By Jane Smith

The Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency’s effort to convert old homes into restaurants has hit some more snags.
For the historic Magnuson House at 211 E. Ocean Ave., the CRA will let the owner proceed at his own pace after a motion to take the property back failed at the agency’s January meeting.
“We’ve been more than generous as to the time,” said Joe Casello, a board member and Boynton Beach city commissioner. He along with Mayor Steven Grant voted to begin the process to take the property back.
The three other members — Justin Katz, Mack McCray and Christine Romelus — voted not to proceed.
“I’m worried that we would have to incur substantial, unknown costs,” Katz said.
The two-story home was sold to a Philadelphia-based developer in October 2015. Since then, the owner has submitted architectural drawings and revisions, but Boynton Beach staff is still waiting for more answers. The last round was submitted in May.
In December, the agency’s attorney sent the owner a letter to speed up the process, said Michael Simon, executive director.
“But nothing was submitted as of today,” Simon told the board members Jan. 18.
Neither the owner, Steve Labov of Shovel Ready Projects in Philadelphia, nor the architect, Jim Williams of AW Architects in Boca Raton, could be reached for comment.
Meanwhile, the eatery going into what was known as the Little House has a June opening date, said Lisa Mercado, the operator of what will be called Fork Play. It will serve light bites and craft beers and wine at 480 E. Ocean Ave.
The opening will coincide with the completion of the nearby apartment project 500 Ocean.
In December, the project’s owners asked for a six-month extension from the agency. They could not meet a Dec. 31 completion date.
Board members grudgingly agreed because the project was supposed to be finished in time to get on the 2018 tax rolls and give the agency some income to do more projects. The county property appraiser assesses all existing properties as of Jan. 1.
Fork Play’s owners also received a fourth extension in December. Its owners enclosed the porch with impact windows, installed a new metal roof and paid for other upgrades.

By Dan Moffett

Briny Breezes council members took the advice of new Town Manager Dale Sugerman on Jan. 25 and voted to bring in a special magistrate to resolve disputes with homeowners who refuse to comply with building codes.
The vote was 4-1, with Alderwoman Christina Adams dissenting. Adams favored creating a code enforcement board made up of residents to decide the violation cases.
Sugerman, the first town manager in Briny’s history, argued to the council that, while either a magistrate or citizens board would work, the magistrate was the better choice.
“Both processes would result in nearly identical expense to the town,” Sugerman said.
With the magistrate process, the town would have to pay an hourly rate to a retired judge or specially trained lawyer to hear the cases. With the citizens board, the town would have to pay a lawyer an hourly rate to represent the board members.
Sugerman said the magistrate approach is preferable because of the difficulty in finding residents to fill the board. The volunteers would need to have some experience with codes or building, they would have to be in town year-round to hear cases in the summer, and they would have to be free of conflicts of interest or bias against neighbors who might come before them.
In a close-knit, close-quartered community like Briny, those criteria would be hard to meet.
The special magistrate will be brought in only as needed, and that won’t be often. Council President Sue Thaler said “99 percent of building violations are resolved” quickly with minimal disputes.
Sugerman said he expects magistrates to charge between $175 and $275 an hour and told the council he would have more information for the February meeting.
In other business:
• Many Briny residents have wondered in recent months what duties a part-time town manager would perform. Sugerman, who has worked as a municipal manager for 40 years with recent stops in Delray Beach and Highland Beach, gave the council and residents a rundown of his first month on the job.
During the first three weeks of January, Sugerman said, he reported to Palm Beach County on the town’s plans for using penny sales tax revenues, met with a FEMA representative to seek reimbursements from Hurricane Irma, attended a League of Cities meeting, surveyed residents on code and rules enforcement, screened candidates for the deputy clerk position after Jackie Ermola announced she was resigning Feb. 16, worked on resolving golf cart-crossing issues with the state, researched obtaining drawings of the town’s utility system, scheduled a meeting with the Boynton Beach police chief to discuss safety issues, and provided guidance to the council on hiring a special magistrate.
• Briny plans to mark its 60th anniversary as a community with food, drink and celebration on March 24, general manager Theresa Pussinen says. Corporate officials will release times of events — including a possible golf cart parade — and more details next month.
In 1958, Michigan native Ward Miller sold the land that became Briny to a group of trailer campers, and a community was born. Five years later, Briny was incorporated as a town.

Residences at Water Tower Commons will feature Colonial Caribbean architecture. Rendering provided

By Mary Thurwachter

Construction is expected to begin this month on residential development at Water Tower Commons, a 73-acre retail and residential project east of Interstate 95 on Lantana Road. 
The first phase will include 360 apartments in 14 multifamily buildings, a clubhouse with a resort pool, recreation areas and other amenities such as carports and garages. A 6-foot wall will surround the residential development.
Ken Tuma, on behalf of the master developer Lantana Development, received approval during the Jan. 22 Lantana Town Council meeting to reduce the number of parking spaces per unit from 2.5 to 2.15, and to add three monument signs. A landscape plan was also approved.
Water Tower Commons, being built on the site of the former A.G. Holley tuberculosis hospital, is the biggest development in Lantana’s 96-year history. It is expected to bring shops, restaurants, offices and up to 1,100 residential units to the town of more than 10,000 residents. 
The property is being developed by Lantana Development, a partnership between Southeast Legacy and Wexford Capital. But Tuma said the residential portion of the project, on 16 acres, will be handled by the Related Group, a leading private developer with 40 years of building and managing high quality communities throughout the world. About 10 years ago, the Related Group built the Moorings, Caribbean-style condos about a mile away along the Intracoastal Waterway.
Construction on the retail portion of Water Tower Commons is about a year behind schedule, in part because of the challenging retail environment, Tuma said.
While council members generally praised the residential design, they weren’t as thrilled about the Colonial Caribbean architecture.
“I do have to admit it looks good,” said Mayor Dave Stewart. “But it doesn’t look like we always thought it would. We wanted more of the seaside village look.”
His colleagues expressed similar concerns.
“I like everything I’ve seen but I’m a little concerned about Colonial Caribbean,” said Vice Mayor Lynn Moorhouse. “We’re a little Key Westy.”
Council member Phil Aridas said adding garages and carports was an upgrade, but also questioned the Colonial Caribbean architecture. “We sell ourselves as a seaside village and we don’t want to lose that,” he said.
Tuma said the architects thought the Key West, fishing village theme was conveyed through color and awnings.
“Colors are what will tie it all together,” he said. Architects said they wanted to bring more elegance to the seaside village look with dancing parapets, very light colored roof and white window frames.
Council members were also concerned that there won’t be elevators in the apartment buildings, even those that have three stories.
“How can you be ADA compliant with three-story buildings and no elevators?” Stewart asked, referring to the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“This does meet ADA standards,” Tuma said. “One hundred twenty units are on the first floor.”
Chamber of Commerce President Dave Arm urged the town to accept the plans.
“This is a project that has to be done,” Arm said, “This is the future of Lantana. If you don’t approve this tonight, this might not be developed by the current ownership.”
Plans were approved by a 4-1 vote, with Stewart the lone dissenter.
“It’s good, but not what I had the vision for,” Stewart said. “I don’t have a good feeling.”
In other news, the Town Council learned it would not have a municipal election on March 13 because Stewart, the only council member whose term is expiring, is the only candidate for the Group 5 position.

By Jane Smith

Boynton Beach residents will soon be asked whether they want to allow dogs on the beach in Oceanfront Park.
At its January meeting, the city’s recreation and parks advisory board approved sample questions to be posted on the city’s website. “Staff drafted a sample survey and the board agreed to the questions,” said Wally Majors, recreation and parks director.
Next, he will meet with Eleanor Krusell, the city’s communications and marketing director, to review the intro and questions, hoping the survey will be posted on the Boynton Beach website in early February.
“The survey will ask residents whether they want to allow dogs on the beach at Oceanfront Park on select days and hours,” Majors said.
Then, residents will be asked under what conditions, such as leashed or off-leash, he said. They will also be asked if they would bring their dogs to the beach and if they willing to pay a fee. A permit fee, to be determined, would cover the cost of checking to make sure dogs are current on vaccinations and other costs involved with having a dog beach, including having a park ranger to manage it.
At the December City Commission meeting, Mayor Steven Grant asked the board to poll residents about allowing dogs on the beach at Oceanfront Park. Commissioner Joe Casello had proposed the idea in August.
The park, while owned by Boynton Beach, sits within the town of Ocean Ridge. That arrangement led to an October meeting between Boynton Beach city management and its Ocean Ridge counterparts.
The message from Ocean Ridge was clear: Its laws do not allow animals on the public beach. Private beach owners, though, could allow dogs.
Boynton Beach staff delivered that message in December. Casello wanted to proceed with creating a dog beach at the Oceanfront Park.
City residents also will be invited to speak about the dog beach issue at the advisory board’s 6:30 p.m. meeting on Feb. 26 in the Boynton Beach City Commission chambers.
At the board’s March meeting, members will discuss the survey results and the comments made at the February meeting, Majors said. Then, they will make a recommendation about allowing dogs on the beach in Oceanfront Park and present their findings to the City Commission in April. 

