12/22/2022 ISSUE 51

John’s Island Foundation
fetes top donors. P18
Shell’ebrating
sea turtle success. P21

No holiday surge yet here
in COVID-19 infections. P12

For breaking news visit

MY VERO Criticism mounts
of impending Vero
BY RAY MCNULTY utility rate hikes

A special Christmas for
survivor of heart attack

Cliff Norris Jr. had felt this PHOTO BY JOSHUA KODIS BY LISA ZAHNER
pain in his right arm before, so Staff Writer
he wasn’t particularly alarmed The wait for the Seaside Grill to reopen goes on
as he walked from the parking Vero Beach’s new “One
lot across from Riverside The- BY SAMANTHA ROHLFING BAITA Grill this Christmas season. A couple of recently dis- Rate” utility plan, designed to
atre toward the east end of the Staff Writer Scores of eager fans covered issues are being as- put all of its water-sewer cus-
Barber Bridge. sessed, and neither the les- tomers on the road to steeper
Hungry Vero residents chomping at the bit for the see, GC Ventures, nor the rates in January, hasn’t even
Then, suddenly, came an- and their holiday guests reopening of their beloved lessor, Indian River County, gone into effect yet and it’s
other pain – one the longtime will not be breakfasting eatery in Jaycee Park will currently knows how long attracting criticism from out-
island resident and realtor had or lunching at the Seaside have to wait longer than side-the-city customers to the
never experienced – in his jaw. originally anticipated. CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 north and south.

“I remember saying to my- On Tuesday, South Beach
self, ‘Lord, what’s that?’” Nor- customer Doug DeMuth asked
ris said, recalling what would the County Commission to
become a frightening and life- intervene on behalf of out-of-
altering Saturday afternoon city residents whose homes
in early October. “It definitely have been stuck on Vero’s
got my attention.” utility system without a valid
franchise agreement for the
Still, he kept walking, turning past five years.
left onto the sidewalk on the
south side of Beachland Bou- “The City of Vero Beach staff
levard. Before he could reach continues to post rate in-
the bridge, however, his vision formation without a detailed
began to blur and he felt light-
headed, so much so that he CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
stopped and grabbed the side-
walk railing. Elite Airways says it
still plans to resume
“Even then, I thought it would flights toVero shortly

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BY RAY MCNULTY
Staff Writer
Orchid Island building boom bringing
new generation of members to the club Elite Airways president John
Pearsall said last weekend he
BY STEVEN M. THOMAS Westmark, builder/develop- expects the carrier to resume
Staff Writer er of Palm Island Plantation, is commercial jet service at Vero
the main player in the current Beach Regional Airport early
A building boom is underway Orchid building boom, with six next year.
at the Orchid Island Golf and new homes going up on one
Beach Club, where real estate street near the front gate and “We intend to return first
prices are up 65 percent since three more underway else-
before COVID and demand for where in the community. CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
homes has never been stronger.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

PHOTO BY JOSHUA KODIS

December 22, 2022 Volume 15, Issue 51 Newsstand Price $1.00 Happy Holidays!
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2 Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

My Vero “She just happened to be coming underwent two days of tests, includ- taking for years. And at 215 pounds,
over the bridge, on her way to visit her ing a heart catheterization procedure he plans to resume his efforts to lose
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 mother at John’s Island, when she saw that helped diagnose the extent of the weight, but with more wisdom this time.
someone on the ground,” Norris said. blockage.
pass,” said Norris, who turned 57 earlier “She didn’t know it was me. We hadn’t It was his frenzied push to shed weight
this month. “That was the last thing I re- seen each other in a couple of years.” The following Monday, doctors told – after too many years of high cholester-
member before blacking out.” him how dangerously close he came to ol and eating the wrong foods, as well as
In fact, Buck didn’t realize she was dying on that sidewalk. being too sedentary for too long – that
Those symptoms, he would later tending to a friend until a Vero Beach contributed to his heart attack.
learn, were the onset of a massive heart police officer arrived at the scene and “I’ll never forget one doctor coming
attack, caused by a total blockage of the asked a disoriented Norris for his name. in and telling me: ‘Don’t bother buy- This past spring, after more than a
left anterior descending artery – a heart ing a Florida Lottery ticket. You just year away, Norris returned to the tennis
attack commonly known as the “widow “That’s when I heard her say, ‘Cliff? cashed yours in,’” Norris said. court. When he wasn’t playing match-
maker,” because it’s so often fatal. It’s Justine,’” Norris said. es, he was rallying with friends, hitting
A stent wasn’t an option, so, on the against a ball machine or practicing
Somehow, though, Norris survived. He doesn’t know how long he was morning of Oct. 12 – four days after his serves.
“I guess the Lord still has a plan for unconscious – he believes it was for heart attack – cardiac surgeon Mariano
me,” he said, openly embracing his only a couple of minutes – but he re- Brizzio performed coronary bypass sur- He continued that regimen through-
Christian faith, “because it’s a miracle members opening his eyes and seeing gery, a four-hour procedure that cor- out the summer, and it produced
that I’m here.” blood and his broken sunglasses on rected the problem. results: He dropped 20 pounds and
At the very least, it was a fortuitous the sidewalk. weighed just over 220 on Oct. 8, when
twist of fate that someone was driving by, “Everything went smoothly,” Norris he stepped onto the court to play a sin-
noticed the fallen pedestrian on the side- “I don’t remember hitting the ground, said. “They had me up and walking the gles match in a Boulevard Tennis Club-
walk, and immediately stopped to help. but I must’ve face-planted,” Norris said. hospital hallways the next day.” sponsored tournament.
It was mere coincidence, however, “When I first opened my eyes, I didn’t
that the woman who came to his aid know where I was or what had hap- He was released from the hospital a “We played at noon in the heat of
was someone he knew – Justine Buck, pened.” week later and, grateful to be back in the day, and it was about 90 degrees,”
whose husband, Jim, had retired earlier his Pebble Bay home, continues to re- Norris said. “I knew I had to get out of
this year after 27 years as tennis director By the time a Fire Rescue ambulance cover. He returned to work last month. there in two sets, because I didn’t have
at the Orchid Island Golf & Beach Club. arrived, though, he had regained his a third set in me.”
For those who don’t know: Norris, senses. The 9-inch scar on his chest is still
who grew up at John’s Island, was a sore – he’ll show it to friends who want Norris played well and went on to
top junior who starred at Vero Beach “I was awake and lucid,” he said. “If to see it – but he’s now walking more win in straight sets, but the match last-
High School before going on to play you had told me to walk it off, I probably than two miles per day and has begun ed more than 90 minutes.
at Vanderbilt University, and he’s well- would’ve tried, but I knew I was in trou- light workouts at a local gym. A healthy
known in the local tennis community. ble. I knew it was my heart. I knew there glow has returned to his face. He hopes “I’m usually good about not pushing
was something really, really wrong.” to start playing tennis again in February. myself too hard, but that tennis match
forced me to go hard for almost two
How wrong? Norris would find out Norris also has committed to a more- hours, and that put me over the edge,”
after being transported to Cleveland healthy diet. He’s finally on the cho- he said. “I was tired, sopping wet and
Clinic Indian River Hospital, where he lesterol medication he should’ve been

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Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 3

huffing and puffing on changeovers. Be- $82 million, plus about $74 million in The rest of the added revenue will ers of the utility. In fact, the 6 percent
lieve me, I was relieved when it was over. financing costs, for a total of $156 mil- go toward operating costs. Those costs general fund transfers will increase as
lion, to be paid over 30 years. have been increasing due to inflation revenues rise.
“But I felt fine when I left the club.” and government regulation, but the
With his wife, son and daughter all But the city has not received any ac- utility still returns a profit of more than Vero has been serving South Beach
out of town, Norris returned home tual bids on constructing the new plant. $1 million annually which it transfers customers without a valid franchise
with only two other items on his to-do Utility staff is in the process of prepar- to Vero’s general fund. There’s been agreement, so those customers’ rates
list: Show a house to a potential buyer ing a bid packet on the membrane no serious discussion of ending those are simply set by ordinance by the
at 4 p.m., and dinner with his father at equipment. The choice of membranes, transfers, which Vero says are the fair City Council.
6:30 p.m. Utility Director Rob Bolton said, will rate of return for city taxpayers as own-
Then the buyer canceled. determine the design of the plant. The Town of Indian River Shores has a
“I weighed myself when I got home,
and I was 221, which made me think: CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
If I lose two more pounds, I’ll be under
220 for the first time in years,” Norris
said. “I had some free time before din-
ner, so I decided to walk the bridges.
“It’s about six miles all the way around
– from Riverside Park over both the Bar-
ber and 17th Street bridges and back to
the park – but I go at an easy pace.”
So off he went.
To be sure, there were warning signs,
including at least one recent episode
of lightheadedness, blurred vision and
an irregular heartbeat. There was also
the aforementioned arm pain he be-
gan noticing two years ago.
“I definitely ignored some red flags,
and that’s on me,” Norris said. “I didn’t
know I was about to have a heart at-
tack, but I should have known some-
thing was wrong, and I should’ve done
something about it.
“This was going to happen eventu-
ally, some day in some way,” he contin-
ued. “I was stubborn, and I’m 100-per-
cent responsible for my actions. I can
only hope me telling my story can help
another stubborn guy out there.”
In the meantime, Norris is looking
forward to fully embracing the spirit of
a Christmas made extra special by what
he’s convinced was another miracle.
“This Christmas will feel different,”
he said. “I’m just so thankful for all the
miracles in my life – my marriage, my
family, my business, and especially my
health.” 

Utility rate hike
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

engineering design construction esti-
mate for their new wastewater treat-
ment plant in place. This puts the cart
before the horse. They need to pro-
vide the public with an detailed proj-
ect cost, its degree of accuracy and its
impact on our future rates,” DeMuth
said.

“I ask that the Board of County Com-
missioners to look into this situation
and publicly inform county rate payers
about what their future rates will be-
come,” DeMuth said.

A large portion of the rate increase
will be set aside to pay debt service on
the new sewer plant slated to be built
on Vero Beach Regional Airport land.
Initial estimates say the plant will cost

4 Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

Utility rate hike low rates for Shores customers. But Vero next three years, customers will see a Mayor Brian Foley said, noting that the
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 might impose the new rate hikes in Jan- cumulative increase of nearly 80 per- council approved a provision not to
uary anyway – daring the Shores to sue cent on their sewer bills under the One increase town customers’ reuse irriga-
franchise agreement in force through them, again, for breach of contract. Rate plan. tion water rates due to pending litiga-
October 2027 wherein Vero pledges to tion over those rates. “Until we get a bill
match Indian River County Utilities’ TheVero council-approved water and “I suspect they are going to charge the I don’t know.”
sewer rates will be significantly higher One Rate to the Indian River Shores cus-
than published county rates. Over the tomers but it is not clear to us,” Shores The town sued Vero over reuse irriga-

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 5

tion water rates in 2019.Vero won a sum- tions by this Friday. Turner is on vaca- Vero’s customers. The rate consultant’s to reverse course on that now.
mary judgment but the Shores appealed tion this week so it’s unclear if he’ll meet financial modeling was built upon the When utility bills hit in January with
Circuit Court Judge Janet Croom’s ruling the deadline, but the city’s response will premise that every Vero utility custom-
and that appeal is pending. likely determine what happens next. er, including the 15 percent of custom- the new rate hikes included, if Indian
ers in the Town of Indian River Shores, River Shores’ ratepayers’ bills include the
The town’s lawyers sent Vero City At- Vero City Manager Monte Falls has would pay the new rates. new rates approved last week, the town
torney John Turner a letter last week stated publicly numerous times that will have no choice but to take some sort
asking Turner to clarify the city’s inten- the new rates would be charged to all of It would be shocking for Vero Beach of legal action, sooner or later. 

