WESTLAKE TO UPDATE CITY’S COMP PLAN SEE STORY, PAGE 4
WELLINGTON TO CELEBRATE EARTH DAY SEE STORY, PAGE 7
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Experts Update Royal Palm Beach Council On Education Initiatives
Volume 46, Number 7 April 4 - April 17, 2025
Serving Palms West Since 1980
KEVIN’S ROCKSTARS LIP SYNC EVENT
It was “education night” at the Royal Palm Beach Village Council meeting on Thursday, March 20, during an evening that started with a celebration. All five members of the council took the oath of office to officially begin their new council terms. Page 3
Greater Wellington Chamber Hosts Annual Installation Luncheon
The Greater Wellington Chamber of Commerce held its annual officer installation luncheon on Wednesday, March 19 at the Wellington International showgrounds. Chamber members enjoyed a beautiful afternoon of networking, delicious food and world-class show jumping. The new board was sworn in by County Commissioner Sara Baxter. Page 8
Our Community Cares Hosts Wine-Tasting Fundraiser In Wellington
On Thursday, March 20, Our Community Cares hosted a wine-tasting fundraiser at the Wellington home of Bonnie Sansone. Our Community Cares is a nonprofit organization created to help seniors age in their homes through companionship and non-medical assistance. At this event, attendees enjoyed food, a wine tasting, fellowship and a raffle, while learning more about the organization. Page 16
Wellington, Seminole Ridge Flag Football Teams Eye Postseason
Flag football powerhouses Wellington High School and Seminole Ridge High School are in the middle of strong seasons, looking ahead to the looming postseason. Page 21 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 18 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 7 SPORTS..........................21 - 24 PEOPLE................................. 25 SCHOOLS.............................. 26 BUSINESS............................. 27 COLUMNS............................. 28 CLASSIFIEDS................ 29 - 30 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
On Sunday, March 30, the Kevin Babington Foundation held its annual Kevin’s Rockstars Lip Sync Fundraiser. Babington, an Irish Olympian paralyzed in a show jumping accident, was in attendance and spoke about the mission of the foundation. Proceeds will help those who have been injured during equestrian jumping events. The crowd enjoyed a night of drinks, dinner and outstanding musical performances. Richard Goodall, the winner of 2024’s “America’s Got Talent” competition, headlined the evening. Shown above, Goodall (right) presents Babington (center) with a Journey album. Also shown are Foundation Chair Jeff Papows and Michael Cruciotti, founder of MAC Sports International, who was honored with the foundation’s Spirit Award. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 18 PHOTO BY FRANK KOESTER/TOWN-CRIER
Bill Relaxing New School Start Times Mandate Moving Through State Legislature
By Charles Elmore Town-Crier Staff Report School districts would have the flexibility to opt out of a 2023 state law mandating later start times for middle schools and high schools, under a bill gaining traction in Tallahassee and sponsored by freshman State Rep. Anne Gerwig (R-District 93), the former mayor of Wellington. Gerwig’s bill, HB 261, sailed through the State House’s Education & Employee Committee 18-0 on Wednesday, March 26. A day later, a similar State Senate version, SB 296, passed that chamber 38-0 and was sent to the lower chamber. It signals a likely off-ramp for school districts like Palm Beach County, where the scheduling mandates were causing considerable consternation and debate. “HB 773, in 2023, was a wellintentioned law backed by research showing that middle and high school students were not getting enough sleep,” Gerwig told the education panel at the committee meeting. The 2023 law requires that by 2026, all middle schools must begin no earlier than 8 a.m. and all high schools must start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. Though few oppose better rest as a concept, it has created concerns about how to reset the scheduling matrix in Palm Beach County, where the most common start time for high schools now is 7:30 a.m. Public meetings at sites around the county, including one in Wellington, about how to conform to the mandate have exposed a complex Rubik’s Cube of factors to be
sorted out, from possibly making elementary school students start their travel day in the dark to upsetting schedules for after-school activities and more. Gerwig’s bill would allow school districts to be in compliance with the state law by submitting a report to the Florida Department of Education by June 1, 2026. The report would outline, among other things, any unforeseen financial impacts or “unintended consequences” the later start times could create. She noted that the 2023 law could jeopardize dual-enrollment programs that let high school students take college-level courses or participate in work training, for example. “We want to do what’s best for all of our students,” Gerwig said. Chris Doolin, representing the Small School District Council Consortium, said his group advocates for 36 school districts and supports the bill. “It’s right at the middle ground and the sweet spot,” he said. Doolin said that the change does not dismiss the issues of sleep and health, but instead requires school districts to show what public meetings they have held and what other work they have done, and then submit a report. He said school districts that want to implement the later start times can still do so, while giving flexibility to others. About 12 districts in his group have signaled they want the later start times, Doolin said. In debate, State Rep. John Paul Temple (R-District 52) of Sumter said he wondered if the bill lets districts sidestep the basic issue of
