The late Ken Simmons' love of animals made it easy for him to put pets at ease. Coastal Star 2013 file photo

By Arden Moore

I confess. I do have health insurance, but do not have a personal physician. I know, I know. I need to get a physical exam once a year.

But I do have a strong connection with the “physician” for my four-legged family members. In fact, Bujeau, Mikey, Kona, Casey,

Cleo and Mort regularly go to the veterinary clinic for wellness exams, vaccinations, flea and tick preventives and the occasional illness or injury. My pets range in age from 4 to 17 years old.

I am betting I am not alone in booking more appointments for my pets in a calendar year than for myself. Agree?

Because our pets can’t talk to tell veterinarians what’s bothering them medically or emotionally, it is up to us as pet parents to do our homework and find a veterinarian and staff to whom we can relate and feel comfortable that our pets are receiving the best possible care.

I bring this up because when I lived in the Lantana and Lake Worth area for nine years, my go-to veterinarian was the remarkable Ken Simmons, who owned and operated Simmons Veterinary Hospital in Greenacres.

Tragically, he and his wife, Alice, and their golden retrievers, Lily and Bailey, were aboard the private plane he piloted that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on Feb. 1. Despite intense search efforts, the plane had yet to be found nearly a month later. (See the tribute to Ken and Alice Simmons on Page 1.)

Even though I am barely 5-foot-2 and Dr. Simmons towered over me at 6-foot-8, I never felt intimidated or overwhelmed by him. He patiently addressed my questions, educated me on what was happening to my then cats, Callie, Little Guy and Murphy, and always seemed to find a way to make them purr and feel comfortable during their examinations.

I felt lucky to have found a great veterinarian in him.

Today, my veterinarian answers to the name of Debora Charles. Like Simmons, she has a way of explaining medical terms easily and putting my pets at ease. And, as a bonus, whenever I walk into the front door of the Casa Linda Animal Clinic, even her staffers at the front door greet me and my pets by name.

Now, there are oodles of designated days, weeks and months to salute various people and causes, such as National Beer Day, Polar Bear Plunge Day, Fruitcake Toss Day, Clean Off Your Desk Day and even Wear Pajamas to Work Day.

But until recently, there were no nationally known days to honor veterinarians. Patricia McConnell, a renowned expert in animal behavior and an adjunct associate professor in zoology, simply declared Thank Your Veterinarian Day on April 9, 2018. I sincerely hope this holiday gains attention.

Marty Becker, DVM, best known as America’s Family Veterinarian, applauds her efforts. He is a best-selling author who helped launch the fast-growing Fear Free Pet movement designed to give veterinarians, other pet professionals and pet parents the skills and knowledge to handle pets in ways to reduce fear, anxiety and stress. (Learn more at fearfreepets.com.)

“Veterinarians are pet lovers just like you,” says Becker, who personally has cats, dogs and horses at his home in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. “Veterinary medicine is an extremely challenging profession, and we certainly do not choose this medical profession for the money. The hours are long, the pay is low, the stress is high. Most MDs now focus on one organ, whereas veterinarians must know internal medicine, surgery, radiology, pharmacy, behavior and pediatrics to geriatrics.”

McConnell and Becker offer these ideas to officially thank your veterinarian:

• Send money to a veterinary clinic to be used for a client who cannot afford to pay for a procedure.

• Bring in cookies to the veterinary staff about 3 p.m. in the middle of the week.

• Write a positive review of your experience online.

• Write and mail a greeting card to the veterinary staff when your dog aced his wellness exam or your cat remained calm while getting vaccinations.

• Refer the veterinarian to your friends and colleagues who have pets, using face-to-face conversations. Word-of-mouth referrals are still powerful in this age of tweets and Facebook posts. Rob Martin, DVM, who practices at the Colonial Animal Hospital in Boynton Beach, is a fan of the final idea listed. He has been a veterinarian for three decades and at the end of the workday, he enjoys coming home to what he describes playfully as “an army of dogs and cats.”

“The most important way to find a veterinarian is to find a referral from someone you trust,” says Martin. “A lot of reviews on Yelp or Google are hurtful or not accurate. Seek referrals from people who have a good relationship of say four or five years or more with a veterinarian. A veterinarian they believe does right for them and for your pets.”

I am thinking about getting a T-shirt or bumper sticker that reads: Paws up to veterinarians!

Arden Moore, founder of FourLeggedLife.com, is an animal behavior consultant, author, speaker and master certified pet first-aid instructor. She hosts the Oh Behave! show on PetLifeRadio.com. Learn more by visiting ardenmoore.com.

Madison Nolan hopes to raise $50,000 by March 8 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in honor of her father, Ed Nolan, who died in April after battling lymphoma. On March 5 she wants fellow students to donate $3 each and wear lime green, the LLS color. Photo provided

By Janis Fontaine

Just 17 years old, Madison Nolan of Delray Beach is dealing with a tremendous loss by doing something positive.
Last April 5, Madison lost her father, Ed Nolan, to non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

NHL is the most common form of blood cancer — sometimes called liquid cancer — with more than 70,000 cases diagnosed each year in the United States. The disease forms in the bloodstream or lymph system, which carries disease-fighting white blood cells throughout the body.

Madison, a senior at Saint John Paul II Academy in Boca Raton, has been nominated to be one of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s students of the year. The title is awarded to the candidate in each community who raises the most in donations during a seven-week competition, which this year ends March 8. Go to Tinyurl.com/MadisonLLS to donate.

Student of the Year is a philanthropic leadership development program for exemplary high school students. Participants build professional skills such as entrepreneurship, marketing and project management while raising money to fight liquid cancers.
Saint John Paul II Academy requires students to wear school uniforms. The chance to wear jeans and non-school colors is enticing, so charity-driven “dress-down days” are effective fundraisers. But for Madison, her March 5 event will also be a way to honor her father.

“I want everyone to see his smiling face,” Madison said. “He was one of the good guys.”

Madison asks participants to make $3 donations and to wear lime green shirts and jeans to school. Lime green is the color of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Her goal is to raise $50,000 by March 8, but she admits that while the money is important, what she really wants is to see her school dressed in lime green as a tribute to the man who always had a smile and a kind word.
“It’s only been 10 months,” Madison said, “so it’s going to be hard, but I’m super-excited to be making a memory for him.”
Madison says her best friends have really stepped up for her. “It’s easy to talk about him. I want to talk about him, and they understand that.”

Madison was about 5 years old when her father was diagnosed in 2006. “He had a PET scan and it lit up like a Christmas tree,” Madison said.

He was treated with chemotherapy, and Madison remembers when she visited him at treatment, he was the guy who was walking around, laughing and joking and cheering everyone else up. “Nothing ever affected him.”

Ed Nolan was doing well as 2017 drew to a close. He’d made so much progress that doctors thought he was in remission, and the family had a party to celebrate his being cancer-free. In December, he needed a little minor surgery and he didn’t recover from anesthesia well.

Things got worse. The cancer had metastasized to his brain, an unexpected and dire development. “We didn’t think the cancer could do that,” Madison said. “He’d always pulled through before.”

But at the beginning of April, Madison was taking a history test when someone called her to the front office. The staff told her to bring her books. A woman in the office was in tears. “She told me things were bad,” Madison said. Her mom’s sister had flown in from Alaska to help, and she took Madison to the hospital.