6 Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

Seaside Grill The county building department has Elite Airways any specific reasons for the Elite’s ab-
indicated the permit is on hold because sence the past few months.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 “the contractor is currently inactive, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
and the contractor, local firm Milton “I have no idea what’s going on,”
that wait will be. Since receiving the Mayberry Enterprises, says it is await- quarter 2023,” Pearsall texted Saturday Scher said last week, before Pearsall’s
keys this past July, Studebaker (co- ing word from (the boots on the ground in response to questions from Vero text exchange with this newspaper. “He
owner with partner Wiley Wong) and his at the site) as to when the vital hood- Beach 32963. tells you something is in the works, then
local crew have worked on what he ini- related work can move forward. you don’t hear anything.”
tially called “more of a facelift.” But late Elite will issue a press release “right
in the summer, the county determined a A recent visit by Vero Beach 32963 after New Year’s,” Pearsall wrote, add- Elite’s lack of transparency has
more extensive kitchen equipment up- found the building closed up with no ing that the announcement will include spawned several industry rumors, in-
date would be required. work crew or owner on the property, an explanation as to why the boutique cluding some that claimed the airline
the old hood sitting rusted and forlorn airline hasn’t flown since June 30. was being sold, that Pearsall was tak-
In August, Studebaker had said, “We on the now empty south patio. ing on a partner, and that the carrier
at first estimated it’d take about six Pearsall’s remarks surprised Vero lacked the financial means to operate.
weeks; now it looks like 11, as we found The little restaurant by the sea had Beach Airport Director Todd Scher, who
more we needed/wanted to do.” stood vacant since April 22, when long- said Monday he’s “anxious to find out In mid-September, Pearsall said
time operators Dan and Rose Culum- what Elite’s future plans are.” Elite would issue a press release with-
Shortly thereafter, according to ber decided to retire after 3 decades. in a couple of weeks, adding that the
Studebaker, an inspection revealed that He said last week he hadn’t heard announcement would be “all positive
the hood – a vital element in a commer- Under its new owners, the Seaside from Pearsall since the Elite executive stuff” designed to give the carrier “a
cial kitchen – would have to be replaced. Grill’s 2,500-square-foot footprint re- visited the airport a month ago and lot more longevity.”
mains virtually the same, as will the told him, “Everything is in place. We’re
At that time, as the county and Stude- seating capacity: 65 outside, 35 inside. ready to go.” Vero Beach officials – along with
baker’s engineer considered the poten- frustrated Elite customers in the com-
tial extent of the kitchen project, other Already in place, comfy and color- Scher said he told Pearsall during munity – are still waiting for that an-
issues presented themselves which ful seating will reflect the updated res- that conversation what conditions Elite nouncement.
could add time and money to the proj- taurant’s beachy white and blue color must meet before the airline will be al-
ect pricetag and the long-awaited open- scheme, inside and out. lowed to resume service here – pay the Scher said the airport staff contin-
ing date. $6,600-plus it owes the city in overdue ues to field calls from local residents
As before, restaurant patrons will fees, and provide proof of insurance. seeking refunds for canceled flights,
The hood replacement alone already continue to have access to the city’s but they cannot reach anyone at Elite’s
adds significantly to the initially project- nearby Jaycee Park restrooms. The city was notified in August that customer-service phone number.
ed $100,000-plus renovation price tag; Elite’s insurance had expired.
and bumps forward the projected open- A major change will be the hours of “We get calls from people who want
ing date, based on how long it will take operation. Previously open at 7 a.m. and The carrier has been barred from us to be responsible for the fares they’ve
to get the new unit on site, install it, pass closing in mid-afternoon, Studebaker using the terminal or any other pas- paid,” he said. “All we can do is refer
inspection and get a permit in hand. said that for the first week or two, during senger facilities at the airport until it them to the U.S. Department of Trans-
the “very soft” opening, “it’ll be 7 a.m. to satisfies those obligations, Scher said, portation website, where they can file a
5 p.m. We’ll see how the flow goes.”  adding that Pearsall has not provided
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

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8 Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

Elite Airways That was two months ago.
In the meantime, Scher said, he and
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 his staff are continuing with their prep-
arations for Breeze’s arrival. The airline
complaint with the agency’s consumer- is scheduled to begin service here on
affairs office. Feb. 15.
If Elite does resume its Vero Beach
“I’ve heard back from some folks service, Scher said the airport staff ad
who’ve gotten satisfaction that way.” terminal can handle both airlines, as
long as the two carriers don’t schedule
Pearsall, however, has continued to flights too closely together.
offer only positive comments regard- The airport’s single-lane Transpor-
ing Elite’s plans and its future here. tation Security Administration check-
point likely would get backed up if two
When Breeze Airways announced flights were schedule to depart at any-
in October plans to offer commercial where near the same time.
jet service connecting Vero Beach to Elite began offering non-stop jet
Hartford, Conn., Westchester County, service to Newark, N.J., in December
N.Y., and Norfolk, Va., Pearsall called 2015 and later added flights intermit-
it “great news” and said, “We welcome tently to Portland, Maine; Asheville,
competition.” N.C., and Westchester. 

He then said Elite would make its
announcement in approximately 15
days.

Orchid Island boom out on the Property Appraiser web-
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 site, which shows color-coded sales by
year. Six of 11 direct riverfront homes
Banov, a Vero Beach architectural and on Grove Place changed hands in
and building firm, Croom Construc- the past three years, for instance, while
tion, and other companies also have 12 of 21 on Caribe Way have sold, and
homes under construction or in the other streets have seen a similar in-
planning and permitting stage. fusion of new neighbors moving in
from the Northeast, South Florida, the
The new homes, mostly valued be- western U.S. and Canada.
tween $1.6 million and $2.5 million,
have all been sold, so they won’t bolster Demand and sales at the club “ex-
the island’s anemic inventory, but they ploded” during the pandemic, with
are bringing new life and energy to the annual sales tripling at the peak of the
ocean-to-river development, which was boom, according to Torline.
built along the Atlantic shore and around
an Arnold Palmer-designed golf course. “We aren’t as well-known as some of
the larger clubs on the island,” Torline
“When you drive around the com- added. “But we were discovered during
munity and see all the new construc- the pandemic when so many people
tion and extensive renovations, you started looking for homes in Florida.
can feel a sense of vibrancy and ex- Once they found us and came here and
citement in the air,” said Orchid Island looked around, they couldn’t believe how
Realty broker Anne Torline. beautiful it is and were eager to buy.”

“The club started in the early 1990s Westmark Enterprises vice president
and you can get by for a couple of de- Steve Owen told Vero Beach 32963 that
cades without major renovations, but buyers of his lot/home packages have
we are getting to that point where the been attracted“first and foremost by the
houses really need to be upgraded and quality of the community. They are buy-
so many of our members are doing ing a lifestyle, not just shelter. They’re
that,” said Torline. looking for the great golf, tennis, beach
club and everything else that is offered
She said more than 20 percent of the here. Once they see all that, it is just a
homes and lots in Orchid have changed matter of finding a home that fits their
hands in the past several years and needs – which is where we come in.”
many renovations are being done by
new owners fixing up dated homes to Owen was searching for buildable
suit their modern lifestyles. lots on the island back in 2020 – and is
still actively looking today – because
In other cases, some residents who Palm Island Plantation, Westmark’s sig-
might have sold and moved for a vari- nature island community, is very nearly
ety of reasons, but who “couldn’t find a built out with just a lot or two left.
place to go,” are taking the plunge and
redoing their homes for the long haul. When he heard about the lots in Or-
chid, he went up and took a look and
It’s all part of what Club Manager Rob liked what he saw.
Tench describes as a natural shift and
turnover that occurs when a commu- “It is a high-end community that is
nity is 25 or 30 years old and original very well done. It was a perfect match
residents decide to downsize to assisted for us in price and quality, and there
living or move closer to family members are a lot of well-qualified people com-
and a new generation of buyers arrives. ing into Orchid to look for a home,”
Owen said.
The extent of the turnover jumps
CONTINUED ON PAGE 10



10 Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

Orchid Island boom by the club and the town of Orchid. them to me to go over the floor plans “The lot/home packages went like
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 “It took us almost a year to get through and customize them if people wanted that,” Torline said, snapping her fingers.
changes.” “I think I sold four in one weekend.”
He put six lots on Island Place under architectural review and get everything
contract in 2020 and proceeded to de- approved. Once I had the approved Property records show that Westmark When Owen saw the hunger for
sign the houses and get them approved plans, I gave those to Orchid Island Re- closed on the lots in May 2021 and al- Westmark’s product on Island Place,
alty to sell as lot home packages. When most immediately resold them to buy- he snapped up three more lots on
they had a prospective buyer, they sent ers purchasing lot/home packages.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 12



12 Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

Orchid Island boom now, but it is hard to say for sure.”
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 Owen cited the metal boxes electric

other streets in Orchid. meters fit into as an example of a criti-
As they sold out, lot prices tripled or cal shortage. The boxes are a key com-
ponent because interior finish work
close to it, according to Torline. can’t be started until the homes are
“Before the pandemic, there were lots dried in and there is electricity to run
the air conditioning.
listed for under $100,000 and they didn’t
sell,” she said. “The one we just put un- “It is frustrating, having one little
der contract was listed for $295,000.” item like that hold us up,” Owen said.

Westmark broke ground on its first Westmark offered its new home
home in Orchid in the summer of 2021 packages at a fixed price, which turned
with the expectation it would take 12- out to be a costly decision.
14 months to complete, but pandemic
supply chain issues pushed that time- “We have always sold homes on a
frame back. fixed-price basis,” Owen said. “And we
sold these the same way. If we would
“Prior to COVID, we built homes in have known what was coming, we
10 to 12 months and we thought the would have done it on a cost-plus basis.
extra two months would be sufficient
to deal with shortages, but there are “We’ve have eaten a lot of price in-
still things that are hard to get that creases but so have a lot of other peo-
have slowed us down,” Owen said. ple. There was no way to anticipate all
“We are thinking 14 to 16 months the problems covid was going to cause,
but we will live through it. It’s still been
a been a good project for us.” 

