Boca Raton will have umbrellas and chairs similar to Delray’s beach furniture.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Related story: After much to-do, new beach furniture seems to please everyone

By Steve Plunkett

    Rows of blue beach chairs with billowing umbrellas are coming to Boca Raton’s beaches but not for at least six months.

    The City Council decided Feb. 10 to request proposals from vendors tailored to Boca Raton’s needs, which include offering drinks and food for sale and possibly renting paddleboards.

    “As much as I don’t want another six months to pass … I really think that we have to go out to bid on this,” Mayor Susan Whelchel said.

    The city could have piggybacked on a contract Pompano Beach has with North Palm Beach-based Oceanside Beach Service Inc. and have rentals out this month. But that contract is only for beach equipment, not edibles.

    “I think we definitely need to have beverages and maybe snacks,” City Recreation Services Director Mickey Gomez said.

    Gomez said South Beach, Red Reef and Spanish River parks could accommodate no more than one line of lounge chairs because the beaches are narrow. Double chairs, about 30 feet apart, would be positioned to not obstruct the view of lifeguards or interfere with sea turtle nesting, he said.

    Council members removed the northern end of Red Reef Park from consideration because it’s the narrowest beach and also has the highest number of turtle nests.

    Gomez estimated Boca Raton would take in $24,000 a year if it used Pompano Beach’s contract prices. By comparison, he said, Delray Beach receives $300,000 annually from chair rentals and Deerfield Beach gets $90,000 a year.

    Rental rates in Pompano Beach are $10 an hour or $30 a day for a double lounge chair with umbrella or cabana, Gomez said. A beach chair is $5 an hour or $10 a day.

    Beachgoers told Gomez they’d like to rent paddleboards. Deputy Mayor Susan Haynie said such rentals have proved popular on the Intracoastal Waterway.

    Gomez also said only two or three vendors are equipped to provide beach equipment. 

    Oceanside Beach Service also has contracts with Delray Beach, Boynton Beach and Deerfield Beach.

    “We’ve come a long way since everybody was mad at our poor hot dog stand man,” Whelchel said after the council told Gomez to proceed.

    Controversy over a hot dog stand at South Beach Park erupted in 2008, Whelchel’s first year as mayor. City officials’ test of a “mobile concessions cart” turned out to be short-lived.

By Jane Smith

    Buckets of money are flowing into the Boca Raton municipal races for the March 11 elections from two main groups: development and public safety.

    Ten candidates raised $364,795, as of Feb. 7, the last reporting deadline before The Coastal Star went to press. The city has three open seats: mayor and two council members. Lawyer Scott Singer won a third council opening when no one filed to run against him. He raised $54,901. 

    The biggest money raiser was Susan Haynie, the deputy mayor who is running for mayor. Her campaign took in $109,131 for a part-time job that pays $9,000 (plus a $5,400 car allowance). More than 40 percent of her contributions came from development-related interests: real estate, developer, construction, attorney, architect or property management.  

    Haynie, who is running on her leadership and traffic-engineering experience, says it takes that kind of money to reach the 87,000 residents who live in Boca Raton with mailers and TV ads.

    “The city is moving in the right direction,” said the 41-year resident. 

    Development lawyer Charles Siemon, who donated $500 to her campaign, said she is the “logical next mayor. She understands the issues.” He represents the planned Archstone Palmetto Park apartment complex that recently won its appeal of a court decision that sided with a neighborhood group and would have required a city referendum on the project’s approval.

    George Elmore, founder and president of Hardrives Inc., said he donated $250 to Haynie based on her experience. “She’s the best one to keep the city moving forward. Not like in Delray where they are tearing it apart.” Hardrives is a countywide paving contractor based in Delray Beach.

    Haynie’s opponent, City Councilman Anthony Majhess, raised $74,494. He received  $9,685, or 13 percent of his total, from development-related contributors. He also received more than 150 contributions from firefighters, police officers and their unions. He is a driver/engineer for Palm Beach County Fire Rescue.

    He said he can remain impartial in September when the city’s public safety contracts come up for approval, because “it is my duty, and I’m a county firefighter, not a city one.” He also notes that he voted twice to take back $3.8 million from police and firefighter pensions. 

    Jess Santamaria, a county commissioner who is term-limited, gave $500 to Majhess’ campaign. They are both members of the Metropolitan Planning Organization and often sit next to each other. Haynie chairs the MPO.

    “Anthony Majhess assured me he would withdraw the city from the suit against the County Commission and support the inspector general,” Santamaria said. When Santamaria ran for county commission in 2007, he ran on an anti-corruption platform.

    Fourteen cities remain in the lawsuit against the county for requiring the inspector general, which they see as an unfunded mandate. 

    If Majhess wins the mayoral contest, he still would need two more council votes to change the city’s legal strategy.

    Al Zucaro, another Majhess backer who donated $200, said he likes the careful and deliberate manner Majhess has shown at the council meetings. 

    “I feel he would manage the unbridled growth that the other council members seem to favor,” said Zucaro, a former West Palm Beach city commissioner who now lives in Golden Harbour, next to Majhess’ Golden Triangle neighborhood. 

    Majhess said he is for controlled growth to maintain the quality of life in Boca Raton. He does not want to create an urban center.

    County Commissioner Steven Abrams said he has to work with all elected officials in his district and was not endorsing either candidate. As  mayor of Boca Raton, he served many years with Haynie on the council.

    “I think she’s worked hard and deserves a promotion to the mayor’s seat,” Abrams said.

    In a debate Feb. 4 Haynie and Majhess distinguished the differences between them.

    Haynie implored voters to let her take her experience into the mayor’s office.

    “When you’re on the wrong end of a 4-1 vote it means that you are not a consensus builder, that you have the inability to bring forward your ideas and your issues and get buy-in from the rest of the body,” she said.Haynie also said the mayor’s demeanor sets the tone for how the city is perceived.

    Majhess said his stands on issues are based on easy-to-verify facts.

    “I did not speak in the abstract, I did not speak like a brochure,” he said.

    He said when he votes against colleagues he is not thinking about building a consensus. “It’s me being the herald and stomping my feet and shaking my fist at the sky trying to drum up not just your support but your attention to the matter,” Majhess said.

    In other contributions: Majhess, incumbent council member Michael Mullaugh and council candidate Robert Weinroth received donations from the Boca Raton Public Safety PAC.

    Haynie, Mullaugh and council challenger Craig Ehrnst received contributions from the city’s Chamber of Commerce PAC, Business Leaders United for Boca Raton.

    For Seat B, the candidates for this three-year council seat are: 

•     Incumbent Mullaugh, who raised $35,675, including $13,700 from developer-related interests. He received contributions from developer James Batmasian and real estate lawyer Mitchell Kirschner.
•     Challenger Mohamed Abdalla, a Lynn University admissions counselor, who raised $5,706 (including a $2,100 loan from himself). He received $1,500 from two developers.
•     Challenger Ehrnst, treasurer at NCCI Holdings, a workers compensation firm, who raised $24,866 (including a $10,000 loan from himself). He received $2,500 from developers.  
•     Challenger Eric Gooden, a Lynn University student, who raised $5,097 (including a $500 loan from his campaign manager). None of his contributors listed occupations in development, but he did receive $40 from Al Jacquet, the Delray Beach incumbent commissioner.

    Majhess had to resign his Seat D for his mayoral run. Challengers for the remaining year the term are:

•     Rosetta Bailey, a retired banker, who raised $725 (including a $500 loan from herself) from two contributors. She received $200 from a Realtor.
•     Weinroth, president and general counsel for Freedom Medical Services, who raised $44,675 (including $16,000 in loans from himself), including  $8,700 from development-related groups. He also received contributions from 73 firefighters.   
•     Yaniv Alcalay, a Boca Raton businessman, who raised no money, but lent his campaign $9,500.

