbridge Gale
Elbridge Gale Elementar y School held a special event on Saturday, Sept. 24. Students, parents and faculty gathered at the school on Green Apple Day of Service, a global environmental observance, to beautify the campus. Volunteers completed a number of projects to spruce up the school’s campus in Wellington. Page 11
Soaring Beyond Our Limits Fashion/Talent Show In Royal Palm
Soaring Beyond Our Limits, a group encouraging those with special needs while lending support, held its second annual fashion/talent show at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center on Saturday, Sept. 24 before an enthusiastic crowd of friends and family. More than a dozen participants crossed the stage to cheers and applause. Page 17
OPINION Wellington’s Paid Family Leave Proposal Deserves Support
According to experts, the United States stands nearly alone among developed countries in not guaranteeing paid time off to new parents, but that is slowly changing — and it looks like Wellington will be one of the municipalities leading the way. While the fine print needs to be worked out, we believe that this initiative, while small in scope, is a step in the right direction. The positives of such a policy outweigh the negatives. 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
Wellington Regional Medical Center celebrated 30 years of service to the community on Sunday, Sept. 25. Wellington Mayor Anne Gerwig delivered a proclamation establishing Oct. 1 as Wellington Regional Day. The event included health information booths, fun for kids and free refreshments. Shown above are Dr. Albert LaTorra, Gerwig, Universal Health Services CEO Allen Miller, WRMC CEO Robbin Lee and UHS Regional Vice President Frank Lopez. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
GL Homes Gets Comp Plan OK From County Commission
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Palm Beach County Commission gave approval for a privately initiated comprehensive plan amendment Thursday, Sept. 22 to GL Homes’ Indian Trails Grove application for a change from 0.1 to 0.8 dwelling units per acre on the 4,872-acre property west of The Acreage. The approval allows for the development of approximately 3,592 acres of the property, leaving approximately 1,279 acres retained as agricultural use. This will allow up to 3,897 homes and 350,000 square feet of commercial use on the property. Planning Director Lorenzo Aghemo said comments by state agencies as a result of transmittal to Tallahassee following the preliminary hearing in April had been incorporated into the final draft of the ordinance. Planning Division Project Man-
ager Bryan Davis said that the parcel sits in the county’s agricultural tier just west of The Acreage, which is in the exurban tier. The land use change puts the area to be developed into a newly created designation of “Western Communities Residential,” which will have an overlay specific to the project as a limited urban service area. It creates an overlay specific to the project and provides an exemption from the county’s Long Range Transportation Planning policy. Civic space will be dedicated, including school sites, parks and a fire station. Davis pointed out that more than 50 percent open space has been assigned to the project, including the 1,279-acre agricultural area, 640 acres for regional water management, 11.5 miles of pedestrian trails and bicycle paths, 17 miles of equestrian trails, local water retention areas and buffers. “We felt that was a very sig-
nificant component of this project coming forward, and it helps respond to the rural location of the project,” Davis said. Davis added that the open space will be for public use, not just for residents, and would not become the responsibility of the county. Roadway improvement commitments include portions of 60th Street North, 190th Avenue North, Orange Blvd., and connecting to Hamlin Blvd., as well as a $5 million payment over the developer’s requirement for its proportional fair share. Key to county staff’s recommendation for approval has been the public benefits that the developer has agreed to, which include its offer of 640 acres to the Indian Trail Improvement District for water retention, the large amount of land to remain as open space, and a more sustainable development form, providing traffic reduction See GL HOMES, page 4
Wellington Finals Budget With Money For Parental Leave
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Wellington Village Council approved the final reading of its $89 million 2016-17 budget and property tax rate on Tuesday after discussion of a proposed paid parental leave policy. The budget has set aside approximately $30,000 for parents — mothers and fathers — to take off to be with their newborns. A formal paid parental leave policy has not yet been adopted, but council members had disparate views on the idea. Two members of the public spoke on the advantages of paid parental leave. Wellington resident Shelly Albright, a member of the village’s Education Committee who serves on the board of directors of the Women’s Foundation of Palm Beach County, commended the council’s effort to allow parents
to spend time with their newborns and adopted children. “The United States is one of the only developed economies that does not guarantee paid time off to workers when they need time to provide care for their families,” Albright said. “While the law does allow time for employees to take off, it is unpaid, and it makes it difficult for many to actually utilize this resource.” Albright added that paid parental leave gives children a jumpstart on their development. “Studies have shown that newborns whose mothers take longer leaves are more likely to be taken to the pediatrician for regular checkups and immunizations,” she said. “Men who take two or more weeks off after the birth of the child are more involved in the direct care of their children nine months later.” She added that paid parenSee COUNCIL, page 15
MURDER AT THE MASQUERADE
The Village of Wellington hosted its Murder Mystery Dinner Theater “Murder at the Masquerade” on Saturday, Sept. 24 at the new Wellington Community Center. Guests were dressed for a masquerade ball and enjoyed cocktails, canapes and a buffet dinner. Shown above are Dana Murphy, Ashley Layson, Michele Barone and Marianne Corvaia. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 10 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
Royal Palm Targets July 4 For Wellington Council Completing New Amphitheater Welcomes New Key Staff Members
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Royal Palm Beach Recreation Advisory Board heard updates Monday on the status of capital improvements from Parks & Recreation Director Lou Recchio. Recchio said that Field 5 at the Bob Marcello Baseball Complex has been on the capital improvement books for several years and is now near completion. It is the larger and older field there, and has gone through extensive restoration. “We have pretty much finished the construction of the field. The pathway is still being worked on a little bit, the final touches, and the tennis courts have been totally redone,” Recchio said, noting that the project was paid for with grant money. “We are in the final phase where we should have substantial completion within the next 30 days.” The field will be open for play
in the spring baseball season in February. In the meantime, the village has made arrangements for the 14- and 15-year-old kids to play at the county’s Seminole Palms Park on Lamstein Lane. “At least they don’t have to go too far to play,” he said. Recreation Advisory Board Chair John Riordan said he thought that the teams were using the Royal Palm Beach High School field across the street from Field 5, and Recchio said they sent them out there on Saturday, but the field was not in good shape. “We’re backing off of that, and we’re going over to Seminole Palms,” Recchio said, adding that the field is an appropriate size for that age group. “They have a full array of fields from T-ball all the way up to high school.” He said there are no other issues, except they would have to play after 3:30 p.m. on Saturdays because the fields are already leased out to other organizations.
