ITID PREPARES REFERENDUM ON WATER SEE STORY, PAGE 4
RPB ZONERS: STRICTER ‘PILL MILL’ RULES SEE STORY, PAGE 7
THE
TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
Your Community Newspaper
Volume 31, Number 13 March 26 - April 1, 2010
Gerwig Elected To Wellington Council
INSIDE
RPB’s David Lodwick Looks Forward To Life As A Private Citizen
After 12 years as mayor of Royal Palm Beach, private citizen David Lodwick sat down with the Town-Crier to reflect on the next stage of his life. Page 3
Wellington’s Samantha Elphick Releases Her Latest Book, ‘UNtamed’
Wellington author Samantha Elphick has released UNtamed, a sequel to UNbridled, and the second book in her Trilogy of Youth. It centers on Danny Salvaggio, who is fighting forest fires in the mountains of Montana and Wyoming, all while fighting his own sexuality. Page 7
Wellington Seniors Club Hosts A Night With Elvis
The Wellington Seniors Club presented “A Night With Elvis” on Sunday, March 21 at the Wellington Community Center. Page 10
Wellington Breast Cancer Support Group Hosts Pink Ribbon Gala
The breast cancer support group Your Bosom Buddies II hosted its fourth annual Pink Ribbon Gala the night of Saturday, March 20 at the Binks Forest Golf Club. Page 11
Opinion Rev. Mangrum Will Be Remembered For His Service To Wellington
The Rev. John Mangrum, who died March 18, was known as “the Soul of Wellington,” a name he earned for his efforts to help breathe life into the community during its formative years. From his role as founder of St. David’s-in-the-Pines Episcopal Church to Acme Improvement District supervisor and Town-Crier columnist, he will be greatly missed. Page 4
DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS ............................. 2 - 15 OPINION ................................ 4 CRIME NEWS ........................ 6 SCHOOLS ..................... 16 - 17 PEOPLE ........................ 18 - 19 COLUMNS .................... 27 - 28 DINING ......................... 32 - 34 BUSINESS ................... 35 - 39 SPORTS ....................... 41 - 44 CALENDAR ................... 46 - 48 CLASSIFIEDS ............... 49 - 55 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
Serving Palms West Since 1980
Big Check — Representatives of the Boys & Girls Club of Wellington accept a check for $100,000 from Mark & Katherine Bellissimo and representatives of the FTI Great Charity Challenge. IMAGE COURTESY RANDI MUSTER/MUSTPHOTO INC.
Local Groups Big Winners At Great Charity Challenge By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report The Boys & Girls Club of Wellington and the Wellington Community Foundation were among the big winners on Saturday, March 20 when 24 charities received a portion of more than $500,000 in prize money award-
ed during the inaugural FTI Great Charity Challenge at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. “The outstanding level of enthusiasm from all the participants — riders, sponsors and the charities — was fantastic,” Equestrian Sport Productions CEO Mark Bellissimo said. “I’m confident it will become the premier event in Wellington.” Taking home first place and $150,000 was the Step By Step Foundation. Second place went to the Boys & Girls Club of Wellington, which received $125,000 after an extra donation from Edward Kochetova. Third place went to the Wellington Community Foundation, which received $50,000. The remaining charities split the pot, with each guaranteed at least $10,000. The event was part of the 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival’s Saturday Night Lights series and featured a three-person relay race with each of the 24 Dana Brooks and Samuel Wooley, teams assigned to a local dressed as a pirate, cheer on YMCA charity. Olympic and world-class rider Beezie Madden. PHOTO BY LAUREN MIRÓ/TOWN-CRIER riders competed on teams
with amateur riders to ride the fastest time over a show-jumping course. Riding for the Step By Step Foundation were Olympian Margie Engle with Christina Kelly and Jennifer Waxman. The team of Juan and Luis Larrazabala, anchored by Olympian Pablo Barnes, represented the Boys & Girls Club of Wellington. Hallie Buttenwieser, Olivia Fry Weeks and Olympian Rodrigo Pessoa represented the Wellington Community Foundation. Sponsors donated $15,000 to sponsor a team and a charity, and Equestrian Sport Productions donated all ticket proceeds for a total of $560,000 given away that night. “We’re thrilled, obviously,” said Mary O’Connor, president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County. “We were jumping up and down with excitement.” The timing couldn’t have been better for the club, which has just been approved to build a facility near Wellington’s old water treatment plant on Wellington Trace. “We’re putting these funds toward our capital campaign,” she said. “The money will certainly help us a lot. On behalf of the Boys See CHARITY, page 7
Rev. John Mangrum, ‘The Soul Of Wellington,’ Dies At Age 87 By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Rev. John Mangrum, a Wellington pioneer and founder of St. David’s-in-the-Pines Episcopal Church, died Thursday, March 18. He was 87. Mangrum, who wrote the longrunning “Johnny the Stroller” column in the Town-Crier and was also a member of the Acme Improvement District Board of Supervisors, moved to a West Boca retirement community in the 1990s. “Father Mangrum was truly the soul of Wellington,” said former Wellington Mayor Kathy Foster, who was an Acme Improvement District supervisor with Mangrum in the 1980s. Foster noted that she and Mangrum were among the first publicly elected supervisors of the Acme Improvement District, which was Wellington’s pre-incorporation government. Mangrum first took a seat on the Acme board in 1981, as a developer-appointed representative of the growing residential population.
