stream - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-29T13:11:14Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/streamAlong the Coast: Larcenies account for small towns’ uptick in reported crimeshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-larcenies-account-for-small-towns-uptick-in-repor2020-05-20T17:34:20.000Z2020-05-20T17:34:20.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><span style="font-size:14pt;">Increase mainly due to thefts from unlocked cars</span> <br /></strong></p>
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<p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960954265,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960954265,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960954265?profile=original" /></a></strong></p>
<p><strong>By Rich Pollack</strong></p>
<p>South Palm Beach County’s small coastal communities saw crime increase in 2019, bucking both countywide and state trends, but their total number of crimes still remained low.</p>
<p><br />While Highland Beach, Gulf Stream, Ocean Ridge, Manalapan and South Palm Beach saw an uptick in major crimes, the area’s larger cities all experienced declines.</p>
<p><br />Numbers released by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for 2019 show that South Palm Beach, Manalapan and Ocean Ridge each had small increases in reported crimes, while Gulf Stream and Highland Beach saw larger increases.</p>
<p><br />In all, the five small communities had 117 reported crimes, up from 78 in 2018.</p>
<p><br />Larcenies, which can be anything from missing items to thefts from unlocked cars, were up significantly in Gulf Stream and in Highland Beach.</p>
<p><br />Gulf Stream recorded 12 larcenies in 2019 compared to two the year before, while Highland Beach had 28 larcenies compared to 19 the prior year.</p>
<p><br />Seven of the dozen Gulf Stream larcenies were thefts from unlocked cars and one was theft from an unlocked landscape trailer. The town reported one auto theft, which was the result of keys being left in an unlocked car.</p>
<p><br />Thirteen of Highland Beach’s 28 larcenies were thefts from mostly unlocked vehicles, according to Police Chief Craig Hartmann.</p>
<p><br />“The simple message we’ve always had is lock your car doors,” Hartmann said.</p>
<p><br />That message has also been extended to lock all the doors in your home.</p>
<p><br />Highland Beach saw burglaries jump just from one in 2018 to six last year, with four of those occurring a few minutes apart. They were attributed to three females who entered the homes through unlocked back doors. The out-of-town suspects, two juveniles and an adult, were arrested and charged in connection with the break-ins.</p>
<p><br />Locking doors, Hartmann says, not only helps reduce the loss of valuables but can also serve as a deterrent for future crimes. If thieves find that residents are locking doors, they are less likely to return to that community, he said.</p>
<p><br />Crime in South County’s larger cities continued to fall for the second year in a row. Boca Raton recorded a 7.7% decline, Boynton Beach a 7.5% drop and Delray Beach a 6% reduction.</p>
<p><br />In Lantana reported crimes dropped 9% following a 6.2% increase the previous year.</p>
<p><br />Any crime in Briny Breezes prior to Oct. 1 was included in the Boynton Beach numbers while those after Oct. 1 were reported by Ocean Ridge.</p>
<p><br />Countywide, major crimes declined about 8% while crime statewide dropped 6.3%, according to the FDLE’s Uniform Crime Report.</p></div>Gulf Stream: Plan presented to widen streets, fix roadway pondshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/gulf-stream-plan-presented-to-widen-streets-fix-roadway-ponds2020-05-20T17:20:31.000Z2020-05-20T17:20:31.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong></p>
<p>Sections of the town’s narrowest roads could be widened at least 2 feet to combat water ponding on the pavement and ruts from vehicles that go off the asphalt.</p>
<p><br /> The widening project, estimated to cost $238,386, could be finished by next winter. The proposal is posted on the town’s website, <a href="http://www.gulf-stream.org">www.gulf-stream.org</a>, for townsfolk to review.</p>
<p><br /> “I think it’s something that the core [area] residents should evaluate and consider,” Mayor Scott Morgan said. “It’s not terribly expensive; it addresses the issues that have been raised every single day as long as I’ve been in this town. And I don’t think it would set back the future road improvements.”</p>
<p><br /> Consulting engineer Baxter & Woodman Inc. presented photos at the May 8 Town Commission meeting documenting what are routine sights in Gulf Stream’s core area: rainwater backing up and completely covering parts of roadways, water ponding several inches deep at dysfunctional drains and deep ruts created by multiple cars and trucks.</p>
<p><br /> The engineering firm recommends adding 1 foot of pavement to both lanes of Polo Drive from south of Palm Way to Old School Road, on Old School Road from Polo to Wright Way, on Banyan Road from Polo to Gulfstream Road, and on Lakeview Drive east of Gulfstream. That would make Polo Drive’s lanes 10 feet wide and the lanes of other roads up to a minimum 9 feet wide.</p>
<p><br /> The two blocks of Lakeview west of Gulfstream Road will get 2 additional feet of asphalt in each lane, while the east side of Gulfstream will become 3 feet wider from Lakeview to Golfview Drive.</p>
<p><br /> The town is in the second year of its 10-year capital improvement plan to replace water mains and rebuild streets. Planning for the reconstruction of Polo, Gulfstream and other roads in the core area is scheduled for fiscal 2021, with the work coming in fiscal 2022.<br /> This year’s capital improvement work focuses on the water main along the northern section of State Road A1A. Also in May, town commissioners awarded a $1.9 million contract to Wellington-based low bidder Foster Marine Contractors Inc. for that work.</p>
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<p><strong>In other business:</strong></p>
<p>• Town Manager Greg Dunham told commissioners that AT&T has stopped putting its fiber optic underground and wants more than $1 million to finish the work. Its existing contract was for $420,000.<br /> “This is coming at the very tail end [of the project] — almost a blackmail-like attempt,” Morgan said. <br />Dunham said he would meet with Danny Brannon, the town’s main consultant on the underground utilities project, and the lawyer in Tallahassee who negotiated the contract with AT&T in 2017, to determine whether the higher cost is justified. FPL and Comcast were able to adapt to unexpected changes in the project without adjusting their fees, Morgan said.</p>
<p>• The eyesore house at 2775 Avenue Au Soleil was sold after the town reduced its lien to $125,000 and lifted its demand that the existing building be razed. But buyer Chet Snavely, who is also president of the Place Au Soleil Homeowners Association, plans to demolish the home anyway and “leave it as a lot,” Commissioner Donna White said.</p></div>Gulf Stream: Duck’s demise prompts plea from second-gradershttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/gulf-stream-duck-s-demise-prompts-plea-from-second-graders2020-04-01T19:29:48.000Z2020-04-01T19:29:48.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960945300,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960945300,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960945300?profile=original" /></a><em>Second-graders Emma Imperatore and Valentina Autiero presented their request for duck crossing signs to the Town Commission after a duck was killed near Gulf Stream School. “We don’t want that to happen again,” Valentina said. <strong>Rachel S. O’Hara/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
