ISSUE37_091516

School Board member: Budget
‘not based on reality.’ P7
Marine Bank buys
Sebastian branch. P6
County purchases land for

recreation, water treatment. P9

For breaking news visit

MY VERO Electric utility
again top issue
BY RAY MCNULTY in Vero election

Davis surprised by loss,
but likely to run again

Wesley Davis might still be BY LISA ZAHNER
this community's most popu- Staff Writer
lar local politician, despite his
failed bid to become our Prop- Vero Mayor Jay Kramer and
erty Appraiser last month.
Councilwoman Pilar Turner,
He's well-liked and ami-
cable, always quick with a who are not running for re-
handshake and smile, and he
has a knack for making every- election, may have grown wea-
one feel like a friend. He's also
ry of leading their oft-oppos-
Wesley Davis. PHOTO BY DENISE RITCHIE
ing factions in the utility wars
very visible around town, of-
ten showing up for major so- these past six years, but those
cial and charitable events.
who win their seats in Novem-
For those reasons, among
others, more than a few folks ber will inherit the burden of
were surprised when Davis
– a former School Board and resolving the longstanding dis-
County Commission chair-
man – lost the Aug. 30 election. pute over whether or not to sell

So was he. the city’s electric utility.
"Yeah, I was surprised," Da-
vis said of his 1,500-vote loss A water main break flooded Ocean Drive near the Driftwood Resort, forcing city workers to dig up the street. PHOTO BY ALAN SNEL Past Vero elections have di-
to 36-year incumbent David
Nolte. "I knew it would be a vided the field into “pro-sale”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 and “anti-sale” contingents,

Summer doldrums? John’s Island reports record sales andsincethematterisstillun-
settled, those hopeful of gain-
ing or retaining office this year

BY STEVEN M. THOMAS condominium that ranged in record of $20 million set in 2008. also will be judged by their
Staff Writer price from $850,000 to more “In spite of everything going stance on the electric issue.

than $6 million. The $32 mil- on in the world, economically This time around, the litmus

The myth of a summer slow- lion in closed deals far sur- and politically, and political test appears to be whether or

down in the Vero Beach hous- passed the previous July sales CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

ing market was put to rest last

week when John’s Island Real Shores picks up influential
Estate reported it had closed backing in electric battle
more than $32 million in sales
in July, an all-time sales record
for the month.

A steady influx of British BY LISA ZAHNER
buyers, friends and family of Staff Writer
existing club members, and “a

tremendous increase” in buy- In the absence of any real help from leg-

ers from California are driving islators representing Indian River County,

sales, according to Bob Gibb, Florida Sen. Jack Latvala of Clearwater

owner/broker of John’s Island wrote a forceful letter Monday morn-

Real Estate Company. ing supporting the Town of Indian River

July sales included 10 CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 Senator Jack Latvala of Clearwater.

single-family houses and 1

September 15, 2016 Volume 9, Issue 37 Newsstand Price $1.00 Emotions high at
Tunnel to Towers
News 1-10 Faith 47 Pets 48 TO ADVERTISE CALL event. Page 15
Arts 21-26 Games 49-51 Real Estate 63-72 772-559-4187
Books 44 Health 27-32 St Ed’s 45
Dining 56 Insight 33-52 Style 53-55 FOR CIRCULATION
Editorial 42 People 11-20 Wine 57 CALL 772-226-7925

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

2 Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Vero council election Laura Moss is up to bat a second Moss seems a safe “yes” vote should Sykes is expected to be a solid vote in
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 time after falling short in the 2015 city FPL extend its offer down the road to favor of off-loading the Shores custom-
council race. Since that loss, Moss has a friendlier city council that no longer ers in exchange for a sorely needed $30
not candidates would approve a resus- positioned herself as chair of the all- includes anti-sale leader Kramer. million cash infusion into the city.
citated $30 million offer from Florida important Vero Utilities Commission,
Power & Light to purchase Vero Electric’s where proposals having to do with the Lange Sykes, a barrier island Real- Norman Wells is the other possible
3,000 customers in Indian River Shores. sale of the utility are sent to be vetted tor, artist and conservationist, has pro-sale candidate on this year’s bal-
and sometimes to die. spoken forcefully in favor of Vero mov- lot. A retired battalion chief with In-
Positions can be fluid as candidates ing forward with the deal to sell the dian River County Fire-Rescue and a
debate and get their marching orders Moss has come under direct fire Shores. But after a nasty Republican very sharp guy, Wells has served on the
from voters while canvassing neighbor- from Councilman Dick Winger, who primary battle with Erin Grall for a fringes of electric politics in a leader-
hoods and campaigning around town, says she has over-stepped her advise- Florida House seat, Sykes will have to ship role with the Taxpayers Associa-
but it seems three people vying for three and-consent role and gone rogue with overcome the bad taste he left in vot- tion of Indian River County.
seats are staunchly in favor of letting the her committee, taking tough stands ers’ mouths and mailboxes with an
Shores customers go, while three others including a unanimous recommenda- onslaught of ugly campaign mailers Wells was encouraged to run by util-
lean toward defending the status quo tion to sell the Shores customers and and advertisements. ity activist and CPA Glenn Heran, who
and keeping Vero electric whole. assets for $30 million. signed on asWells’ campaign treasurer,
Should he be able to shift the dis- and he’s expected to get support from
Unless she does a complete U-turn, course to the city office he now seeks, various public safety unions that tend
to be loyal, enthusiastic volunteers for
their chosen candidates. Wells was a
late-comer to the race and, being new
to the Vero elections scene, will be one
to watch as his positions on the city’s
other top issues emerge.

NEWS ANALYSIS

Each election cycle typically produc-
es a candidate so steeped in Vero heri-
tage that they prove extremely tough to
beat, and this time around that person
is retired Army veteran of three wars
and prolific volunteer Tony Young.

Grandson of Vero’s first mayor, a
60-year McAnsh Park resident and
third-generation Vero native, Young
has served the city and its veterans in
many capacities, advocating for im-
provements on Memorial Island and
helping save the city cemetery from
sale or privatization.

According to his public statements
and campaign material, Young hails
from the “Keep Vero Vero” crowd and
is popular with city employees – es-
pecially the police. If elected, it is un-
likely he would do anything to shake
up city operations.

However, with regard to whether he
would support sale of the 3,000 Shores
electric customers to FPL, Young had
this to say:

“Like some others, I was disap-
pointed by the missed opportunity.
The timeline created a rush to judg-
ment that worked against obtaining a
deal. A counter offer that bridged the
concerns of the Council might have
worked! Reasonable protection against
unforeseen potential costs is essential.
The proposed transaction deadline
created an unnecessary impediment.

“A partial sale that addresses the
concerns of all the rate-payers is still
possible. My goal is to obtain the low-
est sustainable electric rates for all VB
Electric customers. In the end, that is
the standard any sale should achieve.”

Sharon Gorry is another home-
town candidate, a 1967 graduate of
Vero Beach High School born and
raised in Vero. Her late father was the

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 3

NEWS

ever-colorful Orval Shelton, who sur- in the lead-up to the Nov. 8 election. Jerry Weick was term limited and The Town of Orchid also settled its
prised Vero Isles neighbors by sink- Early voting begins Oct. 24 and turn- Councilman Tom Slater did not run election “contest” without going to the
ing his houseboat into a huge hole in out is expected to be very high with for re-election, leaving two seats open November ballot. Harold Ofstie, Or-
the ground and building a two-story the upper ballot races, including pres- that will be filled by long-time John’s chid’s current mayor, will return to of-
home around it. ident and U.S. Senator up for grabs. Island resident Debbi Peniston and fice for four more years, and the second
Shores Finance Commission head and open seat will go to Thomas Buck, the
For those who don’t get to know her Meanwhile, in Indian River Shores, Vero Utility Commission Vice Chair only contender. Oftsie and Buck will be
personally prior to November’s elec- the contest for three seats was decided Bob Auwaerter. Auwaerter has been seated at the first meeting following the
tion, Gorry may also be somewhat without an election, as only three can- critical of the City of Vero Beach and Nov. 8 election and will be sworn in for
defined in this race by another well- didates qualified. Mayor Brian Bare- its utility operations. terms ending November 2020. 
known man in her immediate family foot will return to office. Vice Mayor
– her husband Peter Gorry, the outspo-
ken chair of Vero’s Finance Commis- Exclusively John’s Island
sion. She said Peter hopes to remain
on the Finance Commission if she is A private location and peaceful pool and lake views are enjoyed from this
elected and that she does not see it as a beautifully renovated 4BR/4.5BA retreat. Exceptional architecture and design
conflict. “But I can’t appoint him,” she compliment this 4,270± GSF home featuring a living room with fireplace
said. “He was Jay’s appointee. Some- opening onto a pergola covered terrace with outdoor fireplace for year-round
one else would have to appoint him.” enjoyment. Additional features include an island kitchen adjoining the family
room, honed limestone floors, marble bathrooms and detached cabana. Must see!
Branded as “anti-sale” by some activ- 611 Indian Harbor Road : $2,525,000
ists, Gorry said her concerns about sell-
ing part or all of the electric utility stem three championship golf courses : 17 har-tru courts : beach club : squash
back to the Florida Municipal Power health & fitness center : pickleball : croquet : vertical equity membership
Agency legal juggernaut. “I’m relatively
sure that the FMPA contracts are iron- 772.231.0900 : Vero Beach, FL : JohnsIslandRealEstate.com
clad, there is just no way to exit, and if
there was it would cost millions and mil-
lions of dollars to do that,” Gorry said.

She said she understands people
are angry about the rates and that
they’ve been angry since the era of
the first Orlando Utilities Commission
contract when electric bills doubled.

“I’m not opposed to selling Vero
electric, but in selling the utility there
are things you have to consider,” she
said. “It can’t harm the taxpayers or
the ratepayers or the employees of the
utility, that wouldn’t be fair.”

Gorry said issues she hopes to impact
include the health of the Indian River
Lagoon, the upkeep of city roads and
infrastructure, concerns over the All
Aboard Florida train and the continua-
tion of a robust offering of community
events and recreation programs, just
like when she was a kid learning gym-
nastics and going to summer camp.

Gorry lists in her professional expe-
rience owning a Notary Public servic-
es business for eight years and nearly
two decades as a volunteer putting on
equestrian events.

Rounding out the field of six is the
only incumbent in the race, Randy
Old. Throughout his two years on the
council, Old has complained that mat-
ters relating to the electric utility were
so complicated that he begged to ditch
his board membership in the FMPA
and send someone better qualified.

Old does not say much during city
meetings, but typically votes in lock-
step with Kramer and Winger. Old
voted against accepting FPL’s $30 mil-
lion offer to purchase the Shores cus-
tomers, instead approving an artfully
manufactured motion by Kramer to
accept the sum of $47 million, which
was never actually on the table.

Various political and community
organizations will question the candi-
dates in private and in public forums

4 Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

My Vero office again – possibly the same office er than wait four years for Nolte, 73, to Davis, 46. "But I don't have any re-
he sought this summer. serve out one last term? grets, because I don't believe these po-
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 sitions are meant to be lifetime jobs.
"I'm not going to rule out another run Why was he so eager to give up his There comes a time when you have to
tough race because David had been in in four years," Davis said, "but that's as- District 1 seat on the County Commis- ask yourself: What are you going to get
office for a long time, but I wasn't run- suming David doesn't run again." sion, where he could've remained in the done in the next four years that you
ning to lose. I had a lot of support. public eye and, probably, coasted into didn't get done in the past four years?
As for pursuing a different govern- the Property Appraiser's Office in 2020?
"To get about half of the people to mental office, Davis didn't rule out "I think it's good, after a while, to
vote for you and not win ..." that possibility, either, although he More than one local politician, all of have fresh eyes look at things," he
said "it's too soon to think about it" them speaking on the condition of ano- added. "That's why I chose to leave the
Clearly, Davis was disappointed by and that he would consider running nymity, said Davis should've waited – County Commission and run for Prop-
the outcome, which saw Nolte get 52 "only if something opens up and the that many influential Republicans in the erty Appraiser.
percent of the vote to his 48 percent. timing is right." county, especially on the barrier island,
And he now concedes that he might've backed Nolte's decision to seek one last "We gave it our all and came up a
picked the wrong time to run against That wasn't the case in February term before turning over the office to the little short. It was a close race."
the wrong person for the right office. 2015, when he launched his campaign three-term county commissioner.
to unseat Nolte. Does he question his decision to run?
But he's not so disappointed that he "Sure, I've heard that, and I don't "Not at this point, because I really
won't strongly consider seeking public So why did Davis run? Why did he doubt that would've happened," said do believe it was time to move on,
challenge a popular incumbent, rath- but ask me again in a year," he said. "I
might say it was the worst decision of
my career."
In the meantime, Davis, a fourth-
generation citrus grower, said he plans
to return to the private sector on a
full-time basis – he has real-estate ap-
praisal and auctioneering businesses
– when his County Commission term
expires in November.
He said he will miss serving on the
Commission.
"What I enjoyed most about being on
the County Commission was being able
to solve problems and help people,"
Davis said. "As a commissioner, some-
times you can get things done with a
phone call and save people a lot of time.
And I was looking forward to serving
people as the Property Appraiser.
"But I don't see myself as a politician,
and never have," he added. "I've always
seen myself as a real-estate guy, auction-
eer and farmer who did politics on the
side. Of course, that would've changed
if I had become the Property Appraiser."
That's because Property Appraiser is a
full-time job. It's also a well-paying job.
Had Davis won the election, he
would have received an annual sal-
ary of $122,000, more than twice the
$59,000 per year he’s paid as a county
commissioner. But he said money –
the pay raise also would've boosted
his pension – wasn't a factor in his de-
cision to run against Nolte this year.
Davis said he took a "significant
pay cut" when he was elected to the
County Commission, because he put
his governmental responsibilities first,
which left far less time for his lucrative
real-estate businesses.
"Anybody that goes into public
service for the money," Davis said,
"they're making a big mistake."
Davis also said his motivations for
seeking the Property Appraiser's Office
did not include using the position to
launch a run for state or federal office.
"I didn't run for School Board so I
could be a county commissioner, and
I didn't run for Property Appraiser
so I could be a state representative,"
Davis said. "I ran so I could serve the
community in that position, just as I

