Town-Crier Newspaper September 23, 2022

ROTARY PRESENTS PEACE AWARDS

RPB Education Board Meeting Focuses On Programs At RPBHS

Local State House Districts ContestedFeatureRaces

By Joshua Manning Town-Crier Staff Report

This year’s redistricting of seats in the Florida House of Represen tatives divided the western com munities across three state house districts: District 88, a mostly West Palm Beach-based district that now includes parts of Royal Palm Beach; District 93, which includes Wellington and several eastern areas; and District 94, which in cludes the Acreage/Loxahatchee area, Loxahatchee Groves and much of Royal Palm Beach.

Republican, faces a challenge from Democrat Terence “TD” Davis. DISTRICT 88

State Rep. Jervonte Edmonds, a Democrat and the incumbent in District 88, was elected earlier this year in a special election to replace former State Rep. Omari Hardy, who resigned to run for the U.S. Congress.Well-known as the founder of the Suits for Seniors program, Edmonds is originally from Ti tusville, Florida. He earned his po litical science degree from Florida Atlantic University and worked in real estate before taking a job with State Sen. Bobby Powell.

Remembrance Event

At Patriot Memorial

On Sunday, Sept. 11, the Vil lage of Wellington held a re membrance ceremony at the Wellington Patriot Memorial for those who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001. The keynote speaker was Arnie Dansky, a former firefighter chief and president of FOB Lodge NY 3100. He shared his recollec tions of 9/11 the

Wellington16Hosts

Mark Bellissimo Pitches

‘Wellington 3.0’ Vision To Village Committees

By Charles Elmore Town-Crier Staff Report

On some of the last land re maining to determine its future for decades to come, Wellington’s equestrian community gallops to ward one of its biggest moments of consequence since the future King Charles came to play polo in 1985.

At least, that’s the way Mark Bellissimo frames it. Sticking with the status quo — meaning, as he puts it, selling 5-acre farms to the wealthy elite — will not help Wel lington fend off challenges from expanding rival equestrian centers, such as Ocala.

The managing partner of Wel lington Equestrian Partners LLC, Bellissimo instead wants to con solidate dressage and jumping events at one improved venue, build a four-story hotel, restaurants and retail shops anchoring an equestrian downtown, and develop housing near the showgrounds that

is more densely concentrated than current rules allow.

One touted bonus: a projected 3,100 jobs, both direct hires and employment from ripple effects in the community.

In a plan Bellissimo has dubbed “Wellington 3.0,” the goal is to make the community not just the winter equestrian capital of the world but the No. 1 location yearround encompassing polo, show jumping and dressage.

This was the pitch he made to a joint meeting of Wellington’s Equestrian Preserve Committee and Planning, Zoning & Adjust ment Board on Wednesday, Sept. 7.

“Let’s bring in a lot of new people and give them a great experience,” Bellissimo said. “I want this to be a place that’s unbelievably special not only for equestrians but non-equestrians.”

The workshop did not include

comments from the public. That opportunity will come as village boards and ultimately the Welling ton Village Council are expected to take up the plan, which is broken into several different parts, in the coming months. Certain aspects of the proposal will require a supermajority of four out of five council members.

For now, the presentation of his plan includes provisional nick names for proposed developments such as “the Island,” “the Lagoon” and “the Market.” Such names could change, and more precise details are anticipated in formal proposals to seek village approval. Bellissimo said he hopes final ap proval comes as early as the end of the year.

A previous effort to remake the equestrian area in 2016 stalled as some residents questioned the need for changes that might bring

See BELLISSIMO, page 14

Lox Groves Council Rejects Requests For Sign Variances

Sem Ridge Football Remains Undefeated

After Four Weeks

After four weeks of this year’s high school football season, the undefeated Hawks from Semi nole Ridge High School (4-0) remain the cream of the crop in the western communities.

On Sept. 9, the Hawks defeated Forest Hill High School 9-7, and then blanked Palm Beach Lakes High School, 30-0, on Sept. 16. Page 21

By Joshua Manning Town-Crier Staff Report

The Loxahatchee Groves Town Council rejected two requests for sign variances on Thursday, Sept. 8. Council members expressed concerns that the larger sign pro posed for the new AutoZone store and a second sign at the Culver’s restaurant, both planned on South ern Blvd., did not meet the criteria for the Alsovariances.atthemeeting, the council approved the site plan for the new Southern Lawn Equipment loca tion on Southern Blvd.

Developers of the new Au toZone store planned for Groves Town Center on the north side of Southern Blvd. just east of B Road near Aldi requested a sign variance to allow a primary sign facing Southern of 74 square feet, which

is more than double the 36 square feet permitted under the town’s code, which allows one square foot per linear foot of frontage. The town’s Planning & Zoning Board, as well as town staff, supported theKerrirequest.Sabol, who represents AutoZone’s sign company, said that AutoZone wants a sign that can clearly be read from Southern Blvd., which is several hundred feet away. She also noted that several other businesses in the area were allowed larger signs.

Councilwoman Phillis Maniglia was not happy with the request.

“It seems like everybody who comes before us wants a bigger sign, but they don’t mention that when they first put in their applica tion,” she Councilwomansaid. Marianne

Miles, however, was not opposed to the larger sign.

“This is Southern Blvd., and this is where we want our businesses to be,” she said. “I don’t see an issue with increasing the sign to where it can be seen. I would like to see businesses thrive and prosper once they are here in Loxahatchee Groves.”Townplanning consultant Jim Fleischmann said that there are five criteria for sign variances, and the applicant gave a justification for each. While public comment was against the larger sign, Fleis chmann said that the fact the busi ness directly fronts on Southern Blvd. should be taken into account.

“Southern Blvd. has a differ ent character than the rest of the town,” he said. “It is my opinion

Each of these three districts feature contested races. In District 88, incumbent State Rep. Jervonte Edmonds, a Democrat, faces Re publican challenger Roz Stevens. District 93, an open seat, features Republican nominee Dr. Saulis Banionis and Port Commissioner Katherine Waldron, the Demo cratic nominee. In District 94, incumbent State Rep. Rick Roth, a

“I then worked for the Crimi nal Justice Commission of Palm Beach County as a safety and justice analyst,” Edmonds said.

“My job there was to reduce the jail population in the county.” Along the way, he wrote three

FALL FOR ART POP-UP GALLERY

RPB Council OKs DredgingCanalProject

By Callie Sharkey Town-Crier Staff Report

The Royal Palm Beach Village Council unanimously approved a large-scale canal improvement project on Thursday, Sept. 15, at a meeting that also included the final approval of the village’s budget for the upcoming year and a discus sion of whether to annex a small, residential enclave.

The multimillion-dollar project will begin to improve the canals in Royal Palm Beach. Village Engineer Chris Marsh explained that the nearly $3 million needed to fund the project will come from four different grants total ing $1.1 million, $1.252 million in American Rescue Plan Act

(ARPA) funds from the federal government, and $660,000 from the village using its sales surtax money.“Atremendous amount of grant dollars will be utilized for this project,” Marsh said. “The benefit will improve water quality in the canal system by removing the decomposed material that has ac cumulated over the last 50 years. When we did a survey of the canal bottoms, we were finding muck approximately 12 to 18 inches deep on the bottom. So, there’s a substantial amount of decomposed material in there, which hurts oxygen levels within the canals.”

Removing the organic mate

See RPB COUNCIL 7

Wellington Honors Deputy Harper And Capt. Armstrong

By Julie Unger Town-Crier Staff Report

The Wellington Village Coun cil presented its annual Top Cop and Top Firefighter awards on Wednesday, Sept. 21, honoring Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Of fice Deputy Harold Harper and Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue Capt. Shane Armstrong with these prestigiousWellington’sawards.Public Safety Committee chose the winners from among this year’s nominees in June, setting up this week’s meeting, which had a celebratory atmosphere.

PBSO Capt. Rolando Silva took to the floor first, recalling when he first met Harper many years ago. “I noticed his talent back then,” Silva said. “And we were able to hire him in the City of Lake Worth.”

When the opportunity came to bring Harper to Wellington, he didn’t hesitate. Harper took on the community-facing position previously held by PBSO Deputy Scott Poritz, who was honored as Wellington’s Top Cop in 2020.

“I knew those would be some hard shoes to fill, and I knew the right man,” Silva said. “I knew we had the right person for the job, and that was going to be Deputy Harper.”

PBSO Lt. Eli Shaivitz pointed out that Harper has a full calendar, focusing on a variety of assign ments, but especially high-profile events in Wellington, such as the Wellington Holiday Parade, Fourth of July event and the Fall Festival.Shaivitz nominated Harper for the award and was proud to have him chosen for this recognition.

Harper thanked the village for the“Tohonor.say the least, I’m humbled. To me, it’s just something that I do,” Harper said. “All I can say is that every single person I’ve met has made it easy for me to suc ceed by providing the tools, and with everybody having the same mission... I’m just humbled and thankful to be a part of what you guys have built here.”

As the council members con gratulated Harper, Vice Mayor Mi chael Drahos took the opportunity to share his appreciation.

“I get to say publicly how awe some I think you are at your job,” he said. “You’re the perfect choice for this, because that is symbolic of your entire unit in Wellington.”

Councilman John McGovern told Harper that he knows that

Sixty works of art ranging from sculptures to stained glass to acrylics and more brightened the Mall at Wellington Green from Friday, Sept. 16 through Sunday, Sept. 18 during the Fall for Art Pop-Up Gallery presented by the Wellington Art Society. A reception to celebrate the artists was held Saturday, Sept. 17. Shown above are participating artists Norman Gitzen, Griselda “GG” Gonzalez, Heather Bergstrom, Hartley Barnes, Marcia Greene, Gail Erickson, Laura Jaffe, Leslie Pfeiffer and Elaine Weber. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 18

PHOTO BY MEREDITH BUROW/TOWN-CRIER

Royal Palm Beach High School was the school in focus at the Monday, Sept. 12 meeting of the Royal Palm Beach Educa tion Advisory Board. The meet ing featured a presentation by RPBHS Principal Michelle Fleming. Page 3

The Rotary Club of Wellington celebrated World Peace Day with an observance at the Wellington Rotary Peace Park on Sunday, Sept. 18. The event included the presentation of awards to stu dents who participated in poster, poetry and essay contests, as well as honoring PBSO Deputy Jennifer Baker with the club’s annual Community Peace Award. Shown above is Deputy Baker and her family with Councilman John McGovern, Mayor Anne Gerwig and Councilwoman Tanya Siskind. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5

PHOTO BY CALLIE SHARKEY/TOWN-CRIER

PBCFR Capt. Shane Armstrong and PBSO Deputy Harold Harper with awards.

Historical

RPB Education Board Meeting Focuses On Programs At RPBHS

By Callie Sharkey Town-Crier Staff Report

Royal Palm Beach High School was the school in focus at the Mon day, Sept. 12 meeting of the Royal Palm Beach Education Advisory Board. The meeting featured a presentation by RPBHS Principal Michelle Fleming.

The school’s presentation began with student dance performances. They performed jazz, contempo rary and tap pieces.

“We’ve only been in school six weeks, and this contemporary piece they just learned last week, so I am very proud of them,” dance education teacher Michele Blecher Cramer said. “Ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary and musical theater allows them to have a wellrounded dance background.”

Fleming stepped up to the po dium to provide a report on her school, which currently has 2,347 students enrolled.

“It just makes me smile from ear to ear to see my students here. Thank you for allowing them to be a part of the meeting tonight,” said Fleming, who has been in

the position for 10 months. “Not quite a year, but what a year it has been. Our theme this year is ‘High Expectations, High Standards, No Excuses,’ and our new tagline is ‘The Royal Way.’”

Fleming explained that keeping enrollment numbers up allows the school to continue offering as many programs and options for students as “Throughpossible.apandemic, we have been able to maintain a B grade, and for a large, comprehensive high school, that is no easy feat,” she said. “We increased 113 points in one year. It really shows how hard the teachers are working and digging deep to really bridge the pandemic gap. High school is critical. We are the last one to get them before they go out into the community.”Flemingshared data highlight ing the graduation rate of 91 percent for the Class of 2022 and more than $2 million in scholar ships earned. The year boasted 28 Florida Academic scholars, 25 Florida Medallion scholars, nine Gold Seal CAPE scholars and 29

Gold Seal vocational scholars.

“We’ve changed the metric so it’s not only upper-echelon students allowed access to collegelevel courses,” Fleming said. “This year, we are at 70 percent of stu dents in one or more accelerated course.”

The school offers accelerated courses that include Advanced Placement classes, eight IB cours es and 14 AICE courses. Students also have access to a number of choice academies, such as the popular medical and HVAC acad emies. There are also 53 different clubs at RPBHS.

In other business:

• The former chair of the com mittee, Dr. Bill Thallemer, re cently accepted a position with the School District of Palm Beach County, and acting chair Jennifer Sullivan was appointed as the new chair. Meghan Crosby is the new vice chair, and the council welcomed RPBHS Student Body President Javier Rivas to the com mittee for the coming year.

the committee with an update.

Palm Beach County is the 10th largest district in the nation with a nearly $5 billion budget, she said.

“Our graduation rate is at the highest it has ever been at 95.9, we will say 96 percent, and 66 percent of our schools are rated A or B. We now have 180 districtoperated schools, with two ad ditional schools being built,” Zuloaga-Haines said. “The district earned a grade of A last year. Of the urban districts, only Miami-Dade and Palm Beach earned an A.”

When compared to the rest of Florida, Palm Beach outperformed the state in English language arts for third through 10th grade. In math, county students were also better in grades six and eight. On end-of-course exams, the district was above the state in geometry, biology I and U.S. history. While there was some success in science, it remains a struggle for students.

“Science is something we are

working on district wide. Science, as a district, underperformed in the state across the board, with the exception of very few schools. It’s something systemic that we need to work on,” Zuloaga-Haines said.

“The science test is technically almost a reading test with knowing the content of science. You have to be able to read, and it is basically informationalZuloaga-Hainestext.”described the replacement for FSA testing, the BEST Standards, which stands for Benchmark for Excellent Student Thinking. Implementa tion begins this year in ELA for grades three through 10, in math for kindergarten through grade eight, with Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) progress monitoring.“Because we have new stan dards, we have new resources. When you have new standards, you have new assessments. This year is unique. They are utilizing

the year as field testing,” ZuloagaHaines explained. “Some schools will be selected, and those will be used for a baseline. Students will not receive official scores on the writing assessments.”

She went on to explain that instead of one test at the end of the year, students will now have progress monitoring three times a year.“This year, the state is really seeing, and so are we, the impor tance of VPK and early child hood learning for our students,” Zuloaga-Haines said. “We worked on the transition from elementary to middle school, now they are looking at the transition from VPK to Toschool.”conclude her presentation, she shared videos and statistics to show how this fall’s referendum asks the public to continue the 1.0 mill referendum that was approved in 2018. The new referendum is on

NEW To Loan Santa Rosa Improvements

By Louis Hillary Park Town-Crier Staff Report

The Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors gave final approval Wednesday, Sept. 21 to a loan agreement that will fund $3 million in long-needed road and drainage improvements for Unit 20, also known as Santa Rosa

TheGroves.laststep is the Sept. 29 clos ing, but some frustrated residents have not been waiting for the money to come in and the con struction equipment to start rolling.

Though warned against it, some Santa Rosa Groves residents have been attempting to make changes to roads on their own, noted ITID Vice President Betty Argue, refer ring to an e-mail she received over the weekend.

“Significant changes” to roads that effect private property have been made, she said.

“It has been a long, hard road… We should be celebrating,” said Carol Street resident Elizabeth Accomando, who was one of the leaders of the multi-year push to

activate the rural neighborhood as ITID’s Unit 20. “But some people aren’t clear about the easements.”

Other people are just frustrated with the pace of the process and starting to make improvements on their own, she said during public comment on the resolution giving final approval to the loan, which will be repaid by assessments on Santa Rosa Groves property owners.Accomando is running in the Nov. 8 general election against Jerrad Jablonski for the board’s Seat 1, currently held by retiring Supervisor Jennifer Hager. Residents who attempt to fill roads on their own are creating more work for crews later, when the real construction gets under way, because all that material will have to be removed, ITID Execu tive Director Burgess Hanson said.

