Palms West Monthly • August 2011 • Page 1
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Three cheers for summer camp!
Business Spotlight
With summer in full swing, we decided to take a pictorial tour of area summer camps to see what they have to offer. Warning: beware of lots of smiles!
Wellington Ballet Theatre is set to hold auditions for its winter performance of Tree’s Wings and Ribs, under the guidance of owners Andy and Linda Maynard, “Nutcracker Tea.” Dancers of all levels are encouraged has been a favorite of the Western to attend. Communities for nearly decades.
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Volume 1, Number 3
Recipe for Success
At the Ballet
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Serving Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, Loxahatchee Groves, The Acreage and West Palm Beach with local news and entertainment
August 2011
Loxahatchee Groves
Voters approve change to Water Control District’s future elections By ANGIE FRANCALANCIA Neighborhood News Group
Smoke-free parks? Members of Girl Scout Troop 20244 at Panther Run Elementary School in Wellington have been making waves with local governments for their work on a tobacco-free parks project.
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A league of their own The Greater Palm Beaches Women’s Slow Pitch Softball League is seeking female players over the age of 18 for its upcoming fall league.
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Tennis Anyone? The United States Tennis Association has chosen Wellington as one of only 25 sites in the nation to introduce its innovative QuickStart Tennis program to get kids 10 and younger back into playing the sport.
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INSIDE Local Happenings ...................4 In Brief................................6 Nice and Easy ........................8 Manely Speaking.....................9 Arts & Entertainment ............ 10 School Bulletin .....................12 Business Spotlight ..................13 Outside The Neighborhood .......15 Downtown Gal ......................17 Just For the Fun of It ............. 18 Classifieds ...........................19 PalmsWestMonthly.com
Photo by Robert Harris/Palms West Monthly
On a recent day spent at the Palm Beach County satellite clinic in Loxahatchee, Miami Children’s Hospital gastroenterologist Dr. Alisa Muniz Crim was scheduled to see 27 patients, including 14-year-old Ericka Orelus, above, from Lake Worth.
BUILD IT AND THEY
WILL COME
Thanks to a $3 million grant, Miami Children’s Hospital specialists now make monthly visits to Palm Beach County to treat patients. By ANGIE FRANCALANCIA Neighborhood News Group
LOXAHATCHEE — The hospital directive was “be where the children are.” That goal – coupled with a $3 million grant from the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation – is how local families are getting appointments with Miami Children’s Hospital specialists in their own backyard. In a small office suite near Palms West Hospital, local children get care from some of South Florida’s premier specialists for some of the most severe illnesses and disorders. “Our goal at Miami Children’s Hospital is to take care of any child who needs help,” said Dr. Chad Perlyn, a craniofacial specialist who treats cleft palates as well as some of the most unusual facial birth defects. “We’re
delighted to do that no matter their socioeconomic status, their distance from the hospital or their need.” The center opened 10 months ago with a few specialists each seeing a handful of patients about once a month. Inside the suite of offices, the walls are adorned with murals from Carlos Pereira, the same Miami area artist whose work is found throughout Miami Children’s. Any family who has visited Miami Children’s would find themselves in familiar surroundings. The Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation is providing $1 million a year for three years to pay for the offices. It is the first time the foundation has provided a grant to Miami Children’s Hospital, said Foundation President and CEO Patty McDonald. The long-term goal is to open two
additional practices in Palm Beach County. “From Miami Children’s Hospital’s perspective, they did research on where they felt the first location should be located,” she said. “They looked for the area with the greatest needs in the patient population for the specialists.” Today, 6 specialists bring a host of care to Palm Beach County, and see an average of 30 patients each a couple times a month. In addition to Perlyn, the specialists include a gastroenterologist, an endocrinologist, a neurologist, a nephrologist, and an orthopedic surgeon. In September, an allergy and immunology specialist will join them. While the doctors don’t perform surgeries at local hosSEE KIDS’ CARE / PAGE 9
Only a fraction of the eligible voters cast ballots last month, but they decided nearly 2 to 1 that Loxahatchee Groves Water Control District’s ages-old system of acre-based voting must change. That decision will be costly, according to the Loxahatchee Groves Water Control District board. Board members agreed they should let everyone know immediately that they plan to add $13.50 per acre to every landowner’s bill as a one-time special assessment to raise the estimated $106,000 the change will cost. “It’s disappointing to have to raise taxes for this. It’s not the most efficient use of increased funds,” Board member Don Widing said. “But, we are obligated to follow the law.” The board expects a packed meeting August 8 when it plans to discuss and adopt its new budget. The board planned to send every landowner a letter explaining the increase. The $13.50 per acre will be in addition to the proposed regular assessment of $137 per acre, for a total assessment of $150.50. “For someone with 10 acres, that’s another $135,” Widing said. The board also approved hiring engineering firm Erdman Anthony for a fee not to exceed $22,800 to create the population maps required for the new voting system. Qualified electors voted 154 in favor and 85 opposed to having at least one seat on the board be voted on by popular election, thus giving small landowners equal weight to the owners of big properties, which, it was argued, can easily sway the votes based on acres. Loxahatchee Groves held the vote after residents Marge Herzog and Don Williams forced it through a petition drive outlined in state statutes. Under the statutes, the only SEE VOTE / PAGE 2