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 5

NEWS

did when I ran for the other positions." support he received throughout his "God, no," Davis said. "I'm going to or eight years out," Davis said. "Call
If Davis does get the itch to return to recent campaign – and by the conso- miss it." me in a year and we'll see where we
lation showered upon him in the two are."
local politics, he said he would prob- weeks since the election. Nor has he Will he miss it enough to try again?
ably need to launch his campaign at "soured on public service" because "There's nothing out there for My guess is he'll be every bit as pop-
least 18 months before an election. of the loss, he added. at least the next two years, and in ular as he is today – and that he will
some cases, we'd be looking at four run again. 
He said he is "humbled" by the

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6 Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Marine Bank acquires a Sebastian branch Influential senator
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
BY ALAN SNEL in north Indian River County, said August of 2015. Penney told 32963
Staff Writer Bill Penney, Marine Bank CEO and that he began working to acquire Shores on the eve of its big day before
president. the Valley National branch about a the Florida Public Service Commission.
Marine Bank & Trust, the only year and a half ago.
locally-owned bank on the island, The bank has 200 customers with Latvala, an influential senior sena-
is continuing its expansion into Sebastian mailing addresses for Founded in 1927, Valley National tor who holds key positions on several
Sebastian with the acquisition of whom the new branch will come in Bank is based in Wayne, N.J., with major committees, including general
the Valley National Bank branch at handy. 211 branches in New York, New government oversight, regulated in-
1020 U.S. 1. Jersey and Florida, according to its dustries and appropriations, weighed
Penney declined to reveal how website. The Sebastian branch has in on behalf of the Shores’ petition to
It will re-brand the branch into much Marine paid for the branch, 600 customers and assets of $14 mil- open up Vero’s electric service territory.
a Marine Bank location after the but did say the purchase includes the lion in customer deposits.
close of business on Oct. 21. 1.3-acre lot and the 2,200-square- While it seemed unlikely that the
foot building. The branch is located Penney said the banking indus- Public Service Commission would
Marine will assume a majority on the east side of U.S. 1 two blocks try is seeing a trend in which more grant the Shores’ request for freedom
of customer deposits in the trans- south of Main Street. Penney said it large multi-branch banks trim off from Vero electric, the fact that more
action, though some will be trans- has a spacious four-lane drive-thru. offices and sell them individually, heavy-hitter state lawmakers from
ferred to Valley branches in Vero so this transaction is not unusual. outside the Vero Beach area are now
and Barefoot Bay. Marine Bank's board of directors weighing in on this matter suggests
unanimously approved the deal Marine Bank has two full-ser- that the battle against Vero electric is
Valley National Bank customers following a comprehensive review vice branches in Vero Beach and gaining traction.
will receive details on any changes of the transaction and other strate- the loan production office in Se-
to their accounts before the transi- gic and financial alternatives. The bastian. The Sebastian branch will Along with Latvala’s letter, which was
tion is complete. The three Valley bank has received all required regu- be its fourth location. Penney said added to the docket records on Mon-
Bank employees at the branch will latory approvals from the FDIC and the bank is always looking for ex- day, dozens of Indian River Shores resi-
become Marine Bank employees. Florida Office of Financial Regula- pansion opportunities, but has no dents lodged their concerns in writing
tion. other pending deals. over the past two weeks, as urged to by
Marine Bank, which is based in town officials.
Vero Beach and has $206 million Marine Bank is not new to Sebas- Chartered in 1997, Marine Bank
in assets, made the deal in order to tian. It has been operating a loan is the only community bank head- “I strongly encourage you to care-
beef up its services for customers production office at 990 U.S. 1 since quartered in Vero Beach.  fully consider your actions and listen
closely to the pleas from the aggrieved
citizens of Indian River Shores,” Lat-
vala wrote in the two-page letter to

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 7

NEWS

Chairman Julie Brown. “This is a what has happened and that is unac- authority to establish monopoly service failed, the Shores went back to the PSC
unique situation that not only in- ceptable,” Latvala said. areas, surely that carries with it the au- seeking a redress of grievances that it
volves constitutional issues, but also thority to protect disenfranchised cus- had not been able to get from the cir-
issues of fundamental fairness. “It was never the intent of the Leg- tomers where the utility is abusing its cuit court or from protracted media-
islature that Florida’s consumers be monopoly status,” he continued. tion with Vero officials.
“For far too long, the citizens of the subject to the whims of an unregu-
Town have been given no voice and lated utility provider acting as a mo- PSC Chair Brown had delayed hear- “I am confident that the Public Ser-
no form of representation before their nopoly and lacking accountability to ing the matter, telling the parties that vice Commission will make the right
electrical provider, the City of Vero its customers,” he added. she hoped they could work out an decision in this matter and amend the
Beach. With no way to redress their amicable solution outside the PSC territorial boundaries as requested in
complaints at either the ballot box or “As commissioners of the Public Ser- process. order to end the abusive practices that
through a representative utility au- vice Commission, it is your responsibil- have befallen the citizens of the Town
thority, thousands of consumers in the ity to consider the rights of the public But on Aug. 16, the Vero Beach City of Indian River Shores,” Latvala con-
Town have been subjected to excessive and take the necessary actions to pro- Council rejected a $30 million of- cluded, in the letter co-signed by state
rates and poor quality service from an vide solutions and protect the best inter- fer from FPL to purchase the Shores House Rep. Debbie Mayfield, who won
unresponsive provider,” Latvala wrote. ests of our citizens. I know none of you customers – a sum more than double her Republican primary bid on Aug. 30
take that responsibility lightly. If the law the previous $13.6 million cash that to move up to the Senate. 
The Shores had petitioned the gives the Public Service Commission the was on the table. Now, with that deal
PSC to open up the territory on the
grounds of “changed circumstances,” $286 million school district budget ‘not based on reality’
since Vero’s electric franchise with the
Shores expires on Nov. 6 and the Town BY KATHLEEN SLOAN cited three major problems having to do million transfer out of the district gen-
no longer wants 80 percent of its resi- Staff Writer with the deficit in the district’s health- eral fund into the healthcare fund to
dents in the area south of Old Winter care costs, unknown legal fees, and the begin paying down the deficit.
Beach Road to be served by Vero. The While the Indian River School Dis- lack of budget transparency.
northern 20 percent are already on trict’s $286 million budget for the That figure is based on the hope
Florida Power & Light, paying rates coming year was approved by a four- First, Frost said he “foretold the hole that the School District will be allowed
more than 30 percent lower. to-one vote last Thursday, the School in the healthcare fund, but no one lis- make up the deficit over a three-year
Board member who voted against it tened.” period, but a three-year plan has yet
“When your predecessors approved said it was “not based on reality.” to be accepted by the Florida Office of
the territorial boundary line that now The school district is “self-insured” Insurance Regulation, which could or-
divides the Town, I’m sure that they School Board member Shawn Frost and its insurance plan is $7 million
never envisioned that the City of Vero in the hole. The budget shows a $2.33 CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
Beach electric utility would systemati-
cally disenfranchise its non-resident
customers in the Town. But that is

8 Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

School budget start from a blank sheet, rationalizing provide plenty of reserve. Borrow- The school board made no com-
expenditures anew, instead of “just ing $3 million instead of $8.2 million ment on Auwaerter’s suggestions.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 adding 5 percent over last year.” would save taxpayers about $22,000, There is a $100,000 placeholder in the
he estimated. budget for financial fees tied to the
der immediate repayment. This brings The overall school tax rate will be loan, suggesting the larger loan could
an element of uncertainty or unreality lower in the coming year, $7.41 for ev- “Just because you can borrow that cost more than the $70,000 estimated
to the budget, in Frost’s estimation. ery $1,000 of property value assessed, much doesn’t mean you should,” Au- by Ford & Associates. 
down from $7.95 last year, but more waerter said.
Second, Frost said, “We’re still in money will come in because of an in-
court. We’re spending more money crease in property values. The district’s Mixed reviews for School District’s
fighting our friends, trying to keep 2016-2017 budget is nearly 7 percent, FOCUS student tracking system
high-performing charter schools out or $18.5 million, higher than last year’s.
of the school district.” BY KATHLEEN SLOAN The demands of the Common Core
During the public hearing held before education framework, renamed Florida
During budget talks, Frost ques- the board voted, Indian River Shores Staff Writer Standards after legislators made minor
tioned staff’s assertion that this year resident Robert Auwaerter questioned changes for political reasons, has also
there would be a $320,000 decrease another aspect of the budget, which in- A half-million-dollar student infor- made a responsive and flexible student
in legal fees, pointing out there was cludes money to pay for taking out an mation tracking system called FOCUS information system more important.
no let-up in lawsuits. Frost noted the $8.2 million loan to tide the district over put in place a year ago by the Indian FOCUS employs at least one state re-
final budget does not reflect legal-fee in the weeks before property tax rev- River School District so far has gotten porting specialist and is aligned with the
savings, but just the opposite – about a enue starts coming in later this fall. mixed reviews. state program that homogenizes educa-
$600,000 increase. Frost said he would tion goals, helping teachers be confident
rather money being spent in litigation The district faces a $1.2 million With the new system, information they are teaching to state standards.
go toward improving education. shortfall in late October, but the dis- showing student progression and teach-
trict financial advisor Ford & Associ- er adherence to the Florida Standards is Common Core/Florida Standards
Third, Frost said he wanted more ates recommends the board take out available in real time to administrators, do not come with a corresponding
transparency in the budget process an $8.2 million bridge loan at a cost of teachers and families. Nightly, parents curriculum and FOCUS correlates les-
by having funds tied to projects. Al- nearly $70,000. can see if a teacher assigned homework, son plans and report cards to the stan-
though five budget workshops were and if their child did yesterday’s assign- dards. District and teacher evalua-
held, Frost said he still thinks budget Auwaerter, who recently retired ments. If your child skipped school, ex- tions are based on Common Core test
approval is based on a “straight up- from the Vanguard Group, where he pect a robo-call from FOCUS. results, so staying standard-focused
and-down vote,” with too little “granu- oversaw a financial analyst team of has become imperative.
lar” detail. 125 and managed $750 billion in as- The parent portal shows good ac-
sets, said he looked at Ford’s cash-flow tivity, with as many as 6,400 parents The district spent about $500,000
School board member Charles analysis and saw no reason for the logging into it monthly. Some parents to implement the program last school
Searcy and Frost both asked that a district to borrow that much. He said checked their child’s classes 50 times year and will pay about $100,000 each
“zero budget” approach be used in that borrowing $3 million, more than a month, said Technology and As- year to maintain it. The system was
the future, in which department heads double the expected deficit, would sessment Assistant Superintendent rolled out with 60 FOCUS-led and 40
Bruce Green, who recently updated district-led training sessions last year,
the school board on how the district is Green said. Workshops were, and still
adapting to the new system. are, being offered and a FOCUS hot-
line has been set up.
When FOCUS launched, hardware-
heavy servers only a few people could “We didn’t do a staff survey last year
access loaded with 20 years of data because we got a lot of feedback,” Green
were replaced with a web-based sys- said, indicating there was the usual
tem that stores information in the discomfort associated with such a big
cloud. Green said the savings on hard- change. Feedback will be sought this year.
ware alone is about $25,000 a year, and
the increased efficiency of informa- School board member Charles
tion transfer is incalculable. Searcy said he has gotten complaints
from teachers that the system was
FOCUS School Software is a St. Pe- hard to use.
tersburg company that has contracts
with 43 of the state’s 67 school districts. A Texas teacher who has used FOCUS
The company’s success in the Florida for four years, Rhonda O’Brien, said FO-
market is partly due to software devel- CUS helped her students get into col-
oped to find reporting errors related to lege. Seeing their school rank go up and
the Byzantine state funding formula. down motivated them, knowing that
“universities base everything on quar-
When calculated and totted up, the tile combined with SAT/ACT scores.”
state disburses money based on the
number of “full-time-equivalent stu- But psychologist and author of
dents” in the district. If reporting is er- “Teach Your Children Well,” Madeline
roneous, it can cost districts big money Levine, calls big student information
– and there is a narrow window of time systems “Power Snoop.”
in which a district can correct report-
ing errors. Instead of students finding their pas-
sion and intellectual spark, “It turns ev-
Indian River County School District ery act of learning into a performance,”
is currently waiting on a $1 million Levine said. “We’re ignoring best prac-
payment related to corrections from tices in child development and saying
last year. what we do care about are grades.” 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 9