ITID Engineer Jay Foy warned that, “all easements belong to Indian Trail for purposes of roads and drainage. You can’t work in the easements without a permit.” Hanson said he would follow up

• Central Region Superintendent Valerie Zuloaga-Haines provided

with residents to make sure they understand their rights and limita tions in terms of district easements.

The loan agreed to Wednesday night will be for 10 years at 4.53 percent interest, with a total pay back of $3,881,000. The average per acre annual assessment will be some $827. That means a property owner with five acres would pay approximately $4,138 in annual unit-specific assessments.

The money will go to installing pumps; clearing canals; building or milling roads, particularly Carol Street; installing signage; and perhaps adding some type of traffic calming. The changes will allow curbside garbage pickup, mail and package delivery, and prevent flooding during heavy rainCreatedevents.in the 1970s, Santa Rosa Groves is made up of 99 lots ranging from five acres to 20 acres. The area, north of White Fences, has a long history of flooding problems. Its roads and swales have deteriorated, and the canals are overgrown.

Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue brought its new 100-foot ladder truck to the Wellington Village Coun cil meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 21. Shown here, council members check out the new machinery.

PHOTO BY JULIE UNGER/TOWN-CRIER

ITID Supervisor Candidates Share Their Views In Their Own Words

By Louis Hillary Park Town-Crier Staff Report

Three seats on the Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors will be contested in November. Primary elections last month advanced two candidates for each seat to the Nov. 8 general election.Longtime

Seat 1 Supervisor

Jennifer Hager is retiring, and candidates Elizabeth Accomando and Jerrad Jablonski are facing off for the seat. In Seat 3, incumbent Supervisor Joni Martin faces a challenge from Patricia Farrell, while in Seat 5, incumbent ITID President Michael Johnson faces a challenge from John Rivera.

The Town-Crier offered each candidate the opportunity to share a statement in their own words about why he or she should serve a four-year term on the ITID board.

SEAT 1

Elizabeth Accomando

Accomando, a Carol Street resident, moved to Florida in 1991 and into the district in 2013. With a background as an insurance adjuster and business owner, she was a prime supporter of the push to activate her rural neighborhood of Santa Rosa Groves. She is founder and secretary/treasurer of the Barky Pines Animal Rescue & Sanctuary.

My pledge to the community if elected: I pledge to be diligent in my role as supervisor.

While I currently operate an animal rescue and sanctuary on a five-acre farm, I’m also self-em ployed for more than 35 years, therefore, being fully knowledge able in business administration and

an extensive understanding of the economy and its effects on both businesses and the consumer.

I pledge to continue to edu cate myself on the matters of the district. I have attended nearly every meeting for years, listening and learning the operations of the district, as well as its issues and limitations. I will continue working respectfully with staff as I have during the recent acti vation of Unit 20. I will continue to be a loud voice against matters that would affect us in a negative manner. Protecting our equestrian and agricultural rights is crucial.

As for incorporation — a super visor does not afford an opinion on the matter, however, as a resident, I believe that our community is enti tled to their right to vote, just like this election on Nov. 8. Candidates that comment they are against incorporation, are basically stating they are against your right to vote.

I will strongly advocate to keep our parks clean and safe, our roads traversable and protected, proper drainage and our water supply in tact. I will vote that our tax dollars are spent wisely, working for us to the greatest good.

I respectfully ask for your vote on Nov. 8. Thank you for placing your trust in me.

Jerrad Jablonski

Jablonski, who lives on 61st Place North, grew up in the area and is the owner of Jabrewski’s Pizza Company, founded in 2015, in the Acreage Shopping Center on Seminole Pratt Whitney Road, and manager of a valet parking company in West Palm Beach. As stated before, I am all for keeping Loxahatchee the way it

is, unincorporated. However, I do think it should be left up to the community as a whole to decide.

One of the issues I do feel strongly about in our community are the uses of our parks. We have plenty of them, and we should of fer more things for our community to do other than baseball. Almost every park has a baseball field.

Also, we have organizations that utilize our parks and fields that do not contribute to any upkeep. This needs to change. Currently, ITID gets no financial assistance from these organizations that utilize our fields and parks. These orga nizations have registration fees and businesses that sponsor these leagues. They cover uniforms, equipment and such. A portion off these monies collected should be allocated toward maintenance from the wear and tear it causes.

Above all, I want what’s best for our community, to keep things fair and honest.

SEAT 3

Patricia Farrell Farrell, who lives on 87th Lane North, is part owner of KP Farrell Inc., an athletic training facility. She also manages a Palm Beach condominium building.

I am so excited to be a candidate for the Indian Trail Improvement District. I feel this is a great time for me to become such an integral part of our community. My husband and I moved to Loxahatchee in 2003. We have raised four children out here. My family moved here to escape the fast pace and rapid growth in Bro ward County. We enjoy the slow pace that The Acreage provides,

the community and the friends we have made along the way.

Since I decided to run for ITID Seat 3 in June, I have learned quite a bit about the community and how ITID works. If elected, I will ask questions, I will listen to sugges tions from board members, ITID staff and community members, and I will do my due diligence when making a decision that af fects our community. I am a team player and will work hard and with the utmost integrity.

Areas that I would like to be in volved in are events, drainage and infrastructure. I feel community events give neighbors a chance to be with each other and to grow a close-knit community. I know first-hand how important it is that the drainage is fixed. I would like to be involved in resolving the issues with levees to prevent a repeat of 2012. I run or walk the local area for exercise and know that many sidewalks need to be tended to. I support the work that ITID staff members perform to keep our community safe.

Joni Martin Martin, a Hall Blvd. resident, is a single mother who has lived in Florida for 20 years, the western communities for 12 years and the Indian Trail area for six. A makeup artist with a background in retail sales who studied radio and TV production in college, Martin is seeking her second term on the board.

As a current ITID board mem ber for the last four years, I have learned so much and witnessed the challenges facing our agricultural/ residential community firsthand. I would like to continue to use

my experience and knowledge to ensure success for the Indian Trail Improvement District.

Our unique community of resi dents, many who moved here to en joy more open space and freedom, are now being faced with large growth and development encroach ing on us. The issues facing us are a direct result of this increased pop ulation, traffic and added inflation.

As a district, we have had to work harder than ever before, and face uncharted territory. These changes have affected our bottom line and made it more challenging than ever to create a balanced budget to continue running efficiently.

As treasurer for the past three years, I have been faced with mak ing hard choices and decisions. I want to keep our roads and infra structure our top priority without overburdening our taxpayers by continuing upgrades to our roads with millings, replacing culverts where needed, clearing canals and enhancing road safety. Traffic calming will be added throughout the district, and we will continue to work with Palm Beach County for added four-way stops, an immedi ate need on our ever-busier roads.

It is my goal to be fiscally responsible and cut any unnec essary spending. I will continue to be accessible to our residents and concerned with the important needs of our community. I hope to continue serving as a voice of reason and good judgment on your behalf. Contact me at jmartin@ indiantrail.com or (561) 701-0771.

SEAT 5

John Rivera

A Tangerine Blvd. resident,

Rivera is president and owner of Sunshine Safe & Lock. A local equestrian activist, he previously ran for Seat 5 in 2018.

Being a resident of The Acreage for more than 24 years, I appre ciate the lifestyle that makes our community so unique. Today, our lifestyle is under serious compro mise from so many outside forces. Many special interest groups are attempting to incorporate The Acreage. I do not support incor poration and don’t believe public funds should be used for studies. In regard to taxes, I will never support any increases.

I became a candidate to fight for the residents and for trans parency that is so vital to healthy governance. Continued changing of the guard is essential to bring in new, fresh ideas and continued progress.Fromdrainage, roads mainte nance and the parks, maintaining a government that is both efficient and serves the constituents of its community is crucial. I will promise each and every resident of The Acreage honesty, integrity and transparency, which are core principles.

Together we can make a differ ence in The Acreage that will be a benchmark for future generations to strive for.

Michael Johnson

A resident of 64th Place North, Johnson is a manager with TKM Bengard Farms, a large let tuce-grower in Belle Glade. Elect ed in 2018, he currently serves as ITID board president. He did not respond to invitations from the Town-Crier to share a statement with voters.

Small Tax Cut Stands After Second Westlake Budget Hearing

By Louis Hillary Park Town-Crier Staff Report

It’s official. The City of West lake has actually cut taxes — even if only a Duringlittle.the Monday, Sept. 18 required second and final bud get hearing, the Westlake City Council voted 5-0 to lower the residential property tax millage rate from 5.125 mills to 5.1 mills.

That means that the average Westlake homeowner whose house has an assessed value of

Signs

RequestsCouncilGrovesDenies

continued from page 1 that the sign code needs to be adjusted to be more reflective of thatSabolcharacter.”saidthat other variances that have been approved for the businesses nearby are no different than what AutoZone is asking for. “I don’t think it would be fair to allow half the plaza to have the signs they are asking for,” she said.While several council members said they would support a smaller variance, they decided that the 74-square-foot sign requested was too large. A motion to deny the variance passed 4-1 with Miles dissenting.

Representatives of the Culver’s Restaurant planned for Groves Town Center in the pod just east of the existing Aldi store requested a variance to allow a second wall sign facing B Road of just under 30 square feet, and a larger menu board sign of 24 square feet, while the code allows 12 square feet. Like with the AutoZone sign, the

$450,000 and a $50,000 home stead exemption will pay approx imately $2,040 in city taxes in 2023 — a reduction of about $10 over the 2022 budget.

“I’m glad we were able to lower the millage rate even if it is ever so slightly,” Mayor JohnPaul O’Connor said after the vote. “Still, it’s a move in the right direction.”

Westlake’s overall budget for 2023 is $7,899,000, a 23.3 percent increase over the 2022 budget

Planning & Zoning Board, as well as town staff, supported the request. Fleischmann said that the re quest noted that the smaller menu board would make it harder to view menu items and increase wait time at the drive-through. He agreed that 12 square feet is an unworkable menu board sign. Variances for larger signs were given to Dunkin’ Donuts and Wen dy’s in the plaza just to the west. The council did not support the second wall sign. Mayor Robert Shorr made a motion to reject the second sign, since it was not a corner lot and was, therefore, not entitled to a second sign. That motion passed 3-2. While several council members said they would approve a menu board at 23 square feet, the same as the nearby Wendy’s restaurant, the 24-square-foot sign was re jected 4-1.

As for Southern Lawn Equip ment, the company requested site plan approval for a new building on the currently vacant 6.5-acre site known as Valencia Village, located on the north side of South ern Blvd. between D Road and E Road.The site was approved for 28,400 square feet of commercial use across three buildings back in 2015. The current site plan would allow 28,000 square feet in two

of $6,405,600. The increase is made possible by a 69 percent increase ($1,371,928) in property tax revenues, and the final year of a budget support stipend from Minto, the community’s largest developer and landowner.

For 2023, Minto will put in up to $762,000. While down from the $930,000 in the current fiscal year, Minto’s contribution still represents 11 percent of the up coming budget.

City Manager Kenneth Cassel,

buildings: a 22,800-square-foot building for warehouse and repair services, and a 5,200-square-foot retail store.

Town staff, as well as the Plan ning & Zoning Board, supported the proposed site plan.

James Hackett with H&L Con sultants spoke on behalf of the applicant. He noted that Southern Lawn Equipment is an existing business located further east on Southern Blvd. near Sansbury’s Way that is moving west to Loxa hatchee Groves.

The company has had discus sions with nearby neighbors and included a large landscape buffer for the neighbors to the north. A hedge has already been planted, Hackett said. An easement for a multi-purpose trail is included.

Shorr asked if the trail be put on a raised berm at the back of the property. Eric Garoutte, one of the owners, said that would eliminate the hedge for the neighbors on the north

Theend.site does not have direct access off Southern, and visitors to the site will enter and exit on Loxahatchee Avenue, via Southern Blvd. The buildings themselves will be nearly 200 feet off South ern Blvd.

Shorr wanted clarifications to the exit locations. He feels people will try to exit to Orange Avenue,

whose job it is to organize and propose a budget for the council’s consideration, said he was not sur prised by any of the requests from council members but did underes timate the degree of involvement that these very new leaders plan to undertake at the county and state level. That required some increase in funding for travel to conferences, legislative events and similar functions.

O’Connor, who was then serv ing on the council as vice mayor,

rather than back to Loxahatchee Avenue.“Our studies show that most of our traffic will come and go from Southern via Loxahatchee Avenue,” Hackett said.

Vice Mayor Laura Danowski was impressed by the presentation.

“I love everything that you’ve presented,” she said. “You clearly get who we are and what we are. I love the fact that you visited and talked to all the residents along Tangerine.”Sheasked if there is anything that can be done to keep Loxa hatchee Avenue from becoming a cut-through, now that it will be partially paved. A right-turn-only sign was suggested.

Shorr requested several changes to the site plan to help with drain age issues in the area.

“We need to protect those resi dents,” he said. “It may cost you a little bit, but I feel it is something you should consider. I’m not trying to slow down this project. I’m just trying to get everything we can for theHackettresidents.”noted that because of a large easement on the property, the owners are very limited about what can be done there.

Maniglia made a motion to approve the site plan as present ed, which passed 4-1 with Shorr dissenting.

is the only remaining elected official of the five in office in November 2021.

“I’m happy to see that [new council members] want to be more involved at the county and state level,” said Cassel, who has been city manager since West lake’s inception in 2016. “[Mayor O’Connor] definitely has had a positive impact, but the others also want to be involved. This is an extremely cohesive, positive thinking-group of people.”

Ed Board FocusRPBHSOn

continued from page 3 the Nov. 8 ballot but is not a new tax. For more information, visit www.strongschoolspbc.com.•JavierRivaspresented his first report to the committee, which included a snapshot of the recent leadership training camp he attended.

“It’s really a great opportunity for me to be able to sit on a board and experience this. I’m really appreciative of this,” Rivas said.

“[The camp] was a good way of finding new leadership, and we all had to realize that we couldn’t all be leaders. We had to learn from

Cassel had proposed keeping the millage rate at 5.125, where it had been since 2016.

But at the last minute, during the city’s first budget hearing on Sept. 6, Minto stepped up and said it would backfill any short fall created by the small millage reduction.

Monday’s hearing lasted just eight minutes. There were no public comments.

The new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

each other. We couldn’t just hold on to the spotlight. If you know anyone who is interested in leader ship, I really recommend they look into the leadership training camp.”

Rivas also weighed in with his approval on the advanced course options mentioned earlier in the meeting.

“I’m a student who struggled in school a lot. I have an IEP. I have personal accommodations, and seeing those AICE classes was very frightening. It’s showing kids who have disabilities, who don’t have the best learning, that you can do it no matter what,” he said.

• The board’s next meeting is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 3 and will include a presentation by Cypress Trails Elementary School Principal Bruce Saulter.

For The Record

An Sept. caused.

The article “ITID Board OKs $16.5 Million Budget for Upcoming Year” published Sept. 9 said that a second budget hearing would be held Sept. 21. Special districts do not require two budget hearings, and the Sept. 9 vote was the final vote on the budget. The Town-Crier regrets whatever confusion this might have caused.

Elizabeth Accomando

Jerrad Jablonski

Patricia Farrell

Joni Martin Michael Johnson John Rivera

18. A bubble seemed to cover the event dedicated to peace and unity, as the rain held off through

Wellington Mayor Anne Gerwig’s reading of the peace proclamation; songs by the Palm Beach Central High School Traditions Choir; the presentation of awards to students who participated in poster, poetry and essay contests; and the honoring of PBSO Deputy Jennifer Baker with the club’s annual Community Peace Award. PHOTOS BY CALLIE SHARKEY/TOWN-CRIER

Dr. Wesley Boughner releases peace doves to end the event.

The PBCHS Traditions Choir, directed by Scott Houchin, sings “We are the World.”