    City Clerk Susan Saxton said voter turnout was 11 percent in 2012 when Majhess was re-elected and 7 percent in 2011 when outgoing Mayor Susan Whelchel was re-elected.

    Abrams said the election is the first in recent memory that the council has four openings.

    “You’re going to have a fairly new cast of characters and certainly a new dynamic regardless of who wins,” he said.

Steve Plunkett contributed to this story. Campaign report analysis by Price Patton.

By Steve Plunkett

    Someone is wondering whether Boca Raton should buy South Inlet Park from the county.

    County Commissioner Steven Abrams told Eric Call, the county’s parks and recreation director, that the city was asking about such a sale.

    “Let’s assume the use would be required to remain the same (this commissioner certainly would not be in a position to explain to the neighboring residents that it would be used for any other purpose!)” Abrams emailed Call.

    Call answered that the county has tried to avoid disposing of beachfront property over the years because the opportunity to replace it with a comparable property “is nearly impossible” due to a lack of undeveloped parcels.

    But, Call said, the county once owned Phipps Ocean Park in Palm Beach so a sale of South Inlet Park would not be precedent-setting.

     “I would recommend that if consideration is given to sell this park to the city that the proceeds from the sale be used to acquire additional property for future county park development,” Call said.

    City Manager Leif Ahnell told Abrams he was asked to determine if the county would permit such a sale, Abrams said. Ahnell did not identify the person seeking the information, and Abrams did not ask who it was.

    “I’d be more involved if the city took an official position,” Abrams said.

    Assistant City Manager Mike Woika said the county commissioner misunderstood the city’s question.

    "I don’t think anyone’s talked about a purchase,” Woika said. “It’s just an opening of discussion.”

    City police already answer calls from South Inlet Park. In October 2010 Sheriff Ric Bradshaw pulled the 52 deputies in his parks enforcement staff in a $7 million budget-cutting move. He also asked cities to take over patrolling the parks.

    Call said county residents would have to be guaranteed equal access to South Inlet Park if it were to become city-owned.

    A little over 11 acres just south of the Boca Raton Inlet, South Inlet has a jetty, picnic areas, a playground and outdoor showers. Parking is $2 an hour on weekdays and $3 an hour on weekends.

    At Boca Raton’s three beachfront parks — South Beach, Red Reef and Spanish River — parking is $15 weekdays and $18 weekends. Residents of the city and the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District can buy annual parking passes for $55. 

    The beach and park district also owns the idle Ocean Strand parcel on State Road A1A between Spanish River and Red Reef. It toyed with making Ocean Strand a park but dropped the idea in 2012 after a consultant said there was no present need for a fifth beachfront park in the city.

SEAT B

Mohamed Abdalla

    Personal: 24; bachelor’s degree in business administration, 2011; near completion on master’s in the same field of study, both at Lynn University; single, no children.

    Professional: Graduate and evening admission counselor at Lynn University.

    Political experience: Worked on political campaign for Rhode Island Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis.

    Position on issues: Promises to be honest about spending and open about where a residents’ tax money goes, showing how the money spent will directly benefit them. Wants to streamline the permit process for small-business owners and entrepreneurs to help the city grow economically. Hopes to fill 5 percent to 8 percent of the city’s vacant office space by partnering with the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, and says the partnership also will bring tourism to Boca Raton. Supports anything that will create smart economic growth. Says residents want to see culture, and developing that right in the heart of the city will greatly benefit all community members.

    Quote: “We all are in it together; let’s bring Boca Raton back to its roots.”

Craig Ehrnst

    Personal: 49; bachelor’s and master’s in business administration, University of Michigan; married, three children.

    Professional: More than 25 years in Finance and Treasury at ExxonMobil, Ryder and NCCI. Presently treasurer at NCCI in Boca Raton. Served as president of Peninsula Corporate Park Association for 10 years and on his homeowners association board for three terms.

    Political experience: Former chair and three-year member of city’s Financial Advisory Board. No prior elective experience.

    Position on issues: Wants to use a portion of the existing $5 million business incentive fund to hire a person to target specific employers. Wants the city to take a time-out on development to be sure the infrastructure can support the more than 2,000 rental units now rising downtown. To solve downtown parking problems, would raise meter rates in the short term and encourage businesses to offer discounts to offset the increase, and long term would build a parking garage. Says Boca Raton needs better leadership and a change.

    Quote: “The best candidate will demonstrate three things: 1) leadership, 2) knowledge and 3) trust. Look closely, and the choice will be easy.  Put residents first!”

Eric Gooden

    Personal: 25; Currently a senior at Lynn University pursuing a bachelor’s in criminal justice, also has certificate in television and radio production from Specs Howard School of Media Arts in Southfield, Mich.; single.

    Professional: Intern in Washington, D.C., office of U.S. Rep. Sandy Levin (D-Mich.); intern, state Rep. Mark Pafford (D-West Palm Beach).

    Political experience: President, College Democrats.

    Position on issues: One of his highest priorities is to work to generate quality, high-paying jobs by encouraging a stable, business-friendly environment in the city to attract college graduates. Wants to implement smart growth and development that will preserve the beaches, parks and neighborhoods. Will encourage citizen engagement in all decision-making processes.

    Quote:  “What we have to do ... is to find a way to celebrate our diversity and debate our differences without fracturing our communities.”

Michael Mullaugh (incumbent)

    Personal: 73; bachelor’s degree and juris doctor from Duquesne University; married, one daughter, one stepson, three grandchildren.

    Professional: Former senior officer of the trust department of a major commercial bank. Estates and trust lawyer. Past president of HOA, of a country club and of a large social service agency that supports seniors in Palm Beach County.

    Political experience: Appointed to complete the term of a councilman who resigned, elected in 2011 and running for re-election this year.

    Position on issues: Says the council must focus on responsible economic development to expand the tax base and permit Boca Raton to continue as a sustainable, full-service city, which can be accomplished by filling the million-plus square feet of vacant office space rather than by new development. Says his votes for innovative zoning for office parks and tax incentives for businesses helped create and retain 5,200 high-paying jobs with 2,500 on the horizon. Wants to convene a series of public meetings focused on future development downtown. Wants to provide adequate parking downtown though shared parking, new parking options and other planned mobility alternatives. Says traffic, especially on Glades Road, is a challenge but the Spanish River interchange being built on I-95 will greatly alleviate congestion.

    Quote:  “Retain me on Seat B and I will continue to be the mature, experienced voice of common sense on the City Council.” 

SEAT D

Yaniv Alcalay

    Personal: 40; attended Hofstra University and Florida Atlantic University; divorced, two children.

    Professional: Corporate finance.

    Political experience: No prior elective experience. Past president of the Boca Central Rotary; financial chairman of Boy Scout district that includes Boca Raton; assistant water polo coach at St. Andrews and Suncoast High School; volunteer for George Snow Scholarship Fund, Mae Volen Food for the Needy, Place of Hope (Haven Campus)

    Position on issues: Wants to maintain quality of life by keeping fire and police departments up to date, funded and ensure their needs are met. Says smart traffic decisions will enhance transportation, bicycling and sidewalks. Says Boca Raton can lower taxes, create more jobs and maintain essential city services. Wants to attract new businesses and good-paying jobs through sensible and smart development decisions.

    Quote: “I love Boca Raton, it is my home. I am a father and I am a businessman. I want to make the difference I know I can achieve.”

Rosetta V. Bailey

    Personal: 75; bachelor’s degree in business, La Roche College in Pittsburgh; married.

