By Steve Plunkett

    The sale of the Ocean Breeze golf course to the public and the addition of more sports fields at De Hoernle Park have official blessings from the Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park District and the City Council.
    Meeting together for the first time in 21 months, council members told district commissioners they support negotiating with Lennar Inc. to buy the golf course, which is inside city limits and surrounded by the Boca Teeca condominium complex.
    “This is a deal that the city and the district will not pass up,” Beach & Park District Commission Chairman Robert Rollins said.
    The two boards also agreed to move forward on building more grass fields at city-owned De Hoernle. The district will pay all construction and maintenance costs.
    But at the council’s regular meeting following the joint session, Council member Jeremy Rodgers said he wanted to replace one of the proposed soccer-sized sports fields with four beach volleyball courts with a shelter and restroom. Council member Scott Singer said the park also needs a lighted pickleball court.
    The two boards will meet again April 24 to decide how much to offer Lennar for its golf course.

By Rich Pollack

    Valerie Oakes knows local government.
    The daughter of a mother who worked for the town of Palm Beach for 17 years and a stepfather who worked for several small towns, Oakes grew up listening to talk about public service at the dinner table.
    Oakes, who turns 31 this month, has been working for small towns since she was 18, doing everything from setting up records-management systems and working as a code enforcement officer to serving as a town clerk.
    Late last month, the Highland Beach Town Commission officially promoted Oakes from interim town manager to permanent town manager, approving a contract that includes a $133,000-a-year annual base salary plus a $600-a-month car allowance.
    The decision to elevate Oakes from the job she has been doing since the departure of former Town Manager Beverly Brown in early September was unanimous and largely supported by members of the community.         
    “Valerie is the right person for this town at this time,” said Vice Mayor Bill Weitz. “We’ve had several months to evaluate her in this position and she’s excelled at every possible skill level.”
    Weitz said often leaders must decide when filling a position based on résumés and short interviews. Having Oakes serve in the interim job for several months, he said, gave the Town Commission an advantage.
    “We have a person who we know is professionally competent and able to perform at the highest level,” he said.
    Oakes said she, too, has benefited from serving as interim town manager.
    “It gave me the confidence I needed to know that I could do the job,” she said.
    Oakes said she wasn’t sure at first whether to apply for the manager position in part because she really enjoyed being town clerk, a position she held for nearly two years after having served as deputy town clerk for seven years.  In fact, Oakes continued to serve as both town clerk and interim town manager since September, staying in her small office in front of Town Hall rather than moving to the larger manager’s office not so visible to the public.
    During her time as interim town manager, Weitz said, Oakes has helped raise staff morale and improved communication with the commission and residents.
    “She is fair, objective and professional,” Weitz said. “She leads the operation without getting involved in the politics.”
    Resident John Boden, who has been working to make crosswalks along State Road A1A safer, said he was impressed with Oakes’ organizational and management skills.
    “Valerie has the ability to keep herself and those working with her organized even with many balls in the air at the same time,” he said.
    A single mother of two, Oakes is working toward a bachelor’s degree in public administration while working full time. Her career in local government began when she was right out of high school and started a contractual job working with Lake Clarke Shores, setting up its records management system. She later moved to Royal Palm Beach, where she served as a building-permit technician before being promoted to code enforcement inspector.
    It was her next move, to the small town of Haverhill, where Oakes got the chance to see the inner workings of local government firsthand, serving as the assistant to the town administrator who was also the town clerk.
    “I was in the middle of it all,” she said.
    In 2009, she accepted the deputy town clerk’s position in Highland Beach, working directly for Brown.
    She has served as president of the Palm Beach County Municipal Clerks Association and on several of the association’s committees and has worked closely with clerks from other communities, something she said will benefit her in her new job.
    During her time in Highland Beach, Oakes has gotten to know many of the residents and the issues facing the community.
    “She’s been very loyal to this town and its clear she loves this town,” Weitz said.

Tracy Gunn’s soap business in Delray Beach has projected annual sales of more than $12 million.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack

    Before she brought her burgeoning handcrafted soaps, bath bombs and scrubs business to South Florida, Tracy Gunn’s story had all the makings of an Emmy-winning, well, soap opera.
    Just seven years ago Gunn was a single mother on the verge of homelessness, unable to find work after losing a longtime job in a recession-driven layoff.  
    Five years later, she was a successful soap-business owner whose entire supply of product was washed away in the rain when a tornado tore the roof off her building.
    Not long after that, she was sidelined by shingles.
    Through it all, Gunn dusted herself off and rebounded to the point where she now has a thriving business with projected annual sales of more than $12 million. It is tucked away in a small Delray Beach shop on North Federal Highway — The Naked Mermaid Soapery — that is easy to miss, even if you’ve been there a few times.
    “I never gave up,” Gunn says. “I wanted it to succeed so much and wanted it so badly that I refused to quit.”
    With sales growing at a rapid rate and her wholesale UR Bath and Body business churning out about 10,000 bars of soap, 10,000 scrubs and 8,000 bath bombs a month, Gunn is reconfiguring her 2,500-square-foot store as more of a production facility.
    The Naked Mermaid Soapery, however, will continue to exist as a small retail area out front.
    “The public can come in and buy our handcrafted soaps and other products and see us actually making it,” Gunn said.
    Gunn’s soaps and bath bombs — which add natural oils and bubbles to bathwater — come in a variety of scents and colors unique to her company. They are made with all-natural ingredients and are produced by a team of about six staff members and Gunn, who, when not making soap, is on the road or on the phone reaching out to boutiques and other potential customers.
    A Jacksonville native whose father was a horse trainer, Gunn ended up in Oklahoma as a single mom with two boys. She worked for nine years selling pharmaceuticals used to treat large animals such as horses and cows, mostly from a home office so she could be with her sons.
    Her sales were good enough to support the family — and then some — until the recession hit. In 2010 her company laid off 400 employees, including Gunn.
    “I kept saying, ‘I’ll find another job,’ but I was over 40 and no one was hiring,” she said.
    Two months behind in the rent, with only $100 in the bank, she spent $32 to buy soap-making supplies and started the business.
    “I was so naïve and so unaware,” she said. “I had no idea what running a business entailed but I wanted to be with my children.”
    The work at first took over the house, with the kitchen becoming a soap factory and the living room becoming the shipping area. Gunn made soap during the day and spent her nights sending dozen of texts and other messages to boutiques around the country to offer her products.  
    Eventually the business outgrew the house and Gunn was able to move it into an older building in nearby Oklahoma City. Then in May 2015, a tornado struck the area.
    “I lost everything,” she said.
    The stress of having to refund money to customers and trying to rebuild got to her and she came down with shingles.
    After weeks of lying on her couch and watching “Blue Bloods” reruns, she decided to try to start the business again — this time in New York City.
    Although that didn’t work out, she connected with a homeless shelter for women in the Bronx. While she was there she heard one of the leaders constantly praising women, saying things such as “You are beautiful” and “You are brave.”
    That inspired the UR brand and led her to hire 17 women from the shelter for a short time to help her sell soaps at a holiday market in the city.
    It was her sons’ athletic abilities that led her to pick up and move to South Florida about a year ago. One son, Laken Hinton, 17, is an aspiring professional golfer whose coach is in Delray Beach. The other son, Logan Hinton, 19, is a hockey player who trains in Coral Springs.
    If there is a lesson in Tracy Gunn’s story, it is one of persistence.
    “I have failed over and over again,” she says. “You can’t imagine how many times I had run out of money.”
    Those days, it seems, have now been washed away thanks to sweet-scented soap.

