WELLINGTON TAX RATE STAYS THE SAME SEE STORY, PAGE 3
COUNTY DEMANDS HOME RULE ON GUNS SEE STORY, PAGE 7
THE
TOWN - CR IER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
Your Community Newspaper
Volume 32, Number 37 September 16 - September 22, 2011
Community Center In First Phase Of ITID Park Plan
INSIDE
New Binks Forest Principal Settling In
There’s a new principal in charge at Binks Forest Elementary School, now that Michella Levy has taken over for Stacey Quiñones, who is now principal at Morikami Park Elementary School in Delray Beach. Levy comes from Hidden Oaks Elementary School in Lake Worth, where she was assistant principal for six years. Page 3
FDNY firefighter and 9/11 first responder Ron Parker was the keynote speaker at Wellington’s 9/ 11 Remembrance Ceremony last Sunday. Parker is shown here with his family in front of the World Trade Center steel at the Wellington Patriot Memorial. (L-R) Jonathan Parker, Victoria Nieves, Ron Parker and U.S. Marine Sgt. Craig Parker. PHO TO BY LAUREN MIRÓ/T OWN-CRIER STAFF REPORT SEE VIDEO & A SLIDESHOW FROM WELLINGTON’S CEREMONY AT WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
Wellington Recalls 9/11 Tragedy At Patriot Memorial Dedication Wellington American Legion Post Hosts Golf Tournament
The Wellington American Legion Chris Reyka Memorial Post 390 hosted its “Honor Our Heroes” golf tournament Friday, Sept. 9 at the Binks Forest Golf Club. Page 9
WLMS Students Create ‘Remembrance Tree’
On Friday, Sept. 9, in remembrance of the 9/11 victims and their families, Wellington Landings Middle School grade six world history teacher Jennifer Tomk o’s students made a “remembrance tree.” Page 12
OPINION Celebrate Peace On Peace Day Sept. 21
For the past six years, the Wellington Rotary Club has held an annual ceremony at the Wellington Rotary Peace Park in honor of the United Nations International Day of Peace. The observance will be held this year on Wednesday, Sept. 21. We urge everyone to take part in this important observance. Page 4 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS ............................. 2 - 13 OPINION ................................ 4 CRIME NEWS ........................ 6 NEWS BRIEFS .......................8 SCHOOLS .....................14 - 15 PEOPLE........................ 16 - 17 COLUMNS .................... 23 - 25 BUSINESS ...................27 - 29 ENTERTAINMENT ................30 SPORTS .......................35 - 37 CALENDAR...................38 - 39 CLASSIFIEDS ...............40 - 44 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
Serving Palms West Since 1980
By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report As the nation commemorated the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, residents from across Palm Beach County gathered in Wellington to mark the somber day with the unveiling of the Wellington Patriot Memorial. The dedication ceremony culminated a weekend of events in Wellington meant to remember and honor the lives lost. Sunday morning began with a parade of heroes, followed by the countywide remembrance ceremony and the Wellington Patriot Memorial dedication. Vice Mayor Matt Willhite, who spearheaded Wellington’s memorial, said that it is for everyone who has sacrificed to help others. “This memorial is here to represent all the citizens who are willing to perform selfless acts for others,” he said. Last year, the Wellington Village Council approved the Patriot
Memorial, which is located at the entrance to the Town Center between Scott’s Place playground and the Wellington municipal complex. Central to the memorial is a 36foot by 8-foot steel beam salvaged from the wreckage of the World Trade Center in New York City. It also features a fountain with an eternal flame, a pergola with benches and glass panels etched with the names of all the victims who died in the attacks. Councilman Howard Coates said the memorial would bring the community together. “It will be a memorial to those who fell on 9/11 and those who have fallen since,” he said. “It will also be a symbol, and a symbol of unity. Unlike any other event in this country… we saw a unifying of this country in an unprecedented way.” The eternal flame, Coates said, would serve as a lasting reminder of the lives lost, and how the coun-
try came together after the attacks. Willhite urged the hundreds in attendance to use a broad definition of “patriot” when looking at the new memorial. “In my mind,” he said, “patriots include everyone who donated dollars to the families who lost love ones, those who gave blood because it was all they felt they could do, everyone who flew a flag at their home, everyone who left their mark on a brick at this memorial here, and by attending memorials all over the country like this one today.” State Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto (R-District 27) told the crowd that she was proud to represent all those in attendance. “For all of us in this community to share in having a piece of the World Trade Center in our little corner of the world is a great honor,” she said. Benacquisto was pleased that the memorial sat so close to a playground, where the future leaders See DEDICATION, page 5
Joint Meeting Is Set For Sept. 27, But Commissioners Wonder Why By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Palm Beach County Commission will hold a joint meeting with representatives of West Palm Beach, Royal Palm Beach and the Indian Trail Improvement District on Tuesday, Sept. 27 regarding the controversial extensions of State Road 7, Roebuck Road and Jog Road, but this week commissioners asked whether there will be any new issues to discuss. The meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the government center’s McEaddy Conference Room (301 N. Olive Ave., West Palm Beach). Past meetings regarding Roebuck Road from Jog Road to SR 7, and the SR 7 extension to Northlake Blvd., have been highly contentious between advocates in Royal Palm Beach and The Acreage, and opponents from the West Palm Beach communities of Ibis regarding the SR 7 extension, and Baywinds, Andros Isle and River Walk regarding Roebuck Road. The differences came to a head when West Palm Beach Mayor Jeri Muoio, who lives in Ibis, and
Indian Trail Improvement District President Michelle Damone clashed at a Metropolitan Planning Organization meeting in July. At a meeting Tuesday, Commissioner Steven Abrams said he was not clear what the purpose or decision point was for the upcoming meeting, especially since it is scheduled on the same day as the county’s budget hearing. “[Roebuck Road] is pending in the Department of Environmental Protection and is barely on the five-year plan, so I just want to know what the purpose of the meeting was and why we had to particularly have it that day,” Abrams asked. Commission Chair Karen Marcus said she felt it was an opportunity for the commission to recommit or make changes. “Roebuck is in the five-year road program. Maybe it doesn’t need to be right now, but it stays in the longrange, but it’s an opportunity for dialogue,” Marcus said. Marcus said all the roads to be discussed are being designed for six lanes, and that she wanted to consider the possibility of some of
