January 2016
Serving Hypoluxo Island, South Palm Beach, Manalapan, Ocean Ridge, Briny Breezes, Gulf Stream and Coastal Delray Beach
Along the Coast
Volume 9 Issue 1
Delray Beach
Sober home ‘bad actors’ blamed in push for change By Nick Madigan
Florida Highway Patrol Officer Paul Croy speaks to a group of cyclists he pulled over in Highland Beach after observing them violating a law regarding road-sharing. None of the cyclists received a ticket. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
Many warned, several cited during road safety week By Rich Pollack Highland Beach Police Officer Paul Shersty was driving south along State Road A1A one Saturday morning when he noticed a car continue through a dedicated crosswalk just as two pedestrians began to cross. Shersty turned on his lights and pulled the car over. See SAFETY on page 11
Results of the South Florida Safe Roads Task Force targeted enforcement on State Road A1A last month: Motor Vehicle Citations Moving – 2 Nonmoving – 12 Speeding – 11 Warnings – 2 Verbal warnings – 3
Bicycle Citations Red light – 1 Traffic Violations – 4 Warnings – 21 Verbal warnings – 194 Pedestrian Citations – 3
SOURCE: South Florida Safe Roads Task Force
Even as state legislators and Delray Beach officials outlined new measures last month to strengthen their armory of tools in the fray against an onslaught of troublesome and poorly run sober homes, they acknowledged doubt over the potential effectiveness of those efforts. “There is no one here who can guarantee how this is going to unfold,” Rep. Bill Hager, R-Boca Raton, said during a news conference at which the measures were announced. His uncertainty was echoed by John Lehman, president of the Florida Association of Recovery Residences, the entity chosen by the Department of Children and Families to establish a voluntary credentialing system for the unregulated sober homes and apartments. They act as halfway houses for people recovering from substance use disorders but are often problematic for the residential neighborhoods that surround them. “We don’t think this is going to be a miracle solution,” Lehman said, referring to the legislative measures. “We will not be able to clear all this up in short order, but we are committed to the process.” See SOBER on page 17
Ocean Ridge
Retiring clerk, praised as historian, sage, says 35 years went by in flash By Dan Moffett Ocean Ridge is bracing itself for a case of institutional amnesia the likes of which few communities have ever seen. On Jan. 29, Town Clerk Karen Hancsak is retiring after 35 years as an employee. When she walks out the door for the last time, she takes with her a cache of knowledge about Ocean Ridge that is irreplaceable. Not only does Hancsak know where all the proverbial bodies are buried in the town, she can
tell you who dug the graves, where they bought their shovels, whether they paid with cash or credit, and who picked up the check for dinner afterward. “She constitutes our ‘institutional memory’ when it comes to the history of ordinances, agenda items, elections and budgets these past three decades,” says Commissioner Richard Lucibella. “Perhaps more than any other employee, she has shaped the culture of our staff See HANCSAK on page 20
Ocean Ridge Town Clerk Karen Hancsak sits at her post on the Town Hall dais. She retires Jan. 29. Photo by Tim Stepien
Inside
Just say ‘Om’
HAHAHAHA!
Laugh with the Delray Beach Public Library (and a top comic). Page AT1
Gulf Stream beauty
Oceanfront estate boasts new construction. Page H27
Dr. Seuss
It’s the Cat in the Hat, Horton and some really bizarre taxidermy. Page AT9
Prepare to relax with yoga nidra. Page H1
Plus: Yoga for kids Page H22
Highland Beach police get body cameras
Other area agencies study their options. Page 18