    Naked Mermaid Soapery, 271 NE Sixth Ave., Delray Beach; 403-5950, www.urbathco.com. Hours: Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

By Janis Fontaine

    The Jewish Women’s Foundation of South Palm Beach County will host its 2017 Granting Wishes award announcements and reception at 5:30 p.m. March 15, at Boca Rio Golf Club, 22041 Boca Rio Road in Boca Raton.
    The guest speaker is author Ellen Brazer, the recipient of Hadassah’s Myrtle Wreath Award, an honor also bestowed on the late Maya Angelou. Brazer’s new book, The Wondering Jew, My Journey into Judaism, tells the personal stories that helped Brazer understand her faith, its complicated, mysterious nature and its dichotomies — reward and punishment, good and evil, love and hate.
    Brazer’s first book, Hearts of Fire, released in 2000, is a saga set in Germany and Poland that follows two families, one Jewish and one Gentile, from pre-war Paris to post-war Russia. Her 2009 book, Clouds Across the Sun, was named one of Amazon.com’s best Holocaust-related novels. And So It Was Written, published in 2012, is praised as a well-researched foray into historical fiction set around 132 CE.
    In the past three years, Brazer has spoken to more than 6,000 people at venues across the country. She was recently invited to join the Jewish National Fund Speakers Bureau, and she especially enjoys speaking about angels and reincarnation.
    The JWF’s 2017 grants fund programs that create social change, especially initiatives that help women and children in the areas of education, health, abuse prevention and economic security. JWF trustees who contribute a minimum of $2,000 per year for five years determine the programs to fund. Over the last 13 years, the JWF has awarded more than $1.2 million to local organizations.
    Guests will also enjoy an array of hors d’oeuvres, desserts and wine. Tickets are $85. For information or tickets, visit jewishboca.org/grantingwishes, call 852-3188 or email lisbethc@bocafed.org.

For your health
    Trinity Lutheran Church & School is hosting a Community Health Fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 11 at the school, 400 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. The theme — “Just for The Health of It” — covers all aspects of healthy living. Exhibitors, live demonstrations in fitness, healthy eating, dancing and yoga, as well as children’s activities are planned. For more information or to exhibit, call 276-8458.

Make a visual prayer
    Unity Church of Delray hosts Treasure Mapping Day from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. March 11 in Mary Kupferle Fellowship Hall, 100 NW 22nd St., Delray Beach. Charlene Wilkinson will guide participants in making a treasure map — a collage of pictures and words — to help find their treasure.
    Sometimes called a vision board or a visual prayer, this collage is a powerful tool to help focus both your conscious and subconscious mind on a particular goal. Bring magazines, pictures and words that are meaningful to you and represent your primary goal for the coming year, and include a picture of yourself.
    Scissors, poster board and glue will be provided. A love offering will be taken.
    For more information, visit www.unityofdelraybeach.org/events.php.

Pig roast fundraiser
    Cason United Methodist Church will host its first Pig Roast from 1 to 8 p.m. March 12 at the church, 342 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach.  
    The event is a fundraiser supporting Next Step’s upcoming mission trip to Sumpango, about an hour from Guatemala City, where volunteers are working with residents to expand a church building. They also serve at a local HIV orphanage and make home visits to pray and share their faith with Guatemalan families.
    The Pig Roast features pulled pork, cornbread, salad and dessert, plus vendors, games and music. Tickets are $15 for adults, $8 for children, or go all out with the $25 all-you-can-eat option.
    For more information, call 276-5302 or visit www.casonumc.org.

Join the discussion
    Dr. Nasir Ahmad, the imam at the Masjid Al-Ansar in Miami, joins Canon Tom O’Brien, from the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea, and Rabbi Howard Shapiro, rabbi emeritus of Temple Israel, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. March 14 for Interfaith Dialogues. This panel discussion brings these experts of different faiths together for a discussion of timely, important topics. This is Ahmad’s first year on the panel. He also serves as the assistant regional imam for the southeast United States.  
    Hosted by the Palm Beach Fellowship of Christians and Jews, the topic this month is “The Meaning of Israel to Jews, Christians and Muslims.” The event takes place at Bethesda-by-the-Sea, 141 S. County Road, Palm Beach. Admission is free for fellowship members and $10 for nonmembers. For information, call 833-6150 or visit www.palmbeachfellowship.net.

A Joe-Paddy party
    The annual Joe-Paddy Festival celebrating the feasts of St. Joseph and St. Patrick will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. March 16, on the campus of St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, 10701 S. Military Trail, Boynton Beach.
    Enjoy traditional Italian and Irish food and drink under the big-top tent with live entertainment by Echoes of Erin and Msgr. Stephen Bosso and St. Vincent’s seminarians. A silent auction and a separate live auction are planned.
    Tickets are $50 and are available online at www.svdp.edu/events. For more information, call 732-4424 or email smelancon@svdp.edu.

Ongoing
    The Palm Beach Friends Meetinghouse, 823 North A St., Lake Worth, hosts “A Course in Miracles” study group each Wednesday at noon. The reading of a passage from the workbook opens a discussion. This free event is sponsored by Lisa Stewart and John Vincent Palozzi. For information, call 585-8060 or visit www.palmbeachquakers.org
    The Interfaith Cafe is a monthly gathering of people from diverse faiths to discuss topics of common interest. In February, Cantor Stephanie Shore led a discussion of how music moves our spirit and the importance of music in different forms of worship. The group meets from 7 to 9 p.m. the third Thursday of the month at the South County Civic Center, 16700 Jog Road, Delray Beach. Light refreshments are served. The meeting is free, but donations are appreciated. For information, email Jane@Aurorasvoice.org.

Looking ahead
    Mark your calendar for CROS Ministries’ Raise a Glass to End Hunger from 6 to 9 p.m. April 19, at Old School Square’s Fieldhouse, 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. The evening will feature beer and wine tastings, food pairings, raffles and a live auction. Supporters include DaDa, Caffe Luna Rosa, Lemongrass, Scuola Vecchia Pizza, Route 128, Due-South Breweries. Info: crosministries.org.

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

Dervi Ganesh-Baluyot and her father, Selva Ganesh, are surrounded by snapshots of newborns

he has delivered in his decades as an OB/GYN physician. The family’s practice is in Boynton Beach.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Lona O'Connor

    From an early age, Dervi Ganesh could hardly miss the positive effect her father’s medical practice had on his patients’ lives.
    “People tell me, ‘I knew your parents before you were born,’” she recalled. “He was in the Atlanta airport once and somebody rushed up to him and brought out pictures of a baby he had delivered.”
    In due time, Dervi Ganesh, now 32,  went to medical school at the University of Miami and now practices in Boynton Beach with Selva Ganesh, her father, and Jan Ganesh, her mother, a psychologist. The couple lives in Gulf Stream.
    Their waiting room is filled with pregnant women, and the walls of the small office are covered with photos of newborns, some of whom are the fourth generation Selva Ganesh has delivered over his more than 40 years as an OB/GYN.
    Now Dervi Ganesh-Baluyot, who lives in Lake Worth, is married and expecting her first child. She joined the Ganesh practice earlier this year. Her younger brother, Devin, is an orthopedic surgeon married to an emergency room doctor.
    “It’s a happy profession, both for me and my brother,” Dervi Ganesh-Baluyot said. “I don’t think of it as a job or a duty. It’s a privilege.”
    The daughter has also joined her father in teaching and mentoring students from the University of Miami medical school, who regularly visit the Ganesh offices to see patients.
    Jan Ganesh has a general practice, seeing patients of all ages and both genders for couples counseling, addiction and other issues. But she takes a particular interest in postpartum depression.
    “We screen [patients] throughout the pregnancy as well as postpartum,” she said.
    The medical staff is alert for signs of depression, which can appear as early as the first trimester of pregnancy. Then there may be a need for a family conference with counselor and gynecologist.
    “We might bring in the mother and the grandmother and an aunt, to form a support system,” she said.
    Kathleen Weigel has been a patient of Selva Ganesh for about 20 years. Then she met Dervi and Devin Ganesh when they were students in the international baccalaureate program at Atlantic Community High School, where Weigel was principal. Weigel is now dean of education at Lynn University.
    “I made a lap quilt for Jan because she’s always cold in the office,” Weigel said. “Now I’m making a baby quilt for Dervi.”
    Selva and Jan Ganesh make a strong team.
    “They are both very observant and they collaborate on how to help the patient holistically,” Weigel said. “I have referred a number of people to them and they touch people’s lives.”
    Selva and Jan Ganesh met 41 years ago when both were starting their careers, working at a women’s center.
    While Jan Ganesh was working on her Ph.D., Selva Ganesh worked with Planned Parenthood and started a rape crisis clinic. He also did rape exams for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office at JFK and Bethesda hospitals and testified at trials.
    They opened their practice in Boynton Beach in 1975 and, though they’ve moved a couple of times, have stayed within a mile of their original office.
    During the last 42 years, Selva Ganesh was the doctor for Katie Barber’s mother and grandmother, delivered Katie Barber, and is scheduled to deliver her child this year.
    “He’s known my entire family,” said Barber, a lawyer. “He delivered my nieces and my cousins. They all say, ‘Tell Dr. Ganesh we said hi.’”
    The Ganesh offices are in downtown Boynton Beach, a short drive to Bethesda Medical Center, which Selva Ganesh praises for its ability to handle high-risk pregnancies. The UM students have been able to observe a variety of conditions they might never see during their education, including postpartum cardiomyopathy, a rare form of heart failure that can prove fatal to new mothers.

