WORK UNDERWAY ON SHOOTING RANGE SEE STORY, PAGE 3
ROTARY PEACE DAY MARKS 10 YEARS SEE STORY, PAGE 5
THE
TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
Your Community Newspaper
INSIDE
ITID Taking Protective Measures After Sewage Spill In The Acreage
Volume 37, Number 35 September 9 - September 15, 2016
Serving Palms West Since 1980
NEW SEASON FOR WOMEN’S GROUP
Palm Beach County work crews are cleaning up thousands of gallons of raw sewage that spilled onto homeowners’ properties in The Acreage after a force main break Monday near 40th Street North and 110th Avenue North, west of the Pond Cypress Natural Area. The Indian Trail Improvement District is taking steps to protect its canals and wells from possible contamination. Page 3
Firefighters Collect Money For MDA At Area Publix Stores
Over Labor Day weekend, local firefighters held their 2016 Firefighters MDA Boot Drive. For more than 30 years, firefighters have collected money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. This year, area firefighters collected in front of Publix stores. The money goes to help local families and children with neuromuscular diseases. Page 10
Trail Association Hosts Labor Day Ice Cream Social At Okeeheelee
The Loxahatchee Chapter of the Florida Trail Association held its annual Labor Day Ice Cream Social on Monday, Sept. 5 at the Okeeheelee Nature Center. Ice cream, toppings and sweets were served. The guest speakers were archaeologist Sara Ayers-Rigsby and anthropologist Andres Garzon. Page 10
OPINION
15 Years Later: 9/11 Attacks Have Left A Complicated Legacy
This Sunday, at 8:46 a.m. specifically, marks the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, when nearly 3,000 innocent people were killed by Al-Qaeda funded terrorists in New York City, the Pentagon and United Airlines Flight 93 in Pennsylvania. So much has happened in the ensuing 5,480 days — some things good, some things bad, and often what has transpired has been a bit of both. Page 4 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 10 OPINION.................................. 4 NEWS BRIEFS....................... 10 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 Women of the Western Communities held its first meeting of the 2016-17 season on Thursday, Sept. 1 at the Wanderers Club in Wellington. Returning and new members gathered for dinner and donated school supplies for Harmony House. Phyllis Gauger, a retired flight attendant, introduced an interactive get-to-know-you game in which each person made a paper airplane with a fun fact about themselves on it. Shown above are Robin Blom, Maureen Delbene, Liz Bloeser, Phyllis Gauger, Maria Pergola and Mimi Barnhart. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 17 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
Acreage Residents Meet To Consider Incorporation Idea
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report About 60 people filled the conference room at the Acreage library on Tuesday to hear about the incorporation effort being led by the group called Preserve the Lifestyle of the Acreage Now (PLAN). Brett Taylor, president of PLAN, said the organization is gathering information that seems to favor the idea of incorporating The Acreage as a municipality, as well as information that is unfavorable. “Everybody on this board is basically intent on one thing, and that is maintaining what we have in The Acreage the way it is,” Taylor said. “By incorporating, we think that may be the best way to preserve our lifestyle. You know that we are under a lot of external forces by developers, and we really think that we ought to take control of our own local affairs.” He said The Acreage is never going to be a “city” in terms of
the classic definition. “We all live on our acre-and-a-quarter lots,” he said. “We don’t have room for large shopping centers. We don’t have room for even a downtown area.” What Acreage residents could gain is revenue sharing and the opportunity to represent themselves within and outside the community, he said. “It puts us in a better position to negotiate with other municipalities,” Taylor said. Scott Barnwell, a coach at Seminole Ridge High School, made a PowerPoint presentation on the pros and cons of incorporation. Barnwell pointed out that an incorporation effort must be approved by a majority of voters in a referendum. He said one of the benefits of incorporation is self-determination and local representation. “Your council is elected by the people who fall within your boundaries,” Barnwell said. “You
can control your own destiny. Whatever is in your boundaries, whatever the people want, the people get.” Incorporation guarantees that the municipality will have a seat at the table with federal, state, regional and local authorities, and gives access to grants and technical assistance, Barnwell said. Perhaps the greatest benefit is that a majority of local tax revenues will come back to the municipality instead of wherever the county wants it to go, he said. The argument against incorporation is the power to tax, which he said is not necessarily a bad thing. Barnwell pointed out that a municipality does not have to levy a tax for the first three years if it can sustain itself on other revenue sources, such as those that would be coming to the municipality instead of the county. “Why the other cities don’t want us to incorporate is because their See ACREAGE, page 7