Alexandra Payne with teacher Lisa Shields of Wellington Landings and the Rotary’s Maria Cruz.

Wellington High School student Alexandra Wade and her mother with Tom Carreras.

Polo Park’s Laksshita Vishnuvardhan with teacher Kim Kochersperger and Maria Cruz.

Emily Cornman of Palm Beach Central and her mother with Tom Carreras.

Alana Bernstein from Emerald Cove with Maria Cruz.

Caroline Pena presents an award to Lara DeSouza and teacher Lynca Diaz of New Horizons Elementary.

Ava Fraser of Equestrian Trails Elementary with program coordinator Don Gross.

Elbridge Gale Elementary’s Victoria Suarez receives her award from Nikki Stinson.

Don Gross presents an award to Navah Mobasher and teacher Lisa Gifford from Binks Forest Elementary.

Florence Phillips and teacher Erica Bordonaro from Wellington Elementary with Nikki Stinson.

Sharon Salley of Panther Run Elementary was the overall poster contest winner, shown with Principal Edilia De La Vega and David Salley. Logan Taylor receives the SMART Award from Jay Broder.

Deputy Jennifer Baker received the Community Peace Award from Randy Pfeiffer.

Deputy Dwayne Brown, who received the Community Peace Award in 2019, with this year’s honoree, Deputy Jennifer Baker.

Carly Cantor sings the national anthem.

Literacy Coalition Seeks Volunteer Tutors For Local Students

By Callie Sharkey Town-Crier Staff Report

For the first time since the tu toring program Building Better Readers began nine years ago, the Literacy Coalition is finally get ting tutors into schools here in the westernLoxahatcheecommunities.Groves Elemen tary School and New Horizons Elementary School have both joined the program for the 2022-23 school year. This is great news for students in younger grades who find themselves behind in reading due to the pandemic.

“It’s an intensive tutor program to help students in first through third grades improve their reading comprehension,” Building Better Readers Manager Jeanne Heavilin explained. “We place volunteers either in the classrooms during the student’s reading time or after school for in-person tutoring. We have partnered with the district, and they have designed a tutoring model that will supplement class room instruction.”

In order to get schools into the program, first the Literacy Coalition needs to find volunteers interested and willing to go into the schools to work with kids.

“We can only go to as many schools as we have volunteers,” said Megan Bob, director of edu

RPB Council

DredgingCanal

continued from page 1 rial will also remove nutrients and reduce the vegetation while improving oxygen levels for fish and other wildlife. Less aquatic vegetation will save money for the village in the future, he said.

Another portion of the project will dig a dry detention pond within the easement adjacent to La Mancha Avenue just south of Galicia Street.

This is similar to a project done in the past, where the excavated material will be left in the FPL easement area for no more than 14 days to dry out before removal. The detention pond will create a three-acre floodplain in the basin.

In total, 1.9 miles of canals will be

Thecleaned.council expressed concerns about the smell and length of time

Awards Top Cop And Top Firefighter

continued from page 1 residents of Wellington are safer when he is around.

“You truly are excellence per sonified for the PBSO. You are what this award is supposed to do,” McGovern said.

When it was time to introduce Armstrong, PBCFR District Chief Phillip Olavarria noted Arm strong’s work on the Peer Support Team.

“He is the first one to be con tacted when one of our own is having a crisis or just needs to talk to someone who understands,” Olavarria said. “First responders see many horrific things through out their careers, and it is crucial that we talk about it with someone who can understand what we are going through.”

TAP Seeks

Playwrights,LocalActors&Directors

On Friday, Nov. 4, from 6 to 9 p.m., Theatre Arts Productions (TAP) will present another produc tion of TAPShorts, an evening of short plays at the Wellington Com munity Center’s Lakeside Market.

TAP is looking for local play wrights to submit their short play scripts of 10 minutes or less. Com edies and youth-oriented plays are encouraged.Localperformers and anyone who is interested should submit their résumé and will be contacted for auditions/interviews. Submit items to tapstars.info@gmail.com.

Fright Nights To Celebrate 20 Years Of Fear

Fright Nights, the area’s larg est haunted house event, will celebrate 20 years of fear starting in ForOctober.the fourth time, Fright Nights has been named as a “Top Haunted Attraction” by the Haunt ed Attraction Association (HAA), the official association in the haunt industry. To be designated, attrac tions across the country must be recognized as a member of HAA while also satisfying a list of 10

cation and family literacy for the Literacy Coalition. “We have a large volunteer base in Boca Ra ton, so we added a school. We have a large base up north, so we added two schools. We’ve never had a school in Wellington, Royal Palm Beach or Loxahatchee, so we are excited that we are finally getting to those areas for the first time.”

In Palm Beach County, 46 per cent of third-grade students are reading below grade level. This is a serious issue because falling behind early in their education puts them on a downward spiral as they continue in school. Originally, the program was designed for Title 1 schools, but now all schools have struggling“Buildingstudents.Better Readers was started in response to the Cam paign for Grade Level Reading, which stresses the importance of third graders being at grade level at the end of third grade. Students learn to read in kindergar ten through third grade, and they read to learn after third grade, so it’s critical that we get them up to grade level by the end of third,” Heavilin said. “Right now, many are pretty far behind. Last year, 54 percent of the second graders we tutored were reading at a kinder garten level. The second graders last year, for some of them, that

the project would take. Marsh es timated the total project will take up to nine months. In addition, signage will be placed on site to al low residents to see updates on the project and contact staff if needed.

The project and its bid award were approved unanimously.

In other business: • The council held its final bud get public hearing on the $85.6 million budget for the new fiscal year. The budget will be funded by a property tax rate of 1.92 mills, which is unchanged from the current year, but is above the rollback

“We’llrate.open the public hearing with the announcement that the proposed operating millage rate necessary to fund the budget is 12.14 percent above the rolled back millage rate of 1.716 mills.

The proposed operating millage rate is 1.92 for the general fund,” Mayor Fred Pinto said. After clarifying that no changes to the budget had occurred since

Battalion Chief Ken Wooldridge described Armstrong as someone with honesty, integrity and humil ity.“I think day in, day out, he’s one of the hardest working cap tains I have in Battalion 2,” said Wooldridge, who also described Armstrong as “a man of few words.”AsArmstrong received his award, he thanked the council and PBCFR.“Theonly thing I would need to say is, I don’t need a name, and I don’t need a face, because Sta tion 25 over here is always here for you,” Armstrong said. “It’s the guys there that this would go to. That whole station comes out every day and does their work for you guys… I appreciate this and accept this on their behalf.”

Councilman Michael Napo leone pointed out to Armstrong that it shows great character to give credit to the team, but this award goes to “Sometimes,him. everyone’s got

criteria related to the mission of HAA: to protect customers, promote haunted attractions and educate industry experts.

Organizers of Fright Nights are inviting the public to come and celebrate its 20th anniver sary, which marks an era of terror! For two decades, Fright Nights has been the scariest haunted event in South Florida, featuring three haunts filled with creepy characters, scare zones, carnival rides, live entertainment and food. This year’s frights include three haunted houses: Country Bill’s Meat, Dead of Winter and Sirens’ Revenge, each with their own maze of scares.

Fright Nights opens with a “be hind the scenes” look on Thursday, Oct. 6 (reservations required; lim ited attendance). Opening night is Friday, Oct. 7, and will continue to be held on Oct. 7-8, 13-15, 20-22, 27 and 29. Gates open at 6 p.m.

The haunted houses will open at 7 p.m. Fright Nights will be closed on Oct. 28 due to the sold-out Stevie Nicks concert at the nearby iThinkFrightAmphitheatre.Nightswill be at the South Florida Fairgrounds, located at 9067 Southern Blvd. Advance discount general admission is $35 per person. After Oct. 6, the gate ticket is $40. Each ticket includes admission and 30 fright tickets. Each haunt requires 10 tickets. Tickets also may be used on carni val rides (two to five tickets each). Parking is $10 per car. Behind the

was their first year that they were physically in the classroom, so they not only had to catch up on reading, but on how to act in the classroom.”Whatmatters most is that the program continues to show gains for participating students.

“The program goal overall is that of the students we work with will be at least 50 percent closer to reading on grade level by the end of the school year,” Bob said. “We have met that goal every year, except during the pandemic, when we ended in March, and we didn’t have reading assessments. We had no data. This past year, we had 73 percent of our students meet that goal, and 20 percent of the students actually ended the year on grade level.”The Literacy Coalition recruits, trains, places and supports volun teers in schools and also conducts tutoring afterschool at their site in Boynton Beach. Volunteer tutors commit to 60 or 90 minutes in a school classroom twice a week, or one hour once a week either afterschool at the coalition office in person, or virtually for students who cannot come to Boynton Beach. The program is free to students.“Volunteers work with the same students for the entire school year

the last hearing, the council unani mously approved the budget. The new fiscal year starts Oct. 1

• During his report, Village Manager Ray Liggins requested a consensus regarding the annexa tion of an enclave called Sunset Isles, a residential community on Fox Trail Road South that is not part of the Village of Royal Palm Beach, but it is completely sur rounded by the village. Currently, the condo residents in that area are receiving some services from the village, but not the discounts for special programs.

“They have a sheriff’s contract, and they are not receiving their share of services that are right here right now, which does cause a problem for them, because another district has to respond,” Liggins said. “Or we respond inadvertent ly, as we have done in years past. It’s confusion. I don’t think delay of emergency and public services is a good thing.”

He explained that there are three

to be singled out. Tonight is your night to be singled out,” Napo leone said. “We appreciate every thing you do. You’re deserving of thisArmstrongaward.” is also a PBCFR

NEWSNEWSBRIEFS

scenes tour tickets are $30 per person. Buy tickets online at www. southfloridafair.com/22fn-advtix.

RIP tickets, which enable visi tors to go to the front of the line, a private cash bar, lounge and seat ing, are $10 on Thursdays and $15 on Fridays and Saturdays.

For more information, visit www.myfrightnights.com.

PBC And Equal JusticeEssayAnnounceInitiativeContest

The Palm Beach County Com munity Remembrance Project, in partnership with the Equal Justice Initiative, recently announced a scholarship contest open to stu dents in grades nine to 12 attending a public high school in Palm Beach County. At least $5,000 in scholar ships will be awarded.

Students are asked to examine the history of a topic of racial injustice and to discuss its legacy today. Essays should explain the chosen topic using a specific his torical event or events, explore how the injustice persists and imagine solutions for a future free from racial injustice. Students are encouraged to reflect on how the topic impacts their own lives and communities.Theessay contest officially opened on Sept. 15 and closes on Dec. 9. The Palm Beach County

The Literacy Coalition’s Building Better Readers program pairs volunteers with struggling readers. PHOTO COURTESY THE LITERACY COALITION OF PALM BEACH COUNTY visit www.literacypbc.org and check out the “How Can I Help” section. To learn more about the program, or for schools interested in signing up, contact Heavilin at jheavilin@literacypbc.org or call (561) 767-3366.

because relationship building is important in building their read ing skills,” Heavilin said. “Each student in the program receives 10 books throughout the school year to keep and establish their own personal library at home.”

types of annexations. Involuntary annexations are voted on by the municipality and the residents outside of the municipality, with the majority ruling. Voluntary an nexation requires all the owners of a property to voluntarily agree and sign annexation documents. The final type is by interlocal agreement. Since the property is surrounded by the village on all four sides, the Florida Legislature has provided the option of the mu nicipality and the county agreeing on the property’s annexation.

While Councilwoman Selena Samios was not pleased with the idea of the residents being annexed without having a say, Liggins as sured the council this was only the beginning of the process and there would ultimately be a council vote on the “Mostmatter.ofthose residents prob ably think they are in the village anyway,” Liggins said. “It’ll get rid of the confusion for everybody.”

• The council approved the

The next training session for tutors will take place on Thursday, Sept. 29, at the Literacy Coalition office, located at 3651 Quantum Blvd. in Boynton Beach, and in Belle Glade on Friday, Oct. 14. To register for either training,

repurposing of property located at 1001 N. State Road 7 into a Dirty Dogs Car Wash from its current use a long-vacant restaurant lo cation. The site will have heavy landscaping to buffer noise, and the owners have invested in silenc ing technology to further reduce disruption. The design includes triple lanes to avoid stacking along the entrance at SR 7.

When asked if they had con ducted a market analysis in the area, attorney Matthew Scott was prepared. “Yes, there is another car wash a mile or so south. This cor ridor is experiencing rapid growth, and there’s clearly a demand for a higher end of this,” Scott said. “There’s, of course, car washes around town that are not meeting the more premium side of the market. My client is ready to go, looking to get under construction as soon as possible. They are hop ing to open next year.”

The request was approved 5-0.

• On another car wash matter,

the El Motor Car Wash, located at 135 S. State Road 7, sent repre sentative Brian Cheguis to discuss upgrades to the existing facility. Improvements range from fresh paint to the installation of vacuum and pay stations. Since the space is limited and already developed, the request included removal of a few trees.

“It’s internal has no impact off site. It helps with the modified operation of this existing car wash. What they’re doing is retooling the inside of the site to accommodate vacuum extensions so you can self-vacuum,” Cheguis explained.

“This car wash is an older car wash. It was a full-service car wash. We are now in the 2020s, after the pandemic. The market has changed where people may not want service personnel inside their cars, so the option of selfvacuuming is critical.”

All requests associated with the upgrades were approved unani mously.

chaplain, in addition to his work on peer “Whencounseling.theresidents have a crisis, we go to fire-rescue and ask them to help us. So, it means a lot that when your colleagues have a

Community Remembrance Proj ect will be hosting six workshops throughout the county to assist students with their essays.

“This contest provides an ex cellent opportunity for students to examine history and how it shapes our present day,” said Brian Boysaw, chair of the Community Remembrance Project.

Full details on the essay contest and workshops can be found eji-palmbeach-essaycontest.https://sites.google.com/eji.org/at

DeweyCon 2022 At Main Library

The Palm Beach County Li brary System will host its third fan-based convention, DeweyCon, on Saturday, Sept. 24 at the Main Library from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lovers of pop culture, television, film and animation can attend this free event, which includes cosplay, contests, gaming, giveaways, food trucks and Sponsorsmore.include: Cosmic Times, Read It Write It Book Festival, FlamingoCon, Hoopla Digital, Macmillan Author Jess Redman, Tate’s Comics + Toys + More, RightStufAnime, Scholastic Graphix and Seven Seas Entertain ment.Presenters include: Cosmic Times, Read It Write It Book Festival, FlamingoCon, Hoopla Digital, Everglades Squad-501st Legion, Macmillan Author Jess

crisis, they come to you and ask for you to help them,” Drahos said.

Mayor Anne Gerwig thanked both Armstrong and Harper, stress ing that everyone works together as a team.

Redman, the Cox Science Center & Aquarium and Face Art by Daisy.The Main Library is located at 3650 Summit Blvd. in West Palm Beach. For more info., visit pbclibrary.org/deweycon-2022.www.

“We always want to have your back,” she said. “Along with an open line of communication, so that we can always do what’s best for our residents by doing what’s best for you.”

years, “If every physician in Palm Beach County was willing to do their small part and join our effort, together we could easily serve the needs of the uninsured and under insured in our community.”

SocietyMedicalToHonor79VolunteerPhysicians

PBC

Project Access, the Palm Beach County Medical Society Services nonprofit program that matches uninsured and underinsured pa tients with specialty doctors who care, will honor 79 volunteer physicians at an award ceremony on Saturday, Sept. 24 at the West Palm Beach Marriott beginning at 8:45

Sincea.m.2017, volunteer physi cians have donated more than $2.5 million of care through nearly 4,000 patient appointments, and for the past 15 years, Project Ac cess has provided more than $14.4 million in healthcare services in Palm Beach County, including screenings, direct care and assis tance in finding critical community resources.Nomatter how much time a physician chooses to donate, the impact is enormous. According to Dr. Maureen Whelihan, a gy necologist who has been treating patients as a volunteer for many

“At Project Access, we are eternally grateful to the volunteer physicians who donate their time and talent to ensure that patients receive the critical healthcare they need,” said Karen Harwood, director of community programs for PBCMSS. “Recognizing the important work they are doing to make Palm Beach County healthier is a small token of our appreciation.”Dr.Andrew Larson, chair of Project Access and a volunteer surgeon, has seen first-hand how this community effort helps keep patients healthy and out of the emergency room. Speaking about a patient he treated, Larson said, “This man never burdened the system with additional emergency room visits and received diabetes education and monitoring through the resident clinic in an ongoing fashion. Without the guidance of Project Access staff, it is unlikely he would have discovered this resource on his own, and it is very likely he would have ended up with several emergency room bills.”For more information about the award ceremony or how to become a part of Project Access, contact Harwood at karenh@pbcms.org or visit www.projectaccesspbc.org.