It’s still hard for Madison to believe her father is gone. She misses his sarcasm and his jokes, and riding in his Jeep down to the beach. Her father was a 36-year employee of FPL and “he loved his job and he had a group of guys he loved, his FPL guys,” Madison said.

Her mother, Kathleen Nolan, is supportive and proud of her daughter’s efforts to honor her father.

Madison also finds comfort with her dog, Bella, a black Lab mix she and her dad rescued. “She sleeps under the covers,” she said.

Madison wants to go to college, but isn’t quite ready to leave home yet. She wants to become a physician’s assistant.

“I’ve always loved anything medical,” she said. “I’m interested in holistic medicine and how we can treat people using herbs and supplements or acupuncture, as alternatives or in addition to chemo drugs.”

The LLS says that its students of the year have an important responsibility: “We call on those strong enough to fight for others. We need standouts who can stand up to cancer.”

The 78-year-old museum is set to reopen after a 59,000-square-foot expansion that reorients its entrance and adds a sculpture garden

The 19-foot-tall Typewriter Eraser, Scale X, by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, stands in the Heyman Plaza, which forms the new entrance to the Norton Museum of Art on South Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach. Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Gretel Sarmiento

A soft blue light descends upon delicate Chinese artifacts housed inside dark cabinets. Each has a dedicated source of light announcing it. From a distance, the mechanism holding them vanishes, leaves them floating like fragile notes on an invisible music sheet.

The room is quiet, ceremonial. The song of hammers and drills can’t touch this sacred space. Nobody dares speak. Not our tour guide. Not even to say how this subtle mastery has been achieved.

If the devil is in the details, something is about to become the most importantly devilish cultural destination in South Florida, and its new favorite one: the remade Norton Museum of Art, which is finally making its debut Feb. 9, having undergone a $100 million makeover.

That minimalist mounting work is one of many understated features of the transformed building, which grew its exhibition space by 35 percent. The extra room affords the Norton’s photography collection its own dedicated gallery for the first time.

“It exceeded my expectations,” said Hope Alswang, the museum’s executive director and CEO, who led the aggressive funding campaign and retires next month. “Because, you know, the renderings are so gorgeous. It’s idealistic. It’s a fairytale. And then you get the building and you are like, this is incredible!”

Windows frame a view of the 90-year-old banyan at the entrance to the Norton Museum of Art. Designs throughout the museum echo the circular motif on either side of the doors.

The most noticeable change is the dramatic main entrance, now facing South Dixie Highway, which is framed by a monumental ancient banyan tree to the left and a curious 19-foot pop-art sculpture to the right. Typewriter Eraser, Scale X, by Claes Oldenburg and his wife, Coosje van Bruggen, balances deliberately off-center on a reflecting pool that complements the calming white façade.
“It’s unmistakably a museum. It’s unmistakably about art,” said John Backman, project director of the 59,000-square-foot expansion, and the boldest endeavor the 78-year-old institution has undergone.

From the newly restored parquet floors and LED lights to the Quebec-commissioned cabinets holding the Chinese collection, the new structure is clearly dedicated to the mission of celebrating and advancing culture. It manages to do that without coming across as uptight and pretentious, a message perfectly conveyed by that fun Oldenburg sculpture consummating the shaded entrance plaza.

“I like the fact that people of a certain age don’t know what it is, because it starts a dialogue,” said Alswang, who turns 72 in May. “I think that’s not a bad thing, you know, to start asking: what’s going on?”

Other works simultaneously debuting with the rejuvenated museum include an elaborate mandala piece by Damien Hirst featuring a butterfly motif; a group of 16th-century paintings depicting a Chinese lantern festival in Nanjing; and a hand-poured glass installation by artist Rob Wynne extending along a new three-story stairway.

The Norton’s collection of Chinese art is housed in a new gallery with improved lighting. 

Radical design
Designed by renowned British architect Lord Norman Foster, the new building is a drastic departure from the original 1941 design and marks a huge point of differentiation from other cultural venues. There is simply nothing like it in Palm Beach County. It stands ultra-modern but avoids the institutional, clinical air that plagues many modern structures by connecting the interior with the exterior at every turn, such as in the new restaurant.

Further softening the structure’s sleek armor and metal roof canopy are views of the sky and subtropical plants, which are visible through elegant glass panels.

The Norton Museum of Art’s new sign glows in the afternoon light above the museum’s newly reconfigured west façade, which fronts South Dixie Highway.

The use of glass predominates throughout the facility and delivers a particularly striking effect in the Great Hall, from where the robust branches of the old banyan tree can be seen. Opposite from the 28-foot-tall window hangs a new, large-scale tapestry piece commissioned from artist Pae White.

The space, located to the left of the admission counter, has a living-room vibe and treats visitors to comfortable lounge seating, refectory tables and a coffee bar. Fabric wall panels and special acoustic plaster were used for sound-absorbing purposes.
What gives this room that airy, relaxing, light quality? Look up. The 44-foot-high ceiling culminates in a gigantic oculus skylight.

Purposeful impact
The visitor experience was the driving force guiding many tiny decisions, from door handles and handrails to light fixtures and furniture placement. The clarity in the floorplan, which grants visitors a clear east-west line of view, was also deliberate.

Long before the daring expansion broke ground three years ago, the community could sense it would be something special.

For one, the visionary design was by British architecture studio Foster + Partners, whose previous projects include the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Hearst Tower in New York and that translucent Apple store in Kyoto, Japan.

There was no doubt when the vivid renderings of the plan went public. It was audacious, massive and stunning; so much so that gifts from inspired museum trustees and community friends began pouring in.

Last year alone, the museum received a 100-artwork donation from Howard and Judie Ganek and the largest single philanthropic gift in its history: $16 million from Florida native Kenneth C. Griffin. The Norton’s new building is named after him.

Seeing it through completion and leaving it all behind is bittersweet to say the least, Alswang admitted. Under her leadership, the museum added 1,600 new objects to its portfolio. She would like to see it grow more under new director Elliot Bostwick Davis, who starts March 2. That goal should come easier now.

“People want to give their art to a beautiful building,” Alswang said. “They think: ‘Oh, I can give my art to another boring building or I can give my art to a Norman Foster masterpiece.’ Well, I think it’s a no-brainer.”

A large work by Pae White dominates the Norton’s Great Hall, which has a capacity of 400.

The architects also took on the task of designing the garden spaces in a way that furthers the inside-outside compatibility.
Contemporary sculptures by George Rickey, Keith Haring, and Mark di Suvero, among others, now adorn the “great lawn” that behaves like an outdoor gallery. It replaced the museum’s former paved entrance.

Works by 42 students from 12 schools are already up in the new Chris and Bernard Marden Community Gallery, which also enjoys a more generous and brighter space.

Other new exhibitions kicking off Feb. 9 include Modern Spontaneity: Ralph Norton’s Watercolor Collection and Nina Chanel Abney, as the latest in the RAW (Recognition of Art by Women) series.

Museum officials announced there would be free admission on Fridays and Saturdays, and Art After Dark events will now run through 10 p.m.

Since construction hit the final stages in July, there has been a lot of “touch and go,” said Backman.