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<p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong><br /> <br />A duck that sadly became roadkill near the Gulf Stream School may become the impetus for new warning signs for motorists in town.</p>
<p><br /> Second-graders Emma Imperatore and Valentina Autiero implored town commissioners to consider creating the signs in what Mayor Scott Morgan proclaimed was an “excellent presentation” on March 13.</p>
<p><br /> “Good morning, everyone,” Valentina began while standing before commissioners. “A few weeks ago outside of our school on Gulfstream Road near the Little Club golf course, I saw a duck that had been run over and killed.</p>
<p><br /> “We don’t want that to happen again because the black Muscovy ducks … cross the street many times a day,” she continued, flanking with Emma a poster board the two girls had handcrafted. “We would like to have two street signs installed that tell people: ‘Slow down, ducks cross here.’ Thank you.”</p>
<p><br /> With their teachers and classmates watching, Emma then gave the girls’ recommendation on where the signs should be located, one for southbound traffic and one for northbound.</p>
<p><br /> Morgan praised the second-graders for undertaking “a very important civic experience.”</p>
<p><br /> “That is, you’ve seen a problem in our town, you want to address it and so you’ve come before the municipal body that has some authority to help grant what you’re seeking,” he said.</p>
<p><br /> Because their proposal would affect both the Gulf Stream School and the Little Club, Morgan told the girls to contact the school’s headmaster and the club’s president and get their consent to installing the signs, then return to the commission on April 9.</p>
<p><br /> “You were very persuasive,” Commissioner Donna White added.</p>
<p><br /> Vice Mayor Tom Stanley wanted more information about Valentina and Emma’s suggested sign, which featured a mama duck leading her three ducklings.</p>
<p><br /> “Can you read the little words on the sign? I mean ‘Duck Crossing’ is good — we all know what that is. But there’s also some extra words on there for emphasis. Can you tell us what those are — for the record?’ he asked.</p>
<p><br /> “Quack, quack, quack, quack,” Emma and Valentina replied to the delight of the commission chambers.</p>
<p><br /> <strong>In other business:</strong><br /> • The Little Club withdrew its controversial application to build four pickleball courts. Neighbors at the Hillside House and St. Andrews Club, some of whom lived just 50 feet away, had protested that the fast-growing but noisy sport would detract from their quality of life.<br /> • Town Manager Greg Dunham said he was not permitting members of the public to enter the business side of Town Hall because of the coronavirus. He and other town employees meet people who need services in the lobby, he said.<br /> • Dunham showed commissioners a map of a proposed street running from the entrance of Place Au Soleil to the Intracoastal along the north side of the subdivision. The street would have 14 lots, with the four nearest the waterway being larger than the 10 others.<br /> The Gulf Stream Golf Club and the Florida Inland Navigation District own the land. Dunham said he has hired a land-use expert to evaluate the proposal. <br /> • Commissioners denied a request for a variance from Daniel Stanton that would have let him add a second floor to his Place Au Soleil house 14 feet from the property line instead of 15 feet. Stanton had proposed buying a longtime eyesore next door, demolishing part of it and combining both it and his existing house to make what would have been the largest residence in Place Au Soleil. <br /> Commissioners said the size and mass of the proposed structure were not in keeping with the neighborhood. His purchase of the decrepit house hinged on his getting approval of the remodeling plans.<br /> Real estate broker Zac Mazur, representing the heirs of deceased homeowner Richard Lavoie, said if commissioners would rescind a demand to demolish the property at 2775 Avenue Au Soleil, he could sell it within 90 days to someone who would renovate it.<br /> Over 10 years Lavoie ran up $1.9 million in code enforcement violations at the property, primarily for having a dead lawn and no fence around his swimming pool. Commissioners last October agreed to reduce the lien to $125,000 after Stanton proposed joining the lots.</p></div>Tots & Teens: What to do with the kids when you’re homeboundhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/tots-teens-what-to-do-with-the-kids-when-you-re-homebound2020-04-01T16:00:00.000Z2020-04-01T16:00:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960945885,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960945885,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960945885?profile=original" /></a><em>Second-grade teachers Marie Boslow and Lizzie Paskal work in one the courtyards at Gulf Stream School on March 16, to organize take-home packets for their students to use while the school is closed. All Palm Beach County schools are closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic. <strong>Rachel S. O'Hara/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
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<p><strong>By Janis Fontaine</strong><br /> <br /> As you self-isolate, you’re going to be looking for things to do at home with the kids.</p>
<p><br /> Part of the time you’ll be homeschooling, and plenty of resources are available through your child’s school and online, including top education sites like Ted-Ed, Brain Pop, Khan Academy, Scholastic Learn at Home and Quizlet.</p>
<p><br /> But what about the rest of the time? A new series of free online programs called Keep Kids Smart with ART is being offered by the team at the Boca Raton Museum of Art. Connect with it at <a href="http://www.bocamuseum.org/covid-19-status-update">www.bocamuseum.org/covid-19-status-update</a>.</p>
<p><br /> Its goal is to help parents and their children by providing visual arts programs.</p>
<p><br /> Experts say art can help us deal with difficult emotions, and Executive Director Irvin Lippman said the museum will support the community by creating new virtual enriching experiences online.</p>
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<p><strong>Library resources</strong></p>
<p>Our libraries may be closed, but they have tons of content, available in traditional and digital form. The Boca Raton Public Library has an extensive learning platform for students at <a href="http://www.myboca.us/963/Digital-Library">www.myboca.us/963/Digital-Library</a>.</p>
<p><br /> There is also a vast selection of audio- and e-books, music, newspapers and magazines, movies and TV shows available to download with your library card. Not sure how to use it? Video tutorials are available on demand for many of the digital services and research databases.</p>
<p><br /> The Highland Beach Library canceled all events and community meetings until May 1. On March 18, the library cut its hours to 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, but materials are available only by calling or emailing the library with your request for pickup. You can search for available materials via the online catalog, and the library staff will assist residents with downloading e-books. </p>
<p><br /> If you must have a paper book, the library will provide a pickup time to collect materials from a restricted area at the entrance. For more information, visit <a href="https://highlandbeach.us/departments/library/">https://highlandbeach.us/departments/library/</a>.</p>
<p><br /> The Lantana Public Library at 205 W. Ocean Ave. is closed until further notice, but will offer walk-up services during normal library hours for those who call ahead. Patrons can place books on hold via the library’s Koha system, or call 561-540-5740 to make arrangements. The library will offer virtual story-time and other children’s activities on its Facebook page.</p>
