VB32963_ISSUE8_022516_OPT

500 gather at The Moorings to
support Habitat. P12
Brewery gets nod,
but issues remain. P8

Shores planning another
cell-tower workshop in March. P10

For breaking news visit

MY VERO PSC staff memo

BY RAY MCNULTY on electric issue
rebuffs Shores
Mike Livings, son of Billy,
battles diabolical disease BY LISA ZAHNER
Staff Writer
There's no way to know if A spectacular winter day brought record crowds out to Vero’s beaches this past Sunday. Monday, the weather was even nicer.
Mike Livings, who now looks Indian River Shores in Janu-
30 years older than his age, Half-buried hazards pose risk at Tracking Station ary asked the Florida Public
has accepted the cruel twist Service Commission for guid-
of fate that has robbed him of BY LISA ZAHNER Tracking Station beach in – pose a risk of serious injury ance on where to defend its
so many of his life's joys – or Staff Writer front of the Florida Tech Ma- to anyone wading or running rights under Florida’s consti-
if he's still determined to fight rine Lab. into the surf in that area. tution in its dispute with Vero
a diabolical disease to what Seasonal erosion unearthed Beach about electrical service.
could be a very bitter end. jagged pipes and several Until they are removed, The exposed metal was
sharp, rusty metal hazards the spikes and jagged pipes – first noticed by a Vero Beach In response, the Commis-
Because he's not saying. at low tide last week on the which are concealed beneath 32963 reader last Wednes- sion’s staff has issued a memo
Not to me. Not to family the waves except at low tide that reads like an elaborately
members or friends. Not even CONTINUED ON PAGE 7 crafted blow-off.
to his high school sweetheart
and wife of 34 years, Cindy, de- The one thing the memo
spite her repeated attempts. states clearly in the midst of
"I've tried to have serious all the bureaucratic gobbledy-
conversations with him, but gook is that only the PSC has
he doesn't say much," she the right to decide whether
said. "I don't think he's ready Vero Beach will continue to
to die, but when I ask him provide high-priced electric-
about it, most of the time I just ity to Shores customers after
get a vacant look.
"Does he want to go in peace CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
or continue fighting it? I don't
know," she added. "He doesn't Rash of burglaries in
seem to want to talk about it." Orchid area prompt
It's entirely possible Livings warnings by police

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BY RAY MCNULTY
Staff Writer
‘Paco’ Munoz, nearly killed in crash,
is back teaching fitness and tennis

BY RAY MCNULTY impact that nearly killed him. ‘Paco’ Munoz with the St. Edwards tennis teams. PHOTO BY PHIL SUNKEL Something happened in the
Staff Writer "I had just finished teaching town of Orchid this month
that hadn't happened in more
Nearly 11 months after he a Latin-dance fitness class at than a decade.
was seriously injured in a Orchid Island, drove through
head-on, two-car crash near the gate, turned right and A burglary.
the bottom of the Wabasso drove over the bridge," Mu- "We've had some reports
Bridge, Francisco "Paco" noz recalled. "As I got near the of thefts, but there have been
Munoz has no memory of the bottom, I looked up into the no forced-entry cases here in

CONTINUED ON PAGE 9 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

February 25, 2016 Volume 9, Issue 8 Newsstand Price $1.00 Huge turnout for
Craft Brew &
News 1-10 Faith 78 Pets 54 TO ADVERTISE CALL Wingfest. P28
Arts 35-42 Games 55-57 Real Estate 81-96 772-559-4187
Books 52-53 Health 59-64 St Ed’s 71
Dining 72 Insight 43-58 Style 66-70 FOR CIRCULATION
Editorial 50 People 11-34 Wine 73 CALL 772-226-7925

© 2016 Vero Beach 32963 Media LLC. All rights reserved.

2 Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Orchid area burglaries of four in communities near the Wa- est – a fellow who definitely could've cern about them has. Shores Public
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 basso Causeway the past five weeks. committed the crimes – and we're ac- Safety Director Rich Rosell put out a
tively following up on leads," Flowers statement last week noting the bur-
about 15 years," Orchid Police Chief The other three break-ins occurred said. "We believe it's somebody who glaries just to the town’s north, urging
Phil Redstone said. "And the last re- in nearby neighborhoods in unincor- can move about in these communities “all residents to be vigilant so we may
ported theft was five or six years ago. porated parts of the county: on Indian without being noticed." keep those responsible for the bur-
Summer Lane in the Seasons at Orchid glaries out of our town." 
"So this is very unusual," he add- (Jan. 21); West Island Club Square in In the meantime, Flowers said the
ed. "This town has a unique makeup Island Club Manor (Jan. 23) and Live Sheriff's Office is working with Red- My Vero
in that we control access. Somehow, Oak Drive off the Wabasso Causeway stone and the Indian River Shores
whoever did this got through the gate." (Jan. 29). Public Safety Department to increase CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
patrols and advise residents to take
According to Indian River County Flowers said an undetermined precautions, including locking their
Sheriff's Office spokesman Eric Flow- amount of jewelry was reported stolen cars and doors, setting alarms and re-
ers, the Feb. 8 burglary of a home on in three of the four burglaries, and that porting any suspicious persons.
Sea Spray Lane, located within the Or- electronic equipment was taken dur-
chid Island Golf & Beach Club, was one ing the break-in on Live Oak Drive. The rash of burglaries has not
reached Indian River Shores, but con-
"We have a strong person of inter-

Mike coaching around 1991 (top) and Mike in 2008.

doesn't know what to say – because
there's no way to know if, somewhere
in the world, some doctor is on the
verge of discovering a new medicine
that will change everything.

It's also possible the 57-year-old father
of three knows exactly what to say but
can't bring himself to utter the words.

"It's a bad disease," said Livings, a for-
mer assistant principal at Gifford Middle
School and 14-year assistant football
coach at Vero Beach High, where his
father, Billy, led the Fighting Indians to
their only state championship in 1981.

"It's no fun at all," he added. "It's
been real hard, especially the last year
or so. It's not getting any better."

And, barring a medical miracle, it
won't.

There is no cure for Erdheim-Ches-
ter Disease – an affliction so rare and
so often misdiagnosed that, since the
first case was discovered in 1930, only
about 500 cases have been reported
worldwide. Nor is there a consensus
as to what causes it.

Though EDC remains difficult to diag-
nose because it attacks different organs

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 3

NEWS

in different people, there has been an Everyone believed the problem was Livings seemed to be doing well in the stroyed his kidneys – had spread to his
increased interest in researching the dis- solved. weeks leading to Christmas, his condi- spinal column and behind his eye.
ease since 2009, when the National Insti- tion suddenly changed over the New
tutes of Health and Mayo Clinic joined "I wasn't worried," his wife said. "Oth- Year's weekend. After conducting a scan of Living's
the ECD Global Alliance in the fight. er than having his appendix removed in spine on a Sunday, doctors said he
the late '80s, there was nothing in his "He was fine at Christmas," his wife needed to get to the UAB Medical Cen-
Currently, roughly 200 people in the history to indicate any other medical said. "A week later, he couldn't move, ter the next morning for an emergency
U.S. have been diagnosed with EDC, condition. So when the kidney problem and he got worse every day." procedure. But it was a holiday week-
which involves the excessive produc- came up, I figured it was just something end and no flights were available.
tion of a certain type of white blood we needed to fix. And we did." As Livings and his family would
cells but is not categorized as a cancer, eventually learn, a disease they didn't Fortunately, a close family friend,
immune disorder or infection and isn't Their relief didn't last long: While know existed – the disease that de-
believed to be contagious or hereditary. CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

When Livings was diagnosed in NEW LISTING
2009, he became only the 309th con-
firmed case of ECD. Exclusively John’s Island

"When a doctor first mentioned Commanding one of the most scenic golf views in John’s Island along JI
Erdheim-Chester, I went to the in- Sound, is this centrally located 4BR retreat. A lushly landscaped atrium greets
ternet and Googled it," said Livings' you upon entering the 5,588± GSF home. Features include a generous living
wife, a longtime registered nurse who room with fireplace adjoining the solarium and family room, handsome wet
teaches health science at Vero Beach bar, state-of-the-art kitchen, dining room, Brazilian cherry floors, custom
High. "I found one paragraph. That's finishes and built-ins, luxurious master suite with sitting room/office, cabana,
how little was known about it." pool and 2-car garage. 211 Indian Harbor Road : $2,950,000

Little could anyone have imagined three championship golf courses : 17 har-tru courts : beach club : squash
the physical devastation that awaited health & fitness center : pickleball : croquet : vertical equity membership
Livings, a wonderfully gifted athlete
who played football at Southern Mis- 772.231.0900 : Vero Beach, FL : JohnsIslandRealEstate.com
sissippi on a scholarship and excelled
at every sport he tried.

It was in February 2007 that Livings –
then a fit and active 48-year-old school
administrator who enjoyed running,
golf and tennis – began to feel lethargic,
as if the energy had been drained from
his body.

"I thought it was something that
would just pass," Livings said.

It didn't.
So Livings went to a doctor, whose ini-
tial examination turned up nothing. But
after he passed out at a Toby Keith con-
cert in West Palm Beach and was rushed
to a hospital with what his wife and fam-
ily members thought was a heart attack,
he underwent further tests in May.
Those tests revealed that Livings'
urethra was too narrow, a problem
doctors believed could easily be cor-
rected by inserting stents.
That summer, Livings still wasn't feel-
ing well, so he went to Shands hospital
at the University of Florida in Gaines-
ville. But it wasn't until specialists there
performed exploratory surgery that
they discovered his kidneys were failing.
"The doctors told us they had never
seen anything like it," said Livings'
mother, Rosie. "They had never seen
kidneys so obliterated, but they didn't
know what caused it. All they knew is
that the kidneys had to come out."
Livings' kidneys were removed in
June 2008 at the UAB Medical Center in
Birmingham, Ala., where he had hoped
to undergo a transplant. His sister, Lib-
by, was supposed to be the donor, but
problems arose in the matching pro-
cess only days before the operation.
Four months later, after experienc-
ing some medical difficulties during
dialysis, the transplant was performed
with his niece – Libby's daughter, Mary
Katherine – as the donor.

