11/21/2019 ISSUE 47

John’s Island cheers 20 years
of charitable support. P12
Orchid Island imports
new golf director. P10
Study confirms seasonal

variations in beach sand loss. P8

For breaking news visit

New superintendent Jones confessed
comes with record of Duve slaying to
transforming schools defense witness

BY FEDERICO MARTINEZ BY LISA ZAHNER
Staff Writer Staff Writer

David Moore has made a Cleveland Clinic takes over nearby research center Michael David Jones, con-
career of getting rid of bad victed four weeks ago of the
schools in the massive Mi- BY GEORGE ANDREASSI Lucie capped an amazing year Research,” was Cleveland Clin- slaying of nurse Diana Duve,
ami-Dade school district – not Staff Writer of expansion in Florida for the ic’s third major acquisition on confessed the killing to a med-
obliterating them, but fixing world famous medical center. the Treasure Coast this year. ical expert who testified in his
them so that students get bet- Cleveland Clinic Florida’s defense and “also said that he
ter grades and educations. takeover last week of the for- The 107,000-square-foot On Jan. 1, the Clinic took put her in a trunk and left her
mer Vaccine & Gene Therapy building at 9801 SW Discovery over Indian River Medical Cen- in the parking lot of a Publix,”
As principal of Miami South- Institute in western Port St. Way, which will be renamed ter and Martin Health System, the witness testified at Jones’
ridge Senior High School, Moore “Cleveland Clinic Institute for sentencing hearing.
led a turnaround that trans- CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
formed the school from an “F” The jury deciding whether
to an “A” institution in 2012, as to sentence Jones to death or
judged by the State of Florida’s life in prison had not rendered
school grading system. a verdict by press time Tues-
day, but after long days of te-
In 2017, he led an effort to dious medical testimony, they
turn around six other failing heard this surprise unscripted
schools in the district that were statement during cross-exam-
in danger of being closed by ination of a defense witness,
the State of Florida. Dr. David Ross.

That track record was a main Radiologist Ross said he
reason the School Board on found Jones had brain dam-
Saturday chose him as the new age and gave his take on Jones’
superintendent of schools for
CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Corporate Air expanding again to keep up
With Fort Pierce out, with increased general aviation traffic
nearest Virgin Trains
stop looks like Stuart PHOTO BY KAILA JONES BY NICOLE RODRIGUEZ passengers to or from the
Staff Writer island.
BY GEORGE ANDREASSI
Staff Writer Corporate Air is expand- The flight service company
ing again at the Vero Beach – which provides fuel, main-
Indian River County resi- Regional Airport, trying to tenance, storage and other
dents apparently will have to keep up with increased gen- services to private planes –
drive at least an hour to get eral aviation traffic carrying broke ground last week on a
to a Virgin Trains station after
Fort Pierce city commission- CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
ers rejected a downtown de-
velopment proposal submit-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

November 21, 2019 Volume 12, Issue 47 Newsstand Price $1.00 Salutes for service
rendered on
News 1-10 Faith 53 Pets 75 TO ADVERTISE CALL Veterans Day. P24
Arts 37-42 Games 55-57 Real Estate 77-88 772-559-4187
Books 52 Health 59-64 St. Edward’s 54
Dining 68 Insight 43-58 Style 65-67 FOR CIRCULATION
Editorial 50 People 11-36 Wine 69 CALL 772-226-7925

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2 Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

New school superintendent munications and curriculum to get a and intense desire to make IRCS a sense of relief; it was a rough year. But
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 better grasp of the district’s problems top-rated district with all A-rated I’m so excited about the future and
and priorities. schools by 2025 as reasons for their what’s coming.”
Indian River County. selecting him.
Pending a successful background The School Board voted unani- During the past year, board mem-
mously to offer Moore the position Chairman Laura Zorc said she was bers, particularly Zorc, fiercely battled
check and negotiated contract, Moore, during a special daylong board meet- impressed with Moore’s compassion with former Superintendent Mark
48, said he hopes to begin his new job ing on Saturday. for students and his fearless desire to Rendell, whose controversial person-
as early as Dec. 2. make tough decisions when they must nel decisions often put him at odds
“The board’s vote is a great sign of be made. with the School Board.
Currently an assistant superinten- coming together,” Moore said. “I’m
dent in the Miami-Dade district – the humbled and thankful to have this “What convinced me is when Dr. Rendell resigned under pressure
fourth largest district in the nation opportunity. It’s something I’ve been Moore said he’s ‘not afraid to be fired on May 24, leaving the district in a
– Moore said his first 90 days here working towards, praying for, and for making tough decisions,’” Zorc state of financial confusion and un-
will include reviewing the district’s seeking.” said. certainty with an atmosphere of dis-
finances, student academic achieve- trust among board members, admin-
ment, internal and external com- Board members cited Moore’s ex- She added that the unanimous vote istrators, teachers, school staff and
tensive experience in finance and to select Dr. Moore by a board that has students.
curriculum, passion for education often been divided gave her “a great
During his interview with the board,
Moore vowed to reunite the commu-
nity by meeting with all school em-
ployees and students in December. He
said he would seek honest feedback to
learn what people like and don’t like
about the district. In January he will
expand that effort to the community
at large.

“We need to build ownership with
the community, teachers, staff and
students,” Moore said. “This is an op-
portunity to unite this school district.”

Moore describes himself as some-
one who believes in making long-
term, sustainable improvements. “I’m
not going to rush into a plan,” he told
the board.

One of his top priorities is to contin-
ue efforts to address equity issues and
make sure the district complies with a
52-year-old federal desegregation or-
der, Moore said. Miami-Dade has one
of the nation’s most successful urban
school districts.

Newly-elected Board Vice-Chair-
woman Mara Schiff said she was
impressed with Moore’s plan to “im-
mediately implement [anti-]bias
training for all school employees.
Moore said a similar effort at Miami-
Dade had a quick and noticeable im-
pact. That training must be ongoing
because it takes time to educate and
make people aware of their biases, he
said.

Moore vowed to work closely with
the School Board and keep it abreast
of important issues, providing ac-
curate information in a timely man-
ner – something board members fre-
quently criticized Rendell for failing
to do.

“You will not be surprised,” Moore
said. “I will keep the board informed.
I see the board as my advisors. You es-
tablish policy, I implement that policy.”

During candidate interviews, sever-
al board members complained about
local media coverage, accusing media
of “writing lies” and “only negative sto-
ries about the district.”

Board member Tiffany Justice asked
what approach the board and district
should take with the media.

Moore told board members that

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 3

NEWS

the district needs to be pro-active in Tom Bakkedahl asked the radiologist killing her by some other means, and doctors and clinical psychologists
developing a better relationship with what he had found out from Jones Ross said he did not exactly remem- might now know a whole lot more
the media. Providing accurate infor- about the death of Duve, and Ross said ber. Ross said he had not brought his about the human brain and psyche
mation to the media improves the Jones admitted the crime to him. “He notes or his laptop computer contain- than they did before.
media’s ability to report stories cor- said that he killed her. He also said that ing his notes to court because nobody
rectly, he said. he put her in a trunk and left her in the told him to bring them. These medical experts testified
parking lot of a Publix.” that Jones suffered from brain dam-
“Get accurate information to the Jury members who for the past week age from multiple blows to the head
media quickly so they have the facts Bakkedahl pressed Ross to say and a half have sat through testimony in his young life. Records of concus-
and information,” Moore said. whether Jones admitted to strangling by a parade of highly qualified, board- sions or other head trauma from
Duve or to beating her to death or certified, widely published medical
Moore said areas where the dis- CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
trict needs to do better include rais-
ing expectations and setting goals
for all employees and students and
developing a consistent way to mea-
sure if expectations and goals are
being met. The district also needs to
update its strategic plan so that ev-
eryone knows what the overarching
goals are.

Creating a climate of trust within
the district and putting in place better
spending practices are two other im-
provements he said are needed.

Thirty-six applicants applied for
the district’s superintendent position.
The district advertised an annual sal-
ary of up to $178,000 for the new su-
perintendent.