    Professional: Mortgage broker, former regional manager for PNC Bank in Western Pennsylvania.

    Political experience: Successfully lobbied the Boca Raton City Council to withdraw from the Seven/50 Plan Partnership, a South Florida regional planning effort. As Palm Beach County representative for Agenda 21 Enders, has presented seminars from Jacksonville Beach to Pembroke Pines on the United Nations plan for development, which the group says usurps individual property rights. Opened a campaign for incumbent Frank Barbieri’s School Board seat in 2012 but withdrew before the election.

    Position on issues: Wants limited government, local decision-making and more transparency in decisions by elected officials. Says she stands for property rights, representative government and fiscal responsibility.

    Quote: “Saving one neighborhood at a time.”

Robert Weinroth

    Personal: 61; bachelor’s in business administration, Northeastern University; juris doctor, New England School of Law; married, four sons.

    Professional: President and general counsel of Freedom Medical Services Inc., a medical supply company he and his wife founded in Boca Raton. Guardian ad litem. Member of Rotary Club of Boca Raton, South Palm Beach County Jewish Federation, Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce; past president of two homeowner associations.

    Political experience: Member of the city’s Elder Affairs Advisory Board in 2013. Ran unsuccessfully for county property appraiser in 2012.

    Position on issues: Says now more than ever the city needs to strongly regulate growth, deal with traffic challenges and prioritize economic sustainability through appropriately balanced budgets. Supports a regular review of development impacts, and promises to lead the way on mobility innovation to reduce congestion.

    Quote: “Great things happen when we focus on results, not who gets the credit.”

Polls are open 7 a.m.-7 p.m. March 11. For information, visit www.pbcelections.org.

Compiled by Steve Plunkett/The Coastal Star

    Voters will choose a new mayor and two council members in the March 11 election. The mayor and Seat B on the council are for three-year terms. Two candidates are in the mayor’s race, and four are running for Seat B. The Seat D position is for the one-year unexpired term of Anthony Majhess, who resigned to run for mayor. Three candidates are running. Scott Singer, a lawyer and real estate investor, won a three-year term in Seat A when no one else filed to run.

Susan Haynie

    Personal: 58; graduate of Lynn University, holds certification in Traffic Engineering Studies from Georgia Institute of Technology and Northwestern University; Florida native and 41-year resident of Boca Raton; married, five children.

    Professional: Former traffic engineering analyst for the city, community association manager. Named South Florida “Woman Transportation Leader of the Year” by the Women’s Transportation Seminar.

    Political experience: Deputy mayor since 2009, on City Council from 2000 to 2006 and from 2008 to present. Chaired city’s Neighborhood Improvement Study Commission and member of the Boca Raton Planning and Zoning Board, Federation of Boca Raton Homeowner Associations board, Coastal Ocean Task Force and Community Emergency Response Team. Chair of the Palm Beach Metropolitan Planning Organization and past president of Palm Beach County League of Cities.

    Position on the issues: Supports a balanced approach to growth and says the city’s low taxes and excellent services are made possible by quality development. Supports innovative approaches to traffic issues such as enhanced traffic signal technology, intersection improvements and planned mobility strategies in lieu of adding more asphalt for wider roads. Wants pension reform to create a sustainable plan that will not bankrupt the community. Supports seeking collaborative beach renourishment planning and funding and wants bed-tax dollars generated in the city directed back to Boca Raton’s beaches. Seeks a greater partnership with the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District in providing recreation, beaches and open space.

    Quote: “Only through collaboration and consensus building can we find the real solutions to our city’s challenges.”

Anthony Majhess

    Personal: 45; bachelor’s in sociology from the University of Florida; single, no children.

    Professional: Professional firefighter/paramedic. Experience in retail management, domestic business-to-business sales and international sales manager for a manufacturer of fire emergency vehicles.

    Political experience: Currently serving second term on Boca Raton City Council.

    Position on the issues: Says taxpayers can count on him to stand up to special interests “who are trying to turn Boca Raton into the next Broward.” Promises to keep taxes low and to maintain Boca Raton’s great quality of life.

    Quote: “There needs to be balance between progress and paradise.”

Trash is accumulating in the Hillsboro Canal

between Boca Raton and Deerfield Beach.

Photo provided by Richard Johnson

By Cheryl Blackerby

    Frustrated by the amount of trash in the Hillsboro Canal, Boca Raton Mayor Susan Whelchel asked Gov. Rick Scott for help.

    In January, heavy rains sent debris, including plastic bottles and vegetative waste, into the canal stretching from the canal gate near Military Trail to the Royal Palm Yacht Club on the Intracoastal Waterway, where the sludge clogged the intakes of boats. 

    Whelchel, in a letter dated Feb. 6, asked the governor to provide “guidance and direction to the water districts responsible for the maintenance of these canals.” 

    The two water districts she named in the letter were South Florida Water Management District, which owns, manages and maintains the canal, and the Lake Worth Drainage District, which primarily owns, manages and maintains the lateral canal systems that feed into the Hillsboro Canal.

    “This situation has become critical,” she said. “The impacts to the water system, the disturbance to the environment, and the unsightly accumulations are not acceptable.”

    Richard Johnson, a member of the Royal Palm Yacht Club, made a presentation including photos of the trash in the canal last month to the Boca Raton City Council. 

    “When it rains heavily and the South Florida Water Management District and the Lake Worth Drainage District open the gates upstream, and they haven’t cleaned up the garbage, which they don’t do, all that garbage comes down. It ends up in the intakes of the boats, and we have to send a diver down and unclog the intakes,” said Johnson.

    Johnson has seen plastic bags, sneakers, golf clubs and plastic bottles floating in the sludge. 

    “If we didn’t make a lot of noise, the trash would probably still be there,” said Johnson, who lives on the Intracoastal, where he see the debris that the canal dumps into the waterway. “It then goes into the ocean. A friend was telling me about a dead whale that had 50 pounds of plastic in its intestine.” 

    Johnson believes the answer to the trash problem is regular cleanups behind the canal gates.

    The large amount of trash in the canal in January was primarily the result of extremely bad weather, said Randy Smith, spokesperson for South Florida Water Management District.

    “We had two incredibly strong weather systems that dumped 20 inches of rain. We had an enormous amount of runoff, and an extraordinary amount of debris pulled toward the gates,” he said. 

    The debris swamped the nine major canal gates from Palm Beach to Miami-Dade, which the district maintains. “It’s a big job trying to keep these clean. It’s impossible to clean all nine gates at the same time.”

    The cleanup is done on an as-needed basis. The district’s primary concern is that nothing interferes with the flow of water out, and if that had been the case at Hillsboro, it would have gotten priority, he said.

    The cleanup of the canal started around Feb. 10. 

    "It’s presently clean,” Rolando Lequeux said Feb. 19. He had taken photos of the debris behind his house in Boca Raton. “But it builds up again. It’s an on-and-off problem and happens when there are heavy rains,” he said.

    Lequeux says the South Florida Water Management District responds when they’re called. “They are helpful and never turn us down. The thing is, we have had to call them and they don’t come immediately. They have other duties,” he said.

    Polluters dumping their vegetation and trash such as plastic jugs into the canals is also a big part of the problem, Smith said.

Al Scheinberg (left) and Sam Iselin

at their birthday party in Boca Raton’s Downtown Library.

Steve Plunkett/The Coastal Star

By Steve Plunkett

    The festivities were a few days early, but when you’re past 90 — well past 90 —who’s counting?

    "You’re how old?” asked colorful helium balloons overhead as Boca Raton police honored two longtime volunteers, almost 100-year-old Sam Iselin and almost 96-year-old Al Scheinberg.