‘Love for the field’
    At 70, Selva Ganesh says, “I need to work for my head, for my health. I see patients all day and I go home happy.”
    He had been up all night with a delivery and was back at work the next morning after a four-hour nap.
    “He has such a love for the field,” said Dr. Gauri Agarwal, UM regional dean. “The pace is fast, and it can get wearing. But he has passion and excitement, a sense of humor, he’s very kind and knowledgeable and down-to-earth.”
    With Selva Ganesh already on her teaching faculty, Agarwal was quick to urge Dervi Ganesh-Baluyot to join after she completed her studies.
    “Dervi was a student of mine from her first year,” Agarwal said. “She’s a tough teacher, with high standards. But she’s one of the students’ favorite teachers because she is so clear about expectations and so engaging. When she came back to practice with her dad, I said, you have to join the faculty. The students love both of them.”

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

By Christine Davis

    Effective March 1, in-home caregivers must have licenses in their possession while working. For each violation, they will be subject to fines and/or imprisonment.

    It’s the latest part of the Palm Beach County Home Caregiver Ordinance to be enacted.
    The ordinance requires that applicants for a home caregiver license submit fingerprints and undergo a national fingerprint-based criminal-history records check.

    A home caregiver license can be obtained only from the county’s Consumer Affairs Division.
    The license ensures people that their home caregiver has undergone a national fingerprint check, and has not been disqualified from working as a home caregiver in Palm Beach County because of certain criminal findings.
                                
    Delray Medical Center received the 2017 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence from Healthgrades. This distinction places Delray Medical Center in the top 5 percent for clinical excellence among more than 4,500 hospitals nationwide. Delray Medical Center is one of four hospitals to have earned this designation for 15 straight years.
    To improve patient outcomes and quality of life, Delray Medical Center performs neuroscience, cardiovascular, trauma, physical therapy and nursing clinical trials. The studies evaluate therapies, drugs, diagnostic tools and practices to enhance patient care.
    Neuroscience and stroke trials are overseen by Dr. Nils Mueller-Kronast, regional medical director of neurosciences for Tenet Florida. One of his major goals is to assess the outcomes associated with the use of devices and medications intended to restore blood flow in patients experiencing acute ischemic strokes.
    Dr. Lloyd Zucker, chief of neurosurgery at Delray Medical Center, leads the neuro-oncology research trials, which include the use of fluorescence-guided surgery for brain tumors.
    The cardiovascular trials at Delray Medical Center are led by Dr. Brijeshwar Maini, medical director of transcatheter therapies for Tenet Florida, and Dr. Brian Bethea, regional medical director of cardiovascular surgery for Tenet Florida.
    To learn more about the clinical research trials at Delray Medical Center, visit www.delraymedicalctr.com/about-us/research-clinical-trials.
                                
    U.S. News & World Report ranked the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing at Florida Atlantic University No. 43 nationally and No. 1 in Florida for the “Best Online Graduate Nursing Programs.” For the “Best Online Graduate Nursing Programs for Veterans,” the college ranked No. 17 nationally and No. 1 in Florida.
                                
    Shawn Franklin was named executive director of Bethesda Health’s Integrated Networks, a new organization that partners community physicians with Bethesda Health to ensure high quality health care and the more efficient use of resources.
                                
    Dr. Cristina Mata was appointed vice president and chief medical officer of Boca Raton Regional Hospital. An endocrinologist who practiced clinically for 15 years, she most recently was chief medical officer, medical director of informatics and interim medical director of graduate medical education at Palmetto General Hospital.
                                
    To celebrate their 30-year anniversary, Hospice of Palm Beach County Foundation and Hospice by the Sea Foundation Resale Shops will host quarterly customer appreciation days with complimentary bites and beverages, discounts and prizes at all three of their locations. In Boca Raton, the address is 141 NW 20th St. For information, visit www.hpbcf.org/resale or call 494-6814.
    
Send health news to Christine Davis at cdavis9797@gmail.com.

Christine Johnson (left) shows a visiting family the Children’s Museum butterfly garden,

including a 2-foot-wide kinetic sculpture metal butterfly.

Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley

    The next time you are near the Schoolhouse Children’s Museum & Learning Center in Boynton Beach, take a few minutes to explore its butterfly garden.
    Set on a pie-shaped piece of land at the southeast corner of the building, this garden is filled not only with color and fragrance, but also butterflies. Lots of butterflies.
    “When we took out pencil and paper to design this garden, we knew we wanted it to be both pretty and functional,” says Christine Johnson, a member of the Boynton Beach Garden Club who helped create the museum’s garden.
    Today she is working with five other club members to ready the garden for an art festival that should draw a good number of people to the area. “We want our butterfly garden to look its best,” she says.
    It was the city that got the garden club involved. When Johnson first came to the site in 2013, there were only a few round paving stones, an irrigation system and five small trees. “Otherwise it was just dirt,” she says.
    Today the garden is a perfect example of what you can grow and achieve in a small space. And like any well-designed butterfly garden, this plot includes the specific plant species necessary to support each variety of butterfly throughout its life cycle.
    These include plants that the butterflies need to lay their eggs as well as leaves for their caterpillars to eat. And then, after those caterpillars form pupae (chrysalises) and turn into graceful butterflies, the garden provides the appropriate nectar plants to nourish them.
    Today you can walk through the museum garden on a paver path past the sweet almond tree. Its fragrant white blooms attract dozens of Atala butterflies to sip their nectar.
    These black insects with metallic blue polka dots and a splash of orange on their wings are considered rare. But here you’ll find plenty of them.
    Nearby the milkweed plants silently signal to the orange and black monarch butterflies that they will find sustenance here.
    And a fennel plant sends up its feathery fronds in the hopes of attracting black swallowtail butterflies. The club members plan to plant parsley that, like fennel, will attract these black butterflies with blue, orange and yellow markings on their wings.
    “Isn’t nature marvelous?” asks Johnson.
    There’s plenty here for butterflies to snack on, including the yellow flowers that look like pats of butter on the popcorn cassia. Ask how this plant got its name and Johnson will tell you to rub your hands along its leaves. Take a whiff and you’ll smell the toasted aroma of, yes, popcorn.
    There’s always something new being planted. In fact, today Johnson was on her way to the garden when she found 10 red and pink pentas that a neighbor had set at the curb as refuse. She gathered them up, brought them along and the club members have planted them bordering the well-mulched path.
    “We don’t have a big budget for our garden, so this was a wonderful find,” says Johnson, who also regularly checks the nursery sale racks at big box stores.
    Other plants are donated by club members who raise them from seeds. The women enjoy working together to make this garden welcoming to children and nature.
    “When visitors come by, they often compliment us on the garden, and that makes the work so much more pleasurable,” says Johnson.
    
Master Gardener Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley can be reached at debhartz@att.net.

An adult Atala is about the size of your fingertip.

Gardening Tip
    If you want to attract Atala butterflies to your garden, plant native coontie, which is the host plant for their colorful caterpillars. But not just one coontie; you have to plant a bunch of them. That’s because the Atala won’t lay eggs if there’s not enough coontie around to feed their caterpillars as they develop into butterflies.