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<p><strong>Online instruction</strong></p>
<p>In response to school closures, Delray Beach-based Space of Mind, a modern schoolhouse, is offering personalized online teaching, enrichment activities and standards-based curriculum for students grades 1-12, as well as coaching and programming for parents and families. </p>
<p><br /> In addition to offering programs for all mainstream learners, SOM personalizes its curriculum to serve students with ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, visual and auditory processing challenges, anxiety, dyslexia, giftedness and the like. Online courses are taught live in small groups that are tailored by learning style.</p>
<p><br /> Space of Mind is at 102 N. Swinton Ave. For info, call 877-407-1122 or visit <a href="http://findspaceofmind.com">http://findspaceofmind.com</a>.</p>
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<p><strong>Other ideas</strong></p>
<p><strong>Connect the generations:</strong> This stay-at-home mandate won’t go away as quickly as you’d like, so this may be the time to undertake a long-term project like researching your family history.</p>
<p><br /> Sandwich-generation parents — with both school-age kids and elderly parents — can make it a family project by connecting the two groups. Have kids ask questions and use the Boca Raton library’s new genealogy tool, MyHeritage Library Edition, to access one of the largest, most internationally diverse genealogy databases in the world. Find it under the Online Resources link on the library’s website.</p>
<p><br /> <strong>Craft a solution:</strong> If the Boca museum’s art classes are a little too challenging, consider an easy craft. Research shows that purposeful use of the hands can decrease stress, relieve anxiety and lessen depression. From knitting to needlepoint, rock painting to fashion design, now might be the perfect time to rekindle an old interest or kick-start a new one.</p>
<p><br /> With the area’s supply chain semi-intact, yarn and crochet hooks will cost just a few bucks if you haven’t stockpiled craft materials in the spare bedroom. Don’t know how to knit? YouTube it. Or perhaps Grandma knows. Hook her up with the kids on Google or FaceTime. And there’s a bonus at the end — like a handmade winter scarf for future travel or gifting.</p>
<p><br /> <strong>Take a fresh-air approach:</strong> Doctors and mental health professionals agree that fresh air and sunshine (needed to process Vitamin D) and spending time in nature are important to staying healthy.</p>
<p><br /> Playgrounds may be off-limits, but you can use your yard to play with the kids. Get out the soccer ball, the baseball and glove, put the basketball net back up, and take the kids out to play. Easy sports for kids and parents like badminton, croquet, bocce, cornhole and pingpong can reduce stress and anxiety. Even easier? Take a walk or a bike ride.</p>
<p><br /> <strong>Use distraction:</strong> It seems counterintuitive, but keeping the hands busy lets the mind rest. Dig out that 1,000-piece puzzle you got as a secret Santa gift. And don’t forget the board games.</p>
<p><br /> <strong>Find joy in cooking:</strong> Since you’ll likely be cooking and eating more at home, make it a family thing. Cooking and baking can challenge math and problem-solving skills, and kids are more likely to eat something they had a hand in preparing.</p>
<p><br /> <strong>Meditate on it:</strong> Even young kids can learn to quiet their minds. A few minutes spent in a quiet, comfortable position paying attention to your breathing can help lower blood pressure and reduce the release of stress hormones like cortisol. Start with two minutes and work up from there. Try to keep it positive, but don’t discourage talk about fears and anxiety.</p></div>Education: Gulf Stream’s new head of school settling into his leadership rolehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/education-gulf-stream-s-new-head-of-school-settling-into-his-lead2019-12-03T20:43:39.000Z2019-12-03T20:43:39.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960902857,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960902857,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-full" alt="7960902857?profile=original" /></a><em>During an assembly, head of school Gray Smith reads an essay by pre-K student Campbell Jones. <strong>Photo provided by Rachel O’Hara</strong></em></p>
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<p><strong>By Rich Pollack</strong></p>
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<p>Gray Smith knew Gulf Stream School was unique even before he fled the Maryland winters to become its head of school.</p>
<p><br /> Once he arrived and settled into the role for which he’d been preparing for decades, Smith had a chance to see firsthand what separates Gulf Stream School from similar institutions.</p>
<p><br /> “It really is a special place,” he said last month, just a few days after he’d been officially installed as head of school. “It’s a small community and it’s a warm community.”</p>
<p><br /> Since his arrival in the summer, Smith has been welcomed with open arms by members of that community, which includes parents of current and former students and alumni.</p>
<p><br /> What came as a surprise to Smith was how much activity takes place at the school, just a stone’s throw from his school-provided home, where he can see things going on after school and on weekends.</p>
<p><br /> “It’s an enchanting added bonus,” he said.</p>
<p><br /> Maintaining and then building on Gulf Stream School’s powerful sense of community is an important part of Smith’s job. So is his role as an academic leader who is charged with making sure that close to 250 students — ranging from pre-K to eighth grade — get first-class educations.</p>
<p><br /> Smith, who has a doctorate of education and organizational leadership from the University of Pennsylvania, is as much an educator — and lacrosse coach — as he is an administrator.</p>
<p><br /> He is, in fact, teaching two sixth-grade reading classes this semester and will work with the school’s lacrosse program.</p>
<p><br /> “I won’t be on the sidelines,” he says, “but I’ll be doing some coaching.”</p>
<p><br /> Smith’s background with close to 25 years of teaching and serving in leadership roles at independent schools prepared him for his current role.</p>
<p><br /> Prior to coming to Gulf Stream School, Smith, 47, served four years as the head of school at the Harford Day School in Bel Air, Maryland.</p>
<p><br /> He previously served as head of the middle school at Severn School in the Baltimore area and before that served as assistant head of the upper school and dean of students at The Boys’ Latin School of Maryland.</p>
<p><br /> He also held teaching and coaching positions in Kentucky and at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, where he was a teacher and assistant lacrosse coach in 2002 when the team won a state championship. He served as head coach in 2003.</p>
<p><br /> In his role as an educator, Smith spent his first several weeks at Gulf Stream School visiting classrooms and seeing how skilled the faculty members are at building trust with the students.</p>
<p><br /> He was impressed, he said, when he saw more than one veteran teacher watching over small groups of students talking about what they’re learning and then seeing those teachers work one-on-one with some of the students.</p>
<p><br /> “It’s really individualized,” he said. “It’s been really interesting.”</p>