Lox Groves Gearing Up For 10th Anniversary Celebration
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Town of Loxahatchee Groves is preparing for its 10th anniversary with a down-home, country-style celebration. As a result of a successful incorporation effort from 2003 to 2006, Loxahatchee Groves became Palm Beach County’s 38th municipality with its incorporation on Nov. 1, 2006. Perla Underwood, the town’s finance director, is leading the effort to encourage community participation in the anniversary events. She pointed out that Nov. 1 is also the date for a Loxahatchee Groves Town Council meeting that evening, and the town plans an open house that morning at Loxahatchee Groves Town Hall. However, the big celebration will be a rural-style festival on Saturday, Nov. 4 at Loxahatchee
Groves Park. “What we are tentatively planning is that on Nov. 1, we’re going to have an open house breakfast,” she said, adding that the town’s former elected officials will be invited. The first council was made up of Dave Browning, who has served as mayor since the inaugural council was seated, along with Dave Autrey, Marge Herzog, Dennis Lipp and Dr. Bill Louda. Underwood hopes to get current and previous council members, along with those who worked on the incorporation effort, together to celebrate. The Loxahatchee Groves Landowners’ Association has put together a film of the 10 years of incorporation and the history of the town, along with other celebrations. “This is a three-hour film that’s going to be going through it all, and they have a lot of information
that they’ve provided us, such as photographs and things like that,” Underwood said. The sitting council will also give a presentation honoring the first council. On Saturday, Nov. 4, there will be a rural-style celebration at the Loxahatchee Groves Park pavilions. “We’re trying to do what I envision would be a country fair in a small rural community,” Underwood said. “We’re going to have hamburgers and hot dogs and ice cream and popcorn.” Loxahatchee Groves is a fairly young community, with an average age of 48, so Underwood hopes to attract families to the celebration. “You never see that, because most of those people are working every day and taking care of their kids, and they don’t have time for See 10 YEARS, page 16
Equestrian Panel OKs Horse Estates On Golf Course Land
By Julie Unger Town-Crier Staff Report Wellington’s Equestrian Preserve Committee attracted a crowd of about 40 residents on Wednesday for a hearing that ended with the committee’s approval of amendments allowing the proposed Winding Trails development on the old Wanderers Club executive golf course. The applicant — W&W Equestrian Club LLC, Jim Ward and Patricia Holloway — purchased the long-unused golf course land surrounding the Lakefield South community off of Aero Club Drive late last year. Plans for the property include nine single-family residential equestrian estate lots with stables, grooms’ quarters and other equestrian amenities. Wednesday’s meeting covered four petitions, Wellington Project Manager Kelly Ferraiolo explained. The petitions include a comprehensive plan amendment, a zoning text amendment, a rezoning and a master plan amendment. Land planner Kate DeWitt from Cotleur & Hearing spoke on behalf of the applicant. The applicant seeks to change the golf course into nine residential equestrian lots in a community named Winding Trails. The lots will range from 2.43 acres to 4.45 acres, with 0.31 dwelling units per acre. It is included within the Landings at Wellington Planned Unit Development. The Winding Trails land totals 65.45 acres, currently with 38.41 acres of golf course, 21.88 acres of lakes and 5.16 acres of lake maintenance tracks. It surrounds the Lakefield South community, which has 200 homes. “It is important to note that Lakefield South is not part of any of the requests before you tonight,” Ferraiolo said. The applicant wants to amend the future map designation for Winding Trails from Commercial Recreation to Residential B; extend the boundaries of the Equestrian Preserve Area to include Winding Trails; and include proposed public bridle trails within the equestrian trails map, she said. The residential communities