— Christine Johnson

If You Go

    The Butterfly Garden is at the Schoolhouse Children’s Museum & Learning Center, 129 E. Ocean Ave., Boynton Beach; 742-6780; www.schoolhousemuseum.org
    The garden, brought to you by the Boynton Beach Garden Club, is on the southeast corner of the museum building to the right of the front stairs.
    For more information about the Boynton Beach Garden Club, call Second Vice President for Membership Christine Johnson at 736-2909. The club meets at 1 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of each month at the Boynton Beach Women’s Club, 1010 S. Federal Highway. The public is welcome.

Luciana Gilman, of Loxahatchee, finds Ruby, left, and Sonny good company.

Together, the pigs weigh 150 pounds. A potbellied pig can reach 200 pounds.

Photo by Ximena Olds

By Arden Moore

    The majority of the pet columns I’ve penned for The Coastal Star have gone to the dogs and cats. But not this one. Brace yourself. We are about to go hog wild about what it is really like to pick a potbellied pig as your pet.
    In Palm Beach County, pigs as pets created quite a stir with the County Commission four years ago. The elected officials agreed to conduct a three-year trial to weigh the pros/cons of pigs as pets in urban and suburban neighborhoods. Because there were no major protests or pig problems, the commissioners voted in late 2015 by a 6-1 vote to OK these sweet swines as pets.
    If you do explore adopting a pig, you’ll want to know, how healthy are they? For answers, we turned to Dr. Kristy Lund, a veterinarian who treats all animals, including exotic pets, at her practice, Lund Animal Hospital in Boca Raton.
Lund, who has been caring for potbellied pigs since 1991, says, “Pigs are extremely intelligent. They are hypoallergenic and do not get fleas, so they do make good pets for certain households. But they do require regular teeth trimming and hoof trimming.”
    She adds that they love to learn tricks and can live up to 25 years. She recommends seeking out a veterinarian trained to care for exotic pets and consider ones who do house calls, because these big-and-wide pets can be challenging to inspect in an exam room.
    “We encourage the owner to work with their pigs when they are little to allow them to accept being handled and to train them to wear a harness,” Lund adds.
    And what exactly is life like with a pet pig? For insights, we chatted with a pair of Loxahatchee residents, Alissa Gilman and JoJo Milano.
    Gilman, her husband, Chris, and their 4-year-old daughter, Luciana, happily cuddle up in the living room each night with a pair of pigs named Sonny and Ruby, who collectively weigh about 150 pounds … and counting.
    Milano’s menagerie at her Goodness Gracious Acres home includes a pair of pet pigs named Ignatius C. Potbelly and Sweet Pea, as well as some goats.
    Gilman’s pig pair definitely are homebodies. Sonny, 5, and Ruby, 3, spend their days in and out of the open-styled house and particularly love diving their snouts into the yard to root out bugs, which they like to eat.
    But Ruby also enjoys participating in mock “tea times” with Luciana and hanging out with the cats, named Nemo and Jack, plus the assortment of chickens clucking out in the backyard. Both pigs perform tricks, including sit and spin.
    The pair apparently can tell time (especially for 5 p.m. dinners) and love belly rubs and behind-the-ear scratches. And, yes, they are house trained: They go to the door and oink when it is time for a potty break.
    “There is a notion that potbellied pigs are smelly and dirty — and they are not,” says Gilman, who works in airport services at Palm Beach International Airport. “Once in a while if our pigs roll in the mud, they will go into the shower with us.
    “Sonny and Ruby are very sweet, very loving and they make us laugh. At night, we all hang out on the couch or in the living room. At bedtime, Ruby follows us like a dog into our bedroom to sleep on her bed and Sonny heads to his bed in the living room.”
    At Milano’s 2-acre home, Ignatius and Sweet Pea revel in spending time outdoors, but display different personalities.
    “Iggy acts like a grumpy old man and Sweet Pea loves, loves, loves to meet people,” says Milano, who operates a home-based design and advertising company as well as Delilah’s Dairy, which features goat milk and handmade soaps. “She squeals with delight when saying hello to new customers.”
    Parting advice? Prep your home before adopting a pig and make sure to go with tile flooring, not carpeting. And be aware that tiny potbellied piglets grow big and wide. They can reach up to 200 pounds.
    “Potbellied pigs do not stay small at all,” says Gilman, whose pigs eat commercial pig chow plus fruits and vegetables. “They are bulky and need wide spaces in the house to maneuver. And they are super smart. They quickly learned if they squealed, I’d feed them. But don’t overfeed them or they will get overweight quickly.”
    Before you rush out to adopt a potbellied pig, call your local municipality — and your homeowners association. Permission for having pigs as pets can vary by municipality.
    
Arden Moore, founder of www.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 www.PetLifeRadio.com. Learn more by visiting www.fourleggedlife.com.

Peek inside 10 of Delray Beach’s

most beautiful coastal homes

during the annual home tour.

A nook in the upstairs guest suite at Steve and Lori Leveen’s house combines tongue-and-groove ceiling,

open beams and a nautical feel to complement its Intracoastal location.

Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Built three years ago, Lori Peck’s home has a cottage feel, including cozy window bays.

One of her two dogs, Rocco Taco, sits in the bay.

Claire Hansen’s brick home has a green-eyed grasshopper

weather vane in the front fenced-in courtyard.

    Ten gorgeous homes from the city’s northern beach area will be open for viewing during the 2017 Delray Beach Home Tour on March 9. Guests will have a rare glimpse into a variety of design and architectural styles, from old Florida cottages to stunning oceanfront estates. A luncheon on a tranquil waterfront property is part of the deal.
    The tour started 16 years ago when board members of the Delray Beach-based Achievement Centers for Children & Families needed an idea for fundraising. Since then, the tours have raised more than $1.1 million for the organization.
    “The home tour has not only become a signature Achievement Centers event but one the community looks forward to,” says event co-chairwoman Kari Shipley, a board member and longtime supporter of the centers.
— Mary Thurwachter

An open kitchen with stainless steel appliances and vent hood is a focal point

of Karen Williams’ remodeled cottage.

Tom and Lori Cunnington’s house on North Ocean Boulevard, which boasts this soaring living room,

underwent significant interior remodeling in the past few years.

A whimsical metal chair for two sits in a side courtyard at the home of Delray Beach Mayor Cary Glickstein.

Artist models perched on a tree trunk and glass table greet visitors at the home of Josh and Kate Littlefield.

The staircase at Renie and Bruce Shandler’s house has vintage fixtures.

Symmetrical decorating and ceiling beams highlight Gerard and Laura Mastroianni’s

master bedroom, which has a view of the pool.

A combination of palm trees, gumbo limbo, bromeliads

and grasses makes Marc Schiller’s pool garden a cool oasis.

The 2017 Delray Beach Home Tour

    Ten homeowners will open their doors, giving a rare glimpse into a variety of design and architectural styles. Event includes a luncheon on a waterfront property and a raffle with chances to win spa services, dining certificates and décor items, as well as a silent auction for Caribbean vacations, artwork and luxury home goods.
    When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 9
    Where: The northern beach area of Delray Beach
    Tickets: $100 per person. Includes a tour through distinctive residences, complimentary parking and trolley service between homes. For tickets, visit www.DelrayHomeTour.com or call Elena Trowell, 266-0003, ext. 14.
    Benefit: Proceeds go to Achievement Centers for Children & Families, a community-based organization dedicated to serving low-income children and families. www.AchievementCentersFL.org.
    Sponsors: Presenting sponsor Seagate Hotel & Spa and luncheon sponsor Delray Buick GMC are joined by trolley sponsors Lost Craft Builders, Ocean Properties Hotels Resorts & Affiliates, the Porten Family and Katherine and Josh Littlefield. Home sponsors include Corcoran Group; Engel & Volkers; Mouw Associates Inc.; Mr. and Mrs. Larry Eaton; Northern Trust; Premier Estate Properties broker associates Judi Lukens and Kim Lekas and Pascal Liguori and Antonio Liguori; Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, P.A.; Seaside Builders; The Fite Group Luxury Homes; and Varga Homes. Tour sponsors include Coldwell Banker, Mrs. Gerry Ehrlich, JAG Insurance Group, Mr. and Mrs. Jack Finn, Mr. and Mrs. Mark Walsh, Mr. and Mrs. Michael FitzSimons, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Neal, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas N. Murphy, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Tomenson Jr., PCN Development Inc. , Scirocco Group Insurance, The Colony Hotel & Cabana Club, the Tiernan Family, and Chip Williams of Williams Financial Services Inc.