No holiday surge yet in covid infections here

BY LISA ZAHNER of public health officials as a higher
positivity rate indicates greater spread
Staff Writer of the virus in the community. Locally,
Indian River County’s case positivity
Heading into Christmas week, the rate on the most recent report showed
number of COVID-19 infections lo- 10.4 percent of those who tested were
cally held steady at 98 new cases, but infected with COVID-19.
COVID hospitalizations here rose 33
percent from the previous week. Those numbers only include people
who tested through a lab, pharmacy or
Prior to Thanksgiving, Indian River medical office that reports to the Flor-
County was reporting between 60 and ida Department of Health. At-home
70 new cases per week. That jumped test kit results are not captured in the
to 97 the week ending Dec. 1. The next statistics unless a patient turns up for
week saw 93 cases, then 98 for the medical care.
week ending Dec. 15.
Public health officials are still pre-
Hospitalizations were up from nine dicting a winter “tripledemic” of influ-
last week. “We have 12 COVID-pos- enza, respirator syncytial virus (RSV)
itive patients in-house today, one of and Omicron subvariants of COV-
which is in critical care (not on me- ID-19. Hard-hit cities such as the Los
chanical ventilation),” said Cleveland Angeles and New York metropolitan
Clinic spokesperson Erin Miller on areas are already recommending resi-
Monday. dents resume mask wearing as emer-
gency departments and urgent care
According to the Florida Depart- clinics fill with sick people.
ment of Health’s monthly reporting,
six Indian River County residents died This surge of infections is happen-
from complications of COVID-19 in- ing despite New York and California
fection from mid-November to mid- being in the top one-fourth of states
December, bringing the county’s pan- for the percentage of fully vaccinated
demic death toll to 767. residents, with between 75 percent
and 80 percent of people having at
Statewide, the number of new CO- least two covid shots, depending upon
VID infections reported to the health the government source cited.
department has been rising steadily
over the past few weeks, nearly dou- Vaccine uptake is still rather low
bling since Thanksgiving. Friday’s re- statewide in Florida, as only 35,000
port showed 22,572 new cases state- of the state’s 22.2 million people lined
wide, up from 12,150 cases the week up for a shot last week. Only 7.7 mil-
ending Thanksgiving Day. lion Floridians, roughly one third,
have completed a two-dose regimen
The statewide case positivity rate of covid vaccine. Eighty-six percent
has also been rising steadily from 8.9 of those people went on to get at least
during Thanksgiving week to 13.1 in one booster dose. 
mid-December. Keeping the case pos-
itivity rate under 10 percent is the goal

VERO CHRISTMAS PARADE

JINGLING AND MINGLING ALL THE WAY!

14 Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Vero Christmas Parade: Jingling and mingling all the way!

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF
Staff Writer

Christmas came early along Ocean PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 16
Drive as Sunrise Rotary wrapped the
38th annual Vero Beach Christmas Jac Addeo and Lisa Clark.
Parade in a brightly lit bow for every-
one to enjoy. FIRST PLACE WINNERS:

Civic groups, nonprofits, first respond- Organization:
ers, community leaders, businesses, Called Higher
schools and the Vero Beach High School
Marching Band dazzled with a spectac- School:
ular array of lights and holiday cheer that Beachland Elementary
included flamingoes, pelicans, snow-
men, snow flurries, dune buggies, golf Business:
carts, sailboats and airboats. Indian River Distillery

Participants dribbled, tumbled, Legacy:
marched and flipped their way down DuBois Jewelry
the street ahead of the main attraction,
jolly old St. Nick, riding on his sleigh to Karen Casto, Jean Nappa and Karen Bennett. PHOTOS: BEN THACKER
close out a parade that boasted 98 en-
tries, 60 of which were first-time par-
ticipants.

Explaining how the parade got its
start, Todd Darress, parade chair, said
it grew out of the Crown Jewel March-
ing Band Festival held annually at Vero
Beach High School.

“The Crown Jewel started doing pa-
rades, and then the community jumped
on board, and it became the official Vero
Beach Christmas parade,” said Darress.
“This is still a hometown parade, and it
is still all about families and kids.”

Sunrise Rotary teamed up with the
Oceanside Business Association sev-
eral years ago and when the pandemic

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 15

PEOPLE

hit, they even found a way to reinvent mobility issues could enjoy it, Rotary assisted living facilities and by family Can Castle Challenge at the Indian Riv-
the holiday tradition. Their Reverse streamed the parade over Facebook members across the country, earning er Mall, with cans later donated to a lo-
Parade invited families to drive past Live. the parade a national viewing audience. cal food pantry; and Find Santa, where
stationary floats from the safety of children looked for Santa at local busi-
their own vehicles. They estimated that more than To garner excitement in the months nesses to earn prizes and a spot in the
10,000 people attended in person and leading up to the parade, Rotary hosted parade as honorary elves on the Rotary
This year, so that even those who more than 172,000 views were logged a Float Building 101 competition in the Chuck Wagon. 
could not attend the parade due to on Facebook Live by residents of local Dyer Chevrolet showroom; a Christmas

16 Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14

Stephanie and Justin Swink with baby Marzello and Mila Swink. Jen Wortham and Rob Haughey. Laura Granito, Georgia Hutchison and Gordon Wanser.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 17

PEOPLE

Vero Beach Mayor John Cotugno. Carrie and Jim Chalmers.

18 Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Making it possible: John’s Island Foundation fetes top donors

BY MARY SCHENKEL Linda Fox and Betsy Smith. PHOTOS: JOSHUA KODIS PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 20 funding, the first structure would
never have been built. And we’ve
Staff Writer 26 agencies, an increase of 22 per- Barbara and Charles Gulino. kept building all these years because
cent over the prior year, and that of your support. I cannot thank you
Members of the Leadership Circle while most funders support opera- was possible.” enough for everything you do for us
of the John’s Island Foundation, its tional expenses, their focus is on Hubbard has served as execu- every year so that we can build these
top-level donors, enjoyed a delight- capital investments, funding the as- structures and help people who need
ful reception at the John’s Island sets and infrastructure. tive director of the Treasure Coast housing,” said Price.
Golf Club, featuring champagne and Homeless Services Council, and
French dishes prepared by Anthony Last year’s inaugural McCabe Price is the Indian River County Since last year’s $200,000 grant,
Cole, the club’s new executive chef, Leadership Grant was awarded to Health Department environmental they have broken ground on the tri-
and his team. address our county’s lack of afford- administrator and statewide PACE- plex, and the project is underway.
able housing. EH (protocol for assessing commu-
In his welcoming remarks Don nity excellence and environmental “Our current projects and our fu-
Blair, JIF board president, thanked Francie Cramb, grant review vice health) coordinator. ture subsequently depend on this
the sponsors, chief among them president, said the $200,000 grant, population right here. Because up
John’s Island Real Estate, Northern the largest they’ve ever given, was Price said that 10 years ago “there to now it’s been extremely difficult
Trust Bank and Croom Construc- awarded to the Coalition for Attain- was no one who was building struc- to have the concept of community,
tion, and recognized members of the able Homes in a public/private part- tures to help people get into homes local government and local philan-
JIF board, site teams and the event nership with the county, to build a and off the streets.” thropy actually come together in
committee, led by Linda Fox and triplex – three units of affordable a significant way,” said Hubbard.
Betsy Smith. housing. To address the issue, they started “This is probably the most signifi-
a nonprofit and turned to the John’s cant that I’ve ever seen in 20 years.”
“So finally, and most important- Introducing Julianne Price and Island Foundation as the only funder
ly, because this is the reason we’re Louise Hubbard, the coalition’s of capital projects, and received a Most importantly, she said the
here, I want to thank all of you, the president and vice president, Cramb $25,000 grant toward construction project can be replicated because
Leadership Circle donors to John’s said, “It is through their hard work of a duplex, followed the next year by it is reasonable, cost effective and
Island Foundation. Your generosity and tireless effort that the triplex $50,000, then the maximum award, “makes sense.”
is amazing and it’s what makes the and subsequent grants.
work that we do possible,” said Blair. “This last year especially has been
“If we hadn’t received that initial overwhelmingly exciting to us be-
Despite the difficulties of the cause we have other things already
past few years, he said the Leader- in the hopper, already started, al-
ship Circle has continued to grow in ready going forward. And you give us
number and its level of giving. the opportunity and the energy that
it takes to put up with the limitations
“We know that the measure of suc- that appear on a regular basis,” said
cess is not just getting the dollars out Hubbard. “If you guys weren’t here,
the door. It’s making a difference for we wouldn’t be able to do it at all.”
less fortunate people in the commu-
nity. And we will continue to do our “Thank you again to all of you,”
homework to make sure that that’s said Blair. “As members of the Lead-
what happens,” said Blair. ership Circle, I hope you are con-
vinced you are making a positive
He said last season, JIF provided difference in people’s lives.” 
more than $1.1 million in grants to

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20 Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18 Kathie and Michael Pierce. Francie Cramb and Theresa Kilman.
Don and Mary Blair.

Don Riefler with Virginia and Warren Schwerin. Don and Margie Sullivan with Beth and Pat Cozza. Patti Patton, Lisa Carr and David Patton.

Jamie and Helen O’Connor. Ryan Cobb, Katy Healy, Susan Chenault and Matt Rundels. Paula and Bink Shorts.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 21

PEOPLE

Beachy clean: Sea turtle success worthy of Shell’ebration

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF PHOTOS, STORY CONTINUED ON PAGES 22-23 list,” said Cope, noting that Indian River
Staff Writer County saw 9,355 nests along its 22.4
Harriet Love, Karin Larkins, Katie Hutton and Kristin Skidmore. PHOTOS: JOHN BIONDO miles of beach, which is 400 more nests
Coastal Connections had much to than the previous record.
celebrate at its Shell’ebration event, nization by planting sea oaks which are founder and executive director.
where guests were feted at the lovely super important for the beach, provides Over the past five years, more than “We’re seeing real recovery. We’re
beachside home of Anthony DeCh- habitats for sea turtles, and strengthens seeing these nesting numbers increase
ellis. As the rhythmic sounds of waves the ecosystem,” explained Margaret 500 sea turtles have been rescued and all over the place because of the actions
hitting the shoreline reminded them, Bowden, one of Coastal Connection’s more than 7,000 pounds of debris have that you and I do every day, like reduc-
the guests were not far from where the summer interns. been removed from sea turtle nesting ing our single-use plastics or helping
sea turtles nest from March through beaches. pick up trash or using a reusable bag at
October. “Five years is not enough time, and the grocery store,” said Cope.
we’re going to continue working on our “We are here tonight to celebrate a re-
To mark its fifth anniversary of pro- mission and bringing in our commu- cord sea turtle nesting year here on our All of Coastal Connection’s initiatives
viding conservation efforts, the non- nity in the next five years and beyond,” beaches, which is an incredible thing to are focused on protecting coastal habi-
profit announced a record sea turtle said Kendra Cope, Coastal Connections be here celebrating because sea turtles tats for sea turtle survival. Among them
nesting season, and the designation of are listed on the endangered species are Turtle Connections, their daytime
two Treasure Coast hotels as Sea Turtle turtle digs and nighttime turtle walks;
Friendly Certified – Costa d’Este Beach Sea Turtle Friendly Certified hotels and
Resort & Spa and the Shores Beach Re- Turtle Trips; and Vero Goes Zero, which
sort & Spa. includes Beach Baskets, Coastal Clean-
ups and WRAP Recycling.
As guests enjoyed the music of the
Shanaphy Family Band, they nibbled Leading by example, Cope pointed
on a delicious buffet catered by Wild out that no single-use plastics were
Thyme catering, and perused live- and used at the party. “We are doing our
silent-auction items. They were also in- best to help Vero go Zero, meaning zero
vited to help re-seed the dunes by plant- single-use plastics.”
ing sea oats alongside the property.
Coastal Connections has raised
“We are sowing the seeds of this orga- roughly half of its $50,000 fundraising
goal and will continue its annual drive

22 Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

PHOTOS, STORY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21 Alison Walsh and Donna Regan. Alexis DuFresne, Anthony DeChellis and Kendra Cope.
Tuck and Cathy Ferrell.