During his tenure at Miami-Dade,
Moore has served as a teacher, coun-
selor, assistant principal, principal
and administrative director before
becoming assistant superintendent,
overseeing the district’s Education
Transformation Office.

His grandfather and father previ-
ously served as school principals in
the same district.

“Our family has been there con-
tinuously, without interruption, since
1955,” Moore said.

The board is tentatively scheduled
to approve Moore’s contract at its Nov.
26 meeting.

Moore will be taking the reins from
Interim Superintendent Susan Mox-
ley, who will serve in an advisory role

after Moore is hired. 

Michael David Jones
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

mental state at the time of 26-year-old
Duve’s death in June 2014, saying, “He
was drunk, he was brain damaged and
he committed a violent act.”

Ross characterized Jones as hav-
ing what doctors previously called
“Episodic Discontrol,” which he said
means “where people are going to
act out of uncontrolled urges” but he
caged that by saying it’s episodic be-
cause it doesn’t happen all the time.

“The bottom line is it’s a troubled
life,” Ross said, adding that evidence
that points to Jones’ brain damage
would explain why Jones’ life was so
troubled.

During the cross-examination of
Ross, Chief Assistant State Attorney

4 Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Michael David Jones Jones’ family and childhood expe- Virgin Trains put a station, they control the real es-
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 riences were dissected just like his tate around the station.”
brain. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Jones’ motocross days, from playing A Stuart train station would be 35
football as a kid or from a couple of One doctor would not venture to ted by the high-speed rail company. miles and an hour-long drive from
car crashes are not available because diagnose Jones with Post-Traumatic Since Vero will not have a station, Vero to the south. A station in Cocoa
doctors and hospitals are only re- Stress Disorder, but said that Jones likely would be the second closest, 64
quired to keep records around for a growing up with a controlling father a Virgin Trains station in downtown miles to the north.
maximum of seven years. who had a hot temper had left him Fort Pierce – just 15 miles from Vero
seriously traumatized. Beach – would have been fairly easily Virgin Trains did not reply to tele-
But the doctors testifying for the de- accessible to island residents wanting phone and email messages in the past
fense opined that any or all of these Jones also modeled his father’s con- to travel by rail to either Miami or Or- two weeks seeking answers to ques-
experiences left Jones’ brain damaged. trolling, violent behavior in his own close lando. tions about the status of proposals to
intimate relationships, doctors said. develop stations in Fort Pierce, Stuart
Radiologists and neuroradiologists But the Treasure Coast station now and Cocoa.
interpreted CT scan, PET scan results Three more medical witnesses for the seems more likely to wind up in Stuart
and other testing to say that Jones’ prosecution were set to take the stand after the Fort Piece City Commission Many local government officials see
frontal lobe which regulates decision this week and presumably rebut the tes- last week rebuffed Virgin Trains and the train stations as economic boosters
making and impulse control were af- timony of the defense’s medical witness- selected Audubon Development’s pro- that provide jobs and attract travelers.
fected the most. es, so the taxpayers get to foot the bill for posal for a mixed-use project on prime
doctors arguing with each other about Fort Pierce real estate along the railroad Vero Beach did not apply to Virgin
Dr. Joseph Wu from California who whether any of these suppositions and tracks near the Indian River Lagoon. Trains for a train station in the city
specializes in chronic traumatic en- diagnoses mitigates Jones’ crime. and Indian River County has filed
cephalopathy – the degenerative Since Virgin Trains won’t be able to state and federal lawsuits challeng-
brain malady most people associate At a rate of $200 to $400 per hour, cash in on transit-oriented real estate ing the massive passenger rail proj-
with pro football players – testified these physician-witnesses for hire development in Fort Pierce, as it has ect, putting it at crossed swords with
that Jones shows the precursors or bill for fractions of hours like lawyers at its South Florida stations, the com- the company.
early signs of the CTE disease. do. Most run the meter from the time pany seems unlikely to develop a Fort
they leave their front door until the Pierce station, some officials said. Fort Pierce’s rejection of the Virgin
But one of the prosecution’s medi- time they return, with Florida owing Trains USA downtown development
cal experts, Dr. Lawrence Edward them tens of thousands of dollars by “With Virgin Trains not being se- proposal on Nov. 12 was a rare setback
Holder, a former American Board of the time a murder sentencing is com- lected as the developer, my opin- for the company as it develops new
Radiologists Board member affiliated plete. ion is that will significantly alter Fort facilities for passenger rail service be-
with the University of Florida Medi- Pierce’s chances of getting a station for tween Miami and Orlando.
cal School, testified that a PET scan The only irrefutable evidence pro- the worse,” said Indian River County
is not an accepted tool for clinical of duced by any of these experts is that Commissioner Tim Zorc. Virgin Trains advanced three other
behavioral brain damage. the expert medical witness business train station deals in the last month in
as it relates to Florida’s death penalty “If you look at the other areas where South Florida as the rail project con-
Virgin Trains/Brightline decided to tinued to gain momentum.
is extremely lucrative. 
Virgin Trains plans to run 34 passen-

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 5

NEWS

ger trains per day through Indian River Virgin Trains USA, also known as Beachline Expressway/State Road 528 Virgin Trains agreed to build a train
County at speeds of up to 110 mph en Brightline, started passenger rail ser- between Orlando and Cocoa. station in Martin or St. Lucie county
route between downtown Miami and vice between Fort Lauderdale and within five years after starting ser-
Orlando International Airport. Service West Palm Beach in January 2018 and Virgin Trails is also improving the vice between Orlando and West Palm
is now scheduled to begin in summer added Miami that May. Florida East Coast Railway tracks be- Beach, as part of the 2018 settlement
2022 but the starting date keeps getting tween West Palm Beach and Cocoa. of Martin County’s lawsuit challenging
pushed back. New track construction began in Construction is scheduled to reach In-
June on elevated tracks along the dian River County next summer. CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

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Virgin Trains Virgin Trains “has been clear that therapies in many areas such as can- nations, conduct transformative re-
their first priority is to get service up cer, neurosciences and infectious dis- search that we can move from the re-
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 and running from West Palm to the eases,” Angela Dickens, vice president search bench to the patient bedside,”
Orlando International Airport,” said of marketing for Cleveland Clinic In- Lord said.
the project’s financial and environ- Planning Organization Director Geor- dian River Hospital, told Vero Beach
mental approvals. ganna Gillette. 32963. Cleveland Clinic anticipates hold-
ing an educational symposium at the
At least two northbound trains and Virgin Trains also has been lining up The 7-year-old high-tech labora- lab this year to show off the facilities
two southbound trains per day would deals in the past two months for new tory will be the Clinic’s first research and recruit researchers, Lord said.
stop at the Treasure Coast station un- train stations in Boca Raton, Aventura facility outside of the Lerner Institute
der the agreement. and Port Miami. in Cleveland and accommodate part- Florida International University,
nerships with Florida International which is working toward a takeover of
The City of Stuart’s bid for a sta- Virgin Trains asked Boca Raton on University and Vaxine Ltd., of Perth, the neighboring Torrey Pines Institute
tion gained traction last month when Nov. 12 for $12.1 million and a 1.8-acre Australia. for Molecular Studies early next year,
Virgin Trains asked Stuart and Martin parcel for a train station, records show. also figures to have a significant pres-
County officials to support federal The Clinic envisions hiring 200 sci- ence in the former VGTI lab, Lord said.
funding for a $100 million lift bridge Miami-Dade county commission- entists in conjunction with FIU and
across the St. Lucie River. ers last month also agreed to pay $76 Vaxine to develop therapies for cancer, FIU’s Herbert Wertheim College of
million for a new Virgin Trains station allergies, infectious diseases and neu- Medicine and Biomedical Engineer-
“VTUSA having our assistance in Aventura and are negotiating with rological issues. ing Department are among the uni-
should help greatly on a station and the train company for a new station at versity’s branches that could send re-
new bridge,” said Stuart Mayor Becky Cleveland Clinic’s goal is to develop searchers and students to the lab.
Bruner. Port Miami.  therapies that improve patient care at
hospitals on the Treasure Coast and “Florida International University
However, Indian River County resi- Cleveland Clinic throughout the world, said Rob Lord, is interested in conducting research
dents would have to drive about an president of Cleveland Clinic Martin there,” Lord said. “It will help us offer
hour to get to a downtown Stuart sta- CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Health System. educational opportunities as well. We
tion, decreasing the likelihood they see having Ph.D. students and the like
would ride Virgin Trains, several offi- including its flagship Tradition Medi- “When you’re involved in research to working in this building.”
cials said. cal Center, near the VGTI lab. cure diseases, to improve our ability to
treat a variety of illness, it benefits every- Cleveland Clinic agreed to lease the
Development of the Cocoa station “Cleveland Clinic is committed to body in the world,” Lord said after the building for $1 per year, records show.
has not progressed since March 10, expanding clinical research capabili- Nov. 12 Port St. Lucie City Council vote. The Clinic also has the option to pur-
2016 when the Space Coast Trans- ties in the Florida region by creating chase the laboratory for $14.5 million.
portation Planning Organization en- a translational vaccine and immu- “But the big effort is the recruitment
dorsed two sites near the Wal-Mart notherapy institute that will advance of scientists and researchers to seek Cleveland Clinic will acquire the
Super Center. out cures to diseases, develop vacci- building for free if it creates 200 new
jobs in the next five years, records