NEWS

County purchases 83 acres for
recreation, stormwater treatment

BY SAMANTHA ROHLFING BAITA property during construction of Os-
Staff Writer prey Marsh and made some inquiries. It
turned out the parcel was under contract
The county got a great deal on a re- with a new homebuilder, but the cost of
cent land acquisition adjacent to the building houses there didn’t pencil out
newly opened south county recre- and the land went into receivership.
ation center on Oslo Road, paying just
$1 million for an 83-acre property that Late last year, the County enlisted
was recently appraised at $1.4 million the services of Armfield & Wagner, the
and once sold for $7 million. local firm that had done an appraisal
on the property for a private developer
During the real estate boom in the in 2011. An updated Armfield & Wag-
mid-2000s, the acreage was purchased ner report showed the current market
by a developer planning to build up to value of the property to be $1.4 million.
178 single-family homes in a commu-
nity called Coyote Run, but that dream In December, the County Commis-
died during the real estate downturn sion approved an agreement to offer a
that began in 2007. onetime payment of $1 million, con-
tingent on a due diligence investiga-
The County first noticed the land tion. The offer was accepted and the
in late 2013 when the Osprey Marsh property was purchased.
stormwater facility was being built.
Osprey Marsh is a water purification Plans for public recreation include
facility with an algae scrubber that re- an educational gazebo, hiking trails,
an observation deck, a shallow area
moves harmful nitrogen and phospho- in the treatment marsh to attract
rous from canal water before it flows birds, and a boardwalk. Students will
into the Indian River Lagoon. The new be able see firsthand how water is
land will be used in part to extend cleaned as it filters though vegetation
the marshy area treated water flows such a swamp lettuce which “sucks up
through, enhancing the purification the nutrients,” according to County
process. It will also be open for hiking Stormwater Engineer Keith McCully.
and other recreational activities.
Visitors will be able to follow the
County Utilities Director Vincent serpentine route of the water as it
Burke spotted a For Sale sign on the
CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

Keith McCully, of the Stormwater Division of IRC, points out Ospry Marsh in the distance. PHOTOS BY PHIL SUNKEL

10 Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Osprey Marsh of the property, which will be called He pointed across a fence to the al- John’s Island record
Osprey Acres, tromping along the gae scrubber operation, then north CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 pine needle-cushioned path through toward the new, barn-red recreation
trees and underbrush. Aside from center, and talked about how the rec uncertainty here, we have a market that
winds its way through the filtering the removal of Brazilian Peppers, the center and new stormwater park “next has continued to surprise me,” Gibb said.
vegetation, from canal to canal, until pristine, upland part of the parkland door” will, together, provide exciting
it reaches the South Relief Canal and, will be kept as natural as possible, recreational opportunities for County “I think it is a case of clients seeing
finally, the Lagoon. with land clearing confined to an area residents. that John’s Island Club is proactive in
where fire has already killed or weak- making sure programs and facilities
McCully is designing the cutting- ened the trees. It may also turn out to be an im- here are second to none. With that
edge water purification project, and portant public education facility, approach, I think buyers sense, con-
the County has obtained a $1.2 million Wildlife on the property includes rac- making people more aware of the sciously or subconsciously, that JI is
cost-share grant from St. Johns River coons, possums, otters, the occasional need to reduce pollution flowing to one of a kind and offers the broadest
Water Management District. The pre- bobcat and numerous bird species such the lagoon. range of amenities and best lifestyle.”
design cost estimate for the project is as owls, hawks, sandpipers and sander-
$4.8 million. lings. “If I was an otter, I'd sure check The project should be under con- Gibb mentioned the brand-new,
out the place,” McCully said. struction by the end of June 2017, and $10 million renovation of the club’s
McCully led the way on a recent tour will take about a year to complete.  55,000-square-foot golf clubhouse,
which included expanding two alfres-
co dining venues along with many oth-
er improvements; the addition of four
lighted pickleball courts; and the just-
completed renovation of community
entrance areas as examples of how the
club continues to invest in new ameni-
ties and property improvements.

“As family members mature and look
back on great memories of experiences
at John’s island, we are getting very good
second- and third-generation buy-in.”

Gibb attributes the July sales success
to the expertise of the company’s seven
in-house agents, as well. John’s Island
Real Estate agents live in the community
and list and sell property only in JI, cap-
turing 92 percent market share, accord-
ing to Marketing Director Robyn Flick.

“In an area as unique as John’s Is-
land, you truly need a John’s Island
specialist,” says Gibb. “As stewards of
the community, we are fully commit-
ted to the future of John’s Island.

“Our clients place a great deal of
trust in us, and they are rewarded
with outstanding personalized service
backed by impeccable integrity. The
strength of the relationships we build
within our community is the very fab-
ric of our long-term success.”

So far this year, the company has
sold 85 homes and condominiums.

John’s Island Club is the barrier is-
land’s largest and most iconic com-
munity, with a wide range of housing
types located between the Atlantic
Ocean and the Indian River Lagoon.

Recently home to the 2015 USGA
Mid-Amateur Championship, the
1,650-acre, private enclave provides
its members with world-class social
and recreational amenities including
numerous dining venues, three cham-
pionship golf courses, 17 Har-Tru ten-
nis courts, squash, croquet, a state-of-
the-art health and fitness center, water
sports and a luxurious beach club. 

CORRECTION

Sebastian River Medical Center says
Dr. Gary M. Weiss, a neurologist who
practices in Sebastian, is not affiliat-
ed with the hospital.



12 Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Symposium turns spotlight on mental health issues

The World Suicide Prevention Day Symposium was sponsored by Martin Health Systems and by Suncoast Mental Health Center, which serves Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties. PHOTOS: MITCH KLOORFAIN

BY MARY SCHENKEL utilize firearms, they are four times “We need to talk about men- know that what they have to say is
more likely to succeed. tal health in the same way we talk important,” he said, noting that a
Staff Writer about physical health. Suicide critical question should be, “Are
“By midnight tonight, 11 youth among our young people, 10 to 15, you thinking about suicide?”
“I recently learned that every under the age of 24 will end their is huge. It is just overwhelming to
18 minutes in the United States of life by suicide, and that will happen think that someone that young has While changes in behavior are of-
America someone chooses to end again tomorrow and the next day no one to turn to,” said Harrell. She ten signs of suicidal thinking, and
their life. That means that during and the next day,” said Ciasca. added that she would like to see there are some veteran-specific sui-
the course of this program today, school districts getting involved, cidal risks, such as frequent deploy-
10 individuals will have ended their He went on to stress the impor- training teachers in the signs and ments and difficulties readjusting
lives by suicide,” said Deb Pizzi- tance of education and awareness, symptoms, and destigmatizing the to peacetime, he stated some peo-
menti, Suncoast Mental Health increased access to care and de- issue of mental health. ple show no signs of intent to harm
Center director of outreach, at the creasing the stigma attached to themselves before doing so.
start of a World Suicide Preven- mental health issues. Ciasca said Fred Borowicz, LCSW, a retired
tion Day Symposium. The event suicide is a sign of extreme distress, Army officer who is now a clinician Travis Martin, a decorated St.
last Friday morning at Tradition not a harmless call for attention, with the U.S. Department of Veter- Lucie County firefighter who took
Town Hall was sponsored by Martin and that often people don’t realize ans Affairs West Palm Beach Sui- early retirement after 18 years on
Health Systems and by Suncoast, that the pain they live with might cide Prevention team, spoke about the job, related his own personal
which serves the behavioral and stem from an easily treatable con- the ways they are working to com- story, sharing that the stress of his
mental health needs of residents in dition. bat the high number of suicides position contributed to a downward
Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and among veterans, which the latest spiral of alcohol abuse, anger and
Okeechobee Counties. “It does not mean that you or an data indicates is roughly 20 per day. depression, before he hit rock bot-
afflicted loved one is evil or weak He also discussed components of tom and almost ended it all with a
Art Ciasca, Suncoast CEO, shared or lazy or nuts. Full-blown clinical the training program, Operation bottle of rum and a pistol. With help
statistics from the Center for Dis- depression is a real disease like dia- S.A.V.E. (Signs of suicide, Asking from a therapist, he began to un-
ease Control that indicates an in- betes or heart disease,” said Ciasca. about suicide, Validating feelings, derstand that he was not alone in
crease in suicides across every age, “It is not under the control of the Encouraging help and Expediting needing help and is now creating a
gender and ethnicity. In 2014, more person who has it and it is not ame- treatment). foundation to assist others through
than 1 million Americans attempt- nable to a do-it-yourself approach. mindfulness and alternative thera-
ed suicide and more than 41,000 But professional help is available “Eighteen percent of all U.S. pies such as medication, yoga, art
succeeded, making it the 10th lead- and can change your life. Many suc- deaths from suicide were veterans,” and music.
ing cause of death, more than twice cessful, competent men and women said Borowicz. “The VA is doing ev-
the number of homicides. have succeeded in life in spite of de- erything it can to provide education “Suicides within our public safety
bilitating depression. It can happen and monitoring for high-risk veter- communities are on the rise,” said
In Florida alone there were 2,900 to anyone at any time and it takes ans. There are no quick solutions, Martin, citing statistics that in the
suicides; in local counties, eight many forms.” but help is available.” U.S., 112 firefighters and EMTs were
in Okeechobee, 24 in Martin, 26 lost to suicide in 2014, 129 in 2015
in Indian River and 46 in St. Lu- Rep. Gayle Harrell, chairman of Borowicz stressed the need to and 90 to date in 2016. “It is time
cie. Among groupings, the largest the Children, Families and Seniors open up a dialog and allow people that we work together and recognize
numbers are among white males Committee in the Florida House to talk about their feelings, espe- that PTSD and suicide is a real thing
and pre-teen females. Women are of Representatives, spoke briefly cially men who are less inclined to among our public safety workers.”
three times more likely to attempt and said she wants to make mental do so.
suicide, but because men tend to health and substance abuse a key Torrey Dalgleish, a mental health
focus of the legislature. “Listen more than talk; let them
CONTINUED ON PAGE 14



14 Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 Sharon L’Herrou, 211 Helpline executive director, Art Ciasca, CEO of Suncoast Mental Health Center, Page Woodward, Travis Martin and Torrey Dalgleish.

therapist at Suncoast, said that Fred Borowicz of the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Art Ciasca, CEO of Suncoast Mental Health Center.
while there is no single cause for
suicide, some of the leading causes
include chronic pain from serious
medical conditions, stressful life
events, exposure to another per-
son’s suicide and having access to
lethal means. She advised opening
up the conversation if you notice
warning signs such as changes in
mood or behavior, comments about
being a burden, or self-medicating
through drugs or alcohol.

“Open up the conversation. You
will NOT increase the chances of
someone committing suicide by
asking about it,” said Dalgleish.

The very real danger of cyber-
bullying was also brought up, with
Ciasca stressing that even children
sitting at home in their living room
are no longer safe.

“This is a fairly new issue that we
as a society have to deal with,” said
Ciasca, adding that unlike school-
yard bullies, who may taunt in front
of small groups of children, cyber-
bullying has the potential to reach
thousands of people.

“There is help available, and it’s
OK to access that help,” said Ciasca.

For more information, visit sun-
coastmentalhealth.org. 

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Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 15

PEOPLE

Emotions run high at Tunnels to Towers event

PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE

TUNNELS TO TOWERS PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

BY MARY SCHENKEL cial, but to me, coming from New
Staff Writer York, it’s always special. It should
be something we honor and contin-
Emotions ran high among the ue to pay tribute to every year,” said
crowd as they gathered before the Jack Oehm, Battalion Commander,
start of the 3.43-mile Tunnel to FDNY (Ret.), who lost 20 men on
Towers Run and heard the haunt- 9/11.
ing sound of bagpipes leading in an
honor guard and first responders, “This is a wonderful event,” said
their coats’ reflective stripes glim- Dan Richey, who in 2012 was in-
mering in the early morning sun. strumental in first bringing the run
to Vero Beach. “It shows the com-
The 3.43-mile Tunnel to Towers passion this town has.”
event honors the memory of Ste-
phen Siller and all the first respond- Proceeds benefit the Stephen
ers who selflessly gave their lives to Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation
save others on September 11, 2001. and its Building for America’s Brav-
Siller had just finished his shift as a est program, which builds custom-
firefighter that tragic day, assigned designed smart homes for service
to Brooklyn’s Squad 1, when he members returning from Iraq and
learned that a plane had hit the first Afghanistan with catastrophic in-
World Trade Center tower. With the juries. A home in Cape Coral was
entrance to the Brooklyn Battery scheduled to be dedicated the next
Tunnel closed to cars, Siller raced day, Sept. 11. It’s another fitting
– Tunnel to Towers – on foot; his 60 tribute to all who were lost as well
pounds of gear strapped to his back. as those others who continue to
make sacrifices every day in the line
“The 10-, 15- and 20-year anniver- of duty, carrying on the promise –
saries are always a little more spe- We Will Never Forget. 

16 Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

TUNNELS TO TOWERS PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15 Jeff Palleschi carries the flag at the Tunnel to Towers 5K Vinny Burke and Flynn Fidgeon.
Rachel Montgomery and Josephine Holtzclaw.

Dillon Roberts, Paul Lomanaco carrying Kylie on his back, Jimmy Jackson and Doy Demsick.
Deputy Doug Mackenzie.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 17

PEOPLE

Dr Jim Shafer runs with his dog, Remington. The Honor Guard starts the ceremonies at the Tunnel to Towers 5K race. Melinda and Jason Judson with their children, Keelan and Colton.

Anna Carden with son Charlie. Police Chief David Currey with Steve Mulvey.

Mariner Pete and Bill Penney. Chief John King accepts a piece from the World Trade
Center from NYC Battalion Chief Jack Oehm.