Kaitlen McKinnon, Brittany Farella and Megan De Souza. Abby O’Donnell and Margaret Bowden. Alec Macaulay and Quintin Bergman.

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Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 23

PEOPLE

through Dec. 31. Having grown up walk- by local artist Andy Diossy – heralded Going forward, the MHA and Coastal Vero Beach Half Marathon and Sea Tur-
ing the beaches and looking for turtles, a partnership with the Mental Health Connections plan to focus on mental tle 2-Miler on Jan. 22 to benefit Coastal
DeChellis announced that he would Association to bring awareness to their health awareness and the therapeutic Connections.
match the first $20,000 in donations. mission. The project will focus on ‘re- benefits of water for the health, well-be-
habilitating’ the existing turtle statues ing and betterment of this community. For more information, visit coastal-
Additionally, a special auction item that are scattered around the county. connections.org. 
– a miniature sea turtle statue painted Get your running shoes ready for the

24 Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

At ‘Friends’ event, spotlight on Riverside’s stellar role

Claire Robertson and Trish Essick. Susan Sullivan and Tina Lyons. PHOTOS: JOSHUA KODIS Jennifer Grant and Nikki Bates.

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF Manus, Friends committee chair, as Bruce and Jeffrey Kringer, who were been a long, long wait,” said Cornell.
Staff Writer she welcomed the audience to the 50th among the cast of “Carousel,” which Each of the performers reminisced
season. She credited the success of the was shut down prematurely due to the
Riverside Theatre glittered with ex- afternoon to Cindy Rounsavall, event pandemic. about their time here, remarking about
citement during the annual Friends’ chair, with co-chairs Liz Farnsworth, the special venue Riverside has become
Fall Luncheon celebrating the theater’s Rennie Gibb and Nancy Rosner. The show was an original produc- over the years.
Golden Anniversary with Encores, a tion by Allen Cornell, Riverside’s pro-
musical retrospective of some of River- Encores featured appearances by ducing artistic director/CEO, with Wisniski tailored his performance
side’s former shows on the Stark Main- Kathy St. George, who played Peter Pan accompanist Bruce Barnes, who will to Vero Beach having been the home
stage, followed by a luncheon. at Riverside in 1994; Ron Wisniski, who return later this season as music direc- of the Dodgers spring training with
has appeared in 19 Riverside produc- tor for “42nd Street.” “I am so grateful monologues from “Casey at the Bat”
“We’re back after three years. Thank tions over the past 30 years; Heather to all of you for being here and for fi- and “Damn Yankees.”
you all for being here and for support- Botts, who played Ensign Nellie For- nally being able to, hopefully, have an
ing Riverside Theatre,” said Sandy Mc- bush in “South Pacific”; and Samantha entire season here on this stage. It has “What a joy it has been this after-
noon to walk down memory lane with
all of you. Thank you so much. As you

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 25

PEOPLE

Ba Stone and Anne Jamieson. Marilyn McConnell and Susan Wright. PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 26
Lynn Babicka and Barbara Hotchkiss.

Sherry Ann Dayton and Gloria Anderson.

can see, we all feel that Riverside is the
most magical place to work,” said St.
George, before giving a Riverside twist
to a scene from “The Wizard of Oz.”

“I think that it wasn’t enough just to
want to see Aunt Em and Uncle Henry
again. It’s just that if I ever go looking
for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look
any farther than the Riverside Theatre,”
said St. George.

“I’ve been to other theaters, and some
of them are very nice, and most of them
are very beautiful, but all the same, I
just kept saying to everybody I want to
go to the Riverside Theatre. I want to go
to the Riverside Theatre, and they sent
me here. And you’re all here, all of you,
and I’m not going to leave here ever,
ever again because I love you all. Oh,
Cindy. Oh, Allen. There’s no place like
the Riverside Theatre. There’s no place
like the Riverside Theatre,” St. George
proclaimed, to the audience’s delight.

She was joined by the rest of the cast
to close the show with “Never Never
Land,” where, like Riverside, if you
think of lovely things, you can never
grow old.

After a standing ovation, the ladies
adjourned to the Orchid Lounge and
Waxlax Stage for a light luncheon ca-
tered by Elizabeth D. Kennedy & Co.

The Friends Committee annually
raises more than $500,000 to supple-
ment operating costs through special
events such as the luncheon, and the
Spring Gala Celebration, which this
year features actress and singer Kelli
O’Hara on March 14.

For more information, visit Riverside-
Theatre.com. 

26 Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25
Marina Carney, Charlotte Ahern, Charlotte Shea, Betsy Kittell, Rita Murphy and Jane Coley.

Andrea Giles, Sharon Baumgardt, Mary Frances Driscoll and Eva Gurley.



28 Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT COVER STORY

BETHANY, Jordan – Wild reeds, tized and John the Baptist held his masterplan, including a village, bibli- Jordan and the Hashemite royal
spindly acacia trees, and dusty moun- ministry, Jordan is embarking on cal wilderness, museum, farms, and family, which acts as the custodian of
tains greet travelers to this remote, building a new village and vast inter- spiritual and study center next to the the baptism site, hope the zone will
arid spot. Yet here, near the lowest faith ecosystem that is promised to traditional baptism site. be more than just a center for Chris-
point on Earth, Jordan’s royal family is be the largest Christian pilgrimage tian pilgrims, but a gathering point for
hoping visitors find something uplift- and interfaith center in the Middle The initiative brought together in- people of different faiths and nation-
ing: their common humanity. East. ternational advisers and a foundation alities and a showcase for Jordanian
directed by the monarch that they say interfaith harmony.
By the River Jordan, near the spot In a ceremony last week, King is charged with creating a “haven for
where many believe Jesus was bap- Abdullah unveiled a “baptism zone” interfaith contemplation.” Church leaders hope it will serve as

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 29

INSIGHT COVER STORY

Baptism site “Bethany Beyond the Jordan” (Al-Maghtas.)

Greek Orthodox church.

An artistic rendering of the proposed
Pilgrimage Village of the Baptism
Development Zone of the "Bethany
beyond the Jordan" area in Jordan.

an anchor for Christians from across one of dozens of regional church dan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site of to vacate by sunset due its location
the region. leaders who attended the launch of preserved wilderness and Byzantine- within an international border.
the zone. and Roman-era churches and mon-
“This will be a living city at the asteries that was rediscovered in 1995 “This is a gem not only for Jordan
River Jordan and the site of baptism, “Humanity needs a meeting place and has been visited by Catholic and but the entire world, and we want to
a place and practice which unites and a dialogue today, and the River Orthodox popes. share it with the world,” says Baptism
Christians from all different churches Jordan is a meeting place not only for Site Director General Rustom Mkhji-
and diversity,” says Cardinal Bechara Christians, but for mankind.” The new village would allow visitors an.
Boutros al-Rai of Lebanon, Patriarch to spend multiple days by the baptism
of Antioch for the Maronite Church, The 360-acre baptism zone will be site, which they are currently required Advocates are pitching the zone, to
adjacent to Bethany Beyond the Jor-
STORY CONTINUED ON PAGE 30

30 Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 INSIGHT COVER STORY Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29 Baptism facilities
at the river Jordan
Wadi Al Kharrar Tell Al-Kharrar (Elijah's Hill)

Pilgrims stand in front of a Greek
Orthodox church at Bethany Be-
yond the Jordan, a site where many
believed Jesus was baptized.

Baptism Site Director General Rustom
Mkhjian stands by the baptism well
and the church of St. John the Baptist,
which some experts believe mark the
exact spot where Jesus was baptized
in Bethany.

include a guesthouse, outdoor amphi- lead designer in the consortium of It was only the 1994 peace treaty from across the world in just 27 years,”
theater, and village square built with Jordanian and American firms tasked between Jordan and Israel, ending Mkhjian says while greeting visitors in
traditional Eastern Mediterranean with designing the zone. decades of enmity, that allowed for Russian and Italian as they walk down
architecture and materials, as a place the demining of the Jordan Valley and to the river on a December afternoon.
to explore the humble simplicity of Jordan hopes the zone can boost the eventual exploration and rediscovery
the area, suitable for spiritual retreats. number of visitors to the site – cur- of the religious site. “What greater message of peace is
It sets aside a 100-acre “wilderness” rently 200,000 to 240,000 annually – to there? That is the message we want to
containing flora and fauna mentioned more than a million per year. When late Franciscan archaeologist share with the world.”
in the Bible, with hiking trails down to Michele Piccirillo and Prince Ghazi
the River Jordan. Development of the site is expected bin Mohammed, the king’s cousin Advocates say the new zone’s mu-
to take several years. The Jordanian and current chair of the Baptism Site seum campus and research center are
“The baptism site is a sanctuary and state is donating the land and inviting Commission, surveyed archaeological to encourage scholars and visitors to
haven of love, peace, and tranquillity. private investors to operate the guest- remains along historical pilgrimage explore the message of peace in the
This zone is designed to be in harmo- house and restaurants. Much of the paths by the River Jordan in 1995, the three Abrahamic religions at a site with
ny with nature, just as people were in zone – such as the botanical gardens pair walked between unexploded ord- significance to Christianity, Islam, and
harmony with nature 2,000 years ago, and museum campus – will require nance for hours. Judaism.
to share this light with the world,” says donations.
landscape architect Kamel Mahadin, “This place has gone from an area full “Christianity took its first steps
Bethany’s modern history is tied to of land mines to an area full of pilgrims from here, the lowest point on Earth
the power of peace. and in the wilderness, before spread-

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 31

INSIGHT COVER STORY

Tell Al-Kharrar (Elijah's Hill)
Rhetorios Monastery Northern Church.

Wooden columns in the lower part of the protective shelter

Georgian pilgrims descend to the river at Bethany Beyond the Jordan,
in the Jordan Valley, Jordan, Dec. 1, 2022.