Councilman John McGovern, Councilwoman Tanya Siskind, Mayor Anne Gerwig, Councilman Michael Napoleone and Vice Mayor Michael Drahos with PBSO Capt. Rolando Silva and Lt. Eli Shaivitz, surrounding Top Cop honoree Deputy Harold Harper.

Councilwoman Tanya Siskind, Mayor Anne Gerwig, Vice Mayor Michael Drahos, Councilman Michael Napoleone and Council man John McGovern with PBCFR District Chief Phillip Olavarria and Battalion Chief Ken Wooldridge, surrounding Top Firefighter honoree Capt. Shane Armstrong, joined by his daughters Blythe and Cassadie, and his wife April. PHOTOS BY JULIE UNGER/TOWN-CRIER

Inaugural Western Ride Benefiting

The Western Ride benefiting Donnah’s Fund at Women in Distress will hold its inaugural ride on Sunday, Oct. 9 at 7 a.m. in Wellington.Eventorganizer Stephen A. Levin wanted to use his passion for cycling to bring good from his family’s tragedy.

On Aug. 29, 1995, Donnah, Levin’s sister-in-law, was brutally murdered by her husband, Mark. Most people who knew Donnah and Mark thought they were the perfect couple. Donnah’s Fund was established to empower do mestic violence victims to live safely and

education and advocacy,” said Jeff Metcalf, chief development officer for Women in Distress.

“Donnah’s family are some of the most inspirational people I have ever met. They have turned grief and heartbreak into consistent action and investment to ensure the safety of Donationsothers.”madeto Donnah’s Fund and Women in Distress help provide support for housing pay ments and deposits, furnishings and other related items needed to help victims of domestic violence establish safe households for themselves and their children.

“Donnah’s family keeps her memory alive by helping families start their new violence-free lives,” Metcalf said.

Levin developed a passion for cycling and has participated in and

organized many events.

“I have met incredible people cycling,” he said. “When I ap proached the Village of Welling ton to co-sponsor the event, they embraced the idea.”

The Western Ride was created for people of all fitness levels to experience cycling and increase awareness of domestic violence.

The ride will offer 15, 30 and 60-mile routes, pre-ride and postride food, and other amenities and activities.“Thevillage is excited to host the largest organized cycling event in western Palm Beach County, and we are pleased to bring more athletic tourism to Wellington,” Village Manager Jim Barnes said.

An array of corporate sponsors will help defray the cost of oper ating the event and ensure the goal

Donnah’s Fund Oct. 9 In Wellington

of 100 percent of participant funds going to help families through Donnah’s“SponsorshipFund. support for the

Western Ride is favorable expo sure for the community and an economic benefit to Wellington businesses,” Barnes noted.

Contact stephenalevin@ me.com for more information, or visit www.western-ride.com to register, volunteer or donate.

Wellington To Host Free Public Safety Night

Wellington invites the commu nity to attend a free Public Safety Night being offered in conjunc tion with the popular Wellington Food Truck & Music Series at Village Park (11700 Pierson Road) on Saturday, Oct. 8. Get to know your local first responders while enjoying live music, food trucks, vendors and more.The Public Safety Night event will run from 6 to 9 p.m. and provides an opportunity for at tendees to interact with represen

tatives from Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue (PBCFR) and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Of fice (PBSO), including the PBSO mounted and marine units.

Guests may also visit a variety of vendors offering information and resources on mental, physical and behavioral health. Families and children will also enjoy touch-a-truck with PBCFR and PBSO vehicles, along with spe cial character meet and greets. Characters will be on site between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m.

The Food Truck & Music Series event features live music by the Hall & Oates tribute band H2O, performing on stage at 7:30 p.m.

Approximately 15 food trucks will be in attendance from 6 to 10 p.m. Guests are invited to bring their own blankets and chairs for seating.Dogs and pets are not allowed in Village Park, with the excep tion of service animals.

For more information visit www.wellingtonfl.gov/events.

The Village of Royal Palm Beach currently has a vacancy for one seat on the Education Advisory Board. The Education Advisory Board meets on the second Monday of the month eight months out of the year, with one special meeting in April of each year for scholarship interviews. All meetings are held in the Village Meeting Hall. Board Members shall meet the following qualifications at the time of their appointment and throughout the course of their service: they must be a Village resident; have a background in education and experience in the field of education; be a member of a parent teacher organization, parent teacher association, school advisory council or other similar organization associated with or sponsored by the school district or a public or charter school located within the Village; or be a parent/legal guardian of a child currently enrolled in a Village public or charter school. Those ineligible to serve on the Board are: employees of the Palm Beach County School District; employees of an organization funded by the School District (e.g. charter school employee); or employees of a charter management organization or charter education management organization. If you would like to volunteer your service and expertise on this local government Board, go to the Village’s website at COMMISSION/BOARD APPLICATION. Return the completed application to the Village Clerk’s office no later than 5:00 p.m. on October 12, 2022 for Council consideration at its October 20, 2022 meeting.

If further information is desired, please call the Village Clerk at (561) 7905102.

On Sunday, Sept. 11, the Village of Wellington held a remembrance ceremony at the Wellington Patriot Memorial for those who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001. Rabbi Andrew Rosenkranz offered a prayer before the scouts led the Pledge of Allegiance. Alexander Matos sang the national anthem. The keynote speaker was Arnie Dansky, a former firefighter chief and president of FOB Lodge NY 3100. He shared his recollections of 9/11 with the gathered crowd. After a moment of silence, Councilman John McGovern, County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay and Vice Mayor Michael Drahos placed a wreath at the World Trade Center fragment. Later, Palm Beach Central High School’s chorus performed “America the Beautiful.” PHOTOS BY ERIN DAVISSONN/TOWN-CRIER

Rabbi Andrew Rosenkranz leads attendees in prayer.

CountyMelissaCommissionerMcKinlayatthepodium.

Arnie Dansky, a retired firefighter chief and president of FOP Lodge NY 3100, shares his 9/11 recollections. Alexander Matos sang the national anthem.

Councilman John McGovern, County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay and Vice Mayor Michael Drahos place a wreath at the Wellington Patriot Memorial.

Matthew Forte and Joe Budd Maniscalco.Boy Scouts took part in the memorial service.

The chorus from Palm Beach Central High School performs.

Retired Detective Chris Rowan, Former Chief Michael Rizzo and Retired Detective Michael Rowan.

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Jonathan

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KELLER WILLIAMS HOSTS CHARITY GOLF OUTING AT WELLINGTON

Wellington To Host Flood Control Workshop Sept. 27 Via Zoom

The Village of Wellington in vites the public to attend a work shop on the Community’s Role in Flood Control on Tuesday, Sept. 27 beginning at 10 a.m. via Zoom Webinar.Theworkshop is designed for residents, property managers and community board members who are responsible for the operation and maintenance of their drainage systems. Attendees will gain an understanding of the functions of storm water management and the role that residential communities play in flood control.

They will learn about and be able to identify the components

of the drainage system, as well as understand basic maintenance techniques and methods used to prevent localized flooding. At tendees will also learn about the Click2Enter program for gated communities.Thiseventis free and open to the public. Register on Zoom today for the “Village of Wellington’s Flood Prevention Seminar” at https:// wellingtonfl.zoom.us/webinar/

Wellington Garden Club Meeting To Feature Award-Winning Filmmaker Kent Anderson

The Wellington Garden Club will meet on Monday, Oct. 3 at 9:30 a.m. at the Wellington Com munity Center, located at 12150 W. Forest Hill Blvd. The meeting will feature a presentation by Kent Anderson, an award-winning film maker, pilot and Eagle Scout, who has traveled the globe creating content that focuses on the world’s most environmentally sensitive areas. His presentation will illus trate the importance of preserving Florida’s natural springs that are crucial to Florida’s water supply, ecology and Andersoninhabitants.hasworked with numerous nonprofits and conser vation efforts, both in Florida and abroad. He is a founding member of Project Paradise (www.paradise.

ngo), a group of native Floridians who are passionate about protect ing Florida’s environment and telling Florida’s stories through the arts. The goal of Project Paradise is to advocate for conservation efforts through impactful and inspired sto rytelling, as evidenced by its newly released documentary film, The Water State that will be screened at the Themeeting.community is invited to join club members for coffee and a plant raffle beginning at 9:30 a.m., followed by the presentation at 10 a.m. Visitors are asked to check in at the guest table. To re serve a spot, contact Maria Wolfe at Thetcacad_registrar@yahoo.com.WellingtonGardenClubis a nonprofit organization dedicated

to educating its members and the public in the fields of gardening, horticulture, floral design, land scape design, conservation of nat

ural resources, civic beautification and youth education.

For more information, www.wellingtongardenclub.org.visit

The Village of Royal Palm Beach currently has a vacancy on the Recreation Advisory Board which meets on the fourth Monday of the month. All meetings are held in the Village Meeting Hall. If you are a resident of Royal Palm Beach and would like to volunteer your service and expertise on this local government Board, go to the Village’s website at COMMISSION/BOARD APPLICATION. Return the completed application to the Village Clerk’s office no later than November 9, 2022 for Council consideration at its November 17th desired, please call the Village Clerk at

Keller Williams Wellington held its third annual KW Charity Golf Tournament to benefit Forgotten Soldiers Outreach and the Wounded Veterans Relief Fund on Thursday, Sept. 15 at the Wellington National Golf Club. While rain cut the tournament short, it didn’t dampen the spirits of the many people who showed up to support the two beneficiary groups. PHOTOS BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER

The Keller Williams Wellington event committee.

Aaron Augustus, Christina Olivarez with Daisy, Lynelle Zelnar, Devin Shaw and Max Nelson of Forgotten Soldiers Outreach.

Raffle winner Michael Menchise, Adrienne Carruthers, raffle winner Luke Sementino and Jenn Johnson.

Raffle winner Ricky Smith with Adrienne Carruthers. Mark Wahl and Ricky Smith.

Wellington National’s General Manager Kyle D’Andrea, Head Golf Pro Lance McAllister, owner Doug Marty, teaching pro David Alpeter and Assistant Golf Pro Ezra Joyner.

Putting contest first-place winner Joe McGuire, Adrienne Carruthers, Jenn Johnson, Michael Menchise, Nico Maruri and putting contest second-place winner Devin Shaw.

Charles Chase, Michael Turkee, Patrick Miller and Phillip Noblin of the Wounded Veterans Relief Fund.

Geno Pulido, Chris Adair, Brent Scherers, Nico Maruri, Heather Suarez and Anthony LoMonaco.

Kent Andeson (left) with the Project Paradise film crew.

Lox Groves Council Finalizes Budget For The Upcoming Year

By Joshua Manning Town-Crier Staff Report

The Loxahatchee Groves Town Council gave final approval Tues day, Sept. 20 to its budget for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. Including transfers, fund bal ances and reserves, the town’s total budget for the new fiscal year comes in at $8.9 million, of which $5.9 million is in the general operating budget.

Town Manager Francine Ra maglia presented the final budget to the council, which was created following a number of workshop sessions and discussions at previ ous meetings. Assisting the town in its budgeting this year is sup port from the federal government through the American Rescue Plan Act

“Tonight(ARPA).is the second public hearing for the fiscal year 2023 budget,” Ramaglia said. “Our total operating budget is about $5.9 million, excluding transfers and capital. Our total capital bud get this year is funded primarily by ARPA funds of $1.5 million. The total capital budget is $2.178 million.”Assessments for solid waste collection ($400 per unit) and roads/drainage ($200 per unit) were adopted at the first public hearing on Thursday, Sept. 8. The solid waste fee is a $50 reduction from the previous year.

“That is the lowest rate that we have had in a least the last five years,” Ramaglia said. “That rate was lowered despite rising fuel costs.”The property tax rate is 3.00 mills, which is unchanged over the past five years. However, that is 12.38 percent above the rollback rate, which is the rate at which the town would take in the same amount of money as the previous year.This means that due to rising property values, residents may see a small increase in real dollars on their tax bill, even though the rate is unchanged.Propertytax revenues, projected to be $1.3 million, only fund a small portion of the town’s budget. That figure is up $156,833 from the previous year.

“This year’s budget continues the road rock and road paving plans, and additionally continues the significant drainage improve ments that we started this year,” Ramaglia said.

The budget adds one employee in public works and decreases two employees at town hall. Meanwhile, accounting func tions have been outsourced to a contractor.Motions to approve the final millage rate and budget were ap proved 4-0 with Councilwoman Phillis Maniglia absent.

Bellissimo

Wellington3.0Pitch

continued from page 1 more traffic and congestion and, in the eyes of doubters, detract from what makes Wellington special.

Equestrian Preserve Committee Member Ben Myers asked what Bellissimo would say to people who are accustomed to the rustic atmosphere in the village’s eques trian areas, with its dusty trails and use of temporary tent stalls when needed.“Some horsemen just like Wel lington the way it is,” Myers said, adding that the sentiment he sometimes hears is, “We don’t wantMyersOcala.”said he brought it up, “because I am running into some of Bellissimothat.” said that he under stands those concerns, but some change is inevitable.

“We want to be respectful to the feel of this place, but, in general, there needs to be some evolution,” heAsaid.hotel, retail shops and other amenities, and more housing close to equestrian facilities, can help more people get and stay engaged, he said. Sponsors want to bring clients, but often must find accom modations for them in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach and other locations, and then transport them to Wellington, Bellissimo said.

Even some of the smaller hous ing units proposed might cost $1 million or more, with many in the $5 million range, he said, but these

still represent alternatives to buy ing a full-fledged farm. The idea is to reach a group of buyers who are not necessarily competitive riders themselves, but are relocating after the pandemic or otherwise attract ed to the equestrian atmosphere. Such buyers might want access to stables provided in the proposals, but primarily for recreation and trail riding.

In addition, he said, the status quo already produces traffic and congestion woes during events, as horses, trailers and people cram constricted arteries such as Pierson Road and South Shore Blvd. He is pitching ideas such as a bridge over Pierson that would accom modate people walking, jogging or driving golf carts to help relieve automobile traffic.

Bellissimo, a Boston native with a background in software and tech nology businesses, said he began coming to Wellington in 2000 with his four children and “fell in love with the place,” becoming a fulltime resident in 2004.

In 2006, Bellissimo, his thenwife Katherine and other investors known as Wellington Equestrian Partners, bought the equestri an showgrounds and 200 acres around it for about $135 million. His team began to run the Winter EquestrianWellingtonFestival.Equestrian Partners has said it controls more than 550 acres in the village, even after sell ing more than 300 acres over the last year to Denmark-based Global Equestrian Group and the United States Polo MemberEquestrianAssociation.PreserveCommitteeHaakonGangnesasked

“Let’s bring in a lot of new people and give them a great experience,” Mark Bellissimo said. “I want this to be a place that’s unbelievably special not only for equestrians but non-equestrians.”

what would happen to one pro posed residential area called “the Island” if density requirements were not relaxed from the current minimum lot size of two acres.

“The project wouldn’t work,” Bellissimo said. “At that point in time, you couldn’t create the community we’re trying to create. We’d have to sort of re-do the entireGangnesplan.” asked if financial viability would be far off or kind of “We’reclose. talking 70 units versus 100 and something,” Bellissimo said. “If there was no amenity package, and we weren’t trying to create a world-class lifestyle destination, you’d go back to other options — just sell it off as farm land, not focus on the big vision, just focus on status quo.”