    “These guys are my heroes,” Police Chief Dan Alexander said. “You can’t have a bad day when you walk into the lobby and see these guys smiling.”

    The birthday celebration Feb. 7 came five days before Iselin’s real birth date and 10 days before Scheinberg’s.

    “It’s not a function of how long they’ve lived. It’s how long they’ve served,” Alexander said.

    Iselin has been a greeter Friday mornings at police headquarters since 2000. Scheinberg helps out in the communications division, working three 8½-hour shifts a week since 2001, or more than 16,000 hours.

    “I honestly believe I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have this to wake up to,” Scheinberg said.

    Mayor Susan Whelchel declared Feb. 12 to be Sam Iselin Day in Boca Raton and presented him an official proclamation.

    “Every visitor to the Police Department received a hearty smile welcome and helpful directions,” Whelchel said.

    Both men are Army veterans and originally from New York, Alexander said, giving each of them an engraved plaque. 

    “Your continued service is an extraordinary achievement,” Iselin’s memento read.

    Scheinberg, who lives in Boca Teeca in the north end of the city, said he’s never missed a day in 13 years of volunteering.

    “They’ve been calling me the Ironman,” said Scheinberg, whose birthday is Feb. 17.

    Iselin has no plans of stopping now. He and his wife, Beverly, are listed as future occupants of the now-under-construction Sinai Residences. The complex, at the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County campus west of the city, is scheduled to open in two years.

    “It’s going to be a five-star building, no doubt about it,” Iselin said.

By Rich Pollack

    Town Commission meetings and other Highland Beach meetings, usually broadcast on TV, will not be available on the town’s public access television channel for about six months while Town Hall renovations are underway. 

    An $850,000 renovation project is expected to begin this month and continue for about six months. During that time, meetings usually televised live on Comcast Channel 99, will only be available online at the town’s website or on a disk available at town hall. 

    The interruption, said Town Manager Kathleen Weiser, is due to the need to disconnect and cap cable lines into Town Hall during the construction.

    Residents wishing to view Town Commission and other town meetings can visit www.ci.highland-beach.fl.us and click on “media archives” on the right-hand rail.  

    There, they’ll be able to find video of the most recent meetings as well as archives of previous meetings. Video of most meetings will be available online within 24 hours. 

    Funds for the renovations, designed to provide additional space for the town’s Police Department and to connect two separate town buildings under one roof for easier access, were approved last year in the 2013-2014 budget.

By Cheryl Blackerby

    The first turtle nest of the season was a loggerhead nest found at St. Lucie Inlet Preserve State Park in Stuart the week before turtle season was set to officially start March 1. 

    “More turtles will be coming at any time now,” said Kirt Rusenko, marine conservationist at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center. 

    Turtle nest volunteer spotters and coastal buildings’ groundskeepers were looking out for other early turtles in late February, and they will step up their efforts in March, particularly before sand dredging starts.

    Dredging for a beach renourishment project on the north Boca Raton beach is expected to start in late March, well into turtle nesting season.  “Every nest in that area will have to be moved before they start,” Rusenko said.

    A beach renourishment project in south Boca Raton, which was completed Dec. 9, left escarpments too high for turtles to nest.

    “We’ve got a bulldozer out there now knocking down escarpments so turtles can get on the beach. It will be done by March 1,” he said.

    Last year was a record year for the 5-mile beachfront in Boca Raton, with 1,178 nests. The 331 green turtle nests were more than double the previous year. There were 834 loggerhead nests, and 12 leatherback nests.

    The high nest numbers last year are believed to be the result of conservation work started in the 1970s for green turtles, particularly the efforts of Ross Witham, the marine turtle coordinator for the Florida Department of Natural Resources from 1963 to 1987. He started some of the earliest and longest-running sea turtle nest monitoring and nest protection programs in the U.S. 

    “We’re about a generation later, and I think we’re seeing some of the results from his work,” said Rusenko.  It takes green turtles about 30 years to reach sexual maturity. They can live 80 to 100 years or longer.

    The Gumbo Limbo Nature Center will celebrate the start of turtle nesting season March 1 with the ninth annual Sea Turtle Day Festival, which will feature live animal presentations, tank feedings, children’s theater, guided tours and sea turtle rehabilitation. Entrance is free with a suggested donation of $5 per person. There is free parking in Spanish River Park with a free shuttle to the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center.

By Tim Pallesen

    A year of controversy has ended with beachgoers raving about the comfort of new oak chaise lounges with 3-inch thick cushions. 

    “We’re the first cushion testers. These are the most amazing chairs we’ve ever sat in,” college student Samantha Kline said as Oceanside Beach Services unveiled its new furniture on Delray Beach’s municipal beach on Feb. 22.

    “The seat cushion is perfection,” beach regular Francine Mitzman agreed. “This is absolutely phenomenal.”

    The jubilation signals a happy ending to the hard-fought question of whether the city could get a better deal on a beach services contract with a vendor other than Oceanside, which has been providing cabanas, umbrellas and chairs at the city beach since 2002.

    A previous city manager had extended Oceanside’s contract without competitive bids in 2012. Mayor Cary Glickstein and Commissioner Shelly Petrolia made competitive bidding a campaign issue when they ran last March.

    Glickstein, Petrolia and Commissioner Al Jacquet voted to seek bids for the beach contract last May. Only Oceanside submitted a bid, offering $300,000 a year for five years, compared to $170,000 that it paid before.

    Commissioners voted 3-2 in October to accept Oceanside’s bid, with Glickstein and Petrolia objecting. 

    The first 100 groupings of two oak chaises, table and umbrella are now in place. Another 150 groupings will arrive March 21.

    They rent for $40 a day or $500 annually, up from $30 a day or $400 annually for bulky old cabana setups that will be phased out in March.

By Rich Pollack

    Twice a month, for the last several years, Richard Siegel and members of his church group have been going to the Holiday Inn in Highland Beach after Tuesday morning Mass to share breakfast and a pretty view of the ocean. 

    But early last month Siegel got a few surprises along with his coffee and toast when he went to pull into the hotel.

    He discovered that the entrance on State Road A1A to the hotel he was used to driving into had been converted into an exit, requiring him to make a U-turn. He also found that the hotel had changed its name to the Delray Sands Resort on Highland Beach. 

    Then he learned that he could no longer park his car himself, but instead had to pay $3 for valet parking.

    “What they’ve done with the parking is absolutely atrocious,” Siegel said.  “They’ve just made a mess of it.”

    Representatives of Ocean Properties LLC, the company that owns the hotel, declined to discuss complaints about the parking. Town officials, however, said the hotel’s management is aware of the concerns and has been addressing them.

    “It’s a very correctable situation,” said Town Commissioner Lou Stern. “This will end up settling down.”

    Stern says the hotel decided to go to a valet-only parking system — with parking costing $3 during the day, $4 at night and $5 for special occasions — because parking was being abused by non-hotel guests who were not using the hotel facilities. 

    "Parking was a problem and they wanted to resolve it,” he said. 

    In addition, Stern said, the hotel — built in 1971 and the only commercial property in the small coastal town — is transitioning from a Holiday Inn to a more upscale beach-front resort, where mandatory valet parking is not uncommon.

    Town officials said they have been in contact with hotel management and were told plans are in the works to resolve problems stemming from the revamping of the entrance and exits on A1A. Some of the plans, however, require permits, which must be applied for and processed.

    The day after a letter was sent to Highland Beach Mayor Bernard Featherman by residents of a neighboring condominium complaining about the traffic problems, hotel representatives and condominium representatives met to resolve issues.