ABOVE:Visitors to Mounts Botanical Garden gather around a sculpture of ‘Pris­cilla­ the Parrot Fish,’ composed of marine debris collected from Pacific beaches. BELOW RIGHT: Detail of ‘Sebastian James the Puffin,’ created from rubber pieces and other marine debris. Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Lucy Lazarony

Since “Washed Ashore” arrived at Mounts Botanical Garden in early December, the crowds have been rolling in, too.
“We’ve seen a 50 percent to 65 percent increase in daily attendance,” says Rochelle Wolberg, the garden curator. “Visitors love the exhibit; they’ve never seen anything like it before. They love the fact the sculptures can relate to all ages but that the message is thought-provoking and deep with regard to environmental stewardship and taking care of the earth.”
The 10 sculptured sea creatures of “Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea” are 12 to 16 feet in length and up to 15 feet in height. The shapes include a puffin, a marlin, a seal, humpback whale tails, a parrotfish, a jellyfish and a sea anemone with blades that rattle when you shake them.
Each one is made of pieces of plastic and other debris collected from the beach.
“We try to make them big because it’s a very big problem — plastic pollution in the ocean,” explains “Washed Ashore” artist Angela Haseltine Pozzi. “From a distance, they’re beautiful. Up close, they are horrifying. You realize this is all garbage, pollution, on the beach.”
Young viewers are quick to understand the message of “Washed Ashore.”
“Kids get it right away how wrong it is,” Pozzi says. “It’s an education exhibit is really what it is.”
“Flash the Marlin” looks like a marlin; but when you look close, he is made of sunglasses, toothbrushes, water bottles, fishing lures, fishing poles and a toilet seat.
“Priscilla the Parrot Fish” is colorful and cheerful; but closer inspection shows she is made of bottle caps, buoys, lighters, beer cans and a bowling pin.
“Lidia the Seal” looks cheery, too; but she is made up of lots of plastic lids, flip-flops, beach toys, flashlights and a soccer ball.
“It does help to reach the children,” Pozzi says. “I really encourage people to take their families.”
The exhibit’s educational and environmental message is getting around. “Washed Ashore” exhibits have been held at the United Nations and the Smithsonian Institution.
“We’ve made about 70 works of art out of 21 tons of garbage in the last seven years,” says Pozzi, who designed all the sculptures and made the heads and tails and fins and feet in Bandon, Oregon.

The teeth of ‘Priscilla the Parrot Fish’ are floats from a drift net.

The debris was collected from Pacific beaches and was washed and sorted by color, shape and type.
“It’s a very, very labor intensive process,” Pozzi says. Thousands of volunteers help through community workshops, building small parts of the project and, of course, collecting trash — much of it plastic.
Wolberg says “Washed Ashore” was a natural fit because “Mounts is really invested in the theme of water and environmental stewardship.”
She described the “Washed Ashore” sculptures as “whimsical, colorful” and “with a very strong message.”

ABOVE: Humpback whale tails appear to dive into the depths at Mounts Botanical Garden. The tails have tire pieces, flip-flop soles and other dark debris. BELOW: Children play tunes on the ‘Musical Seaweed’ at Mounts.

“Washed Ashore” opened Dec. 2 and will run through early June at Mounts Botanical Garden.
“It’s our longest exhibit,” Wolberg says. “It’s been fun for us. It’s made us think outside the garden.”
Wolberg heard about “Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea” from Sandy Smith, who lives on Singer Island and is board chair of Friends of the Mounts Botanical Garden. Smith came across “Washed Ashore” when doing research and reached out to Wolberg.
“I’m a sailor. I’m on the water a lot, so this really spoke to me — this exhibit,” Smith says. “If this exhibit can awaken people to the pollution problem we have, I’ll be extremely happy. I love the anemone reef; it is what I see when I dive.”
Pozzi hopes viewing the exhibit will prompt people to recycle more and use less plastic.
“Any action someone takes is a good thing,” Pozzi says. “It’s a wake-up call.”

If You Go
Address: 531 N. Military Trail, West Palm Beach
Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; closed on holidays
Admission: free for members, $15 for non-members, $5 for children 5-12, and free for children 4 and younger Info: 233-1757 or www.mounts.org.

LEFT: The ‘Water Bottle Jellyfish.’

ABOVE: Professional speaker Myra Goldick uses a motorized chair to counter the effects of post-polio syndrome, for which she had surgery. Her lecture series focuses on living life to the fullest at any age regardless of adversity. BELOW: A Carlisle resident asks fellow resident Goldick a question. She believes gratitude, forgiveness, happiness and a positive attitude can make aging a wonderful experience. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Lona O’Connor

Plenty of people preach that the post-retirement years are a boon. But for sheer credibility, almost nobody can top Myra Goldick.
Born in 1943, she grew up poor. Her single mom supported her and her brother. She got polio at age 10. Over the next decade, she recovered the ability to walk with only a slight limp. She married, had two children and made a successful career in the cosmetics industry.
Through more than her share of obstacles, she has persevered.
“How you react is one of the most important things in the healing process,” she told an audience at the Carlisle senior residence in Lantana, where she lives. “Attitude is everything. You don’t have any extra responsibilities. This is the time to follow your dreams. We don’t just have to fade away. Let your imagination run wild.”
Goldick is launching her latest career as a motivational speaker. An intrigued audience filled the seats in the Palm Room at the Carlisle.
“I see that many of you came back after Myra’s program last month,” said Karen Delgado, director of resident programming at the Carlisle. “I think that’s because you’re in awe of Myra.”
Goldick was resplendent in a scarlet pantsuit. She wore her black pillbox hat at a jaunty angle. In addition to her other endeavors, Goldick was for a time a hat designer on Seventh Avenue in New York.
She started her talk at the front of the room but soon moved down the center aisle to draw out stories from the others. 
“I take the audience on a journey through the first part of my life,” she said. “When I’m finished with that, I want them to open up about their joys and fears.”
She may be the speaker, but her point is that the listeners are the stars.
“We’re beautiful, we’re fabulous, we’re seniors,” she said, stopping by the row where Lila Fagenson sat. Fagenson is a volunteer at Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League in West Palm Beach. She is a matchmaker for cats and humans.
“It’s gratifying to pair a cat with someone,” she said. 
After some prodding from Goldick, Fagenson, a widow, revealed that the matchmaking has rubbed off on her. She said she has started a romance with a neighbor, Larry Mosse. 
“When I came here I never thought I’d meet anyone,” said Fagenson. “I have found the second love of my life and I’m very happy.”
Others in the audience have been working with seniors whose memory is fading, or with abused and neglected children, or in schools with students who have special needs. 
Ruth Early lost her husband two months after they moved to Florida from California. Now she’s launching a poetry appreciation group. 
“I like starting something new and exciting,” Early said, pitching her new group, and added, “I hope you will all become my friends, if you are not already.”
Others brainstormed ideas to lure isolated neighbors out of their apartments, a common problem in senior communities. It’s a well-established fact that isolation is harmful, especially to seniors.
“How do we make them believe that?” Fagenson asked. 
“Get them talking, even if what they say is negative. We need more ambassadors.”
For the rest of the hour, Goldick moved up and down the aisle, seeking affirmations and ideas. 
Gloria Potter, seated next to Fagenson, suggested starting a chapter of the League of Women Voters. 
“Look, an idea was born tonight,” said Goldick. “I am proud to be a part of the most educated, most informed and most powerful generation of seniors. Never silence your voice. I love you all.”
Despite her apparent recovery, it turned out that polio was not finished with Goldick. In the middle of a busy life, with a husband, two children and a career, she had just written a book. That’s when she found out she had post-polio syndrome. 
She had been having trouble walking when she watched a segment of 60 Minutes about post-polio syndrome.
“They said polio could put people back in wheelchairs,” Goldick recalled. “I cried so hard, because I knew that was what was happening to me.”
She found out that polio never really goes away. It can travel up the spinal cord and attack the brain.
She would undergo a risky surgery to prevent her from being paralyzed from the neck down. 
In March 2017, Goldick’s husband died. 
“In four weeks, I lost my house and had to move,” she said. After a search she found the Carlisle to be the right fit for her. 
“I made it a point to get involved with this community. It’s very open, like an extended family. They helped me heal.” 
She’s gearing up to write another book, for “older people who have not really thought about the future and when they do, they are frightened.”
With the aid of her motorized chair, Goldick is planning to take her talks on the road, offering her services to the many senior communities in the area. 
“I do want to present this to condos and adult communities,” she said. “There are so many widows and widowers. It took me a while to get over the death of my husband and get my thoughts together. Now I’m strong again. I’m back and I’m raring to go.”

For more information, visit www.myragoldick.com.

Lona O’Connor has a lifelong interest in health and healthy living. Send column ideas to Lona13@bellsouth.net.

A sailfish jumps near a boat on Jan. 11, the first day of the annual Silver Sailfish Derby release tournament hosted by the West Palm Beach Fishing Club. Cold weather improved the sailfish action in this year’s Derby. Willie Howard/The Coastal Star

By Willie Howard

A winter storm brought snow and sleet to Tallahassee in early January and dropped South Florida temperatures into the 40s, all of which influenced fish, boats and coastal wildlife.
As blustery north winds blew across Palm Beach County, anglers caught Spanish mackerel and bluefish from the Boynton Inlet jetties, the Lake Worth pier and from beaches in southern Palm Beach County.
“When it’s cold, they really bite good,” said Bobby Spickler of Perk’s Bait & Tackle in Lantana. “Problem is, not everybody wants to brave the cold.”
Drift boat captains reported very slow fishing in the waters off Boynton Inlet during the coldest days of early January, possibly because of freshwater runoff.
An exception: Spanish mackerel caught using jigs, spoons and Gotcha lures in 30 to 45 feet of water, said Capt. Bruce Cyr of the Lady K drift boat based in Lantana.
Capt. Chip Sheehan of Chips Ahoy Charters in Boynton Beach said the chill stoked the sailfish action. He caught and released 11 sailfish one day in early January as he ran his boat north from Boynton Inlet to the waters off Jupiter.
In the 81st annual Silver Sailfish Derby, a sailfish release tournament hosted by the West Palm Beach Fishing Club, the 41-boat fleet released 317 sailfish in two days of fishing Jan. 11-12.
That’s more than double the 153 sailfish released by the Derby fleet in January 2017, when the weather was balmy.
Capt. Skip Dana and his crew on Southern Run won this year’s derby with a two-day total of 17 sailfish releases. Most of the Southern Run team’s fish were caught in the waters between Juno Beach and Jupiter.
In the 46th annual Gold Cup Team Tournament, a sailfish release competition organized by the Sailfish Club of Florida, 28 boats released a total of 232 sailfish in three days of fishing.
Capt. Hans Kraaz and his team on Vintage won the Gold Cup with a three-day total of 18 releases.