Trying to keep things the way they are risks losing ground to other rising equestrian centers, he argued. Investments close to $1 billion including a 248-room resort around Ocala represent what Wellington is up against.

“We’re going to lose two, three, four, five, six, seven percent to Ocala,” he said, referring to resi dents who participate in equestrian events. “That’s just the way it works. We need to bring in as many new families as we can.”

At the Wellington International showgrounds, Global Equestrian Group plans to build “permanent barns, permanent vendor areas and a state-of-the-art stadium,” company officials said in a state ment shared at Bellissimo’s pre sentation.“Ithink it’s important we all work together, and that we are, and will stay, as No. 1 in the world,” said Andreas Helgstrand, CEO of Global Equestrian Group, in a taped message.

A proposed commercial center can help create the “downtown” that the village has never really had, Bellissimo said. The point is to create a public center acces sible to all Wellington residents, he explained, not just the insular domain of a few.

“We could sell off that market place and not connect it, and we won’t have a downtown ever in Wellington, because these are the last pieces of land in Wellington,” Bellissimo said.

His goal is to ensure that Wel lington reigns as the equestrian capital of the world for the next 50 years.

“I would hate to just sell off the pieces after reassembling them with great pain over the years and waiting for this moment,” Bellis simo said.

ContestedElections

continued from page 1 children’s books and was CEO of the Police Athletic League. He has been involved in a number of other nonprofits.

“Outside of being a legislator, I have made a tremendous amount of impact on the community,” he noted. “Through the impact I’ve made in the community, I wanted to expand that impact in the state legislature. I’ve only been elected for six months, but I’ve already brought $1 million down to serve thisMucharea.”of that money was to make sure Riviera Beach has cleanEdmondswater. believes that he is the best person to continue represent ing District 88, which has shifted through redistricting to represent more suburban areas, including parts of Royal Palm Beach.

“I am the most experienced person,” he said. “I have served in this District 88 for coming up on a decade. I have not only been a great legislator, but I have already been a great service leader in the community.”Hisgoalsfor the next two years in Tallahassee will focus on pro grams to help all Floridians.

“When I win this election, my full term will be focused on fully funding education, providing affording housing and homeown ership, and providing for our most basic needs, like clean water,” Edmonds said.

Visit www.jervonteedmonds. com to learn Republicanmore.challenger

Roz Stevens is a West Palm Beach native who believes her lifelong experience in the district will give her an edge with voters.

“My family owned a business in this area, Stevens Brothers Funeral Home, for 60 years in the heart of the Black community. My family name is very well known in this community,” she said. “Those connections are very strong. I am going around to the different Black churches now and am being wel comed with open arms.”

Stevens works in healthcare staffing for hospitals. She is lean ing into a predominantly economic message. “The economy has touched me like a lot of different people. Even before redistricting, District 88 was never changing,” she said. “The same old policies are crushing people economically. This is a chance to change things. People are really into my eco nomic message. They don’t have to be satisfied with what they are currently getting.”

She described the new District 88 as a “split district” that has put several suburban areas into a dis trict that was previously a mostly urban area.

“I have been a homeowner and a renter. That is where I want to talk to homeowners,” Stevens said. “With interest rates going up, we have to deliver some kind of relief regarding homeowners and taxes. Everybody is being hit by food prices and gas prices.”

She would like to reduce the state’s gas tax for a longer period than currently proposed.

“I would deliver a vote for any economic package that would help South Florida,” Stevens said. “I want to work together with the governor — he has great ideas — and also with my fellow Republicans.”Shesaidthat District 88 needs new representation in Tallahassee.

“The Democrats aren’t going to represent us at all,” Stevens said.

“They want to stand on dissent and be the opposition party. That doesn’t help District 88. We need to craft a plan to protect Florida to mitigate what is going on na totionally.”Visitwww.voterozstevens.comlearnmore.

DISTRICT 93

Dr. Saulis Banionis is the Re publican nominee in District 93.

A Wellington resident since 2007, his practice is in interventional pain management and regenerative medicine.Afirst-generation American, Banionis is the youngest of eight children. His parents immigrated from Lithuania after World War II.

“They survived the Nazis, as well as communism,” he said. “They taught us the value of hard work and the value of education.”

Banionis served in the U.S. Army National Guard and paid his own way through college and medical school. He has a business degree from Miami University and a biology degree from the University of Illinois Chicago. His medical degree is from Ross University, and he completed his residency in New York, followed by an interventional pain fellow ship. He is also trained in stem cell and regenerative medicine.

“The difference between my opponent and I is that I have worked, lived and owned my small business for the last 15 years in our community,” Banionis said. “As a physician in our community, on staff at local hospitals, I hear the concerns of our community every day from Banionispatients.”stressed that he has been active in the Wellington community and beyond.

“My wife and I have been very involved with the Wellington

Chamber of Commerce for 15 years, with my wife serving as president of the chamber and now serving on the board,” he said. “We worked with the Wellington Chamber during the pandemic to safely open small businesses and churches. We sat alongside the chamber fighting to keep small businesses running during the pandemic, including helping fill out the PPP loans so businesses could stay open.”

He added that his family is in volved with local charities, such as Wellington Cares and Place of “WhenHope.

I say that I am the best candidate to represent my commu nity, I am not Googling what my community needs. I know what my community needs, because I am a part of it,” Banionis said. “We need somebody in Tallahassee who will represent us as a commu nity, not use this position as a state representative as a steppingstone for a higher political office.”

In Tallahassee, he wants to help those struggling with inflation.

“My first goal is to provide relief for small businesses and families,” Banionis said. “The way we do that is immediate tax relief. We can suspend the gas tax. We can also suspend the property tax. We can provide a bump for families and small businesses so that they have a little more to rely on.”

He also supports tort reform, reforming the insurance industry and reforming education to give parents more control. Banionis is also concerned about child trafficking.

“A lot of this has to do with enforcement,” he said. “We need to make sure that the police and the first responders have all of the resources they need to complete theirBanionistasks.” said that he will not go to Tallahassee to “play political games.”“Iam going up there to get a job done, to protect my family, my community and my state,” he said. “I will work with Gov. DeSantis and anyone else who wants to help ourVisitstate.”www.saulisbanionis.com to learn more.

The Democratic nominee for the seat is Port Commissioner Katherine Waldron, who emerged victorious from last month’s fourwayOriginallyprimary.from the Washington, D.C., area, Waldron attended the University of Virginia and later earned an MBA from Palm Beach Atlantic University. She has three adult children. After moving down to the area nearly two decades ago, Waldron got involved in local politics and community service.

“When I came down here, I

started a downtown political action committee, and I co-founded Palm Beach County Cares to help hur ricane victims in the Caribbean,” Waldron said.

As an executive with Sprint and Nortel, Waldron looked for a way to put her business background to use in public service. Spurred to action by a controversial port vote in favor of a deep dredge, she ran for the Port of Palm Beach Commission, where she has served since 2017. While she considers overturning the deep dredge her top achievement at the port, she is also very proud of her work helping hurricane victims.

“The Palm Beach County Cares initiative was a non-partisan effort, and the community, from elected officials, community leaders and volunteers came out after Hurri cane Maria, and we really made a difference,” she said.

Waldron said that she is glad to have the primary behind her and looks forward to reaching out to voters all across District 93.

“As the Democratic nominee, I am now working a coordinated campaign with the rest of the party to lift all boats, so to speak,” Waldron said. “I have a lot more support because we are all work ing together. My positions on the issues haven’t changed, but I will be reaching out to those without a party affiliation and some Repub licans to try to expand my support base beyond just Democrats.”

Waldron believes that she is the best candidate to represent the area in Tallahassee.

“I am an elected official current ly, so I understand the importance of being a good representative for constituents,” she said. “I have a strong business background, and a strong economy is important to the health of our state. As a woman, I feel that I am well-versed, more than my opponent, in a woman’s right to choose, and why that is important.”Afterwinning the election, Waldron will spend time getting herself up to speed on how things work in the state capital.

“My first goal is to learn as much as possible as to how things work up there,” she said. “There is always lots to learn. I want to try to stay away from cultural wars and heavy politics and focus on what Floridians need, which is work force housing, increased mental health support, human rights and a woman’s right to choose.”

Waldron believes that changes are needed if the state is going to thrive.“We need to keep Florida mov ing forward,” she said. “It seems that there are some people in Tallahassee who are very focused on pettiness and vindictiveness,

and things that are not helping anybody. That is not what the taxpayers deserve.”

Visit www.votekw.com to learn more.

DISTRICT 94

First elected in 2016, State Rep. Rick Roth is now seeking his fourth and final term in a newly drawn district. His current district, which used to include much of Palm Beach Gardens, along with the Acreage/Loxahatchee area, has moved south and west to take in Loxahatchee Groves and much of Royal Palm Beach, as well as theAGlades.Republican, he is the owner of Roth Farms, and is very familiar with the area.

“I always tell people that I am a native of Palm Beach,” Roth said. “I grew up in Belle Glade and lived in Wellington. Now I live in Loxahatchee.”Rothnoted that he is very fa miliar with the needs of rural and agricultural areas.

“I’m a farmer from the Glades serving a rural community that is perhaps underserved and needs some more love and attention,” he said. “I do understand the chal lenges, having lived in this area. I can focus more of my attention on these issues, such as water issues.”

This includes working to fund the Corbett levee and, most re cently, helping small agricultural farms that are having issues with Palm Beach County.

“I have been dealing with a lot of people who are ag and equestri an,” Roth said. “They are having issues with Palm Beach County Planning & Zoning, and I am helping them with their issues.”

As far as his recent work in Tallahassee, Roth is most proud of getting more state funding for affordable housing.

“Many years, there was no mon ey given to affordable housing, but there was $352 million allocated in 2022 in the state, and Palm Beach County is getting $14 million,” he said. “We need to do it in a consistent and transparent way. I successfully convinced leadership to move affordable housing to the top of the issues we need to focusRoth’son.”next focus is on expand ing the state’s food bank system.

“What we learned during the pandemic is there is a lot more people who need more food re sources,” he said. “The amount of food going through food banks rose 70 percent. I want to grow the food bank system. I want to grow the amount of food that is donated by making the program more user friendly for the farmers and food banks.”Roth aims to be someone in government helping those in need.

“It is difficult for people to deal with Palm Beach County gov ernment and state government,” he said. “My goal is to make that easier and give them someone they can go Learnto.”more at IBeachmencoachSchoolworkingeducation.UniversitygraduatedGardensDistrictDemocrat,cilmancom/RickRothFL.www.facebook.FormerRivieraBeachCounTerence“TD”Davis,aischallengingRothin94.AfterattendingPalmBeachHighSchool,DavisfromFloridaA&MwithadegreeinhealthHehasspent10yearsinthePalmBeachCountyDistrictasateacherandatSuncoastHighSchool.“I’malsoamentorofyoungandwomenintheWestPalmarea,”Davissaid.“In2013,waselectedtotheRivieraBeach

council and served in office for six years, where I focused on home rule, making sure that local elected officials have local authority.”

While in office, Davis said he was able to stabilize the commu nity’s water crisis and helped raise $21 million in grant funding to support the Riviera Beach Marina.

In Tallahassee, Davis wants to focus on education and other key issues. “We want to focus on not just teachers, but all school district employees should get much better pay,” he said. “Also, women have the right to choose, and I support that right. Government should not be in the business of telling women what to do with their bodies.”

Davis also believes that gun control is a key issue, and he wants to put similar regulations in place as with driver’s licenses for guns. Additional goals are better water and air quality, infrastructure improvements and access to work force housing for working-class residents in the area.

“We need affordable housing for everyone, along with rent control, making sure that landlords don’t just raise rents without proper notice,” Davis said.

As for infrastructure, he said that the area needs a better road system.

“We want to reduce accidents,” Davis said. “That is part of public safety.”Healso supports more funding for early childhood education and pre-K, as well as reductions in the cost of homeowners’ insurance.

“The residents should have someone who will be visible and accessible and vote in the best interests of the district and not necessarily the party line,” Davis said. “The people in the district are what matters, and their political affiliation should not determine if they get these services.”

Visit www.electterencedavis. com to learn more.

State House

Jervonte Edmonds

Roz Stevens

Dr. Saulis Banionis

Katherine Waldron

Rick Roth

Terence “TD” Davis

Local Dancer Places At Dance Photo Competition

In celebration of the Kravis Center’s 30th anniversary, the West Palm Beach Downtown De velopment Authority challenged residents of Palm Beach County to visit the Rosemary Square area and put on their best dancing shoes, capture it in a photo and submit to become part of the “Dance Day Contest.”Thesubmission deadline was Saturday, Sept. 17. The effort was to bring the community together through the common language of dance. They asked residents of all ages to get ready to move in downtown West Palm Beach.

As part of the Kravis Center’s 30th anniversary celebration, the performing arts center has been named the official South Florida host of National Dance Day. To be part of the contest, participants

needed to upload a picture show ing their best moves for a chance to win one of three cash prizes. The contest was open to professionals, amateurs and emerging artists to submit, and then ask family, friends, co-workers and more to vote for the best dance photo.

With thousands of votes, the winners were determined based on rules specifying location limits and submissions. The winners includ ed Wellington dancer SimaraBella Amato, who took second place. Amato studied at Dance Theatre Wellington before going on to competition dance at Xpressions Performing Arts. She is now a member of the dance department at the Bak Middle School of the Arts. First place was awarded to Madison Harper, while third place went to Koana Monreal.

The Wellington Historical Society’s Lunch & Learn series continued Wednesday, Sept. 14 at the Wellington Community Center featur

ing four longtime community entrepreneurs in a program called “Doing Business in Wellington: Then and Now.” The panelists were

Gabriel Finnochietti, owner of Gabriel’s Café; Jack Van Dell, owner of Van Dell Jewelers; Steven Shapiro, co-owner of Shapiro Pertnoy Companies; and Lisa Wheelwright, owner of Puppy Love. Chuck Edgar served as the moderator.

PHOTOS BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER

Gabriel Finocchitti, Councilman John McGovern, Chuck Edgar, Sue Bierer, Steve Shapiro, Lisa Wheelwright, Mayor Anne Gerwig, Councilwoman Tanya Siskind and Jack Van Dell.

Norm Gitzen, Gabriel Finnochietti, Tammy and Jack Van Dell, and Maureen Budjinski.

Shannon Kane, Lisa Wheelwright and Sherry Richardson.

Don and Maureen Gross with Mayor Anne Gerwig.Chuck Edgar with Allyson and Steve Samiljan.

Steve Shapiro, Jack Van Dell, moderator Chuck Edgar, Gabriel Finnochietti and Lisa Wheelwright.

Wellington Historical Society board members Maureen Gross, Chuck Edgar, Allyson Samiljan, Sue Bierer, Sara Webber, Jonathan Phillips and Don Gross.

(L-R) Bend But They Don’t Break,” Madison Harper; “Downtown Takes Flight,” SimaraBella Amato; and “Dancing at Rosemary Square at Her Favorite Spot,” Koana Monreal.

Wellington To Host XII FIP World Polo Championship Next Month

The United States Polo Associa

tion, U.S. Polo Assn., the official brand of the USPA, the National Polo Center-Wellington (NPC) and Valiente Polo Farm are making final preparations to host the XII Federation of International Polo (FIP) World Polo Championship in Florida this Welcomingfall.the international contest to the United States for the second time in the competition’s history, the tournament will take place from Oct. 29 through Nov. 6. Held every three to four years, the international tournament was originally scheduled for 2021 but was postponed due to the pandemic. Representing the top 10-goal to 14-goal teams from around the world, eight countries will grapple for international polo glory, including Argentina, Austra lia, Italy, Mexico, Pakistan, Spain, the United States and Uruguay.