18 Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Food Bank panel brainstorms on fighting poverty

BY MARY SCHENKEL Held at the United Way of Indian director of marketing, communica-
Staff Writer River County, the panel included tions and brand strategy.
Krista Garofalo, TCFB chief strat-
In recognition of September as egy and advocacy officer; Michael In answer to a question on how
Hunger Action Month, the Treasure Kint, United Way CEO; Elizabeth poverty is impacting children and
Coast Food Bank hosted a panel dis- Thomason, Boys and Girls Clubs of adults, Garofalo said that a lot of
cussion last Thursday morning on IRC executive director; and Lt. Eric people in the community are strug-
“Hidden in Plain Sight: Lifting Up Flowers, IRC Sheriff’s Office public gling, with many working multiple
Vulnerable Populations in Indian affairs officer. The discussion was jobs just to make ends meet.
River County.” moderated by David Vaina, TCFB
“We try very hard to bridge the
gap,” said Garofalo, citing the physi-

Michael Kint, Elizabeth Thomason, Eric Flowers and

Krista Garofalo. PHOTOS: LEAH DUBOIS

Jeffrey Petersen, Angelia Perry and Nate Bruckner.

Homer Gutierrez, Dolores Korf and David Vaina.

cal, emotional and psychological
impact that hunger and poverty can
have on families.

Flowers related that the Sheriff’s
Office sees the effects of poverty on
a daily basis – from schools, where a
distressing number of students are
homeless, to the county jail, which
sees a marked increase in incarcera-
tions during economic downturns.

“I’m looking at poverty from a
child’s perspective,” said Thoma-
son, noting that of the 720 children
enrolled in the Boys and Girls Clubs’
after-school program last year, 82
percent are eligible for free/reduced
lunch and 40 percent of families
have annual incomes below $20,000.

She cited some statistics from the
Annie E. Casey Foundation, in which
Florida was ranked 40th for child
wellbeing, 44th for economic well-
being, 39th for education, 47th for
health and 35th for family and com-

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 19

PEOPLE

munity. Statistics for Indian River said Kint, who shared information vices sector knows that it’s just anti- of $48,323 for a family of four, leav-
County indicate that 58 percent of about the ALICE (Asset Limited, In- quated.” ing little to offset key expenses ev-
children under 18 were living in pov- come Constrained, Employed) pop- ery family has, such as childcare,
erty in 2013. ulation. “The formula that the fed- Kint said that in addition to the 14 healthcare, transportation, food and
eral government uses to calculate percent of local families living below housing.
“Poverty, and even those not tech- poverty is ridiculous. Anyone who the federal level of $23,050, another
nically impoverished by the federal works in the health and human ser- 30 percent have a household income “A huge percentage of our county’s
standards, cuts across everything,” below the ALICE survival threshold
CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

20 Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

Mary Hill, Sharon Mikesell and Lornna Mitchell. Thomas and Maureen Broomall. Scott Turner and Tom Mackie. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

population is impacted by financial
need. We’re talking about a lot of
people,” said Kint. “We tend some-
times to focus on those in poverty
and there are a lot of programs that
serve them. To be honest, most of the
families United Way serves are those
families in the ALICE population.
We’re trying to help them from slip-
ping into poverty. When we really
look at the need, it’s significant.”

In answer to the question posed
about strategies in Indian River
County that are working, Kint said
that while the United Way is not tra-
ditionally a service provider, they do
offer a few programs to those who
qualify, including free tax-return as-
sistance and FamilyWize Prescrip-
tion Drug Discount Cards, and they
partner with other agency groups,
such as the Mental Health Collab-
orative and the Kindergarten Readi-
ness Collaborative.

Thomason said that another posi-
tive community initiative is the
Moonshot Moment – getting chil-
dren reading proficiently by third
grade, as is the school district’s Ca-
reer and Technical Education pro-
gram, which provides high school
students with alternative paths after
graduation.

“We’ve got an amazing communi-
ty here; we need to continue pushing
in the direction we’re going,” said
Flowers, who has been impressed
with what our local Veterans Council
is doing to help meet the demands of
impoverished veterans through its
Upward American Veterans initia-
tive, and the free transportation
provided by the county through the
GoLine. But he also noted that while
the various nonprofit agencies are
doing great work, demand continues
to outpace services.

Garofalo said the TCFB outreach
programs are doing well, helping
those unable to access or enroll in
the various programs available to
them. It’s particularly valuable for
people who are employed and can’t
get to agencies during regular work-
ing hours. Their Mobile Food Pan-
try travels monthly to communities
such as Fellsmere, where they dis-
tribute fresh and canned foods as
well as essential nonfood items and
even pet food.

Most were conflicted by the ques-
tion of whether raising the mini-
mum wage would help alleviate
poverty, with each citing arguments
on both sides, before agreeing that
something needs to be done.

When asked what private citi-
zens can do to help, they suggested
everyone can help through volun-
teerism, monetary contributions
and/or advocacy. 



22 Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

You can’t make this stuff up … but Barry & Hiaasen can

BY MICHELLE GENZ Dave Barry at his book signing for “Best. State. Ever.”
Staff Writer at St. Edward’s School.
PHOTOS BY DENISE RITCHIE
If anybody needed proof that Dave
Barry and Carl Hiaasen are spend-
ing far too much time together (in-
cluding at Hiaasen’s house in Vero),
you only have to glance at their latest
books. Both came out on the same
day – Sept. 6. The covers are the same
taxi cab yellow. They use the same
style of cartoon art.

And in both works by the renowned
Miami Herald writers, there is men-
tion of the same 2010 news item from
the Florida Keys – a woman driver
rear-ending an SUV on the Overseas
Highway as she was giving herself a
bikini trim.

That utterly improbable tale, docu-
mented by the Florida Highway Patrol
and picked up by ABC News, became
the premise for the title character of
Hiaasen’s new release, “Razor Girl.”
He’ll be presenting it Sunday at the
Vero Beach Book Center.

Last Thursday, it was Barry’s turn
to entertain with the shaving story
and more, as he talked about his

latest book “Best. the introduction to
State. Ever: A Florida Man De- “Best.State.Ever.” It is just one lus-
fends his Homeland.” His audience cious piece in a fruit bowl of factoids
of 600 ticketed guests packed the that Barry asserts are gleefully de-
St. Edward’s School auditorium, a voured by the rest of the world as proof
fallback venue for the Book Center, that Florida is cosmically whacked.
though Hiaasen’s crowd seems likely
to be as large. That introductory essay is classic

Barry used the grooming incident in

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 23

ARTS & THEATRE

Carl Hiaasen

Barry: packed with puerile humor nor’s Conference on Tourism in Or-
and fixations on space aliens, lethal lando.
reptiles, death by ingested cock-
roaches – you know Dave’s drill, it Hiaasen doesn’t have to travel far
goes on to list Florida’s attributes, for his Vero book signing. A resident
with the usual ironic spin. of Vero, he just has to pull out of his
driveway, cross the bridge and hang
Then he begins to tour the state a right to the Book Center. Begin-
and another side of his writing comes ning at 3 p.m., he’ll be entertaining
through. It’s the side that earned him, the guaranteed standing-room-only
in part at least, his Pulitzer in 1988, crowd, all of them bearing pre-pur-
and that was reflected in an earlier, chased copies of “Razor Girl.” Re-
extraordinarily moving essay about viewed in the New York Times last
his last day with his father. week, the book clearly made Janet
Maslin laugh with what she called its
Barry speaks respectfully of the “elegance, craziness and mike drop
history of these roadside oddities. A humor.”
sweetness come through as he meets
the people who unthinkably still In this fictionalized version of the
make their living in the tired tourist stubble-trouble fender-bender, the
attractions like Weeki Wachee, Cas- shaver is for hire, bumping into cars
sadaga, Gatorland and the Skunk-Ape to create kidnap victims. This time,
Research Headquarters on Tamiami though, she rear-ends the wrong guy,
Trail. As for more modern pastimes, Lane Coolman, a Hollywood agent.
there’s a winner hands-down for Bar- He’s on his way to Key West to curb
ry: Lock and Load Miami, a machine the homophobic comments of his
gun shooting range. He regresses client, the star of a new reality show
to his inner adolescent again to de- involving a fraudulent band of “Duck
scribe how he and his buddy “cradle Dynasty” wannabes. Coolman gets
their firearms” and are transformed there too late, though, and the show’s
from ordinary civilians into “a pair of racist star has had to go into hiding
world-class douchenozzles.” for his rude remarks. A crazed fan
who copies his awful prejudice fac-
The next day, Barry was the key- tors in, and so does the Mafia – it’s
note speaker at the Florida Gover- Hiaasen; there’s just no end to it. 

24 Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

Summer Crush: A new beginning for Endless winery

BY MICHELLE GENZ anniversary but it was to a smaller Summer Crush Winery owners
Staff Writer audience than it normally draws, es- Susan and Gary Roberts.
pecially in season, when 500 or more
The summer may be endless for avid turn out for touring tribute bands and PHOTOS BY DENISE RITCHIE
surfer Gary Roberts. But the life span music-themed events.
of his Endless Summer wine brand has
come to a close. From the start, the public thronged
to the peaceful outdoor venue, a large
The popular surf-themed winery covered area with a bar, surrounding
and one of the area’s largest outdoor by 100 acres of vineyards. The first Sun-
music venues is changing its name to day event at the winery drew 800 peo-
Summer Crush. ple, when Roberts was able to snag the
California-based Surfaris – who did the
Roberts’ own crush on the new name famous “Wipe Out” – when he emailed
has lasted longer than a summer, but the band and they happened to be
like the subject of other crushes, the headed to Fort Lauderdale and were
name belonged to another man. Final- happy to make a stop at the vineyard.
ly, this year, Roberts learned the trade-
mark hadn’t been renewed. “I said, Man, let’s do it. That was our
first concert.”
“It’s the name I’ve wanted all along,”
he told a crowd gathered at the winery Last summer a Beatles tribute band
for the big reveal. drew 600. The “Red White and Blue-
grass” festival in July drew 500. The day
The announcement came on a day before the reveal party was the Wine-
that should have been endless rain; stock festival. Next Saturday, Sept. 24,
the winery – a short drive south of the there’s a surf festival with three surf
Indian River County line – had been in bands and a car show – a frequent fea-
the middle of a tangle of projections ture; this time, the cars are dune bug-
for the storm known as Invest 99-L, gies and Woodies.
the precursor to Hurricane Hermine.
Roberts’ own band, Southern Vine, “There are so many good musicians
played in honor of the winery’s fourth around here, I had no idea,” he says.

“I get approached every week by mul- The Endless Summer brand and its
tiple bands to play here and they’re surfing connotations became the mo-
from all over.” tif of the vineyard through a licensing
agreement with the man who pro-
A number of bands want to add the duced the 1964 surf film, “The End-
stop to their tour of Orlando and South less Summer.”
Florida venues.
“Originally I was going in the direc-
“So many people say our winery tion of a sophisticated winery, and call
is the funnest, most relaxing, differ- it Indrio Oaks,” he says. Then he hired
ent place they’ve ever been,” he says. a winery consultant from Missouri.
“Every Sunday, somebody comes up “Before I did anything he came down
to me and says ‘Thank you for making and looked around and said, ‘You re-
this. It’s so relaxing. It makes all of our ally need to plant these palm trees all
stress disappear.’” over the place. The most important
thing you can do is have your winery
It is all that, indisputably. Looking represent the vibe of the geographical
out over what Roberts says are 6 miles area it’s in.’
of trellises, the young vines, some now
in their eighth year, are beginning to “I thought, yeah, that makes sense.
form a vista of leafy green. They sur- When you visit other wineries, you
round the open-air shelter housing the want that local feel. You want people
stage, a bar, and a sea of tables made to have a good idea of who you are.
from surf boards. Those boards were They have to feel like they’ve met you,
part of Roberts’ collection of 140 surf- even if they haven’t. Well, I’m an old
boards, accrued since 1972, he says. Florida surfer, I’m not a sophisticated
The tables are his “beaters,” he says.

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

ARTS & THEATRE

wine guy. So I decided to break all the plants weren’t worth the plastic pots Now that his business was dead in the of five years, built the trellises, planted
rules and go for a Florida sun and surf they were growing in. water, he heard the same sober sugges- the vines and erected what he calls
winery – just climb out on a limb and tion from St. Lucie County extension “the festival area.”
go for it.” “We were hemorrhaging,” says Rob- agent Ed Skvarch, a specialist in com-
erts. “We had 10 acres we needed to mercial horticulture. Florida wineries are booming, but
“I had been to so many wineries, and something with and I couldn’t sell the not all make wine from grapes. Wine
they all started to run together. I de- plants I had.” “I can’t do a winery,” Roberts said. made of everything from avocados
cided to try to do everything so differ- “Why not?” replied Skvarch. to lychees can be found in the state’s
ent that people wouldn’t forget it. The It was enough to turn a man to drink. “That was the beginning of a long tourist-driven tasting rooms. The larg-
names of our wines, the surf tables – Five years earlier, Roberts and his wife trail of research. I visited every musca- est and best-known vineyard is Lak-
the whole experience.” Susan had visited Sonoma, California’s dine winery I could find.” eridge in Clermont, which grows mus-
wine country. He chalked it up to too Soon he had turned the potting shed cadines like Roberts.
From that concept, it wasn’t much of much wine-tasting when friends sug- into a wine cellar, and over the course
a leap to incorporate music. gested he plant vineyards in Florida. Muscadine styles, both red and
white, range from sweet to semi-sweet.
Roberts put himself through In- Served chilled, they have a lot of body
dian River Community College with and a summery appeal, in the way
the help of a music scholarship – he sweet tea suits a picnic; one white re-
played trombone. (He plays bass in minded me of a Vouvray – until I saw
his band, but didn’t pick that up until the name, “Webejammin’.” All nine
years later.) wines have unserious names, but here
are plenty of awards gracing Roberts’
Along with music, surfing was “a tasting room and he takes great pride
huge part of my life,” he says. Roberts in his wine-making.
grew up surfing at the Fort Pierce jetty,
near his home on South Beach. Roberts hand-harvests his grapes.
Once the 50-pound bags are full, the
“Archie’s was my bus stop,” he says, grapes are crushed, pressed and fro-
recalling what was once a rough- zen. “It’s kind of like an ice wine.”
edged biker bar that now draws
crowds from all spheres. The juice ferments when it is re-
moved in a big frozen block and left at
In 1979, he started a wholesale land- above-freezing temperatures for about
scaping business, selling plants from a week.
two locations. In 1998 he bought a
third, a 10-acre tract on Johnston Road The wines are bottled with corks
north of Fort Pierce. for the sake of tradition, Roberts says.
“There’s a level of romance involved in
Then came the housing industry hearing that pop,” he says. 
collapse in 2007, when construction
slowed to a crawl – and landscaping