Cold affects manatees,
North Florida sea turtles
January’s cold prompted manatees to gather around warm-water outflows at Florida Power & Light Co.’s power plant near the Port of Palm Beach.
Manatee lovers flocked to FPL’s Manatee Lagoon viewing facility in West Palm Beach to watch the marine mammals bask in warm water as air temperatures dropped into the 40s. (For details about Manatee Lagoon, go to www.visitmanateelagoon.com.)
The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission asks boaters to take extra care to avoid manatees during cold weather, especially around warm-water discharges such as canals and power plants.
Cold weather also can stun sea turtles, causing them to float listlessly and appear dead, even though they’re still alive.
No reports of stunned sea turtles were reported in South Florida during the January cold snap, as ocean temperatures remained in the 70s, said Kirt Rusenko, marine conservationist at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center.
Stunned sea turtles were reported at St. Joe Bay in the Panhandle, where nighttime temperatures dropped into the upper 20s, Rusenko said.
About 900 cold-stunned sea turtles were rehabilitated at the Gulf World Marine Institute in Panama City and the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab in Panacea and were released into the Gulf of Mexico on Jan. 20.
To report problems with manatees, sea turtles or other Florida wildlife, call the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at (888) 404-3922.

Anchored boats break
loose, come ashore
Wind from the early January cold front worked two sailboats loose from their anchors in the Lake Worth Lagoon near Boynton Beach.
On Jan. 3, a loose sailboat struck a dock in The Harbors, a waterfront community. Homeowners association President Sean Butler said the same community docks sustained an estimated $1,000 to $5,000 in damage.
Boynton Beach police contacted the sailboat’s owner, who towed it away with a broken mast on Jan. 4. Police said the owner moved the sailboat to the boat ramps at Harvey E. Oyer Jr. Park and was planning to remove the boat from the water.
Another sailboat broke loose in windy weather and hit a private dock at 821 Ocean Inlet Drive. Officer Darin Hederian of the Boynton Beach Police Department’s marine unit said that sailboat was relocated and anchored.
Several waterfront residents have said they plan to ask city officials to address the issue of boat owners dropping anchor in the Lake Worth Lagoon near Boynton Beach.

Mystery fish

David McCall caught this odd-looking fish with his hands in the surf in front of the Briny Breezes clubhouse Dec. 1 and released it after holding it for photos. The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission said the long, slender fish could be a juvenile oarfish or possibly a tapertail, a rarity in the Atlantic waters off South Florida. Photo provided

Snook season
reopens on east coast
The fishing season for snook, the prized game fish with the distinctive black stripe, opened Feb. 1 after being closed since mid-December.
To be legal to harvest on Florida’s east coast, snook must be between 28 and 32 inches in overall length. Snook longer or shorter than the legal slot should be handled carefully and released promptly.
A Florida saltwater fishing license and snook permit are required to harvest snook, unless anglers are Florida residents younger than 16, older than 65, or otherwise exempt.
Snook season remains closed until March 1 on Florida’s west coast, including all of Monroe County and Everglades National Park.

Nice wahoo

Remus Holbrook (l) and Cliff Albertson of Briny Breezes were trolling in 200 feet of water in front of the Lake Worth Pier when they hooked a 25-pound, 43-inch wahoo. After a lengthy battle, they pulled it in. They also brought in a dolphinfish (rear). Photo provided

Coming events
Feb. 10: Paddlefest featuring paddling races, family paddling and paddling relay races, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Harbourside Place, Jupiter. The $35 registration fee includes a T-shirt. Call 863-0012 or www.palmbeachpaddlefest.com.
Feb. 10: Basic boating safety class offered by Coast Guard Auxiliary, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the headquarters building at Spanish River Park, 3939 N. Ocean Blvd., Boca Raton. Fee $35. Register at the door. Bring lunch. Call 391-3600 or email fso-pe@cgauxboca.org.
Feb. 10: Knot-tying seminar for boaters offered by the Coast Guard Auxiliary, 9 to 11 a.m. in the building beside the boat ramps, Oyer Park, 2010 N. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach. Fee $25. Register at the door. Call 704-7440.
Feb. 15-19: Miami International Boat Show, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Miami Marine Stadium on Virginia Key. Sailboats and powerboats in one location. Skills training workshops available. Adult admission $25 ($40 on Feb. 15). Free admission for youths 12 and under. Call 954-441-3220 or www.miamiboatshow.com.
Feb. 24: Basic boating safety class offered by Coast Guard Auxiliary, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the classroom next to the boat ramps, Oyer Park, 2010 N. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach. Fee $25. Register at the door. Call 704-7440.

Tip of the month
Taking friends out to a waterfront restaurant or bar for a late afternoon drink?
Designate a nondrinking skipper for the ride home. Doing so eliminates the possibility of getting a BUI (boating under the influence) citation. It reduces the chance of an accident on the water, especially if the skipper must guide the boat home after dark through channels flanked by unlighted markers.
Check out the Sea Tow Foundation’s designated skipper campaign at www.boatingsafety.com.

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

By Arden Moore

Got pet? Then for you, every day has the potential to feel like Valentine’s Day. Your dog, cat or other pet doesn’t need to demonstrate its love for you with a Hallmark card or box of candy. The love your pet gives you is priceless and pure.
Don’t take my word for it. That’s the unanimous sentiment expressed by key pet people in Palm Beach County. I reached out to them to answer two questions:
• What are you doing to show how much your pet means to you on this Valentine’s Day?
• What life lesson has your pet taught you that makes you a better person?
Everyone I asked responded quickly. Maybe some of their answers will inspire you with ways to make every day feel like Valentine’s Day for your pet. Read on:
Jo Jo Harder, a Boca Raton fashion designer and creator of America’s Top Dog Model, happily shares her home with Romeo, a 10-year-old greyhound.
“The best thing that I can do with Romeo to show my love is to spend lots of time with him. On Valentine’s Day, I plan for us to take a long, spirited walk together around our favorite, Mizner Park. Romeo has taught me to live in the moment. If it weren’t for Romeo, I would not appreciate the opportunity to get outside and take in the sights, smells and feeling of nature.”
Karen J. Roberts, noted children’s author and president of The Little Blue Dog Inc., lives in Wellington with her pack of canine rescues Louie, Ainsley, Tucker, Roxie, Cinnabon, Bailey and Macy.
“I believe on Valentine’s Day, and every other day of the year, the very best thing we can give to our pets is our time. What they want most is to be with us, no matter what we are doing. Our pets are a mirror to ourselves. When my dogs are happy, peaceful, healthy and gathered by my side, I know I’m doing something right.”
Paul Bates, who oversees the trap-neuter-vaccinate-release community cat program at the Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League in West Palm Beach, includes his five social-minded pets on the guest list for his annual celebration.
“I always have an open house for my friends to stop in and enjoy drinks and sweets after their Valentine’s Day evening out. My three dogs and two cats stay loose to mingle with the guests. They love people, so why would I exclude them?”
Bob and Eileen Burnell are owners-operators of the Sit Means Sit dog training program and pet first aid/CPR instructors. Here is what this Boynton Beach couple has to say about Kody, their 11-year-old Belgian Malinois:
“Kody has taught us that anyone can learn anything with patience, consistency and persistence. He will be pampered with a spa day and a steak for dinner on Valentine’s Day.”
Suzi Goldsmith, co-founder and executive director of the Tri-County Animal Rescue in Boca Raton, shares her home and heart with a pair of canine rescues named Missy and Misty.
“My two pups are treated like queens 365 days a year. However, on Valentine’s Day I treat them to a special cake and ice cream made specifically for dogs. It gives me great pleasure to watch them have this fun pup treat. The life lessons that my pets have taught me have made me the person I am today. Compassion, understanding, consideration, joy, happiness and even health have been bestowed upon me through my dogs. Not just the rescues that I have today, but for the last 50 years. My life would not be complete without them.”
Peter and Jennifer Klein, of Gulf Stream, were featured in this column last year after they worked with town officials to rescue a tiny kitten trapped in construction debris. That kitten was named Chief in honor of Police Chief Edward Allen. Chief is now frisky and enjoying life. Jennifer Klein writes:
“Something put this cat in our lives and we are very fortunate for that. When we rescued him, he weighed only 0.9 pounds, but he had enough lung power to cry out to escape the construction rubble he was buried in. Fortunately, he has no memory of this. Every day is happiness for him — from chasing dried cranberries, stealing blueberries from Peter’s breakfast cereal or even climbing on his shoulders while he is working on his computer. Chief is a real treasure to us.”
Katrina Gentry has the creative title of chief experience officer at the Very Important Paws, a dog resort in West Palm Beach. She shares her home with a pit bull named Hayes and an American bulldog named Gator.
“On Valentine’s Day, I will show my love by starting their day off with fun in day care, playing in the pool and ending the day with a nice, warm lavender massaging bath, ear cleaning and ‘pawicure.’ Hayes has taught me one of the most valuable lessons in life — how to be a friend. No matter what I’m going through, she is there with her wet nose to kiss me, her energy to chase me or tons of hugs. Gator has taught me what it means to persevere in life. He was attacked at 4 months of age by an alligator. When I adopted him, he still had drains and sutures all over his back … but he remains the most free-spirited, happy-go-lucky boy you could ever meet.”
Valentine candy can go stale. Heart-shaped candy can crack a tooth. So let’s embrace the four-legged Valentine gift that keeps on giving 24/7: our pets.
It’s certainly true for me and my Furry Fab 5 of Bujeau, Kona, Casey, Mikey and Cleo. How do you plan to share this Valentine’s Day with your pet? Please share with our readers at www.thecoastalstar.com.