To qualify as one of the eight teams to advance to the FIP World Polo Championship, the road begins with five zone playoffs and includes more than 25 coun tries vying for the opportunity to represent their nation on the international stage. The defending champions (Argentina in 2017) and host country (United States) automatically qualify, and the remaining six teams have been decided from zone competition. Teams advancing from zone play offs to the FIP World Polo Cham pionship include Mexico (Zone A), Uruguay (Zone B), Spain and Italy (Zone C), Australia (Zone D) and Pakistan (Zone E). The strengths of the United

States lie in both high-quality horses and a prime location featur ing world-class fields and facili ties. Home to the Gauntlet of Polo, NPC is the ideal venue for the event, attracting South Florida’s passionate polo and equestrian community. Featuring top-rated polo fields, VIP experiences for both fans and players, and unri valed corporate hospitality, the XII FIP World Polo Championship promises to be an exceptional and unforgettable global event for players, sponsors and spectators.

Preliminary games will be held at Valiente Polo Farm, while the opening ceremony, semifinals and final will take place at NPC. Tick eted NPC events will include the opening ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 29 and the XII FIP World Polo Championship Final on Sunday, Nov. 6. The 2022 tournament will draw the eyes of the global polo community to the winter eques trian capital of the world with the FIP World Polo Championship semifinals and final broadcast on ESPN for the first time. All games will also be available for free at www.globalpolo.com.“Weareputtingin a lot of resources to make this a world class event,” FIP United States Ambassador and USPA President Tony Coppola said. “No stone has been left unturned. The string of horses we are going to provide will be great, and the facilities will be fantastic and at their prime. The USPA’s goal is to make this a world-class tournament and showcase what we have now that we own NPC.”

A defining feature of the XII FIP World Polo Championship are the 176 exceptional horses represent ing some of the best bloodlines in the world from sole horse provider J5 Equestrian. USPA Executive Director of Services, Carlucho Arellano, noted the importance of having such high-quality horses for a competition of this caliber.

“Providing good horses is one of the three key ingredients to qual ity polo, along with great fields and solid management,” he said. “The horses are currently in sev eral different locations and have been played during the summer in California and Colorado. They will get some rest time and then come to Wellington a month in advance of the championship for the legging-up process. The final two weeks of that process will consist of practices that increase in intensity. The teams all arrive by Oct. 26, and they will get to ride their string once and play them in one practice before their first game on Oct.

Leading29.”up to the tournament, the horses will also be evaluated and ranked in October by FIP horse master Adam Snow, a for mer 10-goaler and Hall of Famer. His experience both in the saddle and in the barn will make him an invaluable asset throughout the event. Snow will rank horses based on their ability and then place them into evenly matched strings. Each team will be assigned a group of 22 horses, and teams will draw to select their pooled polo ponies in person on Wednesday, Oct. 26.

In 1982, to broaden the scope of

international polo and restore the sport’s Olympic status, Marcos Uranga created the Federation of International Polo, officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee. Five years later, Uranga and American polo player Glen Holden organized the inaugural FIP World Polo Cham pionship in Argentina. Aware of the challenges of fielding high-goal teams worldwide, FIP organizers decided to limit the competition to teams rated 10 to 14Capturinggoals. the title in Germany in 1989, the United States Polo Association has selected the most talented players to represent the U.S. team. Selected as the coach, former 9-goal professional Julio Arellano was on the winning team in 1989 and is humbled at the op portunity to lead the United States for a FIP title on home soil.

Ranging in age from 17 to 25, the eight American players vying for a spot on the starting roster in clude Nico Diaz Alberdi, Agustin Arellano, Hope Arellano, Joaquin Avendaño, Lucas Escobar, Nico Escobar, Jake Klentner and Kristos “Keko” Magrini.

Of this extremely accomplished roster, Hope Arellano stands out, as she is the first woman to ever be considered for the American team. Players will train together in weekly practice games and stick-and-ball sessions for a month in Argentina beginning in Septem ber to determine the team’s final lineup. Once the U.S. team returns home, they will begin practicing in Wellington and exercising and

preparing J5 Equestrian horses for competition leading up to the championship.Outfittingthe teams with official performance jerseys and equip ment as the official apparel partner and presenting sponsor, U.S. Polo Assn. is proud to join forces once again with the FIP World Polo Championship to promote the brand during the pinnacle of inter national polo competition.

“This is truly a global event that will resonate with our consumers and sports fans around the world, across 190 countries. We are also excited our partners at ESPN will broadcast the opening ceremony featuring the U.S. team,” said J. Michael Prince, president and CEO of USPA Global Licensing.

Visit aboutworld-championshipwww.uspolo.org/fip-tolearnmorethisevent.

WRMC Named A High-Performing Hospital By U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News & World Report the global authority in hospital rankings and consumer advice, has named Wellington Regional Medical Center as a 2022-23 High Performing Hospital for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Stroke. This is the highest award a hospital can earn for U.S. News ’ Best Hospitals Procedures & Conditions ratings. The annual ratings are designed to assist patients and their doctors in making informed decisions about where to receive care for challenging health conditions or electiveWellingtonprocedures.Regional earned high performing ratings for COPD and stroke in recognition of care

that was significantly better than the national average, as measured by factors such as patient out comes.“Arecognition by U.S. News & World Report is an honor hospi tals seek to achieve and patients consider when choosing where to seek healthcare for themselves and their loved ones,” said Pam Tahan, chief executive officer at Wel lington Regional Medical Center. “I’m proud of our team and their continued dedication to improving patient outcomes while providing safe, quality, compassionate care to our community.”

For the 2022-23 Best Hospitals rankings and ratings, U.S. News evaluated more than 4,500 hospi

tals across 15 specialties and 20 procedures and conditions. Fewer than half of all hospitals received any high performing rating, and only four earned this rating in all procedures and conditions. State and metro area rankings reflect the highest performing hospitals in the area across multiple areas of care.

“When patients are considering their options for care, the Best Hospitals ratings are designed to help them identify hospitals that excel in the kind of care they may need,” said Ben Harder, chief of health analysis and managing editor at U.S. News. “A hospital that has earned a high performing rating in a service may be a good

option for patients in need of that service and their medical profes sionals to consider.”

The U.S. News Procedures & Conditions methodology is based entirely on objective measures of quality, such as survival rates, pa tient experience and how success fully each hospital helps patients get back home.

Wellington Regional Medical Center is a 235-bed acute care hospital accredited by the Joint Commission. Celebrating more than 30 years of treating residents in Wellington and the surrounding community, the hospital offers a wide range of services. To learn more about the hospital, visit www.wellingtonregional.com.

The FIP World Polo Championship trophy. ©UNITED STATES POLO ASSOCIATION

Wellington Regional Medical Center recently earned national honors for its COPD and stroke treatment programs.

Planning committee members Barry Stefan, Marcia Greene, Elaine Weber, Leslie Pfeiffer, Faye Ford, Laura Jaffe, Heather Bergstrom and Hartley Barnes.

Participating artists Norman Gitzen, Griselda “GG” Gonzalez, Heather Bergstrom, Hartley Barnes, Marcia Greene, Gail Erickson, Laura Jaffe, Leslie Pfeiffer and Elaine Weber.

Hartley Barnes with some of his abstract epoxy/acrylic paintings.

Artist Griselda “GG” Gonzalez displays a matted photograph she shot in Africa.

Artist Norman Gitzen with one of his creations.

Nancy Smyth with her pastel masterpieces.

Artist Barry Stefan with his wife Donna.

Elaine Weber models her handmade, painted canvas purses.

Isabella Earnhardt, Wanda Hill and Michael Bergstrom.

Artists Tammy Wolfson and Marcia Greene.

Leslie Pfeiffer with her award-winning painting “New Day.”

Artist Heather Bergstrom with two of her paintings.

Gail Erickson with her paintings and sculptures.

Leslie Pfeiffer, sponsor Maggie Zeller and Wellington Art Society President Laura Jaffe.

Elaine Weber calls raffle ticket winners.

Seminole Ridge Football Remains Undefeated After Four Weeks

By Mike May Town-Crier Staff Report

After four weeks of this year’s high school football season, the undefeated Hawks from Seminole Ridge High School (4-0) remain the cream of the crop in the west ernOncommunities.Sept.9,the Hawks defeated Forest Hill High School 9-7, and then blanked Palm Beach Lakes High School, 30-0, on Sept. 16.

Two of the key plays in Semi nole Ridge’s win against Palm Beach Lakes were Ruben Tirado’s 51-yard touchdown pass to Gavin Kolesar, and a pick-six by Kevin Coggins. The Hawks will put their undefeated record on the line Fri day, Sept. 23, when they travel to Riviera Beach to play Inlet Grove HighPalmSchool.Beach Central High School (3-1) opened its season with three straight wins, followed by a loss on Sept. 16.

In their most recent two games, the Broncos defeated Park Vista High School, 42-7, on Sept. 9. On Sept. 16, Palm Beach Central was outscored by Pahokee High School,According35-14.to Palm Beach Cen tral head coach Kevin Thompson, that loss was a wake-up call for his“Whatplayers.we learned is we can not just roll out there and expect to win,” Thompson said. “They [Pahokee] wanted to beat us more than we didn’t want to lose.”

The Broncos, which have a bye on Sept. 23, will be looking for their fourth victory of the year on Friday, Sept. 30, when they host John I. Leonard High School in their first district game of the season.Forthose practices leading up to the game against Leonard, Thompson and his staff will focus on fundamental football.

“Our focus will start by looking back at what we have done and fine-tune some things,” he said. “We will really get back to our foundation.”OveratWellington High School, the Wolverines (2-2) appear ready to put together a string of victories to close out the regular season.

On Sept. 9, the Wolverines lost a heartbreaker at home to Jensen Beach High School, 17-14. But they rebounded the following week. On Sept. 16, the Wolverines made the short trek to Royal Palm Beach High School to play the Wildcats, coming home with a 39-12 victory.

The Wolverines, who have a bye on Sept. 23, will be looking for their third victory of the year on Friday, Sept. 30, when they host Forest Hill High School in their all-important first district game of theRoyalseason.Palm Beach High School remains winless after four games, though the impact of new coach Chuck Kenyon’s leadership on the football program has the Wildcats headed in the right direction.

The Wildcat football program is being rebuilt by Kenyon. De spite starting the season with four straight losses, Kenyon knows that it will take time to re-establish Royal Palm Beach as a team to be reckoned with in Palm Beach County, as they were not so long ago.“You get to the mountaintop one step at a time,” Kenyon said. “We are trending in the right direction.”

After winning only one game last season, the Wildcats will be seeking their first victory this fall when they host undefeated Santa luces High School (4-0) on Friday, Sept.

The23.King’s Academy Lions picked up their second and third victories of the season in mid-

Polo Park Middle School Baseball Team Begins Fall Season

By Mike May Town-Crier Staff Report

On Wednesday, Sept. 21, the Polo Park Middle School boys baseball team began a defense of its Palm Beach County middle school baseball championship, which the team won last fall.

The Stallions’ opening game of the current fall season was played against Western Pines Middle School. The young Stallions lost 3-2, but Polo Park head coach Craig Kaliser said his team played well, especially on defense.

Kaliser believes it will be as tough for his team to defend the title this fall as it was to win the county title last fall. “It is defi nitely going to be difficult to try and defend our title,” Kaliser said.

“The level of competition, just in our division alone, makes it hard to even make the playoffs, let alone win the championship. Wellington Landings and Western Pines are powerhouse baseball programs, and Crestwood and Osceola Creek are no pushovers themselves. That doesn’t even include the strong schools in the northern part of the county, as well as Emerald Cove and Christa McAuliffe, which will be waiting for us at the end.”

According to Kaliser, this year’s team has 16 players, six of whom were on the team last fall, but a quartet of those six were an in tegral part of the success of last year’s championship team.

“There is a core four of returners

See POLO PARK, page 23

September. On Sept. 9, TKA beat Somerset Academy-Canyons, 16-8, and on Sept. 17, the Lions defeated Glades Day School, 29-6, in a game that started on Friday, Sept. 16, but was delayed by weather and was concluded the following day.

Coach Ben McEnroe and his team will be seeking their fourth win on Friday, Sept. 23 when they travel south to play North Broward Prep in Coconut Creek.

McEnroe said his team has adjusted well to his coaching style and philosophy.

“I don’t think adjusting to me is an issue,” McEnroe said. “I am demanding and pretty intense, and I love to compete, and these kids know that I love them and that I will always have their backs.”

As for the Bulldogs from Berean Christian School, they remain win less after their first four contests.

Berean (0-4) traveled to St. Edward’s School in Vero Beach on Sept. 10. While Berean man aged to score its first 16 points of the season, the Bulldogs gave up more and fell 42-16. On Sept. 16, Berean played Boca Raton Chris

tian School, falling by a score of 35-8. On Sept. 23, the Bulldogs will seek their first victory of the season when they return home to play Bell Creek Academy from Riverview.Berean’s head coach Mario Jackson said his team is young and working hard to get better.

“The 2022 season has not gone as planned,” Jackson said. “Our youthfulness in age and experi ence has definitely caused us as a team, coaches included, to dig deep. Everyone loves to be on the right side of the scoreboard, but

we have to remind ourselves to get better every day. We have 26 players on our roster, and 19 of them are eighth graders, freshmen andAftersophomores.”fourgames, Berean’s top players are quarterback Dominic Mastrogiacomo (242 yards pass ing, 58 percent completion rate, one touchdown pass and one rushing touchdown); running back Jermonty Kimbrough Jr. (48 carries for 290 rushing yards and 11 receptions for 93 yards); and linebacker Roshiloh Richards (14 tackles).

TKA Football Off To A Strong Start This Fall

By Mike May Town-Crier Staff Report

At the King’s Academy, football is a big deal. Not surprisingly, this year’s varsity football team is off to another strong start with a new head coach, Ben McEnroe, at the helm.After four games, the Lions have a solid 3-1 record. The most recent victory, in Belle Glade against Glades Day School, was impacted by weather, but the Lions didn’t seem troubled by the elements. The game started on Friday, Sept. 16, was halted due to lightning, and was not finished until the following afternoon on Saturday, Sept. 17. After all was said and done, the visiting Lions walked away as the victors, 29-6.

McEnroe is proud of how his young team literally weathered the storm — in the sky and on the ground — over the course of two“Thedays.Glades Day game was really a testament to the mindset we are trying to develop here,” McEnroe said. “We are learning to expect disruptions in life. Rarely is there a perfect day or a perfect plan. Our mindset is to find the good in all of those moments and

to look for opportunities to better prepare.”Itwasthe second game in Belle Glade this season for TKA. The other game in the Glades was on Thursday, Sept. 1, when the Lions visited the Raiders from Glades Central High School. That game was close, but Glades Central won,“Our14-7.approach [against Glades Day] was night-and-day different from our trip to Glades Central as far as the way the kids handled adversity with the weather, the travel, the waiting and the field,” McEnroe said. “I just felt that we took a quantum leap forward in our approach and our mindset, and it showed on the field.”

On Friday, Sept. 23, the Lions will travel south to play North Broward Prep.

“The focal point for our prepara tion for North Broward Prep is to remain focused on ourselves and our growth,” said McEnroe, who noted that his team is very young. “We are playing with anywhere between five to seven sophomores on the field at the same time right now, so there is a lot of room for growth.”Thatrate of growth for TKA’s

varsity football team will come from productive practice sessions.

“I am excited to get to practice every day because when you’re that young and that inexperienced, you see a lot of improvement,” McEnroe said. “One benefit of such a young team is that they’re hungry, and they’re very coach able.”Like all football teams, the key to success during the season is dealing with injuries, which are a part of the game. “After play one of our season opener, our pre-season starting lineup has not played together, but we are starting to get some guys back, which will help,” McEnroe said.

As the head coach, McEnroe is making sure his team is physically and mentally ready to play football every“Ourday.focus is just to be better at everything that we do and not worry about who we’re playing,” McEnroe said. “Those guys have a good team and are playing with confidence. Our job is to show up and be better than we were the last weekend.”Eventhough McEnroe is the team’s new coach, he feels as if he understands the mindset of his players and their approach to the game of football.

