COUNTY MINING MORATORIUM ADVANCES SEE STORY, PAGE 3
METEOROLOGIST VISITS CHAMBER LUNCH SEE STORY, PAGE 7
THE
TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
Your Community Newspaper
Volume 31, Number 27 July 2 - July 8, 2010
INSIDE Four Challengers Take Aim At Longtime School Board Member Graham
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL AT LOCAL CHURCH
Karen Brill and Steven Ledewitz of Boynton Beach, and Tom Whatley and John Adams of Lake Worth, have come forward to challenge 25-year Palm Beach County School Board District 3 incumbent Bill Graham. Page 3
Children at Wellington Presbyterian Church set sail on a “High Seas Expedition” during a nautical-themed vacation bible school held the week of June 21-25. Nearly 200 children from kindergarten through fifth grade attended. Shown here, Cathe Smythe and Eden Udell root for the girls team during a bible trivia game, one of the week’s many fun events. STORY & PHOTOS, PAGE 2
Palms West Radio Club Prepares For Hurricane Season With Field Day
With the 2010 hurricane season well underway, the Palms West Amateur Radio Club hosted its annual field day on Saturday, June 26 at the Micanopy Pavilion at Okeeheelee Park. Page 7
All Paws Animal Clinic Hosts Canine Cancer Foundation Fundraiser
All Paws Animal Clinic in Royal Palm Beach held a fundraiser for the National Canine Cancer Foundation on Saturday, June 26. Page 9
Republic Services Opens ‘Green’ Building
Community and business leaders gathered Thursday, June 24 for the grand opening of the new Palm Beach County offices and fleet maintenance facility of Republic Services of Palm Beach, located at 7389 Seventh Place North, adjacent to Southern Blvd. near Florida’s Turnpike. Page 11
Opinion Have A Safe, Courteous And Fun Fourth Of July
It should go without saying that fireworks are not toys. One mistake can cause personal injury or property damage, among other problems, such as spooked horses. For these reasons, we recommend leaving the big stuff to the professionals. Page 4
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Area High Schools Up As FCAT Scores Are (Finally!) Released By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report Local high schools fared well on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) this year. A database error caused a delay in the release of the scores by Pearson PLC, the state’s Londonbased testing contractor, the state Department of Education said. Typically, scores are released before the end of the school year, but this year’s results were not released until Tuesday, June 29. The company has a four-year, $254 million contract with the state and could be fined up to $25 million for the delay. Individual test scores are expected to arrive at the district office by July 8 and will then be mailed to parents at the company’s expense. The state saw an overall boost in writing scores, which have been attributed to changes in prompts and scoring. Before 2010, two raters scored the essays and the scores were averaged, but it was changed to just one rater this year, according to DOE officials. Before, students could receive half of a point, but this year no halfpoint scores were possible. Additionally, this year students in the same grade wrote an essay using the same mode of writing — persuasive, narrative or expos-
itory — compared to previous years in which two modes of writing were used with half the students responding to each one. Royal Palm Beach High School, which has come under controversy for its declining grades, saw improvement in math, science and writing, and maintained the same level in reading. Eighty-five percent of 10thgrade students passed the math portion of the test, compared with 78 percent in 2009. Reading scores remained static at 53 percent passing both years, but the mean writing score improved from a 4.0 on a 6.0 scale to a 4.1. Scores in science, taken by 11th graders, improved from 30 percent of students receiving a score of 3, 4 or 5 in 2009 to 33 percent. Incoming RPBHS Principal Jesus Armas said that although the scores seemed favorable, it was too early to predict whether the school’s grade would improve as well. “Everything looks good,” he said. “But it’s a little early. The students haven’t gotten their individual scores back yet. There’s a lot more that goes in to grading a school, so we’ll just have to wait and see.” Scores at Wellington High School remained about the same or slightly lower than in 2009.