4 Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

My Vero his waking hours sitting in a recliner "Without that medication, his kid- ings to travel and be away from home.
and watching sports on TV in his liv- ney would fail, and that would be caus- Which is too bad: People like him
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 ing room. ing his death," Livings' wife said. "It's
one thing to allow someone to die. It's and miss him.
who wants to remain anonymous, Not only has he dropped 40 pounds another thing to make it happen. To "Back when he was still able to get
arranged to have Livings flown from from his pre-illness athletic frame, but me, that's wrong. I couldn't do it.
Vero Beach to Birmingham on a pri- he also has lost almost all muscle tone around, I used to take him to lunch,
vate jet Monday morning. and has aged at a frightened rate. "Besides," she added, "it would also and wherever we went, people would
be disrespectful to his niece who do- come up and thank him," said Boo
"There's no way we can ever repay "To see him now, knowing what a nated her kidney." Graves, who met Livings on the tennis
him," Livings' mother said. great athlete he was, it's humbling and court and built a friendship that has
heartbreaking," said local chiroprac- Certainly, having a nurse for a wife lasted 20 years.
It was while Livings was at the UAB tor Matt Parris, who played football at has helped Livings cope with his now-
hospital that the doctors discovered Vero Beach High from 1987-89 when limited physical abilities. But being "Some would have tears in their
the sticky, yellow, gooey substance as- Livings was an assistant coach. a nurse has also helped his wife deal eyes, because of what Mike did for
sociated with ECD. with a very difficult hand. their kids," he added. "He hasn't been
"As a coach, as a teacher, as an admin- around much because of this disease,
Consulting with ECD specialists in istrator and as an athlete, he had a pas- When her husband is experiencing but he's connected to this community
Italy and France through the global alli- sion for everything he did," he added. a particularly tough time, she's able to way more than people think.
ance, doctors at UAB began treating Liv- "And for something like this to happen temporarily detach, put on her nurse's
ings with different medications, includ- ... There's just no way to comprehend it." hat and treat him as a patient. "A lot of people don't realize how
ing at least one that was experimental. much he has done for kids and the im-
John's Island resident Mark Morein "The stars lined up, didn't they?" pact he has had here, but the people
"The treatment is kind of a crap- has known Livings for 16 years – since Livings' wife said of her career choice. who knew him haven't forgotten him."
shoot," Livings' wife said. "Some are their daughters went to middle school "It definitely helps that I'm a nurse."
cancer meds. Some are anti-inflamm- together – and their families are so Livings no longer resembles – physi-
matories. Some are anti-rejection drugs. close they might as well be relatives. She's also a wife and mother whose cally anyway – the man they knew
We just don't know enough about the He said he visited his friend three youngest daughter, Laurie, is getting a decade ago. Even his wife admits,
disease to know exactly what works." weeks ago and Livings was, for the married on April 30 in Savannah, Ga. "There's almost nothing about him
most part, alert and able to converse. And she plans to be there – with her that was who he was before."
Doctors finally settled on a treat- husband.
ment that effectively slowed the "But I was told I caught him on a Yet she refuses to ask, "Why me?"
growth of the ECD cells and noticeably good day," Morein said, adding, "This Indeed, Livings said he, too, is look- "What I've learned is that every-
reduced the sometimes-agonizing is just so sad for Mike and the family. ing forward to the wedding, though he body, at some point in life, has to deal
pain in Livings' back. And until a year Cindy has done a good job of handling conceded, "I can't really take part in it." with something," Livings' wife said.
ago, he seemed to be feeling better. everything, but there's only so much "Mike and I were extremely blessed
you can do. Actually, his wife said she plans the first 50 years of our lives. Life was
Then, starting last March, Livings to push him in his wheelchair as he so smooth. I guess we were due.
was hit by a flurry of urinary tract in- "You can't say you just have to find "walks" the bride down the aisle. "This was a lot more than most peo-
fections – nine of them through the the right doctor or find the right medi- ple get hit with," she added. "Our bags
end of 2015. Each infection required cation and everything will be fine. "The big reason Laurie decided to weren't packed for a journey this long.
stays of at least one and up to two With something like this, you're al- do it this year is because she wanted to But all you can do is keep waking up and
weeks in the hospital. Each stay costs ways playing defense." make sure her daddy could be there," putting one foot in front of the other."
him 5 to 6 percent of his muscle mass Livings' wife said. "So even though Somehow, through it all, as worn
per day. Livings has nursing assistants who we don't really plan ahead anymore, and weary as she often feels, she hasn't
care for him while his wife is at work, we're planning for this. yet lost hope.
He also has undergone four major but his condition deteriorated so Although she said her husband is
abdominal surgeries. much in recent months that she con- "I have a house rented in Savannah now too weak to return to the UAB
sidered placing him in hospice care. and I've already bought a dress," she hospital, Livings' wife has found and
It was no surprise, then, that his added. "If something happens and we contacted an Orlando cancer specialist
condition has worsened with each To do so, however, she would've can't make it, our family and friends who has treated several ECD patients.
bout with infection, leaving him so been required to discontinue giving will understand." "Is there really a chance? Probably
weak he is no longer able to walk, even him the anti-rejection medication for
with a walker, and now spends most of his transplanted kidney. She refused. Attending the wedding would be a
rare social outing for the Livings these
days. It's simply too difficult for Liv-

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 5

NEWS

not, but I'm an optimist by nature," Church of Vero Beach's senior min- after being diagnosed with ECD. In ing," Livings wife said. "I know any-
she said. "It's worth having Mike's ister, who he said comes to his home many cases, ECD patients succumb to thing is possible, but I don't think he's
case looked at by a fresh set of eyes." and "talks to me about life and death." infections or complications connect- going anywhere yet. I just don't want it
ed to the treatment for the disease. to be a slow, horrible decline."
In the meantime, Livings will con- Unlike some cancers, or even Lou
tinue his once-a-week sessions with Gehrig's disease, there's no way to "Mike's heart and lungs are strong, Livings probably agrees.
the Rev. Bob Baggott, the Community know how long a person will survive and his kidney and liver are function- But he's not saying. 

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6 Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

PSC memo on electric issue rule on the Town’s constitutional right Vero’s right to serve, the PSC argues, The problem with that is the Shores
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 to control its own electric service, or is based upon the Commission’s own does not have time before the end of
whether that question is a matter for right to grant service territories, a right the franchise agreement to bounce
the 30-year franchise agreement be- the courts. the PSC deems to be inviolate, as re- around from appeals court venue to
tween the Town and the City expires in iterated in the staff memo. “The juris- appeals court venue.
November. In response, the staff memo seems diction conferred upon the Commis-
to suggest the Commission ignore that sion shall be exclusive and superior Running out the clock gives Vero
If the commission follows its staff’s question and instead declare what to that of all other boards, agencies, Beach every advantage because it
guidance when it meets on March 1, it has already declared twice before: political subdivisions, municipali- maintains the status quo, which keeps
the Shores will remain in Kafkaesque “That the Commission has the juris- ties, towns, villages or counties, and the Shores on Vero’s system paying
limbo, no closer than before to know- diction under Section 366.04 Florida in case of conflict therewith, all lawful rates that are about 30 percent high-
ing where to challenge Vero’s claim Statute to determine whether Vero acts, orders rules and regulations of er than Florida Power and Light and
that it can continue providing power Beach has the legal authority to con- the Commission shall in each instance continuing to subsidize Vero’s general
to the Shores, no matter what the tinue to provide electric service within prevail,” the staff states on page 5 of fund by about $600,000 per year.
Town or its ratepayers say, think or the corporate limits of the Town of In- the memo.
do. dian River Shores upon the expiration The Shores previously asked the
of the franchise agreement between NEWS ANALYSIS circuit court to rule on its constitu-
The Commission – a five-member the Town of Indian River Shores and tional rights versus Vero’s territorial
board of political appointees – has Vero Beach.” But the Town is asking a different rights, but Judge Cynthia Cox said the
a massive legal and technical staff, question. It argues it has a constitu- PSC should answer that question. The
a staff so large that the PSC campus The PSC has twice defended Vero’s tional right and responsibility to pro- town could appeal Cox’s opinion in
has a cavernous cafeteria larger than “right and responsibility” to serve vide proper services for its residents, a the District Court of Appeals and pro-
many public school cafeterias that within its PSC-granted territory right that is separate from the question ceed down that road, but that could be
can feed hundreds of government em- beyond the term of any franchise of who assigns electrical service terri- difficult since Cox said the courts lack
ployees assembly-line style. agreement – once in response to In- tories, and asked in its petition wheth- jurisdiction.
dian River County’s petition filed in er the PSC will rule on that question.
The PSC and this huge staff are 2014 and again as an answer to Vero’s Alternately, the Shores could at-
tasked with serving the public interest own request to have its position bol- Instead of saying whether the con- tempt to mount a territorial dispute
when it comes to utility service, but stered. stitutional question should be decided case with the PSC, but that would re-
the past two years’ worth of rulings by the PSC or by the courts, the staff quire Florida Power & Light to step up
and staff white papers have shown Vero has chimed in, agreeing that memo tosses out several different av- and be a full partner in the process.
that what the agency is best at is de- the PSC alone has exclusive and su- enues the Shores might take to maybe FPL has an offer on the table to pur-
fending its own power. perior powers over territories and that get the answer the Town is looking for. chase the Shores customers from Vero
the PSC has already affirmed Vero’s and it is the utility that would logically
This time around, the Shores’ asked right to serve, regardless of the exis- take over the Shores should the terri-
for a clear answer whether the PSC will tence of a franchise agreement. torial borders be redrawn.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 7

NEWS

The problem there is both FPL Half-buried hazards Tracking Station beach sand hazards. PHOTO BY PHIL SUNKEL ous to turtles trying to nest on the
and the City of Vero Beach get their CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 beach as to a child’s hand, foot or body.
authority to provide power from the it prior to the March 1 sea turtle nest- Sea turtles are protected by state and
territorial order that carves Indian day, who took photos and alerted our ing deadline. Thanks again for bring- federal law, so it is possible the metal
River County into the parts currently newsroom to the hazards sticking up ing this to our attention.” objects are a violation of conservation
served by FPL and the parts inside out of the sand. statutes as well as a risk to beachgoers.
and outside the Vero city limits that The metal would be just as hazard-
are currently served by Vero. On Thursday the jagged metal was Greg Tsark, Florida Tech’s vice presi-
hidden in the surf and sand, only to dent of facilities operation, said the
FPL also has territories all over the re-emerge on Friday at low tide. The pipes, once were used to intake sea
state, with customers FPL presum- fact that the metal disappears beneath water, are from “before our time here,”
ably does not want to fight over with the water each day makes it all the permitted and installed prior to 1980.
neighboring utilities that are FPL’s more sinister. At high tide, a beachgo-
competition for market share. Get- er could easily step or fall onto one of Because the structures are below
ting FPL to saddle up with the Shores the rusty spikes without ever seeing it. the high tide line, they would have
for a full-blown territorial dispute The spikes are long enough to go com- required permits from the Florida De-
petition seems like a doubtful propo- pletely through a person’s foot. partment of Environmental Protec-
sition. tion and the Army Corps of Engineers,
Periodic visibility also makes it more according to Gray. He added that FIT
To further complicate things, the difficult to mark or cordon off the dan- is responsible for the structures even
staff memo suggests the Shores could gerous objects. though they did not install them.
try to take its case to the Florida Su-
preme Court, but says the Town may The hazards are located about six Tsark said the hazards were sched-
be on shaky ground in terms of meet- feet east and about three feet south of uled to be removed this week. “What
ing the criteria for standing. a PVC pipe system that is typically vis- we’re going to do, rather than bring
ible at low tide. any heavy equipment down there, is to
Bruce May, the Shores’ utility at- go down and dig them out by hand as
torney, said Monday the Town was County Coastal Engineer James far down as we can and cut it off as far
not expected to issue a public state- Gray, when alerted to the problem on down as we can and cap it off.”
ment about the PSC staff memo, in Friday, contacted FIT to see if Marine
light of the pending decision by the Lab personnel could shed light on the University spokesman Wes Sum-
Commission. The PSC meets at its objects. ner said Monday FIT would assess
Tallahassee headquarters at 9:30 the situation prior to removal to see if
a.m. Tuesday and the Shores petition “I conferred with FIT,” Gray wrote something can be done to keep people
is listed as the third item on the pub- in an email. “The PVC pipe and rust- away from the hazards. “The public’s
lished agenda.  ed metal well point belongs to them. safety has to be the number one prior-
They are aware and will be addressing ity,” Sumner said. 

8 Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Brewery gets nod, but contamination issues remain

BY MICHELLE GENZ city did its own testing in November
Staff Writer and found similar results.