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26 Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

Coming Up: Theatre Guild’s ‘Sylvia’ is doggone good fun

BY MICHELLE GENZ Sylvia becomes devoted to her new
Staff Writer master, raising the hackles of the mas-
ter’s wife. Daniel Hall plays Greg, the
1 The Vero Beach Theatre Guild financial trader smitten with his new
opens its new season this week- friend; his wife Kate, played by Heath-
er Stapleton, is an English teacher who
end with the 1995 off-Broadway com- has declared a no-dog zone in their
newly unencumbered coupledom.
edy “Sylvia.” Directed by Ben Earman, As the tensions rise, three characters
intervene – a dog-walker, a socialite
it follows a stray poodle-lab cross from and a marriage counselor, all played

Central Park into the home of a couple

of empty-nesters. Played by a human

actress – in this case, Abby Bolduc –

“Sylvia” performing at Vero Beach Theatre Guild this weekend.

by Austin Peer. Michael Naffziger de- 4 The Reality – the Tampa-based,
signed the set; he’s the drama director often trippy funk and reggae
at Indian River Charter High School.
trio – just released their debut album,
Stapleton and Bolduc shared the
stage in “Sweet Charity” two years ago, Rhetoric, and they’re coming to Kilted
also directed by Earman. Bolduc was
also in Earman’s “Hairspray” in 2015. Mermaid Friday night to share some

Earman, born and raised in Vero, is cuts from it. The group features Dan
a graduate of the University of Tampa
who taught high school drama in Port Jones on guitar and vocals that range to
St. Lucie. He is now community rela-
tions director at the Senior Resource near-falsetto (he also keeps a well-worn
Association.
trombone by his side); Caleb Bone adds
“Sylvia” runs through Sept. 25.
his space bass to much of the music, and

also sings; and Logan Charles III plays

drums. As one critic pointed out, raving

over the album, The Reality’s influences

go way beyond Jamaica and include

Cake, Nine Inch Nails and Frank Sinatra.

2 Next Friday, Sept. 23, at Sunrise 5 If you’re anywhere near River-
Theatre in Fort Pierce, The Second side Park Saturday evening, drop

City comedy troupe and the media orga-

nization Slate stage “Unelectable You,” a in on Riverside’s Live in the Loop free

new comedy political revue that the Chi- concert series where Ed Shanaphy and

cago Tribune called “exceptionally smart Friends will be playing as crowds gath-

and funny” in a review last month. er for the Howl at the Moon singalong

Various comics play all the major inside. Shanaphy often plays from his

characters from Obama to Melania. vast repertoire of standards in River-

The show bills itself as “completely side Theatre’s lobby before the Main

unbiased.” A mesh of sketch comedy, Stage shows. He’s an accomplished

music and improv, the two-hour show pianist who in his long career segued

takes a look at Clinton and Trump and from playing with the Glenn Miller

the media circus surrounding them, Orchestra to publishing two national

in ways we apparently haven’t yet. The music magazines. He accompanies his

show – like the election, they infer – is dulcet-toned daughter (and our mu-

pay for play: You offer cash for a scene sic writer) Kate Shanaphy Maingot. Ed

of your choosing. When that annoyed Jr. will be playing drums, back from a

some in the audience, the troupe added summer of teaching tennis in Martha’s

a tagline – it would donate the tips to Vineyard; Taddy Mowatt is on bass.

Planned Parenthood, like it or not.

3 The East Texas blues singer and 6 Friday night, in Orlando, ukulele
guitarist Beautiful Bobby Black- great Jake Shimabukuro is playing

at Plaza Live. If you missed this young

mon is playing Earl’s Hideaway Sunday genius last year when he played the King

afternoon. Though his grandmother Center and Kravis, you’ll have to add a

called the guitar a “starvation box,” little to your drive but the music experts

Blackmon has been able to make a liv- I know say he is one not to miss. Shima-

ing playing a brand of jukebox blues he bukuro is releasing a new album, “The

calls “downhome Southern soul blues.” Nashville Sessions,” with tour regular

It’s the style you’d hear driving through Nolan Verner on bass and Evan Hutch-

Alabama or Mississippi, as he once ings on drums; both are well-known

told the Orlando Sentinel. Blackmon session musicians who met up with

has played with B.B. King and opened Shimabukuro and just jammed for a

for Buddy Guy. Sunday, he’ll take the week. The result is a mixture of jazz and

stage from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Earl’s is an driving rock, all of it original. No doubt,

outdoor bar – beloved by bikers, by the his Orlando appearance will bring some

way – on the river in Sebastian. of that jam back to life. 



28 Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

HEALTH

The upshot? CDC nixes nasal-spray flu vaccines

BY TOM LLOYD this year, while still recommending
Staff Writer that everyone over six months old
should get vaccinated.
The Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention has pulled the plug That leaves the needle, much to
on nasal-spray flu vaccines for the the dismay of most children and all
2016-2017 flu season. others who’d rather not get a literal
“shot in the arm.”
The Advisory Committee on Im-
munization Practices at CDC says Data on the effectiveness of the
the nasal spray “should not be used” nasal-spray drug delivery system
during last year’s flu season was

VNA nurse Lynne Essig administers a flu shot to Maria Elvida. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE

VNA Flu Shot Clinic at Hidden Treasures on the Miracle Mile.

recently released by the U.S. Influ- partment of Health in Indian River
enza Vaccine Effectiveness Network County’s administrator, makes no
and the results were dismal. bones about what she sees as a top
priority for all Vero area residents.
Only 3 percent of those who re- “Now is the time for people to get
ceived the spray got effective pro- vaccinated,” Hawker states emphat-
tection from influenza as opposed ically, “Vaccination is the most im-
to anywhere between 63 percent to portant step people can take to stay
95 percent of those who received a well.”
vaccination injection.
That’s because, on average, 36,000
In short, the CDC says, the nasal people in the United States die each
spray provided “no protective ben- year from influenza and an addition-
efit that could be measured.” al 114,000 require hospitalization.

Miranda Hawker, the Florida De-

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 29

HEALTH

And while “flu season” in Florida ing that hand to one’s eyes, nose or
generally starts much later than it mouth.
does in the northeastern states, the
bug is one of the most easily spread Getting vaccinated as early as
viruses in the world. possible is important because “it
takes about two weeks after vac-
The National Institute of Allergy cination for antibodies to develop
and Infectious Diseases reminds ev- in the body and provide protection
eryone this time of year that cough- against influenza virus infection,”
ing, sneezing, kissing or even talk- according to the CDC.
ing can spread the influenza virus
as can simply touching almost any With Vero’s annual influx of
surface or object and then touch- “snowbirds” not too far away, Hawk-
er says it’s best to get vaccinated
now so you are protected before flu
begins spreading in your commu-
nity and among your friends and
relatives.

The ineffective nasal sprays con-
tain a “live attenuated influenza
vaccine” while actual flu shots con-
tain either an “inactivated influ-
enza vaccine” or a “recombinant
influenza vaccine.”

Consult your physician or phar-
macist for information on possible
side effects and warnings regarding
flu shots, especially if you have a
history of adverse reactions to vac-
cines, currently have a fever or are
allergic to chicken eggs. (To make
the vaccine, the influenza virus
is injected into hens’ eggs, where
it’s incubated and then processed;
some element of egg remains and
can cause severe reactions.) 

30 Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

HEALTH

Impressive stent technology is state-of-the-artery

BY TOM LLOYD
Staff Writer

Some of the biggest breakthroughs Dr. Charles Croft and ARNP Jennifer Konowitz. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE
in medicine come in the smallest pack-
ages.

Take, for example, the stent.
Looking very much like a miniatur-
ized version of a spring from a click-top
ballpoint pen, stents have been in use
to treat blocked arteries, or arterio-
sclerosis, since 1986. But according to
interventional cardiologist Dr. Charles
Croft at the Sebastian River Medical
Center, a new and potentially game-
changing stent technology is now
available.
These new “bio-absorbable polymer
drug-eluting” stents were approved by
the FDA this year.
According to the American Heart
Association, when a coronary artery –
an artery feeding the heart muscle – is
narrowed by a buildup of fatty deposits
called plaque, it reduces blood flow. If
blood flow is reduced to the heart mus-
cle, chest pain can result, and if a clot
forms and completely blocks the blood

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 31

flow to part of the heart muscle, a heart HEALTH
attack results.”
According to the American Heart Association, when a coronary
Stents – tiny wire mesh tubes that artery – an artery feeding the heart muscle – is narrowed by a
are inserted into arteries and left there buildup of fatty deposits called plaque, it reduces blood flow. If
permanently – help keep arteries open blood flow is reduced to the heart muscle, chest pain can result,
and dramatically reduce the risk of a and if a clot forms and completely blocks the blood flow to part
heart attack. of the heart muscle, a heart attack results.

But stents can also lead to life-threat-
ening problems.

According to the affable Croft, with
earlier generations of stents there were
two main things that could cause prob-
lems. “One,” he says, “is they could clot
up, and two is they could re-narrow,”
just like an artery does before a stent is
installed.

Those problems, also known as “in-
stent thrombosis” and “restenosis,”
have plagued doctors and patients for
years.

WebMD says in-stent thrombosis
(blood clots forming inside that mesh
tube), along with the development of
restenosis (scar tissue forming inside
the artery causing it to re-narrow),
have sometimes forced doctors to re-
perform the stenting procedure after
only a few months and, in worse-case
scenarios, to resort to full-blown coro-
nary bypasses.

Enter the bio-absorbable polymer
drug-eluting stent.

Made of platinum chromium, these
stents are laser-cut and covered with a
smooth, biodegradable polymer coat-
ing containing the drug everolimus
which “elutes” or dissolves into the
artery and the bloodstream over a 90-
day period to help prevent the scarring
of restenosis, while also reducing the
need for patients to adhere to lengthy
or even lifelong post-op blood-thinner
and aspirin therapies to reduce the risk
of in-stent thrombosis.

Moreover, Croft says they are also
“more deliverable.”

The National Heart, Lung and Blood
Institute’s version of that “delivery” or
implant procedure is this: To open a
narrowed artery and place a stent in-
side it, doctors use a procedure called a
“percutaneous coronary intervention”
or angioplasty. A balloon-tipped cathe-
ter is inserted into an artery and moved

CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

32 Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

HEALTH

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31 An example of an unexpanded stent. and says, “We’ve done an awful lot of for stents will grow to the $5.6 billion
cases [since] and haven’t had a single level over the next four years.
to the point of blockage. Then the bal- more enthusiastic, and quickly adds patient come in with a thrombosis or
loon is inflated. This compresses the that “this hospital is really at the cut- clotting of the stent.” Dr. Charles Croft is with both the
plaque and opens the narrowed spot. ting edge. This stent is not even avail- Sebastian River Medical Center and
When the balloon is inflated, the stent able at some of the big regional hospi- In no small part because of advanc- the Holmes Regional Medical Center
expands, locks in place and forms a tals nearby.” es such as this, the consulting firm in Melbourne. The phone number is
scaffold which holds the artery open. GlobalData projects that the market 321-722-3288. 
The stent stays in the artery perma- Croft performed the first implant of
nently and holds it open. these new stents on July 25 this year

“It’s not just the [new] stent itself,
but the whole shank of the catheter,
the whole catheter, the whole length
of the shaft that has the stent on it,
is designed with laser cutting on it to
make it more flexible while also main-
taining its strength.”

Croft says these new stents are rack-
ing up some impressive statistical
successes.

In two separate clinical trials, they
had a remarkably low 1.1 percent rate
of restenosis after one year, as op-
posed to a 20-to-30 percent rate for
older stents not coated with a drug.

Even more impressively, the Syn-
ergy stents used at SRMC, which are
made by Boston Scientific, garnered
a perfect zero percent rate of in-stent
thrombosis in clinical trials after four
years.

Croft calls the zero percent clotting
rate at four years “impressive.”

Jennifer Konowitz of the SRMC
catheterization laboratory is even

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 33

34 Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT COVER STORY

Unnatural causes

Sick, and dying from prescription drug overdoses

BY KIMBERLY KINDE AND DAN KEATING
The Washington Post

Karen Franklin leans against the sink Karen Franklin, who has chronic back pain, shows some of the prescription medications she takes in an eight-hour period.
in the pink-tiled bathroom of her child-
hood home, counting out pills. There’s reaching a third in the last several years, hol has the same effect, and combining and heart will slow down, and can ulti-
a purple morphine tablet for chronic The Post found, though spotty reporting any of these can be fatal. mately stop. People can go to sleep and
back pain, a blue Xanax for anxiety and in death records makes it likely that the never wake up.”
a white probiotic for her stomach, which combination is even more widespread. “They act like a dimmer switch on
aches from all the other pills. the central nervous system,” said Rear White women are more likely than
Both drugs depress the central ner- Admiral Susan Blumenthal, former U.S. women of other races to be prescribed
In all, Franklin, 60, takes more than vous system, temporarily easing pain assistant surgeon general and an expert opiates, and far more likely to be pre-
a dozen different prescription drugs, and anxiety while suppressing respira- on women’s health issues. “When taken scribed both opiates and anti-anxiety
washing them down with tap water and tion, heart rate and the gag reflex. Alco- in combination, a person’s breathing drugs, according to a Post analysis of
puffing on a Marlboro while she waits
for them to kick in.