The Northern Church.

ing across the world,” says Jordanian of refugees and migrants through the which visitors to the zone can see.” at the Dead Sea or in the capital Amman.
Nadim Muasher, an adviser on the centuries. The result is a culture of ac- The baptism site already hosts an in- Planners hope the new village will
zone who is currently building a Cath- ceptance Jordanians say they aim to
olic church and nondenominational share with the world. terfaith conference center and a Mus- encourage people of different faiths
prayer center by the baptism site. lim shrine and mosque; thousands and nationalities to stay in the same
“With the arrival of Islam, Chris- of Muslims and other non-Christians guesthouse and break bread at com-
“This is about spreading the con- tians here embodied their Christian visit it each year. munal tables in the village plaza.
cept of humility and emphasizing val- values by treating their Muslim neigh-
ues, not power. It is a message needed bors and friends with love, friendship On a recent afternoon, Irish, Italian, Stuart Jones, a former U.S. ambas-
in today’s world,” Mr. Muasher says. and respect, and Muslims embodied Georgian, Japanese, Jordanian, Leba- sador to Jordan and later Iraq who
their Islamic values by treating their nese, and Russian pilgrims and visi- served as an adviser on the zone, says
It is also a message that is distinctly Christian friends and neighbors with tors walked through the site and down King Abdullah’s vision is for a “haven
Jordanian. love, friendship and respect,” says Fr. to the river; some waded into the wa- for interfaith dialogue and interfaith
Dr. Ibrahim Dabbour, secretary-gen- ter, others took photos or gazed across contemplation.”
A largely arid junction of trade eral of Jordan’s Council of Churches. toward Jericho and Jerusalem beyond.
routes linking North Africa, Asia and “There is always going to be a need
Europe, Jordan has acted as a place of “There is equality and a harmo- Yet they, like all pilgrims, arrived for a place like this where people can
refuge since antiquity, welcoming John ny built on accepting and loving in individual buses and cars, rarely come for pilgrimage, for reflection,
the Baptist and early Christians flee- the other in Jordan that is special, mingled or mixed, and quickly de- and to have a dialogue between peo-
ing persecution, and wave after wave parted – heading off for luxury hotels ples,” he says. 

32 Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT EDITORIAL

The rise and fall of cryptocurrencies over the past savers to escape those countries’ foreign-exchange and fashion to drinking alcohol. The pleasure that
decade has been accompanied by an extraordinary controls and double-digit inflation. Others will be do- people derive from such aimless activity should be
degree of waste. ing it as a creative and intellectual outlet. Some will recognized as a worthwhile end in itself.
buy crypto in the same way that they might have an
Trillions in notional market value was created, occasional flutter on a lottery ticket or a horse race. A better comparison might be another group of
traded, and then evaporated. As much as 170 million idealistic eccentrics which celebrated its annual holi-
metric tons of carbon dioxide is pumped into the at- For the record, I’ve never believed any of the claims day last Thursday. Speakers of the invented language
mosphere every year by crypto miners, equivalent to of crypto’s boosters – that it’s a viable alternative to fiat Esperanto, developed by Polish ophthalmologist LL
the carbon footprint of the Netherlands. currency or a stable store of wealth, or even that it has Zamenhof in 1887, have pursued their own hobby on
any place in an investment portfolio. a global scale for more than a century.
Hundreds of thousands of computer mining rigs
are sitting in unopened boxes, according to Coindesk, The fact that so many ordinary people have invest- Esperantists have their own flag and radio broad-
waiting for prices to rise enough to make connecting ed in crypto should worry governments, and make casts, and have on several occasions tried to come up
them profitable. them much more ready not just to regulate the na- with a currency based on slightly creaky economics
scent industry but crack down on it to ensure people’s (one early variant was fixed to the price of bread in
Next to all those, though, there’s an extraordinary savings aren’t wasted on a Ponzi scheme. the Netherlands). To this day, they write Esperanto-
waste of human creativity. The institutions created language poetry and novels, hold annual conferenc-
by crypto enthusiasts were little less than a mirror fi- The fact that crypto is pumping vast volumes es, and stay in each other’s houses when traveling.
nancial system, complete with protocols for lending of carbon into the atmosphere should encourage
money, creating derivatives, writing contracts, and them to force activity onto the less harmful proof- They even made a 1960s horror B-movie starring
settling trades. The fact that this architecture has col- of-stake protocol used by Ethereum, rather than William Shatner, entirely scripted in poorly pro-
lapsed under its own weight doesn’t take away from Bitcoin’s emissions-intensive proof-of-work. nounced Esperanto. In short, they’ve created a re-
the mass of ingenuity that went into creating it. markably fertile and sustainable worldwide commu-
Nonetheless, you don’t have to believe the millenar- nity of oddball enthusiasts.
At an end-of-term party at my children’s school ian claims of blockchain’s online evangelists to think
earlier this month, I found myself chatting to a friend it deserves its place in the world. Plenty of human ac- That suggests a more hopeful future for crypto than
about the collapse of FTX, the crypto exchange run tivities serve no very obvious fundamental need, and the current conflagration would suggest. Mandate
by Sam Bankman-Fried. To my surprise, my friend – may even be mildly harmful, from art to gambling deposit limits similar to those advocated for online
a thoughtful, gentle Australian doctor and father of gambling and shift activity away from proof-of-work,
three – had a more than academic interest in the sub- and it will be possible to balance the genuine interest
ject. Last year, he spent $1,367 on crypto and treated of millions with the need to prevent harm to people
it like a hobby. and the planet.

He’s scarcely alone. More than half of the adult Amid the ruins of 2022’s crypto bust, we should feel
population of Nigeria and Turkey buy or sell crypto- quite comfortable at that prospect. Almost every harm-
currencies every month, according to a July survey by less amusement that humans engage in was once novel
Morning Consult, a business data company. . and frowned on by those who didn’t enjoy it.

It’s impossible to know the motivation of all this ac- Past their angry adolescence, crypto enthusiasts
tivity. For all the attention garnered by testosterone- will no longer seek to change the world. They’re like-
and adderall-fueled crypto traders and broke billion- ly to find something better, though: The realization
aires trying to escape the long arm of justice, the vast that often, happiness and undirected pleasure can
majority of players in crypto are likely to be doing it be its own reward. 
for more mundane reasons.
A version of this column by David Fickling first ap-
All that Nigerian and Turkish activity is likely driven peared on Bloomberg. It does not necessarily reflect the
by a very understandable desire by mom-and-pop views of Vero Beach 32963.

During the coronavirus crisis, our Pelican Plaza office is closed to visitors. We appreciate your understanding.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 33

INSIGHT OP-ED

BY CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT But even minor violations can have it detained U.S. citizens to ensure they ates, the presence of drugs in a blood
serious consequences, he adds. “And are getting adequate medical care. But or urine test is treated the same as
Albert Schilf did not think the small what appears to be minor often is not.” the State Department generally can’t possession.
can of pepper spray in his jacket would get you out of jail, experts say.
become such a big problem when he In Schilf’s case, he says he brought A minor traffic accident can also
drove up to Canada in September. pepper spray to Canada for self-de- “Only in extraordinary circumstanc- land you in jail. If you get into an ac-
fense. “I carry it in my pocket when my es is it possible that they will help with cident with your rental car in Mexico
But pepper spray is an illegal weap- wife and I go for walks,” he says. “Hap- the expenses,” says Richard Branden- and there’s a physical injury, authori-
on under Canadian law. Violators can pily, I have never had to use it.” stein, a New York attorney specializing ties may arrest the drivers of both
face up to 10 years in prison. Schilf, a in administrative law. cars. An innocent tourist could be
retired federal employee, says police The experience with Canadian au- jailed until authorities could sort out
released him after questioning. But it thorities was not unpleasant, he says. You should always remain calm if the case, Atkins says.
doesn’t always end so well. “They were very polite,” he recalls. “They you’re detained.
took me into a small room, where I was You can take a few steps to prepare
For example, there is the case of Marc detained and questioned for more than “If you are arrested, be respectful,” for legal problems abroad. Some trav-
Hilliard Fogel, the American teacher an hour.” says Bob Bacheler, managing director el insurance plans may also include
arrested in Russia for possessing medi- of the medical transport service Fly- 24/7 legal consultation and referral to
cal marijuana. And, of course, there’s Schilf says police told him they ing Angels. a local attorney for arrests or other le-
Brittney Griner, the WNBA star who would probably drop the charges but gal problems.
was held by the Russians for 10 months would notify him by mail. The pro- If authorities can collect a fine and
for having vape cartridges with a small cess, he adds, could take months. send you home, that’s usually their pref- “But read the policy carefully to make
amount of cannabis oil. erence. That’s particularly true for coun- sure it doesn’t exclude claims from
“I don’t know what will happen,” tries that host a lot of foreign students. abroad,” says Chiranth Nataraj, found-
Every year, experts say, thousands he says, “but I think people should be er of the insurance company Visitor
of Americans like Schilf are arrested warned: Always check your pockets Atkins, the attorney in Philadelphia, Guard.
abroad for unknowingly violating an- before you cross the border.” recently handled two cases where
other country’s laws. Americans were arrested at the airport The best way to avoid legal trouble
If you get arrested, ask local author- in Mumbai because of their phone. is by following the law. Research your
Dick Atkins, an attorney who spe- ities to contact the nearest U.S. Em- Possessing certain satellite phones destination’s laws, paying close atten-
cializes in helping people resolve legal bassy or Consulate. It can send you a without approval is illegal for foreign tion to restrictions on medications,
problems abroad, estimates that about list of English-speaking attorneys and nationals under Indian law. the amount of cash you can bring in
5,000 Americans are detained yearly for reach out to family or employers to let and out of a country, and cultural
serious violations. them know about your situation. Even having cannabis remaining norms. 
in your bloodstream is illegal in some
State Department representatives vis- countries. In the United Arab Emir-

34 Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT BOOKS

In his entertaining memoir, “Movie Dad: Find- As originally written, he reveals, the
ing Myself and My Family, On Screen and Off,” Paul
Dooley defines a character actor as “an actor who scene ended on an uncomfortable note,
specializes in playing unusual people in support-
ing, rather than leading, roles … never the star.” with him patting his daughter on the be-

An encounter he recalls with a New York City cab- hind and asking her, “Where the heck are
driver is typical for someone in his vocation. The
cabdriver tells him, “I know you.” When Dooley your panties?” He improvised a replace-
responds, “Oh? Who am I?”, the man replies, “Well,
I don’t know your name, but you got a household ment line that Hughes used in the film:
face.”
“When you meet your Mr. Right, make
Most likely you know Dooley, too, no doubt for his
parental roles opposite Molly Ringwald in “Sixteen sure he knows you wear the pants in the
Candles,” Dennis Christopher in “Breaking Away,”
Julia Roberts in “Runaway Bride,” Helen Hunt on family.”
TV’s “Mad About You” and Cheryl Hines on “Curb
Your Enthusiasm.” But equally fascinating are the per-