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 7

NEWS

show. Cleveland Clinic and the city 100 scientists would amount to $5.5 Staffing the lab with research sci- VGTI Florida failed in October 2015
would split the net proceeds if the million per year. entists would fulfill Port St. Lucie’s as a result of the Great Recession
health giant later sells the laboratory. goal of establishing a research hub in and the loss of National Institutes of
It would swell to $11 million per Tradition Center.
Cleveland anticipates the payroll for year for 200 scientists. Health research grants. 

School Board hires new staff to help comply with desegregation order

BY FEDERICO MARTINEZ some awareness and training in the The current board has shown a members used the meeting to seek
Staff Writer particular issue,” said board member dramatic change of heart in working additional input from the NAACP
Mara Schiff. with the NAACP and making plans to and Equity Committee, whose re-
The Indian River County School comply with the desegregation order. port included several recommenda-
Board is putting its money where Schiff’s concern was echoed by oth- tions on how the district could im-
its mouth is when it comes to finally er board members. During an Oct. 30 meeting with prove its efforts.
complying after a half century with a the NAACP and the district’s Equity
federal court desegregation order. Job duties for the data analyst will Committee, the board said it would Among other things, the board
include gathering and studying data begin taking steps to meet the order’s agreed to the committee’s recom-
The board is backing up its vow of to determine the effectiveness of the requirements in November. mendation that the district set an
compliance by funding two new po- district’s efforts to improve African- initial goal of making sure there
sitions in the school district’s Equity American student achievement and At that same meeting, the board and are at least five teachers of African-
Department. recruit, hire and retain more African- NAACP reviewed and discussed a re- American descent in each school.
American teachers, officials said. port released by the Equity Committee
The board voted Nov. 12 to immedi- that gave the district failing marks for The board also agreed to better
ately begin seeking a fulltime data an- Achieving those goals is a require- its efforts to recruit, hire and retain Afri- monitor equity progress.
alyst, but wanted more details about ment of a desegregation order the dis- can-American teachers and adequately
a teacher on assignment position, trict spent decades fighting. address the needs of African American Interim Superintendent Susan
where duties would include working students, who consistently perform far Moxley told the board during its Nov.
with teachers and principals in vari- Under the leadership of former below their white classmates. 12 work session that her staff is work-
ous schools to correct inequity. superintendent Mark Rendell, and ing on a plan that will include compil-
a previous board, the district spent The School Board did not dispute ing quarterly instead of annual reports
“The teacher on assignment role more than four years and $775,000 any of the findings in the Equity for the board to see what progress, if
does require some sensitivity and battling a lawsuit filed by the NAACP Committee’s report. Instead board
to force compliance with the order. any, is being made. 

8 Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Corporate Air which local lawmakers have lobbied
hard for with the state and federal gov-
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 ernments, would allow international
flyers to bypass customs checks at
$2.6 million ramp and two 12,000-foot Treasure Coast International Airport
hangars to meet increased demand for and Business Park in Fort Pierce and
space. fly directly into Vero.

The private jet travelers who use Currently, flights from out of the
these facilities predominantly live on country bound for Vero have to land
the island, said Corporate Air founder in Fort Pierce first, clear customs and
and owner Rodger Pridgeon. “They’re then take off, fly to Vero and land a
mostly John’s Island, Windsor, Moor- second time, an expensive, time-con-
ings and Riomar residents.” suming process that costs a typical
Gulfstream owner $1,500.
The latest investment comes on top
of a multimillion expansion in 2018 An average of 50 to 60 foreign flights
that included construction of a new a month to Corporate Air in Vero must
ramp and new hangar outfitted with clear customs at another airport, and
luxury amenities. Pridgeon, airport officials and local
lawmakers believe a custom’s facility
Pridgeon, who has been in business here will increase international traffic
at the airport for more than 30 years, considerably.
said air traffic doubled over the past
year, necessitating more landing and “Vero Beach is a unique town. It has
storage space. The additional hangars real quality people,” Pridgeon said. “I’ve
can house roughly five mid-sized jets lived here the last 40 years and I can see
each, he said. The project is slated for the positive growth that’s happening.”
completion in March.
Vero Beach Vice Mayor Tony Young
Looking ahead, the company plans – who has since been chosen as mayor
to cover the cost of a 4,000-square- – attended the groundbreaking and ap-
foot, $2-million customs facility for plauded Corporate Air for the expansion.
the airport if the project is approved
by the federal government. “It works hand-in-hand with the fact
that we want to be a place that people
The addition of a customs facility,
love to come to,” Young said. 

SCIENTIST PINPOINTS SEASONAL
VARIATIONS IN BEACH SAND LOSS

BY SUE COCKING managing sand and other natural re-
Staff Writer sources in and around the inlet.

A new report by a Florida Institute “This data can be employed by all
of Technology professor synthesizing coastal communities as part of coastal
decades of data confirms what many resiliency planning, so the reach is
32963 beachgoers have observed – far broader than just our local area,”
that beaches are wider in summer and Zarillo said.
shrink down to a thin strip in late fall.
Zarillo used a wave gauge; acous-
These seasonal increases and de- tic Doppler profiler with sensor heads
creases in beach width and sand volume that measure water pressure and veloc-
are due to sea level changes and associ- ity; coastal surveys; aerial photography;
ated sand loss and gain caused mainly and written records going back decades
by the location and flow of the Gulf to develop his models and forecasts.
Stream along our coast, according to Dr.
Gary Zarillo, FIT professor of ocean en- Zarillo said that based on season-
gineering and marine sciences. al sea level changes, early summer
would be the optimum time for local
“Rising sea level corresponds to a governments to renourish their erod-
period of sand loss and receding sea ed beaches, which are vital to tourism.
level corresponds to a gain,” Zarillo But that’s not possible due to the need
said. “It’s a good piece of information to protect threatened and endangered
for managing our sand resources. No sea turtles which nest on area beaches
one should panic because we have a from May through October.
regional sand loss because it will be
regained by sea level falling.” The Sebastian Inlet District peri-
odically pumps sand out of the inlet
Zarillo said he based his findings, and spreads it on beaches south of
presented in his 2019 State of the Inlet the inlet. It completed its most recent
report, on long-term data collection channel maintenance and beach re-
he’s conducted for the Inlet District, nourishment project earlier this year,
which is charged with keeping the in- pumping 120,000 cubic yards of sand
let channel open for navigation and from its 42-acre sand trap in the inlet
onto a stretch of beach extending from

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 9

NEWS

the inlet to Ambersand Beach. Anoth- “This can help us adapt our manage- Meanwhile, he said, sand losses due to mine along more than 3 miles of bad-
er 30,000 cubic yards were stored at a ment to assume regional impacts,” Gray Hurricane Dorian’s near-miss were mi- ly-eroded shoreline that extends from
site just north of the inlet for emergen- said. “We may want to, in the future, nor and the beaches have recovered, so north of the Seawatch Condos in Indian
cy beach fill and dune repair. look at the way we do big projects to fol- there’s no need for emergency repairs. River Shores, south through Vero’s Cen-
low what Dr. Zarillo’s data is showing.” tral Beach to the Riomar Golf Course.
Inlet District executive director Indian River County is in the midst of a The project is expected to be completed
James Gray said Zarillo’s work has big Gray said the District’s next major $6 million beach replenishment, depos-
benefits for the district. beach project likely will happen in 2023. iting truckloads of sand from an upland by the end of April 2020. 

