VOLUME 57 • NO. 52 DEC. 26, 2019
DELIVERED TO: HOMES & BUSINESSES IN • DEERFIELD BEACH • LIGHTHOUSE POINT • HILLSBORO BEACH • POMPANO BEACH • BOCA RATON
Happy New Year! Farewell, Observer
pg. 5-7, 13
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Deerfield Publishing, Inc. © 2019
OF INTEREST
Tinker toys
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Commissioner Bernie Parness answers questions at his District 3 meeting on Dec. 11.
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District 3 discusses scams, recycling, permits
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Gateway outreach
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Chanukah at CVE
page 8
Holiday Family Night
page 10
Winter Wonderland By Diane Emeott About 2,500 attendees, including 80 from Deerfield Beach High School “Bucks” Marching Band and 45 teen volunteers, welcomed winter a week and a day early — at the Dec. 14 Winter Wonderland. Some 28 tons of snow transformed Broward County’s “Quiet Waters Park” in Deerfield, the venue for the second year in a row. The snow hill was a collaboration between three companies providing the snow hill, the snow blower and ice. “Winter Wonderland has been going on for over 20 years, previously at Villages of Hillsboro Park, where we would have 500-700 people attending,” said Deerfield Parks & Rec Manager I Adele Trizzino,
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven” Ecclesiastes 3:1
ALSO INSIDE Opinion ..............................6 Sports ................................6 Dining & Entertainment 9-11 Happenings .....................11 Religion ...........................12 Classified.........................14 Real Estate ................ 14-15
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who helps plan the event. The event, which gives area kids a real taste of the season, drew families from as far away as Miami. “I saw it on Facebook and have a lot of friends in the area,” said the mom of twins Wallace and Olivia, 4, waiting in line for the 70 ft. snow slide. This was the family’s first time at the event. “You gotta see snow in Florida!” enthused the mother. Five-year-old Rian, sporting an “Oh What Fun” T-shirt, got his picture taken after saucering down the giant snow slide. Commissioner Michael Hudak and Vice Mayor Todd Drosky were like kids again, racing each other down the snow slide – with a little help from Assistant
City Manager Tom Good, who got them in line and onto the slide. Before that, the two had a good, old-fashioned snowball fight at the snow hill next door. The Grinch had his picture taken with Piper the golden retriever (as his dog Max did not attend the event). Winter Wonderland also featured a live snow globe, festive bounce houses, a train ride, faux snow station, face painting, glitter tattoo, s’mores, a candy cane forest and snow blowers, as well as appearances by Santa and Buddy the Elf. Home Depot of Coconut Creek donated 2,000 wood workshop crafts, according to Trizzino. A fun Saturday morning was had by all! 1) Nice doggie! The Grinch pets Piper the Golden Retriever. 2) Whoosh! That was fun. 3) On top of the Snow Hill. 4) Candyland Bounce Houses. 5) Vice Mayor Todd Drosky and Commissioner Michael Hudak have a snowball fight at the Snow Hill.
By Diane Emeott Deerfield Beach Commissioner Bernie Parness held his quarterly District 3 meeting in the chandeliered upstairs party room at Century Village’s clubhouse, Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 11. Parness brought in some interesting guest speakers to educate CVE residents on everything from the latest scams, to recycling dos and don’ts, to questions about Code Enforcement and when permits are required from the Building Department. More than 30 residents came out, plus city staff, including City Manager David Santucci, Assistant City Manager Tom Good, Planning & Development Services Director Eric Power, representatives from Code Compliance and the Building Dept., BSFR District Fire Chief Matt Pellitteri and Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) District Chief Rodney Brimlow. BSO Deputy Joseph Lomonaco alerted Century Villagers of common scams including the “grandparents scam” where a caller says your loved one is in trouble and will be killed unless you pay. They may even know your grandchild’s name [from Facebook posts, etc.], preying on a grandparent’s heartstrings to withdraw money from his or her bank account to “help” a grandchild. In the “Social Security scam” a caller says your Social Security benefits are in jeopardy unless you do the following. The “IRS scam”
is similar. The “Sweepstakes scam” says you are a big winner — however you have to pay taxes and fees on your winnings first. The “Service Provider scam” says you are late on a cable or other bill and asks for your credit card information or bank routing number over the phone to “remedy” the situation. Lomonaco spoke of one 69-year-old who emptied their life savings, then died bankrupt. An alert bank employee spotted another scam victim as a visibly scared, elderly woman withdrew a large sum of money. The employee believed the woman was being coerced and notified police. It’s not only the elderly who can fall victim to a scam. Someone in their 30s got a call from the “IRS” saying he owed $20,000 in back taxes. The guy was scared into making payments to the fake caller. What to do if you receive one of these calls? “Hang up. Call the agency or Broward Sheriff’s Office to report it,” advised Lomonaco. [The non-emergency number for Deerfield Beach BSO is 954480-4300]. Agencies such as BSO, Social Security or the Internal Revenue Service do not call you. The real agencies communicate by official letters in the mail. Never give out personal or financial information over the phone to someone who calls you. See District 3, pg. 13