Students participated in an annual event in which all grade levels run, walk and navigate

an obstacle course to raise awareness of the importance of fitness and funds for the school’s new playground.

An informative lecture from parent Lew Gallego (left) about the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle also took place.

Eighth-graders (l-r) Jenna DeFrances, 13, Gianna Smith, 13, and Dhir Patel, 12, listen and learn.

Photo provided

More than 160 St. Andrew’s School students worked to package single-serving meals.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Janis Fontaine

    Marissa Govic’s goal is to feed hungry children. She’s using all her talents — and they’re considerable — to achieve her goal. Between academics (she’s in the seventh grade at St. Andrew’s School in Boca Raton) and family responsibilities, Marissa raised the funds for and organized a Hunger Project for the Sanford-based charity Feeding Children Everywhere.
    On Feb. 3, Marissa, 12, rounded up more than 160 seventh- and eighth-grade volunteers to pack single-serving meals for hungry and malnourished families. The meals were distributed by FCE, the nonprofit founded by Don and Kristen Campbell in 2010.
    FCE has distributed more than 64 million meals, 75 percent of them to people in the United States, and all the meals packed by St. Andrew’s will be distributed locally through Feeding South Florida.
    Ann Haynes, division head of the middle school, worked with Marissa to organize and oversee the event.
    “We provided the place, the setup, the organizational structure and the labor. FCE came in with food and supplies. They broke the kids up into 12 groups and each group had a station. First, they got a lesson on being hygienic. They all had to wear hairnets or hats. They learned about quality control and its importance, and about teamwork and that they all had to be engaged in the process to succeed,” Haynes said.  
    “There was catchy music that got the kids excited and there was lots of noise. We had just finished a special project week, and this was our culminating activity on a Friday afternoon. So there was lots of enthusiasm.”  
    The volunteers formed an assembly line, and each group had a purpose. They took dry ingredients (lentils, rice, dried vegetables, herbs and spices, and sea salt), combined them in the correct proportions in  biodegradable plastic bags and sealed them. The meals are high in protein, with no artificial flavorings.

    FCE had challenged the teams to pack 20,000 meals in two hours. It took the students only 90 minutes.
    Marissa has been active in school food drives and with her school’s backpack program, which sends kids home with food for the weekend on Friday afternoons.
    She found out about Feeding Children Everywhere as a volunteer at a Palm Beach event.
    Haynes had become interested in food-packing events for charity after she attended a conference with Round Square, a network of schools that share a holistic approach to learning. “I was at a conference in California and heard about it,” Haynes said. “But there’s a hefty price involved in hosting a Hunger Project.”
    To raise money for the Hunger Project, Marissa entered and won the preliminary round of the Miss Planetary Teen pageant. It recruits teens who are interested in promoting their philanthropic causes and in doing community service.
    Marissa is representing her father’s home country of Croatia. Her father, Mario, is a wealth manager in Palm Beach. Her mother, Ann Marie, also of Croatian heritage, is a Realtor.
    Marissa raised the money through donations and the sale of merchandise on the Miss Planetary pageant website.
    She met her goal and held her event, but she’s continuing to raise money for charities that feed hungry children. In June, she’ll be competing in the Miss Planetary International teen pageant in Las Vegas.
    Marissa is also promoting her new EP pop album, Trending Now, released on iTunes on Feb. 1. The music video for the first single, the title cut, was published on YouTube Feb. 9.
    “I want to be a pop star,” she says.
    She sings, dances, acts, and plays piano and violin. She plays tennis, swims, rollerblades and plays table tennis.
    She can do a passable British accent, and has had experience on stage, television, in the recording studio, and has done live-on-the-red-carpet TV interviews for the Teen Choice Awards.
    Learn more about Marissa at www.marissagovic.com.

The Metropulos brothers — Nick, left, and Lucas — have operated the nonprofit fishing

and environmental education organization Fishing for Families in Need based at St. Andrew’s School

in Boca Raton since 2007. This photo was taken in January, when the brothers traveled to Nassau, Bahamas,

to help with Hurricane Matthew relief efforts through Lend a Hand Bahamas.

Photo provided

Isaiah LaFaille listens for sounds inside a conch shell held by instructor Jason Fox

of the St. Andrew’s School in Boca Raton. The student-run nonprofit Fishing For Families in Need

conducts after-school fishing and ocean education programs weekly

at the Florence Fuller Child Development Centers in Boca Raton.

Willie Howard/The Coastal Star

By Willie Howard

   Brothers Lucas and Nick Metropulos love fishing and diving and sharing their passion for the ocean and marine conservation with children.
    When Lucas was attending St. Andrew’s School in Boca Raton in 2007, he started the nonprofit Fishing for Families in Need to provide fishing and ocean education to children and to offer fresh fish to soup kitchens.
    Lucas wanted children to develop an appreciation for fish, coral reefs and other aspects of the ocean. His father, a Greek Orthodox minister, trained him to provide service to others.
    “We don’t just teach the kids to go out and catch whatever they can,” Lucas Metropulos said. “At the end of the day, they learn that we need to protect what’s out there.”
    Fishing for Families in Need —  www.F4FN.com — held its first student-run classes for youths in 2008. Nine years later, the organization is still teaching children about fishing and the ocean, taking them on fishing trips and providing fresh fish to soup kitchens.
    Nick Metropulos, a senior at St. Andrew’s School, is overseeing the nonprofit organization, which uses about 30 student volunteers from high schools in Boca Raton to provide its services.
    The organization’s core program teaches fishing skills with a dose of environmental education to children 8-12 at the Florence Fuller Child Development Centers in Boca Raton.
    During the first day of the spring 2017 class, held Feb. 1 at the Florence Fuller centers, children raised their hands eagerly to answer questions about ocean pollution, overfishing and what constitutes a keystone species.
    Together, with a little help, they named the five oceans along with the largest ocean (Pacific), the second largest (Atlantic) and the smallest (Arctic).
    The fishing lessons are hands-on as well as conceptual. Volunteers show the kids how to rig rods, tie fishing knots, throw cast nets and clean fish. They practice casting on the basketball court.
    After the training is complete, the kids take a graduation fishing trip — usually to Anglins pier in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea or aboard the Lady K drift boat based in Lantana.
    Youths who complete the fishing education program each receive a rod and reel and tackle box donated by Fish Florida, a nonprofit organization that raises money through the sale of sailfish license tags (www.fishfloridatag.org).
    Students working with Fishing for Families in Need also host a summer spearfishing tournament after which they clean and bag fish for donation to soup kitchens.
    Student volunteers collect and clean fresh fish from anglers throughout the year — often fish brought to the scales during tournaments — to make fresh fish available to soup kitchens.
    Fish donated by the students is welcomed at the Boca Helping Hands Food Center, which serves lunch six days a week, Executive Director James Gavrilos said.
    “When Fishing for Families in Need makes a donation, we know that lunch the next day will be a healthy, heart-friendly meal that is often beyond the financial reach of our clients,” Gavrilos said.
    Nick Metropulos, 18, plans to attend college in the fall, but he said Fishing for Families in Need will continue to operate with another student serving as chief executive officer. He said he plans to continue offering fishing and ocean education to children near the college he attends.

 Tom Perry of Ocean Ridge holds the 14.5-pound kingfish he caught Feb. 3 while fishing aboard

the Living on Island Time drift boat. His kingfish hit a dead sardine north of the Lake Worth pier

and was the largest fish caught during an outing for members of the West Palm Beach Fishing Club.

The drift boat is based at the Palm Beach Yacht Center in Hypoluxo.