In 1989, the state ordered Acme to open three of the five seats for public election, Foster recalled. Mangrum and Foster, along with attorney Michael McDonough, won the seats. Mangrum bridged the gap from spiritual leader to political leader, having an impact on everyone he met, Foster said. “His tremendous sense of humor, his sense of family and community, and his sense of giving back were really inspirational to everyone,” she said. Known as the “priest of polo,” Foster said Mangrum attended polo matches at Palm Beach Polo & Country Club from its opening in 1979 to the day that he retired to Boca Raton. “I don’t think he ever missed a polo match,” Foster said. “He always gave the invocation with appropriate comments for the day’s events, for the celebrities attending, as well as a plug for Wellington.” Mangrum was also the founder of a western communities ecumenical group that brought together most of the area’s religious leaders, Foster said. “They shared churches, facili-
By Lauren Miró and Carol Porter Town-Crier Staff Report Anne Gerwig claimed a seat on the Wellington Village Council with a runoff election victory Tuesday, March 23. Gerwig, a longtime Wellington community activist, defeated retired Wellington employee Ernie Zimmerman. More than 3,000 voters returned to the polls two weeks after an election that saw Mayor Darell Bowen win another term. In the first round of balloting March 9, Gerwig was the top vote getter in a three-way race, but did not get more than 50 percent of the vote, setting up Tuesday’s runoff with Zimmerman. In the runoff, Gerwig took 1,707 votes (55.7 percent) to Zimmerman’s 1,356 votes (44.3 percent). After the polls closed, Gerwig
supporters gathered at the Gypsy’s Horse to await poll results. Early returns showed Gerwig ahead on absentee ballots, and the candidate was cautiously optimistic. Around 9:30 p.m., the results came in giving Gerwig a hardwon victory. As everyone cheered, Gerwig began hugging family members and supporters, first her husband Alan, then others who had helped her walk Wellington’s neighborhoods for weeks. “I must have knocked on a thousand doors,” Gerwig said. “We did Sugar Pond. We did Olympia. We did Grand Isles. We did all of them. That’s what you need to do to talk to potential voters. We did a lot of that.” Gerwig said she was thrilled with her support network, saying that she could not have accomplished her victory without them. “Everyone worked on this,” she See GERWIG, page 20
Councilwoman-elect Anne Gerwig (center) celebrates Tuesday night with supporters Shauna Hostetler and Ruth Kurtz. PHOTO BY CAROL PORTER/TOWN-CRIER
SR 7’s Extension To 60th Will Start Soon By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Palm Beach County’s plans for State Road 7’s extension from Persimmon Blvd. to 60th Street North were reviewed Thursday, March 18 by the Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors. The extension will connect 60th Street North to 110th Avenue North with a roundabout similar to connections to Persimmon and Orange Grove boulevards, Dis-
trict Engineer Keith Jackson said. Work on the extension could begin in three to four months. The county has purchased a right-of-way where a line of melaleuca trees stand, moving the right-of-way away from homes on 60th Street North. “That existing dirt road will eventually become a flat swale,” Jackson said. A sidewalk will run along the south side of the road. Driveways to the homes will be connected to See 60TH STREET, page 4
ART & MUSIC FESTIVAL
Rev. John Mangrum ties. They shared services,” she said. “If one denomination of a church or synagogue needed a larger facility for special services, John made sure that whoever had a facility, shared it with the others. He was truly the ecumenical leader of the community. He put all the faiths together. He welcomed every new religious leader who came to the community. He set the tone of an international See MANGRUM, page 20
The inaugural Royal Palm Art & Music Festival took place Saturday and Sunday, March 20-21 in Royal Palm Beach, produced by the Palms West Chamber of Commerce. Shown here is Wellington artist Norm Gitzen, who won the Best of Show award in the art show. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 22 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
Mattioli Takes Oath As RPB Mayor, Valuntas Joins Council
Royal Palm Beach Mayor Matty Mattioli takes the oath of office. PHOTO BY LAUREN MIRÓ/TOWN-CRIER
By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report Royal Palm Beach Mayor Matty Mattioli took the oath of office at the Royal Palm Beach Village Council’s organizational meeting on Thursday, March 18, marking the village’s first mayoral transition since 1998. Also taking the oath were new Councilman Richard Valuntas, who joined the council in Mattioli’s old seat, and returning Councilman David Swift, who was sworn in for a new two-year term. Swift won his seat uncontested. Valuntas defeated challenger Tinu Peña in the March 9 election. Mattioli defeated former village employee Steve Petrone. Councilwoman Martha Webster was tapped as the new vice mayor. Diane DiSanto returns as
village clerk, and Stanley Hochman remains village treasurer. Councilman Fred Pinto was appointed council liaison officer for the Education Advisory Board, Mattioli was reappointed as liaison to the Planning & Zoning Commission, and Valuntas will take over as liaison to the Recreation Advisory Board. Until recently, Valuntas chaired the Recreation Advisory Board. Additionally, Mattioli returned as liaison to the Palms West Chamber of Commerce and Webster remained the village’s delegate to the Palm Beach County League of Cities. Webster also was appointed to the Western Communities Council. In other business, the council unanimously approved a $500,000 grant from the Palm
Beach Metropolitan Planning Organization for new bike paths, inline draining and curbing along La Mancha Avenue. The bike paths will connect H.L. Johnson Elementary School to Todd A. Robiner Park on Las Palmas Avenue in La Mancha. The village had applied for the grant a few years ago but found it overlapped with federal stimulus funding for Royal Palm Beach Blvd. improvements, Assistant Village Manager Ray Liggins said. “We thought we were going to lose the grant altogether because of the overlap,” he said. “Obviously we were going to take the stimulus funding of $2.4 million over this half a million dollars.” Instead, the village was able to See RPB GRANT, page 20