10 Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Orchid Island imports golf director from Firestone Country Club

BY RAY MCNULTY turn to a privately-owned club where Champagne said after starting his tor and was the 2017 Northern Ohio
Staff Writer he could interact more with mem- new job earlier this month. “I like the PGA Golf Professional of the Year, was
bers – something his administrative area, and I heard such great things selected from a pool of more than 60
Florida’s favorable, year-round duties prevented at Firestone, which about the club here. applicants. The list was culled to 20
climate wasn’t the only reason Da- has hosted more than 65 consecutive and then to the eight finalists who
vid Champagne decided to leave the years of tournament golf, including “I’ve been here only a couple of were interviewed by the club’s selec-
famed Firestone Country Club in Ak- three PGA Championships, and is days, and the people – the members tion committee.
ron, Ohio, to become the new direc- currently the home of the Bridges- and staff – have been tremendous,” he
tor of golf at the Orchid Island Golf & tone Senior Players Championship. added. “I’m very excited to be here.” “We had a lot of elite candidates
Beach Club. and, as we moved through the pro-
“This is more like the members- Orchid Island General Manager Rob cess, all of us on the committee came
It was also because he wanted to re- owned clubs I worked at in the past,” Tench said Champagne, who spent the to the same conclusion – that Dave
past 11 years as Firestone’s golf direc- was our guy,” Tench said. “Firestone is
a very large club that has hosted na-
tional events, and if he can run a club
that big, he won’t have any trouble
with a smaller one like ours.

“He’s a smart guy and a good people
person who is well-respected by his
peers in the industry,” he added. “He’ll
be a great asset to our club.”

In his new job, Champagne will
oversee the club’s entire golf opera-
tion – including the course and pro
shop – organize tournaments and
other activities for members, and give
lessons.

The new director of golf at the Orchid Island Golf
& Beach Club, David Champagne.

Champagne, 46, also plans to play
competitively in United States Golf As-
sociation, PGA section tournaments.
As a college student he played at Slip-
pery Rock University, where the team
twice reached the NCAA Division II
Championship tournament.

More recently, he was consistently
ranked in the top 10 of the PGA Play-
er of the Year standings in the North-
ern Ohio Section, where he finished
seventh in 2010. He also qualified for
the PGA Club Professional National
Championship in 2006, 2007, 2008 and
2014. He won the 2009 Toledo Open.

Champagne, who is single, is rent-
ing a home in Vero Lago while he
looks around for a permanent resi-

dence. 

Lileigh, Jeff and
Grayson Matthews.

AT VETERANS DAY CEREMONY,
SALUTES FOR SERVICE RENDERED

P. 24

12 Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

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John’s Island Foundation cheers 20 years of charitable support

Ron and Nancy Rosner, Ned and Sherry Ann Dayton, Virginia and Warren Schwerin. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 14
Lila Stillman, Margie Wheeler, Gloria Luna Moorman, Clay Hollenkamp and Pat Brier.

Cristina Mariani-May with John and Pamela Mariani. Amanda Robinson with Bob Gibb and Rennie Gibb. Dave Johnson with Kim and Evan English.

BY MARY SCHENKEL Ned and Emily Sherwood. from afterschool programs, housing indulging them with an extravagant
Staff Writer units for the homeless, technology wine tasting, and Hutchinson Floral
operating and program support pro- for afterschool enrichment, and fully- Artistry for donating beautiful Florid-
Members of the John’s Island Foun- vided by the John’s Island Commu- equipped vehicles to bring nutritious ian-themed displays.
dation’s Leadership Circle enjoyed nity Service League and the United meals to homebound seniors.
a delightful Wine Tasting Reception Way. “A heartfelt thank you to our very
last Wednesday evening at the John’s “We simply could not do what we own Chef Farnsworth, whose cu-
Island Club. Today, 20 years later, the foundation do without the generosity of all of you linary concoctions never cease to
has donated more than $11 million to in this room,” said Sherwood. “Our amaze us, and our catering gurus
The Italy Comes to Florida-themed local charities to provide such capital Leadership Circle donations account Monica Gibbon and her new associ-
reception featured exceptional wines needs as vans to take children to and for over 50 percent of total donations ate Ron Rogers, who have handled
from Castello Banfi, the Tuscan vine- each year, so you can see how impor- every detail of this party with utmost
yard of John’s Island residents John tant you are to our success. You open professionalism,” said Sherwood, be-
and Pam Mariani, paired with excep- up your hearts to those less fortu- fore also thanking her ‘dream team’
tional Floridian-style dishes prepared nate, and we are blessed to count you board members.
by John’s Island chef John Farnsworth among our most loyal supporters.”
and his team. Commenting that the nonprofit
Recognizing the three 20th anni- agencies they represent are the true
“The John’s Island Foundation is versary co-chair couples – Ned and heroes making a difference in the
proud to be celebrating its 20th an- Sherry Ann Dayton, Ron and Nancy lives of struggling families, Sher-
niversary providing capital grants to Rosner, and Warren and Virginia wood introduced Gloria Luna Moor-
nonprofit agencies in Indian River Schwerin – Sherwood said, “Each man, director of development at Red-
County,” said Emily Sherwood, JIF of you exhibits the selfless philan- lands Christian Migrant Association,
board president. “We would not be thropic spirit that we are so fortunate and her associate Clay Hollenkamp.
here if it weren’t for our visionary to have in John’s Island and we thank RCMA was not only one of 26 agencies
founder, Ellie McCabe, who is here to- you for serving as our anniversary provided a grant this past spring; it
night with her husband Bob.” leaders.” was also one of the original grantees
in the 1999-2000 season.
Sherwood noted that in 1999, the Sherwood also thanked sponsors
founding board recognized a need John’s Island Real Estate and North- For more information, visit johnsis-
for capital support to complement the ern Trust Bank, the Marianis for twice landfoundation.org. 



14 Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Wheatie and Bob Gibb with Ellie McCabe.

PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 Fred and Carole Taylor. Barbara and Charles Gulino.
Scott and Gail Alexander.

Rick and Susan Hahn with Carrie and Steve Trooboff.

Tomas Miskinis and George Dadufalza.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 15

PEOPLE

Betsy and Don Kittell.

Andy and Tina Nickle. Pat and Tim Brier. George and Marlen Higgs. Bill and Susan Rodgers.

16 Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Wine Women & Shoes gala attracts well ‘heeled’ crowd

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF
Staff Writer

Animal lovers poured into the Sun STORY & PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 18 Adorable shelter pets made the
Jet Aviation hangar last Thursday rounds as guests sipped on special-
evening for the annual Wine Wom- Susan Schuyler Smith, Elizabeth Smith, Kate Meghji and Kari Mason. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE ty drinks – Puppy Love and Kitten
en & Shoes fundraiser to benefit the Snuggles – and awaited the much-
Humane Society of Vero Beach & through the door. Making their way in everything from flowing gowns anticipated start of the show.
Indian River County. Ocean Drive around the colossal hangar, which to sequined party dresses, but it
Plastic Surgery was the presenting had morphed into a spectacular was really all about the shoes. Shoe The Indian River Charter High
sponsor of the soirée, which sup- party palace, they shopped from shots were taken for consideration School Dance team kicked things
ported the efforts of the nonprofit to marketplace vendors, sipped a se- in a Best in Shoe Contest, with win- off with cat-like precision, before
care for lost, homeless and abused lection of wines and nibbled on ap- ners of the most fabulous stiletto, the Shoe Guys made their way along
pets in Indian River County. petizers from local restaurants. wedge and overall shoe taking home the catwalk, bringing the crowd to
prizes for their snazzy footwear. their feet. A sea of lighted cat ears
Pretty pups and devoted dudes Ladies were dressed to the nines and sabers blinked in colorful aban-
put their best feet forward to raise don as the packed house cheered for
additional funds, with Andrew their favorite footwear fellows.
Streeter taking home the crown as
the 2019 King of Sole. Streeter and “One of the things that I love
his fellow Shoe Guys had put their
heart and ‘sole’ into a competition
to raise the most amount of money
for the Humane Society.

Playing off a theme as the “Best
Night Ever,” attendees – mostly
women accompanied by a few good
men – were showered with atten-
tion from the moment they walked

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 17

PEOPLE

Carol Hankins, Jeanine Harris and Kay Brown. Megan DeWitt, Jordan Wassell and Chelsea Rose.

Susan Clay, Melissa Clay, Chris Ross and Sylvia Sawyer. Lindsay Naffziger, Jennifer Umstattd, Amanda Hart, Don Weston, Maj. Milo Thornton, Ron Torperzer and Jason Noel.
Courtney Ricca and Nichole Rea.

Dr. Alan Durkin and Roxanne Engel Durkin. Laura and Bobby Guttridge.

Phillip Keeling and Kayla Provost. Stephanie MacWilliam and Chandler MacWilliam-Sexton.

18 Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

best about animal sheltering is the much better. We are a place of care 100 percent over last year, with it’s ever been, and the future is so
unsung work that is done behind and respite. We help people keep more than 1,700 pets having found bright for us to do even more.”
the scenes,” said Kate Meghji, HS- their beloved pets. We help abused new homes.
VBIRC executive director. “Most animals recover.” Future fundraisers include Bark
people think of animal shelters as “We have implemented new ini- in the Park on Jan. 11 and Cause for
sad, scary places, as doggy jails, Despite a 17 percent increase in tiatives to grow our safety net pro- Paws on March 30.
the pound or worse. The truth is so shelter intakes, Meghji said that grams to keep pets in their homes.
adoptions increased by more than Our lifesaving rate is the highest For more information, visit hsvb.
org. 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 19

PEOPLE

STORY & PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16 Mike and Betsy Turner with Eddie Jeffreys. Jeanne Fallis, Dana Jacobs and Jen Massey.
Kathleen Wilson, Catherine Stevens, Chris Yates and Michele Downey.

Dr. Cyndi Mitchell, Cindy Nady and Daija Papale. Laurie Barkhorn, Nancy Walker and Conni Weissman. Sean and Caryn Toole.

20 Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Great time and Tides: ‘Hibiscus’ dinner’s a winner

BY MARY SCHENKEL
Staff Writer

Chef Leanne Kelleher, owner of Chef Leanne Kelleher with her Front of House staff. PHOTOS: MARY SCHENKEL Chef Leanne Kelleher and Claudia Arens.
the acclaimed restaurant The Tides,
followed up last year’s spectacular for helping to make an impact. “Two helping abused youth succeed in about getting enrolled, I’ll help him
Hibiscus Village Wine Dinner with Hibiscus teens have been employed adulthood is helping to prepare and do that. I’m trying to mentor him at
an equally remarkable gastronomic at The Tides and learned valuable train them for gainful employment his own pace. He’s come a long way;
feast last Wednesday evening. Word skills and training from one of our and being productive citizens.” he’s doing a great job. I’m really
had obviously spread about the pre- area’s best chefs. A key element to proud of this kid.”
vious repast; the number of diners Kelleher credited longtime Hibis-
increased from roughly 60 to more cus supporters Armund and Marie Kelleher said she was inspired to
than 100 enthusiastic guests. Ek for initially introducing her to create an Italian-themed dinner
the organization. this year following a recent trip all
So that every dollar raised would through Italy.
benefit the Vero Beach-based Hibis- “These kids will need jobs and
cus Village, a residence for abused, they need to learn skills. Cooking is “I love Italy; I’ve been there sever-
abandoned and neglected teens, something you can do always, and al times. I like the culture, the food,
Kelleher again sponsored the entire so I took a couple of interns in. They the wine,” said Kelleher.
evening. Additionally, every one did great; one of them is still here,
of the über-efficient staff donated actually,” said Kelleher. She paired her scrumptious sev-
their time, and some purveyors en-course menu with wines that
even contributed to the cause. Having aged out of the system represented a variety of different
at 18, the young man had to leave regions.
“On behalf of the youth living at Hibiscus and currently works full-
the Hibiscus Village, thank you to time at The Tides while he contem- “I’ve been fortunate. I’ve had great
Chef Leanne and The Tides for host- plates the next stages of his life. support and I want to pay it forward
ing another wonderful dinner,” said a little bit,” said Kelleher. “Oppor-
Matt Markley, Hibiscus Children’s “I think he’s going to culinary tunities are not equally distributed,
Center CEO, also thanking guests school next,” said Kelleher, refer- but I would like to help these kids
encing the Indian River State Col- realize that opportunities are out
lege Culinary program. “When he’s there. Anything that I can do to open
ready and wants to seriously think doors for them, I’m all about it.” 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 21

PEOPLE

High ‘Fi’! A toast to tradition at Marine Corps Ball

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF the honored guests, there was quite been honorably discharged, and to the
Staff Writer a large showing by members of other widows and children of fallen marines.
branches of the military as well. In hon-
or of their brothers and sisters in arms, The group’s efforts are also focused
each of the other branches of service on promoting the ideals of American
was acknowledged during a moving freedom and democracy through good
musical tribute. acts and by observing occasions of his-
torical significance.
The mission of the Marine Corps
League is to preserve the traditions of Regular detachment meetings are
the Marines and to provide support to held at 7 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of
those who are currently serving or have each month at the Victory Center Mili-
tary Store in the Indian River Mall. 

O. Ivar and Arline Svenson with John Michael Matthews. PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 22

PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE

Heath Harris and John Harris.

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF
Staff Writer

The Marine Corps League Indian Robin and Brian Korkus.
River Detachment recently hosted its
annual United States Marine Corps Corps with a “top secret” Marine Corps
Birthday Ball at the Pointe West Coun- punch.
try Club, with a theme for the evening
that focused on the three C’s: Ceremo- The reading of the Original Charter of
ny, Celebration and Comradeship in the Marine Corps and the rededication
commemoration of the Corps’ 244th of the local detachment’s flag were poi-
birthday. gnant reminders of the oath they made
and continue to uphold. Semper fidelis,
The yearly event is held in recogni- meaning always faithful, signifies a
tion of Nov. 10 as the day on which the marine’s loyalty to the United States as
Continental Marines were established well as to their fellow service men and
by the Second Continental Congress in women.
1775.
While Marine Corps members were
The sold-out event was steeped in
military tradition, from the presenta-
tion of Colors and playing of Taps in
memory of fallen comrades, to the cere-
monial cutting of the patriotic birthday
cake by the oldest and youngest ma-
rines in attendance. Wielding a sword
with much fanfare, these warriors
sliced the cake and made a toast to the

22 Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21 Eric and Kelly Menger.
Bruce Cady, Curtis Holden and Maj. Eric Flowers.

Cynthia and Sgt Rob Ryan. Dorothy and Rev. Dr. Sylvester McIntosh. Roy DeYoung, Michael Bodnar and Michael Bodnar.

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24 Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

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At Veterans Day Ceremony, salutes for service rendered

Judy Nash, Pat Daniels and Marcya Brodasky. Katie and Beau Guettler. PHOTOS: KAILA JONES Kelly Menger and John Papageorge.

Cub Scout Pack 567.

Hal and Patti Glassman. Beverly and Ronald Stevens.

The quiet seren- County. The event honors all those
ity of Veterans who served in and were honorably
Memorial Island Sanctuary was discharged from all branches of
broken by the sounds of a bag- the United States military. As vet-
pipe playing, the ringing of ships erans paraded past flags wafting
bells and the trumpet of a bugle in the breeze, it was a reminder to
as veterans and members of the everyone present of the sacrifices
community gathered for the an- made and the debt owed to cur-
nual Veterans Day Ceremony last rent and former men and women
Monday morning, hosted by the in uniform, with the realization
Veterans Council of Indian River that “freedom isn’t free.” 

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Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 25

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Lt. Col. Eric “Rip” Wieler, USMC Ret. and World War II veteran Jay Miller. U. S. Army Staff Sgt. Kevin Luquid places the ceremonial wreath. Retired U.S. Army Col. Darryl “Sam” Kouns.

26 Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

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Vets group praises Impact 100’s meaningful mission

BY MARY SCHENKEL Gladys LaForge and Amy Acker. PHOTOS: MARY SCHENKEL Gail Long and Pat Carnevale. Oates said programming has grown
Staff Writer from its initial focus on transporta-
Impact 100 became its own 501(c)3 sion of team philanthropy. tion and Veterans Day ceremonies,
Members of the Veterans Coun- nonprofit, adding, “On that day in Before he spoke about the impact of to areas such as Veterans Memorial
cil of Indian River County were front July, we celebrated our own indepen- Island Sanctuary, the Vero Beach Air
and center at the 12th annual Indian dence from the Indian River Com- the grant they received for the Veter- Show, Upward American Veterans,
River Impact 100 Membership Kick- munity Foundation, and now stand ans Helping Veterans program, Oates Veterans Outreach, Veterans in the
off Brunch last Wednesday morning financially and operationally inde- spoke about the growth of the Veter- Classroom, Scholarships, the Victory
at the Oak Harbor Club. The featured pendent.” ans Council since its founding in 1987. Center Military Store and the Veter-
guest speaker was retired U. S. Army ans Helping Veterans program, which
Lt. Col. Carroll Oates, representing She credited the achievement to “Veterans Helping Veterans not assists qualified veterans with home
the Veterans Council of Indian River the initial Impact founders, past and only is the program we established, repairs and handicapped accessibil-
County, a 2018 grant recipient. present board members, sponsors but it happens to be our basic stan- ity needs.
and members, noting that reaching dard mission,” said Oates. He said the
“As we begin our 12th year, we have the milestone had been the result of Veterans Council supports local vet- Having received the grant, Oates
so much to be proud of. We’ve given their vision, courage, commitment, erans through the collective effort of said, “we were determined to earn
over $4.1 million to our local nonprof- teamwork and passion for the mis- 25 veteran organizations, along with the gift we were given. We wanted to
its,” said Amy Acker, Impact 100 board civic and community groups. stretch the impact of every dollar.”
president.
Primarily using veteran contrac-
Following a team philanthropy tors, the Impact grant funded 23
model, Impact 100 members contrib- separate projects, directly impact-
ute $1,000 apiece. The money is com- ing 82 recipients from World War II
bined into increments of $100,000 veterans to recent conflicts. The Vet-
and members collectively vote to erans Council is continuing the pro-
determine which high-impact pro- gram through their own fundraising
grams to fund. The number of trans- efforts; they are now working on the
formational grants is determined by 29th project.
the number of members.
For more information, visit impac-
Acker noted that this past July 1, t100ir.com veteranscouncilirc.club. 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 27

PEOPLE

Aaron Collins with Lyndal and Chris Hill. Dr. Suzanne Conway, Toni Hamner, Mary Ellen McCarthy and Maryann DiMarzo. Jean Beckert, Judy Peschio, Brenda Lloyd and Susan Smith.

Carrie Adams, Melody Ipolito and Dace Stubbs. Patricia Geyer and Terry Treat.

Elke Fetterolf, Elizabeth Thomason and Laura Luettger. Pilar Turner and Marty Zickert.

Jan Harrell and Suzanne Bertman. Lt. Col. Carroll Oates, U.S. Arm Ret.
Amy Acker and Jim Romanek.

David Heroux with members of the Indian River Charter High School Chamber Orchestra.

28 Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

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Big-hearted Chenault wins Spirit of Community Award

Scott Alexander, Alma Lee Loy and Susan Chenault. Ted Chenault (front), Rick Hahn, Susan Chenault Hahn, Charles Angelia Perry, Cara Perry and Baerbel O’Haire.
and Elizabeth Gerrald and Mary Ellen Replogle. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF haven’t met many people who have president at FAU.
Staff Writer the caring qualities that Susan has. Perry said the award recognizes
We’re thrilled that Susan’s getting
In recognition of her longtime recognition.” individuals “for their outstanding
volunteerism and community sup- achievements and for serving as
port, Susan Chenault was presented The work undertaken by the com- positive role models in their respec-
with the Spirit of Community Award mission to support women and girls tive communities. The recipients
by the Florida Commission on the in Florida has come full circle in are the embodiment of dedicated
Status of Women last Wednesday regards to Loy. In 1964 she was ap- community service. Simply put,
afternoon at Northern Trust Bank. pointed by then-Gov C. Farris Bry- they make our communities and
ant as one of the original commis- our state a better place to live.”
“If there’s anybody whose heart sioners, and was a recipient of the
is bigger than Susan Chenault’s, I’d award in 2018. The roomful of community lead-
like to know who it is,” said Scott ers was a testament to the many
Alexander, NTB regional president, “We take great pride in honoring organizations and lives Chenault
who, with Alma Lee Loy, nominated individuals who have gone above has touched throughout the years.
Chenault, a senior vice president and beyond to help their commu- With a humbleness belying her ac-
at NTB, for the award. “I frankly nities,” said Cara Perry, FCSW rep- complishments, she quickly turned
resentative and an assistant vice the tables on the crowd by pointing

Sandra Rennick and Gail Alexander.

out the accomplishments of others
in the room.

“I feel like a millennial who gets
an award for just showing up, be-
cause I truly feel like that’s all I’ve
really done in my time here in this
community,” said Chenault. “I
haven’t done anything that all of
you haven’t also done, and a lot of
you with a lot more dedication and
a lot more hours.”

Recognizing her parents as the
genesis for her charity work, she
said with heartfelt admiration, “My
dad [Ted Chenault] is the first per-
son who taught me about giving
back. When my sister and I were old
enough to answer the phone, he had
us at the Citrus Bank across town
doing the Jerry Lewis Telethon. The
idea that you live in a wonderful
place is made better when you get to
participate in it and help other peo-
ple. I’m surrounded by good people.
I think a lot of the shine is really you
all on me.” 

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30 Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

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Waxing poetic about historic Jackson home’s new role

BY SAMANTHA ROHLFING BAITA Dr. Kathy Doner with biographer Elizabeth Friedmann. PHOTOS: KAILA JONES 12-mile journey to its new location.
Staff Writer Last week’s activities began
was gloriously overwhelming. Ulti- Funds were raised, plans drawn,
Last week was an exciting one for mately, the foundation partnered permits obtained and, on July 14, Wednesday with a fundraiser at the
supporters of the Laura (Riding) with the college, both seeing it as of 2019, the house, along with its asso- Majestic Theatre, featuring a screen-
Jackson Foundation. After two-plus great mutual benefit. ciated pole barn, made the 6-mph, ing of the documentary “When We
years of monumental effort, the his- Were Apollo,” which celebrates the
toric 110-year-old Florida cracker 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11
home of internationally renowned moon landing. The evening opened
poet Laura (Riding) Jackson reaches with a brilliant performance of “Age of
the end of one journey and begins Aquarius” by the Charter High School
another. Newly situated on the Vero chorus, and post film, audience mem-
campus of Indian River State College, bers chatted with three Apollo team
it will soon become a center of multi- members.
generational learning in the fields of
literature, history and the environ- The attendees also met Louise Ken-
ment. nedy, the very first executive director
of the Laura (Riding) Jackson Foun-
Originally built in Wabasso in 1910, dation. Kennedy, a teacher at Saint
the house was eventually moved to Edward’s School and a long-time
the Environmental Learning Cen- supporter of LRJF, officially takes the
ter where it stood for 25 years. In reins next summer.
2017, the foundation learned that the
homestead was not included in the At the IRSC Richardson Center on
ELC’s master plan and would have to Friday morning, Jackson’s biogra-
be relocated. pher, Elizabeth Friedmann, explored
“who is Laura (Riding) Jackson” via
Board members sought help from her book “A Mannered Grace.” The di-
the community to save the fragile, minutive poet has been called a witch,
historic structure and the response megalomaniac and home-breaker, as
well as one of the most gifted writers of

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Indian River State College

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December 5, 2019
“The Economic Outlook and Its Risks” with Dr. Tom Cunningham

January 9, 2020
“A Health Diet: What Do We Know and What Is Just Hype!”

with Dr. Sarah Booth

February 13, 2020
“The Changing Face of Healthcare” with Dr. Patricia Numann

March 12, 2020
“Deep Disruption: How Core Technologies Are Changing Our World &

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April 9, 2020
“A Year in Western Afghanistan–Discussing Diplomacy and Women’s

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772-462-7880 | www.irscfoundation.org

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 31

PEOPLE

the 20th century. Her life was equally and her crooked, awkward gait; the Jackson’s physician, Dr. Kathy Do- to “opening a treasure box.”
complex, bohemian and fascinating. result of having flung herself out a ner, who was present at her death in Casey Lunceford, IRSC Indian
second-floor window in Majorca, 1991, called the renewed interest in
Later, umbrella-wielding guests Spain, over a lover. the house and the poet herself akin River County provost, credited with
trekked across the wet sod to the suggesting the college-foundation
house itself, which, in the gray drizzle, partnership, said he anticipates a
seemed perfectly settled as a pair of growing synergy between the two.
cranes calmly poked for bugs in the
front yard. Among those present were House Preservation committee
several who had known Jackson. chair Jacque Jacobs, the project liai-
son/point person, admitted to being
With a smile, her attorney, Rene a bit emotional as this phase draws to
VanDeVoorde, recalled, “She spoke a close, saying that as “a storyteller,
with an English accent, although she this house has moved me deeply.”
wasn’t English.”
The official grand opening and a
Jackson’s long-time typist, Susan visitors’ schedule are expected to-
Morris, remembered the house being ward the end of January.
filled with papers and books. Morris
mentioned Jackson’s utter brilliance For more information, visit laura-
ridingjackson.org. 

32 Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

‘No greater joy’: Arc honors Walker with Replogle Award

BY KERRY FIRTH
Correspondent

Supporters of The Arc, a nonprofit Mary Ellen Replogle and Coleman Replogle. PHOTOS: KAILA JONES Al and Betty Sammartino.
that caters to special needs individ-
uals, gathered at the Grand Harbor their wings like family, is awe in- and empowers these individuals $300,000, for which they rely on fund-
Golf Club last Wednesday evening spiring. I am honored to been given through life skill programs, assis- raisers and donations.
for the fifth annual Replogle Family this award, but their smiling faces is tance with job placement, supported
Award Dinner, which this year hon- reward enough.” living and group home placement. “The generosity of the community
ored Studio Gabriel owner Chris is what enables us to provide services
Walker. Demonstrating that the admira- “We currently serve over 230 peo- to our most vulnerable citizens,” said
tion was mutual, the chorus dedi- ple annually,” said CEO Heather Dales.
Mary Ellen Replogle has been a cated the song “I’ll always love you” Dales. “Some live at home and we
moving force within the organiza- to her, singing and signing ‘I love help with shopping, medical ap- Board member Ginny Blossom
tion since she and other concerned you’ to Walker, who responded in pointments, banking and money spoke about a current capital cam-
families founded it in 1975, and the sign and blew kisses to the group. management. Others live in our paign to raise money for a sixth group
Replogle family created the award group homes; we have five in Indian home, adding, “I am also very excited
to recognize others in the commu- In Indian River County, more River County and each houses four about a new partnership with the At-
nity who have shown outstanding than 2,000 families are impacted by to six clients.” lantic Classical Orchestra and the new
support for the agency. special needs such as Down’s syn- music therapy program that is in the
drome, cerebral palsy, autism and Dales said that while they do re- works.”
Walker has been a staunch sup- other developmental and traumatic ceive some state funding, they must
porter of The Arc for more than brain disabilities. The Arc supports make up an annual deficit of about For more information, visit www.ar-
eight years. She opens up Studio cir.org. 
Gabriel several times a year so that
members of The Arc chorus may
perform, giving them a platform for
public awareness and acceptance.
She has also hired two very dedicat-
ed and willing employees through
The Arc’s employment program,
and has sponsored fundraisers, vol-
unteered and donated to the cause.

“There is no greater joy for me
than to see our staff and clients
embrace the beautiful souls in The
Arc chorus. They are just so joyful
and innocent, and everyone loves
them,” said Walker.

“Seeing them flourish, and
watching my staff and clients em-
brace them and take them under

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 33

PEOPLE

Sarah Replogle and Penny Odiorne. Chris Walker and Nikki Walker. Sara Beth and Dillon Roberts.

Michael and Janine Richmond.

Susan and Ed Smith with Ginny Blossom.
Stacy Best, Heather Dales and Noreen Davis.

34 Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Inspiration is the word at Literacy Services’ author event

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF
Staff Writer

Literacy Services of Indian River PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 36 Jessica Schmitt and C. Morgan Babst.
County hosted an intimate gather- Laura Van Beek, Gaby Besting, Sue Walker, JoAnn Connolly, Margie Zunk and Linda Pilgrim
ing at the Windsor Beach Club dur- my GED,” said Cendejas.
ing its Author Series last Wednesday guage to hundreds of students. This silent-auction items, guests were in- Afterward, board member Lorna
evening featuring C. Morgan Babst, gift is a tool they use to improve their troduced to Guille Cendejas, who has
who shared the genesis for her debut lives and contribute to the commu- been working with her tutor for five Stengel facilitated a casual conver-
novel, “The Floating World.” nity, enabling these adult learners to years. sation with Babst, a native of New
read a book for the first time, become Orleans, where her family has lived
Literacy Services has been enrich- United States citizens, get better jobs “When I tried to speak, people since before the city had its name.
ing lives since 1971 by offering free and open businesses.” laughed at me, so I closed down and She studied writing at Yale and NYU
tutoring, enabling adults and their didn’t speak. Now, I speak English and her essays and other works have
families to increase their contribu- After enjoying cocktails and hors on the job every day and I read to my been published in the Washington
tions to the community through d’oeuvres while perusing a variety of grandchildren. Someday I hope to get
improved literacy skills. Applying a
mantra of “one page, one book, one
life at a time,” the nonprofit works to
end generational illiteracy through
tutoring and mentorship. Students
learn to read and, in the case of ESL
(English as a second language) stu-
dents, speak English.

“Proceeds benefit students work-
ing diligently to improve their read-
ing and language skills,” said Jessica
Schmitt, executive director to guests.
“You give the gift of reading and lan-

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 35

PEOPLE

Post, Saveur and Harvard Review, by Hurricane Katrina and its after- ly. harder because of it,” said Babst.
among others. math. “We live in a state of denial about “My way of coping is to write

Babst discussed her writing meth- The novel hit home for some in our geographical and climatological through problems with the expecta-
odology, the New Orleans of her the audience who had experienced situation. But we also live really big. tion that by making them into solid,
childhood and its racial history, the wrath of a hurricane firsthand, It’s almost like life itself, to live in that patterned pieces of art, that I will
which inspired the narrative of “The including Schmitt, who said she had sort of a situation where you know somehow be able to put them away.”
Floating World.” The book follows the read the book while hunkered down that it’s going to end. So you live a
saga of a fictional family devastated waiting for Hurricane Dorian recent- little louder and you dance a little bit For more information, visit litera-
cyservicesirc.org. 

36 Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 34 Sandy Mann and Lorna Stengel. PHOTOS: STEPHANIE LABAFF Kent Jones, Susan Hale and Don Mann.
Pamela Larsen, Elida Gomez and Donna Remsnyder.

Guille Cendejas, Larry Salustro and Linda Barker. Mary Arnold and Marion Berry. Wendy Stengel and Bill Stengel.

THEATRE GUILD’S ‘CAMELOT’:
STREAMLINED AND SATISFYING

38 Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

Theatre Guild’s ‘Camelot’: Streamlined and satisfying

BY PAM HARBAUGH Jack Evans as Sir Lancelot.
Correspondent
PHOTOS BY KAILA JONES
This is not your grandfather’s
“Camelot.” Heck, it isn’t even your big
brother’s.