<p><br /> Smith is also focused on bringing some new ideas to the classrooms while not shunning the techniques that are working well. He is interested in inquiry-based learning which poses questions to students and also presents them with problems or scenarios to resolve. “There are some things we can do here to make the great things we’re doing even better,” he said.</p>
<p><br /> Smith’s ability to move forward, without discarding the traditions, sits well with parents like Chiara Clark, the mother of three children at the school and immediate past president of the parents auxiliary.</p>
<p><br /> “I’m impressed at how he’s kept some traditions and added some twists along the way,” said Clark, who chaired Smith’s installation ceremony. “I love that he’s open to ideas and has already learned all the students’ names.”</p>
<p><br /> Clark said she believes the fact that Smith has two sons attending the school will be a benefit.</p>
<p><br /> “I love knowing he is taking a vested interest in all areas of our school because it’s where his kids attend,” she said. </p>
<p><br /> One of the challenges for Gulf Stream School, Smith says, is to get the word out about some of the innovative practices educators are using, as well as about the school’s overall environment.</p>
<p><br /> “We’d like people to know how good we are,” Smith says.</p>
<p><br /> A marketing committee of board members is on the task, but at the same time, Smith sees faculty members taking leadership roles among peers as another way to spread the word.</p>
<p><br /> One example, he says, is to have some of the school’s educators lead workshops where they share the Gulf Stream School philosophy of developing trusting relationships with students that can improve academics.</p>
<p><br /> As Smith continues to build relationships of his own — he greets students and parents every morning at drop-off and again at pickup — he remains mindful of the school’s 80-year tradition of serving the community.</p>
<p><br /> “This feels like a place that is meant to serve the families that are here,” he said.</p></div>Meet Your Neighbor: Charles F. Carlinohttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/meet-your-neighbor-charles-f-carlino2017-10-04T17:30:00.000Z2017-10-04T17:30:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960747068,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960747068,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="600" alt="7960747068?profile=original" /></a></strong><em><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960747068,original{{/staticFileLink}}"></a>Gulf Stream resident Charles Carlino styled Sole Surfer on a friend and fellow Marine with post-traumatic stress disorder. The play will be staged on Veterans Day. <strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
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<p><strong>By Mary Thurwachter</strong></p>
<p> Charles Carlino met Joseph Gianni as neighbors in East Hampton in the mid-1990s. The former Marines shared a passion for surfing and got to know each other well over the next two decades.<br /> Carlino, who lives in Gulf Stream, was a weapons trainer in Camp Lejeune, N.C., during the Vietnam War and never served overseas.<br /> Gianni’s military journey was much more harrowing.<br /> “He is a decorated war hero,” Carlino said of his friend, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of his tour of duty in Vietnam.<br /> “He’s such an extraordinary, peaceful human being to have seen what he saw, the amount of deaths,” Carlino said of Gianni, a former defense attorney.<br /> Gianni’s story became the subject of Carlino’s book Camp Hero and is told through the main character in his play <em>Sole Surfer</em>, which will be staged Nov. 11, Veterans Day, at the Kravis Center’s Rinker Playhouse.<br /> “Vietnam veterans are very humble,” Carlino said. “They are peace-oriented, not war-oriented. That’s the kind of character Joseph A. Gianni is.” <br /> Carlino said he captured his friend’s stories in his mind and in his soul.<br /> “There wasn’t a pad or a laptop,” he explained. “It was just his soul merging with mine, how he processed all of this and how gentle he is considering all he has been through. He lives with PTSD.”<br /> With the play, Carlino said, he’s accomplished in a light, comical delivery a way of engaging audience members that gives them an emotional experience relatable to all people who have suffered any kind of abuse. The one-hour play received high praise from the audience when it debuted in 2014 at the Stonzek Theatre at the Lake Worth Playhouse.<br /> “You’re engaged in laughter and, all of a sudden, you’re off on a ride that takes the story in a very unique direction,” Carlino said. “You’re onboard with it because you’re him.<br /> “Most people feel for the veterans and love them but want to do it from a distance,” said Carlino, 70. “They don’t want to get near these people because it’s really dark. With this play, it’s almost like a boot camp story where as you enter the theater you’re engaged. The play starts very gentle. I think I’ve created an emotional experience that only special stories can engage.”<br /> Carlino advanced his career in computer technology and built a boutique systems firm but always had an interest in writing and the theater.<br /> “Having lived in New York City for over 55 years, I viewed an abundant amount of theater,” he said. “The Broadway scene was great for taking clients, but I lived for off-Broadway, black box theater.”<br /> Today, he has his own theater company, Roadshow Productions (<a href="http://www.roadshow">www.roadshow</a> productions.net), dedicated to the presentation of original works for the stage.<br /> “As a producer/playwright, with my talented, professional staff, we self-produce and promote plays and musicals where originality, experimentation and traditional theater coexist,” Carlino said.<br /> “We welcome all who wish to play in our sandbox and live by the simple credo: Art matters.”</p>
<p style="text-align:right;"><em>— Mary Thurwachter</em></p>
<p><br /> <br /> <strong>Q.</strong> Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?<br /> <strong>A.</strong> Rosedale in Queens, N.Y. I spent my childhood stuck in that medieval place, cut off from civilization. I felt I was a worthless young individual — a disappointment to my family, my teachers, my church and assured by all I was destined to fail. Raised on a steady diet of ridicule and limitation, I learned at a young age how to nourish myself. I was bullied. My right to life was the fight to exist.<br /> <br /> <strong>Q.</strong> What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?<br /> <strong>A.</strong> I had to give up my first meaningful job at Dean Witter brokerage house in New York as a trainee in the data processing department, to join the United States Marines in 1967 at the height of the Vietnam War. When I returned home, I was able to secure a job in the computer technology field, moving my way up to systems manager at the age of 25.<br /> During the summer of 1975, I was in a bad motorcycle accident which almost took my life. Instead, it changed my life for the better. I left the computer field and went on a life’s journey, experiencing personal and artistic growth, creating my future. I was able to develop natural talents in areas such as interior and space design, restaurant and cabaret, black box theater, brownstone renovation and author of the Guide for Safe Surgery. I wrote it with two other associates, one an orthopedic surgeon, to assist patients to be proactive about their surgery.<br /> There were times when I drove a taxi and bartended to make ends meet. Ultimately, I returned to the computer technology field where I made my ultimate success, building a small boutique systems firm, Lorin Technology.<br /> After 50 years in New York City, I settled in Florida.<br /> I am most proud of the production of my play, <em>Sole Surfer.</em><br /> <br /> <strong>Q.