Developer Michael Rechter’s plan selling the land,” said Joel Mintz, for- Historic diesel power plant. PHOTO BY PHIL SUNKEL City officials received three bid pro-
to turn the historic diesel power plant mer Environmental Protection Agency posals submitted in January. Along
into a craft brewery and restaurant attorney and longtime professor of en- University. “They can try and trust that with Rechter’s American Icon Brewery,
won the unanimous support of a com- vironmental law at Nova Southeastern the buyer will do the cleanup. But they they included sculptor and developer
mittee ranking three bids for the City were the generator of the waste, and Ross Power’s idea to turn the plant into
of Vero Beach. owner and operator of the site at the an art center, and petroleum terminal
time the releases occurred.” manager Guy D’Amico’s plan to install
Rechter says his claim that the $2.5 a craft spirits distillery.
million project is “fully funded – there’s In some scenarios, “both the new
no borrowing required” impressed the buyer and the city could be respon- D’Amico’s distillery concept was
review committee in his presentation sible,” Mintz said. ranked second best; Power’s idea came
last week. But another aspect of his in last, despite support from the Cul-
bid seemed to ease their minds even Rechter offered two bid amounts: tural Council’s Barbara Hoffman and
more: his offer to accept responsibility $650,000, and a lower bid, $500,000, if Susan Grandpierre, who spoke to the
for clean-up of newly surfaced petro- he took care of environmental cleanup. committee on Power’s behalf.
chemical contamination.
City officials have informally esti- Rechter has signed on a well-cre-
With a March 1 vote by the city that mated those costs at $30,000, calling dentialed brewmaster, A.J. Stoll, who
could rapidly set negotiations with the problems “minor.” just announced on Monday he had
Rechter in motion, the city may be- joined a small L.A. start-up, State
lieve that it is finally washing its hands Further, the plant’s appraised value Brewery.
of a problem that has fouled plant de- of $500,000 was arrived at when the
velopment plans for more than a de- plant’s contamination was deemed re- Rechter says he will join American
cade. mediated. Icon a few months prior to opening.

But at least one legal expert says the That was before testing in July and Before now, Stoll was director of
city can’t be certain it’s free of liability, November showed that unacceptable brewing operations with Fort Lauder-
even if Rechter signs off on it. levels of contaminants in the ground- dale’s well-regarded Funky Buddha
water and soil around the plant had brewery, and formerly with a Santa
“They can’t just contract it away by somehow returned. Those results were Barbara, Ca. brewery called Figueroa
made known to the bidders just a week Mountain. Stoll has been brewing pro-
CREATIVE FLOORS before their bids were due. fessionally since 2005 after graduating
from college with a degree in chemis-
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF PROVIDING Still more recent testing has been try. Among his team’s creations there
THE BEST PRODUCTS AND SERVICES. done, but results have not yet been were Honey Nut Beerio and an Oreos
released to the city, according to Jim beer.
CARPET • WOOD • TILE • VINYL • AND MORE O’Connor, the city manager.
Funky Buddha may be best known
CREATIVE FLOORS CARPET ONE The city has already spent $300,000 for its beer that tastes like a peanut
1137 Old Dixie Hwy. • Vero Beach, FL 32960 on clean-up over a ten-year span, and butter and jelly sandwich. It’s currently
in 2013, the state finally declared that touring its Maple Bacon Coffee Porter.
772-569-0240 • www.CarpetOne.com no further action was required. That sort of creativity is propelling the
craft beer industry, which in Florida is
The July testing was ordered by the growing at the rate of one new open-
plant’s lessees, B-B Redevelopment, ing a month.
owned by developers Phil Barth and
David Croom. B-B is suing the city over Rechter, a Fort Lauderdale-based
delays in the environmental cleanup entrepreneur with a home in Vero who
at the plant and the city is countersu- began investing in commercial real
ing for back rent. Through a November estate here more than a decade ago,
court-approved stipulation, B-B gave intends to leave the brewing to the
the city the right to sell the plant. The experts. But he does have experience
in the food and beverage industry: the
bars in his bowling alleys and billiard
halls do more than $1 million a year in
sales, he says.

“One of the reasons I was able to
win this ranking so easily is we already
have the people in our company to
oversee this.”

Rechter says he intends to leave the
remaining diesel engine in place in the
plant, which currently has a notice-
able diesel odor. He says a specialty
company will excavate any contami-
nated material underneath the engine
and then fill in the pit with concrete.

“We’re not moving the engine,” he
says. “We going to return it to its original
luster and build a beautiful bar around
it. You’re going to be shocked.” 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 9

NEWS

‘Paco’ Munoz in comeback He smiled again. "I'm very lucky," he added. "Did you ty Sheriff's Office to issue a BOLO (be on
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 And why not? He's alive and walking see the pictures of the crash? I'm lucky the lookout) for the vehicle.
... and working again. to be alive, and I'm happy to be work-
rear-view mirror to check behind me. After spending 2 1/2 months at the ing again. I wish I could be 110 per- Munoz said a woman who was driv-
"That's when I was hit." Holmes Regional Medical Center in Mel- cent, but I'm a believer. God kept me ing behind Woodward when the crash
The Mercedes E350 driven by Har- bourne, undergoing operations to repair alive. He'll help with this, too." occurred visited him in the hospital
fractures to his right femur and right arm, and told him what she saw.
low Woodward, who was headed east having his gall bladder and three feet He might also need divine interven-
on State Road 510 shortly before 6 p.m. of his small intestine removed in sepa- tion – or maybe a winning Lotto ticket "She was very nice," said Munoz, who
on April 1, swerved into the westbound rate surgeries, and losing more than 40 – to overcome the financial hit he has came to Vero Beach in 2012, when Jorge
lane and collided into the front-left pounds, Munoz has resumed his career. taken since the crash. Lozano and Marco Osorio opened a
corner of Munoz's Toyota Prius. He's again teaching fitness classes tennis academy in Vero Beach. "Really,
and working with private clients as a Though Munoz was covered by everyone has been so supportive since
Woodward, 69, wasn't wearing a personal trainer and massage thera- health insurance and received a six- the accident – especially the people at
seatbelt and died at the scene. Munoz, pist at Orchid Island. He's back on the figure settlement from Woodward's Orchid Island and Timber Ridge – and
who was buckled up and protected by courts at the Lozano & Osorio Tennis estate, he said his medical bills have I'm very grateful. There are a lot of good
the deployment of his car's airbags, Academy at Timber Ridge, where he left him $650,000 in debt. people in this community.
was knocked unconscious. works with juniors.
Just recently, he accepted the job of the "Insurance has its limits," Munoz "I feel blessed."
"The only thing I remember after the tennis coach at the St. Edward's School. said. "And even though we settled Munoz said he likes Vero Beach and
crash was hearing somebody's voice "I'm not 100 percent yet – probably with Mr. Woodward, it wasn't a great plans to settle here, despite the crash.
saying, 'Hang in there, buddy,' " Munoz 85 or 90 – but I'm back," Munoz said. "I settlement because he didn't have a He recently created his own fitness
said. "But even that felt like a dream." still have a problem jogging and run- lot left in his retirement account. We and wellness company, Athlos Sport
ning. Sometimes, I have numbness in got about $170,000. So my lawyer, Consulting, which he said has benefit-
In fact, Munoz, who had celebrated my right leg and right hand, which can Brian Connelly, is trying to negotiate a ted from the attention he has received
his 39th birthday only three days earlier, affect me on the tennis court. But I'm deal with the hospital." since the accident.
slipped into a coma and didn't regain con- able to do my work. He said he's not haunted by his near-
sciousness for 12 days. He has no recollec- "I think being in such good shape Munoz said a Florida Highway Pa- death experience.
tion of being removed from the wreckage, helped me survive the accident and trol traffic homicide investigation "Some people wondered if I'd be
or of being flown to the hospital, or of any- helped me come back," he continued. found that Woodward, who was a Cen- afraid to drive on that bridge again, but
thing that happened in between. "I started off with a very fast recovery, tral Beach resident, had alcohol and it hasn't been a problem," Munoz said. "I
but I haven't made the same kind of medication in his blood. haven't had any flashbacks at all. Maybe
Including any conversations. progress the last three months. I've hit a it's because I can't remember the crash.
"I missed the helicopter ride," Munoz plateau and I'm stuck. But I'll get there. Also, less than 30 minutes before the "All I know is that I could've died
said, grinning. "They said I was talking fatal crash, motorists on U.S. 1 had made and I didn't," he added. "So God must
during the flight and that the first thing 911 calls to complain of a car matching have me here for a reason. I believe
I said was, 'Don't call my parents.' "I the description Woodward's Mercedes that reason is to help people." 
guess I didn't want them to worry." driving recklessly in the northbound
lanes, prompting the Indian River Coun-

10 Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Shores planning another workshop on cell tower in March

BY LISA ZAHNER Hall property, while most Bermuda Bay Stabe said Cityscape offered a O’Haire to represent their interests
Staff Writer residents want the tower located at Bee $7,250 all-inclusive price to come up in the cell tower matter, should some
Gum Point at the end of FredTuerk Drive. with a solution. Cityscape was cho- legal action be necessary. It’s also the
With hopes of avoiding a legal chal- sen via a competitive bidding process consultant Indian River County uses
lenge by residents who disagree about Town Manager Robbie Stabe last in which two companies applied, but when tackling similar projects.
where the Town’s proposed cell tower week said, “I have hired Cityscape the other firm out of Washington State
should be located and whether it’s even Consulting and they are off and run- quoted an hourly fee with a base price In March, Stabe said, he plans to co-
needed, Indian River Shores has hired a ning. We sent them everything we plus pricey add-ons. ordinate at least one workshop to be
consultant to fully vet all the possibilities. have on the cell tower issue and they facilitated by Cityscape. In the mean-
said that they hope to complete the Cityscape was also the firm cited by time, Stabe and Datapath Towers are
Residents in John’s Island and The Es- study in less than the two to three the 20 or so Shores clients who have providing all the research they have
tuary would prefer a cell tower on Town weeks they estimated.” retained beachside attorney Michael to this point – including photographs
and feedback from a test of the aes-
thetic effects of erecting a 135-foot
monopole tower on the two sites in
the Town seen as the most desirable to
the major cell phone carriers.

Datapath is the company that has
been hired to erect the tower.

In a memo to residents last week,
Stabe said the Town could build a small-
er stealth tower, or even multiple towers
that were lower, at 80 or so feet, but that
a tower or towers that fail to meet the
big carriers’ specifications will not at-
tract companies like AT&T and Verizon,
which serve many town residents.

“The saying, ‘If you build it they
will come,’ is not at all true for cell
towers. The carriers know what will
work and what won’t work,” Stabe
said. “Their preferred tower is a
monopole with external arrays. Why?
Because this configuration gives the
carriers the greatest ability to provide
the maximum signal using the maxi-
mum amount and variety of antenna
arrays.”

Less obtrusive and more decorative
options would also jack up the price
tag, Stabe said. A bell tower or light-
house-type tower could cost upwards
of $1 million to build, and a clock-
tower design would likely cost much
more. Other non-cell-tower systems
that would place numerous nodes on
utility poles and other infrastructure
would be even pricier, Stabe said.

“Virtually everyone agrees we need
better service,” Stabe wrote. “The
Town’s number one priority is the per-
sonal safety of our residents and visi-
tors. It is the Town’s responsibility to
ensure all of its residents and visitors
the capability to call 911 in any emer-
gency, and that adequate connectivity
is also readily available for our resi-
dents’ security needs.”

Town Clerk Laura Aldrich sent out
an update to residents Friday on the
cell tower progress, pointing out that
the many obstacles have provided
Stabe with quite an education in cel-
lular technology and tower design and
construction. “His knowledge has ex-
panded to the extent that the experts
are now offering him a job,” Aldrich
said. 



12 Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

500 gather at The Moorings to support Habitat

Dawne and John Dalbora. PHOTOS: LEAH DUBOIS Randy, Shirley and David Becker. Alice and Rene Donars with Joe Vargas.