“At least we have fields, so the kids aren’t going to be left out,” Recchio said. “It’s only for the fall season. Come spring, the regular season, we’ll be ready for them at Marcello.” On Oct. 12, the village will open bids for the new amphitheater at Royal Palm Beach Commons Park. “We’re all excited about that,” Recchio said. The amphitheater will be built on the south side of the Great Lawn where there are existing restrooms. “In front of that, we have a small pavilion,” he said. “That pavilion is going to be removed, and the amphitheater will go in its place. It will be totally accessible. There will be a walkway going from the perimeter of the Great Lawn. It will come down in front of the amphitheater, which will be sloped in front with brick pavers to match the rest of the surface.” The amphitheater will have See RPB REC, page 15
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Wellington Village Council welcomed Village Engineer Tom Lundeen, Utilities Director Shannon LaRocque and Tennis Pro Tommy Cheatham to the village staff on Tuesday after final approval of the budget. While Lundeen and LaRocque are new to Wellington, Cheatham has been affiliated with the village for nearly two decades as a vendor. He is now a village staff member. Lundeen started working on Monday, attending the council’s agenda review meeting. Village Manager Paul Schofield said that he had separated the engineer and utilities director positions several months ago. “We have been looking for a village engineer for a while,” Schofield told the Town-Crier on Wednesday. “Those positions had
been separated mostly because there was a significant amount of construction going on in utilities that required much more day-today supervision than could be given if somebody was doing all of the development work, all of the regulatory work and all of the utility work.” Before coming to Wellington, Lundeen was the engineer and deputy director for the Port of Palm Beach for many years, where he was responsible for more than $100 million in capital improvement projects. Prior to that, he worked for Palm Beach County, Brevard County and the City of Melbourne, as well as in the private sector. Lundeen received the Government Engineer of the Year award in 2000 and Engineer of the Year Award in 2005 from the Palm See NEW STAFF, page 15
Two Big Cat Babies Find Sanctuary At Panther Ridge
By Julie Unger Town-Crier Staff Report Judy Berens of the Panther Ridge Conservation Center in Wellington recently added two new big cat babies to her rare and endangered cat family. Meeka, a puma, and Mateo, a jaguar, have found themselves at home with Berens and her team at Panther Ridge. They join cougars, caracals, cheetahs, clouded leopards, jaguars, leopards, ocelots and servals in a safe, caring and protected environment where they never have to worry about where their next meal will come from. Meeka, who recently was the star of a Panther Ridge fundraiser, is just over three months old and
came from a zoo in Texas. Berens is friends with the owner of the zoo, and when the zoo’s pumas had three cubs, one of the cubs came to Berens. “She is actually here to fill the very large paws of a cat [Audrey] that passed away this past winter at the age of 22,” Berens said. “She lived a very long, full life, and little Meeka will follow in her footsteps, or paw prints, as it were.” Meeka happily posed for pictures and enjoyed the many pets she received at the fundraiser, which took place at World of Beer on Sept. 2. Just like any other baby, she likes to play and then take catnaps. “She has been absolutely a de-
light so far,” Berens said. “She’s very rambunctious, and just is fascinating to watch as she is growing up. All animals are like little people. Each has a different personality.” Meeka has spots on her coat that will fade and be mostly gone by the time she is a year old. The spots act as camouflage, Berens explained, helping to keep baby pumas safe when their mothers hide them from predators. Mateo found his way to Panther Ridge on Sept. 24. “Mateo came here from a zoo in Phoenix. He was three months old when he arrived and is basically here to be a companion for our female jaguar, Isabella,” Berens See BIG CATS, page 15
Judy Berens of Panther Ridge with Mateo, a jaguar cub.
PHOTO BY JULIE UNGER/TOWN-CRIER