them being designed for fewer lanes. Abrams said his concern is that some of the discussion, such as regarding SR 7, is under the control of the Florida Department of Transportation. Marcus said it really starts with the county, because the roads are part of the county’s thoroughfare plan. “Two of them are part of our five-year plan,” she said. “Some of the things that we did before in my area when we had this kind of conflict was we went back and sat down and started looking and said, ‘Maybe all of this doesn’t need to be a 120-foot right of way.’ Maybe it needs to be an 80-foot right of way and everybody can agree to that, because we have competing interests right now.” Abrams said he still did not see the purpose of the joint meeting since the plans are being considered by various other agencies right now. Marcus said it could be an opportunity to prioritize, emphasizing that there would be no public See ROAD PLANS, page 7
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report In a 3-2 decision Wednesday, the Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors approved conceptual plans for the Acreage Community Park expansion project. The board was divided over whether to use the available money, about $4 million, to build a 25,000-square-foot, expandable community center and parking lot first, or to first build the amenities, including playgrounds, a splash park, BMX track, athletic fields, and basketball and tennis courts. ITID President Michelle Damone and supervisors Carlos Enriquez and Ralph Bair were in the majority, supporting the community center as a solid beginning for the project Supervisors Carol Jacobs and Jennifer Hager preferred to build the amenities first, with the community center later as additional financing becomes available. The park’s southern expansion, years in the planning, will be built on 25.25 acres on the west side of 140th Avenue North, south of Orange Blvd.
Several members of the public, including former Supervisor Mike Erickson, said they would rather see the amenities built first. Resident Patricia Curry said she thought residents would get more use from the amenities and that the district could not realistically build the community center with the money available. “It’s a pipe dream to build a community center and parking lot for $4.3 million,” Curry said. “You will have cost overruns.” Curry added that there will be an additional cost of $350,000 a year for maintenance unless ITID develops a source of revenue to offset it. Erickson said it was unrealistic to construct a building and parking lot and leave the rest of the site unimproved. “You’re doing it opposite of what it should be,” he said. “You can do the amenities here in-house. I firmly believe in building the community center, but build the other amenities first.” Erickson said he felt the residents need to be given the opportunity to get behind a community center, but Damone disagreed. “We have been discussing the See ITID PARK, page 18
RPB 9/11 CEREMONY
The Village of Royal Palm Beach held a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony on Sunday, Sept. 11 at Veterans Park. The event honored the nearly 3,000 people who died in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Pictured here are Lorna and Joey Johnson. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 2 PHOTO B Y DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
Deadlocked Council Leaves Swim Lesson Prohibition Intact By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report Deciding whether to allow swimming instruction as an approved home occupation divided the Royal Palm Beach Village Council at its meeting Thursday, Sept. 8. The council, down one member due to last month’s resignation of David Swift, split 2-2, resulting in a no-action vote, which means home swim instruction remains against code. The decision prompted an outcry from the dozens of people in attendance. The request to add the home occupation to the village’s code
was made by infant swimming instructor Sharon Powers of Royal Pine Estates, who has given infants lifesaving swimming lessons at her home on Sand Pine Way for about nine years. Currently, Royal Palm Beach permits only home occupations that don’t manifest themselves outside. A neighbor complained to the village that traffic and the screams from children posed problems in the neighborhood. Village staff recommended approval of the ordinance, which would have allowed the home swim lessons as long as the inSee SWIMMING, page 18
Wellington Regional Starts Work On New Patient Tower By Jessica Gregoire Town-Crier Staff Report Wellington Regional Medical Center celebrated the groundbreaking of its new 103,000square-foot patient tower Wednesday, Sept. 14. The project is set to be completed in spring 2013. WRMC and its parent company Universal Health Services contracted with the Orlando-based Robins & Morton Group to build the $50 million facility. WRMC CEO Jerel Humphrey is eager to bring the new patient tower to the area. “We are very excited about the new facility and what we will be able to offer the people of the
western communities,” he said. Hospital officials decided to expand the bed capacity to meet the demands of a growing community. Based on the hospital’s 2017 patient volume projections, the hospital is expected to see a continuing increase in patients. The new patient tower is planned to ease traffic in the emergency room, which for the past couple of years has been extremely busy. “This will allow us the space to develop our services,” Director of Marketing Marsha Israel said. “It will give us the space to have a brand new orthopedic center with all the latest technology.”
WRMC officials have been working on the expansion project for more than five years, said Dr. Melissa Carlson, who chairs the hospital’s board of governors. “This is an incredible day we have been working on for many years,” she said. “And hopefully it will increase our patient satisfaction.” Administrators and contractors worked closely with physicians and medical staff on the design and layout of the new tower. The goal is to create a facility that is consistent with the medical staff’s workflow and improves patient comfort. The new patient tower will be a See WRMC, page 18
Local dignitaries dig in at the groundbreaking ceremony. SEE VIDEO FROM THE GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY AT WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM