03/29/2018 ISSUE 13

Sea Oaks’ Dobson takes
Top Chef title. P38
More progress on

Vero Electric sale. P8
Man accused of sex crime at
Disney resort in plea deal. P10

Wachter retiring For breaking news visit
after 4 decades of
service at St. Ed’s Cleveland Clinic
may add Martin,
St. Lucie to Vero

BY MARY SCHENKEL BY MICHELLE GENZ
Staff Writer Staff Writer

Two longtime leaders at St. The Martin Medical Center campus in Stuart. PHOTO BY MITCH KLOORFAIN In January, Cleveland Clin-
Edward’s are retiring after a ic’s chief strategy officer told
remarkable 85 years of com- Prosecutor: State not stalling on road-rage shooting Vero hospital officials the
bined service at the private health system wanted to add
barrier island school. BY RAY MCNULTY charges in a fatal road-rage Vero Beach 32963 last week, not just Indian River Medical
Staff Writer shooting in Vero Beach in No- adding that he had discussed Center but a string of hospi-
Bruce Wachter is retiring vember and are deliberately the case with assistant state at- tals to its Florida division.
June 30 as Associate Head of State Attorney Bruce Colton putting off an announcement torneys Steve Gosnell and Chris
School and Head of Upper flatly denied growing specu- in hopes the public will lose Taylor only days earlier “to see How soon?
School after 45 years at St. Ed’s. lation that prosecutors have interest in the case. where we are” more than four “Last week, if it were under
His wife Joanie is retiring at the decided not to file criminal our control,” she said.
same time, after 40 years at the “That’s not true,” Colton told CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 Increasingly, it appears Cleve-
land is getting control.
Bruce Wachter retiring. PHOTO BY DENISE RITCHIE With a letter of intent signed
by Stuart-based Martin Health
school – she took five years off announced last Thursday, the
to have their daughters – teach- world-renowned Cleveland
ing in a variety of elementary Clinic may be poised to add
grades and serving for the past not only Indian River Medical
22 years as the Lower School Center but up to four other
technology coordinator. coastal hospitals.
After Boca Raton Regional
Wachter began working at Hospital announced earlier
St. Edward’s in 1973, eight years this month that Cleveland
after the school was founded
and one year after the Upper CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
School opened its doors. He
had just graduated from the MY If Publix deal falls through,
College of William and Mary VERO
Village Beach Market eying Orchid
CONTINUED ON PAGE 7
BY RAY MCNULTY wants to build on a seven-acre Jason Keen, chief operating officer of Village Beach Market. PHOTO BY GORDON RADFORD
Staff Writer parcel of land on the north
side of State Road 510, adja-
Publix representatives are cent to historic Jungle Trail.
scheduled to make a presen-
tation to the Orchid Town Paying close attention to
Council next Wednesday, out- the proceedings will be the
lining plans for an upscale owners of the Village Beach
supermarket the company Market, which has been do-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

March 29, 2018 Volume 11, Issue 13 Newsstand Price $1.00 ‘Rock the Boat’ event
celebrates growth
News 1-10 Faith 62-63 Pets 85 TO ADVERTISE CALL of youth sailing. P34
Arts 41-48 Games 65-67 Real Estate 87-104 772-559-4187
Books 60-61 Health 69-73 St. Ed’s 59
Dining 78 Insight 49-68 Style 74-77 FOR CIRCULATION
Editorial 56 People 11-40 Wine 79 CALL 772-226-7925

© 2018 Vero Beach 32963 Media LLC. All rights reserved.

2 Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

My Vero dies architecture and become a popu- tail and dining complex that would get coffee, maybe some ice cream – not
lar gathering spot for area residents. include a small restaurant, hard- just a place to buy groceries.”
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 ware store and coffee/ice cream shop
Jason Keen, chief operating officer alongside a 10,000- to 12,500-square- Keen said a second Village Beach
ing business on State Road A1A in of the Village Beach Market, said he foot Village Beach Market. Market would be significantly smaller
Vero Beach since 1980. And not merely spoke to Orchid Town Manager Noah than the supermarket Publix would
because the opening of a Publix on Powers earlier this month and told “We’d focus more on the beach life- build on that site, located just outside
the northern tier of the barrier island him that his company would like to style and Jungle Trail, which is right the gates of the Orchid Island Golf &
would put a dent in their sales. build a grocery store on the same site there, and we would design the devel- Beach Club, which makes up virtually
if Publix’s plans fall through. opment so that it fit with everything the entire town.
They, too, are interested in that around it,” Keen said.
piece of property, where they’d like to “I know Publix is surveying the He believes a smaller, locally-based,
build a cozy, town-center-type devel- people in the town to see if they want “Whether you live in the nearby com- family-owned operation would be
opment – anchored by a larger version a store there,” Keen said. “But do the munity or you come over to walk or bike more compatible with the Orchid
of the current Village Beach Market residents know there’s another option? along Jungle Trail, we want to offer the community.
– that would blend in with Orchid’s I don’t think so.” amenities people want,” he added. “We
beachside setting and British West In- want it to become a destination – a nice And he might be right.
Keen’s plans include more than a place for people to come to have lunch, There’s only one problem: Publix,
grocery store: He wants to build a re- a Florida-based company founded
in 1930 and currently one of the 10
largest-volume supermarket chains
in America, already has a contract to
purchase the property from Orchid
resident and longtime Vero Beach
businessman Ken Puttick.
Puttick could not be reached for
comment, but Powers said Publix rep-
resentatives approached him in early
February to discuss their interest in
building a smaller Publix, more along
the lines of the chain’s newly rede-
signed GreenWise markets .
Shortly after that meeting, Orchid
Mayor Harold Ofstie sent a newslet-
ter to the town’s 440-plus residents to
inform them of Publix’s interest. Both
Ofstie and Powers said the early re-
sponse has been mostly positive.
Certainly, having a supermarket on
the northern part of the island would
be convenient, especially for residents
of John’s Island, Sea Oaks and Wind-
sor, as well as Orchid.
The nearest grocery-store options
now are two Publix stores miles away
across the Wabasso Bridge on U.S. 1 –
at Barber Street in Sebastian and 53rd
Avenue north of Vero Beach – or the
Village Beach Market.
And from a legal standpoint, the
property on which Publix wants to
build is already zoned for commercial
development.
That’s no small matter: Puttick has
tried and failed at least twice in the
past seven years to get the town’s ap-
proval for projects on his land.
In 2011, the town killed his pro-
posal to build 40 courtyard homes by
refusing to rezone the property to al-
low residential use. Then, in 2016, the
town rejected his plans for an upscale
senior living facility.
Could Orchid officials stop Publix?
That likely will depend on Publix’s
plans, which will need to adhere to the
town’s building code and architectural
demands, meet traffic flow require-
ments and address parking-lot light-
ing concerns.
“We’re anxious to hear their presen-
tation and see what they’ve come up
with,” Powers said. “But that’s just the
beginning of the process.”
Plans must be submitted. Public

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 3

NEWS

hearings must be held. Votes must be Road-rage shooting re-interviewed, more detailed infor- lic our decision. Whether it’s a popu-
taken. Permits must be granted. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 mation was being gathered and evi- lar or unpopular decision, we’ll make
dence was still under review. a public statement, and let you know
All of which means something could months after the shooting. what it is and why.
go wrong. The top prosecutor in Florida’s He said most of the witnesses didn’t
see anything until they had heard the “We hope it won’t be much longer.”
And if it does, Keen said the Village 19th Judicial Circuit, which includes shots. Colton, who lives in Vero Beach,
Beach Market and its partners will be Indian River County, Colton said the said he understands why many in the
ready to step in, enter into a purchase shooting remained under investi- “We want to know all the facts, or as community are outraged by the fright-
contract with Puttick and formally gation – that witnesses were being many as we possibly can, before we ening, headline-grabbing incident, in
present their plans to the town. make a legal determination,” Colton
said. “Once we do, we will make pub- CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
“We were looking at that piece of
property a year ago,” Keen said. “Ken Exclusively John’s Island
asked us if we were interested then,
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largest wholesale suppliers for inde- pool and soothing fountains tantalize the senses. Impressive features
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Before Keen could put all the pieces
in place, however, Puttick agreed to
sell the property to Publix.

“We’ve been approached about sev-
eral locations in the past,” Keen said.
“Some were on the island, some not.
This is the only place we’re looking at
now.

“We have the partners we need to
make this happen,” he added. “We
would love to hear from the community
to see if they’d prefer to have us there.”

Keen recalled Publix’s attempt to
put a store on the island at the south
end of the county in the late 1980s,
only to be rebuffed by Moorings resi-
dents who didn’t want a supermarket
in their community.

Some residents were so opposed to
the project, in fact, that they killed Pub-
lix’s plans by chipping in and purchas-
ing the property for $1 million more
than the previous buyer had paid. They
then sold the land to a developer who
built what is now Sea Mist Court.

Don’t expect something similar to
happen in Orchid.

If enough residents express opposi-
tion to the Publix project, however – or
if the town’s demands are too great –
it’s possible the company might re-
consider.

“Are there enough year-round cus-
tomers to support a large-format gro-
cery store? I don’t know,” said Keen,
whose family has been in the grocery
business in this county since 1951.
“We haven’t done any demographic
studies in that area.

“But based on what we’ve seen and
what we know about the community,
we can gauge how much business is
up there,” he added, “and we believe
a smaller, more local store would do
better.”

Again, he might be right.
But he won’t get the chance to prove
it unless Publix punts. 

4 Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Road-rage shooting incident escalated into deadly gunfire. Apparently, Sartori was not the driv- your-ground law, saying only that
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 The reports said Dennis Wayne er Hicks had honked at during the pre- more shooters are citing it in their
vious traffic stop. self-defense arguments. He said his
which the shooter killed an unarmed Hicks became irate with an unidenti- prosecutors will be in court this week
man he claimed had threatened him fied motorist while driving along 58th Gosnell, who was summoned to the in other counties for pretrial hearings
at a busy intersection on one of the Avenue and began angrily honking his scene, said there wasn’t enough prob- on “stand your ground cases.”
county’s most heavily trafficked roads. horn at the driver while their vehicles able cause to charge the shooter at the
were stopped at the traffic light at time and that he would wait for sher- In Sartori’s case, Colton said pros-
He’s also aware that some in the State Road 60. iff’s detectives to complete a full inves- ecutors must consider the shooter’s
community have begun wondering tigation. self-defense claim, even though
why it’s taking prosecutors so long to Hicks, 38, of Vero Beach, was there’s no way to verify that Hicks ac-
reach a decision, and whether his of- stopped again – this time, at the traffic “There’s no timetable,” he said. “I’m tually threatened him, verbally or by
fice wants a difficult-to-win case to light at 53rd Avenue, in front of Apple- not going to take any shortcuts.” reaching for something in his vehicle,
quietly go away. bee’s restaurant – when he yelled over since Hicks is dead and can’t tell his
to the driver of the vehicle in the next Sheriff Deryl Loar said Gosnell’s ini- side of the story.
In fact, Colton, the four-county cir- lane, the reports stated. tial assessment of the incident sup-
cuit’s state attorney since 1985, said ported Sartori’s self-defense claim “Was it a reasonable reaction under
he has been questioned by neigh- Timothy Daniel Sartori, 29, of Se- under Florida’s controversial “stand the circumstances as we know them?”
bors about the status of the case and bastian, told deputies that his window your ground” law, despite the fact that Colton said. “That’s what we’re look-
the delay in determining whether the was down when Hicks pulled up next deputies didn’t find a gun in Hicks’ car. ing at, and we’re reviewing it over and
shooter should be charged. to him, looked over and said, “What’s over. We’re going to make the call.” 
your problem?” Sartori replied, saying However, in an interview with Vero
“The public is very interested in this he didn’t have a problem. Beach 32963 one week after the in- Cleveland Clinic
case, which, under the circumstances, cident, Loar said he believed “there
is certainly reasonable,” Colton said. It was then, Sartori claimed, that should be some type of charge, possi- CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
“And it bothers me, too, that a shoot- Hicks verbally threatened to shoot bly for recklessly discharging a firearm
ing like this happened at a busy inter- him and appeared to reach for some- in public.” was a finalist in its partnering pro-
section, early in the evening. thing inside the vehicle. In response cess, Martin Health revealed it was a
to the alleged threat, Sartori said he Detectives found that four of Sarto- step ahead of that, opting to forgo a
“But we have to go by what the law grabbed his gun and “opened fire” in ri’s bullets traveled across traffic lanes lengthy courtship phase with multiple
dictates, whether I like it or not, and self-defense. Hicks died at the scene. and struck a third vehicle in which a suitors and focus solely on a Cleve-
whether it’s popular with the public or 3-year-old boy was a passenger. Nei- land merger.
not.” Sartori, who pulled into a parking ther the driver of that car, Michael
lot adjacent to the intersection and Clemente, nor his young son were in- Currently in the midst of due dili-
According to sheriff’s reports, the dialed 911 to report the shooting, was jured. gence, Martin officials say no timeline
shooting occurred at about 7 p.m. Nov. interviewed by deputies for several for negotiations is included in the let-
16 at the intersection of State Road 60 hours immediately after the incident “It wasn’t like it was one or two or ter of intent. At maximum, talks could
and 53rd Avenue, where a road-rage but was not charged with a crime at three rounds,” Loar said, referring to lead to a merger that would add Mar-
that time. Sartori’s decision to shoot. “It was 10 tin Health’s three hospitals to the lone
to 15 rounds. He emptied the gun . . . hospital Cleveland has here now, in
We can’t condone someone just dis- the southwest Broward County com-
charging a weapon the way he did.” munity of Weston. That is a two-hour
drive from Vero Beach.
Colton said Loar’s public remarks
“didn’t help,” but he understands the Martin Health’s main campus is
sheriff’s feelings, “which are shared by half that distance, tucked in a quiet
many others in the community.” neighborhood just beyond downtown
Stuart. A second smaller hospital is a
Complicating the matter is an obvi- 15-minute drive south in Port Salerno.
ous conflict between two Florida laws: The third and newest facility is in Port
One that allows a person who believes St. Lucie, a position that would give
his life or property is being threatened Cleveland Clinic a presence in St. Lu-
to stand his ground and, with no ob- cie County.
ligation to retreat and avoid the po-
tential danger, discharge a firearm in Were a Cleveland Clinic logo to go
public; and one that makes it illegal to up on the recently expanded Tradition
recklessly discharge a firearm in pub- Medical Center, it would be seen by
lic or from a vehicle within 1,000 feet
of any person.

Colton declined to comment on
the merits and bounds of the stand-

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 5

NEWS

throngs travelling I-95, a very visible Indian River County Hospital District in northeast Ohio,” Cunningham said. Between Vero and Weston, there is
gift tag on a ribbon that could wrap board of trustees and the first to pro- She added that “it should come as no only one stand-alone independent
from Vero Beach to Fort Lauderdale. pose that Indian River Medical Center surprise” that Cleveland Clinic is in nonprofit hospital not in talks with
consider a change in its independent talks with other nearby hospitals. That Cleveland: Jupiter Medical Center.
“Cleveland has been telling us all status. is especially true for one reason: very Jupiter says it intends to remain inde-
along that their plan was to move up few independent hospitals remain up pendent, and insists it has the finan-
the east coast of Florida,” said Mary- “A strong Florida presence is good for grabs.
beth Cunningham, chairman of the for everyone, similar to what they built CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

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6 Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Cleveland Clinic Martin Health CEO Rob Lord gave for partnerships, and were aware of he watched doctors performing heart
no inkling of similar financial dis- the various health systems that were surgery on a fetus in utero, an experi-
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 tress at the growing system he leads. seeking to become partners with those ence that still makes him marvel.
“Patient revenues are solid,” he said. hospitals,” said Scott Samples, Mar-
cial wherewithal to do so, according to “We have consistently operated in the tin’s corporate communications direc- He was clear that his conversations
Kathleen Ahern, the hospital’s director black from operations year after year, tor. “The decision collectively was to with Cleveland have only to do with
of marketing. and then done really well philanthrop- focus on seeking one potential part- Martin Health. “I have an idea how
ically as well. ner, rather than go through a selection things would work [in an integrated
Martin Health has been in talks with process with multiple organizations.” Cleveland healthcare system] but I’m
Cleveland Clinic for several years, of- “This hospital has tripled in size since not considering what Indian River is
ficials say, most recently to firm up I came to work here 20 years ago. And As to how Indian River and Martin going to look like. I have to be careful
an affiliation with its cardiovascular we opened a new hospital that’s been Health might co-exist as neighbors in with that. Our decision has to be based
program. Before that, the two systems remarkably successful in Port St. Lucie.” the system, Lord was cautious about on our considerations. We’re not con-
worked together to develop a clinically specifics. spiring together to do something. It’s an
integrated network. Lord said residents of Indian River individual entity. And if it doesn’t work
County “should be very proud” of their “Each community that’s involved in with Cleveland, there are other places.”
Cunningham said Cleveland Clinic hospital. “I know they’ve had chal- these discussions has in my opinion a
– as well as other health systems – first lenges, but it’s a fine hospital. It’s just right to expect that there are certain “We are a strong organization. We
contacted then-IRMC CEO Jeff Susi going to be harder and harder as time things their hospitals are going to do. are a healthy organization. We could
even before a decision was made here goes on to do it all yourself.” Basic orthopaedics, or taking an ap- last for years and years and years. But
to pursue a partnership. pendix or gall bladder out. If I lived in there’s an opportunity that exists right
Unlike Indian River, which visited Vero or Stuart or Port St. Lucie, I would now. Just because I’ve got an old car out
A collaborative committee of mem- two hospitals operated by each of four expect my hospital to do those sorts of there that keeps running if I work on it
bers of the hospital board and the Dis- finalist health systems, Martin Health things. doesn’t mean I shouldn’t look at a new
trict trustees had hired Stroudwater has plunged into talks with Cleve- one if an opportunity comes along.”
Associates to help consider the hospi- land without a lengthy consultant-led “Then there are certain things like
tal’s options for the future after dismal courtship involving multiple potential heart transplants that are so expensive With a law degree from Stetson,
financial results were reported. partners. and complicated, so challenging, that Lord started at Martin Memorial as
you would want to go to Weston or chief legal counsel. He oversaw much
In June 2017, Stroudwater reported Vero’s exhaustive search process maybe even Cleveland. I would want of the development of Tradition Medi-
that “revenues were insufficient to ad- may have had something to do with access to that highly specialized care. cal Center, more than a decade in the
dress IRMC’s strategic and investment that. Our job is to figure out how we put that making, which finally opened in 2013.
needs.” That conclusion, along with system together.” Lord was named COO the following
predictions the hospital’s bond rating “The Martin Health Board of Direc- year. He was named president and
would plummet to junk, triggered the tors and its executive committee have Lord said when he visited Cleveland CEO in July 2016.
decision to partner. watched closely as other hospitals in Clinic’s main campus in Cleveland,
the area have sought opportunities

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 7

NEWS

Tradition recently underwent an under construction on a 13-acre parcel character development, solid academ- we drove to Vero Beach in early June,”
expansion that doubled its number of on Kanner Highway at Indian Street. ic classes, retaining of small classes.” says Wachter.
beds to 177.
Of the system’s 500 physicians on staff, Wachter was working at the King’s Wachter has seen the school through
Martin Medical Center, formerly 150 are employed by Martin Health. Arms Tavern in Colonial Williamsburg good times and difficult times, includ-
known as Martin Memorial, remains in his last year of college when he hap- ing when it expanded too aggressively
its original 1939 location on the St. Lu- In all, Martin Health has three boards: pened to serve a Vero Beach couple in the 1990s, a move that, combined
cie River near downtown Stuart. Fun- one for the system as a whole, another and their son, a student at the fledg- with a sagging economy, triggered se-
draising is underway to renovate the for the Stuart hospital, and a third for ling school, and they suggested he ap- vere financial problems.
244-bed facility, most of it built in the the foundation. Unlike Indian River, ply for a teaching position.
1970s. Plans include expanding and there is no hospital district in Martin “As history has taught us, we're re-
improving the crowded emergency de- County, so the system operates without After consulting with his then fian- ally not a school of 900 students,”
partment. taxpayer support, outside of Florida’s cée Joanie, an elementary education Wachter says. “We’re more a school of
Government in the Sunshine laws.  major at William and Mary, he flew around 600. That’s what this commu-
The system’s third hospital was built down to interview with then Head of nity needs and can support.”
in 1992 on Salerno Road in the south- Wachters retire School Peter Benedict for the position
ern end of the county. Known as Martin of middle school science teacher and He adds that with the support of the
Hospital South, it has 100 beds and re- CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 varsity football coach. community and a strong leadership
cently collaborated with Health South team willing to make difficult deci-
to open a rehab facility on the campus. and was barely older than some stu- “I flew down and saw the place and sions, the school today is in better con-
dents when he arrived as a first-year was just astounded,” Wachter remem- dition than ever before. “It’s right-sized
Samples says part of the reason for teacher, along with the school’s first bers, explaining that not only were the and fiscally sound; we’ve got a great
Martin Health’s success is that as ear- senior class. class sizes smaller than in the large board of trustees; we’ve got a dynamic
ly as the 1980s, it began following an public schools he was used to, but the head; we have excellent faculty and ev-
outpatient model, an approach that “The interesting thing is that mem- students all stood as a gesture of re- erybody really cares about this place.”
experts say is increasingly important bers of that class are now, at the very spect and said ‘good morning’ when
today as healthcare revenues shift least, eligible for social security and he entered the room. Wachter wore many hats over the
away from overnight stays and into al- many are probably receiving it,”Wachter years – educator, coach, mentor, ad-
ternative arenas like ambulatory sur- says. “Which I think is kind of fun. I was Benedict, who was Head of School ministrator and even bus driver – all the
gical centers and telemedicine. 22 and many of them were 18.” from 1971 to 1995, was a man of quick while nurturing and befriending stu-
decisions; after offering Wachter the dents, parents, fellow staff members and
Currently, the health system has a He credits his longevity at St. Ed’s to position, he said he needed an answer members of the community at large.
dozen non-hospital locations includ- the enduring character of the school. the next day. It was a ‘yes’ – a decision
ing physician offices, lab stations, im- “There's never been a shift from the Wachter has never regretted. “This is not just a job to anybody.
aging centers and a freestanding emer- original core values – integrity, respect, There’s no one who comes here and
gency room. A new outpatient clinic is “We got married on a Saturday, feels that they have to be here. They
graduated on a Sunday, and . . . then
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

8 Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Wachters retire while second daughter Amy Wachter of the thousands of students who have some traveling at other times of year
Driggers is the founder and owner of come under his tutelage over the years, besides summer, “when the rest of the
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 Charleston-based Taxidermy, a design- and regularly gets visits from alumni planet travels,” and to visits with grand-
er of high-end women’s accessories. who drop by to “chitchat.” Wachter children Brennan, 6, and Laura 4 ½.
get to be here. That’s the way they all notes with pride that he has taught
look at it. That's certainly the way my “The things that give me the greatest generations of students and also works “People ask over and over, ‘Are you
family feels.” pleasure are the times that a student alongside some of his former students. going to move?’ Absolutely not; why
comes back and wants to talk to you would anyone ever move from Vero
He points out that he and Joanie were about their time here,” says Wachter. Wachter plans to work a few hours Beach?
St. Edward’s parents as well as teachers “Or the times when a student who’s a month with the advancement office,
– their two daughters attended from currently enrolled trusts you enough communicating with some of those “We love Vero Beach and have no in-
kindergarten through high school. The to come in and confide in you and ask alumni, and he anticipates that Joanie tention whatsoever of moving.”
eldest, Carrie Wachter Morris, Ph.D., is for some guidance or some help.” will likely be called in on occasion to
now a professor of counselor educa- work on projects at the Lower School. Alumni from all classes are invited
tion at University of North Carolina, He has a scrapbook bursting with The couple looks forward to doing to celebrate the retirement of Bruce
personal notes of gratitude from some and Joanie Wachter at the Alumni Re-
union Party on June 9. 

More progress on electric sale but the deal not done yet

BY LISA ZAHNER FPL’s territory to encompass Vero’s appears PSC attorneys are digging into is why people don’t take on mammoth
Staff Writer 34,000 customers. Vero and FPL of- the side deal FPL made with the Or- issues like this – because it took nearly
ficials had been hopeful the matter lando Utilities Commission, agreeing a decade of pounding away at this deal
The Florida Municipal Power Agen- might get a final hearing before the PSC to pay a reported $25 million extra to from every financial, legal, political and
cy unanimously approvedVero Beach’s in late April, but that probably will not OUC to avoid a lawsuit over the size of regulatory angle to get it to this juncture.”
exit from the statewide electric co-op happen until May. Vero’s exit penalty from a power-buying
on March 21. Now the city needs the agreement. Now, as all eyes are on the PSC pro-
Florida Public Service Commission to The PSC is tasked with making sure cess, a new player has come into the pic-
approve the sale of Vero’s electric util- the $185 million purchase price, plus Once that FPL-OUC side deal was ture in the form of the Florida Office of
ity to Florida Power & Light, so the deal all ancillary agreements and consider- inked, FMPA leadership crisscrossed the Public Counsel (OPC), which on March
can close as planned on Oct. 1. ations, are fair and equitable to FPL’s state to obtain approvals from govern- 13 filed paperwork to intervene in FPL’s
4.9 million customers across Florida. ing boards of 19 member cities who are petition for the PSC to approve the sale.
The PSC has not yet scheduled a partners with Vero in three power gen-
hearing to approve the sale or redraw To that end, it has conducted an audit eration projects. Then the full board and The OPC is the public’s legal rep-
of the proposed transaction, and now it executive committee of the FMPA voted resentation, and City Manager Jim
on four resolutions – three of which re- O’Connor said he fully expected them
lievedVero of its virtual ownership rights to jump in as official intervenors to ex-
and responsibilities in the Stanton 1, amine the deal at some point. “To my
and Stanton 2 power plants and the St. knowledge, the Office of Public Coun-
Lucie nuclear projects, and one that pro- sel intervenes in about 90 percent of
vided for Vero’s general exit from FMPA the matters before the PSC that in-
membership, contingent upon the sale. volve FPL,” O’Connor said.

Those measures were the obstacles FPL Spokesperson Sarah Gatewood
that for many years prevented Vero from echoed O’Connor’s assessment that
getting out of the electric utility business. the OPC intervention coming was no
The final solution was costly – $108 mil- late-in-the-game surprise. “It’s not un-
lion of the sale proceeds will go to make usual for the OPC to intervene at any
the remaining FMPA members whole – stage of the process, and at this time we
but necessary to move the sale off center. don’t expect their intervention to delay
the Oct. 1 closing,” Gatewood said.
Utility activist Glenn Heran said after
the FMPA vote, “It was a hurdle most The City Council will have a complete
people thought it was impossible to get status update on the sale, with repre-
over and we managed to do that. This sentatives from FPL and the FMPA pres-
ent, at 9:30 a.m. on April 17. 



10 Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Man accused of sex crime at Disney resort in plea deal

BY BETH WALTON battery on a person with a mental de- erhaghighi. He said his client denies with full knowledge of her mental illness.
Staff Writer fect. He pled no contest March 13 to guilt and accepted the plea because he The victim told police her family had
misdemeanor battery and now faces felt it was in his best interest.
A Kentucky man accused of hav- no more than one year of his life behind struck up a conversation with Zaker-
ing unwanted sexual relations with a bars, as compared to a 30-year maxi- A detective with the Indian River haghighi on the hotel’s seaside deck.
21-year-old schizophrenic woman at mum for the original felony charge. County Sheriff’s Office responded to The man offered to buy the young
Disney’sVero Beach Resort has pleaded the beachside resort July 11, 2016, woman a drink, but instead of taking
to a reduced charge, avoiding the pos- A sentencing hearing is set for May according to a warrant affidavit filed her to the bar, he brought her to his
sibility of spending decades in prison. 21 in Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Cox’s with the court. The woman’s fam- car and put his hands up her dress and
Vero Beach courtroom. ily notified law-enforcement that a kissed her, she claimed.
Farhad Zakerhaghighi, 61, struck much older man sexually battered
a deal with prosecutors this month, The defense is seeking to avoid jail their schizophrenic daughter the He asked her to go inside his vehicle,
avoiding the felony charge of sexual time altogether, said attorney An- night before without her consent and which was parked near the front of the
drew Metcalf, who represents Zak- resort on Island Grove Terrace, but she
declined, investigators said. The vic-
tim told police the two had only know
each other for 30 to 45 minutes.

Zakerhaghighi then asked to see her
hotel room, the victim recalled. The
two were standing by the bed when he
began fondling her, court documents
claim. He tried to have sex with her,
but she said no. When he kept trying,
she told police she asked him to put on
a condom. He refused and allegedly
had sex with her anyway.

A sexual assault exam done by a
doctor the following day seemed to
confirm her allegation.

Later, the two went back to the deck
and met with the victim’s family. When
Zakerhaghighi left, the young woman
told her parents what happened.

“[The victim] kept saying throughout
the investigation that when she went
up to her room with Zakerhaghighi
she did not want to have sex with him
and did not know that was what he was
planning on doing. She kept saying she
thought he really just wanted to see her
room,” the detective wrote.

The woman’s mother told investiga-
tors that Zakerhaghighi knew about her
daughter’s schizophrenia and that due
to her mental defect, she was unable to
make important decisions on her own.

The victim later identified Zaker-
haghighi in a photo lineup. She also
spoke with him on a recorded line un-
der police surveillance.

Zakerhaghighi denied the two had
sex. “[He] said that they laid down on
the bed and he kissed her and they
played around a little bit, but they did
not have sex,” the warrant affidavit al-
leges. “He asked [the victim] if she was
sure she was not imagining it.”

Zakerhaghighi eventually acknowl-
edged he was drinking that night and
he did not remember what happened.

When the woman told Zakerhaghighi
that she felt like he took advantage of
her and her mental state, the man asked
what that had to do with anything, re-
cords show.

“He said that if he finds somebody
that he really cares for and they have a
deficiency like her, it does not bother
him,” the warrant affidavit states. 

EASTER EGG HUNT IS HOPPY
OCCASION FOR HONEY BUNNIES P. 28

12 Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

‘Cause for Paws’: Doing everything Humane-ly possible

Texa Gaya, Gena Grove, Fritz Spitzmiller and Rossana Diaz Harper. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 14
Page Franzel and Diane Langevin.

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF took in the broad array of silent- far as Atlanta to pick up pets. There to keep animals “out of the Shelter
Staff Writer auction items and, electronic bidding are only two shelters now in the state and in loving homes” for 65 years
paddles in hand, entered into a good- that do this,” said Mandel. and, having been held for more than
It was raining cats and dogs last natured bidding war over animal- three decades, Cause for Paws is one
Tuesday evening as more than 300 centric items, jewelry, art, wine, golf Mandel also provided information of the longest continuously running
animal lovers battled their way outings and entertainment packages. about several new programs in fundraisers in the county, according
through a torrential thunderstorm The bidding continued after dinner, the works such as their cat and to Mandel.
to the Oak Harbor Club to attend the where guests had a barking good kitten foster program, which has
Cause for Paws 2018 fundraiser to time competing for an exceptional enabled the shelter to put more cats Commenting that the event was
benefit the Humane Society of Vero lineup of live-auction items. up for adoption than ever before. very successful, he added, “our
Beach and Indian River County. Last month the HSVBIRC hosted overall goal for the event is to raise
Michael Mandel, HSVBIRC Real House Cats of Vero Beach, in the neighborhood of $300,000,
Soggy but determined guests were executive director, showed a brief successfully adopting out more than which is our biggest fundraiser of the
flooded with puppy love as a pack of video that highlighted dogs on 40 kitties. year. It’s really just a terrific group of
canine goodwill ambassadors greet- a playdate in the Play Dogs Play supporters that come out year after
ed them with tail-wagging enthu- canine behavior program and gave Through a grant from the Indian year to support the Humane Society
siasm. The quartet of furry friends an update on the progress of the River Community Foundation, the that makes this possible. We literally
included Nala, a shy 7-year-old; Fer- pooches rescued from Puerto Rico in Humane Society will be taking their couldn’t do it without them. All of
nando, who fancies himself a lapdog; the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. As show on the road with a new Pet Spot the new programs that we have are
2-year-old Charlotte, who is seeking the emotional reunions of families Mobile Adoption Unit and Clinic. supported by this group of people.”
a running partner; and Chance, the with their dogs played out on screen, The mobile outreach unit will enable
couch potato of the crew. he noted that the shelter will soon them to host offsite adoptions and HSVBIRC will hold its annual Bless-
initiate a third reunification. bring clinic services to South County ing of the Animals, May 5 at 10 a.m.
After dutifully bestowing back and Gifford. in the Volunteer Pavilion. For more in-
scratches and belly rubs, attendees “We’ve had people come from as formation, visit hsvb.org. 
The Humane Society has worked



14 Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 Neil Saffer, Janet Baines and Joe Reed. Henry and Lala Maresi with Liz Susman.
Mary Ryan, Michael Mandel and Annette Miller.

Teresa Ingram and Hal Oberkotter. Laura and Bobby Guttridge.

Alex Acevedo and Chance with Patricia and Mark Ashdown.

Jeremy Schwibner and Dr. Jenna Schwibner. Heidi and Tim Whybrew.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 15

PEOPLE

Richard Boga, Toni Abraham, Kelly Holm and Xaque Gruber. John Wolf and Lynn Weiskittel with Susie and Bryant Alford. PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 17
Ellie and Bob McCabe with Linda and Dan Downey.

Susan and Gus Fowler with Fernando. Elizabeth Smith and Susan Smith.

Virginia and Warren Schwerin with Peggy Bradt.

Sarah Testa and Andrew Kennedy. Andy and Paulette Sowers.

16 Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15 Joe and Dana Stonelake. Nancy and Charlie Depp.
Susan Jewett with Russell and Avery Twiss.

Maxine Gallagher, Kathy Bennett, Pam Harmon and Amy Patterson. Jordan and Sayre Schwiering with Lyndal and Chris Hill.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 17

PEOPLE

True to their school: St. Ed’s community fetes Wachters

BY MARY SCHENKEL
Staff Writer

An invited audience of Saint Ed- Joanie Wachter with Amy Wachter Diggers, Asher Diggers, Bruce Wachter and Carrie Wachter Morris. PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18
ward’s School alumni, parents and
supporters gathered Saturday after- PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE
noon to bid a fond farewell to their
friends and colleagues Bruce and
Joanie Wachter. Bruce Wachter is re-
signing in June as Associate Head
of School and Head of Upper School
after 45 years working at the private
barrier island school, and wife Joanie
is retiring as Lower School technology
coordinator after 40 years there.

Lauded by one and all, the speak-
ers included Peter Benedict, Head of
School from 1971 to 1995, who hired
Wachter and called his retirement a
“wow moment” in the history of Saint
Edward’s School. Benedict reminisced
with great fondness about his many
years working with Wachter, adding
that he had been blessed to have him
as his wingman.

“His shoes, large both literally and
figuratively, will be extremely difficult
to fill,” said Kevin Barry, current board

Peter and Nancy Benedict with Davis and Peter Benedict II.

chairman. “Every person who succeeds Christine and Kevin Barry.
him will be judged by the Wachter stan-
dard, and that is one that he has set at
the highest level for this school.”

Mike Mersky, Head of School since
2009, also recollected their time to-
gether with affection, saying, “Bruce
Wachter is a man who has singularly
devoted his entire professional career
to one school and one school only. La-
dies and gentlemen, that is by far, be-
yond rare. That kind of devotion and
love simply will never happen again;
not just in independent schools, but in
any profession in our future.”

Wachter brought his appreciative
audience to their feet after relating
with emotion some of his wonder-
ful experiences at the school and the
community that he and Joanie love.

A full story on Wachter’s career ap-
pears in the News section. 

18 Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17 Kay and Keith Kite with Marsha Sherry. Denise Corr, Robin Williams and George Corr.
Bruce Wachter with Heidi and Lorne Waxlax.

Ba Stone, with Lyn and Tony Buford, and Jean and Jim Ueltschi. Father Tommy Matthews, Peter Benedict, Bruce Wachter and Mike Mersky.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 19

PEOPLE

RIchard and Barbara Cahoy with Bob and Sue Stone. Linda and Dan Downey. Dana Pratt, Jennifer Watson, and Emily Burgoon.

Adrian and Kathy Smith with Carol and Paul Kanarek. Bobby and Laura Bird with Rick and Julie Hartley. Kathy and Ron Edwards.

20 Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Just checking! Quail Valley Charities hands out $550K

Wanda Lincoln, Kevin Given, Trudie Rainone and Carol Fischman. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE Ken Willis, Avril Flemming and Margaret Button with Cathye and Bill Motta.

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF annual breakfast at the Quail Valley amazing to look around this room
Staff Writer River Club last Monday morning. and to know what’s going to happen
after you leave.”
Quail Valley Charities organizers The grants are funded through
cheerfully presented checks totaling proceeds from Quail Valley Cup Redner introduced and thanked
$550,000 to 35 local nonprofit orga- Charity Week, which has grown from Kathy Mulvey, widow of founding
nization programs having a focus on a two-day golf tournament with 12 partner Steve Mulvey, for continu-
children and education during their beneficiaries to more than a week’s ing to support Quail Valley Charities
worth of activities. and its vision, adding “we’re chang-
ing the lives of so many children in
Candace MacMillan and Joan Cook. our wonderful community.”

“We’re very honored to be part- In addition to providing much-
ners with each of you,” said Kevin needed funding, QVC produced a
Given, Quail Valley managing part- volunteer booklet with information
ner. “As our organization has grown about each of the nonprofits, which
from a charitable standpoint, so has will be shared with their member-
our internal organization. We’ve ship to educate and perhaps interest
grown from three to 282 employees members in volunteering with some
now over the 18-year history.” of the nonprofits.

Before turning the microphone Grants were awarded to: Ballet
over to Wanda Lincoln, QVC ex- Vero Beach, Big Brothers Big Sisters,
ecutive chair, Trudie Rainone, vice Boys & Girls Clubs, CASTLE, Child-
chair, and Martha Redner, executive care Resources, Children’s Home
director, he added, “Today when the Society, Crossover Mission, Dasie
ladies give out the checks it will be a Hope Center, Education Founda-
cumulative total of $6 million. That tion, Environmental Learning Cen-
would not be possible without each ter, Feed the Lambs Enrichment
and every one of you in the room Program, Gifford Youth Achieve-
who have contributed tons of sweat ment Center, Gifford Youth Orches-
hours, volunteer hours and guid- tra, Hibiscus Children’s Center,
ance on children over the years.” Healthy Start Coalition, Sheriff’s
Office Explorers Post 556, Laura
“What day is it?” asked Lincoln. (Riding) Jackson Foundation, Life-
To which the crowd responded em- Builders of the Treasure Coast,
phatically, “The best day ever!” McKee Botanical Garden, Mental
Health Association, Quail Valley
“We try very hard to raise as much Employee Education Fund, Red-
money as we can so that you can lands Christian Migrant Associa-
have what you need to do the work. tion, Samaritan Center, Scholarship
You are the important ones. You Foundation, Special Equestrians,
are the ones that do the work,” said Special Olympics, Striving 4 Suc-
Lincoln, pointing out that while the cess, Substance Awareness Center,
sentiment “children are our future” The Learning Alliance, Vero Beach
may be trite – it’s also true. “It’s Museum of Art, Victory Kids, VNA &
Hospice Foundation, Willis Sports
Association, Women’s Care Center
and Youth Guidance. 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 21

PEOPLE

Stephanie MacWilliam, Stacey Barnett and Elizabeth Thomason. Rachel Heddings, Michelle Borisenok, Joanna Meyers and Judi Miller. Linda Downey, Adam Schnell and Kelly Ward.

Amy Gullikson, Felix Cruz and Kim Prado. Susan Temple, Trudie Rainone and Cynthia Falardeau. Susan Kintner, Cathy Cronin and Karla Spooner.