Math scores remained the same with 93 percent passing. Reading scores fell slightly, with 77 percent passing this year compared with 79 percent in 2009. The mean writing score also fell from a 4.2 last year to 4.1. However, science scores rose from 53 to 58 percent this year. Palm Beach Central High School improved its scores in each category. Ninety-two percent of students passed math, compared with 86 percent in 2009. Reading scores rose from 62 to 74 percent, and the mean writing score rose from a 4.0 to a 4.2. Additionally, science scores rose from 45 to 51 percent of students achieving a 3 or better. Seminole Ridge High School saw elevated scores in all categories except science, in which 46 percent of students achieved a 3 or better, compared with 48 percent in 2009. Ninety-one percent of students passed the math portion of the test compared with 86 percent last year, and reading scores rose from 66 to 72 percent passing. Additionally, the mean score on the writing portion rose from 3.8 to a 4.1. Students will receive individual scores early this month, with school grades expected this summer.
Serving Palms West Since 1980
Tiny Improvement In 2010 Tax Figures By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Local municipalities came out slightly better than anticipated when Palm Beach County Property Appraiser Gary Nikolits released the 2010 taxable value figures on Wednesday, June 30. The numbers for local communities were somewhat better than the taxable value estimates released last month. Wellington’s real property value was down 12.35 percent from 2009, compared with 13.75 percent predicted in the preliminary estimate released June 1. The total real property value was set at $5.18 billion in the July 2010 tax roll, compared with the June 1 prediction of $5.09 billion. “That will probably be $90,000 or $100,000 more than we thought it was going to be,” Village Manager Paul Schofield told the TownCrier on Wednesday. “It will be a little bit of an adjustment to the budget, but not much. The budget that we’re proposing is about $75 million, which is down from last year’s $83 million. From last year, we’re still down about 13 percent. We’re still looking at about $12 million in ad valorem assessments versus $14 million last year.” Schofield said he anticipates another loss in assessed property value next year, primarily due to a continued loss in commercial property value as a result of more commercial foreclosures. Royal Palm Beach was down 13.23 percent in the July tax roll,
compared with the 13.68 percent predicted June 1. The total real property value is $1.78 billion, compared to a prediction of $1.77 billion last month. “It was a little bit positive and a little bit higher than we were originally told, not by much,” Village Manager Ray Liggins said. “The revenue has not been positive the past few years. It’s not positive this year. We again held the line on expenditures.” The change will not bring major revisions to the budget, Liggins said. “The bottom line is that our revenues are a couple of hundred thousand dollars less than they were the year before,” he said. “Our expenditures are a couple of hundred thousand dollars more. We’re going to make up the difference in reserves. You can’t maintain too many years of going into the reserves, or most people can’t. We’re a little fortunate there that we could, but that would not be our plan.” Liggins referred to a large reserve the village has from the sale of its water utility to the county. “We still have to look at ways of cutting costs and getting revenues and expenditures in line with each other,” he said. Loxahatchee Groves’ real property value was down 14.59 percent in the July 1 roll, compared with 14.82 predicted June 1. The total real property value was $188,472,645 in the July 1 announcement, compared to a June 1 prediction of $187,953,233.