Arden Moore, founder of FourLeggedLife.com, is an animal behavior consultant, editor, author, professional speaker and master certified pet first aid instructor. Each week, she hosts the popular Oh Behave! show on PetLifeRadio.com. Learn more at www.arden moore.com.

Celebrate V-Day
at Paws in the Park
If you are looking for a place to celebrate this holiday with your canine chum, consider attending Paws in the Park at West Palm Beach’s Centennial Square. The event, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 11, will include a costume contest, pet photo booth, doggie fun zone plus demonstrations in pet first aid and even readings by a pet psychic. For more information, visit www.pawsintheparksouthflorida.com.

ABOVE: The boardwalk at the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge is family friendly and provides an easy way to get close to nature. BELOW LEFT: This red-shouldered hawk looks for a late afternoon meal. 2017 Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley

At the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, the staff and volunteers are preparing for the 19th annual Everglades Day on Feb. 10.
“We want to show people the value of the Everglades so they want to preserve it,” said Cathy Patterson, a volunteer at the refuge — the only remaining remnant of the northern Everglades in Palm Beach County.
Since 2000, the event in western Boynton Beach has attracted almost 60,000 visitors in total. Last year, over 4,500 people attended.
“The day is a way for families to get outside and do something together that’s fun and educational,” said Patterson, vice president of the Friends of Loxahatchee.
With so many attending, there’s much to be done. “The whole day is frantic. You are on your feet trying to be sure everything runs smoothly and people have a good time,” said resident volunteer Roger Brooks.
The day begins as you park your car off-site and take a bus into the refuge, where on this day admission is free.
While you make the short trip to the refuge, a volunteer will pass out information about the day’s events and a schedule of activities. (You can recognize the volunteers by their white T-shirts with blue geese on the front and “volunteer” displayed on the back.)
The bus drops you at the visitors center, where there will be more volunteers to direct and help you sign up for canoe paddling in the Everglades and golf-cart tours of the Loxahatchee Impoundment Landscape Assessment.
That’s an 80-acre working model of the iconic Everglades ecosystem. This living laboratory gives researchers a chance to study restoration techniques on a controlled scale. “The research helps us to understand how to correct some of the damage done by man,” Brooks said.
Exhibitors from groups such as Lion Country Safari, the Sierra Club and Everglades National Park will set up information booths. There also will be walking tours along the Marsh Trail and speakers at what’s called the C-6 pavilion as well as at a smaller shelter at the Marsh Trail.
Speakers are scheduled to include Lance Warley, a wildlife photographer; Richard Crossley, author of The Crossley ID Guide: Waterfowl; and Burmese python hunter Edward Mercer. There also will be encounters with native snakes and raptors.
If you get hungry and just want to relax for a while, there will be more than a half-dozen food trucks serving everything from ice cream and tacos to burgers and vegan/vegetarian options.
The kids will enjoy the “animal Olympics.” Along a marked path, there will be pictures of animals that the children are urged to imitate as they pass. Just imagine your little one hopping like a marsh rabbit.
Don’t miss a walk along the boardwalk through a cypress swamp, where there’s even a resident bobcat who has left his markings on a tree. You can also enjoy the casting and knot-tying demonstrations.
“When your visit is over and you return by bus to your car, we hope you will have had a fantastic time out here in the Everglades,” said Brooks.

You can reach Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley at debhartz@att.net.

Conservation Tip
“If you want an easy way to help save the Everglades, stop releasing Mylar balloons filled with helium. They often travel a good distance and end up in the Everglades.
“And they can cause the death of fish, alligators, reptiles and birds. They are a health risk to the wildlife out here.”

— resident volunteer Roger Brooks

If You Go
Where: Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, 10216 Lee Road, Boynton Beach
When: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Feb. 10
Parking: Free off-site at Solid Waste Authority, 13400 S. State Road 7, Delray Beach. It is a short shuttle bus ride to the park entrance.
Admission: Free
Accessibility: Park on-site with a handicap placard. ADA-compliant vans will be available for transportation within the refuge.
Volunteers: Volunteers are still needed. To participate, you must attend a pre-event orientation meeting at the Visitor Center. Call 732 3684 ext.3684 or email Ana Castillo-Ruiz@fws.gov.
Info: 734-8303 or www.fws.gov/refuge/arm_loxahatchee

This will be the sixth year for Ride 4 Orphans, which has raised more than $260,000. Cyclists can pedal 62, 30 or 4 miles through South County. The ride begins and ends at Spanish River Church in Boca Raton. Photo provided

By Janis Fontaine

On a medical mission trip in 2009, Craig Kindell and his friend Eric Johnson traveled to 10 orphanages in southern Haiti run by El Shaddai Ministries International. They spent about a half day treating patients at each location, finishing in Les Cayes as darkness fell.
When the sun goes down in many parts of Haiti, no lights come on.
They entered a room so dark, Kindell thought it was empty. When his eyes adjusted, he realized children lined the walls, quietly eating their evening meal.
“That picture stuck with me,” said Kindell, who made the trip on behalf of Spanish River Church, where he has been a member for 40 years. “I wished I could help them.”
Kindell didn’t know how to get power to the kids, but sometimes it is who you know. His brother in Cincinnati told him about Fairfield, Ohio-based SonLight Power, an organization that designs and builds solar energy-run schools, medical clinics, orphanages, community centers and churches, and water-pumping stations in remote locations around the world.
Kindell, a retired IBM software developer with a degree in electrical engineering, contacted SonLight, which trained him to build a solar-run facility. In 2012, with SonLight’s support, Kindell brought solar lighting to the orphanage in Las Cayes.
The results were both immediate and far-reaching. Kids who had never heard of a nightlight slept better knowing they could chase away the monsters by flipping a switch. A girl who longed to go to school but who couldn’t pass the entrance exams finally passed once she could study after dark.
Some of Spanish River Church’s missions are supported by a popular annual 5K race called the River Run, held every December. But Kindell’s friend Johnson had another idea to raise money for the solar power projects.
Johnson liked biking and he saw a lot of other people riding on beautiful, hedge- and tree-lined A1A who liked it. How about a bike ride fundraiser, not a race, but a fun ride? Johnson suggested.
The first Ride 4 Orphans in 2013 drew 250 riders, thanks to an unexpected sponsorship from zMotion, a bicycle club with more than 1,000 members in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. This year’s ride, Feb. 17, is expected to draw 550 riders.
Since its first year, nearly 2,700 riders have participated in Ride 4 Orphans, and the money raised exceeds $260,000. One hundred percent of the proceeds go directly to organizations that work with orphans and foster children locally and globally.
Since the charity ride started — and thanks to the community’s support — the money has paid for buildings and projects Kindell never dreamed possible. Ride 4 Orphans has brought solar energy to three orphanages, including the expansion of a solar power system at Lundi Children’s Village outside of Jeremie, Haiti.
At Pothawira Village in Malawi, a sub-Saharan country devastated by AIDS and poverty, Ride 4 Orphans brought solar power to the community’s church, school, clinic and birthing center.
Ride 4 Orphans provided solar power to 120 orphans at Village Altonodji in Chad, at the school, local clinic, chapel and library that serve the surrounding community. They even have internet access.
One of the current projects closest to Kindell’s heart is providing solar power to Sarampet, a rural village just outside of Hyderabad, in India.
Not all the orphans Kindell and Spanish River Church help live far away. Some live in South Florida.
“It may come as a surprise that there are modern-day orphans right here in our own community,” Kindell said,
A portion of the Ride 4 Orphans money will benefit local abused, neglected and abandoned children through the Place of Hope and 4KIDS of South Florida.
Place of Hope provides a safe, loving and stable environment for desperate children and their families. Ride 4 Orphans has helped with renovations to buildings on its Boca Raton campus. 
4KIDS of South Florida works to help foster kids and kids in crisis in six Florida counties. Over the past 20 years, 4KIDS has helped nearly 20,000 children and families. 
Kindell says SonLight Power is providing vocational training for Haitians so they can help build the new solar energy buildings and maintain existing ones. Kindell says the local laborers are much better at working under the difficult conditions. He’s impressed both by their skill and diligence without a Home Depot anywhere in sight.
Kindell has always felt support from his faith and his church. He says it’s hard to not be overwhelmed by the need. No matter how much the church does, more needs to be done.
The official numbers on children living in poverty are staggering. But faith is sustaining, and you have to look at the small picture, Kindell said.
“You have to focus on how you are helping these kids one kid at a time.”

Janis Fontaine writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Contact her at janisfontaine@outlook.com.

If You Go
What: Ride 4 Orphans 2018
Where: It starts and finishes at Spanish River Church, 2400 Yamato Road, Boca Raton.
When: 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Feb. 17
Details: Sheriff’s deputies will escort riders at the front and at key intersections along the 30- and 62-mile routes. Food will be served beforehand; a post-ride luncheon will feature live entertainment, free massages, raffles and a silent auction to benefit orphans.
Three ride options:
• 62 miles through Lake Worth, Palm Beach, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach and Boca Raton. There are five rest stops with mechanics and food and drink available.
• 30 miles staying in Boca Raton and Delray Beach; two rest stops.
• 4-mile Family Fun Ride escorted by Boca Raton police ($15 registration fee)
Registration: $45 until Feb. 16; $50 on ride day
Info: 994-5000, ext. 241, or www.ride4orphans.com

The Step-Above Rummage Sale is put on by the First Presbyterian Church in Delray Beach. This year it takes place Feb. 8-10. Photo provided

By Janis Fontaine

If you like your rummage sale without too much rummaging, the Step-Above Rummage Sale at First Presbyterian Church, Delray Beach, was designed with you in mind.
Think “department store” with neatly arranged and labeled merchandise, conveniently sized and sorted and displayed by department. There will even be a boutique where you’ll find high-end items, like designer dresses and shoes. Sales specialists will be on hand to help and a dressing area is available to ensure a perfect fit.
The media area will contain books, DVDs and electronic games. Kids clothes, toys and games will be organized in their own area. Arrive early for the best bargains.
The Step-Above Rummage Sale is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 8-10, at the church, 33 Gleason St. Lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, call 276-6338 or visit www.firstdelray.com/upcoming-events.