Willie Howard/The Coastal Star

Non-motorized boat registration
    A non-motorized boat working group, created in 2015 to make recommendations to the state’s Boating Advisory Council, considered — but did not recommend — expanding vessel registration to non-motorized boats in Florida during its February meeting in Orlando.
    The group has not recommended registration for canoes, kayaks, sailboats and other types of non-motorized boats, said Rob Klepper, a spokesman for the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.
    Klepper said the working group discusses many topics related to non-motorized boats, including access to the water, education and safety.
    The possibility of charging annual fees to register non-motorized boats has been part of the discussion, but there is no recommendation to require registration at this time, Klepper said.
    On Feb. 1, FWC Executive Director Nick Wiley issued a statement opposing registration and fees for non-motorized boats.
     “The FWC appreciates the work of this advisory group, but we are not supportive of increasing fees on Floridians or visitors who participate in non-motorized boating,” Wiley said.

Palm Beach boat show
    This year’s Palm Beach International Boat Show in downtown West Palm Beach will feature more than $1.2 billion in boats, electronics, accessories and clothing along with fishing and diving gear.
    Educational events include fishing seminars for adults provided by the IGFA School of Sportfishing and children’s fishing clinics provided by Hook the Future. Show attendees also will be able to sign up for classes in boat handling and docking.
    The boat show opens at noon March 23. Regular hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., except on March 26, when the show ends at 6 p.m. Admission: $22 for adults; $12 for ages 6-15; free for children younger than 6. Call 954-764-7642 or go to www.showmanagement.com.

Coming events
    March 4: 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 for adults, $20 ages 12-19. Register at the door. Bring lunch. Call 391-3600 or email fso-pe@cgauxboca.org.
    March 7: Fishing author Manny Luftglass discusses saltwater fishing in Florida, 2 p.m. at Palm Beach County’s Lantana branch library, 4020 Lantana Road. Free. Call 304-4500.
    March 22: Capt. Scott Fawcett offers tips for catching yellowfin tuna at the West Palm Beach Fishing Club’s meeting, 7 p.m., 201 Fifth St., West Palm Beach. Free. Call 832-6780 or www.westpalmbeachfishingclub.org.
    March 25: 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 adults, $10 ages 14-18, free for 13 and younger; $50 family rate for three or more people. Register at the door. Call 704-7440.
    March 31: Kickoff party for the Lantana Fishing Derby, 5:30 p.m. at The Hive Bar & Grill, 618 W. Lantana Road. Call 585-8664 or www.Lantanafishingderby.com.

Tip of the month
    Boaters who want up-to-date information on navigation hazards, military exercises on the water and other advisories for South Florida waters can check the Coast Guard’s Local Notices to Mariners at www.navcen.uscg.gov.
    Select District 7, which includes Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Puerto Rico.
    The Coast Guard also encourages mariners who notice hazards or discrepancies with published information, such as bridge clearances, to report them to the Miami office by calling (305) 535-4472.
    
Willie Howard is a freelance writer and licensed boat captain. Reach him at tiowillie@bellsouth.net.

More than 350 cyclists, runners and walkers -- including (l-r) Kendall Apte, Susan Tusting

and Margaret Blume -- turned out for the annual fundraiser that had cyclists pedaling 40 miles

and runners and walkers doing 3.1 miles. There also was a 1-mile Family Fun Walk & Ride.

The event benefited the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County, whose mission is to ensure

every child and adult in the area can read.

Photo provided

Locally produced balm sweetens
sea turtles’ recovery at Gumbo Limbo

Caitlin Bovery, sea turtle rehabilitation assistant coordinator, rubs dark, raw honey on Blitzen,

an ill adult loggerhead turtle, at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center.

The honey speeds healing and fights infection in wounds.

Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Caitlin Bovery pours honey onto Blitzen’s wound.

Related story: Meet Gumbo Limbo's "turtle whisperer" photographer

By Stacey Singer DeLoye

    The gash on the loggerhead sea turtle’s forehead exposes bone, and apparently it hurts. Turtle expert Caitlin Bovery is patting a sticky mixture of honeycomb and raw honey atop its wound, causing the slow creature to recoil.
    “You see how he’s pulling away, that’s indicative of pain,” says Bovery, the sea turtle rehabilitation assistant coordinator at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton.
    The staff at Gumbo Limbo named this gentle fellow Blitzen, because of  his arrival Christmas Eve. A homeowner in Hutchinson Island noticed the turtle listing aimlessly along the beach and phoned the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. State biologists found it unable to submerge, a sign of illness, and covered in barnacles, a sign it hadn’t been moving for a long time. Its plastron, or lower plate, was concave, a sign it had stopped eating quite some time ago.
    Blitzen clearly needed medical help. The nearest turtle hospital was the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, but there was no room at that inn. Gumbo Limbo volunteered.
    For the past month, Blitzen has been fed an ample diet of squid, fish and medicine to help his digestive system recover. His barnacles were removed, and now his shell needs to heal. Dressing sea turtle wounds takes time, especially when the turtle weighs 120 pounds.

Honey’s help long known
    Bovery squeezes a generous swirl of dark honey onto the turtle’s shell and fins and gently massages it into cracks and crevices. Her warm, gloved hands seem to soothe the creature. The honey isn’t a pain reliever, though. The honey rub is meant to protect the loggerhead’s wounds, speed healing and fight infection. The turtle is left in a drained tank for about a half hour to allow the honey to work its magic.
    Honey has been used by humans for centuries to treat lung infections, digestive problems, open wounds, burns and infected skin. Cleopatra used it as a beauty treatment. Egyptian and Roman soldiers may have bound their wounds with it. In the modern antibiotic era, though, its medicinal use has waned in favor of sterile antiseptic ointments.
    As germs gain resistance to some antibiotics, honey is attracting new attention from scientists. A 2011 study in the scientific journal PLOS One found certain medical-grade honeys killed off dangerous pathogens, including a strain of notorious supergerm MRSA after exposure for 24 hours.
    The honey did this by producing an enzyme that converts glucose into germicidal hydrogen peroxide, and by changing the acidity of the wound, producing a toxin called methylglyoxal. It also contained an antifungal and antiviral compound called Defensin-1, the study found.
    Bovery says Gumbo Limbo started routinely using honey on injured turtles about three years, ago, with success.
    “We’ve seen really good regeneration on these loggerheads since we started using honey on the wounds,” Bovery added.
    Honey helps boost fluid movement through wounds, flushing away toxins and moving in nutrients and other healing factors, but that same property means it must be reapplied often. And depending on the plants from which the honey is produced, it may contain different amounts of other useful compounds. A well-studied New Zealand honey called manuka, for example, is rich in the fatty acid DHA.
    But all honey isn’t equal. Its hydrogen peroxide-producing properties are wiped out by exposure to heat, making most grocery store honey unhelpful for medicinal purposes. In fact, most crystal-clear grocery store honey is barely honey. It has been filtered and heated during processing and handling, destroying most of the healing enzymes and removing useful particles like pollen and beeswax.  
    At Gumbo Limbo, the turtle caretakers prefer to use dark, raw honey from local beekeepers, Bovery says. That honey isn’t cheap, however. It sells for about $12 a pint retail. Bovery can use up an entire squeeze bottle treating one turtle on one occasion. Gumbo Limbo rehabilitates about 100 turtles a year.  
    The nature center recently put out a call for honey donations. The Palm Beach County Beekeepers Association and the Hani Honey Co. in Stuart have helped fill the need, but more donations are welcome, Bovery said.
    Blitzen’s condition is improved, but he still has a long recovery ahead. He’s gaining weight again, and his plastron isn’t concave anymore. With barnacles removed from his shell, he’s able to submerge again. Recovery will take several months, though.
    “He didn’t get this sick overnight, and he’s not going to get well overnight,” Bovery says. The honey will help.
    Sometime in the spring or summer, Bovery predicts, a totally healed Blitzen will be microchipped and tagged, then taken out to the Gulf Stream, to return to his life of crunching mollusks and slurping jellyfish out in the open sea.
    Gumbo Limbo Nature Center accepts donations of raw, uncooked, unfiltered honey at 1801 N. Ocean Blvd. in Boca Raton. Call 544-8605 for more information.