With only a few weeks until the big reveal, he reflected on this long journey. “You are managing crisis after crisis. You get fatigued. But then you get these moments that wake you up,” he said while recalling one particular glorious night on the job. The parapet letters with dimmable lighting had just crowned the unrecognizable building with a recognizable name. From across the street, Backman looked back at the illuminated building.

“You don’t always expect the real thing to be so much better,” he said. “It was just a breathtaking experience.”

New at the Norton

Visitors will also notice:

• 12,000 square feet of new galleries

• The 210-seat auditorium with state-of-the-art audio/visual quality

• A new museum store and a new restaurant with indoor and outdoor dining

• The Ruth and Carl Shapiro Great Hall serving as the museum’s “living room” and community space

• An artist-in-residence program quartered in six restored historic houses located south of the garden

• New meeting rooms and celebration spaces

Place of Hope CEO Charles Bender III was named to the advisory committee on health and wellness for new Gov. Ron DeSantis and Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez.

Bender, who has more than 25 years of professional experience protecting children and families in Palm Beach County and beyond, was picked to guide the new administration via his skills in the areas of health care and social services.

“This is, personally and professionally, an important appointment for me because it provides me an opportunity to share everything we’ve learned as an organization about how to best help Florida’s children,” he said. “At Place of Hope, the children we help, place in foster care, get adopted and see grow into productive people are just a small percentage of the children we can help statewide.”
With locations in Boca Raton, West Palm Beach and Palm Beach Gardens, as well as the Treasure Coast, Place of Hope serves more than 900 annually.

New facility debuts for job training, needs
Boca Helping Hands has opened the Justin D. Webb Training Center offering free job-assistance programs.

The new facility houses the Leah and Samuel Hochman Health and Wellness Classroom, a second classroom dedicated in memory of Henry Weitz, an administrative office dedicated in memory of Dr. Herbert Watchtel, and a smaller interview room for professional-development sessions. The building is at 1500 NW First Court in Boca Raton.

Additional no-cost classes include English as a Second Language; The Reading Project, an adult-literacy program; and Living Well, which provides talks about health and wellness, early detection and healthy eating.

Boca Helping Hands also purchased the neighboring Warehouse Pub property, and the city has approved zoning changes to convert it into parking for staff members and volunteers.

Clinics Can Help supplies $1.4 million in equipment
Clinics Can Help is celebrating its life-saving achievements since being founded 13 years ago.

During that time, the nonprofit has served more than 10,000 adults and children in need of medical equipment and supplies in Palm Beach County, totaling more than $1.4 million.

“What we have here now is an organization that was started in a closet by a hospice nurse with a huge heart and has helped thousands of children and families have the best quality of life as possible,” said Bryant Sims, who played an integral role in the formation of the West Palm Beach-based organization. “I think we have a model here for something that can be done across the country.”

Poetry festival fellowships, scholarship winners named
The five winners of fellowships and scholarships to the Palm Beach Poetry Festival are as follows:

• The Langston Hughes Fellowship for African-American poets was awarded to Tyree Daye, of Youngsville, N.C.

• The Kundiman Fellowship for Asian-American poets was awarded to Shelley Wong, of San Francisco.

• The CantoMundo Fellowship for Latin-American poets was awarded to Denice Frohman, of New York.

• The Thomas Lux Scholarship was awarded to Cate Lycurgus, of San Francisco.

• The Sarah Lawrence Scholarship was awarded to Amanda Volel, of New York.

The 15th annual affair wrapped up Jan. 26 at Old School Square in Delray Beach. The three Poetry Festival Fellowships cover full tuition and lodging for the recipients.

“These fellowships represent a substantial investment in education focused on the craft of writing poetry,” said Miles Coon, festival founder and president. “We have been working toward opening the doors widely to the festival workshops and offer participants the opportunity to work together with these exceptionally talented fellows who were selected from the largest applicant pool in our 15-year history.”

Send news and notes to Amy Woods at flamywoods@bellsouth.net.

A record attendance of nearly 700 guests filled the dance floor — and, in fact, all of the Ponce de Leon Ballroom — singing and swaying as legendary artist Diana Ross performed. A little while later, the same guests rolled in their seats with laughter watching superstar comedian Rita Rudner. More than $1 million was raised for disabled veterans through the Pups4Patriots program. ABOVE: Ross with Lois Pope. Photo provided by CAPEHART

First Care Women’s Clinic recognized its most faithful supporters at a special reception that welcomed them into the new Imago Dei Society. The Imago Dei Society includes those who are committed to the clinic’s mission — assisting women with crisis pregnancies and empowering them with information and support. Each was given a Tiffany bowl, filled with candies, as a gift of gratitude. TOP: Scott and Lori Weber. ABOVE: Barry and Loretta Amsdell. Photos provided by Tracey Benson Photography

The Faulk Center for Counseling celebrated its annual gathering to honor local leaders John Crean, Pam Leal and Pamela Higer Polani. Proceeds from the event provide free and low-cost services to at-risk children, disadvantaged families and uninsured adults, none of whom is turned away because of inability to pay. TOP: (l-r, seated) Crean, Polani, Leal, (standing) Sandy Vanegas, Stephanie Cook, Joni Webster and Osvaldo Garcia. ABOVE: (l-r) Doreen Yaffa, Susan Wandersman, Tracy McDonough and Laureen Pannullo. Photos by Tina Valant

Florida Atlantic University recognized Robert F. Kennedy Jr. with the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters Making Waves Award. The award, presented during a lecture with the activist, attorney and author, was given in honor of Kennedy’s public engagement. ‘Kennedy represents the values we cherish in our democracy and that we hope to instill in our students as active citizens in our country,’ college Dean Michael Horswell said. ABOVE: (l-r) Dick and Barbara Schmidt, Kennedy, Michelle Maros and Lauren Shawcross. Photo provided

Members and guests of the Elks Lodge 1770 in Delray Beach ceremonially reopened the extensively renovated lodge. The $400,000 project added new flooring and carpeting, reinvented the bar and put in a fresh stage and sound system, among other changes. Roger Cope, an architect, did the design work pro bono. ABOVE: (l-r) Lori Stoffer, chaplain; Maureen Gour, trustee; Cecil Broderick, esteemed leading knight; Mike Sinneck, past grand exalted ruler; Mayor Shelly Petrolia, soon to be an Elk; Cope, esteemed loyal knight; Richard Snyder, exalted ruler; James Eaton, trustee; Carol Eaton, treasurer;  and Jeb Conrad, president and CEO of the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce. Photo provided

Co-chairs Anne Vegso and Jeannette DeOrchis both have pins recognizing their volunteer work on behalf of abuse victims. Photo provided

By Amy Woods

Two leaders of South County’s philanthropic community have stepped up to co-chair this year’s Heart of a Woman Luncheon in Boca Raton.

Anne Vegso and Jeannette DeOrchis will lead the annual fundraiser for Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse, or AVDA. Both have received the Woman Volunteer of the Year Award — one of the most competitive awards of the season — from the Junior League of Boca Raton for their work on behalf of the Delray Beach nonprofit.

“It is going to be amazing,” said Vegso, who won the award in 2005. “We have a great group of women on our committee, No. 1, and it is a fabulous organization, No. 2. Jeannette and I both feel very strongly about our mission and that we really are making a difference in the lives of these victims.”