22 Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

‘Whatever it takes’: Super support for Answer to Cancer

BY MARY SCHENKEL Terry Leggett, Lori McCormick, Dr. Stephen Patterson, Carole Casey and Mary Cleworth. PHOTOS: MARY SCHENKLE opportunity for us to get in front of the
Staff Writer patient when newly diagnosed so that
coping with the devastating disease, cancer process. This year funding will you have someone with you to educate
Grand Harbor residents and friends honor survivors and remember those also be used to purchase AccuVein you, answer questions, navigate
packed the Grand Harbor Golf Club who lost their battle. technology, to enable accurate through your continual care,” said
last Monday evening for another sold- venipuncture for chemotherapy Webster. “We just help people get
out Answer to Cancer event, which The initial money raised was used to patients. through that and stand by their side
since 2005 has raised and donated improve patient care facilities. More from diagnosis to cure; diagnosis to
close to $600,000 to fund projects and recently it funded the introduction of “It means so much to the the end, whatever it takes for them.”
equipment through the Indian River DigniCaps, which cool hair follicles to community, what you do,” said Casey,
Medical Center Foundation to what is help chemo patients keep their hair. before introducing Sandy Webster, “You really have had a marked
now the Scully-Welsh Cancer Center. Funding last year and again this year the “nurse navigator supreme” who impact on our ability to help patients
supports the Patient Care Navigation assisted her during her husband’s within the cancer center. You are
The annual day-long fundraiser, Program, which assists patients and illness. helping to support programs that
which features a gorgeous day on the families throughout the complicated make a difference in the quality of
links followed by cocktails, auctions, “Navigation is really just an life of our patients,” said Dr. James
raffles and a gourmet buffet dinner, Grichnik, Scully-Welsh medical
was originally founded by Carole director. “We really do appreciate
Plante and the late Don Casey, whose all the work that you do on behalf of
wife Carole picked up the standard our patients as we try to help people
last year. With her characteristic get through some very challenging
indomitable spirit, she continued this times.”
year with co-chair Terry Leggett.
Dr. Stephen Patterson, the
“This doesn’t happen without a huge oncologist who treated Don Casey,
army of people,” said Casey, thanking said that as caregivers they see the
generous sponsors, the hard-working impact the money raised makes on
committee, Grand Harbor staff and lives of patients coping with a cancer
the many attendees who continue to diagnosis. “All of us really appreciate
support efforts to assist individuals your efforts,” he said. 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 23

PEOPLE

Ken Penrose and Barbara Cosgrove with Linda and Mel Teetz. Helen Collings and Henriette Churney. Myra Burns, Susanne Sweeny and Liz Bruner.

Paul and Toni Teresi with Armund and Marie Ek. Dr. John Lindsey and Tom Kennedy. Sheila Iodice, Edel Levermore and Debbie Bierworth.

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Celebrating Over 25
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Suite 101

Vero Beach, Florida

772.562.5859

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Ralph M. Rosato
MD, FACS

24 Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Three-mendous! ‘Head, Heart and Hands’ helps nonprofits

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF Linda Scott, Jack Liddle, Elizabeth Thomason and Mary Weiss. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE Grants were awarded to: Big
Staff Writer Brothers Big Sisters, Boys &
needing physical therapy to overcome since its inception, increasing its Girls Clubs of IRC, Childcare
Indian River Club residents use physical, occupational and speech funding from an inaugural $40,000 to Resources of IR, Children’s Home
their heads, hearts and hands to effect difficulties, providing at-risk teens an more than $133,000 this year. Society, Crossover Mission,
change in our community through opportunity to learn responsibility Economic Opportunities Council
charitable giving and works, paying through sports, and assisting the “You are the human foundation for of IRC, Education Foundation
it forward to those less fortunate. At a unemployed and homeless obtain Indian River County. What you do goes of IRC, Gifford Youth Orchestra,
poolside Grant Award Ceremony last employment through job training and above and beyond the expectations Hibiscus Children’s Center,
Friday afternoon, the Indian River Club placement programs. of any community I’ve ever been in,” St. Francis Manor, Sunshine
Foundation extended a helping hand said Perry, speaking to the agency Physical Therapy Clinic, The
to 15 community nonprofit agencies “These 15 organizations have an representatives. Source, United Against Poverty
through its Head, Heart and Hands opportunity to grow, expand and serve IR, Vero Beach Museum of Art,
Community Outreach Program, our community even better with these As the representatives each gave and Youth Guidance Mentoring
formed by residents in 2013. grants. There are only two sources a brief presentation to outline their & Activities Program. 
of money that come into our grant organizations’ mission and share
“We have an outstanding speaker program: individual donations and our details about the programs the grants Cindi Siepel and Samantha Ramlall.
series and that’s the head,” said golf outing charity event,” explained will fund, their appreciation for
Marybeth Cunningham, board Ed Perry, grant review facilitator. the support was effusive. Likewise, behalf of others.
chairman. “We have a fabulous one grant committee member after “If you look at all of the organizations
foundation and that’s our heart, and The Indian River Club has another offered thanks to the nonprofit
we have an amazing group of people distributed roughly $350,000 in grants representatives for the work done on that we have donated to today and all
that volunteer; that’s our hands.” of the organizations that are serving
this community, I think we can be
The Indian River Community comfortable that tomorrow is going to
Foundation assisted their grant review be better than it was yesterday,” said
committee to develop the proposal Perry. “These organizations really
request, process the applications deserve our support and our thanks.” 
and evaluate the submissions. The
proposal request was sent out to
more than 100 local nonprofits, and
of the more than 30 applications they
received, 15 earned grants this year.
The nine-member grant review team
reviewed all the proposals and made
site visits to ensure the investments
being made on behalf of the residents
had merit.

Grant recipients run the gamut and
included giving educational support
to young children, helping seniors
living in low-income housing, children

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 25

PEOPLE

Maureen Archer, Lynne House, Tony Zorbaugh, Kevin McCormack and Joe Eriksen. Tom Lincoln, Felix Cruz, Kim Prado, Cindy Kelley and Sheryl Overcash.

Annabel Robertson, Shannon Bowman, Kim Lorimier and Debbie Hawley. Cathy De Schouwer, Jim Weiss, Deb Lockwood and Elizabeth Thomason.

Marybeth Cunningham, Ed Perry and Yamilet Cendejas. Nancy McCurry, Steve Corrick and Angela Davis-Green.

26 Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Odes to joy of reading at Love of Literacy Luncheon

Jessica Schmitt, Peter Walker and Michelle Servos. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE Tatiana Gonzalez, Jenny Hancock and Gary Williams.

BY MARY SCHENKEL of Literacy Services of Indian River adventure reading. “That opened numerous achievements of their
Staff Writer County, welcoming guests to the 18th up a whole world. And I got into a hardworking students.
annual Love of Literacy Luncheon at habit that I still do today, and that’s
“This organization has a the Vero Beach Country Club. reading every night for about 45 Servos presented Don Mann with
tremendous history and I’m excited minutes before bed,” said Tougias, the Barbara Levere Outstanding
to be part of its future as we carry This year’s guest speaker was adding that a Yale University study Service Award in recognition of
on the important mission and Michael Tougias, a New York Times indicated that people who read daily his 11 years of tireless service to
work towards our vision of ending bestselling author of 29 maritime- live longer. the organization as a tutor, board
generational illiteracy,” said Jessica related books. He shared that he was member and board president.
Schmitt, the new executive director heading to a “life of trouble” in the Tougias held everyone’s attention
seventh grade until he discovered as he talked about his non-fiction “Prior to Don joining the board,
book “So Close to Home,” which our annual revenue was less than
tells the harrowing survival story $90,000; our annual revenue now
of a family of four whose freighter is three times that amount,” Servos
was struck by a U-boat off the New said, which has led to increased
Orleans coastline during WWII. staffing and programs to serve
additional students.
Prior to his talk, Schmitt
recognized Nat Jackson, one of the Mann spoke about his time
1971 founders of the nonprofit, with the organization, noting in
for her vision, leadership and particular the wonderful efforts
dedication. She thanked sponsors of the tutors. “Without the tutors,
and attendees, saying “literacy is we’d be nowhere,” said Mann.
an essential aspect of our everyday “They change lives. They change
life. Your support today helps local livelihoods.”
adults not only read; it helps them
succeed.” Two of those whose lives have
been demonstrably changed for the
“In 2017 we served over 330 stu- better were also honored and re-
dents with invaluable assistance of ceived standing ovations for their
160 volunteer tutors,” said Michelle efforts – Gary Williams as Literacy
Servos, board president, citing the Student of the Year, tutored by Jenny
Hancock; and Tatiana Gonzalez as

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 27

PEOPLE

Herb Fitz Gibbon and author Michael Tougias. Alma Lee Loy, Don Mann and Nat Jackson. Stella Covill, Loraine Day and Ann Marie McCrystal.

Lenora Ritchie and Geri Smith. Elizabeth Borne, Katy Healy and Michelle Servos. Linda Anselini and Val Kamladze.

Larry Salustro, Angelica Ramirez, Juan Ramirez, Alejandra Garcia, Frank Harkins and Jose Zamarripa.

ESL (English as a Second Language) Carmen and Bob Stork.
Student of the Year, tutored by Clau-
dia Haller.

With enthusiastic determination,
Williams has accomplished goals set
last July, including being able to read
his bible, read to his grandchildren,
and to learn cursive writing so that
he could sign his signature. “I always
felt lost because I could not read,”
said Williams. “I have hope now. I do
not feel lost anymore.”

Gonzalez worked with her tutor
for two years and has not only gotten
a better job, but has also received
her U.S. citizenship and now plans
to get her GED. “Being able to read
and write English makes me more
comfortable in my new country,” she
said proudly. 

28 Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Easter Egg Hunt is hoppy occasion for honey bunnies

The 59th annual Easter Egg Hunt hosted by
the City of Vero Beach Recreation Department
once again drew swarms of little ones clutch-
ing Easter baskets and pails to the grassy area
and the beach in front of Mulligan’s Beach
House, all eager to seek out sweet goodies
placed into colorful plastic eggs. The race was
on as youngsters, some even sporting their
own bunny ears, made a mad dash for the
treats; the older ones secure in their quest and
the baffled younger ones gently urged on by
their parents. 

Dr. Kathy Plower with T.J. Debbie and Landon Rye with Korbin.

Brinley and Riley Novotny. Haley and Alaina. PHOTOS: GORDON RADFORD



30 Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Sheehy shares caregiving secrets for ‘Successful Aging’

BY MARY SCHENKEL Peggy Cunningham, Gail Sheehy and Trudie Rainone. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE “The secret of caregiving success
Staff Writer took me years to discover. Quite sim-
Sheehy’s New York Times-bestsell- and professionals - saying “you are the ply, we cannot do it alone; no one
Taking ‘aging gracefully’ to the next ing 1976 book “Passages: Predictable backbone holding up our mostly bro- can. We must create a circle of care,”
level, the Alzheimer & Parkinson Asso- Crises of Adult Life” addressed the ken healthcare system.” said Sheehy, describing a network of
ciation of Indian River County drew a developmental stages of adults. In familial and outside support. “And
full house to the Oak Harbor Club last her follow-up 2010 book, “Passages in She said it generally takes a long then we have to come to believe that
Friday for its inaugural Successful Ag- Caregiving: Turning Chaos into Con- time for people to realize and ac- we deserve to ask for help.”
ing Luncheon featuring guest speaker fidence,” Sheehy delved into her laby- cept that they have a new role – that
Gail Sheehy. rinthine role of caregiver during the of family caregiver. “It’s a job nobody Describing the eight stages or ‘cri-
17 years following the cancer diagno- applies for, we don’t expect it, most of sis points’ faced by caregiver and pa-
In her welcome, Peggy Cunning- sis of her late husband, Clay Felker, us won’t be prepared,” said Sheehy. tient alike, Sheehy shared with the
ham, Alzheimer & Parkinson execu- founder of New York Magazine. She added that 60 million Americans audience the challenging and emo-
tive director, said they hope to host a struggle along that unpredictable tional journey she and Felker experi-
nationally recognized speaker each Sheehy recognized the caregiv- path, as a caregiver for another adult enced, from the initial shock of diag-
spring to speak about wellness, longev- ers in the audience - family members who was once independent. nosis through to the ‘long goodbye.’
ity and successful aging. She noted that
proceeds from the event will help fund The Alzheimer and Parkinson As-
programs and services that assist local sociation offers free Social Respite
families and caregivers who are trying programs at its Center for Memory
to manage the daily care of individuals and Motion in Vero Beach and at
with dementia or movement disorders. off-site locations in Gifford and Se-
bastian. The program provides care-
Presenting sponsor and board mem- givers with several hours of time
ber Trudie Rainone introduced Sheehy, for themselves, confident that their
a world-renowned, award-winning au- loved ones are in a safe, social envi-
thor, journalist and lecturer, saying, ronment.
“Gail Sheehy has changed the way mil-
lions of men and women around the For more information, visit alz-
world look at the stages of their lives.” park.org. 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 31

PEOPLE

Michelle Borisenok, Becky Allen and Joanna Meyers. Sue Stutzke and Stacey Schubert. Patsy Howard, Ann McEvoy and Mary Ross.

Trish Goff and Carol Baldwin. Mary Lewisy, Kathy Mulvey and Carol Fischman. Deborah Crum and Bruce McEvoy,

32 Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

In kids cancer fight, ‘Brave the Shave’ is a cut above

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF
Staff Writer

More than 100 men, women and Roger Dion, Suzy Dupuis, Joey Richter, Anthony Dekker and Kyler Harley-Oppel. PHOTOS: STEPHANIE LABAFF Jayme and Val Bryan with children Princeton,
children took up the challenge to Brave Ireland, Sparrow and Ocean.
the Shave last Saturday afternoon at Although much has been accom-
Capt. Hiram’s at the sixth annual St. plished since the 1950s when nearly all fects from the treatment, from the can-
Baldrick’s fundraiser. A trifecta of children diagnosed with cancer died, cer or the cancer comes back. We need
goodwill, the event raises funds for more children are still lost to cancer in to save 100 percent of the kids, 20 per-
childhood cancer research, raises the U.S. each year than any other dis- cent is not enough,” stressed Elward.
awareness, and is a statement to the ease. Alarmingly, one in 285 children
children and families suffering from is diagnosed with cancer before they The day was filled with emotion as
the debilitating disease that “we’ve got reach the age of 20. parents shared their children’s touch-
your back.” ing stories; offering testimonials from
“When we first started with St. Bal- some whose children were lost to can-
Shavees gave new meaning to “leav- cer, others who are fighting the disease
ing it all on the stage,” as their lovely and even those now labeled NED (no
locks were shorn by clipper-wielding, evidence of disease).
volunteer barbers who performed a
symphony of sweet buzzing music, Businesses, firefighters, civic or-
much to the delight of the enthusiastic ganizations and individuals from all
crowd. walks of life volunteered to brave the
shave Saturday, in the process raising
The message shavees sent to their more than $100,000 to help fund child-
pint-sized friends – bald is beautiful! hood cancer research.
For most, having one’s head shaved is a
daunting undertaking. But for children St. Baldrick’s has funded $234 mil-
with cancer, it’s just one of the many lion in research grant funding since
obstacles they must face during their 2005, all in an effort to fulfill its mission
fight against the frightening disease. to find cures for childhood cancers and
to give survivors long and healthy lives.
Kiersten King.
As 6-year-old cancer survivor Will
drick’s a child was diagnosed every Alvey succinctly summed it up, “I hate
three minutes. Now a child is diag- cancer. It hurts kids and I want to get
nosed every two minutes,” shared rid of it.”
Missy Elward, event co-chair with
Frank ‘Cookie’ Mannino. “There’s no For more information, visit stbal-
money for pediatric cancer research. dricks.org. 
The American Cancer Society gives
.01 percent to kids and only 4 percent
of U.S. federal funding is dedicated to
childhood cancer research.”

Brave the Shave and other St. Bal-
drick’s events around the country fund
much-needed research grants and ad-
vocacy efforts.

“One in five loses the battle. Two out
of those five suffer long-term side ef-

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 33

PEOPLE

Alison Sutton, Andrew Hamel and Missy Elward. Sabre King, Troy King, Kiersten King, Douglas King and Frank Mannino. Joe Hahn, Aidan King and Jack King (front);
Albert Alvarez Jr., John King and Albert Alvarez (back).

Shirley Hall and Jody Smith. Ron Blank and Shawn Venazio.

Rebecca Turner with Ryleigh. Bob Youhas and Anne Padnuk.

Isabella Camargo, Donovan Camargo and Jill Farris. Casie Shimansky and Cyndi Smith.

34 Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Clipping along: Salute to youth sailors at ‘Rock the Boat’

BY MARY SCHENKEL
Staff Writer

A sold-out crowd of 250 guests additions include six racing Optimists Bill Walker with Chris and Charlie Pope and Bobbi Walker. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE
gathered to ‘Rock the Boat’ at the donated in memory of the late Windsor
Moorings Yacht and Country Club resident David T. Shelby.
last Sunday evening, celebrating
the growth of the Youth Sailing As guests enjoyed cocktails and
Foundation of Indian River County perused silent-auction items, they
and anticipating its future expansion. watched from the balcony as YSF
sailors showed off skills on the water.
Just over eight years ago, roughly 50 Plans are currently underway to build
local children were given the gift of a Community Sailing Center to provide
sailing thanks to YSF founder Charlie public access to sailing, boat rentals
Pope and the support of dedicated and storage.
donors and accomplished mariners.
Pope said nearly 900 children have “Community sailing is the fastest
since gone through the program.

“We take kids out of the digital world
and put them in the world of wind and
waves,” said Stu Keiller, YSF executive
director.

YSF began with a small fleet of one-
person wooden Optimist sailboats and
today more than 100 youngsters are
capturing the wind in their sails in a
fleet of 66 sailboats; younger children
in Optis and high-schoolers in two-
person, 14-foot 420s. Recent fleet

PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 36
Pat and Julia Harris with Emilie and George Hinman.

growing part of sailing,” said Keiller. the long-term goal of the Sailing Cen-
“That’s where most of the input into ter. “When your model is free sailing,
sailing comes; not from private clubs you have to hold things like this to
and yacht clubs. We’re trying to get provide more opportunities for more
a sliver of the power plant to put the kids.”
building there.”
“We’ve expanded 30 percent this
“We grow organically,” said Pat Har- year in the number of boats on the wa-
ris, YSF board chair, noting the addi- ter,” said board member George Hin-
tion of the Shelby Racing Team, paid man. A past Commodore of New York
adult lessons and private lessons, and Yacht Club, he and board member

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Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 35

PEOPLE

David Elwell know a bit about sailing questions posed by the guests. your crew or sometimes with the other board and it levels the boat back out.”
– they won the America’s Cup on In- “I think the best part is being able boats.” In addition to sailing skills, the
trepid in 1967. “It’s great for us to give
something back to these kids.” to make your own decisions,” said Landon Flick, who attends Rosewood program is infusing youngsters with
Brendan Williams, a member of the Magnet, said he really liked hiking, self-confidence and skills that will
During a delicious dinner and High School Sailing Team. “You’re in adding in explanation to landlubbers, continue to buoy them throughout
before a spirited live auction began, control of the entire boat, independent, “if your boat goes up on the side, you their entire lives.
YSF sailors circulated and answered but you’re also working as a team with have to lean back and become like a
For more information, visit ysfirc.org. 

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36 Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 34 Louise and Tom Kappus. Helene Jefferson with Bill and Janet Krueger.
Diane and Stu Keiller.

Babs and Tony Tremaine. Nelson and Gretchen Cover.

Mary Morgan and Ann Storch. Joel and Melissa Shine.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 37

PEOPLE

Greg Gerber with Drs. Joanne and Peter Wernicki. George and Elke Fetterolf with Gabi Richter and Frank Baudach.

Gali and James Dupay. Richard Schlitt and Debbie Brenner. Ann and Jay Storch. Mylee Smith and Shae Riley.

38 Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

‘Top’ winners: Chef Dobson and ‘Hope for Families’

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF
Staff Writer

Chef Lincoln Dobson of Sea Oaks Chefs Anthony Polito, Bill Narhi, Lincoln Dobson and James Foerst. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE
Beach and Tennis Club completed a
double sweep, winning the Judges’ items, purchased raffle tickets and First up was Narhi who presented Likening HFC families to a puzzle,
and People’s Choice awards and moved about trying to make room for a veal roulade, stuffed with spinach, she said, “It’s made up of individual
taking home the title of Vero’s Top the next explosion of deliciousness, roasted red peppers, Parmesan and pieces. When put together properly it
Chef 2018 at the 10th anniversary when each of the culinary creations Asiago cheeses, served with a Marsala makes a picture. Our people come to
Vero’s Top Chef Challenge Finale last tempted the gourmands to clean their wine braising liquor atop a morel us broken; the puzzle is not complete.
Monday evening at Bent Pine Golf plates anew. mushroom risotto and carrots Vichy. We help them put that puzzle back
Club to benefit the Hope for Families together.”
Center. Polito created a masterful duck con-
fit with foie gras ravioli, topped with HFC client Jeff Hindelang shared
Dobson and the other finalists, shaved fennel, black truffle foam, that when he turned to the center,
Chef Bill Narhi of Vero Beach Yacht aged pecorino and macerated Sum- unemployed and homeless as a single
Club, Chef Anthony Polito from mer Crush Vineyard muscadine grape father of three young children, he had
Regency Park and Chef James Foerst reduction. no idea how to give his kids the life
of Michaels Table at Orchid Island they deserved. “I was between a rock
Brewery, had made it through to Dobson’s wood-grilled ribeye-cap and a hard place and almost had to
the finale during the qualifying tenderloin with port wine reduction give my children up to the state.”
event earlier in the month, and drew was topped with coconut gungo
beforehand for proteins and serving lobster risotto, tricolored baby carrot Thanks to donor support, he and
positions. Chef David Schneider, the bundle, Parmesan coconut crisps and others are now able to get their lives
2016 Top Chef winner, led a trio of Osceola Farms micro blend. back in order. The Hope for Families
local judges that also included Jeff Center is the largest shelter serving
Mather and Thomas Miller. Foerst closed the meal with a spicy families on the Treasure Coast,
black grouper cheek, accompanied by providing them a safe place to get
To fill the time between entrees, Belle Glades street corn, jumbo lump back on their feet through various
guests mulled over silent-auction crab, aioli sauce and rice timbales. counseling, programs and support.

Fully sated, guests still made room For more information, visit
for dessert, listening as Diana Grossi, hopeforfamiliescenter.org. 
HFC executive director spoke.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 39

PEOPLE

Top Chef judges Jeff Mather, Thomas Miller and David Schneider. Tracy Bates, Jeff Hindelang and Molly Mills.

Chef Anthony Polito’s Duck Confit with Foie Gras Ravioli. Chef James Foerst’s Black Grouper Cheek. PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 40
Lila Stillman, Gloria Pappalardo and Kitty Kirby.

40 Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

PHPOHTOOTSOSCOCNOTNITNIUNEUDEDFROONMPPAAGGEE431 9 Chef Lincoln Dobson’s Beef Tenderloin.
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APP-RECIATION FOR TECHNO CHIC
AT ‘CODED COUTURE’ EXHIBIT

42 Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

‘Buyer & Cellar’: Swept away in Barbra’s basement

Remy Germinario as Alex More.

BY PAM HARBAUGH wife, Barbra.
Correspondent If you have to ask “Barbra who?”

There are more characters on the then perhaps you’ll want to skip this
Waxlax Stage at Riverside Theatre in play. But the rest of you should get to
Jonathan Tolins’ one-man play, “Buyer Riverside Theatre right away to see
& Cellar,” than you might expect. something witty and engaging and
surprising as can be.
In the hands of actor Remy Ger-
minario, we see a struggling actor Here’s the dizzying secret … and
named Alex More as he becomes an don’t worry, you find this out in the
unlikely cast – from his boyfriend and first few moments: Barbra has amassed
a supercilious boss to celebrated Hol- SO much over her years of singing and
lywood couple James Brolin and his directing and acting that she rivals
Oprah in her possessions. (Or maybe

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 43

ARTS & THEATRE

a French arcade in her basement, and rest of life go by so slowly.”
his unexpected relationship with the But is it just that he has entered her
legend.
self-centered orbit for a while? Is he yet
Especially fun is the sequence in another piece of her collection residing
which More fascinates Barbra with his in the cellar?
improvised story behind a particular
doll. She offers to buy it. Yes, she already This is a smart, engaging play writ-
actually owns it, but where’s the game ten with affection and “a passion for
in that? More then comes up with an Barbra.” Both those who adore the leg-
exorbitant price tag and Barbra walks end and those who deplore the legend
away. It’s the game that catches her should enjoy this play.
eye and results in what he believes is a
friendship between the two. “Buyer & Cellar” runs through April
8 on the Waxlax Stage at Riverside The-
He thinks she likes him and sees a atre, 3250 Riverside Drive, Vero Beach.
human connection. After all, she says, Tickets are $55. Call 772-231-6990 or
“being on the mountaintop makes the visit RiversideTheatre.com. 

that’s the other way around.) Crowell, who keeps the actor’s living
Not wanting to part with a thing, she room suitably spare, giving space and
imagination to the massive cellar and
has turned the basement of her Malibu numerous spaces into which Germi-
estate into her own private shopping nario brings you.
mall, made to resemble a “quiet French
arcade.” A trio of large screens is the clean
backdrop onto which projections of
For real. Indeed, she was quoted in Barbra’s estate, architectural drawings
Harper’s Bazaar as saying, “Instead of and quirky cameos pop up.
just storing my things in my basement,
I can make a street of shops and dis- The action begins in the dark, with
play them.” the actor sitting in a comfy chair and lis-
tening to Barbra’s recording of “Memo-
There’s the doll shop, the clothes ries.” He quickly picks up her book, “My
shop with gorgeous gowns she’s worn Passion for Design,” which is a self-con-
in films, the gift shoppe, an antiques gratulatory coffee table book about Bar-
shop, the popcorn shop, the frozen yo- bra’s Malibu compound … with photos
gurt shop … by Barbra.

And in the play, which is pure fic- With Brennan’s adroit direction and
tion, there’s the shop attendant, More. Germinario’s stage ease and utter lik-
Having lost his job as a costumed char- ability, the play zips by. As he interacts
acter at Disneyland and desperate for with the audience and fights with his
employment, he takes the job as cellar boyfriend, you end up feeling as if you
shop attendant, who spends his hours have spent nearly two entertaining
waiting for the one customer to ven- hours in the actor’s Los Angeles apart-
ture downstairs. ment, re-living his astounding gig, the
jaw-dropping reality that Barbra has
Director James Brennan is well
served by his scenic designer Richard

44 Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

App-reciation for techno chic at ‘Coded Couture’ exhibit

BY ELLEN FISCHER Coded Couture exhibition.
Columnist
PHOTOS BY BENJAMIN THACKER
Mostly not ready for “ready to wear,”
the Coded Couture exhibition at the
Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts on
the campus of Florida Institute of
Technology set its sights on the future
intersection of bespoke clothing and
technology.

The statement at the entrance to the
exhibition explains the meaning be-
hind the show’s title. “To code is to con-
vert a piece of information into another
form,” while Couture is the idea of cus-
tomized wearables, tailor-made to the
measurements and taste of a specific
individual. Coded Couture is what re-
sults when a designer uses coding “to
convert a consumer’s personal infor-
mation into a custom garment.”

By itself, the word couture evokes
an insular world of privilege and lux-
ury. Coded Couture proposes that,
equipped with computerized coding
technology, anyone with an iPhone can
design a wardrobe based not only on
personalized measurements, but also
on an individual’s psychological make-

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 45

ARTS & THEATRE

Coded Couture was organized in The tie-in to educational institu-
Brooklyn, New York, at Pratt Institute’s tions is apt: Today’s university stu-
Department of Exhibitions by the in- dents are digitally primed to under-
dependent curatorial team of Ginger stand and appreciate the marriage of
Gregg Duggan of Orlando and Judith technology and art.
Hoos Fox of Boston.
The FIT technology students who
The Ruth Funk Center is the fourth visit the show “love it,” says gallery do-
art museum to host the exhibition after cent Bernadette Mathews. “You can
its 2016 début at Pratt. It came to Mel- see their eyes light up, they get very
bourne from Oklahoma City, where it sparked by this.”
was shown at the Oklahoma Contem-
porary Arts Center. Prior to that, the A resident of Melbourne, Mathews
exhibition was seen in Massachusetts has volunteered as a docent at the
at Tufts University Art Gallery and in Funk Center for the past three years.
Kansas at Wichita State University’s Of the shows she has led visitors
Ulrich Museum of Art. through during that time Coded Cou-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 46

up and the quality – and quantity – of white walls that underscores the exper-
their interactions with others. imental nature of the show. The cloth-
ing and footwear designs at the heart of
Walking into Coded Couture feels a each of the gallery’s eleven display areas
little like entering an electronics clean is generally executed in prototype black
room, a medical laboratory, or a high- or white, and is accompanied by viewer
end cosmetics boutique. The techno- interactive videos, touchscreens, dials
chic décor features silver vinyl circuit and buttons, as well as informative text.
board traces affixed to the gallery’s