“They take the edge off, but that’s
about it,” Franklin says. So she keeps a
bottle of vodka handy for added relief,
increasing her risk of joining the legions
of American women dying from pre-
scription-drug overdoses.

Since the turn of this century, death
rates have risen for whites in midlife.

While death rates are falling for
blacks and Hispanics in middle age,
whites are dying prematurely in grow-
ing numbers, particularly white wom-
en. One reason: a big increase in over-
doses, primarily from opioids, but also
from anti-anxiety drugs, which are of-
ten prescribed in tandem.

Between 1999 and 2014, the number
of middle-aged white women dying an-
nually from opiate overdoses shot up
400 percent, according to a Washington
Post analysis of data from the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.

Anti-anxiety drugs known as benzodi-
azepines contributed to a growing share
of the 54,000 deaths over that period,

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 35

INSIGHT COVER STORY

Franklin sleeps during the afternoon in Bakersfield. She lives with her 88-year-old father, Richard Barker, left.

middle-aged participants in the latest Franklin’s struggle began 17 years ago
National Health and Nutrition Exami- with a single prescription for Vicodin.
nation Survey. White women prescribed At the time, she had her own home and
opiates are five times as likely as white managed a grocery store. But the side
men to be given that drug combination effects of long-term opioid use soon set
— helping to explain why white women in. Mounting anxiety. Sleeplessness. De-
may be at special risk. pression. With each new problem, doc-
tors sent her home with more pills.
Federal health officials have recog-
nized the danger. This spring, in a guide- Now she lives with her 88-year-old
line that urged doctors to reduce the father and spends her days shuffling
general use of opioids for chronic pain, between the TV, a refrigerator stocked
the CDC warned against prescribing with chocolate Ensure and the bath-
them together with benzodiazepines, room, which relatives call her sanctu-
except for patients battling fatal diseas- ary. Armed with a Bible and a carton of
es such as cancer. At the very least, the Marlboros, she prays for God’s protec-
CDC urged doctors to warn patients of tion, cracking the bathroom window
the risks, especially when the drugs are to let the cigarette smoke drift into the
mixed with alcohol. back yard.

And last week, the U.S. Food and Lately, Franklin has been blacking
Drug Administration began requiring out. Her sister found her facedown in
warning labels on opioids and benzodi- a plate of food, and she started using
azepines — nearly 400 products in total a walker after losing consciousness on
— with information about the poten- her way to the mailbox.
tially fatal consequences of taking these
medications at the same time. “What is happening right now is a
slow suicide,” said her friend Ellen Eg-
“It is nothing short of a public gert, a supervisor for the Kern County
health crisis when you see a substan- Mental Health Department. But Frank-
tial increase of avoidable overdose lin is resisting Eggert’s appeals to seek
and death related to two widely used help for her addictions.
drug classes being taken together,”
FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said “I know it’s not good for me,” Franklin
in a statement. said. “But I would rather say my prayers
and take my medication.”
“We implore health care profes-
sionals to heed these new warnings Bakersfield lies in the heart of Kern
and more carefully and thoroughly County, a vast sprawl of lush cropland
evaluate, on a patient-by-patient basis, in California’s Central Valley. Here, ac-
whether the benefits of using opioids cidental overdoses among white wom-
and benzodiazepines — or CNS de- en have tripled since 1999, according
pressants more generally — together to federal health data, and suicides
outweigh these serious risks.” have doubled.

Federal officials have no power to The death toll has alarmed health-
mandate a change in doctors’ prescrib- care workers like Eggert and given rise
ing habits. Even if they did, a mandate to a loose network of therapists, nurses,
would do little for patients like Franklin pastors and drug counselors struggling
who get their prescriptions from mul- to understand a generation of women
tiple physicians. overwhelmed by modern life and un-
done by modern medicine.
“An opioid might be prescribed by a
pain specialist while a general practi- Some, like Franklin, begin their de-
tioner or a psychologist may prescribe scent after an injury. Others seek relief
the benzodiazepine. They may not from conditions related to menopause.
know about one another,” said Debo- Middle-aged women also are more
rah Dowell, lead author of the CDC’s likely than men to suffer from a variety
new opioid guidelines. of painful conditions, including lupus,

CONTINUED ON PAGE 38

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35 INSIGHT COVER STORY

migraines and rheumatoid arthritis. Ellen Eggert, center, leads a training session on suicide prevention in Bakersfield. through. Then, after a while, it’s not get-
Whatever the complaint, doctors ting them through anymore. It’s running
tigators explore medicine cabinets, flip looked like, what their lives were like. their life.”
and drug companies have since the late through journals, scrutinize text mes- You didn’t expect to look like a movie
1990s responded with highly addictive sages and interview friends. Repeatedly, star – or live like one,” she said. The autopsy reports are filled with
painkillers, many of them central ner- a pattern emerges, Ratliff said: A person- stories of dependency:
vous system depressants previously re- al crisis leads to prescriptions to soothe Ratliff, 60, works closely with Eggert,
served for the terminally ill. The more the pain. And then they lose control. 58, who created an outreach team for Bonnie Jean Marshall, 54, overdosed
expansive use of opioids has fed an epi- surviving family members of suicides in 2012 after drinking alcohol and taking
demic of dependency, leading to new “They are worn down. And they can’t that has been lauded as a national mod- three prescription drugs, including the
prescriptions for anti-anxiety drugs and rise above it,” said Ratliff, who puts the el. Eggert said she, too, has noticed the opioid Vicodin and the benzodiazepine
a rash of fatal overdoses. blame in part on the rise of social media, weariness and the desire for a quick fix Xanax. She lived in Wofford Heights, a
which can create unrealistic expecta- to life’s problems. village in the southern Sierra Nevada,
These drugs appear to be a factor tions about how life should go. and suffered from hypertension, pain
even among suicides, another major “Women have had to be strong for so and anxiety. She left a suicide note: “Sick
contributor to rising female mortality. “Before, if you lived in a rural area, all long. Opioids are a good way out. Ben- for months-can’t get well so sorry nana.”
According to an analysis of Kern County you knew was your community. You just zos are a good way out,” Eggert said.
coroner records obtained by The Post, knew what people in your community Women “start depending on them to get Holi Michele Mitchell, 43, shot her-
85 white women aged 35 to 60 died by self in 2014 after taking Vicodin and two
suicide here over the past seven years. benzodiazepines – Klonopin and Xanax.
About half overdosed on prescription She lived in Bodfish, a small town in the
drugs, The Post found, and about half Kern River Valley, and struggled with de-
of those – 21 women – had some combi- pression after her son died in a car ac-
nation of opioids, benzodiazepines and cident. His picture and a broken charm
alcohol in their bloodstreams. bracelet were found by her body.

Many of the women who chose other Cheryl Moore, 56, left a journal that
means of suicide, such as gunshot or described two suicide attempts in the
hanging, also died in a haze of prescrip- weeks before she overdosed on pain-
tion drugs, The Post found. In nearly half killers and alcohol in February 2015.
of the 28 cases in which a toxicology test Moore, who lived in Bakersfield, had
was performed, the women had con- begun taking opiates 18 months earlier
sumed opioids, benzodiazepines or oth- after breaking her ankle. Then her hus-
er central nervous system depressants. band, Duane, died of liver cancer, leav-
ing a stockpile of stronger painkillers.
When a woman dies in Kern County, it
falls to Coroner Manager Dawn Ratliff to Moore’s brother, Eugene Frey, said he
determine what happened. Her inves- understands why women might turn to
suicide, even when, like his sister, they

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 39

INSIGHT COVER STORY

have the means to seek treatment. Eggert is part of a network of female began drinking, smoking and medicat- men remains twice as high.
“There is an expectation for them to health professionals working to under- ing themselves more like men. As they “It’s become normalized,” Eggert said.
stand the increase in white female mor- aged, they began to suffer the effects:
keep it together. People think, ‘Hey, you tality in Kern County. She said that she Since 1999, the death rate from alcohol “Why does alcohol kill more people than
are white. You are privileged. So why do believes it is rooted in the cultural shift abuse has more than doubled among all the other drugs combined? Because
you have so many problems? Maybe you of the 1960s. white women aged 45 to 54, according it’s acceptable, available, and there’s not
are the problem,’ ” Frey said. “There isn’t to CDC data, though the rate for white a thing wrong with it. Why do women
a lot of space for them to be vulnerable.” As taboos were stripped away, women
CONTINUED ON PAGE 40

40 Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 39 INSIGHT COVER STORY

fail to see the danger of taking so many Midlife Health Center at the University
pills? Because it’s legitimate. It comes of Virginia Health System.
from a doctor.”
One thing menopausal women
Joan Knowlden, a psychologist in should probably avoid is long-term opi-
Kern County, said she saw a sharp rise in oid use, which can further lower hor-
middle-aged female patients in the early mone levels, said Stanford University
2000s. Many had turned to alcohol, anti- professor Beth Darnall, who specializes
anxiety drugs and painkillers to “mellow in pain psychology research.
them out.” Many had delayed childbear-
ing, Knowlden said, and were trying to “When women go through meno-
raise children just as they reached their pause, there are big changes with
peak professionally. Many were also pain, anxiety and depression. There is
entering menopause, which typically a hard body of research on this,” Dar-
causes a drop in serotonin, a chemical nall said. “Opioids, taken long term,
that naturally soothes the brain. reduce the level of hormones in the
body. This can lead to a greater sensi-
“With perimenopause and meno- tivity to pain. And it can feed into this
pause, you already have anxiety, sleep dose-escalation cycle.”
loss, loss of bladder control and loss of
sex drive,” Knowlden said. “It can just The turning point in Franklin’s life
become too much.” came in the late 1990s, when she said
her tailbone was fractured during an ep-
Sometimes, Knowlden sends her cli- isode of domestic violence. The pain led
ents to Sherri Bergamo, a nurse practi- her to Vicodin, starting with the lowest
tioner known as “the Hormone Queen dose: tablets containing five milligrams
of Bakersfield.” Bergamo noted that of the opioid hydrocodone.
the rise of opioid painkillers coincided
with a shift in treatment for menopaus- “It might as well have been baby aspi-
al women: Doctors stopped prescrib- rin,” she says now. “All it did was make
ing hormone-replacement therapy af- me a little sleepy.”
ter studies found it increased the risk of
stroke, blood clots and breast cancer. At the time, Franklin was managing
a grocery store, a physically demand-
Forced to “white knuckle” their way ing job that had her lifting Halloween
through menopause, Bergamo said, pumpkins, boxes of Easter candy and
many women sought other forms of endless cases of soda. Within a few
relief for mood swings and depression. months, she persuaded her doctor to
She offers them custom-mixed hor- double the dose. Then she begged for
mones, which she argues are safer. stronger opiates, cycling through pre-
scriptions for codeine, oxycodone and
“There are some risks, but they are OxyContin.
calculated, and they are carefully moni-
tored,” said Bergamo, 74, who has un- Periodically, her doctors cut her off.
dergone hormone therapy for 26 years. “They would say, ‘You kind of like this
“I believe it saves lives.” too much,’ ’’ Franklin recalled. So she
would call 911 and take a trip to the
Medicine is coming back around emergency room, where doctors typi-
to Bergamo’s point of view. This year, cally offered a shot of Demerol, another
a panel of experts assembled by the powerful opioid.
North American Menopause Society
concluded that hormone replacement In the early 2000s, Franklin’s mother
is largely safe, especially for women died, her second marriage began to un-
under 60. In October, the society plans ravel, and she decided to quit working.
to recommend a return to hormone Doctors added antidepressants, sleep-
therapy for most healthy women, ac- ing pills and anti-anxiety medications to
cording to executive director JoAnn her list of prescriptions.
Pinkerton, division director of the
Her world began to narrow. She saw
fewer people.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 41

INSIGHT COVER STORY

Franklin said she became “a hermit.” The surgery failed to provide relief, questions her pain, she points to the ditions led to more doctor visits, which
Her friend Eggert suggested a psy- and Franklin filed for disability. X-ray: “They see those plates and they produced more prescriptions, and
chologist, group therapy, long walks, know it’s bad.” more pills to shake out of more bottles
church, yoga. Franklin rejected each “I was told it would be 80 percent bet- in her pink-tiled bathroom.
idea. She came to believe she needed ter,” she said, “but instead it was 80 per- In recent months, her chronic drug
surgery. So in 2004, a surgeon implanted cent worse.” use has generated a host of new health Her bottle of vodka, once stowed
metal rods at the base of her spine. problems, including pancreatitis and under the bathroom sink, now stays
Franklin keeps an X-ray of her back irritable bowel syndrome. Those con- out on the floor, within easy reach. 
clipped to her refrigerator. If anyone