surrounding Winding Trails are also labeled Residential B, Ferraiolo added. The applicant, Ferraiolo said, seeks to create a sub-area within the Equestrian Overlay Zoning District, with specific regulations. Since the project is unique, Wellington staff suggested creating the new sub-area. Covered arenas will be prohibited, and building height maximums are included in the restrictions. No more than 12 stalls per lot will be allowed with no more than four stalls per acre. A bridle trail is included in the proposal. The applicant also requested a Landings at Wellington PUD master plan amendment to create a pod within Area D, called D-1, allocating 29 acres for the nine units with access points and a gated exit. The access points are proposed for Aero Club Drive and Greenbriar Blvd., with no access proposed within the Lakefield South community, Ferraiolo said. “There has been a decline in the use of golf courses both locally and nationally,” she said. “Staff has researched the trends in golf course redevelopment and has found many local examples. The proposal tonight is clearly a better alternative than multifamily townhomes, zero lot lines or commercial uses. The density of 0.31 dwelling units per acre is far less than what could potentially be built on the property. It also provides for minimal impacts to the existing infrastructure. Staff supports this request not only because it meets the requirements of the comprehensive plan and the code, but because the potential alternatives could result in greater density and intensity than what is being proposed today.” The executive golf course hasn’t been in use since at least 2008, DeWitt said, and has become a maintenance issue with landscaping, lakes, dirt bike use and children fishing in the lakes. “We’re excited for the property owner to come in and really revitalize this area and bring it back to life,” she said. Winding Trails will be within one mile of the Palm Beach InterSee EQUESTRIAN, page 7
NEW ADDITION AT PANTHER RIDGE
Panther Ridge Conservation Center held a fundraiser on Friday, Sept. 2 at World of Beer in Wellington. Meeka, a 9-week-old panther cub made an appearance for photos with people who made a donation. Shown above, Ron Manasco and Margaret Bonar play with Meeka. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
Wellington Ed Board Hears School Grant Requests
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The newly re-organized Wellington Education Committee reviewed 2016-17 Keely Spinelli grant applications on Tuesday and heard presentations from representatives of 11 village schools. Marcia Hayden, newly reappointed as chair of the committee, welcomed John Webber, Francine Nelson, Shelly Albright and Beth Gillespie to the seven-member panel. Named after late educator Keely Spinelli, the village provides grant money annually to help local schools. The focus has traditionally been on efforts to boost reading. Hayden explained that last year’s unused grant money rolled
over into the 2016-17 fund. The funding supplied by the village will total almost $300,000, not including last year’s rollovers of almost $35,000. Dr. Geoff McKee, the central regional instructional superintendent for secondary schools, said he was extremely thankful for the village’s support. “I come from Boca. I was there for 18 years, and I thought we had tremendous support, which we did, but I realize now that they’re going to have to step up their game to keep pace with Wellington,” he said. Going in alphabetical order, Binks Forest Elementary School Principal Michella Levy said her school is looking to hire two new
teachers and purchase 18 laptops for a new teaching program at the school. Elbridge Gale Elementary School Principal Gail Pasterczyk said her school wanted $15,000 for tutoring in reading. “We have found that the one-on-one tutoring has been very beneficial,” Pasterczyk said. She also requested $10,000 for math tutoring and $2,000 for technology software. Emerald Cove Middle School Principal Eugina Smith Feaman sought village funding for vocabulary and other supplemental resources, laptops, and tutorial and mentor personnel for students in the lowest 25 percent. Equestrian Trails Elementary
School requested two certified teachers to work with the lowest 25 percent of reading students. New Horizons Elementary School Principal Betsy Cardozo said her school would like to purchase 20 more laptops for reading students, as well as additional tutoring and software, with a focus on kindergarten through secondgrade students to prepare them for third grade. Palm Beach Central High School Principal Darren Edgecomb said he would like to focus on Saturday reading tutorial boot camps and give students incentives who did not attend last year but would have benefited from it. “There will be much more focus on actually getting the kids there,
through breakfast, through prizes, whatever we need to do to get them there,” Edgecomb said. “Once they’re there, we’ll focus on our standards that we teach. We want the Saturday tutorials to emulate what we teach in the classroom.” He also requested money for the purchase of 10 iPads with educational reading applications on them, and novels and practice workbooks for Hispanic students, as well as daily math tutoring during lunch and after school. He pointed out that a third of the school’s population is Hispanic, and 44 percent receive free and reduced-price lunch. Panther Run Elementary School Principal Pamela Strachan requestSee GRANTS, page 7