whether students come to school sufficiently rested. “My concern is given too much leeway, districts will revert to what is easiest and most convenient,” Temple said. Some schools around the state start as early at 7 a.m., he noted. That often means students have to rise an hour before that to allow for bus travel, for instance. Gainesville’s State Rep. Yvonne Hinson (D-District 21) said she supported the original later-times bill but is supporting this measure now. “It’s a conundrum,” she said, as the desire to see students get more sleep runs into a complicated process of balancing a district’s bus schedules, after-school activities, parents’ timetables and more. Districts can buy more buses, but a big issue in Palm Beach County turns out to be securing enough drivers who can afford to live there, Gerwig noted. In an online statement on why she filed the bill, Gerwig said, “The mandated start times for middle and high schools creates an undue burden on local school districts. While I believe our students benefit from more sleep, the delayed start times will not accomplish that. Students that participate in after-school activities, including dual enrollment, will suffer.” This leads to an array of unintended consequences, Gerwig noted. “Students who are able to participate in internships will be affected, along with students who work to contribute to their households,” she said. “Sports teams do not always have access to lighted See SCHOOL TIMES, page 7
Good Cheer Is A Key Element Of The New Saddle View Elementary School Near Arden
By Louis Hillary Park Town-Crier Staff Report Dwan Moore-Ross has been a cheerleader of sorts everywhere she has been, whether kicking up her heals in aqua and orange for the Miami Dolphins or kicking off a new school for the Palm Beach County School District. The latest locale to get an infusion of Ross’ infectious energy is the newly named Saddle View Elementary School going up just outside of the Arden neighborhood near 20-Mile Bend. It’s expected to welcome more than 600 students beginning Aug. 11. “This is going to be absolutely marvelous,” School Board Vice Chair Marcia Andrews said during the planning process. “The teachers and principal will be the best and the brightest.” That principal is Ross, who comes to the job with high praise. “She is super nice and a real go-getter who wants the school to be great,” said Mariella Thomas, an Arden parent who was on the school-naming committee formed by the principal. “She’s very approachable.” The fact that Ross, a longtime Royal Palm Beach resident, is a former Dolphins cheerleader speaks to the vitality she brings to her work, Andrews said recently. “You have to have that kind of enthusiasm... and give that kind of energy to the parents [at a new school],” she said. “Dwan Ross
Principal Dwan Moore-Ross is an outstanding individual. She knows how to open a school.” And Ross will have quite a school to open. Saddle View, the name chosen from 17 offered by a committee of parents and others, is 95,900 square feet over three stories on 15.6 acres. Its construction cost is approximately $45 million. It sits next to the 1,209-acre Arden development, which began in 2017 and will eventually have 2,000 homes. The community is centered around a five-acre farm. The school’s design is meant to capture Arden’s “agrihood” nature, including an indoor-outdoor agriculture lab with hydroponic gardens, planting beds and rainwater cisterns. “It’s going to be gorgeous,” See SADDLE VIEW, page 4
INAUGURAL GALBANI FESTA ITALIANA
The first-ever Galbani Festa Italiana of Wellington was held Saturday, March 29 and Sunday, March 30 at the Wellington Amphitheater. The fun family event featured live music all day, cooking demonstrations, wine samples, festival rides and lots of Italian food. Shown here are event organizers Jerry Somma and Thomas Cerrito. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY FRANK KOESTER/TOWN-CRIER
Former Child Star Making Local Faces Beautiful
Former child star turned makeup artist Haley Blythe does birthday makeup on client Fabiola Bonny.
PHOTO BY DENIS EIRIKIS/TOWN-CRIER
By Denis Eirikis Town-Crier Staff Report A Royal Palm Beach native who worked in Hollywood as a child star, has grown up to become one of the most successful professional makeup artists in the western communities. Nine-year-old Haley Blythe was one of the shyest students at Royal Palm Beach Elementary School when auditions were announced for a “Sesame Street” production that involved singing and dancing. “I am not sure what came over me,” Haley recalled. “I was the world’s shyest, most quiet child. But something in me made me go try out and, apparently, the producers liked what they saw, because I was gainfully employed as a Hollywood model and actor for the next five years.” The audition led to a relationship with a talent agency, and the offers just started coming in. “This was back at a time when I was usually the only person of
color on set, and even though I was so young, I still recognized that the hair and makeup people were not used to working on people with Afro hair styles or complexions like mine,” Haley said. She shot Disney features, starred in commercials and appeared on the TV sitcom “All of Us.” She employed her mother as an agent as she commuted between Hollywood and her home in the Madison Green neighborhood of Royal Palm Beach. “I had a wonderful time in Hollywood,” Haley said. “I call my time as an actor my ‘Hanna Montana lifestyle.’ I got to work with people like Will Smith, and once his wife Jada Pinkett Smith gave me a cupcake.” Her mother, Marcia Blythe, took a very hands-on approach. “My job was to watch out for her and make sure she had fun,” Marcia said. “I was very careful, every step of the way, to empower Haley and let her know that Hol-
lywood was her decision and her dream, and we would support her in that.” Young Haley had the final word on which auditions and roles she would play. “I let Haley lead the way,” Marcia said. “I completely trusted her gut. We only took jobs she wanted.” A self-learner who religiously frequented YouTube, by the age of 10, Haley’s makeup skills had started to exceed those of the production set makeup artists. “By the age of 11, I was doing makeup for all the girls of color in whatever production I was in,” she said. “By the age of 14, I started tiring of the Hollywood commute and just wanted to go back to being a high school girl.” Her mother was completely OK with the early retirement. “I trusted her even as a young girl to know what she wanted out of life,” Marcia said. So, while Haley’s life in front See HALEY, page 4