46 Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 45 ARTS & THEATRE

ture tops her list. stand this one,” says Mathews. British designer Amy Congdon shows bedded LEDs that light up the skirt’s
“Any show that challenges me to have Once the visitor meets that require- some jewelry designs based on the idea surface with tweeted words, images
of growing living tissue in a lab on lacy or moving light shows in brilliant col-
to learn so that I can explain; those rate ment they can connect through their structures of silk or synthetic material. ors, depending on how you program
highest in my world,” she says. smartphones to the garment on display. Pearls, glass crystals and other materi- it (there is an app for that). A skirt like
After this, their device will overlay the als, embedded into the tissue, would it was worn onstage by Katy Perry in
Despite the plentiful didactic sig- garment with virtual imagery based on account for the bling of this jewelry, London’s iTunes Festival 2013.
nage in the show, a docent-led tour is the visitor’s social activity; these visu- which (theoretically) would be grafted
a must for those who may not under- als change over time with the type and directly onto the wearer’s skin. The iMini was designed by London-
stand the computerized underpin- quantity of activity the visitor produces. based fashion house CuteCircuit; but it
nings of the work on display. The jewelry on display contains is not available for purchase at this time.
“When the show opened I was a no living tissue and was created for Instead, you can order a clutch purse
That the art here is wearable makes little nervous about this display,” says visualization purposes only. These from the company sporting white LEDs
it that much more intriguing – not only Mathews. are the same pieces shown in photo- that display animations and messages:
to the technologically savvy, but also graphs of female models wearing the all for £1,600 (a little over $2,200 U.S.).
to those of us who are digitally chal- To understand what it could do, she jewelry, which, for display purposes,
lenged. After all, who wouldn’t want opened a private Twitter account (she is attached to their bodies by a more Technophobes, take heart: There is a
to wear a garment designed to light up was her only follower) into which she benign technique – Vaseline jelly, per- display in the exhibition for you “that’s
when you are happily excited, sway en- tweeted her uncertainty about explain- haps? So far as Congdon’s research is very easy to do,” says Mathews.
ticingly when someone looks at you, or ing the exhibit’s technology. concerned, no one has had tissue-cul-
detect – and blur – the image of a cam- tured jewelry grafted to their skin yet. The D.dress by Mary Huang of
era surreptitiously pointed your way? On her iPhone, anxiety tweets over- But the concept has stimulated dis- Brooklyn includes a touchscreen on
laid the garment with a design that took cussion about the lengths people may which you can design your own “little
On the other hand (or foot, as the the form of a boxy covering for the head, someday go to transform and adorn black dress.” Merely swipe a finger
case may be), some of the clothing de- a cape over the shoulders and raindrops their bodies, and the ethical ques- over the picture of a female model to
signs are based, in whole or in part, on falling down around the garment. tions raised by biotech beautification. create a dress in silhouette. When you
your sexual activity (or lack of it), your are finished drawing, you can choose
heartrate, or your tendency to fudge A video accompanying that display There is one garment on display to save the design, email the file to
the truth (a dress that gives the wearer gives an idea of the designs that may be that has been worn in real time. It is yourself and view or share it later.
who dissembles an electric shock). produced on other users’ phones. For a pleated white “iMiniskirt” with em- What do you have to lose?
With this new technology, a person example, aggressive tweets might take
can be nakedly vulnerable to others the form of snarling animals that sprout Coded Couture continues at the Ruth
while fully clothed. from the garment’s neck. Funk Center for Textile Art through April
28, 2018. The Center is located on the
The first display in the gallery fea- Campus of Florida Institute of Technol-
tures a neoprene poncho with iOS ap- ogy at 150 W. University Boulevard in
plication by the French design collec- Melbourne, Florida. 
tive, NORMALS.

“You have to pay for the app to under-

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 47

ARTS & THEATRE

Coming Up: Ballet Vero set for scintillating finale

BY SAMANTHA BAITA be Diamond Dixxie, a country two-
Staff Writer some from Orlando who’ve performed
throughout the state: sisters Gabri-
1 The strong, creative and joyful ela (guitar and mandolin) and Bianca
choreographic artistry (guitar and banjo) LeDuc, described by

we’ve come to expect from gigmaster.com as “Miranda Lambert
meets Taylor Swift with a touch of
Ballet Vero Beach will again the Band Perry.” Their brother, Ron-

fill the stage as the young nie, backs them on drums
as they perform covers and
company brings its fifth season original music. The concerts
take place on the south side of Se-
to a close next Friday and Saturday, bastian Inlet, in the Coconut Point
pavilions, and are free with regular
April 6-7, at the VBHS Performing park entry fees. Show time is 7 p.m.
(ish). 321-984-4852.
Arts Center with Program 3, “Circle

of Influence.” The title refers to the

influence the late choreographer

Samuel Kurkjian had on the creative

life of Ballet Vero’s Artistic Director Ada

Schnell. Kurkjian was himself trained

and influenced by the great George Bal- 3 Picture this: a pair of identical
twins who look and sound like a
anchine and was Boston Ballet’s found-

ing choreographer. Schnell was among wide, diverse array of superstars. It’s

Kurkjian’s (Mr. K’s) students at Walnut true, they do. And they’ll be delight-

Hill School for the Arts outside Bos- 1 Ballet Vero Beach performance April 6-7 at VBHS Performing Arts Center. ing the audience in “Swinging with the

ton. “Circle of Influence” will include Stars” at the Emerson Center this Sun-

Kurkjian’s “Debussy Suite” and “Cho- day, April 1, a benefit for the Healthy

pin Variations,” and Schnell’s “Pas de 7. Tickets are $10 to $75. 772-564-5537. some live music under the starry sky Start Coalition. Anthony and Eddie
balletverobeach.org. at the beautiful Sebastian Inlet is this
Cinq Russe.” The show promo prompts Saturday, as the Sebastian Inlet State Edwards were born in 1965 in Bur-
Park hosts another Night Sounds con-
us to expect “sparkling costumes and cert. Providing the plein air tunes will bank, Calif., and grew up in a house just

crystalline choreography.” Curtain is 2 Another opportunity to leave your across the street from the NBC-TV stu-
work week behind and soak in
8 p.m. April 6; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. April CONTINUED ON PAGE 48

MARCH 16
—

APRIL 27
2018

Annual
Juried
Photography
Exhibition

Photo Credits - Past Entries: Painted Bunting by Walter Veasey,
Kept, Kept Safe by Larry Lovotny, Little Sister by Barbara DuPont,
Foundation by Erika Masterson, Framed by Nature by Charlie Newman,

Through the Eye of the CameraPeople’s Choice Award Winner - Tannery in Fez, by Linda Leonard.

A.E. BACKUS MUSEUM & GALLERY

500 N. Indian River Drive Fort Pierce, FL 34950
772.465.0630 www.BackusMuseum.com

48 Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 47 ARTS & THEATRE

2ND ANNUAL 5 “Medieval To Metal: The Art and Evolution of the Guitar.”

DOWNTOWN dios. No surprise, the kids would sneak tion in Tel Aviv awards a grant to an
MELBOURNE into the studio to watch the celebs tape established, young Israeli artist, en-
their shows, then spend hours mimick- couraging artists to inject contempo-
Festival of ing the stars and their routines. When rary work with innovative ideas. The
the Arts Carol Burnett saw them, she immedi- concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are
ately recognized their talent and urged $40-$60. 772-460-0850.
An Outdoor Art Festival them to put a show together. Happily
on New Haven Avenue for audiences everywhere, they took 5 If you haven’t treated yourself to
her advice. The show is presented by an hour or two at the Vero Beach
Mar. 31st – Apr. 1st Dancing with the Vero Stars contestant
Sat./Sun. David Thomas. Tickets are $55 and $75. Museum of Art in a while, now’s a re-
10am – 5pm Show time is 7 p.m. 772-778-5249.
ally good time to go. The exhibitions
Free Admission
are excellent (as always) and diverse.
NO PETS ALLOWED
Especially eye-catching is “Medieval
East New Haven Avenue
in Downtown Melbourne 4 “Firebrands and Passions” aptly To Metal: The Art and Evolution of
describes the music you’ll hear
the Guitar,” but don’t be tempted to

next Thursday when the Atlantic strum or pluck; enjoy the wonderful

Classical Orchestra presents its Mas- work of photographer Paul Outer-

terworks 4 concert at St. Edward’s bridge, known for his early use of, an

Waxlax Center. You’ll be in no danger experiments in, color photography,

of nodding off as this popular orches- “New Color Photographs from Mexi-

tra plays commissioned work by the co and California, 1948-1955”; and see

2018 Rappaport Prize recipient com- what the artist saw in “Shadow and

poser Hannah Lash; Prokofiev’s Piano Light: The Etchings of Martin Lewis.”

Concerto No. 3, op. 26, C major, with If you have time to spend, grab a bite

soloist Alon Goldstein; and Brahms’ in the museum’s cafe and browse the

(cheery, almost pastoral) Symphony delicious wares in the gift shop. The

No. 2, op. 73, D major. Each year, the sculpture gardens in front and back

Bruce and Ruth Rappaport Founda- are always great for strolling. 

ArtFestival.com

A Howard Alan Event
(561) 746-6615



50 Vero Beach 32963 / March 29, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT COVER STORY

During his last run for the presi- is that Putin’s words unleashed a wave creased scrutiny in the wake of allega- neous rise in sensationalist Russian
dency, in 2012, Russian leader Vladi- of activity across a complex of heavily tions of Moscow’s involvement in the claims that the United States is itself
mir Putin startled U.S. military experts guarded military and civilian laborato- poisoning of a former Russian spy and pursuing offensive biological weap-
with a mysterious pledge to develop ries in Russia. his daughter in Britain. Both were sick- ons. Reports posted on state-spon-
novel kinds of weapons to counter the ened by exposure to Novichok, a kind sored news sites and amplified over so-
West’s technological edge. Armies of Since the start of Putin’s second term, of highly lethal nerve agent uniquely cial media have accused U.S. scientists
the future, he said, would need weap- a construction boom has been un- developed by Russian military scien- of being behind recent outbreaks of the
ons “based on new physical principles” derway at more than two dozen insti- tists years ago. Zika virus as well as the Ebola epidem-
including “genetic” and “psychophysi- tutes that were once part of the Soviet ic in West Africa that began in 2014. In
cal” science. Union’s biological and chemical weap- “The big question is, why are they each instance, U.S. federal agencies
ons establishment, according to Rus- doing this?” said Raymond Zilinskas, a marshaled a sizable response to coun-
“Such high-tech weapons systems sian documents and photos compiled chemical and biological weapons ex- ter or contain the outbreaks.
will be comparable in effect to nucle- by independent researchers. pert with the James Martin Center for
ar weapons,” Putin said in an essay Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, Such baseless claims could be viewed
published in Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the That expansion, which includes Calif. In a newly released book, “Bios- as part of a deliberate effort to “explain
Russian government’s newspaper of multiple new or refurbished testing ecurity in Putin’s Russia,” Zilinskas and to their own people why they need to do
record, “but will be more ‘acceptable’ facilities, is particularly apparent at co-author Philippe Mauger analyze this research,” Zilinskas said in an inter-
in terms of political and military ideol- secret Defense Ministry laboratories hundreds of contract documents and view.
ogy.” that have long drawn the suspicions of other records that show a surge in Rus-
U.S. officials over possible arms-treaty sian research interest in subjects rang- A spokeswoman for Russia’s Minis-
Exactly what Putin meant – and how violations. ing from genetically modified patho- try of Foreign Affairs declined to an-
any “genetic” weapon could square gens to nonlethal chemical weapons swer written questions but forwarded
with international treaties outlawing Russian officials insist that the re- used for crowd control. a March 13 statement by Vassily A.
chemical and biological warfare – re- search in government-run labs is Nebenzia, Russia’s ambassador to the
mains uncertain. But what is now clear purely defensive and perfectly legal. The analysis also tracks a simulta- United Nations. Nebenzia denied any
But the effort has come under in-