</strong> What advice do you have for a young person selecting a career today?<br /> <strong>A.</strong> Never place money before excellence of performance. Find your passion, then search out a career that can teach you and lead you to that passion. Perseverance is the true master to success. Never give up. Stay the path. Let no one tell you you can’t succeed. Create realistic goals and approach them in a superhuman manner. Remember, the tougher things become, the closer you are to your success. Competition is not the enemy, it’s God testing your will to rise above. Celebrate each success and failure, as they are all part of your ultimate destiny.<br /> <br /> <strong>Q.</strong> How did you choose to make your home in Gulf Stream?<br /> <strong>A.</strong> Having lived in West Palm Beach previously, I became acquainted with the small town of Gulf Stream. This tiny enclave captured my eye from the first instant. With its small, private streets and mix of cozy-styled homes, I was drawn in by its beauty.<br /> <br /> <strong>Q.</strong> What is your favorite part about living in Gulf Stream?<br /> <strong>A.</strong> The residents are made up of many different backgrounds, yet all share a neighborly quest for good clean living. It’s a relaxed, safe and natural style of living, rich in the quality of contemporary neighborhood life. People here are friendly, helpful and most of all respectful of one another.<br /> <br /> <strong>Q.</strong> What music do you listen to when you need inspiration? When you want to relax?<br /> <strong>A.</strong> My father being a true jazz musician, I was brought up on the sounds of all the jazz greats. I guess you might call me a jazz buff and I even owned a speakeasy back in Park Slope, Brooklyn.<br /> My wife, Anna, and I share a passion in Latin music, and have danced our way through the many fine venues of our community. However, if you visit our home, you will be embraced by the soothing sounds of Zen and other inspirational music. This same music is background to my play.<br /> <br /> <strong>Q.</strong> Do you have a favorite quote that inspires your decisions?<br /> <strong>A.</strong> “Behind every successful man is a great woman.” I am married to a great woman, rich in heart and soul. I believe that two is better than one — if it is a healthy two. Anna has brought a balance to my life, supporting and even applauding my work.<br /> <br /> <strong>Q.</strong> Have you had mentors in your life?<br /> <strong>A.</strong> I have been blessed with many great mentors, people that possess a healthy balance to life and have made great impact on my successes and taught me how to grow and embrace my failures. A name that stands out is the pastor Joel Osteen. Others, such as Joyce Meyer, Don Miguel Ruiz and Deepak Chopra, stand out as beacons to spiritual enlightenment. <br /> <br /> <strong>Q.</strong> If your life story were made into a movie, whom would you want to play you?<br /> <strong>A.</strong> One of my favorite actors, Gerard Butler, who starred in the movie <em>Chasing Mavericks</em>. I admire the real-life manner he brings to his roles. <br /> <br /> <strong>Q.</strong> Who/what makes you laugh?<br /> <strong>A.</strong> Jackie Gleason. I can still recall many lines from The Honeymooners. It just feels like home, the way we grew up, our parents, the times. I find myself writing pieces today that sound just as those from over 50 years ago, with that special delivery that only Gleason can deliver, totally relatable and a bit ridiculous, but so funny.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span class="font-size-4">If You Go</span><br /> <strong>What:</strong> <em>Sole Surfer</em>, written by Charles Carlino. The one-act, two-actor drama with narration is directed by Selma Hazouri. The lead character is played by Bryan Wohlust and the narrator is Richard Forbes.<br /> <strong>Where:</strong> Rinker Playhouse at the Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach <br /> <strong>When:</strong> 7:30 p.m. Nov. 11<br /> <strong>Tickets:</strong> $32<br /> <strong>Info:</strong> 832-7469; <a href="http://www.kravis.org">www.kravis.org</a></p></div>The Buzz about bees: Amateur hive keepers give life to a struggling species and receive insights into naturehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/the-buzz-about-bees-amateur-hive-keepers-give-life-to-a-strugglin2017-08-29T18:30:00.000Z2017-08-29T18:30:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960736660,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960736660,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="600" alt="7960736660?profile=original" /></a></strong><em>Aaron Budney checks one of the hives he keeps at his mother’s home west of Lake Worth. <strong>Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>By Ron Hayes</strong><br /> <br /> Catnip bores them.They don’t chirp. Wouldn’t fetch a stick to save your life. And they sometimes kill.<br /> Why in the world would anyone want to keep bees?<br /> “No, they’re not really a pet,” concedes Colleen Paul-Hus, who set up her first hive in the living room of the Gulf Stream home she shares with her husband, Rich, and four young children. “But you can learn from them. They give you an insight into nature. And we’re curious people.”<br /> She’s not alone. Last year, Bee Culture magazine estimated that the U.S. has about 120,000 amateur beekeepers, and the number is growing as a result of colony collapse disease. First identified in 2006, CCD is a phenomenon in which worker bees suddenly abandon a hive. Left without the bees that bring nectar and pollen to the queen bee and her babies, the hives die.<br /> Suspected culprits include parasites, insecticides and climate change, but whatever its cause, the damage has devastated the commercial bee industry.<br /> Between April 2014 and April 2015, about 42 percent of domestic honeybee colonies died, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture — an 8 percent jump from the year before.<br /> “Colony collapse disease has brought an increase in backyard beekeepers because it made news,” says Lee Wisnioski, vice president of the Palm Beach County Beekeepers Association. “People heard nearly half the hives were dying and felt this was something they could do to help.”<br /> Established in 1974, the local group has more than 200 members, Wisnioski said, of whom about 180 are hobbyists with just a few hives in the backyard.<br /> Beekeeping is legal throughout Florida, he added, except that communities governed by homeowners associations may forbid them. However, all hives must be registered, and a modest annual fee paid, based on the number of hives. For backyard beekeepers with fewer than five hives, the fee is only $10.<br /> “I’m fearful of the bees going into decline,” Paul-Hus agreed, “and I felt this would be a safe haven for them and a learning experience for the children.” <br /> Paul-Hus, raised on a farm in Ohio, has made her home on North Ocean Boulevard a testament to the family’s love of flora and fauna. The garden grows tomatoes and potatoes, cucumbers and spinach, oranges, tangerines, parsley, rosemary and thyme. The family has a very large, very friendly silver Lab named Sandy, and once kept Japanese fighting fish until someone put too much food in the tank and the fish succumbed.<br /> “And we had nine or 10 chickens,” she reveals, “but you needed a permit for the coop and we had to get rid of them.”<br /> And so, two years ago, she added a beehive.<br /> In the living room.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960736677,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960736677,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="600" alt="7960736677?profile=original" /></a><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960736866,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960736866,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="600" alt="7960736866?profile=original" /></a><em>Beekeeper Colleen Paul-Hus and her son Max wear suits and veils for safety while checking the family’s backyard hives in Gulf Stream. Max says he has yet to be stung. They keep an observation hive in the living room of her Gulf Stream house. Bees enter and exit via a small passage leading from the honeycomb to the world outside.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /> • • •</p>