    The 2016 elections are over. Now on to 2017. The March 14 municipal elections are right around the corner.
    In Boca Raton the candidate qualification period has ended, so you may already be noticing yard signs. In our other coastal municipalities there’s a shorter period for campaigning, but already there is buzz about who is (and isn’t) picking up papers to qualify before the Feb. 14 deadline.
    Even with all the early election hype and intrigue, The Coastal Star will not be doing candidate endorsements. We will, of course, publish information on everyone running for office and continue to report on major election issues. In fact, we will be dedicating multiple pages to informing you about our coastal candidates in the March edition.
    But to schedule and meet with each of the candidates from the nine municipalities we cover is simply not feasible with our small staff. And without in-person interviews, we simply cannot provide our readers a fair assessment of each person’s suitability for office.
    Helping citizens become informed voters is a critical role of news media. And earning readers’ trust — that they are always getting the straight story from us — is the foundation of our work.
    In the day-to-day operation of the newspaper, however, I frequently encounter trust-eroding behavior in our coastal cities’ and towns’ officials. Here are some examples from the past month:
    One town commission announced from the dais who the new mayor will be before the candidate filing period even opened.
    Commissioners charged with governing an entire city have blocked a large percentage of the population from having temporary representation on the dais for reasons that appear to be purely political.
    Law enforcement management in one town chose to “manage” the release of information to the local media to avoid timely news coverage.
    And, of course, there always seem to be candidates for public office who take large contributions from developers while swearing those contributions do not influence their votes on local development projects. Really?
    I realize many of us have grown to look at the media, government and politics with a callous eye. I understand that. But we aren’t Washington and Tallahassee. These are our neighbors running things, and who gains when trust among neighbors is lacking?  Shouldn’t we be better than this?
    If you, like me, aren’t happy with the behavior of your elected officials or the actions of municipal employees, be sure to get informed and vote.
    If that alone feels unrewarding, you’ve still got time to go by your town or city hall and pick up a package to qualify as a candidate. Then go out and talk with your neighbors.
    We all still have time to earn each other’s trust.

Mary Kate Leming,
Editor

Ben Hicks uses his photos to raise awareness of sea turtles.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

A photo by Hicks showing a green sea turtle coming to the surface to breathe.

By Rich Pollack

    Ben Hicks knows when sea turtles don’t mind him swimming beside them and he knows when they want him to go away.
    An internationally known nature and surfing photographer — whose images of sea turtles have been in magazines published by prestigious organizations such as National Geographic and the World Wildlife Federation — Hicks has even earned the moniker “the turtle whisperer” from some here in South Florida.
    “I spend more time with sea turtles than any other animal,” he says. “Over the years, I’ve gotten to understand their social behavior.”
    For his support of sea turtle conservation and his efforts to bring attention to their struggle for survival, Hicks will be honored this month by the Friends of Gumbo Limbo, a nonprofit organization that supports the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton.
    During the organization’s annual Sea Coast Toast fundraiser on Feb. 18, Hicks will be given the organization’s CRESTT — Conservation, Research, Education, Stewardship for Today and Tomorrow — Award.
    “Ben has been a great supporter of Gumbo Limbo,” said Ross Appel, treasurer of the Friends of Gumbo Limbo’s board of directors and chair of this year’s Sea Coast Toast. “He’s used his photographs to raise awareness, which is exactly what we’re looking for.”
    Hicks, 37, from Boca Raton, says he quickly recognized that his turtle images were more than just eye-catching photographs.
    “From the get-go I realized how much of an impact I’ve made with these images,” he said.
    While he’s making an impact on efforts to heighten awareness of turtle conservation efforts, Hicks says the sea turtles have also had an impact on him.
    He is a fierce advocate for the marine creatures and has donated many hours to Gumbo Limbo, photographing turtle releases as well as other related events and volunteering to serve as the photographer for the Sea Coast Toast for years.  
    The Friends of Gumbo Limbo also raise money by selling prints of his photos at the center’s gift shop.
    An informal ambassador for sea turtles, Hicks often has the chance to use his art as a medium to communicate the role people can play in protecting the sea creatures and the ecosystems where they thrive.
    During a handful of art shows or at openings of exhibits — such as the one currently at the Highland Beach Public Library — Hicks has the chance to share his vision for conservation directly with visitors drawn by his images.   
    “Ben represents a younger generation, and he’s serving as a role model for that generation by raising environmental awareness,” Appel said.
    Hicks’ introduction to the world of sea turtles began about a decade ago when a friend of his from Florida Atlantic University, where he graduated with a fine arts degree, invited him to document her work with a nonprofit beach-monitoring organization.
He photographed her checking nests on the beach, digging up eggs and helping hatchlings make it to the ocean.
    “I realized I could use the images as a voice,” he said.
    Soon Hicks was swimming over the shallow reefs off the South Florida coast, photographing young and adolescent turtles.
    Remarkably, Hicks does not scuba dive, instead shooting all of his images while free diving.
    “Over the course of my career, I’ve definitely learned many things about the turtles,” he said.
    One of the most important lessons he’s learned is to respect these graceful animals and to take the photographs without disturbing them.
    “If they’re not comfortable with me around, I just let them be,” he said.
    For more information and to see Hicks’ work, visit www.Benjhicks.com.

If You Go
What: Eighth annual Sea Coast Toast, a dinner with live music, dancing and a fundraising auction to benefit the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center
When: 6-10 p.m. Feb. 18
Where: Boca Raton Country Club, 17751 Boca Club Blvd.
Cost: $125 for members of Friends of Gumbo Limbo, $150 nonmembers
Info: Visit www.gumbolimbo.org/seacoasttoast2017 or email SeaCoastToast@gumbolimbo.org

By Dan Moffett

    Ocean Ridge commissioners have decided to let the voters choose who should fill the seat vacated by former Vice Mayor Richard Lucibella, who resigned in December after prosecutors filed three charges against him stemming from an alleged shooting incident at his home.
    Mayor Geoff Pugh said because Lucibella’s seat is scheduled to be contested in the March 14 municipal election, it doesn’t make sense for commissioners to appoint someone to fill the position for what would be only one meeting.
    “It would be almost an exercise in futility if we did appoint someone for just one month,” Pugh said during the Jan. 9 town meeting.
    Commissioner James Bonfiglio worried that appointing someone might suggest to voters that the commission approved of the replacement as the permanent choice for the three-year term.
    “I think it might give somebody, if they decided to run in the election, an implied endorsement in the election if they were appointed by us to the seat a month before the election,” Bonfiglio said. “I think it’s hard to do that so close to the election without seeming to say that we want you folks to vote for this commissioner.”
    Bonfiglio’s seat also comes up for reelection in March; the other three commissioners’ terms expire next year. The commission also unanimously approved Bonfiglio’s appointment to replace Lucibella as vice mayor.
    Lucibella faces one count of battery on a law enforcement officer and another felony count of resisting an officer with violence, as well as a misdemeanor firearm charge, after the altercation with town police on Oct. 22.