BY CHRISTINA TASCON Chris and Pam Delaney with David and Heidi Sommers. here,” said member Dr. Bob DeWa-
Staff Writer ters. “Our staff is just terrific; they
year’s ever growing event to raise Chef Ben Tench and his staff had take as much of a part in this as the
More than 500 guests gathered at needed funds to assist county res- laid out an impressive spread. Din- members do. Everyone just goes
The Moorings Yacht & Country Club idents with ‘a hand up not a hand ers grazed at stations around the out of their way to make sure it is a
to attend the 13th annual Moor- out.’ room from tables piled high with successful event.”
ings Habitat Classic Weekend Gala iced seafood, an assortment of pas-
Cocktail and Dinner Reception last Guests at the gala had an oppor- tas, beef tenderloin, lamb chops and The Moorings’ Property Owners
Monday evening; the culmination tunity to peruse and bid on an array several sweet dessert selections. Association has been actively fun-
of a weekend-long series of events of silent auction items before head- draising for Habitat for the past 16
to benefit Indian River Habitat for ing into the dining room, where “They always do an amazing job years, and club members devised
Hu ma n it y. the weekend-long event three years
later.
Members, staff and business
partners of The Moorings host the “We have a Habitat committee
event each year, which also fea- that runs the event in conjunction
tures golf, bridge and tennis tour- with the club,” explained co-chair
naments, shopping and several fit- Pam Delaney, estimating the event
ness events. The Moorings’ 2016 would net more than $150,000.
goal is to fund the construction of
three new Habitat homes and seven Ursula Gunter, The Moorings’ di-
property renovations in the Gif- rector of membership and market-
ford community and to designate ing, said the club’s philanthropy
$10,000 for educational scholar- also extends to other organiza-
ships. tions, such as extending the use of
their facilities to the Youth Guid-
Pam and Chris Delaney and Hei- ance King of the Hill Tennis Tour-
di and David Sommers were the naments, Wheels and Keels and the
powerhouse co-chairs behind this Youth Sailing Foundation.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 14



14 Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
1
PEOPLE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 commercial ones until Shirley
Becker came in,” said Samuels.
“We do a lot for charities all year “She wanted to do something else
but this is definitely our biggest” besides golf and I asked her to
said Gunter. “It was started by Bob sponsor a hole for $500. The next
Samuels and Dick Winkler and has year we asked for $20,000 to be a
evolved and developed. It is a cu- main sponsor. At first she seemed
mulative effort by our 1,000 plus shocked but the check came in and
members who are all engaged in she has been our main sponsor ever
some part of it.” since.”

Samuels credited the initial fun- Members of the Becker family
draising efforts to build a Habi- come in from all around the coun-
tat home and the ensuing friendly try to participate; distinguished by
competition to raise ever greater matching green golfing outfits - her
amounts to the late Brad Burnham favorite color. This year nine fam-
and to John Larsen. ily members spanning three gen-

“Initially all the sponsors were

erations came from as far away as 2
Boston. 3

“We were taught by our grand-
mother that when you are blessed
you have to give back,” said grand-
son David.

“We have been so blessed to have
this partnership with The Moor-
ings,” said Habitat President/CEO
Andy Bowler, of the generosity of
members and sponsors. “They have
sponsored 56 homes with Habitat
which works out to one in six of the
homes built over the last 16 years.” 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 15

PEOPLE MOORINGS CAPTIONS

4 1. Tom Thornton, Kim Gardner, Larry Lewis and
Bob Gruber. 2. Ken Miller, Jack Setzer and John
Wardell. 3. Andy Bowler and Dick Winkler.
4. Peggy Gibbs, Sheradi Monroe and Connie
Poppell. 5. Jane Nissi and Melissa Marcus.
6. MJ Wardell, Anne-Lise Fink and Marilyn Setzer.
7. Kay and Dale Keyser. 8. Susan and Gene
Billero. 9. Jaime MacDonald, Annie and Jerry
Trupiano, Autumn Reed and Mary Ellen Reed.

5

6
78

9

16 Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Golf & Croquet Tournament at Riomar huge success

BY MARY SCHENKEL “We’ve tried to give some really good it was also for such a great cause,” said To raise funds and hopefully pro-
Staff Writer gifts and we gave each golfer a put- Deigl, introducing SRA Board Chair- vide a lifeline to some of the 106 adults
ter,” said Smith. “Our philosophy has man Dawn Michael who spoke briefly on their waitlist, there was a live auc-
Mike and Sassy Smith led the effort always been, if you just go to one golf as guests sat for dinner. tion of 18 exceptional items.
to launch what turned out to be a huge- tournament a year, pick this one.”
ly successful Pro-Am Golf and Croquet Five days a week, SRA Meals on There was also an Adopt a Senior
Tournament at the Riomar Country The multifaceted event began with Wheels volunteers provide hot, nour- paddle-raise that alone brought in
Club last Monday to benefit the Senior lunch for the players and ended with an ishing meals, socialization and, in enough pledges to feed 26 seniors for
Resource Association. Even the weath- outstanding fillet mignon and stuffed the process, a daily wellness check to one year.
er cooperated; a deluge holding off un- prawn dinner for 150 guests. Roughly homebound seniors. Last year more
til the last players began the final hole. 22 foursomes were each teamed with than 1,100 meals were delivered ev- “We are making a tremendous im-
a PGA pro, about one-third who had ery week at a cost of $6 per senior pact on the seniors in Indian River
“We’ve done this format about 15 flown in from out of town. The impres- ($2,200 per year). They also delivered County,” said Michael, who also men-
times in Johnstown, Pennsylvania,” sive lineup included Adam Rainaud, 5,626 Emergency Meals on Wheels to tioned some of their other services,
explained Mike Smith. “We just took Assistant Pro at Black Hall Club in Old seniors within 30 days of being dis- including the only two Adult Day Care
that model and transferred it to Vero Lyme, CT, who on Feb. 12 won his sec- charged from healthcare facilities, facilities in the county – one each in
Beach. Everybody was terrific. This is ond consecutive PGA Winter Champi- and 32,256 Social Congregate Meals Vero Beach and Sebastian – licensed
a very philanthropic community and onship Series. to mobile seniors at multiple locations by the state. 
people just don’t say no.” throughout the county.
Fourteen golf croquet players, all in 1
Smith has an affinity with the or- de rigueur white attire, battled it out on “The primary goal of our programs
ganization through his father, noting, Riomar’s lovely new croquet course. and services is to enable seniors to re-
“My dad was a Meals on Wheels deliv- main healthy and in their own homes
ery man; one of the ground troops. He “It’s not really related to golf at all,” for as long as possible,” said Michael.
just thought the world of it.” said Don Buebendorf, who won the “It’s often the difference between hav-
tournament with wife Nancy. She did ing dignity and being in total despair;
“Mike and Sassy came to us and said note one similarity though, adding, the difference between aging and ag-
they wanted to put this whole thing “If you’re a good putter, you’ll be good ing well. Many seniors now find them-
together for us,” said Karen Deigl, SRA with croquet. Same principal; keep selves totally alone; the Senior Re-
President/CEO, of the year-long effort. your head down!” source Association is there for them.”
“I can’t thank them enough.”
“I heard you all had a lot of fun, but

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 17

PEOPLE

23 4

GOLF & CROQUET CAPTIONS

1. Don and Nancy Buebendorf, with Dottie Currie. 2. Sassy and Mike Smith.

3. Dawn Michael, Mark Morein, and Linda Currie. 4. John Spilman, Bill Munn, Sally

Spilman and Mountain Lake golf pro Andrew Greisiger. 5. Barbara Diemer, Jeanne

Cohane and Trudie Rainone. 6. Kate Kincaid, Dale Sorensen and Karen Deigl.

7. Sue and Charlie Thomas, Carol and Ted Price, Susie Kasten, and Marlynn and

Bill Scully. 8. Dawn Michael, Janet Field, Susie Sumner and Betsy Biggs. 9. Tom

Corr, Jarrod Owen and Bob Quaile. 10. Douglas Johnston, Adam Rainaud and David

Haynes. 11. George and Elke Fetterolf. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE

56

7
89
10 11

18 Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Foundation one of the fastest growing in Florida

BY MARY SCHENKEL
Staff Writer

The Indian River Community Laura and Rick McDermott. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE Bob and Jeanine Harris.
Foundation celebrated the generos-
ity of ardent philanthropists at its for an organization that holds more
annual Cocktail Reception, held last than $29 million in assets. Now in
Wednesday evening at the remark- its eighth year of operation, the IRCF
able John’s Island home of Rick and has cumulatively granted more than
Laura McDermott, who have been $34 million, including $7.7 million
involved from its inception. Rick last year; 81 percent to local chari-
McDermott was the IRCF founding ties.
board chairman, and Laura Mc-
Dermott is a founding member of The IRCF facilitates donor driven
Impact 100, an IRCF philanthropic philanthropy, with board members
initiative. and staff working with donors to
help connect them with the causes
Fund holders and founders min- they care about. They offer a range of
gled with professional advisors and services depending on each donor’s
representatives from several non- needs, from hands-on assistance de-
profit organizations, reveling in a veloping estate plans and managing
gorgeous sunset over the lagoon family foundations, to providing in-
while enjoying cocktails and passed
hors d’oeuvres before a brief presen-
tation.

“I think we have an extraordinary
board because of what’s entrusted
to them,” said Rick McDermott, of
the continued high-level of support

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

formational access to nonprofits and
connecting donors to advisors.

Board chairman Scott Alexander
said that despite being one of the
youngest community foundations,
the IRCF is also one of the fastest
growing, thanks in large part to the
leadership of its past chairmen, Mc-
Dermott, Becky Allen and most re-
cently Bob Puff.

“Tonight I would like to announce
that the Indian River Community
Foundation will issue a Chairman’s
Nonprofit Leadership Award,” said
Alexander. “The award will include
public recognition and a grant of
$2,500 to be used by a local nonprof-
it organization’s executive director
for his or her own personal develop-
ment. This grant is being awarded
for the first time to honor Bob Puff
for his superb leadership as board
chair for three years, between 2013
and 2015.”

When told the choice of the non-
profit would be his, Puff thanked
everyone for the honor and then
quipped with his customary good
humor, “What’s the deadline for the
assignment?”

IRCF President/CEO Jeff Pickering
thanked the individuals, families
and organizations with established
accounts, the 52 IRCF founders
whose initial $1 million provided
operating support, Warren Schwer-
in, who facilitated the foundation’s
move to new headquarters this past
summer, his support team, Yamilet
Cendejas and Jaci Ruppert, and the
evening’s sponsor, Northern Trust
Bank.

“I know that you have many choic-
es, and I am humbled and honored
by the fact that you have chosen In-
dian River Community Foundation
as a partner in your philanthropy,”
said Pickering, adding that the IRCF
is one of the most active grant mak-
ers among community foundations
in Florida. “It’s truly an indication of
the generosity of this community.”

On a personal note, Pickering ex-
pressed gratitude for the warm wel-
come given to himself and his family
- wife Stephanie and children Colin,
Olivia and Grant - as newcomers to
Vero Beach.

“This is truly a special place and
we are blessed to be doing what we
consider to be sacred work,” he said.

Pickering said they try to teach
their children that with privilege
comes responsibility, adding, “When
we ask Grant, 2, ‘What does daddy do
at work?’ we think he gives a perfect
answer. ‘Daddy makes money and
helps people.’”

“I think it’s ironic that you named
your son Grant,” joked Bob Gibb,
getting a laugh from the crowd. 

PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

20 Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
2
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

1

34

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 21

5 PEOPLE
6
7 FOUNDATION CAPTIONS
8
9 1. Chris Ryan, Bob Gibb and Bob Puff. 2.
10 Scott and Gail Alexander with King Stubbs.
3. John McCord, Jeff Pickering, Carole and
Phil Coviello and Marty Zickert. 4. Sherry
Brown, Dace Stubbs, Becky and Bob Allen.
5. Susan and David Pyles with Nancy Puff.
6. Judi Miller with Sandy and Randy Rolf. 7.
Sue Tompkins and Lois Appleby. 8. Neal and
Nancy Lohuis with Susan and Mike McGee. 9.
Steve Healy, Katie Block Faires, Emilie and
Bob Burr. 10. Jim Currie with Faye and RB
Jennings. 11. Linda and Neill Currie, Alice and
Rene Donars and Anne Lanier.

11

22 Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Ed Fialkowski, head chef of Orchid Island Brewery. PHOTOS: LEAH DUBOIS Shaun Fedder, Rusty Cappelen and Amanda Bloomer. Daniel Toffey with Osceola Bistro.

Craft brewers and restaurants team up for a treat

BY SAMANTHA ROHLFING BAITA on Ocean Drive. They were there to derworks. Their creative and often casionally stopping to taste-test,
Staff Writer spend a pleasant TGIF sampling a va- unexpected flavors were deliciously chat with friends or find a seat at
riety of beers and ales from a handful paired with beautifully presented, cafe tables along the sidewalk. The
Move over wine – craft beer is of Florida's trendiest craft breweries, palate-pleasing dishes from Orchid light was soft, but sufficient and live
headin' uptown and it's getting paired with artisanal dishes from sev- Island Brewery, La Tabla, Culture music by The Kinected provided just
paired with dishes that definitely eral of Vero's hottest restaurants, all Cuisine Machine, Citrus Grillhouse, enough Friday night kick.
leave pretzels in the dust. to benefit Special Olympics through Chelsea's on Cardinal, Osceola Bis-
the Hometown Foundation, Inc. tro, Blue Agave, Patisserie, Garage From end to end, each and every
The vibe at the Ocean of Ales Craft Pizza, and Chive. brewery and restaurant had brought
Beer and Food Pairing last Friday Participating brewers included its A Game, and the enticing aromas
evening was casually classy. The Orchid Island Brewery, Sailfish, Sw- A tented row of tables extend- drifting about assured no possibility
crowd of mostly young professionals amphead, Twisted Trunk, Due South, ed from Ocean Drive west along of leftovers. The Key Lime Pie Beer of-
gathered in and around event host Saltwater, Funky Buddah, Bugnutty, Flamevine, each brewery stationed fered by Bugnutty Brewing Company
Orchid Island Brewery, tucked in- Native Brewing Company, Civil So- beside its restaurant pairing, with of Merritt Island had guests queued
side the courtyard of Portales de Vero ciety and Accomplice Brewery & Ci- ample room for guests to stroll; oc- up to give it a try, paired with a zesty

M HASTERS OF
THE OUSE

772.231.4222 • 2801 Ocean Drive, Suite 302
Vero Beach, FL • www.HGHowleArchitects.com772.231.4222  2801Ocean Drive, Suite 302  Vero Beach, FL 32963  ww w.HGHowleArchitects.com

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 23

PEOPLE

Santiago Ares and Jeremiah Gonzalez with La Tabla. Amanda Saunders from Cork.

Brandon Lojewski with Orchid Island Brewery.

Peter Blake from Chive. named Brewer of the Evening by the
attendees.
salmon dish. Guests sought seconds
of the ginger pork creation from Cul- Studying the wide array of deli-
ture Cuisine Machine, paired with a cacies, Angela Salierno exclaimed,
Red Falcon IPA. And Chelsea's choc- “This is my first time here. I love it!”
olate chip cannoli with homemade Her friend, Caroline Kedem com-
chocolate sauce, washed down with mented, “It's a great night, great
Civil Society Brewery's Milk Stout, weather, and the pairings are spot
was a sweet temptation most pass- on.”
ers-by made no effort to resist.
Shaun Fedder is one of the orga-
Bo Eaton, owner of Saltwater Brew- nizers of the Founders Club, a col-
ery of Delray, whose 3.7 Extra Pale Ale laboration of young local profes-
paired perfectly with Garage Pizza's sionals committed, he explained,
fragrantly saucy veal meatballs, was to “strengthening our presence and
giving back to the community.” They
do so by sitting on various civic and
charitable boards and presenting
fundraisers such as Ocean of Ales,
which was co-chaired by Sara Label-
larte and Amanda Bloomer, to sup-
port local needs.

Founders Club members Alden Bing,
(owner of Orchid Island Brewery),
Rusty Cappelen and Fedder came up
with the Ocean of Ales idea, envision-
ing something intimate and special in
advance of the Sunrise Rotary Florida
Craft Brew and Wingfest the next day.
Mission accomplished. 

24 Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Arts community teams up to support Hibiscus kids

BY MARY SCHENKEL old-fashioned school desk and several children; you’re here because of these
Staff Writer rocking horses, which were snapped up those kids.”
quickly by doting grandparents. There
“They’re all so creative and interest- were also lots of functional adult-sized “This is more than we ever envi-
ing!” was the sentiment heard time chairs, rockers and benches, beautiful- sioned,” said Otto. “The turnout has
and again Friday evening at the unique ly ornamented with paints, shells and been tremendous for an inaugural
new fundraising initiative Chairish the in one case even pool cues. Artists had event; it’s phenomenal. I’m so grate-
Children, to benefit the Hibiscus Chil- replaced seats in a couple of the chairs ful to the arts community because they
dren’s Center. The event, which took with planters, and there was even a made this event. We just hope that we
part at the Vero Beach Country Club, ‘crabby’ lifeguard chair. can do it again next year.”
was a collaborate effort between the
enthusiastic ladies of the Indian River “I love it; I think it’s amazing,” said Admitting that she had her eye on a
Guild, the fundraising arm of Hibiscus, artist Emily Tremml as she glanced particular chair, Sharpe added, “The
and our gifted local arts community. about the room. truth of the matter is, every chair here
is a treasure and could become a fam-
The assignment for artists was a sim- The items were placed all through- ily heirloom. I can’t say enough about
ple one; the results were anything but. out the club’s lobby and dining room, the artists in this community. They
More than 40 artists had been charged and guests periodically checked back have been beyond generous with their
with finding and embellishing in their on their favorites as they grazed at the time and talent.”
own creative fashion a used seat of any various bountiful buffet stations and
type – chairs, benches rocking horses, chatted with the various artists, in- Hibiscus Children’s Center is a non-
stools – whatever they desired. Friday stantly identifiable by their paint pal- profit agency that provides a safe
evening was the culmination of their ette nametags. nurturing environment to abused,
efforts, with their exceptional works of abandoned and neglected children of
art sold through a silent auction. “This is our inaugural Chairish the all ages. The Hibiscus Village in Vero
Children event, and isn’t it a wonderful Beach, which opened its campus in
Entries included numerous chil- event?” said Hibiscus CEO Paul Sexton, 2004, currently houses teens from 13
dren’s chairs, as well as an adorable briefly addressing the crowd to thank through 17 years old, helping prepare
fairy tea table and chairs, a child-sized co-chairs Sue Sharpe and Julie Otto, them to live independent lives through
Beatrix Potter upholstered chair, an the talented artists, hardworking guild education, guidance and career readi-
and generous sponsors. “It’s about our ness programs. 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 25

PEOPLE

123
45 6

78 9

CHAIRISH CAPTIONS

1. Sue Sharpe, Paul Sexton, Julie Otto. 2. Tom

and Connie Murphy, Lee and Bruce Albro,

Mackie and Dick Duch. 3. Carole and Don

Casey with Robin and Brenda Lloyd. 4. Emily

Tremml, Diane Wilhelm and Suzy Mellott.

5. Marie and Armund Ek with Wivi-Anne Weber.

6. Christine Thomas, Minakshi De, Judy Rixom

and Rita Ziegler. 7. Erin Grall, Michael Bielecki

and Trudie Rainone. 8. Lee Moore and Toni

Robinson. 9. Cindy Morris, Margo Stynchcomb

and Jo Park. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE

26 Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Children’s Home Society rockets guests to the moon

BY CHRISTINA TASCON of the elegant fundraising dinner at the “Kids are just fascinated by flight, es-
Staff Writer Corporate Air hangar. pecially in space,” Scott said. “I think
that they are receptive to anyone that
Guests at last Friday evening’s Fly The hangar floor, where planes had takes time out with them and shows
Me to the Moon event to benefit Chil- sat parked just 12 hours earlier, was pol- them that they really care and they are
dren’s Home Society of Florida, Treasure ished to a high shine and a stylish back- important.”
Coast Division, dined under a projected drop created an evening reminiscent
double moon and met NASA Astronaut of a ritzy Miami nightclub from the Rat Scott has had a long illustrious career,
Capt. Winston E. Scott, USN-Ret. and Pack years. most notably logging a total of 24 days,
wife Marilyn Scott, honorary co-chairs 14 hours and 34 minutes in space, in-
“We took the planes out this morning cluding three spacewalks, as a NASA
at 6 a.m. and I ran the Zamboni over the mission specialist for nine days on En-
deavour and 16 on Columbia.
Captain Winston Scott. PHOTOS: PHIL SUNKEL
“Space flight is totally different than
floors,” laughed event co-chair and Cor- anything you can imagine,” he said. “I
porate Air owner Rodger Pridgeon. Prid- don’t think you can fly in space and not
geon, adopted his nephew when he was have it affect your outcome, because
12-years old, and after seeing the impact when you view the earth from space you
of positive changes was led to help other realize how small and finite it is when
children. He has supported CHS with you see beyond earth to other planets.
time and sponsorship for the past eight You just realize how incredibly awesome
years, explaining, “I can’t adopt them all the universe is.”
but at least I can do something to help.”
Dale Jacobs, CHSTC Advisory Board
“It is just gorgeous,” said commit- Chair, is credited with the idea to invite
tee member Elizabeth Sorensen of the Scott, whose achievements clearly reso-
ambiance they had created. “It is very nate with their cause.
warm and inviting and I love the moons
overhead. We were worried that the “We wanted to come up with a theme
space was too large but this is exactly that brought it all around together; to
what we wanted.” tell kids to reach for the stars, go for the
moon and do the best that they can,”
Capt. Scott said he always says ‘yes’ said co-chair Kelly Donovan.
when asked to volunteer his time to a
children’s cause, and he was already fa- The CHS Transitional Living program,
miliar with CHS through wife Marilyn, which assists 17 to 23-year olds who
an active CHS East Coast volunteer. have aged out of the foster care system
or are homeless at 18 but still attending
“My connection to kids is all over. I high school, is just one of the ways the
consider it my community service to organization helps abused and neglect-
help wherever children are involved,” ed children.
said Scott who resides in Melbourne.
He serves on the Boy Scout Council of “We are looking to raise funds tonight
Florida, works with the Boys and Girls to offset some expenses for our nine
Club and has also spoken to children at programs, especially Transitional Liv-
the Gifford Youth Achievement Center. ing,” said CHS Executive Director Sa-
brina Sampson. “We hope to raise about
$145,000 tonight. The committee and
[Orlando event planner] Tim Webber
did an amazing job transforming the
hangar into a night that’s full of elegance
and glitz for our guests.” 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 27

PEOPLE

1 23 4
8
567
CHILDREN’S HOME SOCIETY CAPTIONS

1. Anthony Sudler, Dale Jacobs, Captain Winston Scott, Kelly Donovan and Rodger Pridgeon. 2. Melissa and Joel Shine. 3. Robb Greenfield and Elizabeth
Sorensen. 4. Jean and Andy Taylor with Lauren and Mike Barbosa. 5. John Spilman, Judy Munn, Matilde Sorensen, Sally Spilman and Bill Munn. 6. Eugene
Sampson and Children’s Home Society Executive Director Sabrina Sampson. 7. Dr. John and Mary Beth MacDonald. 8. Sandy Rolf and Janet Baines.