“We’re not perfect, we are re ally young, and we make teenageboy mistakes,” McEnroe said. “But that is part of growing up and developing into men. We have a great staff that cares about these guys more as young men than as players, and with our experience, the football will take care of itself. I feel like we’re adjusting just fine and developing an identity here. You can see it on film. We’ve heard it from oppos ing coaches and fans. Our guys are tough, and they love playing together. Probably the greatest compliments that I’ve received came from groups of fans at both Glades Central and Glades Day about the toughness our kids are playing with. Given the history of those two programs, and the players who have come through there, that means a lot.”

While the Lions have outscored their opponents in three out of the first four games, the key to the team’s success has been the play of the defense, McEnroe said. The key defensive players for TKA have been junior safety Nick Cueto, sophomore linebacker Cory McEnroe, senior defensive lineman Miguel Martinez and junior defensive lineman Dartayvi ous Saintelus.

Polo Park Middle School’s 2022 boys baseball team.

TKA’s offense in action against Glades DayPHOTOSSchool.BYRYAN JOHNSON

TKA junior defensive back Reggie Workman (left) and end Jackson Worley (right).

(Left) Seminole Ridge senior fullback Thomas Karbowski runs with the ball in the Sept. 1 game against Royal Palm Beach High School. (Right) Seminole Ridge’s Willie Young III carries the ball in the Sept. 9 game against Forest Hill High School. PHOTOS BY RICHARD AREYZAGA

Girls Volleyball Program At Berean Christian Is On The Upswing

By Mike May Town-Crier Staff Report

Jen Buerkle, the head coach of Berean Christian School’s varsity girls volleyball team, is having success as she establishes a win ning and competitive culture for girls volleyball on the Bulldog campus.

Through the first 11 games of the current season, Berean is 8-3.

Now in her second year as the team’s head coach, Buerkle has noticed an upgraded commitment to the sport of girls volleyball by the players on this year’s var sity roster: Renee Brown, Emily Buerkle, Chelsea Christian, Ash

Polo Park

BaseballTeam

continued from page 21 who are going to be our leaders,” Kaliser said. “Our co-captains are Tanner Gilman and Gabrian Diaz. Both are now veterans, having started all the games last year, with Gilman scoring the winning run in the county semifinals, and Diaz being the one who drove

ley Hendricks, Malia Johnson, Kaylee Kovacs, Annika Uhren, Evelyn Vejvoda and Lily Young.

“All of the girls are naturally competitive,” Buerkle said. “We go over a lot of skill techniques. Several of the girls play club vol leyball and half the girls are on our beach volleyball team, so this helps us to be more competitive during the indoor season.”

Winning is a by-product of Buerkle’s high-level coaching.

“Having five wins in a row has been the highlight of this season,” Buerkle said. “I know we didn’t accomplish this last year, and I don’t remember another Ber

him in with the game-winning hit. The other two players, Kieran Rivera and Cole Vatterott, played at times last year, but they are now expected to carry more of the load as eighth-grade leaders.”

Polo Park’s success this year will be influenced by its depth of pitch ing. “Our three main pitchers will be Diaz, Gilman and Rivera,” Ka liser said. “We do have some other live arms who can really throw, but those players will be the leaders of our pitching staff.”

ean varsity volleyball team in recent history having that accom plishment.”

Through the team’s first 10 games, Ashley Hendricks leads the squad with 24 total blocks, Annika Uhren has the most digs with 77, Lily Young is the team leader with 74 kills, Emily Buerkle has the squad’s most aces with 20 and Renee Brown is team leader in assists with 163.

In order to get better in the latter part of the regular season, Berean will be playing higher-level com petition, starting with the Palm Beach Classic Volleyball Tourna ment, which is being held at John

According to Kaliser, two of the strengths of his current squad are their positive attitude and teamfirst approach to the game.

“The two things I know I can hang my hat on with our team are talent and hard work,” Kaliser said. “We have some really great players, but they are always trying to get better. That drive to improve gives me some optimism that as the season moves along, we will get better and better and will be a tough team to beat come mid-

I. Leonard High School this week

end. According to Buerkle, her squad will play John I. Leonard, Braddock, West Broward, and Port St. Lucie in the Palm Beach Clas sic. Then, from Sept. 30 through Oct. 1, Berean will travel to Winter Haven to play in the Sunshine Athletic Conference Tournament.

When Berean plays in the Flor ida High School Athletic Associa tion Class 2A district tournament in mid-October, the Bulldogs might advance into the Class 2A regional tournament and beyond now that there has been a change in the culture of girls volleyball at the school.

October. I also really like our team chemistry. We have nine eighth graders, five seventh graders and two sixth graders, but they all treat each other as brothers. When I see them hanging out together before school or laughing and joking together in the courtyard, I know they will have each other’s back when a tough situation arises during a game. That combination gives me hope that we can be a strong, tough, well-balanced team.”

Wellington’s Jonathan Brown Bowls A Perfect Game

By Mike May Town-Crier Staff Report

If you believe it, you will achieve it. That’s how to describe the mindset of Wellington’s Jona than Brown, who just recently bowled his first-ever perfect game — a 300 — on Sept. 14. During that same session, he also bowled his first-ever 800 series when he achieved an 813 at Greenacres Bowl.Brown, 20, has been diagnosed with autism. The son of Maria and John Brown of Wellington, he started bowling when he was 14 years old. His passion for bowling and determination to improve are extraordinary.Accordingto his parents, Brown taught himself how to bowl by watching YouTube videos.

“I started watching Kyle Troup videos on YouTube, and that motivated me to learn more about bowling,” Brown said.

At the age of 14, he joined a youth league at Greenacres Bowl, and now he plays in an adult league, where his average per

game score is 221. Brown is the only bowler in the league with autism.

Back on Sept. 14, one of his dreams came true when he scored

his exciting 300 game. His bowl ing style has been described as unorthodox with unique approach, as is Troup’s bowling style. Moving forward, Brown has

many more dreams that he wants to accomplish, including the chance to go bowling with Troup, who he has already had a chance to meet.

Now entering his 16th season as the school’s baseball coach, Kaliser remains committed to emphasizing the fundamentals of baseball to his players.

“Our philosophy does not change in any year,” said Kaliser, who’s career coaching record at Polo Park is 110-50. “We be lieve in three things at Polo Park — pitching (throwing strikes), playing strong defense and base running. Those are the core prin ciples of the program here. Yes,

we practice hitting, but our belief is that if we throw strikes, play great defense and get on base and run, we have a great chance to win any game. Though I do have some outstanding hitters this season, we spend the majority of our time working on those three parts of the game during practices.”

Polo Park has a 10-game regular season schedule that concludes on Tuesday, Oct. 18. After that, the Palm Beach County middle school playoffs begin.

Wellington Team Wins At PGA Jr. League Regionals

The National Car Rental PGA Jr. Regional was held at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie from Sept. 9 to Sept. 11

In the 17U division, the Wel lington National All-Stars won the regional title. Competing in the National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship Season for the second year, the growing 17U division (ages 14 to 17) concluded its all-star journey at the regional.

Following abbreviated stroke

play qualifying rounds Saturday, the Wellington National 17U AllStars earned the top seed with a 65.

In the Sunday semifinals, Wel lington National defeated Fleming Island 6.5 to 2.5 to advance to the championship round. Heal My Swing defeated the Bradenton team 5 to 4. Then the Wellington National 17U All-Stars that took down the Heal My Swing 17U All-Stars 6-3 to earn the divisional title.

(L-R) Kaylee Kovacs, Renee Brown, Chelsea Christian, Annika Uhren, Ashley Hendricks, Lily Young, Evelyn Vejvoda, Emily Buerkle, Malia Johnson and coach Jen Buerkle. PHOTO BY PAIGE HAZERA

The Wellington National All-Stars celebrate their regional victory.

Carlos Tobon, director of bowling at Greenacres Bowl, with Jonathan Brown of Wellington. Pro bowler Kyle Troup with Jonathan Brown.

American Academy Sept. 29 Event To Focus On ADHD Teens

American Academy, a program within American Heritage Schools, will host “Secrets to Better Com munication with Your ADHD Teenager,” a virtual event via Zoom on Thursday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. This event is part of American Academy’s monthly “Experts in Learning Differences” speaker se ries. Hosted by Alexandra Rollins, admissions director of the Ameri can Academy Program, the expert speakers for the September event are Diane Dempster and Elaine Taylor-Klaus, parent coaches and co-founders of Impact Parents.

This virtual event will provide viewers with proven techniques and scripts that can be used for better conversations and will help parents and teachers create harmo ny at home, in the classroom and everywhere else. Attendees will learn how to diffuse defensiveness, get buy-in, provide effective feed back and improve relationships instantly.“Wefelt strongly that parents of complex kids with learning differ ences needed someone to provide support to help their kids navigate

life’s complications, and we real ized that ‘someone’ was us! Who better than two professional moms whose lives and families had been transformed by coaching to pave a new path for other parents?” Dempster and Klaus explained. Dempster is a professional coach, speaker, author and educa tor with 20 years of corporate lead ership experience. An experienced

RPBHS DANCERS PERFORM AT MEETING

leader, expert in change manage ment and all-around life-sherpa, Dempster helps clients create deep, sustaining change and open their eyes to life. She received a master’s degree from the Univer sity of Michigan and coaching certification from the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching.Themother of a complex family of five, Taylor-Klaus co-created a comprehensive and empowering collaborative problem-solving method for fostering indepen dence: the Impact Model for taking a coach-approach to par enting complex kids. An author, speaker, coach and trusted advisor, Taylor-Klaus is also co-author of “Parenting ADHD Now! Easy In tervention Strategies to Empower Kids with ADHD,” and the author of “The Essential Guide to Raising Complex Kids with ADHD, Anxi ety and More.”

The speaker series is streamed live virtually, and available for viewing following each event. The purpose of the series is to educate families about topics that relate to mild learning differences. All of the speakers are experts in the var ious disciplines of each topic. The American Academy’s goal is to provide families with a safe space to ask questions and strengthen their knowledge about how to ensure the success of their child.

Limited spots are available for this free, online and live event. To reserve a spot, visit https://bit. ly/3ddL3do. For more informa tion about the speaker series, com/speaker-series.https://www.ah-americanacademy.visit

Charter School Holds 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony

On Sept. 9, the students at Re naissance Charter School at Wel lington experienced a memorable history lesson. At an assembly to honor the memory of those lost on Sept. 11, 2001, they journeyed back in time as they watched powerful visual presentations of that day, along with listening to moving, real life experiences from those who were there.

Unlike the old pledges to “Re member the Alamo,” “Remember the Maine” or “A day that will live in infamy,” the school chose to not let the cry of “We Will Never For get” to fade into history by creating a “new” memory of that day — a memory that can be told and retold by youth who were not yet born in 2001. Student drawings, paint ings, interviews with parents and grandparents all came together for a remarkable experience that the students will never forget.

As part of the event, Principal Mary Beth Greene was presented with a painting of the New York

skyline prior to 9/11. More than 50 students took part in its cre ation. The school thanks the stu dents, parents, staff, guests such as Councilman John McGovern, and

presenters such as Ingala O’Brien (personal story shared) and Joseph Cominio (shared a story from Kristin Moya) for participating in this memorable event.

Renaissance Wellington Receives Donation

The Renaissance Charter School at Wellington was recently award ed $2,000 from Dick’s Sporting Goods as part of its Sports Matter initiative to inspire and enable youth participation in sports. The donation will be used to purchase uniforms, sports equipment and a scoreboard.“Teamsports are so important for students,” Principal Mary Beth

Greene said. “Everything from academic success to healthy social skills, problem solving and leader ship abilities are developed through athletics. So many of our young athletes’ families are struggling financially, so this donation from Dick’s Sporting Goods is greatly appreciated on many levels.”

As part of its balanced approach to providing a well-rounded aca

demic experience, the Renaissance Charter School at Wellington offers a wide array of athletic op portunities, including flag football, girls and boys basketball, girls and boys soccer, and kickball. The school serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Enrollment is underway. Those in terested may apply online at www. wellingtoncharter.org.

Diane Dempster

Elaine Taylor-Klaus

The Elite Dance Squad from the Wildcat Dancers Dance Team at Royal Palm Beach High School performed for the Royal Palm Beach Educational Advisory Board on Monday, Sept. 12. The four dancers performed a contemporary routine, “If the World was Ending;” a jazz/hip-hop routine, “Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels;” and a tap routine, “Human.” The dancers danced magnificently and were rewarded with a large round of applause. The dancers thank Prin cipal Michelle Fleming for this wonderful performing opportunity. (L-R) Jena’ Obilas, Gianna Nembhard, Principal Michelle Fleming, Kendordia Reynolds and Leah Milford.

Principal Mary Beth Greene was presented with a painting of the New York skyline prior to 9/11. More than 50 students took part in its creation.

The Renaissance Charter School at Wellington received a donation from Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Dr. Katherine Brazzale Named Chief Medical Officer At Trustbridge

Trustbridge, the leading non profit hospice care provider in Palm Beach and Broward coun ties, recently named hospice care veteran Dr. Katherine Brazzale as its new chief medical officer.

A Wellington resident, Brazzale has served as Trustbridge’s asso ciate medical director since 2009. She will be responsible for over sight of medical care provided to Trustbridge patients, supervision of medical staff and individual patient care, among other duties.

Since 2014, Brazzale has also served as Trustbridge’s director of pediatrics, where she works to enable medically frail children to spend time at home surrounded by their family instead of spend ing their last days in a hospital setting. In this role, she develops educational materials for staff and personally provides 24-hour oncall support for families in need.

Brazzale’s relationship with Trustbridge dates back to 2008, when she was selected as the

first-ever physician for the organi zation’s newly created fellowship program and spent the following year gaining experience in the spe cialized end-of-life care provided to hospice patients.

“It was during my fellowship with Trustbridge that I recognized my calling in bringing relief to pa tients and their families in the most challenging of circumstances,” Brazzale said. “I look forward to engaging our talented medical staff to lead the industry in providing end-of-life care.”

Brazzale is a member of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Acad emy of Physician Leadership and the Palm Beach Medical Society. She earned her medical degree from University College London and later served as chief resident at University of Florida Health Shands Hospital. Braz zale is board certified in family

Grandma’s Angels Holiday Luncheon To Ring In The Holiday Season

On Tuesday, Nov. 29, Grand ma’s Place will hold its seventh annual Grandma’s Angels Holiday Luncheon at the Sailfish Club in Palm Beach. Jodie Schmitz and Manda Galin are once again co-chairing this event.

medicine, as well as hospice and palliative care medicine. She has also served in faculty positions at the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami and the Department of Family Medicine at Nova Southeastern University.

From hospice care to spiritual and emotional support, Trust bridge provides compassionate, professional healthcare for fami lies facing any stage of life-limit ing illness. For more information, visit www.trustbridge.com.

RPB’s Hmara To Chair Legislative Policy Committee

The Florida League of Cities recently announced that Royal Palm Beach Councilman Jeff Hmara has been appointed to serve as chair of the Florida League of Cities 2022-23 Transportation & Intergovernmental Relations Committee, one of the league’s five legislative policy committees. Legislative policy committee chairs, vice chairs and members were appointed by Florida League of Cities President Jolien Cara

ballo, vice mayor of the City of Port St. Lucie.

As a legislative policy com mittee member, Hmara will help develop the league’s Legislative Action Agenda, which details pri ority issues that are most likely to affect daily municipal governance and local decision-making during the upcoming legislative session, as well as help league staff under stand the real-world implications of proposed legislation. Com

mittee members are also asked to serve as advocates for local decision-making throughout the legislative process.

“It’s an honor to serve as chair of this important policy commit tee,” Hmara said. “Affordable housing and transportation are this year’s priorities. Both have major impacts on quality of life in our cities.”

Hmara has served on this policy committee for about five years. He

is also a board member of the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency and past president of Palm Beach County League of Cities.

Founded in 1922, the Florida League of Cities is the united voice for Florida’s municipal govern ments. Its goals are to promote local self-government and serve the needs of Florida’s cities, which are formed and governed by their citizens. For more information, visit www.flcities.com.