    “It’s all under control now,” said Pam Keely, property manager at the Highland Place Condominium. “I think people are starting to get used to the traffic pattern, so it is one thousand percent better.”

    Keely said a big part of the problem was that people wanting to avoid the valet fee were parking on the grass swale in front of the hotel, blocking visibility for those leaving the condo parking lot. 

    To address that issue, the hotel temporarily placed an attendant near the road to provide parking instructions. 

    While some of the congestion problems are evaporating, Siegel said he and his church group are discussing options in light of the parking changes at the hotel.

    “We’re looking at either car-pooling or looking for another place to meet,” he said.

By Steve Plunkett

    In-road pedestrian crosswalk signs may soon appear on State Road A1A in Boca Raton.

    Deputy Mayor Susan Haynie, who is running for mayor, urged her colleagues Feb. 25 to tell City Manager Leif Ahnell to pursue getting the free, mostly day-glow yellow signs from the state Department of Transportation for the 17 crosswalks on A1A.

    “It’s a safety issue, and it’s just an important thing to do for our pedestrians along A1A,” Haynie said, relaying a request from the Beach Condominiums Association.

    Council Member Anthony Majhess, her opponent in the mayor’s race, said no one supported him when he requested the same thing in 2012.

    “It’s something we should have done two years ago,” Majhess said.

    Council members decided Ahnell should either ask the state DOT to install the signs, which Highland Beach and Deerfield Beach already have, or report back on why they are not a good idea.

    In other action, the City Council approved letting a new firm manufacture craft beer in the Penn-Florida Commerce Center on South Rogers Circle. Barrel of Monks will be Boca Raton’s first brewery. 

    It will primarily produce beer for resale by distributors but will also have a tasting room with a 15-foot bar.

    “This is not the kind of beer that’s chugged at Dolphins games,” said Mitch Kirschner, the brewery’s lawyer.

    Incumbent commissioner Dennis Sheridan faces newcomer Rhoda Zelniker for a three-year term; incumbent Bernard Featherman (who serves as mayor) is unopposed.

    Also on the ballot is a charter amendment proposal to change the makeup of the canvassing board for future elections.

Dennis Sheridan (incumbent)

    Personal: 76; two-year degree in mortuary science; married, four children and 12 grandchildren.

    Professional: Licensed funeral director for 42 years. 

    Political experience: Served on Highland Beach Town Commission for the past three years. Previously served on the town’s Planning Board and Census Board. 

    Position on issues: Supports either the purchase or lease of a new ladder truck to replace the Fire Department’s existing ladder truck, which is 18 years old and functionally obsolete. Favors spending a half-million dollars to replace 50-year-old leaking water pipes in the Bel Lido community. Supports the sale of surplus town property (former water plant facilities located in Boca Raton) to a developer for the negotiated price of $3.5 million and using the proceeds to buy a new fire truck and/or address other critical town needs. 

    Quote: “I try to be as fair and open-minded as possible to represent all of the people of the town on all subjects. I thank the people of Highland Beach for the opportunity to serve them, and look forward to continuing my service in an effort to improve our town.”

Rhoda Zelniker

    Personal: 67; attended Hofstra University in New York; married, two children and five grandchildren. 

    Professional: More that 25 years in the corporate furniture industry. 

    Political experience: No elective office. Serving her ninth year on homeowners association board. Appointed in 2013 to the town’s Beaches and Shores Advisory Board.  

    Position on issues: Favors giving residents a vote on any commission expenditures over $500,000. Promises to work toward changing the commission’s spending limit accordingly. Supports putting the $3.5 million in proceeds from the sale of the town’s former water plant properties in Boca Raton toward paying down the debt on the new water tower. 

    Quote: “As a people person who enjoys communication with others, I value the intelligence and wisdom of our residents. I also believe we should have a voice in major financial decisions that affect us all.”

Polls are open 7 a.m.-7 p.m. March 11. For information, visit www.pbcelections.org.

Compiled by Paula Detwiller/The Coastal Star

Mark Rudes, left, shows his award-winning 1934 Rolls-Royce Park Ward Sport Saloon Touring car

to fellow Boca Raton resident Frederick David during the 21st Annual British Classic Car Show

at Royal Palm Place in Boca Raton. Rudes’ Rolls placed second in the historic class this year. 

Kurtis Boggs/The Coastal Star

James Warnke, Marion Bentley Wall and Roland James Dack,

founders of Roving Photographers.

Photo contributed

By Mary Thurwachter

    In 1972, an amateur photographer and world traveler from Gulf Stream joined two men whose skills complemented her own to form a company called Roving Photographers and Associates.

    The trio married their love of travel, history and capturing images on film to create travel and history books and training movies for industries, including Reynolds Aluminum, where they photographed the first aluminum boat built in Florida.

    Marion Bentley Wall (of the Bentley automobile fortune) founded Roving Photographers after she returned from an around-the-world cruise where her photographs were displayed. She told a reporter for a newspaper in Owosso, Mich. (where she was born and raised) that so many folks wanted to buy her pictures she decided she might as well go into business selling them. 

    Bentley Wall, who died in 1980 at the age of 71, moved to Florida in 1933. She and her husband, the late Thomas Ferguson Wall, had an oceanfront home near the Gulf Stream Golf Club.

    Roland James Dack and James Warnke were the other “Rovers.” 

    Dack was a professional photographer, pilot and scuba diver. His photos frequently appeared in Life magazine. One of his claims to fame was having shot some of the underwater scenes in Thunderball, a James Bond movie.

    Warnke, a historical researcher who had retired after a 32-year career with Southern Bell Telephone Co., founded the Palm Beach County Archeological Society. He was an author, skin diver and newspaper columnist and wrote scripts for films and books made by Roving Photographers. Like Dack, he also had a pilot’s license.

    Warnke’s son, Tom, of Boynton Beach, remembers going to play at Bentley Wall’s home on A1A when he was a child.

    “It was like a museum,” he said, “with ivory tusks and tribal masks from New Guinea. When she got older, my dad was her personal secretary so he got some of her relics after she died.” 

    Among the books produced by The Roving Photographers were Balustrades and Gingerbread, Key West’s Handcrafted Homes and Side Roads of Florida.

    “They made money with these books,” Tom Warnke said.

    Tom Warnke recalls a time Bentley Wall worried that a shipment of books would not arrive in Europe by the due date.

    “So she boarded the Concorde to England and took the books herself,” he said.

    While all three of the Roving Photographers have died, their work comes to life again with the re-release of a 1976 documentary, The History of Boynton Beach, Florida. A digital transfer, funded by donations in honor of the late former mayor and fourth-generation Boynton Beach resident Harvey Oyer Jr., means the old 16 mm film is currently available on DVD.

    The History of Boynton Beach, Florida was written by James Warnke.

    “My father could see Boynton was changing so quickly,” Tom Warnke said. “There were 1,000 people a day moving to Florida then. Boynton was growing by leaps and bounds. I-95 had just opened here. ... He (dad) thought it was a good time to make a time capsule as to the way it was at that time and also provide context from early habitation through the present.”

    The Roving Photo-graphers, known to use Hasselblad cameras, boarded Bentley Wall’s private plane to shoot aerial images of Boynton Beach for the documentary and also shot street-level scenes from open convertibles.

    James Warnke persuaded Lowell Thomas from the syndicated TV show Lowell Thomas Remembers to narrate the original film, which cost $10,000 to produce in 1976. Half of the money came from donations, while the city of Boynton Beach paid the remainder.

    “Until the 25-minute film was digitally transferred, viewers could only see it on a poorly made VHS copy,” said Ginger Pedersen, vice president of the Boynton Beach Historical Society.