28 Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Craft Brew & Wingfest packs Royal Palm Pointe

BY CHRISTINA TASCON Jaxon Prella. PHOTOS: PHIL SUNKEL vidual taste tickets as well as for brace- restaurants across the spectrum, from
Staff Writer lets enabling purchasers to have unlim- Hurricane Grill, which is known for their
well organized event. I have been told ited samples. wings, to Osceola Bistro which generally
The Rotary Club of Vero Beach Sun- we are considered one of the top five serves more upscale fare.
rise, a.k.a. Sunrise Rotary, pulled off beer events in the state.” “It is always such a great community
another successful event with its fifth event,” said Heather Dean, comment- “For years the wings were left over af-
annual Florida Craft Brew and Wingfest Similar to vineyards and distilleries, ing on the number of families attending. ter we cooked the whole chicken,” said
on Royal Palm Pointe, featuring 70 beer attendees were given small tastes in “There are so many different people of Osceola owner Chris Bireley. “They were
vendors offering taste samplings and 18 sampling glasses rather than full bottles. varying ages coming together and hav- the ‘Scooby Snacks’ for my staff. My wife
local restaurants competing for brag- Long lines began to form early for indi- ing a good time to support such a great Charlotte suggested we add it to the
ging rights as having the best wings in cause.” menu and now we have slowly become
Vero Beach. pretty well-known for our wings too.”
Money raised supports the many
The crowd grew quickly as attendees agencies Rotary works with, including In addition to the 175 selections of
arrived by car, bicycle and on foot, and St. Francis Manor,Youth Guidance, CAS- craft beers and the delicious food, four
even via pontoon boats from Memo- TLE, and Youth Sailing Foundation, and bands - Gas House Gorillas, Southern
rial Island, all relishing weather that was also funds five scholarships each year. Exposure, Jeff Vitolo and the Quarter
slightly cooler than in the past. Atten- Mile Rebels, and Dave Scott and the
dance numbers have continued to in- “It’s 72 degrees, overcast, a perfect day Reckless Shots kept everyone enter-
crease since its inception and co-chairs and we hope to exceed 10,000 people,” tained.
Dr. Stephen Kepley and Arthur Hodge said board President Buck Vocelle, who
expected 8,000 to 12,000 would show up thought the event might raise $100,000. “We never thought it would get
this year. They noted that the number of “The money we raise today goes into a this big. We hoped to attract 5,000 to
craft beer distributors from around the special fund called Matchbook. What 6,000 people but with the success of
state has increased as attendance has that means is that if a charity comes to craft brewing it just took off,” said Paul
grown. us and they say they have a donor that Dritenbas, who originally came up with
will give them a certain amount, we will the event idea to raise money for local
“The first year we had only half the match it to make the dollar go further.” projects.
amount of brewers,” said Kepley. “I
think they come because this is a very Although the beer was the main draw, “The event is four and a half hours of
many others came to chow down on fun that seriously benefits our commu-
some of the best wings in town from nity,” added Vocelle. 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 29

PEOPLE

1 EVENT PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 30

23

45
CRAFT BREW & WINGFEST CAPTIONS

1. Batty and Don Dexter with Lynne and Richard George. 2. Zeo, Dr. Val and Tracey Zudans. 3. Event
chair Todd Darress with Kyle and Kelly Bergstom. 4. Pat and Rich Ritacco. 5. Vero Beach Police Chief
David Currey and Paul Dritenbas.

30 Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

67

8
9

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 31

PEOPLE

11
10

12

CRAFT BREW & WINGFEST CAPTIONS

6. Eric Campion with Ralph and Gloria Geehr. 7. Dave Renee with Mike and Kristin Bartelson.
8. Christine Steinkrauss, Co-chair Arthur Hodge and Debbie Avery. 9. Gretchen Frazier and Anna
Valencia-Tillery. 10. Lori Hanlon with Mike and Ann Marie Jacobs. 11. The Orchid Island Brewing Crew.
12. Lillian, Amanda and Brad Pfennig.

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32 Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Pony Up Hootenanny showcases Special Equestrians

Vickie Penly, Lin Reading and Michelle Penly. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE Darlene Dennis, John Walsh, Joan Swiderski and Charley Replogle. Tonya and Wesley Davis with Beth and Ray Smith.

BY MARY SCHENKEL developmental or emotional disabili- kins, crediting SETC programs for the development, self-esteem and inde-
Staff Writer ties. vast improvements. “We’re very grate- pendence. Students are often non-ver-
ful. Bella has changed our lives the way bal or have difficulty speaking, lack core
Onlookers got a little teary-eyed “That’s what it’s all about; that smile,” these programs have changed hers.” strength or have paralytic limbs, and
watching the expressions of pure joy said Daniel Perkins, whose family ad- working with the horses improves their
on the faces of two young riders going opted Bella 15 months ago from a for- “She’s grown up in the program; she verbal communication, self-assurance,
through their paces last Saturday eve- mer foster mother who said she was un- been in it about 7 years,” said Barbara balance, posture and core strength.
ning at a Pony Up Hootenanny at the educable; at the time Bella knew only a Hires, as daughter Lindsay showed off
B.G. Polo & Equestrian Club to ben- few words. A whole new buoyant Bella her riding skills and later threw kisses to “We serve between 30 and 50 riders,
efit Special Equestrians of the Treasure sat atop gentle Elsa, at one point con- the crowd. “Special Equestrians doesn’t depending on when we’re doing Special
Coast. SETC students Bella, 8, and fidently and clearly singing the entire focus on the defects; they focus on what Olympics,” said 8-year SETC instructor
Lindsay, 12, were demonstrating just alphabet song to enthusiastic applause. she can do and they let her shine.” Joan Swiderski, adding that while they
how therapeutic horseback riding can have not yet had students compete at
be for children and adults with physical, “What you see today is completely Trained, certified instructors work the national level; they have competed
different than she was 15 months ago; with parents to devise lesson plans and at area and state levels.
she’s responding very well,” said Per- goals for students to help with physical

Smith Services

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 33

PEOPLE

Lindsay demonstrates her riding skills.
EVENT PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

Dan Perkins and Peter Hires.

Diane and Vinnie Parentela.

Darlene Dennis, an instructor who
has been with SETC 9 years, recently
put together a 10-week Ride Beyond Di-
agnosis program for breast cancer sur-
vivors in partnership with the support
group Friends After Diagnosis. A breast
cancer survivor herself, Dennis said,
“We’re trying to combine fun, a spiritual
connection and sense of comfort from
the horses. The horses do realize what
someone has gone through. It’s a good
thing.”

“We’re really excited to be paring up
with Special Equestrians. It’s my un-
derstanding that there are only three
programs like this in the country,” said
Lin Reading, who chairs Friends after
Diagnosis. SETC has provided scholar-
ships for the initial four riders, and she
said they are looking for people to spon-
sor riders to accommodate six more on
the wait list.

Meanwhile, back at the barn, Char-
ley Replogle and his Ocean Grill Polo
Team were busy tending the fire for an
impressive Argentine Asada, featuring
an assortment of ribs, various sausage
varieties, chicken and steak to go along
with all the other fixings offered at the
mouthwatering buffet dinner.

Gaston [Rodriguez] is from Argen-
tina and he showed everybody how to
do this,” said Replogle. “He’s a three-
goal polo player.” Others helping out
were Cesar Rodriguez from Venezuela
and Pedro Enriquez from Mexico. “You
build a bonfire and then cook with the
coals. Once it gets going it’s a really nice
slow way of cooking. These guys do this
every other week at my barn; usually
Sundays after polo.”

The event also included a perfor-
mance by banjo picking comedian
Todd Charles, music by the Last Chance
Band, silent and live auctions and a
raffle, all in an effort to help defray the
expense of taking care of their of very
special equine therapists.

The public is invited to visit the barn,
located at 7280 53rd Street, to watch the
Special Olympics County Competition,
9 a.m. Sat. Feb. 27. 

34 Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

23

1

45
HOOTENANNY CAPTIONS

1. Simonetta Steyer and Laurie Blakelock-Rodriguez with Julie and Glenn Risedorf. 2. Ryan Smith
and Cheryl Sangbush with Ashley, Sam and Brent Thurn. 3. Devin Sprenger, Justin Hearl, Rickey
Sorrentino and Dwayne Sprenger, Jr. 4. Denise Jiruska, Jeni Housley and Amanda Jiruska. 5. Bob
and Joan Lapenna.



36 Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

Second stage hilarity with Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike

BY MICHELLE GENZ the great Russian writer to appreciate Cast members performing various scenes from "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike". PHOTOS BY PHIL SUNKEL
Staff Writer the play. An early line alone says it all
– the brother and sisters were all given
Riverside Theatre’s Second Stage names from Chekhov’s plays by their
debut this season is an existential college professor parents who were
comedy in an existential crisis. very active in community theater. You
get the gene pool.
The hilarious “Vanya and Sonia
and Masha and Spike,” Christopher A middle-aged gay brother and adopt-
Durang’s 2013 Tony-award winning, ed sister,Vanya and Sonia (Warren Kelley
Chekhov-inspired farce about three and Susan Cella), are left unemployed
siblings at mid-life’s loose ends, is clos- and undervalued after their parents’
ing on Sunday less than two weeks af- deaths. They live together (she wishes a
ter it opened. bit more intimately) in their childhood
home in Bucks County, Penn., with little
Beware of missed opportunities, as to do to break routine than brood, which
the play’s soothsaying housekeeper Sonia does incessantly.
might warn, and try to get to this show
this weekend. If you can’t, well then, wal- Vanya even suggests medication to
low in your Chekhovian sense of loss. help Sonia’s mood.

Leave it to Durang to make us howl “If everyone took anti-depressants,
at the bleakness of the human condi- Chekhov would have had nothing to
tion. The story line is all his, and its out- write about,” says Sonia.
rageousness is typical of his comedies.
Verging on absurdist but with very ac- Enter their rich sister Masha, played
cessible humor, the play drops hints of with progressively self-sabotaging nar-
“Three Sisters,” “The Cherry Orchard,” cissism by Stacey Logan. An actress
“Uncle Vanya” and “The Seagull” (and with half-a-dozen Broadway credits to
probably more). her name, Logan has for years wintered
on Vero’s barrier island. This is her Riv-
You don’t have to be familiar with erside debut, though a year ago she