<p><br /> “It’s called an observation hive,” she explains.<br /> Imagine a box about 2.5 by 1.5 feet square and perhaps 3 inches deep, with a glass front. This transparent box, which can hold up to six honeycomb frames, is attached to the wall, with a small passage leading from the honeycomb to the world outside, so worker bees can come and go.<br /> Whereas other families watch TV or a crackling fire, the Paul-Huses can watch their bees make honey, without fear of being stung.<br /> “That observation hive makes a lot of people want to keep bees,” she says.<br /> In June, she added an outside hive capable of holding up to 30 honeycomb frames.<br /> “I’m the only one except my dad who hasn’t been stung,” boasts Max Paul-Hus, 8, who helps his mother tend the hive. “At first I was afraid but now it’s fun.” He dips his finger in a bowl of the very honey he helped harvest. “There’s nothing I don’t like about it.”</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /> • • •</p>
<p><br /> Aaron Budney found his first hive in a discarded orange traffic cone on the vacant lot beside Briny Breezes Boulevard.<br /> “I was interested in getting involved with nature,” he says, “and my mother was interested in getting a tax deduction.”<br /> Budney, 21, who lives in the County Pocket, contacted the PBC Beekeepers Association, which provided a mentor to help him extract the hive and start a hobby.<br /> Today he keeps two thriving hives behind his mother’s house in the agricultural area west of Lake Worth, where they qualify for the deduction.<br /> “I’m a novice beekeeper,” he says. “I haven’t had a honey harvest yet, but I’m fascinated by the whole process of caring for and observing them. There’s so much more to it than just the honey.”<br /> On a sweltering Thursday afternoon, Budney donned the beekeeper’s traditional garb — white hood and veil, shirt, pants and gloves — and began inspecting the hives while his mother watched from a distance.<br /> As he worked, Budney grasped a hand-held smoker, a small can filled with burning pine needles. Bees sting when they feel threatened, and the sting releases a pheromone that brings other bees in a swarm. The burning pine keeps other bees from smelling that first release of pheromone and swarming.<br /> “When you’re stung, it’s a sudden, sharp pain, and then it radiates like a hot needle and swells for about an hour,” Budney said. “And then it itches for a couple of days.”<br /> Budney has been stung five or six times, but never attracted a swarm.<br /> On June 21 in Boca Raton, a beloved family dog named Delilah wasn’t so lucky.</p>
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<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960736694,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960736694,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="600" alt="7960736694?profile=original" /></a><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960737076,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960737076,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="600" alt="7960737076?profile=original" /></a><em>Nancy Palilonis checks on beehives at her home in Delray Beach. Her father and uncle got her involved in beekeeping when she was 7</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /> • • •</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><br /> The 7-year-old rottweiler mix died after being swarmed in the backyard of Debbie Leonard’s home near Mizner Park.<br /> When Delilah took refuge in the garage, Leonard’s teenage children were able to reach her. The family veterinarian removed nearly 60 stingers from her body, but she’d gone into toxic shock and, despite repeated antibiotics, had to be put down.<br /> At first, experts from the state Department of Agriculture speculated that Delilah may have been killed by a colony of feral “Africanized” bees found on a nearby tree. Imported from South America in the 1950s, the subspecies is more aggressive than Florida’s common, Europeanized honeybees.<br /> However, after testing bees from a nearby hive, the experts determined the dog was killed by the more common species.<br /> Apparently a honeycomb had blown away from a hive in a nearby tree and landed in Leonard’s yard. The dog was attacked when she came to investigate.<br /> Bee attacks are rare, but any time a hive is threatened, the bees will become aggressive, no matter the species.<br /> According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 90-100 people are killed in this country every year as a result of allergic reactions to the stings of bees, hornets and wasps, making bees the second-most deadly animal in the United States — after human beings. But that’s out of the many thousands stung by bees each year.<br /> “Lightning is a much greater danger than bees in Florida,” the beekeepers association’s Wisnioski says. “Walking quickly is what we teach. Get inside a car, a house. You do not stand there and swat at them.”</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /> • • •</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><br /> “I didn’t pick this hobby,” Nancy Palilonis says. “The bees picked me.”<br /> When she was growing up in Binghamton, N.Y., in the 1950s, her father and uncle bought some beekeeping equipment for $20.<br /> “We got enough honey to take care of three families,” she remembers. “And when I turned 7 my father said, ‘You’re old enough to help now.’ It was a family process to harvest the honey.”<br /> In 2009, Palilonis bought a home off Lindell Boulevard in Delray Beach and found bees had invaded the garage wall. An extractor from the PBC Beekeepers Association who removed the hive encouraged Palilonis to renew her childhood friendship with bees.<br /> Today, she keeps three hives, three smaller “starter hives” and volunteers as a mentor with the association.<br /> “It’s work,” she says, sweating behind her hood, veil and long-sleeved coat. “But I enjoy the social element, interacting with other beekeepers and introducing people to it.”<br /> Her hives yield about 20 pounds per hive a year, which she harvests through a strainer placed atop a 5-gallon bucket. The honey drips from the frame to the bucket, and she stores the remaining wax in her freezer, to be melted down someday.<br /> “I’ve bought a candle mold,” she says.<br /> She’d like more hives — a few more, anyway — but hesitates to name a number.<br /> “I’d have to think about that,” she says.<br /> It’s not for fear her neighbors might complain.<br /> “I give my neighbors honey,” she says.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /> • • •</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><br /> The first time Colleen Paul-Hus and her children harvested the hive, they came away with about 3 pounds of honey, which gave them seven Mason jars full and a huge sense of sweet satisfaction.<br /> “It’s like getting your first egg from a chicken,” she says.<br /> And that’s why people want to keep bees.<br /> The stinger stings. But the honey’s sweet. <br /> <br /> <em>For more information, contact the Palm Beach County Beekeepers Association at 206-4483 or visit <a href="http://www.palmbeachbeekeepers.com">www.palmbeachbeekeepers.com</a>.</em></p></div>Gulf Stream: O’Boyle, town hit dead end on settlement talkshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/gulf-stream-o-boyle-town-hit-dead-end-on-settlement-talks2017-08-02T14:17:13.000Z2017-08-02T14:17:13.