AVDA promotes violence-free relationships by offering programs and services that help women and children in harm’s way. Proceeds will benefit its 24-hour crisis hotline, emergency shelter, transitional-housing facility and educational outreach efforts in Palm Beach County schools.

“The money goes straight to where it needs to be,” said DeOrchis, who was named Woman Volunteer of the Year in 2018. “It’s really a hand up instead of a handout.”

She should know. From age 4 to age 12, she was abused by her father and, as a young adult, married a husband she feared was going to kill her.

“I wondered if I would make it out of childhood alive. I wondered whether I would make it out of my marriage alive," DeOrchis said of her first marriage. I decided that for the rest of my life, I would help these poor women and children so that they would no longer have to feel that way.”

She joined AVDA’s board in 2010.

“It gives me great peace and happiness to know that I’m helping women and children who are in even more desperate circumstances than I was,” DeOrchis said. “So many women are understanding that they don’t have to take it anymore.”

Keynote speaker is Tarana Burke, founder of the MeToo movement, who will share the story behind its genesis. Recognition will go out to survivor and activist Julie Weil, Palm Beach County Victim Services and Rape Crisis Center, and Ruth & Norman Rales Jewish Family Services.

“We talk about the wonderful triumphs we have with the shelter and how many people we’re saving,” DeOrchis said. “It’s a real atmosphere of hope."

If You Go

What: Heart of a Woman Luncheon

When: 10:30 a.m. Feb. 28

Where: Royal Palm Yacht Club, 2425 W. Maya Palm Drive, Boca Raton

Cost: $175

Info: Call 265-3797, ext. 100 or visit avdaonline.org.

Thanks to more than 1,000 guests who attended the third annual fundraiser, the Palm Beach County Food Bank will continue its mission to feed hungry people this season. The family-friendly event invited supporters to ‘eat simply, so others can simply eat.’ Participants shared in a basic meal of water, bread and soup, and each received a symbolic bowl. ABOVE: Food Bank Executive Director Karen Erren and Patty Jones. BELOW: Marla Garchik and Shelley Menin. Photos provided by CAPEHART

Palm Beach residents James and Sue Patterson were guests of honor during a pre-concert event for supporters of the Dreyfoos School of the Arts Foundation. Prior to the Prism Concert, the school’s annual holiday affair, the Pattersons were lauded for underwriting it, giving nearly 400 music students the opportunity to perform in a world-class venue. ABOVE: Marti LaTour and George Elmore. Photo provided by Jacek Gancarz

Family and friends gathered at the home of Neil and Doris Gillman to raise money to provide beds for children in need. More than 200 supporters of Sweet Dream Makers turned out for the affair and helped raise $200,000-plus. Since incorporating in 2016, the organization has donated 2,500 beds for youths. Studies show that youths demonstrate significant improvements in academic performance and behavior when they are well-rested.

ABOVE: Suzanne Broad, executive director of Sweet Dream Makers, and Honorary Chairman Marc Schiller, CEO of City Mattress, which provides beds at reduced costs with free assembly and delivery. Photos provided

The Gillmans

(l-r) Christina Lewis, Kathy Hillier, Cindy and Peter Dahl, Tim Lewis and Tim Lewis Jr.

Alejandra Lippolis, Christine Midwall and Jessica MacFarland

The Plate: Cracker Jack

The Place: Kona Bay Café, 310 E. Ocean Ave., Lantana; 429-3606 or konabaycafe.com.

The Price: $6

The Skinny: This is one of life’s little bargains — two eggs (any style), two strips of bacon, served with your choice of side and toast, all for $6.

The scrambled eggs were fluffy and the bacon was crispy, though the hash browns appeared to be prefab. Service at Kona Bay Café, just west of the Lantana Bridge, always is friendly. After all, this is a neighborhood spot.

You can watch the sun rise, commune with your neighbors at the counter and begin your day with a hearty breakfast for under $10. Who could ask for anything more?

— Scott Simmons

By Jan Norris

They’re playing shuffle-the-restaurants in the plaza on Woolbright at South Federal Highway.

It’s Phase 1 of the Isram Realty project Riverwalk, in progress at the southeast corner of the intersection where the old Winn-Dixie once served the neighborhood.

The Bond & Smolders bakery, popular for its quiche and almond croissants, has just reopened around the corner from Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts — directly across the parking lot from its old location. Co-owner Irina Van Egmond said the breakfast and lunch spot would expand service to dinner with wine and beer soon. Permits are in the works, she said, and there will be a grand opening once they happen. A Sunday brunch also is planned. Meanwhile, new items are being added as specials daily, particularly on the weekends.

With the build-out for a new Sushi Simon almost in place, the popular restaurant plans to reopen in the new space Feb. 5 — Chinese New Year. “It’s a special day, so we want to be open,” manager Lucy Chen said. The restaurant has been operating in its original space, where Chen said it would remain until Feb. 4.

“Everything is new,” Chen said. While it looks smaller than the original, it’s because of the configuration and lighting; the size is the same, she said.

The new interiors feel similar to what the eateries’ old locations had. ABOVE: Bond & Smolders. BELOW: Sushi Simon. Photos provided

Walgreen’s has remained at the west end of the remodeled strip, where a covered drive-thru now accommodates its customers.

Nearby a stand-alone commercial space is being constructed. No word yet on tenants.

Two other eateries relocated away from the mall. Rice Fine Thai and Asian Fusion moved to Oakwood Square on Congress Avenue.

Primo Hoagies is now in the Cross Creek Centre on West Boynton Beach Boulevard.

The eastern strip of the plaza is being demolished and will become the retail strip plus a 10-story apartment building with parking garage and waterfront public area. Work is already begun to redesign the parking lot.

For now, Josie’s Ristorante on the east end of the L-shaped original plaza is staying put. Chef Mark Militello said, “They’re leaving us alone. They’ve decided we’re a neighborhood institution, so they’re building it around us.”

Prime Catch, also on the site, isn’t part of the project and will remain.

In Boca Raton
Take a food trip around the world at Flavors, the Junior League of Boca Raton’s big early-year do.

It’s the 10th anniversary of the organization’s food and wine extravaganza, said spokeswoman Caryn Morris — and the largest so far.

“This is our biggest amount of restaurants participating. We have 35 vendors coming,” she said. “We’re hosting 700 guests.”

The theme at the party Feb. 7 is “Jetset, a global celebration.”

Foods will represent continental dining from around the world. The ballroom at The Addison will be transformed into several rooms where diners will find different cuisines represented in each.

“This presents a chance for our sponsors to give back to the community,” Morris said.

Sponsors include Tito’s Vodka, which is responsible for the spirits at the event, and Eau Spa, donating the champagnes.

The event includes live performances, a silent auction and an open bar. Money raised goes to the Junior League’s programs to promote volunteerism, help women succeed in the community, and aid in community efforts such as hunger relief and child welfare.

Tickets are $85 for general admission and $125 for VIP. For more information, visit the Junior League website at jlbr.org.

If continental isn’t your style, go for seafood — with the family. A weekend-long seafood fest returns for its second year at the Mizner Park Amphitheater Feb. 8-10.

