TOWN-CRIER NEWSPAPER APRIL 8, 2011

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GREAT AMERICAN CLEANUP ON APRIL 16 SEE STORY, PAGE 3

WELLINGTON EYES MORE STREET LIGHTS SEE STORY, PAGE 7

THE

TOWN - CR IER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE

Your Community Newspaper

Volume 32, Number 14 April 8 - April 14, 2011

INSIDE

KIDS CANCER BENEFIT AT BINKS

Rotary Club Hosts ‘Asado’ After Party

The Kids Cancer Foundation of South Florida hosted the fifth annual Jenna McCann Memorial Golf Tournament and Gala on Saturday, April 2 at Binks Forest Golf Club. In attendance was actor Cody Linley, who signed autographs and posed for photos. Shown here are Kids Cancer Foundation founder Michelle O’Boyle with Courtney Wolfe and Linley. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 13

The Wellingt on Rotary Club hosted an asado dinner after party following the second annual International Gay Polo Tournament on Saturday, April 2 at the Grand Champions Polo Club. Page 2

PHOTO B Y DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER

Barrett-Jackson Cruise-In In RPB

The fourth annual Barrett-Jack son Cruise-In took place Sunday, April 3 at Al Packer Ford West in Royal Palm Beach. Local car enthusiasts brought their classic cars in the hopes they would be selected for one of three Barrett-Jackson Choice awards. Shown here are Julie and Gary Williams with a trophy they won for their 1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1. Page 10

Hundreds Attend 2011 Relay At Acreage Park

Hundreds gathered at Acreage Community Park for the 2011 Acreage/Loxahatchee Relay for Life sponsored by the American Cancer Society last Saturday and Sunda y. A total of 351 people comprised the 24 teams for this year’s event, raising more than $38,000. Page 22

OPINION Learn About Organ Donation During Donate Life Month

Are you an organ donor? Though it’s a simple yes-or-no question, arriving at an answer is nothing to take lightly. In light of April being National Donate Life Month, as designated by the U.S. government, we urge everyone to take the time to educate themselves on the issue. Page 4 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS ............................. 3 - 13 OPINION ................................ 4 CRIME NEWS ........................ 6 NEWS BRIEFS ....................... 8 POLO & EQUESTRIAN .........15 SCHOOLS ..................... 16 - 17 PEOPLE........................ 18 - 19 COLUMNS .................... 27 - 28 SUMMER CAMPS ........ 29 - 31 BUSINESS ................... 35 - 37 SPORTS ....................... 41 - 44 CALENDAR...................46 - 47 CLASSIFIEDS ...............48 - 53 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM

Acreage Chili Cookoff Returns Bigger And Better Than Ever By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Acreage Music & Chili Cookoff will return to Acreage Community Park on Saturday, April 16, offering more familyoriented attractions and more chili than ever before, according to event organizer Robert Trepp. The cookoff, from noon to 10 p.m., will feature 30 chili cookoff contestants from all over the nation, including Pennsylvania, Washington, Alabama, West Virginia and Florida. “The number of cooks and the caliber of cooks continue to increase,” Trepp said. “The event is sanctioned by ICS, the International Chili Society. It is considered a regional cookoff, meaning that whoever wins each category automatically qualifies to go to the world championships in New Hampshire at the end of the year. Categories include red chili, chili verde, salsa and people’s choice.” Aside from the chili, the day will include plenty of musical entertainment for adults and fun events for children. “We’ve got two stages like we always do,” Trepp said. “We’ve increased the number of bounce

houses, so the kids have more things out there to enjoy. Bounce houses, as always, are free for the kids.” Home Depot will offer free crafts for children. “The kids are going to be able to build projects, and they get to take them home,” Trepp said. “That’s free as well. We’ve got a magician coming out, as well as jugglers and some costume characters.” Wild 95.5’s Jason Pennington will be there with his band VMK & the Snack Pack to perform Saturday night. The Nashville act Curtis & Luckey, who will be releasing a CD in a few weeks, will be the headliner. “We’re doing something different with that this year,” Trepp said, explaining that Curtis & Luckey have agreed to a “Share the Stage with Nashville” contest, in which local singers will get to perform alongside the headliners. “We’ve provided an opportunity for all these local kids. We’ve structured it so these local kids can have their fans and their friends post to our Facebook page,” Trepp explained. “I’m judging it based on the number of posts that people put on our Facebook page for