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong><br /> <br />The legal battle between Gulf Stream and town resident Martin O’Boyle dragged on in July as O’Boyle conducted a 90-minute deposition in his home and his son filed a motion seeking a “6-foot pile” of documents in a New Jersey lawyer’s office.<br /> Jonathan O’Boyle filed a notice July 19 of his intention to subpoena Camden, N.J., lawyer David Sufrin to get copies of “any and all” documents between Sufrin and Robert Sweetapple, Gulf Stream’s outside counsel handling public records disputes.<br />Sweetwater said talks with O’Boyle were at an impasse.<br />“Settlement negotiations have broken down, but mediation is required pretrial so let’s see if we can emulate the O’Hare settlement,” Sweetwater said, referring to the cease-fire reached with town resident Chris O’Hare in June.<br /> The documents Jonathan O’Boyle seeks include all documents “in the ‘6-foot pile’ that are referred to in the email of Dec. 8, 2014,” that Sufrin sent Sweetapple. The email was not part of the motion.<br /> Jeffrey Hochman, another outside attorney for Gulf Stream, reacted quickly, filing a motion objecting to the subpoena July 20. <br /> Meanwhile, Martin O’Boyle personally deposed former Vice Mayor Robert Ganger in connection with his slander complaint against Sweetapple and Mayor Scott Morgan. Ganger said he asked that the deposition be conducted in Gulf Stream so he would not have to travel to O’Boyle’s office in Deerfield Beach.<br /> “I went over to his house thinking I’d be out in 15 minutes,” Ganger said.<br /> Instead, the session lasted 1½ hours, with O’Boyle shooting questions rapid-fire, said Ganger, adding that he really knows nothing about the case.<br /> The burst of legal activity comes after O’Boyle urged town commissioners in April to settle all litigation. He took out a full-page ad in The Coastal Star in March saying the same thing.<br /> O’Boyle and Sufrin have tangled before. In 2008 and 2009 in Longport, N.J., where O’Boyle also has a home, he sued a former planning and zoning board member and two other residents.<br /> Sufrin, who represented all three defendants, suggested to Longport’s municipal attorney that they cooperate in the defense. Sufrin prepared a joint strategy memorandum and a collection of documents on CDs and sent them to the municipal attorney.<br /> O’Boyle filed a public records request; Sufrin argued that the documents were attorney work product and not subject to public records law. <br /> The New Jersey State Bar Association and the New Jersey Supreme Court agreed. “Here, the plaintiff-petitioner has requested access to items that, on their face and in the most obvious, explicit fashion, fit squarely within the applicable case law and court rules that bar release,” the bar association said.<br /> In Gulf Stream, O’Boyle and O’Hare filed more than 2,000 requests for public records and dozens of lawsuits starting in late 2013. The town said they filed wide-ranging requests in hopes that Gulf Stream could not respond in a timely way and thus generate litigation and demands for attorney’s fees</p></div>Gulf Stream: Commission picks tax rate 1 cent under rollbackhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/gulf-stream-commission-picks-tax-rate-1-cent-under-rollback2017-08-02T14:00:00.000Z2017-08-02T14:00:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong><br /> <br /> Buoyed by its recent settlement of all public records litigation by resident Chris O’Hare, the town plans to cut its legal budget for the coming fiscal year by 30 percent.<br /> Gulf Stream will set aside $400,000 for outside legal expenses, down from an expected $571,000, Town Manager Greg Dunham said.<br /> Cash reserves will top $2.6 million on Oct. 1, he said, continuing a recovery after the battle over public records requests drained the fund four years ago to $752,000. That led Dunham to recommend a property tax rate of $4.36 per $1,000, more than a penny under the rollback rate (the number that would generate the same revenue as in the current year). Town commissioners unanimously agreed. Dunham’s budget “looks reasoned and appropriate,” Mayor Scott Morgan said.<br /> A week later, commissioners awarded a $224,900 contract to build the 696-square-foot west addition to Town Hall. Republic Construction Corp. of Delray Beach submitted the winning bid and said the work would be finished in six months.<br /> Highlights of Dunham’s budget included $20,000 for a proposed second phase of a barrier island fire study, $235,000 for paving and striping roads, another $235,000 to upgrade storm drains and $211,000 for smart water meters.<br /> Town employees will receive 3 percent raises. Dunham also wants $30,000 for a long-range capital improvements plan.<br /> Commissioners will discuss the budget again Aug. 11.</p></div>Hands-on learning experiencehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/hands-on-learning-experience2016-11-02T14:17:03.000Z2016-11-02T14:17:03.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960687270,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960687270,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960687270?profile=original" /></a><em>Eighth-grader Jack Liebowitz (center, in black) tamps the ground where supports for the new playground would go.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960686884,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960686884,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960686884?profile=original" /></a></em><em>David Knobel (left) and Head of School Joe Zaluski do cutting for playground equipment</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>at the Gulf Stream School. Knobel’s son Spencer goes to third grade at the school.</em><br /><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960687699,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960687699,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960687699?profile=original" /></a><em>Seventh-grader Kiki Kosinski paints a piece of equipment for the playground.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960687498,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960687498,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960687498?profile=original" /></a><em>Cynthia Rivenson adds to the mosaic wall mural on the new playground. Her children Ethan and Ava attend the school.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Photos by Taylor Jones and</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star</strong><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;" class="font-size-6">Gulf Stream School students, parents and teachers</span> <br /><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;" class="font-size-6">team up to rebuild their playground</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-family:'times new roman', times;" class="font-size-2"><strong>By Ron Hayes</strong><br /><br /> Shortly after 5 p.m. on Oct. 21, Norma Dagher stood at the bow of a pirate ship, smiling down at the eager crowd of mothers and fathers, sons and daughters gathered below.<br /> “We did it!” she called, and cheers rose from the grounds of the Gulf Stream School.<br /> “This is a beautiful symbol of love for our kids, and future families will hear the story of how it was built.”<br /> The pirate ship, the treehouse, the surf shack, the slides, the swings and the monkey bars —their story began in April 2015, when the money raised at that year’s auction was dedicated to replacing the school’s aging playground.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-family:'times new roman', times;" class="font-size-2"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960687887,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960687887,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960687887?profile=original" /></a><em>Students break through a paper chain to get to the playground during the dedication.