    Florida Legacy Productions of Margate supervised the digital transfer and produced a new introduction for the documentary by Oyer’s son, Harvey Oyer III of West Palm Beach. New images of the city were added, too.

    As a bonus feature, Tom Warnke talks about the Roving Photographers and his father’s role in the company. 

    Ron Hurtibise, owner of Florida Legacy Productions, said the History of Boynton Beach, Florida DVD he edited is a great example of how today’s technology has made it easier and more affordable to share stories through on-camera interviews and architectural images.

Nichole Hickey, manager of artist services at the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County,

relaxes in a space designed by Lake Worth designer William Darrell Wright.

Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Designer Joseph Pubillones, who guest-curated the exhibition ‘Interior Design: The Florida Room,’

stands in a room designed by Nickie Siegel and Judy Weiss at the cultural council in Lake Worth.

A vintage ad for the Heywood-Wakefield Ashcraft line of rattan furniture depicts

a Florida room as it would have looked in the 1940s or ’50s.

By Scott Simmons

    Fifty years ago, the Florida room was the great equalizer among homes in the Sunshine State.

    Just about every home, large or small, had one. 

    Folks of a certain age will remember the typical space: a flat-roof, 12-by-15-foot room that was tacked onto the backs of the California ranch homes that sprang up everywhere in that post-World War II era.

    Three of the four walls would have been lined with windows, the better to catch the cross-breezes in those days before air conditioning was a standard feature. The ceiling would have had exposed beams and rafters. Sometimes, the pine and cedar oozed sap that dripped onto the furniture and the occupants.

    And that Florida room furniture? 

    It was casual, often of wicker or rattan, with colorful upholstery, and could have been made locally.

    West Palm Beach was home to Wilhelm, a company that’s still in the business of repairing wicker and rattan; but South Floridians also relied on wicker and rattan by Heywood-Wakefield and Ficks Reed, among others. 

    Floors could be bare concrete or that new-fangled terrazzo.

    As central air conditioning became more widespread in the 1970s, the Florida room became more integrated with the rest of the house, as owners glazed the windows, rolled shag carpeting across the terrazzo and decked out the space in swag lamps and macramé. 

    But that’s in the past.

Stephen Mooney created a tented retreat

of Blue Willow-patterned fabrics, white chairs

and an English Regency server atop a sisal rug.

The modern version

    The Cultural Council of Palm Beach County invited nine designers to offer their interpretations of that classic space.

    Those nine designers — Stephen Mooney, Susan Morgan, Frank Randolph, Allan Reyes, Angela Reynolds, Nickie Siegel and Judy Weiss, Gil Walsh and William Darrell Wright — have turned the 1960s sensibilities of a Florida room on end in “Interior Design: The Florida Room,” open through March 29.

    “It stems from the solarium in England and those spaces. It kind of transcended from there to here,” said Nichole Hickey, manager of artist services at the cultural council. 

    But few of the spaces resemble those solaria or the Florida rooms of yore, for that matter.

    “The purpose of the room really hasn’t changed, except that it’s sophisticated and stylized,” said designer Joseph Pubillones, who guest-curated the show. “It used to be a hodgepodge of leftover furniture that was available. Now it’s a room of the house that’s worthy of design.”

    Hence the designers.

    “With our exhibition, we’re trying to go beyond the concept of what an artist is,” Hickey said. “A professional artist is one who creates art and attempts to earn a living at it.”

    In Stephen Mooney’s space, the Palm Beach designer has created a tented fantasy of blue and white, with lattice fabric covering the ceiling and a Blue Willow design draping the edges. White metal garden chairs surround a table lighted by a white tole chandelier.

    It’s the perfect spot for an intimate lunch or dinner.

    There’s no television, no Lawrence Welk; it’s not your grandmother’s Florida room.

    The same could be said of the bold room by Nickie Siegel and Judy Weiss.

    The South County designers wainscoted their room in a bold red, then topped it with a crisp turquoise. Upholstery is light, in off-whites and beiges, with bold, bargello-pattern pillows and striped cushions. An obelisk of shells stands on a table and a geometric rug carpets the cultural council’s tile floors.

    “Florida rooms are something of yesterday,” Siegel said. “This is what we think it would be if it were today.”

    Siegel, who grew up in Baltimore and has lived in South Florida for about 13 years, said she does not have a Florida room in her Highland Beach home. Indeed, the room she created with Weiss for the cultural council exhibition is the opposite of what she has in her own home.

    “I’m drawn to neutrals because I have a wonderful respect and adoration for art, and, for some reason, I’m drawn to red art,” she said.

    Designing a room like this offers an opportunity, Siegel said. 

    “We had a lot of fun with the inspiration and execution of this space. Usually, you’re working for a client,” so a designer has to take those preferences into account, she said. “We took those colors from the fabrics.”

    The rooms at the cultural council are very different spaces, but there is a link.

    “There’s always a seating area. Of course, the Florida room is where you go to relax,” Hickey said.

    Jupiter designer Angela Reynolds, whose projects included a Maurice Fatio-style house in Manalapan, brings an alternate sensibility.

    “I’m from Virginia, so my interpretation of what a Florida room should be is different,” she said.

    Reynolds actually has lived in Palm Beach County since she was 13, so she remembers the classic spaces. But for her room?

    “It was germinated through a back porch that was screened then glassed because we got air conditioning,” she said, remembering, “Back in the day, kids would sleep on the porch because it was too hot.”

    Her room looks back to that notion of the sleeping porch with a swing bed suspended from the ceiling beams. Soothing gray covers the walls and a crisp pink rug covers the floor. Her white coffee table is a piece of living art covered with succulent plants; the other accessories also are in white.

    “For me, a Florida room is an indoor-outdoor space,” she said, adding that she has a screened porch on her home. “I’m one of the few people who actually has a farmhouse like you’d see in Virginia,” she acknowledged. 

    The furniture here comes from Reynolds’ own porch.

    “It’s very feminine, very fresh. It’s from me,” she said.

    That variety of styles impressed Pubillones. 

    “It kind of reaffirmed the reason for the show, how designers will take the same task and come out with completely different rooms,” he said.

A familiar term

    “Florida room.” The term endures in places as far flung as Indiana and Michigan.

    Even Rena Blades, CEO of the cultural council, remembered hearing the term in her former home.

    “I heard the term in Texas, although we take it to a different level here,” she said.

    Blades does not have a Florida room in the traditional sense at the North Palm Beach home she shares with her husband, John.

    “Mine’s an outdoor Florida room. I didn’t close mine because of the nature of my house,” she said. “For me, I furnished it with comfortable, sort of woven rattan furniture and Middle Eastern mosaic tables and tile. It’s very comfortable and casual.”

    Perhaps that is what brings the Florida room back to its roots.

IF YOU GO

    What: ‘Interior Design: The Florida Room’

    When: Through March 29; there also will be a lecture by participating designers at 3 p.m. March 11.

    Where: Cultural Council of Palm Beach County, 601 Lake Ave., downtown Lake Worth

    Cost: Free

    Info: 471-2901 or palmbeachculture.com

Angela Reynolds’ space has a sleeping swing and a living coffee table planted with succulents.

Maxine Sonnenschein of Boynton Beach works out along the shore at Ocean Ridge.

An employee of the Tax Collector’s Office, she has lost weight and lowered cholesterol numbers

after learning to eat differently, thanks to wellness classes.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Paula Detwiller

    If your employer offered you cash back in your paycheck for taking action to improve your health, would you do it? 

    About 170 employees of the Tax Collector’s Office of Palm Beach County answered “yes” to that question last year. They chose to participate in a nonmandatory employee wellness program called “Journey to Good Health” that began in 2010.

