The Coastal Star December 2015

Page 1

December 2015

Serving Hypoluxo Island, South Palm Beach, Manalapan, Ocean Ridge, Briny Breezes, Gulf Stream and Coastal Delray Beach

History

Volume 8 Issue 12

Along the Coast

Towns agree to split cost of fire district study

VET

By Dan Moffett

eteran

Young ‘doc’ helped bring horses to Europe after WWII By Ron Hayes

What do you do with a Victory ship after the victory has been won? On Dec. 31, 1946, one of those former World War II cargo carriers, the SS Saginaw, left Newport News, Va., to cross the Atlantic. On board were 960 horses, 30 cowboys and a very young veterinarian named Harold Burton. A Victory ship that had once waged war was bound for Europe once again, to wage peace. Three years earlier, 44 countries, led by the U.S., had

Delray Beach By Rich Pollack

created the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration to aid people liberated from the Axis powers. “I had my Army discharge papers and I had a diploma from the University of Pennsylvania School of Burton Veterinary Medicine,” Burton remembers. “I had just turned 25 and I was broke and this was an opportunity to make $23 a day.” See VET on page 28

TOP: A family in Kavala, Greece, receives a heifer from Heifers for Relief at the end of WWII. Photo courtesy Brethren Historical Library and Archive. ABOVE LEFT: Heifer International’s holiday gift catalog. ABOVE: Now a part-time resident of Briny Breezes, Harold ‘Doc’ Burton aboard the SS Mercer Victory ship in 1947. Burton family photo

Five coastal municipalities have joined to pay for a study to explore the feasibility of forming a barrier island fire district. The first formal vote on the idea came on Nov. 13 in Gulf Stream, when the Town Commission unanimously INSIDE: approved Highland Beach, Delray putting up $39,000 to discuss fire hire Matrix contract. Consulting Page 23 Group of Keller, Texas, the low bidder among four companies that submitted study proposals. The other four towns in the group have agreed to share in the expense: Gulf Stream, after reimbursements from its neighbors, hopes to end up paying $9,677, as will Manalapan and Ocean Ridge. Briny Breezes and South Palm Beach will contribute $5,000 each. Highland Beach, which was considering participating, has decided to pull out and continue See FIRE DISTRICT on page 23

Is a renaissance in the making for Artists Alley?

The artists who remain in Artists Alley are waiting. With their galleries and studios open for the monthly Third Thursday event that in the past drew many visitors, artists who have not left — due to higher rents — are waiting for customers. They’re also waiting for news from Delray Beach’s Community Redevelopment Agency — meeting just across town at City Hall — to hear if it will move forward with stalled plans to transform a nearby 15,000-square-foot warehouse

Inside Delray’s beach plan debated Commission’s move on contract will delay project. Page 7 House of the Month Refined luxury in Ocean Ridge. Page H31

at the south end of the district into an arts incubator. And they’re waiting to see if an ambitious private/public venture, unveiled that same night before the CRA board, will transform the small colony, adding lofts and studio space for artists as well as a 250-seat performance space, townhomes, restaurants and retail space. That idea for the proposed multi-use art-centric project — dubbed Artist Alley — was conceived by attorney Joe White, who purchased the row of one-bay warehouses for $4.5 million in a June bankruptcy

Coastal holidays

Shopping guide What local merchants are offering for seasonal gift-giving. Page H13

proceeding. But subsequent rent increases — doubling in some cases — spawned a migration of several artists away from the colony, which in its heyday was home for as many as 30 artists and sculptors. White says his goal is not to drive artists away but rather to transform the area into a vibrant arts destination that will bring more customers. In the short term, he’s already made improvements to the parking lot surface and he’s working to enhance safety

See ALLEY on page 17

Brenda Gordon works on a commissioned painting at Artists Alley in Delray Beach. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Special events

Religious services. Page H5 Holiday things to do. Page AT22

Seasonal shows

Music, dance and more. Page AT9

Decades of twirl

Delray coach has inspired generations of baton twirlers. Page 22

Visitors come from Delray’s Sister City

Students from Miyazu, Japan, spent a week in South Florida. Page 30


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