The Boca Raton Seafood & Music Festival has a number of restaurants and vendors preparing myriad fish dishes and sides for sale, while arts and crafts booths serve up a marketplace for shoppers.

Performers are scheduled throughout the weekend, with several local bands playing a variety of styles. Caribbean reggae and steel pan drum bands are highlighted.

General admission tickets are $5; the under-12s are free. Foods are priced individually. No pets are allowed within the festival site.

For more information, visit seafoodfestivals.com, or call 941-487-8061.

In brief
Newcomers in Delray include Tin Roof, a country bar and Southern eats spot that took over the Smoke BBQ location on East Atlantic Avenue; and Veg Eats, at 335 E. Linton, which has a solely plant-based menu. ... Jupiter Donuts puts its fourth location on Boca’s Northeast Spanish River Boulevard. ...

Joseph’s Classic Market will be added to the Town Center roster as the shopping mall continues its transformation. The 14,700-square-foot market will be in a wraparound space that formerly housed Piñon Grill and Blue Martini, on the southeast side of the mall. True Food Kitchen, Dr. Andrew Weil’s “health based” restaurant, and La Boulangerie Boul’Mich, a mix of French and Latin American foods and baked goods, will also open in the mall. ...

Chicago’s popular breakfast-lunch chain Yolk Park Place has put its first Florida location at 5570 N. Military Trail in Boca Raton. Look for unique breakfast items on its test kitchen menu — such as the Brussels Sprout Skillet with sprouts, sweet potatoes, ham and eggs, or Kentucky Fried Bacon with a bourbon glaze and blueberry barbecue sauce — to share.

Food writer Jan Norris can be reached at nativefla@gmail.com. Thom Smith is taking some time off and can be reached at thomsmith@ymail.com.

Dress is more casual and more activities are family-oriented, but club remains a prized spot for seaside dining and social functions 

NOW: Lunch at the Delray Beach Club means an ocean view and conversation for (clockwise from front left) Gwen ‘Lucy’ Drake, Nancy Graham, Joan Hurley, Claire Logan, Polly Cardozo and Mary McDougall. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

THEN: The Delray Beach Club about 1980. The exterior looks largely the same today. Photo provided

By Mary Thurwachter

As the Delray Beach Club prepares to mark its 50th year with three days of celebration Feb. 15-17, longtime member Carol Craig reflects on how things have changed.

Craig has a unique perspective, since she was both an employee — social director and admissions secretary for 20 years — and then a member after she retired in 1999.

The private club on A1A south of Linton Boulevard was a very different place in earlier years.

“It was different because the membership was mostly seniors,” says Craig, who lives in Boynton Beach. “It was mostly a dining club that was beautiful because it was set on the ocean. But the outside facilities were sparsely used.”

The private social club was much more formal than it is today. When it opened, it had 300 members. Today it caps membership at 600 and has a waiting list.

“It was men in jackets and ties every night, women in dresses — and formal evening gowns probably every two weeks,” Craig says.

Craig remembers calling her mother after a “casual” poolside evening years ago to tell her about it. “Mother,” she remembers saying, “do you know what these people consider casual? The women wore one string of pearls instead of two. The men were still in their jackets and ties and the women were in dresses, stockings and heels.”

Rayanne Gale and Heidi Ferguson head toward the beach on the Delray Beach Club’s boardwalk. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Not many outside activities took place beyond the pool and beach.

“Tennis was quite popular,” she says. “Everybody had their times when they played, and all the other players respected that time. If it was Wednesday at 9 o’clock basically you knew who was out on the court because they always played Wednesday at 9 o’clock.

“We only had one big tennis tournament a year, the Jerry Gobrecht tennis tournament, named after Jerry because he had a heart attack and died on the court at a relatively young age. He and his wife, Joan, were charter members and Joan is still very active.”

The tournament, Craig says, felt like a mini Wimbledon. Most of the members would come to watch. Carol Craig (shown here in 1986) worked 20 years at the Delray Beach Club. She joined the club as a member in 1999. Photo provided

“Now they have a tournament every other weekend,” she says. “But they still have the Jerry Gobrecht tournament. We’ve got two women’s teams and a men’s team that travels. It’s very, very different. It’s very, very competitive. We played for fun. Things change.

“There weren’t a lot of children because it was basically a club for those 60 and up,” Craig observes. “The activities we had were geared toward those people. There were dinner dances and there was a cocktail lounge. We had a guy who played the piano and organ, and after dinner everybody would go in the cocktail lounge and have an after-dinner drink. That was very, very big. In those days, it was hard liquor. Nobody drank wine. And they would have their highballs ahead of time.”

Members liked the club at 2001 S. Ocean Blvd. the way it was, Craig says.

“However, we would not have survived without the younger generation coming in,” she says. “They changed the ambience of the club tremendously. We needed that young blood to come in and revitalize the club.

“And with younger people naturally come changes. Their wants are different. The men don’t want to put on jackets and ties. They want everything casual. There is not as much drinking as there used to be — a lot of wine. However, there’s nothing after dinner. Everybody goes home.”

Changes through time
Indeed, younger members want different amenities, more family-oriented.

Kerry Filippone, president of the board of governors, has been a member for five years.

“We moved down here from Westchester County outside of New York and joined soon after,” she says. Her husband took a job in Boca Raton and she took her three children to the club often from their home in Delray Beach.

“Since I had children and was involved in the club, I started on the family committee and then the long-range planning committee and kind of went on from there,” says Filippone.

“The club is one of those places that if you want to get involved, everybody is very encouraging.”

The original pool (above) had much more grass around it than it has today. Photo provided

The club makes a real effort to involve all generations.

“There is quite an active family committee now that does a lot of programming geared toward the families with younger children,” Filippone says. “We offer babysitting on certain nights when we have events, which is a great feature.”

Seems there’s always something going on.

“We have family bingo outside, we’re doing stuff on the beach, and on Father’s Day last year we had a father/child surf camp,” Filippone says. “Last year we had a ladies night for all the women in the club. That’s a fairly new development.

“And we have games night for the family. My daughter attended with me and she’s 20 and there were women maybe in their 70s and 80s also participating. Many generations were participating together. And we have a men’s poker night once a month. There is real camaraderie among the men.”

Bridge has always been popular, but soon canasta will be on the agenda, as well, and perhaps mahjong.

“We have ladies fashion lunches,” Filippone says. “The exercise programs have grown considerably since I joined the club. Now they have yoga and pilates and exercising in the pool. We recently got upgraded equipment in our gym. That seems to be a big draw for people. And there’s the tennis program. It just seems like there’s stuff going on around the clock over there.”

In the beginning
Phyllis Kramer (formerly Spinner), a Delray Beach resident since 1955 and one of the club’s first members, says the Delray Beach Club was a godsend when she was raising her three children in the early days. They spent many hours at the pool.

Back then, club members especially liked the original Grille Room, a more intimate version of its current incarnation. It was, Kramer says, a “cozy, informal room open late at night,” and members enjoyed countless hours socializing as a piano player entertained.

Kramer’s first husband, John W. Spinner (called Jack), was a lawyer and a founder of the club in 1969. His father, Fred, a prominent developer, owned all of the surrounding land and developed the seawalls. Jack Spinner and close friend Bill Plum worked together to start the club. Some of the 10 investors came from Pine Tree Golf Club, where Spinner was a member.