</em></span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-family:'times new roman', times;" class="font-size-2"><br /> Dagher and her colleagues on the playground committee, Chiara Clark, Stephanie Kahlert and Debra Ghostine, got in touch with Leathers & Associates, a Jupiter design firm that brings its clients into the process by overseeing volunteers during their playgrounds’ creation, from the first renderings to the last nail.<br /> In October 2015, all the school’s students drew pictures of what they wanted their new playground to look like.<br /> In January 2016, the drawings were placed on display and a bingo night held for parents and teachers to admire, marvel and occasionally frown at the students’ expansive visions.<br /> Then representatives from the design firm visited every class to review the suggestions and create a workable rendering.<br /> Alas, what some of the children envisioned did not always prove viable.<br /> “I wanted a zip line all the way from the tree to the beach,” said Alicia Grillo, 9, a third-grader from Gulf Stream. “And a trampoline.”<br /> She was not alone. The zip line was a popular idea, but safety concerns and state laws prevailed. The prospect of third-graders dangling on a wire over South Ocean Boulevard did not make the cut.<br /> “We wanted a treehouse in the big tree,” recalled Julie Moquin, 13, an eighth-grader. “We got it, but it’s on the ground. I guess it was probably too dangerous.”<br /> Eighth-grader Jack Liebowitz, 14, wanted a rocket ship. He got a pirate ship.<br /> “But any type of ship is cool,” he decided. “Anything to climb around on.”<br /> Together the children, the parents, the teachers and the design firm made a plan. Their playground would have a seascape theme, born of the school’s proximity to the ocean and its mascot, a stingray. It would have a pirate ship with a slide at the stern, a treehouse lacking only a tree, swings for both the pre-K and upper-school students, a surf shack for the youngest students and accommodations for students with disabilities.<br /> And so, on Oct. 11, they set to work, guided by design firm President Marc Leathers. Teachers and parents, students, alumni and members of the board of trustees showed up in work clothes, broke a sweat and began building a playground.<br /> “I helped make the wall,” said Max Martin, a second-grader from Delray Beach. “I’m only 8 and you had to be 10 to build.”<br /> Facing the swings from the side of the school’s pre-K and kindergarten buildings, the wall is a large, colorful mosaic of underwater beauty, with ceramic seahorses, crabs and stingrays swimming in a bright blue sea, all cookie-cuttered, baked and cemented by the 3- to 5-year-olds.<br /> Squatting before the wall, Sally Zaluski polished the tiles while not far away her husband, Joe Zaluski, the head of school, dug holes, cut roots and helped install the surf shack.<br /> “It’s a delightful opportunity to get out of my office and get my hands dirty,” Joe Zaluski said. “Nothing compares to a community effort, and this entire project is about the children.”<br /> And that is how the Zaluskis spent Oct. 13, their 37th wedding anniversary.<br /> Gena Gustin’s daughter, Olivia, is a pre-K student.<br /> “I’ve been volunteering since 12:30 yesterday afternoon and I still have all my fingers and toes,” the Boynton Beach mother said with a mix of pride and mild astonishment. “But the children are learning that things don’t magically appear. It takes an effort, and my daughter will see that Mom helped build what’s she playing on.”<br /> Devon Coughlan, a 1982 graduate and president of the board of trustees, was out there, along with new parents like Brian Cavanaugh, whose daughter Ciara just entered the seventh grade after a recent move from New Jersey.<br /> By Oct. 16, a huge pile of mulch had appeared in the school’s parking lot, and by Oct. 21 it was scattered around the playground, which was now ready to open.<br /> The final touch came about 1 a.m. on the 21st, when the donor wall was completed, a rectangle of 216 tiles adorned with the handprints of 99 students in the shape of a heart.<br /> “Helping Hands, Helping Hearts,” it reads. “Together We Are One Playground.”<br /> That afternoon, those students and their parents gathered to hear Norma Dagher stand atop the 17-foot- tall pirate ship and declare the playground open.<br /> “We did it,” she reminded them. “And now … let’s play!”</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-family:'times new roman', times;" class="font-size-2"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960688075,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960688075,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960688075?profile=original" /></a><em>Even the teeter-totter has a waiting line during the dedication celebration.</em> <br /></span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-family:'times new roman', times;" class="font-size-2"><br /> A paper chain blocking the gate was cut and dozens of children rushed through to scramble up the treehouse, slide down the pirate ship, dangle from the monkey bars, swing the swings and make real the playground they had once only imagined.<br /></span></p></div>Numerous elected officials go unchallengedhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/numerous-elected-officials-go-unchallenged2012-03-01T16:52:32.000Z2012-03-01T16:52:32.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p>By Tim O’Meilia<br /> <br />As the presidential election season rumbles on elsewhere, in south Palm Beach County coastal towns, there’s no place more comforting for an incumbent than a high-backed chair behind the council dais.<br /> Of the 19 seats up for election this spring in nine coastal towns, 11 sitting elected officials will remain seated for another term without so much as a write-in challenge. In Manalapan, newcomer John J. Murphy — not even an incumbent — won a commission seat just by filing papers.<br /> Voters in Ocean Ridge and Delray Beach will be able to pick and choose among 9 candidates to seat four representatives March 13. Profiles of the candidates in those contested races can be found elsewhere in this edition of The Coastal Star.<br /> Voters in five other towns will stay home. <br />A quick look at who got a free pass:</p>
<p><br /><strong>Lantana</strong><br /> Mayor David Stewart, one of the longest-serving mayors in Palm Beach County, was unopposed for a fifth three-year term.</p>
<p><br /><strong>South Palm Beach</strong><br /> Stella Jordan returns for a second two-year term and former Councilman Robert Gottlieb, who was recently appointed to fill the vacancy of Susan Lillybeck, gets a full term.</p>
<p><br /><strong>Manalapan</strong><br /> Murphy wasn’t the only candidate without an opponent. Louis DeStefano got another two years in a seat representing oceanfront residents. Howard Roder is back as a Point Manalapan commissioner. Both earned their way by defeating former commissioners in 2010. <br />Murphy, an elected county committeeman in New Jersey for 20 years, succeeds Robert Evans in the at-large Seat 2 post. Evans did not seek re-election after serving four years.</p>
<p><br /><strong>Briny Breezes</strong> <br /> As is pro forma in this town that rarely stages an election, Council President Sharon Kendrigan (five years) and Aldermen Nancy Buczon (four years) return with relative newcomer Pete Fingerhut for two more years. Roger Bennett remains the non-voting mayor for his sixth year. </p>
<p><br /><strong>Gulf Stream</strong><br /> Garrett Dering was appointed several months ago to the seat held by Chris Wheeler, who resigned. Dering now will serve the remaining two years of Wheeler’s term because no one filed against him. </p></div>