any certain performer, as well as the creativeness. The kids get to share the stage with a national band, and their friends get to vote for them and root for them.” Friends and fans with Facebook accounts sign in and, in the search box, type in “Acreage Music and Chili Cook-off” to vote for their favorite performer. Trepp said he has arranged for chili contestants to prepare more chili this year so that there will be enough for everyone. Attendees will be issued chili-tasting kits to take to the tasting area. “With admission, you can go around to all the chili cooks and taste their chili,” he said. “We’re giving people a four-ounce portion cup, which may not sound like a lot, but when you have 35 or 40 cooks on site, four ounces times 40, you’re not going to eat that much chili.” While Trepp will try to have more chili on hand, there are no guarantees, since there is only so much to go around. “We have more chili at this event than any other in Florida, but people don’t understand that,” he said. “They come in the gate at See CHILI, page 3

Serving Palms West Since 1980

Wellington Bringing Landlords Together By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report Wellington is bringing several of its landlords together to share information and best practices in an effort to stop resident turnover and raise home values in the village’s transitional neighborhoods. As part of its continued efforts to revitalize several of its older neighborhoods, many of which are made up of multifamily rental units, Wellington is hoping to form a landlord association that will allow property owners to network with each other. “It’s a pilot program,” Deputy Village Manager John Bonde said. “It was originally approved as a way to get property owners together to talk about some of the issues that they face.” The group had its first meeting Wednesday and plans to meet each month for the first three months, and then quarterly thereafter. First, Wellington hopes to identify landlords willing to take a leadership role, and then work to bring all of the landlords together. Bonde noted that there has been high turnover in some of the rental units within the transitional neighborhoods. Often, this is due to problem tenants, or problems

within the community that drive responsible tenants away. “We hope to be able to increase the length of those rotations,” he said. “The longer they stay in a home, the more connected they are to the community.” And by pooling information together, Wellington hopes landlords can avoid problem tenants altogether. This includes running background and credit checks, which Bonde said not all landlords do. “We find that landlords don’t always do a good job of running a credit check on their tenants,” he said. “Then sometimes, three months later, they find that they can’t collect rent from their tenant and that he’s wanted. We want to make sure that they have as much information about their tenants as possible.” By sharing information with each other, landlords can identify problem tenants simply by asking about others’ experiences renting to them. In turn, they could also identify potential tenants who have been responsible in the past. Another problem has been longtime tenants moving out because of the proliferation of probSee LANDLORDS, page 20

Wellington Zoners OK Dunkin’ Donuts By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report Wellington’s Planning, Zoning & Adjustment Board voted Wednesday to recommend approval of a drive-through Dunkin’ Donuts shop in the Wellington Plaza on Forest Hill Blvd. near Wellington Trace. The restaurant would replace the vacant Mobil gas station at the southeast corner of the plaza. The station has been vacant for more than five years. Board members approved a variance, development order

amendment and site plan for the 1,686-square-foot fast-food restaurant with a drive-through lane on the half-acre site. Planning & Zoning Manager David Flinchum explained that the applicant requested a variance of 7 additional feet of landscape buffer, to eliminate the minimum 5foot-wide foundation planting required on all facades, and to reduce the required bypass lane for the drive-through by 3 feet. Flinchum also noted that although hours of operation in that See DONUTS, page 20