It is a testament to Dooley’s skill that he manages sonal revelations. The emotional core of
to elevate what in lesser hands would be a stock
character with comedic grace notes (the car sales- “Movie Dad” is Dooley’s own devastated
man who goes into apoplexy at being asked for a
refund in “Breaking Away”) and emotional shadings parenthood. In addition to having an
(his moving heart-to-heart with Ringwald in “Six-
teen Candles” after he realizes he forgot her mile- emotionally remote father, the beloved
stone birthday).
movie dad is twice divorced. (He has
But there is more to Dooley, 94, than being a mov-
ie dad who doesn’t always know best. been married since 1984 to his third wife,

In a more than 60-year career, his was an uncon- Winnie Holzman, who later created the
ventional actor’s journey. He was 49 years old when
he landed his first leading role in a movie as, yes, series “My So-Called Life” and the Tony
father of the bride in Robert Altman’s “A Wedding.”
This after 25 years as a New York actor. Award-winning libretto to the Broadway

The role that got him noticed by television net- musical “Wicked.”) His second wife dis-
works in the 1960s, he writes, was not his month-
long stint replacing Art Carney on Broadway op- appeared with their children following
posite Walter Matthau in “The Odd Couple,” but
his inspired turn in a popular cigarette commercial their divorce.
that aired during an Academy Awards broadcast.
Their absence haunts him throughout
“Movie Dad” is breezy and conversational. Adapt-
ed from Dooley’s well-received one-man show of the his career. He writes about one poignant
same title, it is audience-tested, with career-span-
ning anecdotes that are funny and sometimes dishy scene in “Breaking Away,” in which he
(confronting Matthau, Oscar to his Felix, about his
infuriating habit of breaking the fourth wall to milk must comfort his cyclist son after the Ital-
Neil Simon’s already classic one-liners).
ian racers he idolized sabotage his race.
Some of Dooley’s credits are surprising. It turns out
he co-created the award-winning children’s educa- “I was embracing a young boy who
tion series “The Electric Company.” He also provides
glimpses into the working methods of Altman (with could be … my missing son,” he writes.
whom he made five films) and Christopher Guest
(three) as a member of their stock companies. “At the time, I remember thinking … I

wish my real missing son could see this

scene.”

Spoiler alert: There is a happy ending

to this off-screen drama.

As a character actor, Dooley has en-

joyed the kinds of scene-stealing roles

MOVIE DAD that are denied to movie stars whose
names are above the title. He had indel-
FINDING MYSELF AND MY FAMILY, ON SCREEN AND OFF ible turns as Wimpy in “Popeye,” as a
small-town man who claims to have been
BY PAUL DOOLEY | APPLAUSE. 304 PP. $29.95 abducted and probed by aliens in “Wait-
REVIEW BY DONALD LIEBENSON, THE WASHINGTON POST

ing for Guffman,” and as the voice of Sarge

“Movie Dad” has plenty of stories about generation- in Pixar’s “Cars” trilogy. He writes that Dustin Hoff-

defining classics. Dooley shares that he initially turned man called him personally to cast him as Willy Lo-

down what would become one of his iconic roles, as man’s neighbor in the Broadway revival of “Death of

the father in “Sixteen Candles,” but changed his mind a Salesman” (Dooley was not available).

after director and screenwriter John Hughes wrote the But it’s in the capacity of a movie dad that his work

scene with Ringwald in which she opens up to him has most resonated for generations. “Hundreds of

about her unrequited high school crush. “That’s why young women,” he writes, “have written to me, or

they call them crushes,” her dad reassures her. “If they stopped me on the street, saying, ‘I wish you were my

were easy, they’d call them something else.” dad.’” 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 35

INSIGHT BRIDGE

NORTH

A THIRD TRIP TO THE NINE-CARD WELL A K J 10 6 5 2

By Phillip Alder - Bridge Columnist 52

You must have heard that things go in threes. Well, after seeing two deals 10 6 5 4
containing a nine-card diamond suit in two days, I was confident that I would soon
see another. WEST —
84 EAST
It took about a month, and then it was in clubs, not diamonds. But there were nine ... AKJ873
count ‘em! AKJ 973
96
I opened with a gambling three no-trump, showing a solid seven-card or longer Q 10 6 4
minor suit with no side ace, king or void. After West overcalled four hearts (how
would that contract have fared?), my wife bid four spades (how would that do?), 9873
and East passed, I was torn. But then I recalled the famous riddle: What do you call
a nine-card suit? 74

Trumps! So I bid five clubs, which was passed out. SOUTH

I think most humans would have led a high diamond, but West preferred the heart Q
king: two, four, nine. West shifted to the diamond king: four, nine, queen. Robot
signaling is non-existent. They simulate deals based on the auction, using double- 9
dummy analysis to determine the average result of each defensive play, and choose
the one with the best average. So, annoyingly, West then cashed the diamond ace Q2
to defeat the contract.
A K Q J 10 8 5 3 2
I was relieved when I noted that four spades should have also gone down one. As
long as the defenders stopped North from ruffing a heart in the dummy (South), my Dealer: East; Vulnerable: Neither
wife could have taken only seven spades and two clubs.
The Bidding:
The defense against four hearts is harder. If North leads the spade ace and
continues with the spade king, South must ruff partner’s trick and cash two club SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST OPENING
winners. Pass
3 NT 4 Hearts 4 Spades Pass LEAD:
5 Clubs Pass Pass Pass K Hearts

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36 Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT GAMES

SOLUTIONS TO PREVIOUS ISSUE (DECEMBER 15) ON PAGE 62

ACROSS DOWN
1 River in Cambridge (3) 1 Capture (5)
3 Leg (3) 2 Error (7)
5 Quotes (5) 3 Mail (4)
8 Exams (5) 4 Required (6)
9 Plain (7) 5 Felon (8)
10 Cure (4) 6 Topic (5)
11 Inhabitants (8) 7 Meet (7)
13 Intelligent (6) 12 Left (8)
14 Infrequently (6) 13 Picks (7)
17 Performed surgery (8) 15 Worked up (7)
19 Reiterate (4) 16 A suit (6)
22 Brighter (7) 18 Rub out (5)
23 Consumed (5) 20 Possessed (5)
24 Velocity (5) 21 Enthusiastic (4)
25 Transgression (3)
The Telegraph 26 Father (3)

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Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 37

INSIGHT GAMES

ACROSS 101 Singer Ed 55 Grabbable The Washington Post
1 Chess tactic, for short 102 See 91 Across 56 Complete
4 Broadsided 108 Mrs. Gorbachev 57 Torrent IT’S A PUN-DERFUL LIFE By Merl Reagle
11 Magna cum ___ 110 Actor Brazzi 58 Worked at, as a trade
16 In ___ (confused) 111 What a person about to 62 Woody’s Interiors, for one
19 Fit for consumption 63 Get out, on a computer:
20 Fab fellow eat fish eggs might be
21 It merged with Exxon thinking? abbr.
22 New self-image book 118 One more time 64 Letup
120 “Be with you shortly” 65 Slashing news?
subtitled “How To 121 Answer to “Want some 69 The Make ___ Foundation
Vacuum the Crud Out of lemonade, mister?” 70 Remainder, to René
Your Head”? 122 On edge 71 Forster’s ___ With a View
24 Circus tents 123 Lugosi et al. 73 69 octupled
26 Ferber et al. 124 Springsteen 74 A possessive
27 Revelation on an Italian 125 Storm center 75 Latté feature
soap opera? DOWN 76 Hairy male in a fairy tale
33 Track shape 1 Cusser’s Hill 77 Big bandleader
37 Name in coaching lore 2 Sun-dried brick 78 Actor Zimbalist Jr.
38 Computer’s “keep” 3 Lakeside abode 79 Burning
option 4 Tired, in baby talk? 85 Tanning lotion abbr.
39 Boring event 5 Rodeo need 86 The Wolverines’ U.
40 With 50 Across, the 6 QB’s pass try 87 74 Down, for one: abbr.
least-ordered dish at 7 Hollywood legend West 88 Land
Quasimodo’s Restaurant? 8 U.K. honour 92 Garden tool
45 Sudan suffix 9 Deciduous tree 93 Catchall abbr.
47 Risk a long nose 10 When the flakes show up: 94 ___ crossroad
48 “Unfortunately ...” abbr. 95 Sgts. et al.
49 Iowa field find 11 Singer Rimes 96 Sets one’s sights on
50 See 40 Across 12 Tennis star Kournikova 98 Where Mount Carmel is
53 Rep. counterpart 13 Complete agreement 99 Remain
54 Designer Christian 14 Oxford official 102 ___ one’s time
56 Sugar amt. 15 Like Bacon or Lamb: abbr. 103 Gomer’s grp.
59 Mauna ___ 17 Tacks, at sea 104 Number of Satie’s
60 Mouthing-off 18 “The bool”
61 One way to organize 20 Helen of Troy’s mom gymnopédies
diners at a dessert bar? 23 Moon landers 105 Some Yale students in
66 Steady looker 25 Anthem start
67 Rug woe 28 Yeltsin declared it dead in 1969
68 “Boom-de-ay” lead-in ’91 106 Silly
72 With 84 Across, a 1966 29 Unrefined 107 Loud
song by the Kinks about 30 Egg starter 109 Handle, in Latin
Mussolini? 31 Permit 111 Throng
77 Clothes line? 32 Morse sounds 112 Compass pt.
80 Cockpit concern: abbr. 34 Pile inventor 113 Tilt-nose jet
81 Was ahead 35 Ovine sign 114 “What?”
82 Curved molding 36 Lewd looks 115 Lionel Richie hit, “You
83 “Equal” opening 39 Emulate Betsy Ross
84 See 72 Across 40 Shocked reactions ___”
87 Course number 41 Alaskan island language 116 Coming-out person
88 Regarding 42 1971 post-apocalyptic 117 Bringing Up Baby studio
89 Mr. Geller teen romance film, 119 Born
90 Beta Kappa starter Glen and ___
91 With 102 Across, 43 Actor Carroll
something Jimmy Carter 44 Foe of the Clantons
probably never said at the 45 H.G. Wells’s blond race
Camp David talks in 1978? 46 Scare a little
97 Letter feature 51 TV E.T.
99 Soprano Renata 52 The Jetsons’ dog
100 Manhattan’s Columbus, for 54 Conked out
one: abbr.