Spinner and Plum, who had experience in banking, flew to Baltimore to talk to contractor Charles A. Mullen about building a beach club on land he owned.

To gauge interest in starting the club, the men put out one advertisement. They received more than 150 $200 checks toward a $500 initiation fee even before the site was finalized.

“We went looking for a chef and a manager,” Kramer remembers. “We went to Fort Lauderdale and Boca and had dinner at different places and interviewed different chefs. The club was very small then, and very nice. I loved it. The opening party actually was on Feb. 16, 50 years ago.”

This year on Feb. 16, a formal dinner with a band will mark the 50th anniversary. On Feb. 15, a cocktail party will be held, and the club will wrap up the celebration Feb. 17 with a family barbecue party beside the pool.

Esther Spinner, mother of founder Jack Spinner, and Clara Hauter, Phyllis Spinner Kramer’s mother, relax beside the club pool in 1970. Photo provided

Kramer says many pleasant memories were made at the club.

“We hosted many birthday parties there and I had a beautiful Christmas brunch there, about 100 people, years ago,” she says.

Last year she had a Christmas dinner for family members, including her three children and their children.

“I’ve made wonderful friends there,” Kramer says.

One of them was George Kramer. They married after she had been a widow for 18 years and Kramer’s wife had died. “He’s a wonderful man and we have a good time together.”

Mullen bought and developed the club, which architect Samuel Ogren Jr. designed. Plum was the first manager. The first gala dinner dance took place after construction of the 23,000-square-foot, two-story clubhouse.

The property, which includes the clubhouse and grill room, pool and tennis courts, was renovated in 2006.

The club offers complimentary beach and pool concierge service, locker rooms with saunas, two Har-Tru tennis courts, a fitness center and complimentary fitness classes.

Kenyon Investment Group of Greensboro, N.C., purchased the club in 1978, and in 1980 it became member-owned, as it remains today.

Shane Peachey has been manager at the club for 11 years. Members are still called “Mr., Mrs. or Miss” by the 77-member staff, and good times and camaraderie remain hallmarks of the social club by the sea.

A seven-story tower for patients is the centerpiece of the hospital’s expansion plans. Rendering provided

Boca Raton Regional Hospital’s $250 million campaign, launched in mid-January, is off to a good start. “Keeping the Promise … The Campaign for Boca Raton Regional Hospital” has already received large philanthropic gifts from Christine E. Lynn, Stanley and Marilyn Barry, Richard and Barbara Schmidt, Elaine J. Wold, and Louis B. and Anne W. Green.

“As always, our supporters have demonstrated their spirit, commitment, and unflagging devotion by helping ensure these plans become reality,” said Jerry Fedele, the hospital’s president and CEO. “We all owe them a debt of gratitude for the sophisticated level of health care we will all enjoy as we move forward with this transformative initiative.”

This campaign, the largest in the hospital’s 51-year history, has already raised $115 million.

Initial steps of the project include a new 180,000-square-foot, seven-story patient tower; investments in neuroscience programs and staff for the Marcus Neuroscience Institute; renovations in the current hospital building; and the addition of a 20-bed observation unit, as well as a 972-car parking garage.

“We’ve all come together in the spirit of Gloria Drummond, whose pioneering spirit helped build this hospital, to help take us to the next level as a health care provider,” said Lynn, donor and chairman of the board of trustees. “We hope and expect those who care deeply about sophisticated world-class health care will embrace this effort and help us bridge the gap between the $115 million we’ve raised to date and the $250 million we need to move forward. Our community has always been there for the hospital, as demonstrably as the hospital has been there for the community.”

The announcement of this campaign took place at the Christine E. Lynn Women’s Health and Wellness Institute on the campus of Boca Raton Regional Hospital. 

In December, Boca Raton Regional Hospital celebrated the 10th anniversary of its Harvey & Phyllis Sandler Pavilion, a $73 million, 98,000-square-foot facility made possible through a $20 million lead gift from the Sandlers and other community philanthropists. The Sandler Pavilion houses the Eugene M. and Christine E. Lynn Cancer Institute, which treats about 4,000 newly diagnosed patients each year.

And more good news: In December, officials at the hospital announced that Fitch Ratings has upgraded the rating of Boca Raton Regional Hospital bonds from BBB+ to A-. The rating outlook also improved from stable to positive.

Research fellows from the Florida Atlantic University Brain Institute collected grants totaling $1,137,227 from the Florida Department of Health’s Ed and Ethel Moore Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program. That program supports research leading to the prevention and possible cure for Alzheimer’s disease as well as better prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

Among the FAU Brain Institute award recipients are: Mónica Rosselli, Ph.D., assistant chair and a psychology professor in FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science; Henriette van Praag, Ph.D., an associate professor of biomedical science in FAU’s Schmidt College of Medicine; Ruth M. Tappen, Ed.D., a professor and the Christine E. Lynn Eminent Scholar in FAU’s  Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing; Behnaz Ghoraani, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in FAU’s College of Engineering and Computer Science; and Jianning Wei, Ph.D., an associate professor of biomedical science in FAU’s Schmidt College of Medicine.

On Feb. 5 and March 5, Fyzical Therapy and Balance Center will offer free Rock Steady Boxing informational sessions, introducing its noncontact boxing program for people with Parkinson’s disease. On Feb. 14 and March 14, the center will offer free informational sessions on its FyzFit program. All informational sessions will begin at noon. Fyzical Fitness is at 7103 Lake Worth Road, Lake Worth. For more information and to RSVP, call Nicole Chaplin at 432-0111, ext. 216.

The Future of Medicine Summit XII of the Palm Beach County Medical Society & Services will be held Feb. 7-8 at the Kravis Center’s Cohen Pavilion. Speakers will include Dr. Patrice A. Harris, president-elect of the American Medical Association; Dr. Corey Lee Howard, president of the Florida Medical Association; Dr. Marc Hirsh, president of the Palm Beach County Medical Society; Matthias Haury, Ph.D., chief operating officer of Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience; Tom Kodadek, Ph.D., professor and department chairman in cancer biology for Scripps Research’s Florida campus; Janet Robishaw, Ph.D., senior associate dean for research chair, Department of Biomedical Science, FAU; and Dr. Phillip M. Boiselle, dean of Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, FAU. For more information, contact Katherine Zuber at KatherineZ@pbcms.org or 433-3940, ext. 102.

Send health news to Christine Davis at cdavis9797@gmail.com.

Capt. Nick Cardella holds one of his favorite fishing kites, an SFE light-wind
kite, during a kite-fishing seminar. Photos by Willie Howard/The Coastal Star

By Willie Howard

Anyone who has fished the ocean off Palm Beach County — or even observed fishing boats from the beach — has probably seen fishing kites flying near boats.

Dangling live baits under fishing kites was popularized as a way to catch sailfish and other ocean game fish in the 1960s by Capt. Bob Lewis of Miami.

Suspending live baits under kites causes baitfish such as pilchards or goggle-eyes to thrash on the surface, attracting predators.

Fishing with kites also spreads baits out over a wide area and allows anglers to fish both sides of a boat while drifting.