Herme De Wyman Miro is serving as the international hon orary chair. Committee members include: Diana Berman, Kristi Bomar, Kelly Brenner, Jane Bru no, Susy Burrowes, Leslie Byck, Margaret Donnelley, Danielle Glendye, Ali Govier, Patti Had den, Barbara Hollender, Eleanor Jones, Mary Lewis Moews, Toni O’Brien, Joan O’Connell, Kat Ogg, Dina Rubio, Eve Sauer, Lisa Shapiro, Marcie Singer and George Swan Jr. Auction commit tee members include Missy Agnel lo, Darcy Alasia, Patty Cooke and Pamela Pike.

The luncheon starts at 11:30 a.m. with a wine reception and a fabulous silent auction. During lunch, there will be a small live auction by Neil Saffer, while local CBS 12 News Anchor Liz Quirantes once again will serve as the celebrity emcee.

The proceeds benefit Grand ma’s Place, a Royal Palm Beach nonprofit that provides shelter and loving care to children who have suffered abuse or neglect and have been removed from their homes,

and also provides respite care for young children with disabilities while offering support to their parents/caregivers to maximize each child’s safety and success.

Tickets are $200 per person, or tables can be purchased for $2,000 each. To receive an in vitation, donate an auction item, purchase a ticket or sponsor the event, contact Roxanne Jacobs at (561) 376-0488 or roxanne@ grandmasplacepb.org, or visit www.grandmasplacepb.org.

KCF Marks Childhood Cancer Awareness Month With Carnival

The Kids Cancer Foundation hosted its annual Childhood Can cer Awareness Social with a car nival-themed event at the Kids Cancer Center in Royal Palm Beach on Saturday, Sept. 10.

As September marks Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, the foundation uses this time to rec ognize the children and families affected by childhood cancers, and to emphasize the importance of supporting research on these dev astating conditions. The carnival, however, was just for the families to have fun, socialize, eat, play games and collect prizes.

Volunteers from Journey

Church, Life Church and Christ Fellowship came out to help at the many booths set up inside and outside the center. Renais sance Charter School safety patrol members generously put together school supply bags and passed them out to families. Author Pame la Jaffey attended and signed her dinosaur-themed children’s books, which she gave away.

The Kids Cancer Foundation is a nonprofit with a mission is to provide hope and support to local children and families battling childhood cancer and/or blood disorders. Learn more at www. kidscancersf.org.

Pets Are Family, Too!

By Randall S. Dugal, D.V.M.

STRESS IN CATS

Cats do not show their emotions as other species do, making them challenging to read. Like their human counterparts, cats experience stress, which can lead to various behavioral and health issues. Cats do not handle change very well, and even subtle changes can lead to stress. Veterinarian visits, a new pet or family member in the home, moving to a new residence, daily routine changes, and loud noises or parties can all be stress contributors. Signs of stress include fully dilated pupils, rapid breathing, involuntary urination and defecation, hissing, shaking, and aggressive behavior. One helpful thing owners can do for their cats is to provide them with a stimulating and challenging environment that doesn’t lead to boredom and frustration.

When your dog will be home alone, hiding treats around the house where he can find them will give him something to do till you return— much better than a lonely, bored dog occupying his time destroying your furniture and shoes. Keep your pet in the peak of health and happiness with preventive, medical, dental, and surgical care from COMMUNITY ANIMAL HOSPITAL OF ROYAL PALM BEACH.

Conveniently located 1/4 mile east of Royal Palm Beach Blvd., at 11462 Okeechobee Blvd., we offer complete, state-of-the-art health care services for small pets of all kinds. Please call 798-5508 for appointments or emergencies. OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

P.S. Cats need to behave like cats for their emotional well-being.

Renaissance Charter School safety patrols members gave out school supply bags.

Dr. Katherine Brazzale

Committee chairs Manda Galin and Jodie Schmitz.

Author Pamela Jaffey gave away copies of her dinosaur-themed children’s books.

Four New Stores Open At Wellington Green

Four new retail and culinary destinations are joining the more than 160 stores at the Mall at Wellington Green. Jewelry Box, Laced, Q’Bola Café and Pici Nu trition add to the robust offerings in apparel, health and beauty, and more at this lifestyle destination in Wellington.

Jewelry Box — Jewelry Box has become Wellington’s desti nation for fine costume jewelry since opening on July 16. Not only do shoppers love owners Jan and Maria Levine’s personalized guest experience, the designer-depicting baubles sell for less than $200, which means you can buy what ever you like without breaking the bank. For more info., call (561) 323-2116 or visit com/jewelryboxatwellington.www.instagram.

Laced — At Laced, don’t expect average, run-of-the-mill footgear. This Boston-based chain, which opened Aug. 2, features hard-tofind sneakers from Jordan, Nike and Yeezy, luxe street wear by Bape and Supreme, and cool, urban accessories. Owner Joamil Rodriguez even offers consign ment opportunities for brand-new footwear, apparel and more. For more information, call (671) 7778322 or visit www.lacedboston.

com.

Boynton Financial Group Welcomes Tylor McManis

The Boynton Financial Group, an independent office of Raymond James Financial Services Inc., re cently welcomed new team mem ber Tylor McManis as a Registered Associate.

McManis began her career in wealth management at Merrill Lynch and later moved to Alex. Brown, where she spent the past six years focusing on developing complex strategies designed to meet the needs of affluent house holds. In addition to continuing this focus at the Boynton Financial Group, she will also work with the team’s portfolio asset management committee.

The Boynton Financial Group Inc. was established in 1997. Benjamin and Joanna Boynton own a branch office of Raymond James Financial Services Inc. in Wellington. Both Ben and Joanna are Certified Financial Planner

tries, hearty and Latin-style including salchipapas, a call (561)

Tylor McManis professionals. They are proud to be among the top five percent of all independent offices within Raymond James in fiscal year 2021 based on assets under man agement. Learn more at www.

Wellington PR Pro Wins Awards

The Mall at Wellington Green is located at 10300 W. Forest Hill Blvd. in Wellington. For more in formation, call (561) 227-6900 or visit www.shopwellingtongreen. com.

is a that 1, Each For call (561) 800-4563 or visit www. piciusa.com.Mallhours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Public Safety Job Fair On Oct. 7 Will Include More Than 40 Departments

More than 40 first responder employers, including police, cor rections, fire-rescue, EMS and 911 dispatch departments, will recruit at the Public Safety Job Fair on Fri day, Oct. 7, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Palm Beach State College’s Elisabeth W. Erling Gymnasium on the Lake Worth campus at 4200 Congress Ave.

This free hiring event is open to the public, with priority entry for veterans with military ID from 9 to 10 a.m. All attendees are encour aged to register in advance. Go to www.eventbrite.com and search for “Public Safety Job Fair.”

Attendees will be able to apply for current job openings ranging from first responder to civilian positions. Both certified and non

certified individuals and students are encouraged to attend.

Exhibiting employers include the fire rescue departments for Fort Lauderdale, Greenacres, Palm Beach County and Martin County; the Florida Department of Corrections; sheriff’s offices for Broward, Palm Beach, St. Lucie and Osceola counties; police departments for Doral, Seminole Tribe, Lauderhill, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Manalapan, Palm Springs, West Palm Beach (including 911 dispatch), Town of Palm Beach, Riviera Beach, Port St. Lucie, Lakeland, Orlando and Tallahas see; as well as American Medical Response and police departments for Florida Atlantic University and

the School District of Palm Beach County.

Based on the success of its Criminal Justice Job Fair, PBSC has expanded the fair in this, its fifth year, to include all branches of public safety. The National Organization of Black Law En forcement Executives (NOBLE) will co-sponsor for the fifth year, and CareerSource Palm Beach County joins the effort for a sec ond year.

“We’re excited to open up this job fair to all first responder employers,” said Barbara Cipri ano, provost of the Lake Worth campus. “We’ve heard from the many agencies that support our public safety academies that hiring is more challenging today due to

impacts of the pandemic and other factors. Our hope is to get the word out to job seekers about the great public safety career opportunities just waiting for them.”

Palm Beach State College also will exhibit as the leading educator of public safety professionals in Palm Beach County. PBSC offers degree and certificate programs in criminal justice, emergency medical services and fire science, as well as various advanced, cross over and career programs, such as public safety telecommunications, which trains 911 dispatchers.

For more information or ques tions about the Public Safety Job Fair, contact Annette Rodriguez at (561) 868-3398 or rodriga1@ palmbeachstate.edu.

Wellington resident Karen Gala naugh had the honor of presenting an award-winning marketing and public relations project she created at the annual conference of the Association of Zoos and Aquari ums in Baltimore, Maryland, on Aug.Galanaugh28. is a public relations and marketing consultant with clients in several states. She cre ated a multi-event celebration for the Brandywine Zoo in Delaware for the unveiling of the new Mad agascar lemur habitat. The events measurably increased funding, membership, attendance and con servation awareness.

The program recently won a first place Bernays Award from the Gold Coast PR Council for Best PR Campaign by a Small Company or Firm, Karen Galana ugh APR, Galanaugh & Company Marketing Public Relations LLC. GCPRC is South Florida’s largest independent association of public relations, communications and marketing professionals, and be stows its Bernays Awards to honor excellence in these fields.

Galanaugh’s program, which incorporated several events, in cluding a VIP reception featuring Madagascar embassy delegates, a press conference and a Lemurs & Lagers Celebration Party, also won

competitionPressfirstboyntonfinancialgroup.com.placerecentlyintheDelawareAssociationcommunicationsandreceivedanhon

orable mention in the National Federation of Press Women com munications competition. Galanaugh is celebrating 30 years in marketing communica tions. Clients include Avenir Palm Beach Gardens, the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, the Delaware Zoo logical Society and others. Learn more about her business at www. galcopr.com.

Karen Galanaugh with her Bernays Award.

Q’Bola Café — Q’Bola Cafe, a busy Cuban bakery and café with counter service that opened in early July, prepares fresh and authentic Cuban coffee and pas

Laced, now open in the Mall at Wellington Green, is not your average footgear retailer.

After This Latest Estate Sale, I’m So Done With Dolls Forever

As everyone knows, I help people liq uidate their (usually) inherited estates as part of the services we offer at my antiques shops. It’s hard work, because sometimes this stuff has been sitting for ages, and sometimes it’s a mess. And because one of my shops is located in a part of Florida where there are plenty of barns and work shops and neglected garages, sometimes it’s a dirty mess. But I love it.

I love getting my hands dirty and sorting everything out and organizing it and pric ing it and, finally, selling it to people who need it or want it as much as the previous owner did. Plus, there is always something interesting in the mess.

It’s interesting what people collect —

everything from vintage Coca-Cola items to heaping piles of kitchenware. And it’s interesting what their hobbies are — quilt ing, cooking, welding. I’ve found a 1955 UF yearbook as part of a teacher’s estate; a collection of Civil War-era buckles and bullets from a guy who spent weekends

using metal detectors; a red Craftsman tool chest stuffed full of Snap-On tools; and one woman’s assortment of glass eyes. (This job is not for everyone. Taking the lid off that box was a real eye-opener.)

The estate I’m working on now has 951 dolls (I counted). No one needs that many dolls. But I’m sure they made the owner happy. There are dolls sitting on every piece of furniture. There are glass-fronted cabinets full of dolls. Her husband built a display shelf around the perimeter of the living room for the dolls. Then he added on a porch. Then another porch. Then built another house to help store them all.

I didn’t have anything against them before, but now I simply hate dolls. And

it’s not because of the work entailed. Most of them don’t have to be researched. Dolls aren’t selling well right now, so most are worth $5 to 15. But there are also some true antiques in the mix — valuable handmade dolls from Germany and France, dolls with porcelain faces and ugly hairstyles worth $500 each. There’s a 5-foot-tall French Bru doll worth several thousand dollars. Barbie dolls (even the fancy ones, still in the box) don’t bring much anymore. At an auction, they’d sell for around $5 each. I’ll try to get $10. But this collector has a seven-piece set of M*A*S*H figurines (still sporting original price tags of $1.25 each on mark down) that is currently being sold online

for $225. I learn something every day. So it’s not the work. It’s the uncomfort able and unrelenting feeling that I’m being watched. I’m starting to get creeped out. I think I saw a head turn in my direction. I swear I put Raggedy Ann on a different table. I’ve started leaving the house before I can hear them whispering among them selves about my hairstyle.

Marvel’s ‘She-Hulk’ Series On Disney+ Is Funnier Than I Expected

One of the fun parts of the several Marvel Universe series on Disney+ is that they delve into the “little problems.” The supervillains are not quite as fearsome, and the issues generally are of a more personal nature. Several of the series have been flat-out funny. Others delve into the underbelly of that universe. The new series She-Hulk is one of the funny ones.

I admit to being dubious before watch ing. The trailers for She-Hulk had more than a fit of feminist anger toward men front and center. But I discovered, to my delighted surprise, that the show is a riff on a lot of issues and refuses to take itself seriously. While the Avengers fight off the death of half the life in the universe, Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) is an attorney who sometimes grows to six feet, seven inches and turns green, picking up all the strength of a hulk while dealing with very strange law cases. She is Bruce

‘I’ CULTUREOn

ByWechslerLeonard

Banner’s cousin (Mark Ruffalo does cam eos) who is in an auto accident with him and winds up crashing against him. Both lose blood, and it blends, turning her into a female version of the Hulk.

After being fired from the district attor ney’s office for saving the lives of a jury from her arch-enemy Titania (Jameela Jamil), a minor super-villain, she is fired. Not realistic, but on the other hand it looks like she lives in California. Then she has to defend Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), a

mild-mannered Brit who wants parole so he can be “one-eighth of a stable romantic relationship with seven of his female pen pals.” The small problem is that he is also Abomination, a mutant somewhat similar to Hulk, but considered a bad guy. To make things worse, he disappears from his supposedly impregnable jail cell one night. It turns out Wong (yes, that Wong, played by Benedict Wong) needed him for a fight to prove his own worthiness for the title of Supreme Sorcerer. For those checking, the fight actually happened in the movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

A really fun episode was when Titania copyrighted the name “She-Hulk” and gets a court order demanding Jessica stop using the She-Hulk name. Which leads to Jessica trotting out a group of men, losers all, who only wanted to date her in her large, green form.

So, yes, the show can have fun with men as losers, but it also presents Jessica and some of the other women in the same satirical light. And instead of an anti-male, anti-powers-that-be screed, we have a screwball comedy. And so the show really works. Not brilliantly, but it is fun.

A key element is Maslany, who man ages somehow to make a superhero seem vulnerable. Yes, she can throw bad guys around as if they weighed nothing, but she feels that although adorable as herself, she only attracts men when she outweighs them and takes over the whole love pro cess. One of the funniest scenes is when she comes back to an interrupted date with an interesting man, still huge, and picks him up and carries him upstairs (he is very cooperative in this). Of course, he shows no interest in her the following morning when she is back to herself.

Another strong point is the supporting

cast. Jamil is great as Tatiana, completely over the top in her narcissism, probably as able to annoy her enemies to death as to kill them with her strength. Ginger Gonzaga is funny and appropriately ditzy as Nikki, Jennifer’s paralegal, sidekick and best buddy. She is becoming a scene-steal er. Jon Bass is good as Todd, a billionaire, who might, just might, be a boyfriend if he wasn’t so much of a loser (while still being a billionaire). There are some great cameos, especially Benedict Wong, who shows he can really handle comedy, Tim Roth as Blonsky, and even a funny bit by Megan Thee Stallion.

If you have Disney+, you’ll probably enjoy this. It is not really for kids, although there’s really nothing offensive in it. However, they might not get most of the jokes. Watch past the first episode, which is really just setting things up. It seems to improve episode by episode.

Because of the volume of this particular estate, I won’t have it completely priced until mid-October. There’s the main house, the “doll” house, a basement, a shed and an absolutely filthy 400-square-foot workshop. The workshop is full of tools, thankfully, not dolls but — did you see Chainsaw Massacre? The Town-Crier Newspaper W. Forest Hill Blvd., Suite 33, Wellington, FL

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