VEGAS-STYLE BENEFIT

Several Lox Council Members Push For Management Change By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Just minutes after the Loxahatchee Groves Town Council voted 3-2 against beginning a search for a new town manager, the council agreed 4-1 Tuesday to arrange an early evaluation of the contract of current Town Manager Frank Spence. Mayor Dave Browning cast the lone dissenting vote. The conversation began when Councilman Jim Rockett made a motion for the town attorney to prepare a request for proposals (RFP) for a new town manager. That motion failed 3-2 with Councilman Tom Goltzené voting with Rockett. “I have lost confidence in Frank Spence as manager,” Rockett said. “I personally don’t believe that Frank gives the level of support the town needs in a timely and

accurate fashion. I question his judgment at times, and I feel he doesn’t have the tools at his disposal to get the job done. I like Frank, but that doesn’t go to what my decision would be in terms of my concern for his performance.” Spence’s contract is up for renewal Oct. 1. Rockett criticized Spence’s preparation of the town’s accounting manual, which the town’s Finance Advisory & Audit Committee (FAAC) had requested to be updated. “The issue was raised a year and a half ago at an FAAC meeting before Frank and his staff came on board,” Rockett said, explaining that the topic had come up at other finance committee meetings and that Spence had submitted a new manual that the FAAC set aside as unsatisfactory. “What we have seen is an incomplete attempt

at publishing a completely new manual. I find it difficult to understand how we can go this long getting this done. My concern is that Frank just doesn’t have the resources to get these things done.” Rockett added that the council had been waiting for six months for an RFP for monitors for hurricane debris removal. “We’re pushing on hurricane season,” he said. “The reason we brought it up over six months ago was because we wanted to be ahead of this squeeze.” Rockett said the town had also been waiting for proposals for a backup contractor to the Loxahatchee Groves Water Management District for road maintenance. “For those residents not living on a water control district-maintained road, we need a backup contracSee LOX GROVES, page 20

A Vegas-style fundraiser benefiting three of the area’s top animal-rescue organizations was held Friday, April 1 at the Wellington Club at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. The event benefited Save A Pet Florida, Paws 2 Help and the Adopt A Cat Foundation. Shown above are Save A Pet Treasurer Renee Morrison, 50/50 raffle winner Robin Kriverney and John Mercer. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 9 PHO TO B Y DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER

New York Folk-Rock Trio To Perform April 29 In Wellington

Gathering Time — The popular group features (L-R) Hillary Foxsong, Stuart Markus and Glen Roethel.

By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Folk rock music of the 1960s and ’70s will be featured in a concert Friday, April 29 at the Wellington Amphitheater as the popular New York trio Gathering Time takes the stage. Gathering Time combines acoustic, electric and bass guitar with three-part harmonies to carry listeners back to an era when meaningful lyrics were set to powerful music. The band formed five years ago as “the hand of fate or a happy accident,” said guitarist, bassist and vocalist Stuart Markus. “We didn’t adopt the name Gathering Time until about November 2007,” Markus said. “For about a year and a half, we were just getting together informally to play.” The three members, Glen Roethel, Hillary Foxsong and

Markus, all play, sing and write music. They also perform a wide variety of music, although the Wellington concert — dubbed the “Great Folk-Rock Festival” — will focus on folk rock of the ’60s and ’70s, Markus said. “Glen and I had met about 12 years before at a songwriters’ workshop group but had completely lost touch,” Markus recalled. “In the fall of 2005, I ran into him at a party, and we caught up a little bit. The followingApril he was doing a concert and I was playing restaurants really heavily at that time. It was a rare night that I didn’t have a gig, and he was playing a local songwriter venue, so I went to see him there, and we got to talking.” Roethel invited Markus to a steady music job he had in Oyster Bay, a classic car rally every Tuesday when the weather was warm.

“A couple of weeks later, I went down to see him there and I walked up with my guitar, and there was a woman harmonizing with him. My first thought was, ‘Somebody beat me to it,’ but as I walked up I realized that they were doing a song that had room for a third harmony part. It was sort of calling for it,” he said. He walked up to the woman who was harmonizing, not yet aware that this was Foxsong, and asked to add a third part on her microphone. “She kind of stepped aside and we started singing, and all of a sudden we had three-part harmony coming out, and it sounded really good,” Markus recalled. “Glen turned around and he had this big smile on his face, and I knew it would be OK with him. I looked over at Hillary, this woman I had never met before, See FOLK-ROCK, page 20


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