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 37

Stacey Logan

ARTS & THEATRE

played the part of Masha in her home- ing to do with Snow White, Sonia ex- may be about to change after all. and for only 10 evening performances
town of Oklahoma City. She is longtime plains that her character is actually The play provoked opening night (plus 6 matinees, including this week-
friends with the production’s excellent the actress Maggie Smith doing an in- end) is a loss for all who have to miss it.
director, Jimmy Brennan, a regular at terpretation of the Evil Queen on Os- barks of laughter from not just River-
Riverside who has known Logan since car night. That community-theater side’s usual audience – who likely found Even if the public clamored for
their days working together in Broad- gene suddenly shows itself in a spot- the trio’s mid-life crises affecting, but more, the run can’t be extended. In
way’s “Crazy For You.” on impersonation – “n-n-n-nomin-A- also from a sizeable cluster of twenty- an irony worthy of Chekhov, the Wax-
tions” –that it brings down the house. somethings in the back of the room. lax has to be cleared out for River-
Masha is a beautiful, once-successful side’s annual Benefit Gala, slated for
actress who of late isn’t getting a lot of After the party, Masha is beside her- Even if quality were the only mea- the Monday before opening night of
roles. She arrives with her much young- self that Sonia got so much attention. sure (setting aside hilarity, intelligence “Hello, Dolly!” March 8.
er boy toy, Spike (Brian Ogilvie – who and relatability), not a seat in the house
looks like he just swallowed a sparkler). “Anyone who wears a tiara and se- should have been empty for this show Existential? Absolutely. Without
Spike spends much of the play stripped quins is always going to be the win- even as a 700-seat Main Stage produc- fundraisers, no show would go on.
to his underwear – to Masha’s delight ner!” she declares in what may be tion (as several in the audience re-
and Vanya’s closeted misery – twitching Masha’s most lucid moment. marked afterwards it should have been.) “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and
his spectacularly pumped muscles, in- For it to have run in the 250-seat Waxlax Spike” plays through Sunday after-
cluding the one in his head. The day after the party, the status noon. 
quo devolves. Cassandra the psy-
Masha rules the roost here: she chic housekeeper played by Kathel
owns the house and financially sup- Carlson, tries a little black magic to
ports her siblings. So she thinks noth- undo Masha’s house-selling. Nina,
ing of demanding a minor payback on the young aspiring actress from next
this visit. Invited to a costume party by door, played by Morgan MacInnes,
some important neighbors, she wants boosts the humble Vanya’s ego by
to set off her plastic-looking Disney- asking him to do a reading of the play
animation Snow White costume by he’s secretly written, the fleshing out
making everyone else play dwarfs. of a play that Konstantin is writing in
Chekhov’s “The Seagull.”
She also expects to break the news that
the house won’t be theirs to live in for As the reading gets underway, the
long. But before we know it, she’s as bro- otherwise low-key Vanya has his A-
ken down as the other two, howling with list moment going off when Spike
insecurities, clinging to Spike, pleading starts texting. His tirade against tech-
for the glamour of her lost youth. nology – “We licked postage stamps!”
– is a marathon of nostalgia, and a
Her cookie further crumbles when masterpiece of monologue by Kel-
Sonia eschews playing Dopey and ley. There is a hint in his delivery that
decides instead to be the Evil Queen, Vanya, undone, is aware of going too
and she appears in a tiara and shim- far. He knows about cell phone rude-
mering silver sheath. Languorously ness, he’s just so removed from the
spreading her Michelle Obama-wor- world that he’s never experienced it.
thy arms along the back of the couch,
Cella subtly transforms Sonia before And it turns out, Spike was tex-
our eyes, delivering Sonia’s burgeon- ting Masha’s personal assistant, with
ing belief in herself with a shaky but whom he is sexually involved – sur-
unstoppable confidence. prise, surprise. But Masha doesn’t
take it well. Like texting, even mean-
Challenged that her outfit has noth- ingless sex has its protocols, for peo-
ple of a certain age at least.

But it is Sonia’s phone call from an
admirer at the party, who clearly is
confused by her on-and-off British ac-
cent, that gives the play a decidedly
non-Chekhovian sense of hopefulness.
The caller asks her for a date, and Cella
registers all this beautifully. Sonia’s life

38 Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

Coming up: Great music and last chance to see hilarious play

BY MICHELLE GENZ characters has matinee and evening Ladysmith Black Mambazo coming to the Kravis Center.
Staff Writer performances this weekend, but then
that’s it. Sadly.
1 If I haven’t sounded reveille Considering that one member of the ex-
enough in the review this week cellent cast, Stacey Logan, is a longtime
part-time resident ofVero, it’s worth see-
of Riverside’s new play, you really, ing just to claim this Broadway actress as
one of our own. The play is part of Riv-
really should try to make it to this erside’s Second Stage series and takes
place in the smaller Waxlax black-box
final weekend of “Vanya and Sonia theater. I cannot stress enough the im-

and Masha and Spike.” Playwright

Christopher Durang’s seriously witty

mash-up of Chekhov’s themes and

portance of supporting these fine Sec- ban and Melissa Etheridge. Now in its
ond Stage plays, if you want our home- 50th year, the Grammy-award win-
town theater to continue to deliver more ning group still bases its sound on the
than Main Stage musicals. traditional Zulu music, in particular
of those who work in South African
2 Pack a picnic and a blanket for mines. The show starts at 7 p.m.
the Gosman Amphitheater in
And if you time it right, you can
West Palm Saturday when Ladysmith catch a little music, tuck your basket
back in the trunk and then go inside
Black Mambazo plays for the Kravis Kravis’ Dreyfoos Hall to see Miami
City Ballet’s Program Three at 8 p.m.
Center’s $20-a-ticket Peak series. The This one features the work of Justin
Peck, the New York City Ballet’s resi-
a cappella group from South Africa dent choreographer and soloist, “The
Year of the Rabbit,” with classical or-
is best known for singing with Paul

Simon on his album “Graceland,”

but they’ve also recorded with Stevie

Wonder, Sarah McLachlan, Josh Gro-

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Lyle Lovett and Vince Gill coming to the King Center. Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 39

ARTS & THEATRE

buy its sheet music, which it then 5 And because it is such major
turns over to high school orchestras news, one more plug for the
and students. It also provides schol-
arships for music instruction. Okeechobee Music and Arts Festi-

The orchestra is conducted by Page val, which is literally putting central
Howell, who has worked with the re-
markably accomplished Vero Beach Florida on the map for music fans.
High School orchestra since 2006.
And the very talented violinist Matt Since I last mentioned this, the re-
Stott, who for 15 years has been direc-
tor of the school system’s orchestras, cent Grammy Awards and the news
will perform Mozart’s Violin Concerto
No. 3 in G Major. Also on the program surrounding them has given the ros-
are the overtures to “The Magic Flute”
and “The Adduction of Seraglio,” as ter even more celebrity status. (Fes-
well as “Symphony No. 39.”
chestration based on Sufjan Stevens’ pared the back-and-forth to ping tival performers Kendrick Lamar,
2002 electronic album “Enjoy the pong, with stories of their life expe-
Rabbit” which we heard in the piece’s riences woven between solos and Skrillex, Future and Fetty Wap all ei-
premiere. duets. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m.
ther won an award or got people say-
The program also includes one of Then next Thursday, March 3, Herb
Paul Taylor’s most stirring works, Alpert performs with his wife Lani ing they should have.)
“Sunset,” which depicts six girls and Hall. Alpert’s jazz trumpet has awed
six soldiers separated by war. And even Miles Davis. Hall herself has a Just about every genre but classical
finally, Balanchine’s “Bourrée Fan- Grammy for Best Latin Pop Perfor-
tasque,” a ballet of 42 dancers in four mance. That concert, also at King will be represented on three stages
movements set to the music of Chab- Center, starts at 7 p.m.
rée. It was one of the first dances he over four days, starting March 3. 
choreographed for the New York City
Ballet. 4 Sunday at 2 p.m. at Vero High’s
Performing Arts Center, there’s

a free concert of the music of Mozart

3 At the King Center in Mel- by the Vero Beach Chamber Orches-
bourne, there were still tickets
tra. The community orchestra that

at press time for Vince Gill and Lyle came together in 2007 has grown to

Lovett on Sunday. The two are on a 48 members, including both semi-

13-city tour with an act that evolves professional and professional musi-

spontaneously, they say – they nev- cians and five promising high school

er know what they’re going to sing students. It is one of the few cultural

when, and they don’t know who will events in Vero that is free to the pub-

ad-lib what. Seated on stools with lic, though a donation is suggested.

no band backing them up, Gill com- The group uses those donations to

40 Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

Barry Shapiro’s screenplay ‘L’Alouette’ brought to life

BY MICHELLE GENZ The owner of Yoga Pagoda, Shelley Suzanne Valadon
Adele, read the part of Suzanne. A one-
Staff Writer time student of acting in New York, she
was recently in the Vero Beach Theatre
Seven years ago, before Barry Shap- Guild’s production of “Hairspray.” Other
iro bought (and sold, last year) Light- actors from the Guild read as well, along
house Gallery and Frame in Vero’s with interested volunteers recruited by
arts district, he went on one of his fre- Shapiro. An impromptu audience, gath-
quent visits to Manhattan and found ered from Shapiro’s Facebook posts,
himself in the Strand bookstore. sprawled on yoga mats to listen.

Passing time in his old haunt, he It was the first time Shapiro had ac-
picked up a book with an interesting tually heard the play read through, start
face on the cover. It was slim volume to finish. If voices raised emotions, the
by an art historian on the French art- story’s visuals should be dazzling.
ist, model and muse Suzanne Valadon,
little known in the U.S. but a legend in Suzanne Valadon turned many more
France. heads than Shapiro’s in that bookstore.
In turn-of-the-20th-century Paris, she
“I picked it up and thought, this earned the studious gaze of some of the
looks interesting. Then I went, whoa! most famous Impressionist painters,
I’m fascinated, I get some more posing as a paid model and eventually
books, next thing I know I’m on the becoming a respected painter herself.
Internet finding everything I can.”
Valadon epitomized the spirit of
Sunday night, the screenplay Shap- Montmartre. Her screen-worthy sexu-
iro went on to co-write. “L’Alouette,” ality was as overt and unrestrained as
finally came to life – or at least came her artistic talent, groomed at the knee
off the printed page. He and a group – so to speak – of some of the biggest
of artist and actor friends gathered in names in Impressionism: Toulouse-
a yoga studio – about as Bohemian as Lautrec, Degas, Renoir and many
Vero gets – for a reading of the script.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 41

ARTS & THEATRE

more. She was known to pepper artists Barry Shapiro and Shelley Adele. PHOTOS BY DENISE RITCHIE Monpierre got in touch with Shapiro.
for painting tips as she posed. Eventu- “As she started taking it around to vari-
ally she became accomplished enough Shapiro, who studied art at Pratt In- ing her first full-length feature film ous festivals, people kept saying, ‘This
to sell her works to many of them. stitute in the 1970s, worked as a free- when Shapiro approached about co- is great. What’s your next project?’ So
lance illustrator before getting into TV writing “L’Alouette.” she called me and said, ‘Are you still
At 29, she became the first woman production, creating his own company working on that French artist film?’
admitted to the Société Nationale des in 1984. It was through connections in That film, “Elza,” which has gone on
Beaux Arts. the advertising world that he and Mon- to win numerous awards, is the story “As soon as she got involved, it
pierre met. of a girl raised in France who returns changed everything.”
Her own son, born when she was to Guadaloupe to find her father.
18, would grow up to be the famous Monpierre was in the throes of mak- By the time he closed Lighthouse last
painter Maurice Utrillo, though his Soon after the film was complete, April, he had enough of a rough draft to
father was never revealed. take to New York. For a month, he and
Monpierre hashed out plot, characters,
Apart from a short film based on dialogue and stages direction.
Utrillo’s youth, a Grammy-nominated
music video on her relationship with “She’s a freaking genius,” he says of
composer Erik Satie, and a French full- Monpierre, whom he met more than 30
length film “Lautrec” which won a César years ago.
award, no major film has been made of
Valadon’s life. “She came to me when she was think-
ing of leaving BBDO. ‘I want to be a di-
Shapiro’s fascination with Valadon rector,’ she said. I said, you know, that’s
was not enough to develop her char- a pretty tough thing to do. You’re a black
acter. For that he turned to co-writer, woman in America. But she did it.”
filmmaker Mariette Monpierre. “I’d
hit a wall,” he says of his early efforts. The collaborative process evolved
“What the hell do I know about be- over email at first.“The first thing we had
ing a French woman at the turn of the to determine was what part of her life to
20th century?” talk about.There are so many things that
happened to her in her long life that we
Born in Guadaloupe, raised in Paris don’t even want to touch upon.”
by her mother, Monpierre studied at the
Sorbonne and Smith College. She came Valadon, daughter of an unmarried
to the U.S. to produce commercials for laundress, went to work at age 11 and
advertising giant BBDO, then segued by 15, was a trapeze artist with a cir-
into directing music videos for a French cus. Though she received no formal
record label. Her credits now number 50. training, she worked as an artist for

CONTINUED ON PAGE 42

42 Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 ARTS & THEATRE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 41 The first reading of Barry Shapiro's
screenplay,'L'Alouette', at Yoga Pagoda.