Boca Beach Chabad welcomes
Orthodox pop singer

It’s not often folks here get to welcome an A-list performer from the Orthodox community, but that’s about to change. In celebration of its 18th anniversary, Boca Beach Chabad will host the Israeli pop singer Avraham Fried at Mizner Park Amphitheater on Feb. 13.
Fried has released more than 25 albums and sold out concerts at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. His eclectic style mixes genres like rock, pop and jazz, but also incorporates both cantorial-style pieces as well as Yiddish folk songs, tied together by Jewish themes and sentiment.
The concert is part of a wider “Celebration 50:18” recognizing the 50th anniversary of Jerusalem’s reunification following the Six-Day War.
Danny Danon, Israeli ambassador to the UN, will deliver a keynote address at an invitation-only reception at 5:30 p.m. at the Boca Raton Museum of Art, where a special presentation will recognize Israeli troops who served during the Six-Day War as well as family members of fallen service members.
Three local philanthropists — Leonardo Farkas, Howard Kaye and Myrna Gordon Skurnick, all with ties to Boca Raton — will be honored.
Concert tickets are $20 to $60 (free for ages 2 and younger), available at www.5018concert.com.
For an invitation to the VIP reception, call 394-9770 or sign up at www.bocabeachchabad.org/gala5018.

Orthodox singer Avraham Fried’s
set list includes rock, pop, jazz,
cantorial-style pieces and Yiddish
folk songs. Photo provided

Shabbat in east Delray
for young professionals
Rabbi Shmuel Biston and Chabad of East Delray will host a special Young Jewish Professionals Shabbat Dinner to appeal to people in the 21-39 age bracket in downtown Delray Beach on Feb. 9.
Biston understands that new relationships begin with one positive experience.
“One great Jewish experience equals mission accomplished,” Biston said. “The youth nowadays are searching for something meaningful and they are realizing that Facebook and Instagram are not going to bring true happiness.
“We don’t want [young people] to feel intimidated to come to our programs and events, so to make it interesting, we make exclusive programs just for them amongst their peers in an environment where they will feel comfortable. The food is great and the drinks are unlimited.”
CYP Shabbat is 7-10 p.m. Feb. 9, at Old School Square, 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. Tickets: $25 in advance only at Eventbrite.com. For information, visit www.jewisheastdelray.com or call Biston at 954-857-3543.

Compassion experience
It’s hard for some Americans to imagine how poor some people are. Many of us have never been out of the country, and we’re too busy keeping the balls of our life in the air to stop and wonder about someone thousands of miles away.
Compassion International found a way to bring the experience of poverty to thousands of people across the country, using semi-trucks and iPods. The Compassion experience will stop in the parking lot at Spanish River Church, 2400 Yamato Road, Boca Raton, from Feb. 15 to 18. The experience is being held in conjunction with the annual Ride 4 Orphans. (See story, page H16.)
This self-guided tour does more than just show pictures and tell stories. Using iPod headsets, visitors walk through the 2,000 square feet of interactive space where they get glimpses of daily life from a child’s perspective. Guests walk through replicas of the marketplace, through the school and then to the home of the child living in poverty.
UNICEF and the World Bank Group estimated in 2013 that 385 million children were living in extreme poverty, defined as less than $1.90 per day. Other estimates say that number tops 1 billion.
Compassion International is known for its work finding sponsors for children in developing countries. Over the last 60 years, Compassion International has helped more than 1.8 million children in 25 of the world’s poorest countries. (Info: 888-503-4590 or www.compassion.com.)
This free exhibition is wheelchair- and stroller-accessible and appropriate for all ages (it has kid-friendly audio versions). Reservations are encouraged, especially for groups. Email changetour@compassion.com.

Community of Hope
hosts special-needs prom
At 500 churches in 50 states and 16 countries around the world, kids with special needs will get to go to the prom because of Tim Tebow.
The former Florida football star’s foundation sponsors Night to Shine. Locally, proms will take place at Community of Hope’s two campuses on Feb. 9.
Night to Shine is designed to be an “unforgettable prom night experience,” for people with special needs ages 14 and older. Every guest walks the red carpet to cheers and applause from family and friends.
Kids also get hair and makeup help, limousine rides, corsages and boutonnieres, a catered dinner and party favors. Entertainment is karaoke and dancing, and everyone gets to be crowned prom king or queen.
A special respite room is provided for parents and caretakers as their teens dance and sing the night away.
Tebow says Night to Shine is his “favorite night of the year.” His foundation committed more than $3.5 million in financial support to hundreds of churches needing assistance in hosting the event. In 2015, the first year, 44 churches hosted Night to Shine. Last year, 375 churches crowned 75,000 prom kings and queens. This year, the number has grown.
Volunteers are needed to help guests check in, assist with the food and entertainment, and take pictures and video. If you can help, visit www.communityofhope.church/shine.
Night to Shine is from 6-9 p.m. Feb. 9 at Community of Hope West Campus, 14055 Okeechobee Blvd., Loxahatchee Groves, and Community of Hope East Campus, at Good Shepherd Church, 2341 S Military Trail, West Palm Beach.
Admission is free, but reservations are required. Call 753-8883 or register at communityofhope.church/shine.

Ongoing programs
Beer, Conversation & God: Pub Theology meets at 7 p.m. Feb. 15 (and the third Thursday of each month) at Barrel of Monks, 1141 S. Rogers Circle, No. 5, Boca Raton, for conversation, fellowship and open discussion of mostly theological topics. The group also meets at 7 p.m. Feb. 6 (and the first Tuesday of each month) at the Biergarten, 309 Via De Palmas, No. 90, Boca Raton. For more information, contact Pastor Marcus Zillman at mzillman@fumcbocaraton.org; call 395-1244; or visit www.fumcbocaraton.org.
The Interfaith Café, a theological discussion, meets from 7 to 9 p.m. Feb. 15, at South County Civic Center, 16700 Jog Road, Delray Beach. Light refreshments are served. The meeting is free, but donations are appreciated. The Interfaith Café meets the third Thursday of the month, and volunteers are needed to assist with a variety of duties to keep this program going. For information or to volunteer, email Jane@Aurorasvoice.org.
Music at St. Paul’s hosts Roberta Rust performing with the Serafin Quartet at 3 p.m. Feb. 18, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 188 S. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. The program: Danzas de Panama, William Grant Still; String Quartet in E minor, Op. 44, No. 2, Felix Mendelssohn; Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 81, Antonin Dvorak. Tickets are $20. Admission is free for age 18 and younger. For more information, call 278-6003 or visitwww.music.stpaulsdelray.org.

Contact Janis Fontaine at janisfontaine@outlook.com.

Children scrub donated shoes for the charity In Jacob’s Shoes at the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County’s second annual Community in Action Day. Photo provided

By Janis Fontaine

Many hands make light work, even when some of those hands belong to kids.
For the second year, the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County hosted Jewish Community in Action Day to coincide with Martin Luther King Day on Jan. 15. Hundreds of volunteers helped those in need by doing the labor on nearly 20 hands-on projects benefiting a variety of charities.
Rabbi Josh Broide, director of the federation’s Center for Jewish Engagement, spearheaded the program.
“It came about because people were always asking what we could do with the kids on the day off from school,” Broide said. Parents wanted their children to spend the day productively, in service to others, and it was a sentiment that resonated with the Jewish community.
“We thought, instead of everyone doing something different at all these different places, we could centralize things. We brought them all together in one place.”
Children could volunteer at several jobs, like bagging food for food pantries or cleaning shoes for kids who didn’t have any. “You meet like-minded people with similar passions, make new friends and broaden the community,” Broide said.
Two charities that help children also benefited from the students’ sweat equity this year.
One was Touch A Heart, which helps children living in poverty. For this year’s project, kids assembled “birthday in a bag” kits for children in foster homes. The kits contained most of what you need for a birthday party: cake mix, paper goods, candles and a small gift. Touch A Heart also promotes volunteerism.
Also on site was In Jacob’s Shoes, a charity that distributes shoes, backpacks, school supplies and athletic gear to South Florida children in need. The group was started in memory of Jacob S. Zweig by his family, and since 2009, In Jacob’s Shoes has given away more than 70,000 pairs of new and refurbished shoes to children in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Some are homeless, some live in shelters, some are in foster care, and others have aged out of foster care.
Most of the shoes are donated and are gently used, so volunteers had to sort, clean and restore the shoes to “pristine condition.”
“Giving back and doing good is at the core of our faith,” Broide said.
Usually, parents are modeling altruism for their children, but sometimes it’s the children doing the inspiring, he said. “We’ve seen kids get involved in a project and that project grows so that the parents and even the synagogue are taking on bigger roles.”
Broide says another message also is making him proud of his community. Palm Beach County has a lot of synagogues and federations and groups, but the era of focusing on the differences is passing, he said. If charity begins at home, maybe getting along with other people does too. Global and national unity, it seems, may start with community.
Broide says his community “is less divisive. In fact, we’ve never worked better together.”
For information about the South County Jewish Federation, call 852-3100 or visit www.jewishboca.org.