    For their participation last year, these folks will receive $480 in cash rebates this year in their paychecks — essentially, a discount on their share of the agency’s medical insurance premium. They earned the rebates by attending free classes on nutrition, healthy cooking, stress management and fitness planning. They also had access to free, one-on-one counseling with a registered dietitian. 

    Starting this year, the wellness program is offering new incentives, such as free, at-work fitness classes and a free wearable device that lets users track their activity, food intake, sleep and weight. But participants found to have measurable health risks will have to do more than attend the classes to earn their $480 in rebates. 

    “This year, they have to improve one of their health risks, whether it’s blood pressure, cholesterol, body mass index or blood sugar level, in order to qualify for any rebate money,” says Palm Beach County Tax Collector Anne Gannon. 

    Program participants whose health screenings show no risks will automatically get the full $480 as a reward for staying healthy.

Pushing for good health 

    Gannon, of Delray Beach, is the same public official who generated controversy when she announced in 2009 that her office would no longer hire smokers. Her continuing quest to help employees lead healthier lives stems from her own health-consciousness: She grew up in a family with heart disease. Two sisters have died of it, and her father died of smoking-related heart ailments.

    When Gannon originally proposed the wellness program, which is run by a private firm that keeps participants’ health information confidential, “some of my directors didn’t like it,” she says, “and many employees questioned the whole thing.” They compared it to Big Brother.

    But participation has increased each year, and attitudes are changing. In a recent survey, 92 percent of participants said they would recommend the wellness program to other employees.

    One of the program’s biggest fans is self-described “workout freak” Maxine Sonnenschein of Boynton Beach. She lowered her cholesterol from 307 to 211 without the help of prescription drugs and lost about 10 pounds after learning to eat differently in the wellness program classes.

    Her son, a Type-1 diabetic who also has celiac disease, also benefited from the things his mom learned.

    “I had always been concerned with gluten and carbohydrates in foods because of my son,” she says. “I never looked at cholesterol — never even thought about it. Now I’m learning to create better meals for both of us, merging gluten-free foods with vegetables and more fiber.”

Making positive changes

    The Journey to Good Health was fruitful in 2013. Fifty-three participants lost a total of 455 pounds. Fifteen participants identified as prediabetic were removed from that classification upon rescreening. And 69 percent of those in the high-risk total cholesterol group decreased their risk, with an average reduction in total cholesterol of 11 percent.

    “The cool thing is, I’ve seen a lot of people around here change,” says Sonnenschein. “They take the stairs, they walk up and down the parking ramps, and they go out and walk more. They feel good about themselves.”

    “Healthy employees are more productive,” says Gannon. “They are also happier and treat our customers better.” 

    Originally, it was hoped that creating a healthier workforce would drive down the office’s health care insurance costs. But with current market forces working against that hope, Gannon says, “I just want costs to stay stable and not see any huge increases.”

    And of course, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. Last year about 60 out of 281 eligible employees said “no” to the program — despite the cash-back incentive.

    “We can create the culture and give them the tools, but we can’t do it for them,” says Gannon. “They have to meet us halfway.”

Paula Detwiller is a freelance writer and lifelong fitness junkie. Visit her at www.pdwrites.com.

Church members paint the exterior of the Journey Church in Boynton Beach.

They are scheduled to be in the building in time for Easter.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

A crew member from FLS  Painting scrapes,

paints and waterproofs the steeple

of Cason United Methodist Church in Delray Beach.  

Photo provided

    The new Journey Church is scheduled to open for Easter after a four-month delay caused when pastors decided to raise the roof on their $1.7 million construction project.

    The excitement began in 2012, when the mostly elderly members of Grace Community Church gave their $2.5 million church building in downtown Boynton Beach to the growing congregation of young families.

    About 1,400 people now attend worship services for the Journey Church temporarily at Park Vista High School on Sundays.

    Church members have raised $1.5 million to renovate the church building at 715 S. Federal Highway, and the city approved the original building permits last year. The plan was to open last Christmas.

    “But once I got the permits, the pastors decided they were going to raise the roof. We had to redraw the plans and then the pastors made more changes,” said Dave Van Den Berg, the good-natured general contractor. “The whole thing has been a blessing, but it has required patience.”

    Architect Dave Wilde says raising the roof was a great decision. The sanctuary’s 12-foot ceiling was lifted higher by 10 feet to 22 feet for better acoustics and lighting.

    “The pastors could picture that it wasn’t going to be anything special with a 12-foot ceiling,” Wilde said. “Now church services should be more lively. The raising of the roof will be worth the wait.”

    City officials approved the second set of permits on Jan. 27.

    “It became a long, unbelievable process. But now all the issues are behind us,” said the Rev. Scott Baugh, the senior pastor. “We’re looking for an Easter launch.”

    The Journey Church also has purchased a 45,000-square-foot building at the corner of Military Trail and Lantana Road to open its second location — also on Easter.

    Four deserving families will receive $5,000 each after First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach targeted its Christmas Eve offering for local needs.

    First Presbyterian asked the 15 community charities it works with to identify families who were trying to get back on their feet. Two families recommended by Family Promise and another two identified by Adopt-a-Family were chosen.

     “It’s about helping those who have less than we do,” explained Jeane Heavilin, co-chair of the Mission Outreach Committee. “That’s what Christians do.”

    One family with four children and a disabled father waiting for a heart transplant needed the money just to survive. Two other families needed transportation, so First Presbyterian bought two used cars from the new Wheels from the Heart charity for $3,000 each.

    The Christmas Eve outpouring reached $30,000 and money is still coming in. The remaining $10,000 will be divided among four more deserving families in the congregation. 

    The public is invited to the 42nd annual Fashion Show and Luncheon hosted by the Council of Catholic Women at St. Lucy Catholic Church in Highland Beach on March 4.

    Women from St. Lucy will model fashions from local dress shops at 11:30 a.m. at the Boca Country Club, 17751 Boca Club Road. The event is the congregation’s largest annual fundraiser.

    Tickets are $60. Call Jackie Philippoussi at (954) 990-3313 for details. 

    The wines from three California wineries (Cosentino, Clos Pegase and Girard) will be featured along with food from local restaurants at the “Raise Your Glass to End Hunger” wine tasting on April 10 to benefit CROS Ministries.

    Tickets are $40 in advance and $50 at the door. The 6-9 p.m. event will be at the Delray Beach Center for the Arts at Old School Square. Call 233-9009, Ext. 106.

    CROS manages the Caring Kitchen in Delray Beach and area food pantries.  

    Church of the Palms is getting a kickstart with a new youth ministry team that’s attracting teenagers to the Delray Beach church.

    Membership plummeted from 412 to 70 at the historic church at 1960 N. Swinton Avenue last year. A controversial pastor left in May.

    Now the congregation is showing signs of a comeback after the hiring last fall of Kaylin Richards, 22, and Sadrac Blanc, 24, to build a Sunday School.

    “We are blessed,” the Rev. Linda Harper told the congregation in her annual Christian Education report. “The next generation is growing in faith and fellowship with strong role models who are deeply faithful themselves.”

    Not only is the Sunday School growing, but Richards and Blanc also suggested Wednesday night get-togethers that are drawing the older children, ages 12 to 18.

    Kaylin invites her boyfriend, Wade Somero, to bring his guitar to the youth group. Harper delivers the pizza each week. 

    “I drive away saying ‘Thank you, Lord.’ I can’t believe this is happening — we have three dedicated youth leaders.”

    TV journalist Jane Pauley talked about mental illness as keynote speaker for the Reflections of Hope luncheon on Feb. 27 to raise awareness about the mental health services of the Ruth and Norman Rales Jewish Family Services.