The Telegraph





40 Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT BACK PAGE

Fiance gets deeper in debt – and then lies to cover it up

BY CAROLYN HAX manage his [stuff] honestly, then he’ll
Washington Post be ready for the equal partnership of
marriage. It doesn’t have to be with
Dear Carolyn: My fiance is re- you.

ally, really bad with money. Readers’ thoughts:
 He’s not bad with money; he’s bad
We have been together for five with truth and honesty. It just mani-
fests itself monetarily.
years. When we started dating,  Don’t just check your credit. Put a
freeze on it. This will protect you from
I found out that he owed about anyone (fiance, hackers, mail thieves)
opening a credit card account in your
$8,000 on credit cards. I helped name.
 My marriage ended over $100,000-plus debt
him figure out a budget to pay it off, and he should that my ex-husband accrued buying stocks on credit
cards. I foolishly agreed to a second mortgage to pay
have been almost done by now. In the meantime, off his credit cards, putting my name on his debt.
Three months later, another $30,000 in credit card
I’ve been paying for everything other than rent, debt for stock purchases.
 Oof. Carolyn is absolutely right. Take it from me,
which we split, because he was paying down his who divorced a man she really loved who exhibited
the same signs that I ignored out of “love.”
debt. It wasn’t the “issue” itself (ours wasn’t money), so
much as the underlying problems of lying, sneak-
I recently found out that he fell behind on his Mad: Leave him. ing, avoiding big issues, lacking communication
I’m sorry. and being stubborn. And “not wanting you on his
credit payments and racked up late fees and pen- It’s one thing to have a problem; nobody’s perfect. back” after he spent years letting you pick up the
But when a person’s response to a problem is, “I re- bills when you thought he was fixing his issues for
alties, which he promised he wouldn’t do. While fuse to go to [thing that will help me get well], be- your future together? No. All the nos. That shows a
cause I got myself into this [type of unwellness], so lack of integrity. 
hashing this out, he owned up to having two other I will get myself out,” with no history of measurable
progress from using this approach, then you have
secret credit cards. One has stupid, unnecessary the much bigger problems of stubbornness, inflex-
ibility and pride – which will make you miserable.
things such as video games on it, and the other he Regardless of the specifics of the source of misery.
He had five years to fix his [stuff] and didn’t. He
has used to buy me a beautiful engagement ring, so lied to you instead. Bye! Starting today and hereaf-
ter, don’t burn your money or peace of mind on peo-
I feel awful about being mad – but I am. ple who don’t do what they say they will and who let
you do all the work.
Also making me feel bad is that he is really If/when he matures enough to live, share and

ashamed of himself. He refused my offer to loan

him the money to get out of debt, but he also said he

doesn’t want me on his back about this. He’s refus-

ing to go to credit counseling, saying he got himself

into this mess, and he’ll get himself out.

I love this man and believe he’s sincerely ashamed,

but I still feel betrayed and disgusted.What can I do?

– Mad

CONTEMPORARY ARTIST’S WORKS

MESMERIZE IN THE HERE AND NOW

42 Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

Contemporary artist’s works mesmerize in the here and now

BY DEBBIE TIMMERMANN | CORRESPONDENT Maciek von Ato. Discarded tables
by the roadside have been turned into
It is fitting that the first name of art- PHOTOS BY JOSHUA KODIS colorful treasures and a pair of large
ist Maciek von Ato is pronounced “Ma corbels (decorative supports) became
Chick.” The name sounds a lot like a one-of-a-kind lamp. The master
‘magic,’ which is exactly what he cre- bedroom of his home features a hand-
ates, utilizing his limitless imagina- painted, gallery-quality headboard
tion to produce objects of artistic ex- that defies description.
cellence.
Allowing form to follow function, a
“I was about 4 or 5 years old when I multi-panel screen in his living room
first discovered that magic of putting becomes a masterful adornment that
lines, shapes and colors together,” says keeps the television from taking cen-
von Ato. “What began as a passion ter stage, and their charming Christ-
soon became an obsession.” mas tree is made from some of those
old copper gutters, with its angel, stars
A minimalist at heart, von Ato says, and candleholders.
“I feel that one should minimize the
number of colors, forms and objects The Polish-born von Ato received a
and still be able to tell the story.” master’s degree from the Academy of
Fine Arts in Warsaw but left the coun-
Some of those stories come from try in 1981 when it became politically
found objects. “Material drops from unsettled and before martial law was
the sky, and I use it,” he explains. declared. He lived in Austria for two

Examples include exquisitely unique
candle holders made from copper gut-
ters that had blown down in a storm, be-
coming an otherwise mangled, useless
mess. A fallen oak tree was carved into
the base of a coffee table and was also
formed into two carved statues, each
depicting different faces on both sides.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 43

ARTS & THEATRE

years before moving with boundaries between real- time of day or night,” says von Ato.
wife Jayne and their young ity and imagination blur, Von Ato has had solo and group ex-
daughter to Australia, where exposing a moment in
he worked in graphic design time, a dream, an experi- hibitions in the United States, Europe
to support his family. ence, or merely an obser- and Australia, and his work can be
vation.” found in private collections worldwide.
He found the country to be
beautiful but quite conserva- He uses only oils in his He is a member of the Vero Beach-
tive and almost too vast. His paintings, applying it in based Friends of Contemporary Art
daughter loves the country layers of various opacities, group, and some of his work can be
and still lives there, but he felt until obtaining the desired viewed in the Viva FOCA exhibition
the need for a change. color, occasionally apply- at the Center for Spiritual Care in Vero
ing metallics. through Jan. 3.
Arriving in the United
States by way of San Francis- “The illumination effect Von Ato says he looks forward to be-
co in 1994, he soon relocated offers the viewer different coming a bigger part of the art scene
to New York City. He again perspectives, depending here, as he and Jayne have embraced
worked in graphic design, on the light source and Vero and its lifestyle.
before moving a few years
later to the Philadelphia area, “We are happy here.” 
where their wooded retreat gave him
greater room to think and create. of a woman, ethereally painted. Far
from still life, his paintings are in mo-
“The Philadelphia house had a six- tion, guiding the eye from one point to
car garage, which became my studio,” another.
says von Ato.
Utilizing his graphic design train-
It provided plenty of space to work ing, von Ato interweaves colors and
on wood or metal sculptures, flat, free- shapes as he tells his intended story,
form wall sculptures or large-scale contrasting softer silhouettes with
canvases. There was also enough buff- pyramids and triangles. Some of his
ering between houses that their neigh- contemporary pieces feature bolder
bors weren’t disturbed by the noisier colors and large canvasses.
aspects of his sculpture work.
Von Ato’s use of gold in many of his
He appreciated the area’s rich his- works radiates light, capturing the
tory and respect for art, saying, “The viewer’s attention to a higher extent
DuPont family had developed all of and touching on spiritual depth. Noth-
these places of interest. It was very art- ing is excessive, yet everything con-
oriented.” tributes to the overall story.

Eventually, the couple tired of the While von Ato says he finds inspi-
cold and snow and, on the recommen- ration all around him, certain events
dation of a friend, they moved to Vero have made deeper impressions, such
Beach five years ago. However, he says as his large painting “Desert Storm,”
back troubles followed by COVID wast- inspired by the Iraq war, and oth-
ed much of that time and it has limited ers that were influenced by the tragic
his ability to make connections with events of 9/11.
friends and fellow artists.
“A matter of thought just comes to
Nevertheless, he wants to be part me,” von Ato explains. “I hear some-
of the contemporary art scene that thing, or see something, and the proj-
is now gaining a foothold in the Vero ect begins.”
area with the influx of new artists
bringing in their expanded artistic Though his sources of inspiration
tastes. are unlimited, as are a wide range
of materials, the minimalist in him
Many of his creations, sculptures comes out in his careful choice of ele-
and paintings alike, feature women. ments for each piece, with their pre-
Not portraits, except for one that he cisely edited images and colors.
made of his wife, but rather the sense
Von Ato says of his work that “the

44 Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

COMING UP! Magic of McKee Festival of Lights: ‘Wow’ about that!

BY PAM HARBAUGH And take a little rest at the Garden youth ages 13 to 17 years, $10 for chil-
Correspondent Café which will serve special holi- dren ages 2 to 12, and active or vet-
day treats. Special children’s holiday eran military. If you visit during the
Could be you’ve got a few out-of-town crafting will be held 10 a.m. to noon day, you need to purchase a separate
visitors right now. Take the next few on Thursday, Dec. 22, when children ticket to visit the garden in the eve-
days to show off the area to them. will participate in rock painting, and ning. Admission is free to children
10 a.m. to noon Friday, Dec. 23, when under 2 years of age and to McKee
1 First, dazzle them with the children will make reindeer orna- members. McKee Botanical Garden
Magic of McKee Festival of ments. And of course, the garden is at 350 U.S. 1, Vero Beach. Call 772-
will be illuminated by thousands of 794-0601 or visit McKeeGarden.org.
bright, colorful and professionally
Lights. The annual holiday event installed LED lights. Also expect to
see more festive decorations. “It’s a
runs through Dec. 30 at McKee Bo- magical event that puts everybody 2 Of course, visitors will enjoy re- mas Instrumental Performance 4
in the spirit and brings everybody laxing near some views of the p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 24,
tanical Garden. That means that not together, both people who live here and Open Mic Night with Robert &
and people from far away,” says Con- Friends 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday,
only can you enjoy a stroll through nie Cotherman, McKee’s marketing water. A couple of establishments Dec. 28. Pareidolia Brewing Compa-
and events manager. Holiday hours ny is at 712 Cleveland St., Sebastian.
this bounteous garden teeming with this week are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thurs- might be just the thing, both offer- Call 772-571-5693 or visit Pareido-
day, Dec. 22 and Friday, Dec. 23. Af- liaBrewing.com. With its sandy bar
Florida flora, but you can also get ter Christmas Day, the McKee will ing river views and plenty of fun en- area and relaxing riverfront appeal,
resume regular hours, which are 10 Tiki Bar & Grill, also in Sebastian,
a little holiday thrill with a large- a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sat- tertainment. The Pareidolia Brew- has a very casual vibe. Not only can
urdays. The Children’s Garden clos- you get drinks and eats, but you can
scale train display on view 6 p.m. to es at 4:30 p.m. The last ticket sold is ing Company has a family-friendly also enjoy its Open Jam Night which
at 4 p.m. Tickets are $15 general, $13 runs 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday, Dec.
8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 23, and Wednes- for seniors 65 years and older and for and dog-friendly vibe. They offer up 26. Tiki Bar & Grill is at 1130 Indian
River Dr. Call 772-388-1080 or visit
day, Dec. 28 through Friday, Dec. 30. handcrafted beers, a tasting room, SebastianTiki.com. 