Two Dems Battle For Right To Face Rooney By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report Wellington teacher Ed Tautiva and Palm City businessman Jim Horn are vying in the Democratic primary for Congressional District 16. The winner gets the chance to face incumbent Republican Tom Rooney in November. District 16 covers parts of the western communities and northern Palm Beach County, as well as large portions of the Treasure Coast, rural Central Florida and the Gulf coast. The district easily sent former Congressman Mark
Foley, a Republican, to Washington in each election until 2006. After Foley’s September 2006 resignation in disgrace, the district narrowly elected Democrat Tim Mahoney for one term. Plagued by his own scandal, Mahoney lost the 2008 election to Rooney. Tautiva, 45, came to the U.S. from Colombia when he was seven months old. He grew up in Boston, where his parents worked several jobs to support the family. He joined the Army National Guard, then graduated from SaSee DISTRICT 16, page 16
ROTARY INSTALLATION
Mark Pafford Faces Primary Challenge In Bid To Keep Seat By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Freshman State Rep. Mark Pafford (D-District 88) will face Wellington restaurant owner Ron Miranda in a Democratic primary on Tuesday, Aug. 24. Pafford, who ran unchallenged for his first term, said his campaign will not be much different than what he does normally. “I’m generally out and about as it is,” he told the Town-Crier. “If you’re not spending time with your constituents, there’s no other way to either understand really what the issues are or for them to gain trust that you’re doing the right job.” Some legislators allow their
staffs to handle many of the details, but Pafford said that while he has a strong staff, he remains hands-on. “I’m the one ultimately responsible,” he said. “The role is to be a public servant, and that’s what I really try to do.” Pafford said he passed two important pieces of legislation during the 2010 session. One was a law that removes the statute of limitations for sex-abuse victims, which allows a child under the age of 16 at the time of the abuse the ability to seek recourse as an adult later in life. “The average predator, by the time he is 70, will have abused over 100 kids,” Pafford said.
The bill was co-sponsored by representatives Adam Fetterman (D-District 81) and Chris Dorworth (R-District 34). Noting that Dorworth is a Republican, Pafford commented, “It shows you can work with people if you have the right attitude.” The other statute permits the use of special agents by state attorneys to investigate corruption and organized crime. The bill will create better coordination between law enforcement agencies such as the State Attorney’s Office and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. “This is a great little bill,” PafSee DISTRICT 88, page 4
The Wellington Rotary Club held its annual installation dinner on Friday, June 25 at the Binks Forest Golf Club. Shown here, District Gov. Louis Venuti places the Rotary pin on Juan Ortega’s lapel in honor of his appointment as the club’s new president. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY LAUREN MIRÓ/TOWN-CRIER
County Moves Toward Referendum On Ethics, Inspector By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Palm Beach County Commission approved the first reading of an ordinance Tuesday that will authorize a charter amendment referendum to write a code of ethics, commission on ethics and office of the inspector general into the county charter. The approval was unanimous, but not without discussion on the method of funding and whether other entities would have a say over future changes. Final approval of the referendum is set for 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 20. The county commission already
has approved a county ordinance establishing a code of ethics, commission on ethics and inspector general. The charter amendment would make the action more difficult to undo and offer municipalities and other governmental bodies the opportunity to join in. The action follows a string of indictments of public officials and business people in recent years for various violations of the public trust. New Inspector General Sharon Steckler, who began work Monday, was introduced at the meeting. Assistant County Attorney Leonard Berger said the amendment
would lend more permanence to the county office of the inspector general and the commission on ethics than just a county ordinance, which could be undone at will by a future county commission. He pointed out that if the referendum is approved, it can only be withdrawn through a subsequent referendum. “This is serious stuff,” Berger said. Another aspect of the referendum is that it would allow ethics regulations to apply to municipalities wherever a majority of voters approve the referendum. “That is a step toward a uniform system of ethics that was urged in [last year’s] grand jury report [on
government corruption],” Berger said, pointing out that the amendment was drafted with input from a number of organizations, including the Palm Beach County Ethics Initiative and the Palm Beach County League of Cities. “This will directly impact municipalities. They have played a major role in drafting this.” Berger said the most difficult portion of drafting the amendment was the language on funding, with drafters not wanting to set a formula in the charter that would require a voter referendum to change. The drafters agreed to language that the inspector general would
be funded at minimum in an amount equal to one-quarter of one percent of the contracts of the county and other governmental entities subject to the authority of the inspector general. The ordinance provides that the minimum one-quarter of one percent can be changed if 75 percent of the covered entities agree that a change in needed. The county commission can veto that decision by a supermajority vote. However, Berger said, no changes can be made that would result in the office not being sufficiently funded. Vice Chair Karen Marcus said See ETHICS, page 16