    The charity offers psychiatric care and a day center for adults with long-term mental illness.

     Casey Cleveland, the pastor at The Avenue Church, may have gone where no pastor has gone before when Walmart asked him to pray at the grand opening of its Neighborhood Market on Federal Highway in Delray Beach last month.

    Walmart asked the Chamber of Commerce for a minister to give a blessing and the chamber recommended Cleveland, who recently spoke at the chamber’s annual prayer breakfast.

    “They asked me to come and pray as part of their festivities so I did,” he said. “It was great.”

    Cleveland was shocked when Walmart gave him $1,000 as a charitable contribution afterward. “This is kind of new territory for us,” he said.

Tim Pallesen writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Email him at tcpallesen@aol.com.

FAU sophomore Chris Cardella, a member of the university’s

bass club, shows a bass caught in one of the many small canals

connected to Lake Ida in Delray Beach. The bass was released.

Willie Howard/The Coastal Star

By Willie Howard

    Students in Florida Atlantic University’s Bass Fishing Club practice the art of fooling largemouth bass with artificial lures at Lake Ida in Delray Beach and sometimes between classes hone their fishing skills at ponds on the FAU campus.

    FAU’s bass club is one of a growing number of bass-fishing clubs at colleges and universities nationwide whose student members compete in college tournaments organized by FLW Outdoors and B.A.S.S.

    FLW College Fishing attracted 1,038 student anglers from 637 colleges and universities nationwide last year. 

    FAU bass club member Chris Cardella, a sophomore studying ocean engineering, is a Delray Beach native who enjoys the challenge of figuring out what will make bass bite in a variety of locations and weather conditions. 

    Cardella, 20, keeps a rod in his car and practices catch-and-release bass fishing when he gets a few moments between his classes, which include Calculus 2 and physics for engineering.

    Vance DeMartini, a junior studying management of information systems who founded FAU’s bass club two years ago, says it’s technically against school policy to fish on campus ponds. The administration told him fishing distracts students who are supposed to be focused on instructors during class. 

    “That’s a good argument,” DeMartini said. “I can’t argue with that.” 

    The Bass Fishing Club at FAU still has only a handful of active members. But DeMartini hopes to lure new student members to the club in the months ahead. 

    It takes only two talented anglers on a boat to represent a college or university in tournaments such as those sponsored by FLW College Fishing and Bassmaster’s Carhartt College series.

    On the FLW circuit, collegiate anglers compete in five regional conferences. They pay no entry fees. Travel allowances are offered to student anglers headed to invitational and national championship events. 

    Prizes for winning teams include cash for the bass clubs and a chance for top collegiate anglers to fish against touring pros in high-profile competitions including the Bassmaster Classic and FLW’s Forrest Wood Cup.

    To participate in FLW College Fishing, students must be full-time undergraduate students at a four-year college or university. B.A.S.S. has similar eligibility requirements for its college tournaments.

    This is a building year for FAU’s bass club. Cardella said members plan to focus on South Florida tournaments this year in preparation for an FLW regional qualifying tournament in early 2015. 

    Members of the FAU bass club include one female angler, who happens to be DeMartini’s fiancée. But the club president said it has been hard to attract new members to the bass club.

    “It’s fast-paced world, and bass fishing is a very slow thing to do,” DeMartini said. 

    The FAU bass club is looking for sponsors to help cover the cost of practice and equipment. The club also needs a bass boat.

    Any FAU student interested in the bass-fishing club can contact DeMartini by email at  Vdemarti@fau.edu.

    Boat Show: The 29th annual Palm Beach International Boat Show is set for March 20-23 along Flagler Drive (between Banyan Boulevard and Fern Street) in downtown West Palm Beach.

    Hours are noon to 7 p.m. March 20; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. March 21-22; and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 22.

    Show entrances will be on Flagler Drive at Evernia and North Clematis streets. Show-goers can follow signs to city parking garages and private parking lots.

    Admission is $16 for adults in advance or $18 at the gate. Tickets for youths 6-15 are $6 in advance or $8 at the gate. Children under 5 will be admitted free. For details and tickets, go to www.showmanagement.com or call (800) 940-7642.

    Tip of the month: Run the beach to search for cobia in 10 to 25 feet of water. Boats with towers or observation platforms are best for cobia hunting. No boat? Fish from the Lake Worth pier. Polarized sunglasses are a must. Be prepared to cast. Try casting a colorful cobia jig with a worm tail, or live baits such as sardines, pinfish, greenies (threadfin herring) or small mullet. Steer clear of swimming areas along the beaches. Note that cobia are powerful fish that can batter the inside of a boat when taken aboard. Regulations: Cobia must be at least 33 inches to the fork of the tail to be legal to keep. Daily bag limit: One per person or six per boat, whichever is fewest.

Willie Howard is a freelance writer and licensed boat captain. Reach him at: tiowillie@bellsouth.net.

Craig Harmon has stepped on board as director

of golf instruction at the Seagate Country Club.

Photo provided

By Steve Pike

    The Seagate Hotel & Spa in Delray Beach has for the past year or so sought to increase the visibility of its Seagate Country Club golf course. It’s renovated the original Joe Lee design, including installing Celebration grass on the fairways and TIF Eagle grass on its greens.

    Now the Seagate has gone a step farther — perhaps more than one — in hiring legendary golf professional Craig Harmon as its director of instruction.

    The Harmon name is as synonymous with golf as Derek Jeter’s name is to the New York Yankees. Craig Harmon’s father, Claude Harmon Sr., was head professional at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y., and the last-ever club professional to win a major championship — the 1948 Masters. Each of the Harmon brothers — Craig, Butch, Bill and the late Dick Harmon — have been ranked among Golf Digest’s Top 50 teachers. 

    Butch Harmon might be the best known of the brothers — he’s been swing coach to Tiger Woods and counts Phil Mickelson among his pupils on the PGA Tour. But Butch will tell you that Craig is the most like their father — a firm believer in golf fundamentals — on the lesson tee.

    Now, after 42 years as head golf professional at fabled Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y., Craig Harmon is bringing a lifetime of golf lessons and legacy to Seagate Country Club.

    Harmon continues the Seagate’s ties to Rochester — Seagate Hospitality Group Chairman E. Anthony Wilson is a successful real estate developer in the city and Jeff Sluman, the 1988 PGA champion, is a Rochester native and member of Seagate Country Club.

    “I know Tony Wilson very well and I’ve known Jeff Sluman (now a regular on the Champions Tour) since he was 18 years old,” Harmon said. “So when I retired from Oak Hill (in 2013) I was approached about becoming director of instruction and helping out at Seagate. It’s a first-class operation with the hotel and spa and course.’’

    Harmon isn’t new to South Florida. He’s been teaching for the past several years at the exclusive McArthur Golf Club in Hobe Sound. “I would be there through March and go back to Oak Hill in April,’’ he said. 

    But after 42 years as being the go-to man at Oak Hill for teaching and golf operations, Harmon decided it was time just to focus on the teaching end. His only inventory, Harmon said shortly after he announced his retirement, would be “between my ears.’’

    “I don’t have all those other responsibilities,’’ said Harmon, who is recuperating from recent hip surgery. “Although it was fun, it was time just to teach.’’

    Harmon said he plans to spend approximately three days per week at Seagate Country Club and three days per week at McArthur. His days of commuting to Oak Hill are over.

    “I can’t wait for people to start coming down on hotel packages. I think that’s going to be very cool,’’ Harmon said. “And for guys who want to do a ‘guys’ trip, it’s pretty cool to stay at the Seagate and go to the spa and beach club and play 18 holes at the country club.’’

    It’s even better when you get a lesson from Craig Harmon.