The Cowboy Ball returns
Since its inception in 1982 following the mysterious disappearance of its namesake, George Snow, the George Show Scholarship Fund has awarded nearly $10 million in educational grants, with scholarships of more than $1 million in 2017 alone.
The fund’s goal is to give one scholarship to every public school in the county, but a million dollars won’t buy as much education as it did in 1982, so each spring, the George Snow Scholarship Fund hosts its signature fundraiser, the Cowboy Ball. The ball features food from local restaurants, a whiskey tasting, music and dancing.
The ball is from 6 to 11 p.m. Feb. 17 at Mizner Park Amphitheater, 595 Plaza Real, Boca Raton. Tickets are $175. Sponsorships are still available. For more information, call 347-6799 or email dfeiler@scholarship.org.

Family picnic
Family time will be the focus at the Hanley Foundation’s 23rd annual Family Picnic at the National Croquet Center in West Palm Beach. The event raises money for substance abuse prevention programs, which reached more than 28,000 students in 250 schools in 2017.
The benefit will include a one-of-a-kind silent auction, gourmet picnic fare, face painting, animal encounters and classic outdoor activities.
The money will support prevention programs in public and private schools in Palm Beach County, part of the foundation’s core mission, along with access to high-quality treatment of substance use disorders, and the education of professionals and paraprofessionals.
The family picnic also has a subliminal message: Statistics show that eating dinner as a family can reduce the chances a teen will try cigarettes, drugs or alcohol. Why not start with a picnic dinner?
The picnic will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 4 at the croquet center, 700 Florida Mango Road. Tickets are $195 for ages 18 and older, $50 for ages 4-17, and free for ages 3 and younger. To purchase tickets, call 268-2358 or visit hanleyfoundation.org. 

Health fest for mind, body
The MindBody Expo 2018 will bring more than 60 educational exhibits, fitness demos, cooking classes, lectures, music and dance, food and a wide variety of vendors to both Boca Raton and Delray Beach in February.
From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 17, Old School Square (51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach) will host the Expo. On Feb. 25, Sanborn Square (72 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton) will be home base for this wellness and lifestyle event.
Since 2013, this event created by social entrepreneur Sandra Tribioli has given dozens of small businesses an opportunity to reach the public with their products. The expo also offers guests an opportunity to help kids by grabbing one of the VIP Tote Bags ($10 each) for a Cause, which benefit the Delray Beach Children’s Garden and the Milagro Center. Exhibitors, sponsors and contributors all pitched in with inserts. Only 100 bags are available at each event. Included in the bags are two chiropractor visits and a massage, discounts and samples from Third Living Essentials and Whole Foods.
Proceeds go to the charities.
For more information, visit www.mindbodyexpo.net.

Barbara Rodriguez works at Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa (above) and lives in Highland Beach. With AVDA, she helps to throw parties for children at shelters. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack

Barbara Rodriguez wanted her daughter, Gabby, to understand the importance of helping others and to recognize that other children exist who are less fortunate.
“I wanted to find a place in the community that would give her a sense of perspective,” Rodriguez said.
So soon after the single mom moved to Highland Beach from the west coast of Florida, she and Gabby began volunteering for the Delray Beach-based AVDA, Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse, visiting a shelter one day a month and helping throw parties for children there.
Now 4 1/2 years later, Rodriguez, 39, and Gabby, 16, still make their monthly visits, bringing pizza and cake, celebrating the children’s birthdays and just having fun.
“I started out volunteering there to be a good role model for my daughter,” Rodriguez said. “I try to show her that giving is very important.”
The lesson seems to have stuck, since both Gabby and her mom look forward to their visits and make it a point to be there every month, if possible.
“Gabby has discovered that she enjoys working with children,” says Rodriguez, director of national accounts for Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa. “She’s shown a lot of interest in a possible career working with kids.”
Because of her commitment and efforts on behalf of the organization, Rodriguez was asked to join the AVDA board of directors a year and a half ago.
“It’s great to get to know the community leaders on the board and to learn from their experience,” she said.
Next month, Rodriguez and several other members of the AVDA board will attend the organization’s Heart of a Woman Luncheon, an annual fundraiser that will be Feb. 28 at Royal Palm Yacht Club in Boca Raton.
Chaired by Jeannette DeOrchis, Rosemary Krieger, Anne Vegso and Gail Veros, the event, which celebrates the strength, courage and determination of women, will feature Melissa Dohme Hill as the guest speaker.
Hill was stabbed 32 times by a former boyfriend. She tells her story and speaks out against domestic violence.
Rodriguez says the stories she hears from survivors at the luncheon are both eye-opening and inspiring.
“It teaches you that this can happen to anyone and it reinforces my belief that this is a worthy cause to be associated with,” she said.
While growing up, Rodriguez witnessed domestic violence in her neighborhood and in her own home.
“I saw my mom going through domestic violence,” she said, adding that she also knew neighbors who were physically abused. “Sometimes it becomes part of your norm until you grow older and you realize it’s not right.”
Seeing the physical and verbal abuse has been part of what motivates Rodriguez to support AVDA and to share her passion with her daughter, as well as with friends and co-workers.
“It has given me the strength to be involved and to speak up for people who struggle every day,” she said.
A graduate of University of Sacred Heart in Puerto Rico, where she studied media and public relations, Rodriguez began her career in the hospitality industry at an early age, making change in a casino at 19.
There she met people from all walks of life and learned a valuable lesson about working with and helping others.
“People all want to feel important and connected,” she said. “They want you to recognize them as a person and treat them with respect.”
While her original motivation in volunteering for AVDA was to help her daughter, Rodriguez says that she too is benefiting from the experience.
“It fills my heart when I’m helping other people,” she says. “I get more than I give.”

If You Go
11th annual Heart of a Woman luncheon benefiting AVDA
When: Feb. 28
Time: 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Where: Royal Palm Yacht Club, Boca Raton
Who: Melissa Dohme Hill, guest speaker
Tickets: $175 per person
More information: Call 265-3797 or visit www.avdaonline.org/heart-of-a-woman

By Steve Plunkett

Town resident Martin O’Boyle appears to have won his first public records lawsuit against Gulf Stream, but whether it will cost the town $650,000 or only $10,000 is yet another dispute.
O’Boyle said Gulf Stream would pay $100,000 extra for his attorney’s fees following the ruling by Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeal. A three-judge panel upheld a Circuit Court decision that Gulf Stream violated the state’s Public Records Act by not promptly giving O’Boyle a recording of police radio transmissions from two days in 2014.
Appellate Judges Spencer Levine, Alan Forst and Jeffrey Kuntz issued their opinion without comment Nov. 2 and ordered the town to pay O’Boyle’s legal bills for the appeal.
“They were spouting off to us how they were going to win this appeal,” O’Boyle said. “Now they’re going to have to pay more, but it’s never say die with them.”
His lawyers have already filed documents with the Circuit Court saying they are owed more than $586,000.
But Robert Sweetapple, the town’s outside attorney in public records cases, said Gulf Stream should be held liable only for attorney’s fees spent to obtain the records. The town delivered the police tapes in July 2014, nine weeks after O’Boyle sued but 22 months before the case went to trial.
“You’re going to get $10,000 in fees maybe, $20,000 at the worst,” Sweetapple said.

A ruling for the town
Meanwhile, Gulf Stream notched its seventh success Dec. 7 when County Court Judge Dana Santino ruled the town did not violate the Public Records Act by providing a redacted copy of its bill from Sweetapple for November 2014. O’Boyle and his Asset Enhancement Inc. firm had argued the redactions were unlawful.
Gulf Stream considers it a win if O’Boyle or O’Boyle entities lose a lawsuit, drop a suit or settle out of court. O’Boyle has 10 cases still pending, Sweetapple said.
“We could lose one or two of those,” he said.
In the appellate case, Sweetapple said he “was hoisted on my own petard” by Gulf Stream’s successful lobbying for amendments to the Public Records Act. Changes that took effect last May allow public agencies to defend themselves if a requestor had an “improper purpose” such as generating excessive attorney’s fees and make unsuccessful requestors liable for the agency’s attorney’s fees.
But, Sweetapple said, courts consider it an axiom that the enactment of a new law means its provisions were not part of the law before, so he could not argue that O’Boyle’s purpose was improper in this or the other outstanding cases.
When Circuit Judge Donald Hafele issued his decision in the underlying case in September 2016, he reserved jurisdiction to award O’Boyle’s attorney fees and costs. Martin O’Boyle’s son Jonathan has since filed documents seeking $131,155 for his firm’s work through Oct. 4, 2016.
Jonathan O’Boyle opened The O’Boyle Law Firm in or about January 2014. Three more law firms for Martin O’Boyle want $455,030, or a total of $586,185.
The lawyers also told Hafele they expected to be paid for their time spent preparing for and attending a hearing on the motion to award fees. Sweetapple said that hearing will not take place before June.
Most if not all of any money Hafele awards will go to Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Co. O’Boyle has an umbrella liability policy that has covered his litigation expenses in this and four other cases where he is a defendant, counter-defendant or third-party defendant, court documents show.
The policy “requires O’Boyle to pursue recovery of the expenses incurred in these matters and reimburse Liberty Mutual for the attorneys’ fees and costs advanced on [his] behalf,” his attorney Elaine Johnson James told the judge.
And the skirmishing over the lawsuit is not settled yet. Gulf Stream asked the appeal court Dec. 1 for a rehearing or clarification of its unwritten opinion. James almost immediately filed an objection on O’Boyle’s behalf, saying the request “purports to seek ‘clarification’ of an order that is not ambiguous.”
James said she and O’Boyle were “delighted” by the appeal court’s swift action, which came “a mere two days after oral argument.”
“In more than 30 years as a trial and appellate attorney, I have never received an appellate court decision so quickly,” James said.
James and Sweetapple agreed that the ruling, because it is unwritten, will not set a precedent for other public records cases.
The lawsuit was over O’Boyle’s request for records related to the town’s removal of his campaign signs from public rights of way in his unsuccessful 2014 run for Town Commission. O’Boyle sought all police reports for March 3-4 that year, including “appointment calendars, sign-in sheets and radio communications.”
Gulf Stream quickly delivered seven pages of incident reports, but did not turn over sign-in sheets until three weeks after O’Boyle sued. It gave him a CD of the police radio transmissions, which the Delray Beach Police Department records and stores for the town, six weeks later.