Barry Shapiro. Yet some of those differences and the
tension between us is what create this
40 years until she died of a stroke at screenplay.”
72. Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque
were at her funeral. A small square in A second draft is in progress, he says,
Montmartre is named in her honor. and they are beginning to think of cast-
ing.
In the end, they decided to choose
her early years. “We have recently started to reach
out to people,” says Shapiro. “A fairly
“We thought about taking different well-known French actor has expressed
sections,” he says of the collaboration. an interest in looking at the screenplay.
“But it didn’t really work out that way. Mariette met with him a few months
We would hash out ideas together, ago. We’re not ready to send anything
then I would write it and send it to her. to him yet, but we will in the next few
She would change it and send it back.” months.”

After a month in New York, Mon- For now, they are working on fund-
pierre came here to Vero, staying at the ing, and hoping the arts-friendly
home of Shapiro and his girlfriend Pa- French government will kick in with a
tricia Miles. grant. “There’s a whole process to do-
ing that, and they say to pick out the
“We fought like husband and wife,” actors that you would want to see play
Shapiro says referring not to Miles but the major roles.” 
to his collaborator. “We’re both so emo-
tional, Patricia used to say, ‘I’m out of
here. I’m leaving you two alone now.’



44 Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT COVER STORY

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 45

INSIGHT COVER STORY

Will Britain finally leave the European Union?

COMPILED FROM THE ECONOMIST, THE WASHINGTON POST AND BLOOMBERG

In June, the United Kingdom will hold an “in- BRITISH PRIME MINISTER DAVID CAMERON residents swelled to 13.4 percent of the population
or-out” referendum on whether Britain should re- by 2011, roughly double the level in 1991.
main in or leave the European Union.
In the last few years, migrants have been lured by
This is the latest twist in the debate over Britain’s a British economy growing at twice the pace of the
relationship with the rest of Europe that started euro zone. The U.K. is the second-biggest EU coun-
even before the U.K. joined the common market in try by economic output and the third-largest by pop-
1973. ulation, after Germany and France.

Britain actually agonized for 16 years prior to de- It is these two issues – the extent to which EU
ciding to join the European Economic Community membership restricts how Britain limits migrant
– which was formed in 1957 – and some Britons workers, and the economic uncertainty of an exit
immediately argued that it should pull out. from the European Union – that are at the heart of
the current “in-or-out” debate.
Before a U.K. referendum on the question in
1975, however, most politicians and newspapers The referendum is likely to come down to which
reasoned that staying in was best for the economy, side can better exploit worries,
and it passed by a margin of 2-to-1.
In a two-day summit meeting last week with other
But Prime Minister John Major’s government al- EU leaders, British Prime Minister David Cameron
most fell in 1993 after Britain signed the Maastricht sought to renegotiate his country’s membership in
Treaty, which expanded cooperation and created the European Union and obtained “concessions”
the European Union. designed to keep Britain in the bloc.

Euroskepticism also kept Britain from adopting Cameron asked for the right to curtail benefits
the European Union’s single currency, the euro, for migrant workers from other EU countries for
when it was launched in 1999. 13 years, but he got seven years instead. Cameron
asked for an effective veto over EU legislation but in-
Naysayers later felt vindicated by the euro zone’s stead got an assurance that any such legislation will
debt crisis. The bloc added eight eastern European take into account the interests of countries that aren't
countries in 2004, triggering an influx of immi- part of Europe's monetary and banking unions.
grants that strained public services. The EU still
has a queue of countries wanting to join. Cameron wanted an opt-out of the EU treaties'
goal of an "ever closer union" and got a declaration
In England and Wales, the share of foreign-born explaining that this only applied to those countries
that wanted it.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the deal
demanded "a lot of willingness for compromise."
Cameron then promised to campaign "with all my
heart and soul to persuade the British people to re-
main in the reformed European Union that we have
secured today."

But in reality, the U.K. was, and remains, about as
much of an EU member as Switzerland – which is not
formally part of the union – and, arguably, even less.
The U.K. doesn't subscribe to the EU's common-bor-
ders policy or borderless free movement. Meanwhile,
Switzerland has borderless travel with EU countries.

Since 2007, the U.K. has had an opt-out of Eu-
rope's Charter of Fundamental Rights, allowing U.K.
courts to define basic human rights without refer-
ence to European law. Well, Switzerland also defines
these rights at its own discretion.

Switzerland has a tougher regime for migrant
workers from the EU than the U.K. does. It allows
most of them to accept employment offers, but it
kicks out anyone who applies for benefits.

The U.K. would like to do the same, and Friday's
agreement is a small step along this path.

For the most part, however, it suits everyone fine
that the U.K. is an EU member in name only.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 46

46 Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 45 INSIGHT COVER STORY

Both sides need a free-trade regime. Germany and
France are the second- and third-biggest trade part-
ners of the U.K., together accounting for greater trade
volumes than the No. 1 partner, the United States.
For Germany, the U.K. is the No. 3 trading partner;
for France, it's No. 4. Undermining that would do no
one any good.

At the same time, the EU would look woefully in-
complete without Europe's third-most-populous
country. It's OK to do without Norway, but the U.K.
would be too big to keep outside the European or-
bit.

Anything more than this has always been option-
al. Contrary to a belief that is for some reason wide-
spread in the U.K., Brussels doesn't want to force
anyone into deeper integration. Idealistic projects
such as the EU are for enthusiastic volunteers. Every-
one else has always been able to opt out of various
parts of the union, and those not wanting to integrate
at the same speed have never been punished.

Last week’s agreement says that the EU trea-
ties allow for the non-participation of one or more
Member States in actions intended to further the
objectives of the Union, notably through the estab-
lishment of enhanced cooperations. Therefore, such
processes make possible different paths of integra-
tion for different Member States, allowing those that
want to deepen integration to move ahead, whilst re-
specting the rights of those which do not want to take
such a course.

Cameron touts this as a victory. "Today we have
permanently carved Britain out of it, so that we can
never be forced into political integration with the rest
of Europe," he said of the "ever closer union" goal.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 25, 2016 47

INSIGHT COVER STORY

Recent events – the euro-zone banking crisis, the less concessions that were made. EU leaders have Cameron, however, takes too much upon himself
Greek meltdown, the enormous influx of refugees some real work to do. when he declares that "Britain will never be part of a
from the Middle East – have bared too many ten- European superstate." The EU is a long-term project,
sions and differences between those EU members While June 23 referendum is no slam dunk for the and even if much of the country doesn't see its ben-
that have subscribed to tighter unity for Europe to pro-EU forces (the popular mayor of London came efits now, that doesn't have to be the case for eternity.
care much about holdouts. These differences can't out against it over the weekend), even a positive out-
be overcome as easily as the essentially meaning- come will be no more meaningful than a royal war- After all, it was an Englishman, Charles Dickens,
rant of appointment on a tin of Twinings tea. who first used the expression "Never say never." 

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INSIGHT EDITORIAL

Regular guy Jeb Bush proved no match for gladiators

Here is a final view from Bloomberg compassionate as he gave substantive sented. Before one town hall I attended, He’d found out that Republicans
on the ill-fated presidential campaign answers to voters’ questions, whether his son, George P. Bush, introduced him weren’t allergic to the Bush name after
of Jeb Bush. they dealt with allowing women to be as a “grinder” who would stay in the all, but also that they doubted whether
drafted into the military, specific plans race to the bitter end and never give up. he was worthy of it. He lacked the aura
Jeb Bush did everything wrong in for replacing Obamacare, or his plans of victory. He was too soft, too easy to
this presidential campaign, but we’re for education reform. On February 6, Bush actually per- mock and dismiss.
sorry to see him go. He was, for want formed well against Trump in a de-
of a better word, the most human of New Hampshire’s heroin epidemic bate. He scored some points against At a church service on Saturday as
the Republicans in the race. was the biggest issue in that state’s cam- him on eminent domain, and when voting in South Carolina’s primary was
paign. Melissa Crews, who runs a recov- Trump tried to shush him, the audi- winding down, the preacher was refer-
We watched him campaign in Iowa, ery center for addicts in Manchester, ence booed – one of the most uncom- ring to King Nebuchadnezzar as “Neb
New Hampshire and South Carolina. told how Bush – whose daughter Noelle fortable moments for Trump in the Exclamation Point.” It didn’t even elicit
He was clearly undergoing a difficult had struggled with substance abuse – televised part of this campaign. many laughs: Bush was gone, perform-
learning process. showed up at the center without cam- ing worse than polls had predicted,
eras or much of an entourage, made a When the vote count showed he had failing even to get into the double digits
In Iowa, despite having sunk low in the donation, and had an intelligent dis- improved his performance – though a as he had done in New Hampshire.
polls, he was trying to sound confident, cussion of what could be done to help vote still cost him $293 – it seemed well
being a little more forceful than his qui- people trying to kick a drug habit. deserved. His learning curve was so steep He lost out to candidates whose
et personality and coming off nervous, that if his performance curve matched it, human frailties are far less obvious.
even a little scared of his audiences. It was in New Hampshire that Bush he’d soon have a fighting chance. Trump only pretends to be offended
realized it was OK to bring his family when someone – be it Ted Cruz or the
He was also trying to talk as little as into the campaign. He welcomed his But South Carolina was anticlimac- pope himself – attacks him: He has the
he could about his family, trying too mother, Barbara Bush, and started off tic. Jeb brought in the heavy artillery most fun when that happens.
hard to show he was his own man. his campaign appearances by talking at – his brother George W. Bush, still
Conservative talk show hosts were length about his love for his wife. He ac- well liked by Republican voters – but Cruz still grinds out seven cam-
laughing at his posters, which just tually started sounding unashamed of he couldn’t match the ex-president’s paign stops per day, as he did in Iowa,
said “Jeb!”: He was the only candidate his last name and the dynasty he repre- charisma and warmth. By contrast, without breaking a sweat or cutting
without a last name when everyone he sounded desperate, pleading. corners on his oratory, and he seems
knew he had the most famous one. made of steel.

And then there were the debates, in Marco Rubio does his perfectly re-
which Donald Trump pummeled him hearsed charming boyish act and
with the ease of a champion boxer tak- works feverishly behind the scenes,
ing on a shy, bespectacled novice. picking up endorsements and money
that would have gone to Bush had he
He overspent crazily on ads, clearly looked a winner.
believing in the power of this old-time
blunt instrument – but it just gave more They are gladiators of the highest
ammunition to Trump, who kept telling caliber. Bush, despite his family histo-
his fans that pathetic Bush was just burn- ry, is just a regular guy. He’s not neces-
ing money without any visible result. sarily weak. He’s normal, in the sense
of being able to carry on a normal con-
In the end, Bush lost so badly in Iowa versation where the others perform.
that each vote cost him $626, according
to calculations based on data from Kantar Clearly, Republican voters don’t
Media’s Campaign Media Analysis Group. want normality, though they flirted
with it in New Hampshire. They want
In New Hampshire, the attempts at a show and a sword fight. They may
aggressiveness were gone. Bush em- not like it when the winner claims his
braced his normcore style, and he lis- spoils, though. 
tened to voters more than he talked
at them. He sounded concerned and