42 Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT EDITORIAL

Americans safer at home, but jihadist threat greater abroad

BY JOBY WARRICK AND GREG MILLER “The threat is actually worse: It has congresswoman Jane Harman (D-Ca- only has to happen once to change ev-
metastasized and spread geographical- lif.), a chairwoman of the House Intel- erything that you thought.”
THE WASHINGTON POST ly,” said Richard Clarke, a top terrorism ligence Committee in the years after
adviser to three presidents and the man 9/11. “Our military power remains Yet, despite gains in safeguarding the
Nine days after the Sept. 11, 2001, who famously warned the Bush admin- extraordinary. But winning this fight U.S. homeland, efforts to counter the
attacks, President George W. Bush istration about the growing risk from al- requires projecting a narrative about root causes of violent jihad largely have
stood before Congress to outline a two- Qaeda in the weeks before 9/11. “Today American values and interests. And we fallen flat. The National Counterterror-
pronged response to history’s deadliest there are probably 100,000 people in have failed to do that.” ism Center (NCTC), which was created
terrorist act: dramatic improvements in the various terrorist groups around the by the post-9/11 wave of intelligence
security at home and an all-out assault world, and that’s much larger than any- Beginning in the fall of 2001, intel- reforms, mounted a series of efforts to
against what he called a “fringe form of thing we had 15 years ago.” ligence and law enforcement officials map the radicalization paths of Islamist
Islamic extremism” at war with the West. began bracing for follow-up attacks of militants. But there are divided opinions
Both the Bush and Obama adminis- equal or even greater magnitude, from on what came of that work.
Fifteen years later, the first goal argu- trations thwarted multiple terrorist plots the downing of passenger planes to bio-
ably has been met, as Americans by al- and achieved significant military suc- logical or even nuclear terrorism. Soon after President Obama took of-
most every measure are safer today from cesses against specific terrorist factions fice in 2009, the new administration’s
another 9/11-scale attack than in 2001. and key leaders, including al-Qaeda in Instead, despite its stated ambition security team began looking for novel
Iraq founder Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in to kill large numbers of Americans approaches to countering radicaliza-
Yet the struggle to defeat the global 2006, bin Laden in 2011 and the Islamic and disrupt the U.S. economy, al-Qae- tion, but administration officials said
network of violent, rabidly anti-Western State’s No. 2 commander, Abu Muham- da has been unable since 2001 to carry the efforts languished amid internal
jihadist groups has recorded fewer suc- mad al-Adnani, who reportedly was out another major strike on the U.S. turf battles.
cesses. Indeed, the problem appears to killed in a U.S. airstrike last month. homeland. The only significant acts of
have grown bigger. terrorism in the past 15 years involved Five years later, in 2015, the White
Yet both administrations struggled to lone actors or – apparently, in the case House convened an international
The al-Qaeda organization once led find a formula for blunting the appeal of the 2001 anthrax attack – a domes- summit on the issue, a belated push
by Osama bin Laden has been decimat- of violent jihadist groups or preventing tic terrorist. that coincided with the rise of the Is-
ed and is no longer capable of orches- thousands of young Muslims from en- lamic State.
trating a sophisticated, trans-national listing in a global movement fueled by Al-Qaeda’s failure, analysts say, was in
plot on its own, terrorism experts say hatred and bent on destruction. large measure the result of an extensive “We simply did not put enough re-
they believe. effort to harden U.S. defenses, from im- sources and focus on that as we should
There is little to show for more than a proved intelligence collection and tight- have,” acknowledged Michael Morell,
But al-Qaeda’s powerful and locally decade’s worth of U.S.-sponsored pro- er restrictions on air travel, to a network the CIA’s former deputy director who
popular Syrian branch, Jabhat Fa- grams aimed at countering extremist of sensors to detect possible nuclear and twice served as acting director during
tah al-Sham, commands an army of messages, terrorism experts say, and biological threats. Obama’s presidency.
thousands of trained fighters and now U.S. officials have struggled to block
serves as a base for senior al-Qaeda the jihadists’ use of social media or dis- At the same time, jihadist groups, The Islamic State, widely regarded
operatives experienced in making ex- rupt international funding and support from al-Qaeda’s remnants to the Islam- as the preeminent global jihad threat,
plosives and carrying out terrorist at- for extreme interpretations of Islam. ic State, continue to harbor ambitions has mastered the process of recruit-
tacks, U.S. officials and terrorism ex- Meanwhile, U.S. policies, from the Iraq to carry out catastrophic terrorist at- ing and radicalizing adherents to a far
perts say. The Syrian group recently invasion in 2003 to the ongoing use of tacks against the West, and their num- greater degree than al-Qaeda did, U.S.
announced it had split with al-Qaeda, armed drones against suspected terror- bers and resources have grown dra- officials and terrorism experts say.
but U.S. officials say the claim is not ists, have helped drive new recruits to al- matically since 2001. The Islamic State And the Islamic State has shown itself
credible. Qaeda and the Islamic State, former U.S. has attempted to manufacture crude to be far more willing than al-Qaeda to
officials and analysts say. chemical weapons, and it has sought to attack soft targets of limited strategic
Meanwhile, the Islamic State, despite recruit scientists and technicians from value, using recruits with little or no
military setbacks in Iraq and Syria, has “We generate more enemies than around the world. training and weapons that are simple
demonstrated a growing capability to we are able to take out,” said former but enormously effective in sowing
direct – or inspire – simple-but-lethal “They’re still trying,” he said. “And it fear and panic. 
terrorist attacks around the world.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 43

MEDICARE ENROLLMENT the claim to your Medigap plan, which pays pocket expenses when you actually use
PERIOD, PART II its portion of the bill. Medigap does not the plan. Part D coverage is divided into
usually cover prescription drugs. In most in- three phases: initial coverage that pays
The 2017 Medicare enrollment period— stances, you will need to purchase a stand- until you and Medicare have spent a spe-
Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, 2016—is quickly ap- alone Part D plan if you want drug coverage. cific dollar amount; a “donut hole” phase
proaching. If you’re 65 or older, it’s time to in which you pay a larger share of the drug
assess options to make decisions that can WHAT IS MEDICARE ADVANTAGE (PART C)? costs up to a certain threshold; and then
have long-lasting health — and financial — Medicare Advantage plans work like man- the catastrophic coverage phase where
consequences. aged care plans, i.e., you must use doctors, you pay only 5 percent of the cost of your
hospitals and providers that are part of the drugs until the end of the year.
Part I of this three-part series covered plan’s network. Care is delivered through a
“Original Medicare.” One of the most signif- health maintenance organization (HMO) or If you are considering purchasing a Part D
icant benefits of Original Medicare is that it preferred provider organization (PPO) ap- plan, go to www.Medicare.gov and click on
is accepted by most hospitals, doctors and proved by Medicare, operated by a health “Find health & drug plans.” Type in your zip
providers across the U.S. insurance company. Most plans include code and list the drugs you take. Depending
Part D prescription drug coverage. In ad- on where you live, you might have dozens
Today we’ll cover Medicare’s supplemental dition to paying your Part B premium as of private plans to choose from, with differ-
plan called Medigap; Medicare Advantage usual, you may have to pay an extra pre- ent premiums, co-payments, levels of cov-
plans (Part C); and Medicare’s prescription mium for the plan. Unlike Original Medi- erage, and lists of drugs that are covered.
plan (Part D). care, once you have paid deductibles and
copays that add up to specified annual out- NEED HELP?
WHAT IS MEDIGAP? of-pocket limit, the plan pays 100 percent For more information, go to www.Medi-
Medigap is a supplemental plan that Origi- of your medical bills for the rest of the year. care.gov. For free one-on-one assistance,
nal Medicare enrollees can purchase to go to www.floridashine.org or call 1-800-
cover most or all out-of-pocket costs. If you HOW DOES MEDICARE’S PRESCRIPTION 963-5337.
select this option, you will continue to be PLAN (PART D) WORK?
covered by Original Medicare. Medicare Medicare’s prescription plan, Part D, is op- Your comments and suggestions for future topics are
pays its share, then automatically forwards tional. Generally, if you buy a plan with a
higher premium, you will pay less out-of- always welcome. Email us at [email protected].

© 2016 Vero Beach 32963 Media, all rights reserved

44 Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT BOOK REVIEW

In the 1960s and ’70s, while televi- a Kennedy Center Honor, the Mark Music and theater were her first “Let’s bump up the lights,” so that the
sion blared bad news about war, pro- Twain Prize for American Humor and loves, and Burnett’s program became a audience could ask her questions. On-
tests and a presidential resignation, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achieve- showcase for both. She writes that “the going sketches were key elements of
“The Carol Burnett Show” made us ment Award. sets, the costumes, the orchestrations, each program, notably Conway and
laugh. The great comedian filled Amer- and the execution were worthy of a Burnett in “Mrs. Wiggins and Mr. Tud-
ica’s living rooms with pratfalls and Show business was part of Burnett’s Broadway show.” Her “mini-musicals” ball” and the whole ensemble in “The
Tarzan yells. It was a gift. DNA. Growing up with her grand- often featured production numbers Family.” After segments spotlighting
mother near Hollywood Boulevard in that celebrated Rodgers and Hammer- musical or movie features, the grand fi-
Carol Burnett’s new memoir, “In Los Angeles, she saw as many as eight stein, Cole Porter and the Gershwins. nale would showcase everyone onstage
Such Good Company,” captures this movies a week and would “act out the Movie takeoffs were also signature taking bows. Burnett would sing “I’m
zaniness with relish. Written in Bur- movies with the neighborhood kids.” segments, and the show’s parodies So Glad We Had This Time Together”
nett’s laughing voice, the book chroni- This is also how she learned to yo- of “Gone With the Wind,” “Mildred pull her left ear “as a signal for Nanny,
cles how she prepared her weekly dose del like Tarzan. Her Broadway break- Pierce” and “Sunset Boulevard” remain my grandmother who raised me,” and
of mayhem. It was a magical recipe, through came in the 1959 musical television comedy classics. everyone would wave good night.
and in an era ruled by “Rowan & Mar- comedy “Once Upon a Mattress,” and
tin’s Laugh-In,” “The Smothers Broth- she was soon hired as a regular on the Costumes for all of these segments Resonating with Burnett’s lively en-
ers Comedy Hour” and “The Andy Wil- popular comedy-variety program “The played an essential role, and Bob thusiasm, “In Such Good Company”
liams Show,” “The Carol Burnett Show” Garry Moore Show.” She discovered Mackie designed a remarkable 60 to captures the excitement of being there
was an audience favorite. From 1967 to that she loved the small screen more 70 costumes every week. Burnett glee- once again, and it’s a joyous addition
1978, Burnett’s 276 programs won 25 than Broadway’s bright lights. “Garry’s fully describes the costume everyone to her earlier memoirs, “One More
Emmys and averaged 30 million view- show allowed me to be different char- remembers best, her Scarlett dress Time” (1986) and “This Time Togeth-
ers a week. The show earned Burnett acters every week,” she writes, “as op- made from drapes for their “Went With er” (2010). 
the Presidential Medal of Freedom, posed to doing one role over and over the Wind!” sendup: When she met with
again in the theater.” Mackie for her fitting, he brought out IN SUCH GOOD COMPANY:
“a green velvet gown still attached to ELEVEN YEARS OF LAUGHTER,
When “The Garry Moore Show” the curtain rod.” Burnett donated that MAYHEM, AND FUN IN THE SANDBOX
made her a star, CBS offered her a 10- stunning assemblage to the National
year contract to create her own pro- Museum of American History, along BY CAROL BURNETT
gram but vetoed the idea that she host with her charwoman costume, which Crown Archetype. 320 pp. $28.
a variety show. Burnett writes that va- is on view in the museum’s Laughing Review by Amy Henderson, The Washington Post
riety was then “a man’s game” on net- Matters display.
work television, with shows headlined
by the likes of Sid Caesar, Jackie Glea- Production of the weekly show be-
son and Dean Martin. Nevertheless, gan with script readings and music
variety is what Burnett wanted, and rehearsals Monday mornings and con-
she flexed her star power to force CBS tinued through Friday run-throughs.
to put “The Carol Burnett Show” on the The show was taped Friday night in
air, beginning with a 30-show season in Studio 33 at Television City in Holly-
1967-1968. wood, and Burnett is proud that, un-
like many shows that did take after
The first thing Burnett did was to take, her tapings finished in under two
create a remarkable repertory com- hours. She did few retakes because she
pany that included “hunky” Lyle Wag- wanted to “have a spontaneous feel.”
goner, newcomer Vicki Lawrence and Actors cracking up in sketches was all
consummate comedy actors Harvey part of the fun.
Korman and Tim Conway. She also
welcomed prominent guest stars such As many of us can still remember,
as Lucille Ball, Bernadette Peters, Vin- each show began with Burnett’s warm-
cent Price and Jim Nabors. up. She would come onstage and say,

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392 Miracle Mile (21st Street), Vero Beach | 772.569.2050 | www.verobeachbookcenter.com