A 1924 Wurlitzer Band Organ will wine, cider, kombucha and more.

play 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. through Friday, They also have a pub-style menu

Dec. 23. Children can visit Santa with hot dogs, flatbread pizza, panini

from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, and more. Upcoming events include

Dec. 22 and Friday, Dec. 23. Inter- “Trivial Trivia” from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30

mittent snow flurries take place in p.m. Thursday, Dec. 22, Big Tiki &

the historic Spanish Kitchen which The Mai Tais 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

is outdoors by the Hall of Giants. Friday, Dec. 23, Mojo Mike Christ-

GUARD AGAINST STRESS, ILLNESS
– AND PERIL – DURING THE HOLIDAYS

46 Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

HEALTH

Guard against stress, illness – and peril – during the holidays

BY KERRY FIRTH Dr. Samantha La Qua. lay them on the floor where a child can Others find themselves prey to lone-
Correspondent reach them if children are around. liness and regret. Christmas can be a
PHOTOS: JOSHUA KODIS sad and difficult time for those who
The holiday season with all its hap- Besides the danger of broken glass have lost loved ones or are feeling
py moments and fun activities also the ladder as when you were putting and cuts, “kids are curious and they alone and isolated.
brings unforeseen dangers and emo- them up. You might be exhausted from will put anything they can reach into
tional triggers. A lot of accidents and the excitement of the past few weeks their mouths,” cautioned Dr. La Qua. It’s important to stay in contact with
illness occur during and in the af- and in a hurry to put everything be- “We see a lot of instances of choking friends and reach out to those you love.
termath of holidays, according to Dr. hind you and that’s when a fall is most this time of year, not only from deco- Place a phone call and talk rather than
Samantha La Qua, a family medicine likely to occur, possibly resulting in an rations but from small parts of the new texting to make a stronger personal
physician affiliated with HCA Florida injury. toys they received for Christmas.” connection. Make sure to get out of
St. Lucie Hospital. the house and breathe fresh air. Look
When putting Christmas ornaments The risk of infections rises at the forward and not backward and think
“We notice that heart attacks occur away, don’t place them on a couch or holidays, too. about one thing you’d like to have hap-
later in the day during the holidays be- pen in the upcoming new year.
cause people want to spend every min- “The cooler weather that comes
ute they can with their family and they with Christmas brings with it a surge After the festivities, people may suc-
will often ignore the warning signs,” in respiratory viruses that are eas- cumb to post-holiday blues – which
Dr. La Qua said. “Chest pain is often ily transmitted during family gather- can actually be a sign of healthy psy-
mistaken for indigestion, so someone ings,” Dr. La Qua said. “We are seeing chological functioning because the
may wait until after the family meal an increase in COVID, the flu and RSV down mood reflects the emotional
to address it. Or they dismiss the pain in children this year, due in part to cost of enjoying several weeks of fun.
because they don’t want to disrupt the less masking, which makes it easier to
family gathering. transmit the airborne viruses. Most people have high levels of ac-
tivity in the stretch between Thanks-
“That could be a fatal mistake. If “Your best defense [against viral giving and Christmas, with a lot of
you are experiencing chest pain, don’t grinches] is to make sure you are up activity during the preparations,
wait. Go to the emergency room or ur- to date with your flu and COVID vac- socializing, travel and family visits.
gent care and get it checked out.” cines. They are safe for everyone over Then, suddenly it’s over.
the age of 6 months and pregnant
When taking down Christmas lights women as well. If there are at-risk Others who are less active may con-
and decorations, be just as careful on guests at the gathering, wearing masks tinue to feel lonely and left out.
couldn’t hurt.”
Happy Holidays! The National Alliance on Mental Ill-
Another tip: “Limit what you are ness (NAMI) says post-holiday blues
$79 share,” Dr. La Qua advised. “If you are are associated with unrealistic ex-
NEW PATIENT SPECIAL planning a big holiday meal, make it a pectations or memories connected to
COMPREHENSIVE EXAM COSMETIC DENTISTRY plated dinner verses a buffet, or have the holiday season. In a 2015 survey, a
GENERAL DENTISTRY one person wearing gloves serving the whopping 64 percent of people report-
FULL SET XRAYS DENTURES & PARTIALS food instead of passing the platters ed experiencing post-holiday blues.
TREATMENT PLAN  CLEANING* DENTAL IMPLANTS  WHITENING around the table. Place individually
*Not in combination with any other offer. Offer good for new patients GUM SURGERY  WALK-INS WELCOME wrapped candies in the candy bowl If the blues persist, pay attention to
only and cleaning in absence of periodontal disease. Xrays are non and refrain from sharing vegetable your moods, try to be compassionate
FINANCING & SAVINGS PLAN AVAILABLEtransferable. (D0150) (D1110) (D0210) (D0330) and chip dips. A safer way to present toward yourself, and reach out for help
snacks is in individual cups. And, of if need be.
DENTAL LAB Call 772-562-5051 course, monitor your intake of alcohol
ON PREMISES and always have a designated driver.” “There is no shame in feeling de-
CromerAndCairnsDental.com pressed,” said Dr. La Qua. “Most de-
The holidays often trigger emotional pression can be managed by your pri-
The patient and any other person responsible for payment has a right to refuse to pay, cancel payment, or be reimbursed for upset and turmoil, too, especially in mary care provider, but if it gets to a
payment for any other services, examination, or treatment that is preformed as a result of and within 72 hours of responding gatherings awash in alcohol. Old quar- point where progress isn’t being made,
to the advertisement for the free, discounted fee, or reduced fee service, examination, or treatment. rels can reignite and misunderstand- then you may be referred to a mental
ings occur. health professional. There are stabiliz-
1225 US HWY 1, VERO BEACH, FL 32960 JULIE A. CROMER, DDS ing medications that can help control
the mood swings. Taking charge of
your mood is the fastest way to get out
of the post-holiday blues and get a kick
start on a truly happy new year.”

Dr. Samantha La Qua is a board-cer-
tified family medicine physician with
additional training in obstetrics. She re-
ceived her undergraduate degree from
Cornell University, where she studied
human biology health and society. She
earned her medical degree from SUNY
Upstate Medical University before going
on to complete her residency at Halifax
Health Family Medicine Residency in
Daytona Beach. Dr. La Qua completed
her Obstetrical Fellowship at Tallahas-
see Memorial Hospital. Her office is lo-
cated at HCA Florida St. Lucie Special-
ists, 1700 SE Hillmoor Dr. Suite 200, Port
St. Lucie, 772-398-7936. 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 47

HEALTH

Addressing sleep-apnea issues and anxiety in seniors

BY FRED CICETTI Anxiety disorders are serious medi- Although medications won’t cure gen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen from
cal illnesses that affect approximately an anxiety disorder, they can keep the swallowed air make up a large part of
Columnist 40 million American adults. They symptoms under control and enable gas or “flatus.” Fermenting foods in the
all involve excessive, irrational fear. people to have normal lives. colon produce hydrogen and methane
Q. How can I tell if I’m suffering from Anxiety disorders are chronic and can as well as carbon dioxide and oxygen.
sleep apnea? worsen if untreated. Q. I seem to pass gas a lot. What’s nor-
mal? We release gas upwardly by belch-
A. About 18 million Americans have Anxiety disorders are treated with ing and downwardly by flatulence.
sleep apnea. It’s much more com- medication and psychotherapy. Both A. For the record, most people pass When we swallow air and don’t release
mon in older adults and men. Apnea is approaches can be effective for most gas about 10 times each day. Twenty it by belching, the air will work its way
Greek for “without breath.” disorders. Anxiety disorders are not all times daily is still considered normal. down and out the rectum. About half
treated the same, so it is important to the gas passed from the rectum comes
People with sleep apnea stop breath- determine the specific problem first. Most people produce between a pint from swallowed air. 
ing for as long as 30 seconds at a time. and a half-gallon of gas each day. Oxy-
These interruptions can happen hun-
dreds of times a night. The breathing
cessations may wake you and prevent
you from getting a good night’s sleep.
These awakenings usually are so brief
that you don’t recall them.

The most common symptoms of
sleep apnea include:

 Excessive daytime sleepiness .
 Loud snoring.
 Observed episodes of breathing
stoppages during sleep.
 Abrupt awakenings with shortness
of breath.
 Awakening with a dry mouth or
sore throat.
 Morning headache.
 Problems associated with sleep
deprivation such as forgetfulness and
mood changes.
About 90 percent of sleep-apnea
victims have a windpipe blockage.
Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when
the muscles in the back of your throat
relax. These muscles support the soft
palate, tonsils, tongue and uvula – that
doohickey that hangs in the back of
your mouth. When the muscles relax,
your airway is narrowed and breathing
is cut off. A blockage can also be caused
by a lot of fatty tissue in the throat.

Q. I seem to be anxious more than
usual. Is this something that increases
with age?

A. Because the stresses of health
problems, losses and other major life
changes build up as we get older, we
tend to become anxious. Some surveys
suggest that one in five older adults
suffer anxiety symptoms that require
treatment.

In addition to psychological causes,
medical disorders common in older
adults can be directly responsible for
the anxiety we feel. These include heart
disease, neurologic illness, thyroid and
other hormone problems. In addition,
anxiety can be a drug side effect. And
seniors take a lot of medicine.

Anxiety disorders in seniors have
been underestimated. One of the
main reasons is that older patients are
more likely to emphasize their physi-
cal complaints and downplay emo-
tional problems.

48 Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

HEALTH

AI and robots could help detect urinary tract infections earlier

BY ERIN BLAKEMORE and incontinence to temperature one of the most common hospital- The project will place sensors
The Washington Post changes and confusion can indi- acquired infections. and socially assistive robots with
cate a UTI, and patients awaiting people living in care homes. The
British researchers are working diagnosis can progress to urosep- They’re also common even sensors will monitor potential signs
on a new way to recognize urinary sis, in which the infection spreads among those not using catheters; of infections, including changes
tract infections (UTIs) using artifi- from the urinary tract into the over 50 percent of women will get in walking function or sleep pat-
cial intelligence and robots. bladder and kidneys. a UTI during their lifetime. Women terns. If the program’s AI-powered
are much more likely to develop platform detects those signs, it will
Scientists at the University of Ed- UTIs are particularly common in UTIs than men because the fe- trigger interactions with the robot
inburgh and Heriot-Watt Universi- nursing homes and hospitals be- males’ urinary tract is close to the and, eventually, a clinician.
ty have teamed up with Scotland’s cause of catheter use, and they are anus.
National Robotarium and two Scot- The researchers hope the program
tish nursing home providers for the can help fight antibiotic overuse.
collaborative project, known as
FEATHER (Facilitating health and “As the second most common
well-being by developing systems reason for the prescription of an-
for early recognition of urinary tibiotics, the infection makes a
tract infections). The collaborative significant contribution to the in-
project was recently awarded about creasingly concerning problem of
$1.3 million in British government drug-resistant bacteria,” Kia Naz-
grants. arpour, the project lead and a pro-
fessor of digital health at the Uni-
It’s a high-tech approach to a versity of Edinburgh’s School of
long-standing problem. Women are Informatics, said in a news release.
more than three times more likely Since lab results can take up to two
to develop UTIs than men, but UTI days to come in, clinicians often
symptoms vary, and it can take days start patients on antibiotics right
to get a reliable diagnosis. Mean- away.
while, physical discomfort can per-
sist and complications can arise. In the United States alone, UTI
hospitalizations cost an estimated
Everything from urinary pain $2.8 billion a year. 



50 Vero Beach 32963 / December 22, 2022 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

HEALTH

Vaccine seen as possible ‘tipping point’ in cancer treatments

BY LENNY BERNSTEIN a second cancer drug, according to pre-
The Washington Post liminary study results released Tues-
day.
For the first time, messenger RNA
technology – the advance that under- The experimental cancer vaccine
girds the most commonly used coro- from Moderna that uses mRNA, com-
navirus vaccines – has been shown bined with Merck’s cancer immuno-
effective against a deadly form of skin therapy drug pembrolizumab, mar-
cancer, when used in conjunction with keted as Keytruda, performed well in
mid-stage testing in patients battling