By Steve Plunkett

    A circuit judge has rejected a public records lawsuit against Gulf Stream after an attorney for the town mounted a defense that accused the plaintiff, town resident Chris O’Hare, of “bad faith.”
    “There seems to be a national awareness that Florida and now other jurisdictions that have liberal public records rights are in fact ripe and becoming the source of abuse for lawyers and individuals to just generate litigation to obtain attorney’s fees,” outside lawyer Robert Sweetapple told town commissioners at their monthly meeting Jan. 13.
    The case was about “very important public policy,” Circuit Judge Thomas Barkdull III said in a 90-minute hearing Jan. 12.
    “This was clearly a bad faith attempt and gotcha request, and an attempt to generate litigation and fees, which is inappropriate,” the judge said in rejecting O’Hare’s claim.
    At issue was O’Hare’s request — made after business hours May 14, 2014, a Wednesday — for “all records in any way related to any correspondence between Jones-Foster on behalf of the town and Martin O’Boyle and created or received during the period of time from March 1, 2014, through to the moment you receive this request.”
    Jones, Foster, Johnston & Stubbs PA is Town Attorney John “Skip” Randolph’s firm, with about 40 lawyers in its West Palm Beach office. O’Boyle began flooding the town with public records requests in spring 2013 after he was refused variances for work on his Hidden Harbour home.
    The flood of requests soon turned into a tsunami, trapping the town in a years-long battle.
    In this case, the records O’Hare wanted “include but are not limited to notes, memos, letters, emails, phone logs, phone messages, photos, files, folders, labels, sketches, drawings, layouts, plans, invoices, statements, reports, correspondence, reference material, minutes, audio, video, manuals, drafts and any other record in any way responsive to this request.”
    The town answered him that Friday, saying it was “working on a large number of incoming public records requests” and would use “its very best efforts to respond to you in a reasonable amount of time.”
    O’Hare filed suit 46 days after he made his request, on July 1, 2014, asking a judge to declare the town was making an “illegal withholding” of the records and seeking attorney fees.
    “After more than 45 days following plaintiff’s original request, defendant still has yet to produce the records requested,” said O’Hare’s lawsuit, filed by the O’Boyle Law Firm, which O’Boyle’s son Jonathan heads.
    But Barkdull said Gulf Stream was coping not only with records requests but also with creating new parking regulations, deciding what to do about signs on a candidate’s vehicle, fighting a number of lawsuits and holding an election. The town, he said, made “a good faith effort” to answer a “voluminous” request that was “not clearly worded.”
    Barkdull also said O’Hare was “angry with his past dealings with the town” and that his suit was “clearly intended to harass and intimidate the employees of the town.”
    The judge decided O’Hare deserved nothing and the town could ask that he pay its attorney’s fees. Before his ruling, a municipality that successfully defended itself against a public records dispute still had to pay its own legal bill.
    Barkdull anticipated O’Hare’s appealing his decision to the 4th District Court of Appeal. “I look forward to reading the 4th DCA’s opinion after it comes out on this case,” Barkdull said.
    O’Hare promised as much during the public comment portion of the commission meeting before Sweetapple spoke.
    “I disagree with the ruling. So do my attorneys, and of course we’ll appeal that. My attorneys seem to think that it’s very ripe to go all the way to the Supreme Court because of the issues raised,” said O’Hare, who stepped outside the commission chamber during Sweetapple’s presentation.
    Barkdull also ruled in favor of the town in two other public records lawsuits.
    O’Hare began asking Gulf Stream for public records in 2013. From late August through December that year, he made more than 400 requests, Sweetapple has said. Together, he and Martin O’Boyle have filed more than 2,000 requests and dozens of lawsuits.
    The May 14, 2014, request was one of 10 O’Hare made that day which resulted in seven lawsuits, Sweetapple said.

Students from Somerset Academy Canyons High School participated in a cleanup

of the Ocean Ridge Natural Area on A1A north of Woolbright Road on Jan. 28.

They learned a few things about mangrove habitats while filling almost an entire roll-off container

with plastic, glass, tires and metal. The students took on the project as a way to do something different

and meaningful for the local ecology.

Photo provided

By Dan Moffett

    Former police Lt. Steven Wohlfiel will ask Ocean Ridge commissioners to reconsider his firing at a special meeting at 3 p.m. Feb. 6 in the Town Hall chambers.
    The commission voted unanimously to fire Wohlfiel last month after receiving the results of an internal review that looked into his role in an alleged shooting incident in October at the home of former Vice Mayor Richard Lucibella.
    Police Chief Hal Hutchins, who oversaw the two-month investigation, recommended the lieutenant’s dismissal in the 250-page report, and Town Manager Jamie Titcomb agreed.
    “As you know, Police Officers are charged with upholding the law and need to exhibit conduct above reproach, they are held to a higher standard,” Titcomb told Wohlfiel in a termination letter. “I don’t feel the standard we expect for our Police Officers has been met by you in this case.”
    Hutchins said he found “numerous violations of agency policy” in investigating the incident.
    The chief said he called in the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate the possibility of pursuing criminal charges against Wohlfiel — who was not arrested and is not charged — for discharging a firearm in a residential area. But Hutchins said he decided against it after consulting with the FDLE and county prosecutors.
    Among the key assertions in the report:
    • Grit Ritz, a business associate of Lucibella, and Barbara Ceuleers, Lucibella’s business partner who has listed his address as her residence in public records, told investigators Wohlfiel, who was off-duty, admitted using his personal handgun to fire the shots that touched off the disturbance. “Mr. Wohlfiel started saying that everything was his fault because he shot the pistol and the police officer on duty mishandled the situation,” Ritz said, describing a conversation with Wohlfiel after the arrest. Ceuleers, who was in the house when police came, told investigators Wohlfiel “admitted he was the one who fired the Glock.”
    • While officers at the scene said Wohlfiel did not actively interfere with Lucibella’s arrest, he did argue against it and did little to defuse the situation. Officer Nubia Plesnik told investigators that when she mentioned taking the vice mayor to jail, Wohlfiel said, “Nobody’s going to jail. There are no charges here.” Officer Richard Ermeri said: “Wohlfiel did briefly interfere with my investigation when he told Ceuleers ‘don’t say nothing.’”
    • Wohlfiel declined to give an interview to investigators, saying through his attorney that he is “exercising his constitutional right to remain silent.”
    • The conduct of the three on-duty officers who responded to the scene was appropriate, Hutchins and Titcomb concluded.
    Wohlfiel’s attorney, Ralph King of the Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association, has complained to the town that the report produced no hard evidence that his client fired the shots and that the accounts of Ceuleers and Ritz aren’t credible. King says it’s Lucibella who faces the battery and weapons charges, not Wohlfiel.
    “Clearly there is circumstantial evidence to suggest the weapon was fired but there is no evidence in the record as to who fired the weapon and where any potential witnesses were during that time,” King has told the town. “The witnesses Ceuleers and Ritz are inherently biased witnesses based on their individual relationships with Mr. Lucibella.”
    Lucibella resigned Dec. 7 after the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office charged him with battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting an officer with violence, both felonies, stemming from his arrest Oct. 22 at his oceanfront home. Lucibella, Ermeri and Plesnik have all complained of injuries from a scuffle during the arrest.
Lucibella, 63, has pleaded not guilty to three charges, including a misdemeanor of firing a weapon while intoxicated. His attorney, Marc Shiner, accuses police of overreacting and has called for the resignation of Ermeri.
    Wohlfiel, 48, rose through the ranks to supervising lieutenant during a decade of work in Ocean Ridge, serving for a time as the department’s union representative.

    Commissioners voted 4-0 in January to accept Titcomb’s recommendation to fire Wohlfiel but have the authority to change their decision at the February meeting.
    According to police reports, officers responding to neighbors’ complaints about gunfire that Saturday night say they found Lucibella and Wohlfiel “obviously intoxicated” on the patio. Officers say they took a .40-caliber Glock handgun from Lucibella and found five spent shell casings in the backyard. Police also confiscated a semiautomatic pistol they said Lucibella had in his back pocket.
    Both Lucibella and Wohlfiel told police they knew nothing about gunshots. Neither man was tested for gunpowder residue or blood-alcohol content, Hutchins said. Police say Lucibella “grew belligerent” and fought them as they tried to keep him from going inside his house. The officers said that when they entered Lucibella’s back yard, Wohlfiel used an expletive in telling them to leave.
The situation turned physical when police tried to prevent Lucibella from re-entering his home. Officers said they knew Lucibella, who publishes S.W.A.T. magazine in Boynton Beach, was a gun collector who likely had more weapons inside.
    Lt. Richard Jones, the lead investigator in the internal review, said one of the arresting officers, Plesnik, told him that Lucibella “was so agitated and wanted to fight” police, but Wohlfiel did little to calm him: “This whole incident took place in front of Wohlfiel and he never even got up or nothing.”
    Sgt. Bill Hallahan, who also responded to the scene and recently retired from the department, praised Ermeri and Plesnik in a statement to investigators. “Even while Lucibella was being belligerent and attempting to get Officer Ermeri upset,” Hallahan said, “both officers continued to keep their composure and professionalism.”