But popular as kite fishing is, proficiency still eludes ocean anglers who don’t have the right tools or have not taken time to master the art.

Capt. Nick Cardella — a Delray Beach native, charter captain and member of many tournament fishing teams — sought to demystify the art of kite fishing by sharing tips during a Dec. 20 seminar at West Marine in Delray Beach.

A typical kite rig includes a ring above a brightly colored marker float and a small sinker to hold the float down in the wind.

A basic kite rod — a short fishing rod and conventional reel fitted with Dacron line and release clips. Photos by Willie Howard/The Coastal Star

Some background: Kite fishing consists of flying a fishing kite from a small rod (the kite rod). The line under the kite typically holds three release clips spaced about 65 feet apart. Fishing lines attach to the release clips with small ceramic or metal rings.

When a fish strikes and tugs the fishing line, the release clip opens and the fishing line drops free.

Windy winter days can create good conditions for kite fishing. Serious kite anglers carry several kites for a variety of wind conditions and attach helium balloons to their kites to hold them aloft when the wind speed slows.

Here are a few of Cardella’s tips for anglers learning to fish with a kite:

• Match the weight (used under the marker float on the fishing line) to the wind conditions. Cardella will use an ounce or more of weight to hold lines down in stout winds.

• For days with less-than-steady wind, use a heavy-duty balloon (available from tackle shops) filled with helium to hold the kite up. One place to find tanks of helium for balloons is Party City.

• Tie the helium balloon directly to the kite spar. The kite will tend to pull to the opposite side the balloon is attached to. That’s good. When using two kites, attach balloons so that one kite pulls to the left, the other to the right.

• Use a sea anchor to slow the drift and stabilize the boat, especially in relatively rough winter seas. An alternative is to hold the boat into the wind with the engines by bumping them in and out of gear.

• Monofilament leaders and circle hooks are standard tackle for sailfish. But when toothy fish such as kingfish and wahoo are severing leaders, have wire leaders ready. Cardella uses about 30 inches of No. 6 wire and a standard J hook when rigging live baits for toothy fish.

• If you plan to kite fish regularly, consider buying an electric reel for the kite rod. A power reel will save time and cranking muscles when you retrieve the kite.

• Even if you don’t need a helium balloon to keep the kite aloft, attach a regular balloon to the kite. If the kite winds up in the water, the balloon will keep it afloat.

• Adjust the yoke lines on the bridle to fit wind conditions. If a kite is flying too high or wobbling, move the bridle in toward the kite. If it’s flying too low, move the bridle out away from the kite.

Silver Sailfish Derby
Capt. Joe Garberoglio and his team on the Fragrant Harbor won top boat in the Silver Sailfish Derby, with 13 sailfish releases posted over two days of fishing Jan. 10-11.

The Fragrant Harbor team — including David and Lynne Henderson, Trent Glaub, Ryan Hullihan, Owen Buckman and Tim Smith — took an early lead on the first day, with nine releases, then caught and released another four fish on Day 2 to win by one release.

Two other teams — Native Son led by Capt. Art Sapp and Sparhawk led by Capt. Joe Ferrulle — finished the derby with 12 releases.

The fourth-place team, Singularis led by Capt. John Van Dellen, caught nothing on Day 1 but found the fish and scored 10 releases on Day 2, earning top-boat honors for the second day.

Billed as the oldest sailfish tournament in the world, the Silver Sailfish Derby was started in 1935 by the West Palm Beach Fishing Club and has been held every year since, except during the fuel shortages of World War II. Forty-three boats participated in this year’s 82nd derby.

Also noteworthy: Teams fishing in the Fort Pierce-based Pelican Yacht Club Invitational Billfish Tournament shattered sailfish release records, including posting the tournament’s best single day of 709 releases by 27 boats on Jan. 10, Treasure Coast Newspapers reported.

Teams found most of the sailfish off Cocoa Beach.

Ashley Ramey holds the tagged 43-inch bull dolphin caught Nov. 23 south of Boynton Inlet from Capt. Chris LeMieux’s boat. When the fish was tagged and released June 10 off Cudjoe Key, it measured only 16 inches. Photo by LeMieux Charters

Mahi mahi catch
Most South Florida anglers who fish for mahi mahi know that they grow really fast.

A November catch by Kyle Veits and Ashley Ramey — clients of charter Capt. Chris LeMieux of Boynton Beach — demonstrates just how fast these dolphinfish can grow.

The 43-inch bull dolphin, caught Nov. 23 south of Boynton Inlet, had been tagged and released less than six months earlier as part of the Dolphinfish Research Program (dolphintagging.com).

When Capt. Don Gates tagged and released the fish off Cudjoe Key on June 10, it measured only 16 inches. The fish grew 27 inches in less than six months (166 days to be exact).

The take-away message, says Dolphinfish Research Program Director Wessley Merten: “Let them go and they will grow.”

Manatee deaths rise
Florida lost 824 manatees last year, well above the latest five-year average of 532, partly because of a strong red tide bloom on the state’s west coast.

Lee County had the largest number of reported manatee deaths in 2018 at 182, according to preliminary manatee mortality statistics compiled by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Thirteen manatee deaths were documented in Palm Beach County, including five related to strikes by boats.
Statewide manatee deaths included 121 related to the slow-moving marine mammals’ being hit by boats and other types of watercraft.

Another 321 of last year’s dead manatees tested positive for red tide exposure, the FWC reports.

Boaters can avoid manatees by obeying slow-speed zones, staying in marked channels and wearing polarized sunglasses that help them see manatees in the water.

Anyone who spots a sick, injured or dead manatee should report it to the state’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922.

Coming events
Feb. 2: 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 ($5 for youths 12-19). Register at the door. Bring lunch. Call 391-3600 and leave a message.

Feb. 14-18: Progressive Insurance Miami International Boat Show based at Miami Marine Stadium Park, 3501 Rickenbacker Causeway. Hours: 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. daily. Activities include boat-handling clinics on the water and a conservation village featuring tips for protecting marine ecosystems. Advance tickets $25 ($40 on Feb. 14). Children 12 and younger free. VIP passes $150 ($175 on opening day). Call 954-441-3220 or visit miamiboatshow.com.

Feb. 23: Basic boating safety class offered by Coast Guard Auxiliary, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the classroom building next to the boat ramps, Harvey E. Oyer Jr. Park, 2010 N. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach. Fee, $20. Register at the door. Call 704-7440.

Tip of the month

Fishing for sailfish with live bait this winter? Be patient. Just because the reel clicks a few times doesn’t mean a sailfish is hooked.

Wait until the line is going out steadily for a few seconds before tightening the drag.

Most anglers targeting sailfish use circle hooks (required in billfish tournaments). The goal is to snag the circle hook in the corner of the sailfish’s jaw so it can be caught, photographed and released unharmed.

Hold sailfish in the water alongside a slow-moving boat, allowing water to wash through their gills, until they regain strength and are ready to swim free.

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

Paula Henderson was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer
on a new 3-D mammography unit. Photo provided

By Joyce Reingold

In fall 2017, Paula Henderson, special events and communications director for the Bethesda Hospital Foundation, met with Dr. Carol A. Adami, medical director of the Bethesda Women’s Health Center, to find out what was on her wish list.