Slander suit withdrawn
In still another action, O’Boyle on Nov. 6 withdrew a slander lawsuit against Sweetapple after the attorney asked a judge to sanction O’Boyle for what he called “abusive discovery practices” and “bad faith litigation conduct.”
A hearing had been scheduled for Nov. 9. O’Boyle claimed Sweetapple “falsely stated to [O’Boyle’s] friends, colleagues, business associates and attorneys … that [O’Boyle] is a ‘criminal’ and is violating the civil and criminal provisions of the federal and Florida RICO acts through his filing of public records requests and pursuit of lawsuits to enforce alleged violations of the Public Records Law.”
Both sides agreed to pay their own attorney’s fees.
O’Boyle and another resident, Chris O’Hare, started flooding the town with requests for public records in 2013. In the six months before O’Boyle sought the police records, Gulf Stream received more than 700 requests.
In June, O’Hare and the town agreed to dismiss 36 lawsuits and appeals between them and withdraw all pending requests for records. Neither side paid the other’s legal bills.
O’Boyle’s other notable win in the public records war came in the dismissal of a federal lawsuit the town filed alleging a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations conspiracy by O’Boyle, O’Boyle entities and O’Hare to extort cash settlements of public records requests. A federal judge dismissed the suit in June 2015; his decision was upheld on appeal a year later.
A state judge dismissed the town’s request for an injunction to stop O’Boyle and O’Hare from making requests for public records in November 2015.
In July 2013, before the current war began, the town paid O’Boyle $180,000 to settle approximately 16 lawsuits and about 400 requests for public records he filed after he was denied variances for work on his Hidden Harbour home.
Sweetapple said a vigorous defense of the current lawsuits was the best way to prevent future filings. “The only thing you do with a bully is punch them right back in the nose,” he said.
O’Boyle took comfort in his appellate victory. “The 4th DCA body-slammed them,” O’Boyle said.

By Jane Smith

Delray Beach will soon be able to boast that it has two historic districts on the National Register.
The Old School Square Historic District, with 119 contributing structures, received unanimous approval Nov. 30 from the Florida National Register Review Board. The application was sent in mid-December to the Keeper of the National Register in the National Park Service in Washington, D.C.
It will take about 60 days for the keeper and the state review board officer to decide whether Old School Square Historic District can be listed or will be sent back for revisions, said the Florida Department of State spokeswoman. Most state submissions make it onto the National Register, she said. The Marina Historic District is the city’s other designated district on the National Register.
The National Register is the federal government’s official listing of historically significant properties and districts throughout the country. The list includes sites and properties identified and documented as having played a significant role in the architectural historical development of the nation, states, counties and local communities.
The Old School Square District contains historic structures that span more than 60 years. The oldest is an 1898 building, but most of its historic structures were built between 1920 and 1960. “It has a very good selection of architectural styles,” said Ruben Acosta, survey and registration supervisor for Florida, when describing the district to the Review Board.
Boca Raton attorney Michael Weiner, who owns several buildings in the Old School Square District, spoke by phone at the review board meeting. He was against the designation.
“It is forcing the neighborhood backwards, rather than helping to preserve it,” he said. Among the buildings he owns is the 52 N. Swinton Ave. house that was converted into a commercial use for the popular Dada restaurant.
“It won’t add additional approval layers for local property owners,” said Price Patton, vice chair of the city’s Historic Preservation Board. He traveled to Tallahassee for the Review Board meeting. “It’s an honorary title that is well-deserved,” he said.
Carolyn Patton, a board member of the Delray Beach Preservation Trust, said that as far back as 2008, consultants recommended the district be nominated, but the city had insufficient staff to fill out the demanding application. In 2014, the trust was successful in having the Marina Historic District named to the National Register.
“We have several others in the works,” she said. “The Old School Square District contains Delray’s history and Delray’s heart.”
The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency sent a letter supporting the district’s designation, said Andrea Harden, a member of the city’s Historic Preservation Board. The agency owns buildings in the district, including its offices at 20 N. Swinton Ave. — a house that is an example of Monterrey style architecture.
The trust raised money to hire Ellen Uguccioni, a Florida Review Board member and a historic preservation expert, to write the National Register application. Uguccioni recused herself from the vote, as did preservation architect Rick Gonzalez, also on the Review Board.
Gonzalez is working with the developers of Midtown Delray Beach, a proposed project that includes historic buildings on South Swinton Avenue. The most famous is the Sundy House, built in 1902 in the Frame Vernacular style for Delray Beach’s first mayor.
The Sundy House and the Old School Square campus are individually listed on the National Register.
“We are excited that this Delray Beach treasure is finally getting the recognition that it has long deserved,” Preservation Trust President JoAnn Peart said in a prepared statement after the Review Board vote.

Note: Price and Carolyn Patton are founding partners of The Coastal Star.

It’s a new dawn
It’s a new day
It’s a new life
For me
And I’m feeling good
I’m feeling good

•

The often-recorded song Feeling Good is in my iTunes mix as 2018 begins.
Nina Simone’s 1965 version charted decades later when heard in a Volvo commercial, and Michael Bublé’s 2005 cover has been used widely as well.
Its durable message appeals to me now, when not a single person I know doesn’t hope the year just beginning will be better than the last one. I think we all want a new dawn and new day. Right?
There were many mornings in 2017 when I woke seeking gratefulness and found refuge in the realization that due to the circumstances of my birth, I was not one of the 22.5 million refugees in the world. I was snug in my bed and didn’t need to flee a combat zone or try to decide what small items of remembrance I could safely take in a backpack before I left everything I knew and loved.
I don’t have to gamble my savings on a dangerous boat trip to a camp for displaced persons in a foreign land.
I have employment, family, friends and health. I have a home.
It’s so very easy to take all these things for granted.

•

Dragonfly out in the sun, you know what I mean, don’t you know
Butterflies all havin’ fun, you know what I mean
Sleep in peace when the day is done, that’s what I mean
And this old world is a new world
And a bold world
For me

•

So, my hope for 2018 is bold strides toward a new world of peace for us all.
Happy New Year!

— Mary Kate Leming, Editor

By Dan Moffett

After months of often contentious debate, Briny Breezes is entering the new year with major changes to the town’s leadership and government structure.
For the first time in its 55-year history, Briny will have a town manager. Council members unanimously approved a contract hiring veteran municipal manager Dale Sugerman on Dec. 28, hoping that his 40 years of experience will improve government operations.
Sugerman will earn $36,000 annually and work 20-25 hours a week in the part-time position. He began Jan. 2.
This won’t be the first time that Sugerman creates a manager position from nothing. In 1989, he became the first manager in Sunrise history when he helped the Broward County municipality change from a strong mayor form of government.
Sugerman most recently served as assistant manager of Delray Beach, until retiring last year. He was manager of Lake Park from 2012 to 2015 and before that spent four years as Highland Beach’s manager and six as an assistant manager in Boynton Beach.
He also has worked in Slater, Mo.; Oberlin, Ohio; and Palm Bay.
“Nothing is going to come up that surprises me,” he told the council through a smile.
A native of Cleveland, Sugerman earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Cincinnati and a master’s in urban administration from the University of Missouri. He holds a doctorate in conflict resolution from Lynn University.
Sugerman said he hopes to improve relations between the council and residents. They have differed in recent months over code enforcement and budget issues.
“I know you’ve had some contentious meetings,” he told the council. “I want to bring down the temperature by listening to everybody, improving communication and teaching. I will go overboard in listening, but in the end, democracy will prevail. I’m sorry, but this is how democracy works.”
Improving relations between the Town Council and the corporate board will be another priority, Sugerman said.
“I don’t know how the actors behave,” he said, “but I understand how things are supposed to work.”
The new town manager will be working with an overhauled Town Council with three new faces.
Incumbents Bobby Jurovaty and Jim McCormick withdrew their candidate applications for the March election at the eleventh hour in December after two challengers — Bill Birch and Kathy Gross — came forward to contest the seats.
McCormick said his withdrawal would “save the town $8,000,” the cost of holding an election.
Jurovaty said he was frustrated by the increasing friction between Briny’s corporate board and the Town Council, and thought it was time to step aside.
Birch and Gross will be working alongside a new mayor when they begin their terms in March. Roger Bennett, who served as mayor between 2007 and 2013, returns for another term, replacing Mike Hill.
The council installed Bennett with a 3-2 vote on Nov. 30. Jurovaty, McCormick and Chick Behringer voted for him; council President Sue Thaler and Alderwoman Christina Adams supported Hill, who had also applied.
Jurovaty said the bad relations with the corporation was the reason he decided not to run for another term as alderman. He said as soon as another candidate stepped forward to replace him, he tore up his election filing papers.
“I think the concept of corporation and town is a failed experiment,” Jurovaty said. “It’s a cancerous situation — not just the beginning of cancer but advanced. The board has become radicalized. I thought I could make things better but I failed. You can’t put your heart in something you stopped believing in.”
In other business, Briny Breezes made an important change on Dec. 28 when the council gave unanimous final approval to an ordinance that gives the town the option of hiring a magistrate or assembling a citizens enforcement board to resolve code disputes with homeowners.
Thaler said she hoped the change would help the town enforce its building rules, promote compliance and ensure residents’ safety.