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 45

INSIGHT ST. EDWARD’S

Grid expectations: Savvy seniors lead St. Ed’s team

BY RON HOLUB Coach Bill Motta leads a practice with the sides of the ball will be determined
Correspondent SES football team. PHOTOS BY DENISE RITCHIE by the quality of the work up front.
Interior linemen Payton Cleveland,
St. Ed’s head coach Bill Motta pre- Patrick Quaile and Jackson Rooney
pared to conduct a recent football were two-way starters last year. Ed-
practice wearing a shirt that said ward Klinsport has stepped up and
“Next Man In.” been cited for his contributions this
season. Grayson Long, TJ Kenney, An-
That’s a theme common among drew MacIntyre and newcomer Ritter
coaches and players engaged in team Marchant round out the grunt corps.
sports, especially football. The idea is
to do whatever is necessary to help out. “Guys playing the whole 48 minutes
Adversity must be overcome, and on the has been a common thread for us since
gridiron that generally means injuries. we’ve been here, whether we’ve had 24
or 17,” Motta said. “We work all summer
Limited rosters have been the norm long on conditioning and prepare them
for a while, but the ranks in 2016 are with our strength program. We also
depleted to the point that this St. emphasize flexibility and nutrition.
Ed’s team almost reached the break-
ing point when it came to fielding 11 “If we look over to the other sideline
healthy athletes. and they have 40 and we have 13, you
can still put only 11 out there. We be-
“We have 17 players on the roster lieve in our 11 guys. We are proud of
and we had some injuries along the these guys for just being men of charac-
way,” Motta said. “We actually fin- ter and playing hard. Effort and attitude
ished the Moore Haven game with 12 are the only things we can control.”
players. Had we not had those injuries
and made fewer mistakes, I feel like With no middle school football
we had that game in hand. program and 11 seniors on a 17-man
roster, the long-term health of St. Ed’s
“We were able to move the ball varsity football – in its present state –
pretty much at will on them and we is in guarded condition. 
were able to stop most of their routine
plays. We gave up a couple of big plays believe you win games on the offen- Come in and let us create a masterful blend of function
defensively and we needed to tackle a sive and defensive lines. On offense and esthetics for the kitchen of your dreams.
little better, which is always a chore we want to control the game by run-
for high school players.” ning the ball. By doing that we can f e at u r i n g :
open things up for the short to mid-
That 32-7 defeat came in the regu- range play-action passing game. Established 18 Years in Indian River County
lar-season opener on Aug. 26. Motta’s
comments projected with clarity how “We have a pretty good running • The Treasure Coast’s most Comprehensive, Professional Showroom
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ing mental mistakes and focusing on ting better every week.”
flawless execution – meaning efficient
blocking and tackling. Expectations Danny Walsh was projected to be
are always kept very high. a featured running back until he suf-
fered a shoulder separation against
“We’re excited,” Motta said. “We Moore Haven. Expected to be side-
have 11 seniors with a lot of experi- lined for up to four weeks, Walsh re-
ence. We have the ability to run our ported that his rehab is going well.
full package. We are hoping to con-
tend for the state championship.” “We miss Danny as a running back,
return man and safety,” Motta said.
That would be the championship “He’s a fast guy with a big body. He
of the Sunshine State Athletic Confer- has some leadership ability too, and
ence. Motta knows how to do just that. he’s embracing that role by doing
His Pirates claimed that title in 2010. whatever he can to support the team.

The first SSAC test is this Friday “On defense we are always move-
night at home against Boca Raton ment-oriented. We run out of a 3-3 or
Christian School. The Pirates are 0-2 3-5 stack, but it always ends up being
going into the conference opener af- a 4-man line somewhere. We also run
ter dropping a 26-15 decision to Vil- a straight 4-man front. We are going
lage Academy last week. to rotate through several different
coverages in the back. We have expe-
The game plan on offense is straight rience back there and communica-
out of the playbook used by Motta tion is vital.”
and his longtime assistant, Lou Fer-
rari. The players have already proven As is always the case, the success
they can make it work. of disguises and deceptions on both

“Coach Ferrari and I have the same
philosophy,” Motta explained. “We



Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 47

INSIGHT ON FAITH

In need of a course correction? Let God lead you

BY REV. DRS. CASEY AND BOB BAGGOTT back, wrapped tire chains around her
Columnists front legs, and hooked the chains to
a trailer hitch on his jeep. Then he
One of our favorite authors is Bar- took off, yanking the turtle’s body
bara Brown Taylor. She tells the story forward so that her mouth filled with
in her book “Tales of Terror, Times sand and her neck bent far back, ap-
of Wonder” about vacationing on a parently ready to snap. Finally, at the
barrier island where she watched ocean’s edge, the ranger unhooked
one evening as a loggerhead turtle the chains and turned the old turtle
crawled slowly out of the water to lay right side up. Eventually the waves
and bury her eggs. Taylor assumed made her light enough to swim ever
the old turtle would make her way so slowly away, taking with her the
back to the sea after laying her eggs, nightmare memory of her time ma-
but the next day she encountered the rooned in the dunes and her jarring
same turtle lost in the dunes. It seems ride back to the sea.
that by some navigational error, after
laying her eggs, the old turtle had It makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
wandered on into the sand dunes, Might it be when we’ve wandered
rather than back to the safety of the far off track in life that getting back
sea. By the time Taylor found her, the on course can be as painful and dif-
turtle was disoriented, dazed and ficult for us as it was for the turtle? It
desperate. She appeared utterly sun- can hurt to try to crawl back to the
baked, her head and flippers caked space we should be occupying in
with dried sand. life when we’ve drifted far off course
and lost our way. It can hurt to face
Taylor said she poured a little water the distortions we’ve lived by. It can
on the old turtle then hurriedly called hurt to strip away a falseness we’ve
a park ranger to come to the rescue. adopted. It can hurt to admit we need
What surprised Taylor, however, was some help in regaining a foothold on
the form the ranger’s rescue took. The the right path. And even if we turn to
park ranger flipped the turtle on her God for help, sometimes the rescue
operation can be wrenching, making
us wonder for a time if we are right
side up or upside down. But being
dragged back on course is ultimately
life-saving for us, as it was for the old
turtle.

Are you safely on your way to plac-
es and goals you want to reach? Or
are you marooned and feeling a little
lost these days? If your life needs re-
directing, then perhaps it’s time to
submit to the course correction a
strong, capable, wise and loving God
can offer. Buckle up and hang on. The
way back may be bumpy, but the ride
is certainly going to deliver you to a
better, safer, more life-affirming and
sustaining destination. 

48 Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT PETS

Bonz says Ellie the Doodle is a cute little noodle

Hi Dog Buddies! breeder up in Ocala, Ellie. PHOTO BY LEAH DUBOIS “I also love to play with my human
who had rescued sister, Ashley. She plays a game called
I’ve still got a lot to learn about all a toy poodle and reason. What I LOVE BEST is swim- lacrosse and she’s really good at it. I
the mix-and-match pooch breeds, you decided he might min’ in the pool (which I only go in think I could play lacrosse, too I mean,
know, the sorta made-to-order, de- as well raise mini when Mom and Dad say I can. I follow there is a Ball involved. Plus, I’m really
signer dogs. I think they’re Cool Dog golden doodles. My the Rules). Emmy swims cuz it helps fast. When Ashley has to go away, and I
Biscuits and I ‘specially get a Big Woof pooch Mom, Han- her arthritis. I also LOVE going to the can’t go, we both cry. She’s my human
out of the names they get. It’d be fun nah, was an English beach and being on our boat. I always BFF. She takes me over to Ocean Drive
to be the one who gets to make ‘em up, Cream Golden Re- try to get the pelicans and the dol- and we visit all the shops. Lots of ‘em
doncha think? Anyway, this week I met triever and my Dad, phins to play with me. Dog, we have have water specially for dogs.
a Mini Golden Doodle and, believe Deryl, was a spunky, the BEST time ever! We get together
me, this little poocheroo is just as to- 9-pound toy poodle. with other humans and pooches who “Here in our neighborhood, us
tally cute as her breed name. I was in their first lit- have boats same as ours – it’s called pooches visit each other’s houses, and
ter. That’s why I’m the Grady Bunch. Mom says someday play in each other’s pools. Oooo, and
Ellie MacIntyre’s just a little sprout, so beautiful – and I can maybe go to the Bahamas with look what me and Mom do.”
not quite 2 yet, but she was there at the spunky.” ‘em. Mom and Dad love the Bahamas
door with her Mom, and trotted right so much they named me and Emmy Ellie scooted out of the room and
up for the Wag-and-Sniff. Ackshully, it I laughed and after ‘em: Emmy’s named for Miss Em- came back with a long, soggy-looking,
was a Wag-Wiggle-and-Sniff. She was agreed. Every so ily, a human who lived in the Bahamas semi-stuffed something-or-other in
a super pretty, light gold-and-cream, often, during the and invented something called the her mouth.
curly, poodle hair, but smaller size. interview, Emmy Goombay Smash.”
And she had these bright, black eyes. would bark out a few sociable woofs. “Thiff iff by FAY-bo-wut! Waaj!”
“The what?” Before I could say “What?” her Mom
“Good afternoon, Mr. Bonzo! I’m El- “Mom had First Pick,” Ellie con- “It’s something humans drink when had grabbed one end and they were
lie and this is my Mom, Heather. My tinued. “My human sister, Ashley, they want to laugh and talk louder engaged in an energetic game of Tug-
Dad’s Boo (I KNOW, cool name, right?) ackshully picked me. I was the Runt than usual and take their shoes off. of-War, punctuated by lots of woofs
He’s at work. And this is my big sister, – hadda be bottle-fed. I only weighed It’s best if they’re on a boat and there’s from Emmy and (non-threatening,
Emmy.” 3 pounds when I went with ‘em to my a beach and they don’t have to go to slightly muffled) Grrrrs from Ellie.
Forever Home. But now I’m a big girl. work the next day. Anyway, I’m named When the game ended in a draw, El-
Emmy, turns out, is a Golden Re- Well, big-ER. Mom says I was awe- for Elbow Cay, also in the Bahamas. lie said, “I’m totally a Momma’s Girl. I
triever, exactly the same color as Ellie. some right from the start. Like, I didn’t always hafta know she’s nearby. When
They were A Set! “Welcome, Mr. Bon- chew Mom’s and Dad’s shoes or any- she’s on the sofa, I sometimes leap
zo,” Emmy said softly. thing like that. It’s cuz I had a great back-and-forth over her, like a cat (but
Role Model – Emmy. I just watched her better, of course).”
“Delighted to meet you all,” I told and did what she did, so I didn’t get in The time had gone by fast. Heading
them, as we got settled. “I’m eager to any trouble. She taught me everything home I was thinking about joyful little
hear your story.” I know. PLUS, cuz I’m so bouncy and Ellie, happily play-play-playing with
stuff, she plays way more. (Mom and her big sister Emmy. 
”Mom and Dad had Emmy for 14 Dad call it Exercise.) Me and Emmy are
years. She’s Real Old,” Ellie began, Totally BFFs. Till next time,
looking over at Emmy with affection.
“After they did a bunch of Research, “When we’re home, we go to the dog The Bonz
they decided it’d be a good idea to get spa. It’s real fancy. I get all spiffed up
a puppy sister for Emmy, cuz pup- and trimmed. But nothing poodle-y. I Don’t Be Shy
pies help give older dogs, who usually wanna look like Emmy. No froufrou.”
aren’t very bouncy anymore, a Sense of We are always looking for pets
Purpose. You know, perk ‘em up a little. “Whaddya you girls do for fun?” I in- with interesting stories.
Keep ‘em young at heart.” quired.
To set up an interview, email
“So, anyway, they wanted a Golden “Well, we (mostly me) chase lizards. [email protected].
Something, but a small dog this time. I call ‘em Little Dragons. I always try to
They found this Golden Retriever get ‘em to play but they won’t for some

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 49

INSIGHT GAMES BRIDGE

NORTH

SPOTTING ERRORS THAT ARE INSTRUCTIVE A 10 7 5 4 2

By Phillip Alder - Bridge Columnist 3

Li Ka-shing, a Hong Kong business magnate, investor and philanthropist, said, “We A2
are approaching a new age of synthesis. Knowledge cannot be merely a degree
or a skill ... it demands a broader vision, capabilities in critical thinking and logical Q J 10 3
deduction without which we cannot have constructive progress.”
WEST EAST
Playing bridge well requires clear thinking and logical deduction; perhaps, because QJ9
declarer made one play, he must have this, or cannot have that. Q87 K6
K Q 10 8
West misdefended this deal by not thinking clearly. It was sent to me by Steve Conrad 982 J96542
of Manhasset, New York.
953
In the bidding from a pro-am, the “am” sitting North preferred that her expert partner
be the declarer. However, knowing about the eight- or nine-card spade fit and having 76
a singleton, she should have corrected three no-trump to four spades, which would
have made with an overtrick. SOUTH

Against three no-trump, West led the diamond king. Declarer won with dummy’s ace, 83
crossed to his hand with a club, and led a spade. When West nervously inserted her
jack, South played low from the dummy. A K 10

Now East should have overtaken with his king and returned the diamond nine, which J764
would have held declarer to his contract. Minus 400 would have been a top for East-
West. When East actually played low, West led another club. South won, played a AK54
spade to dummy’s ace, and led another spade. West cashed her diamond queen to
hold South to 10 tricks. But minus 430 was still a top. Dealer: North; Vulnerable: East-West

West should have played low on the first spade, because if South had held the king, The Bidding:
he would have cashed that honor first.
SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST OPENING
3NT Pass 1 Spades Pass
Pass Pass LEAD:
King Diamonds

50 Vero Beach 32963 / September 15, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT GAMES & CO.

SOLUTIONS TO PREVIOUS ISSUE (SEPTEMBER 8) ON PAGE 62

ACROSS DOWN
1 Method (3) 1 Rubbed (5)
3 Can (3) 2 Shouting (7)
5 Mucous discharge (5) 3 Throw (4)
8 Tablets (5) 4 Moved head in assent (6)
9 Joy (7) 5 Grateful (8)
10 Weak person (4) 6 Keen (5)
11 Investigation (8) 7 Was compatible with (7)
13 Jagged (6) 12 Cars, vans, etc (8)
14 To back (6) 13 So retro (anag.) (7)
17 Viewpoints (8) 15 Was against (7)
19 Twirl (4) 16 Vivacity (6)
22 Rear section of lorry (7) 18 Picture (5)
23 Speed (5) 20 Deprived (5)
24 Grasses (5) 21 Zoomed (4)
25 However (3)
The Telegraph 26 Parched (3)

How to do Sudoku:

Fill in the grid so the
numbers one through
nine appear just once
in every column, row
and three-by-three
square.

The Telegraph