The 63rd annual Bethesda Ball was in the planning stages and Marti LaTour, who was co-chairing the gala with George Elmore, wanted the event’s proceeds to fund a vital piece of equipment for the Boynton Beach-based women’s health center.

Adami’s recommendation? The Hologic Selenia Dimensions 3-D mammography unit and breast biopsy system, technology the FDA had just recently approved. Bethesda was the first in Palm Beach County to offer 3-D mammography, Adami said, and with this new unit would be among the first to add biopsy capabilities.

“The 3-D stereotactic biopsy unit allows radiologists to perform needle biopsies on cancers in the earliest stage, even before they are detectable on 2-D mammograms or ultrasound,” explained Adami, a board-certified radiologist who has been the center’s medical director since 2004.

The March 2018 gala raised almost $700,000, and the Bethesda Women’s Health Center got its cutting-edge machine. With a slightly looser schedule now that the major fundraising events for the season were over, Henderson, 46, made time for her annual doctor’s appointments.

Her personal visit to the women’s health center brought unsettling news. A mammogram performed on the 3-D unit yielded a suspicious result. “I remember Dr. Adami zoomed in and showed me a nodule that worried her. It looked like it had branches that came off it,” she said.

“It was a shock and not a shock,” said Henderson, who has had annual mammograms since she was 35 because her family has a history of breast cancer. “I have been very religious about doing them. My mom is a breast cancer survivor, and her sister did not survive it. I was very aware that the possibility was always there.”

Further tests, including two biopsies and an MRI, confirmed it was cancer. Last fall, Henderson had surgery, radiation and began an anticancer medication she’ll take for at least five years. Her prognosis is excellent, with a more than 95 percent survival rate. “Now I understand personally how important it is to have the best technology,” Henderson said. “If I’d had a regular mammogram, they wouldn’t have found it for another year. Catching it early is what made all the difference.”

The 3-D technology is such a vast improvement over the 2-D that “I can’t even describe how much better,” Adami said. “It finds cancers so much earlier and it’s easier to detect them. We also have about a 25 percent reduction in callback rate.

“In a 2-D mammogram, overlapping fibroglandular tissue can mimic a tumor. With a 3-D mammogram, we’re able to take apart the tissue layers to see whether this is a true mass or a pseudomass,” Adami said.

Here’s how it works: “The 3-D mammogram is a digital reconstruction by the computer. Instead of just taking one flat photograph, the X-ray tube sweeps across the breast in an arc, taking multiple images of the breast,” she said. “The computer reconstructs the X-ray image, like a CAT scan. Then we can scroll through the breast slice by slice, separating out layers of the tissue. We can identify cancers by distortion in tissue architecture even before a mass is visible.”

Adami said the center offers 3-D mammography to all of its patients. Medicare now covers the 3-D screening, and many other insurance companies have followed suit.

Henderson said she thinks back to first hearing Adami talk about the need for the 3-D mammography and breast biopsy system. “I didn’t realize it would become so personal. I’m so glad we had this technology to find this so early.”

“Finding the cancer sooner is always better,” Adami said.

Henderson worked through her treatment, missing just two and a half days for surgery. Despite feeling some fatigue during radiation, she said working was good medicine.

“Going to the hospital every day, to raise money for the important things we do, gave me even more encouragement.”
Henderson said she is not usually a “self-promoter,” but her story serves to remind women who may have forgotten to schedule, or skipped, a mammogram.

“Many of my friends immediately scheduled their 3-D mammograms locally and out of state,” she said.

“As women, we get busy, neglect ourselves, and let things slip off our calendar to do things for others. We can’t do that. We have to take care of ourselves.”

Joyce Reingold has a lifelong interest in health and healthy living. Send column ideas to joyce.reingold@yahoo.com.

By Janis Fontaine

Do you think of God every time you open your purse or wallet, enter an ATM or use your credit card online? Is it a prayer that the transaction goes through? Do you feel sick to your stomach or have a tension headache because you and money aren’t getting along?

The Rev. Gregory Barrette, senior minister and chief executive officer of Unity of Delray Beach Church since October, says lots of us have money issues, and some of us have relationships with money that are toxic. Barrette (you can call him Greg) just wrapped up a four-week class in January based upon the best-selling book The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity, by Edwene Gaines.

Barrette says our financial health is just as important as our physical and mental health, and an unhealthy relationship with money can complicate or worsen physical and mental health problems.

“Money is like energy,” Barrette says. It goes where it’s directed but if it’s not under control, it can cause chaos.

In some places of worship, the only time people talk about money is when they’re asking for it. Unity’s programs focus on providing practical solutions to real problems.

Barrette also teaches skills like meditation and dream interpretation that can help us find our way. As a teacher, he simplifies the work of theologians and complex thinkers like Eckhart Tolle for the rest of us.

“At Unity, we don’t believe the point is getting people into heaven,” Barrette says. “We want to help people live better now, in this moment. It’s about spiritual growth rather than being ‘saved.’”

Barrette doesn’t mean better as in richer or thinner or even more successful in your career. He means your soul has grown. Soul characteristics are universal: things like honesty, compassion, ethics, gratitude, humility, charity. That’s what our soul aspires to and it’s why, when people are especially wise about spiritual matters and the human condition, we call them “old souls.” They’ve had time to grow.

Barrette says meditation is an important tool that teaches practitioners to go deeper into themselves, “mining the depths of your soul. Meditation is a lot like exercise: Everyone thinks of it a little differently.”

And like exercise, the more you practice the better you get, but you’ve never fully realized your limits. You can always learn more, so Barrette drives a couple of hundred miles twice a month to see his meditation teacher.

Learning and growing spiritually is a process Barrette calls “unfoldment.” Some might call it “enlightenment,” but that sounds like there’s an on-and-off switch — you’re either enlightened or you’re not — whereas our spiritual lives happen on a continuum, expanding and evolving and moving toward perfection.

Perfection isn’t about what you’ve achieved in this life or how perfectly you achieved it, but how much your soul has grown as a result of it. Say you’re rich, but miserly — a real Ebenezer Scrooge! Rather than being visited by three spirits, Barrette says, one way to encourage your soul to grow is to pay attention to your dreams. In dreams, your soul and your subconscious aren’t censored.

They speak to you, often in symbols.

In February, Barrette will teach a workshop with simple instructions to “let your dream symbols speak.”

The process for taking control of your dream life is tailored to each person. And Barrette says anyone can do it.

Everyone has intuition to some degree. Some of us listen better than others, but we’ve all had those “feelings.” When someone sneaks up behind us, but we “feel” them coming, or we’re approaching an intersection and we slow down for no reason and some guy running the red light would have hit us but misses us.

Dreams are little vignettes from our subconscious mind that tell a cryptic story.

Barrette says solutions to our problems are in those symbols if we know how to read them. Barrette will teach a workshop called “Dreams: Letters from God” at 7 p.m. Feb. 12 at Unity.

“In 90 minutes, I’ll teach participants why they dream and the importance of dreaming, how to remember your dreams and how to interpret them so they can be used to solve problems.  The simple, specific technique will allow them to interpret any dream.”

Register for the course by calling Unity at 276-5796, or visit unityofdelraybeach.org. A free-will offering will be taken.

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