By Steve Plunkett

The next time Boca Raton dredges the hazardous ebb shoal in the Boca Raton Inlet, it will be allowed to deposit the sand north of the inlet instead of south.
Hillsboro Beach, the town just south of Deerfield Beach in Broward County, blocked such a transfer in March, complaining to the state that the proposed placement ran counter to the natural flow of sand, robbing it of needed material for its eroded beaches and endangering sea turtle nesting.
Boca Raton, which had a dredge contractor offshore to renourish its north beaches, was forced to put shoal sand south of the inlet but fought Hillsboro Beach’s claims.
On Dec. 11, Tallahassee-based administrative law judge Bram Canter sided with Boca Raton.
“We are pleased,” city spokes-woman Chrissy Gibson said. Canter’s ruling is technically a recommendation to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. “Accordingly, FDEP will still need to act on the recommendation and issue the permit modification,” she said.
Canter seemed most swayed by learning that Boca Raton had dredged sand from the mouth of the inlet to its north beaches before with no ill effects and by several details Hillsboro Beach either left out or got wrong.
Hillsboro Beach argued that sand naturally moves north to south along the Atlantic coast, but Canter determined it could also flow the other way.
“In this particular area, about 80 percent of the sand drift is to the south,” Canter wrote, leaving 20 percent to travel northward.
Also, Canter said, Hillsboro Beach’s expert coastal engineer, William Dally of the University of North Florida, based his opinions on assumptions “that were shown to be mistaken.”
For instance, Dally believed that the 2006 dredging of 340,000 cubic yards of sand from the ebb shoal and its placement north of the Boca Inlet led directly to the town’s need to renourish its beaches in 2011.
“However,” Canter wrote, “it was shown that the town’s renourishment project was planned in 2005, which means the town was addressing an erosion problem that existed before the 2006 dredging of the ebb shoal.”
Furthermore, Boca Raton’s south beach was “full” after it received 80,000 cubic yards of sand from the shoal so no more could be placed there, Canter said.
There was one bright spot for Hillsboro Beach in Canter’s 27-page order. He accepted as a finding of fact that the rock groins Deerfield Beach installed in 1958 block sand from going south.
“The Deerfield Beach ‘groin field’ is the single-most important cause of erosion to the town’s beaches,” Canter wrote, noting that the northernmost groins are mostly buried but 15 southern groins are still trapping sand.
Hillsboro Beach is suing Deerfield Beach over the groins, saying it must spend millions of dollars to repair its beaches.
Manalapan officials are contemplating legal action to sink a Palm Beach County plan to install concrete groins in South Palm Beach.
Kenneth Oertel, Hillsboro Beach’s Tallahassee-based environmental-law attorney, said the town was “disappointed” by Canter’s findings.
Boca Raton’s rewritten permit will allow a one-time placement of 80,000 cubic yards of sand from the ebb shoal to the north beach.
“That project, if it is constructed, will cause increased erosion to Hillsboro’s already disappearing beaches,” Oertel said.
The state’s beach management plan calls for Boca Raton to place 83,000 cubic yards of sand south of the inlet each year to account for the inlet’s interference with sand drift. The city has been exceeding that target, placing on average 87,100 cubic yards a year, Canter wrote.
Weeks Marine Inc., the city’s dredge contractor, cut a 20-foot-deep channel through the ebb shoal last spring, but that was “only in one small portion of the shoal,” Jennifer Bistyga, Boca Raton’s coastal program manager, said at the time.
In 2015 boaters took pictures of one another standing waist-deep in the inlet. Captains headed to sea had to make a sharp turn south to avoid bumping or worse on the shoal, then watch for swimmers and snorkelers at South Inlet Park before going into the ocean.

By Dan Moffett

After two failed attempts at hiring a town manager they could work with, South Palm Beach council members decided to bring onboard a known quantity from right next door.
With a unanimous vote of approval Dec. 19, the council forged a five-year contract with longtime Atlantis City Manager Mo Thornton to become the town’s fourth administrative leader in the last three years.
“I’m excited, delighted, I can’t wait to get to know everybody, to come, do good work and have fun,” Thornton told the council.
She said Mayor Bonnie Fischer and Vice Mayor Robert Gottlieb approached her several years ago about coming to work for the town, but the timing wasn’t right. Now it is.
“I decided recently that a life change was in order,” she said.
Thornton has been the manager of Atlantis for 21 years and built working relationships with Fischer and Gottlieb in the Palm Beach County League of Cities. When South Palm Beach needed advice on hiring an auditing firm in early 2017, the town turned to Thornton, who began as accountant and finance director in Atlantis.
“We can all look forward to a town manager who understands that working with the Town Council is what’s ultimately best for the town,” said Councilwoman Elvadianne Culbertson.
Thornton replaces Bob Vitas, the former Key West manager whom the council abruptly fired in October after months of disputes over his salary and evaluation requirements. Three years ago, the council hired Jim Pascale of Princeton, N.J., as manager, then let him go six months later after clashes over projects and policy.
Thornton’s contract, which begins Jan. 22, calls for an annual salary of $105,000 that includes full insurance coverage for herself and her dependent. She is subject to a six-month probationary period and would receive 20 weeks of severance should the town fire her without cause. There are no guaranteed raises in the contract.
Thornton is taking a significant pay cut from the $121,500 she was earning in Atlantis.
“This move is not about money for me,” she said. “South Palm Beach is a wonderful little jewel. I love providing service to a small community.”
The council chose Thornton over two other finalists. Mike Hein, the former manager of Tucson, Ariz., and Longboat Key, essentially took himself out of the running with a $120,000 salary request, more than the town was willing to pay. Council members said Teresa Lamar-Sarno, an assistant city manager and certified planner in Stuart, didn’t have enough experience to fit the town’s needs.
Thornton arrives in South Palm Beach with a full agenda waiting. The town has an ambitious and controversial beach stabilization project planned with the county and must decide how to renovate or repair its aging Town Hall.

Election filings in
The morning of Dec. 19 was busy for Town Clerk Maylee De Jesus as a flurry of election filings came into her office as the qualification period ended.
In all, six candidates qualified for the March ballot for three open seats on the council. Incumbents Gottlieb and Stella Gaddy Jordan are running for another term. Challengers include Kevin and Mary Alessandra Hall, a married couple, Raymond Lee McMillan and Chester “Bill” LeRoy.
Two of the open seats are for full two-year terms and the other — held by Lucille Flagello, who was appointed last fall — is for one year. Town attorney Glen Torcivia said the two highest vote-getters will win the two full-term seats and the candidate who finishes third will claim the partial seat.

By Jane Smith

Should dogs be allowed on the beach at Oceanfront Park?
In early December, Boynton Beach Mayor Steven Grant suggested residents answer that question in an online survey. Then, city leaders would learn whether their residents want to push forward with creating a stretch of beach for dogs.
Grant, a dog owner, is in favor of creating a dog beach with limited hours and that uses a permit system to ensure the dogs are current on their shots. He suggests that Boynton Beach residents pay less than nonresidents.
But creating the dog beach means working with Ocean Ridge.
While Boynton Beach owns the beach, it is in the town of Ocean Ridge and subject to its ordinances. Right now, Ocean Ridge does not allow animals, including dogs on leashes, on the public beach. Owners of private beaches can allow dogs on their beaches.
Palm Beach County bans dogs from all of its beaches. Ocean Ridge Hammock Park, directly north of Oceanfront Park, is owned by the county.
Commissioner Joe Casello first raised the idea of the dog beach back in August.
Then, in November, Boynton Beach staffers met with their counterparts in Ocean Ridge to discuss the idea of allowing dogs at Oceanfront Park.
“It seemed clear from discussions with [Ocean Ridge] representatives that the town is firm on enforcing its regulations,” according to a Boynton Beach staff memo. Boynton Beach city staff recommended against pursuing the dog beach location.
Even so, Casello insisted that Boynton Beach staff move forward with the dog beach plan.
“It’s our beach,” said Vice Mayor Justin Katz. “We own it, we maintain it.” He favors a trial period for the dog beach.
Four residents spoke at the Dec. 5 meeting. They all were against it.
“Even a park ranger will not be able to find the little turds,” longtime Boynton Beach resident Manny Gutierrez said.
Casello also wondered why the Ocean Ridge town manager did not come to the Boynton Beach City Commission meeting to address the town’s concerns.
Jamie Titcomb was invited, but did not plan to attend “a personal opinion session,” said Ocean Ridge Police Chief Hal Hutchins, the town’s designated spokesman for issues regarding Oceanfront Park. His department patrols the beachfront park through an agreement with Boynton Beach.
“We need to see a concrete proposal, other than saying, ‘we want to have dogs on the beach,’ ” Hutchins said. At that point Ocean Ridge would have a workshop to discuss the proposal, he said.
Mayor Grant asked that his city’s parks and recreation advisory board create and post the dog beach survey on the city’s website, look at what other cities are doing when they allow dogs on their beaches and come back with options for the commission to select.
Because the advisory board meets monthly, the City Commission might not see the survey results for a few months, Grant said.
Wally Majors, parks and recreation director, said a dog beach would be limited by the size of the city’s slice of oceanfront — 960 feet.
“It’s a small area,” he said at the Dec. 5 commission meeting. “We would have to hire a park ranger to enforce the limits and then someone to clean up after the dogs.”
He agreed that the permit money could be used to offset the cost of the park ranger and that most dog owners would pick up after their dogs.
Commissioner Christina Romelus wanted to let the public decide about creating a dog beach at Oceanfront Park. But Commissioner Mack McCray was against creating a dog beach because of the increased cost. The city does not have park rangers and would have to hire them, he said.