Serving Hypoluxo Island, South Palm Beach, Manalapan, Ocean Ridge, Briny Breezes, Gulf Stream and Coastal Delray Beach
March 2020
Volume 13 Issue 3
Delray Beach
City failed to report residents sickened by wastewater Drinking water safe, manager says after inspection, tests By Jane Smith
Sister Elizabeth Halaj and Sister Elizabeth Kulesa attend St. Vincent Ferrer Church and School’s Parish Festival in Delray Beach. Halaj, nicknamed ‘Sister Happy,’ and Kulesa, known as ‘Sister Kind,’ teach at St. Vincent Ferrer. Rachel S. O’Hara/The Coastal Star
Lessons from ‘Happy’ and ‘Kind’ Two nuns named Elizabeth spark joy at St. Vincent Ferrer By Ron Hayes St. Vincent Ferrer Church and School on George Bush Boulevard in Delray Beach is the spiritual home to 3,600 Catholics, one monsignor, five visiting priests, three deacons, 52 teachers and staff. And two nuns. Both nuns belong to The Little Servant Sisters of the Immaculate Conception. Both are from Poland. And both are named Elizabeth. Sister Elizabeth Halaj arrived from the order’s provincial house in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, in late June. Sister Elizabeth Kulesa came in early August. See NUNS on page 8
Sister Elizabeth Halaj gives a student a high-five after he answered a question in class. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
Delray Beach failed to alert state health officials that about a dozen barrier island residents and their pets were sickened by drinking contaminated water after the latest segment of the reclaimed-water system began operating in late 2018, state Department of Health records show. The reclaimed-water lines provide partly treated wastewater meant solely for lawn watering. The last section of the system started running in October 2018, and Christine Ferrigan, an industrial pretreatment inspector in the city Utilities Department, found it was not installed or monitored properly by outside contractors, according to her notes released by the state Health Department under Florida’s public records law. That cross-contaminated an unknown number of drinking water lines between October and December 2018 and potentially exposed additional residents See WATER on page 20
Along the Coast
Municipalities act to ensure 2020 Census count is accurate By Charles Elmore The 2020 Census arrives a decade after 1.4 million folks in Florida were left out of the nation’s last official head count, according to a federal review. Up and down the coast, communities are scrambling to avoid undercounts as census forms begin landing in mailboxes around March 12. Each missed person
Grande dames return to stage Lois Pope joins Jan McArt for a production of ‘Gigi.’ Page AT1
represents about $1,600 per year in lost funding for things like roads, schools and environmental and social programs, local officials say. That’s one reason Briny Breezes Mayor Gene Adams is urging residents not to put off this invitation to enumeration. He is advocating a prompt reply using
a method new to the nation’s census: by computer or other online device. If people in the seaside community of mobile homes (2010 Census count: 601) run into any digital difficulties, the town is offering help. “We are suggesting residents respond online if possible and we plan on making computers available for our residents to be able to use if needed,” Adams said.
Flagler Museum exhibition explores the culture of shoes. Page AT9
The 2020 Census marks the first to allow responses online, as well as by mail or phone. Both representation in Congress and serious money hang in the balance, including about $24 billion over a decade in Palm Beach County. There were plenty of misses the last See CENSUS on page 22
Inside Inside
Note to readers
With this month’s edition, residents of Hypoluxo Island, South Palm Beach, Manalapan and the north end of Ocean Ridge will have delivery of their papers sponsored by Publix.
Candidate Candidate profiles, profiles On pages on pages 13,16,17 13,16,17
Cotillion Cotillion coaching coaching Etiquette Etiquette classes classes prep prep students students for for success. H1 success. Page Page H1
Obituaries Obituaries pages pages 28,29 28,29