You’ll see that the moment the cur-
tain opens at the Vero Beach Theatre
Guild. Rather than a massive castle
spanning the width of the stage, the
story is set in a clearing in the forest.
The cast, numbering only nine actors,
instead of the typical dozen or more,
come onto stage with long, wooden
staffs. They bang them on the stage in
primitive, tribal cadence, before one
of them steps out to begin the “Once
Upon a Time” story.

But this new version is nevertheless
filled with all those soaring, beauti-
ful songs you’ve grown to love from
the original Lerner and Lowe musical.
It has the passion, humor, charm and
most of all, inventiveness.

No question about it, a fresh breeze
has blown into a 70-year-old musical.

“It’s a new adaptation by David
Lee,” says director Alex Martinez. “It’s
a more intimate experience than what

the show usually is. The audience has John Caterina and Caitlin Harris as King Arthur and
been loving it.” Lady Guinevere.

While all the music is there, from Rather than all the heraldry expect-
“C’est Moi” and “How to Handle a ed in a Knights of the Round Table fa-
Woman” to “If Ever I Would Leave ble, here the costumes, props, scenery
You” and “Camelot,” changes did and lighting all have a rustic look. The
have to be made to tighten the story’s knights don’t wear suits of armor; they
pacing. In fact, you’ll be out in two wear leather breast plates.
hours instead of three.
Their swords, all except for King Ar-
John Caterina, who plays King Ar- thur’s, are wooden. Caterina came with
thur, did the same role in a produc- his own sword, a proper one that he
tion of the original version last year used previously.
in Tennessee. He said the biggest
change for him was doing away with
two characters – Merlyn the Magi-
cian and King Pellinore, the older
knight mentor.

“But it was very cleverly done,” says
Caterina. “The end result is a much
more interactive form, with a lot more
breaking of the fourth wall. It’s told as
a player sitting by the campfire telling
the story of Camelot.”

Having performed the original
version last year, there are times
when Caterina says he was prone to
mix up a line.

“There’s a couple of altered scenes,
and characters are now missing,” he
explains. “A lot of the dialogue had to
be changed here and there, cut back
or moved to different scenes. In the
original version, there are conver-
sations I have with Merlyn. I had to
catch myself a couple of times where
I start to talk to Merlyn, but he’s not
there so I can’t do that.”

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 39

ARTS & THEATRE

Andrew Blizman, Shannon Fallon, Don Hipsman, Nikki Marie Przedwiecki and Phil Markley.

And that’s nice, because there’s a Lancelot to be rather a ruffian. She
wants nothing to do with him. But af-
perfect, story-telling bit of theater early ter a jousting scene, he saves the life of
a knight who has fallen, and she sees
in the show, when a younger member something deep within him. The love
triangle has been forged.
of the cast depicts the Arthurian legend
They try to resist their love, which
of the young man pulling the sword proves the downfall not only for them
but also for the realm of Camelot.
from the stone.
“I just fell in love with this version,”
“Have sword, will travel,” Caterina says Jon Putzke, president of the Vero
Beach Theatre Guild. “It is new, excit-
said. “The nice thing is I get to use it ing, faithful to the original score and
storyline. And the fact that we had
twice.” three musicals on our schedule, we
thought this little gem would fit per-
The musical number “Before I fectly between the two big ones.”

Gaze at You Again” has been changed Putzke is just as enthusiastic about
Martinez, who he calls a “brilliant
into a duet between Lady Guinevere young talent.”

and Sir Lancelot. Indeed. This marks a solid debut
as a director for Martinez. A talented
“It’s even more beautiful because 23-year-old theater student at Indian
River State College, he moved with his
you get to hear his side as well,” says family from Westchester County, just
north of New York City, to Vero Beach
Martinez. two years ago. Previously, he had writ-
ten and acted, and directed an improve
In an interview in Theatermania. group at his high school.

com, Lee, who produced and wrote for Martinez immediately got involved
with the Theatre Guild and directed a
such popular television shows as “Fra- staged reading of “A Night in the The-

sier,” “Cheers” and “Wings,” said that ater” last season. Next season,
he’ll be directing the VBTG sea-
his idea was to pare down the story to son opening of “Over the Tavern”
in July.
its basic elements. His concept for “Camelot” was to
keep it as clean and lean as Lee’s script.
“I realized I didn’t need a whole cho- “It goes back to the roots of theater,”
says Martinez. “You have performance
rus of people or fancy scenery,” he ex- and storytelling. The big thing in this
new version is to have the audience fill
plained. “And all of a sudden, in the blanks by using their imagina-
tion. You don’t have to build a castle
I went ‘Oh, I for the audience to feel like they’re in
a castle. We’re all on this imaginative
think there’s journey together.”
“Camelot” runs through Dec. 1 at the
an important, Vero Beach Theatre Guild, 2020 San Juan
Ave., Vero Beach. It performs 7:30 p.m.
Lance Morgan touching, sexy weeknights and 2 p.m. weekends. The the-
as Mordred. story here.’” ater is dark on Mondays. Tickets are $15 to
$30. Call 772-562-8300 or visit VeroBeach-
So yes, at TheatreGuild.com. 

heart is the
story of a love
triangle. King
Arthur loves
Lady Guine-
vere, played
by the sweet
voiced Cait-
lin Harris. He
also considers Sir
Lancelot, a powerfully
voiced Jack Evans, to be
his ideal for a man.
At first, Lady
Guinevere finds Sir

40 Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

Hit the road for these feel-good holiday spectaculars

BY PAM HARBAUGH tumes first await you farthest north
Correspondent at the Titusville Playhouse, and a lit-
tle farther south, at the Cocoa Village
Keep your holiday visitors happy. Playhouse. In Melbourne there are
Get tickets now to some shows a little Christmas favorites at the Henegar,
north of Vero Beach that are designed the Melbourne Civic Theatre and the
to ratchet up cheery moods. There are King Center, which also features a be-
so many holiday shows offered up this loved ballet classic.
year, there will certainly be something
for everyone. The roster of feel-good holiday fun
begins Friday Nov. 22 when “Elf, the
Theater magic and colorful cos-

“The Nutcracker” by Space Coast Ballet. PHOTO BY KEVIN ROBERTS

Musical” makes its Brevard communi- Apple as he was at the North Pole.
ty theater debut at Titusville Playhouse. “The show is such whimsical fun,”

This is the musical version of the said production manager Niko Stamos.
2003 Will Ferrell movie. It has been “It’s very funny and has the same ener-
adapted for the stage in 2010 and has gy as the movie but it’s fleshed out bet-
scads of new music; including “Spar- ter because of the musical form.”
klejollytwinklejingley” which is a big,
jolly number performed while Macy’s The show has all the characteristics
is being decorated. of a so-called “instant classic” because
the story is already so well known by
It follows Buddy, a human raised as the young audiences.
an elf by Santa Claus, who ventures to
New York City one holiday season to Directed by Steven Heron, colorful
find his birth father. visuals are a big part of the produc-
tion, which will be seen in Joseph Lark
But he is as out of place in the Big Riley’s scenic design and the large

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 41

ARTS & THEATRE

assortment of professionally con- 24 at various times. Tickets are $30. MCT tion has graced the King Center. It is not visit CocoaVillagePlayhouse.com.
structed Santa Claus, elf and Macy’s is at 817 E. Strawbridge Ave., Melbourne. to be missed.
costumes which Titusville Playhouse Call 321-723-6935 or visit MyMCT.org. “A Christmas Carol” is a national
purchased from the Paramount The- “The Nutcracker” performs 2 p.m. and tour produced by the Nebraska Theatre
ater in Chicago. “The Nutcracker” will be performed 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7 at the King Cen- Caravan that comes to the King Center
at the King Center by the Space Coast ter, 3865 N. Wickham Rd., Melbourne. mainstage.
“Elf” performs Nov. 22 to Dec. 22 at Ballet, accompanied by the Brevard Tickets start at $25. Call 321-242-2219 or
Titusville Playhouse, 301 Julia St., Ti- Symphony Orchestra led by Maestro visit KingCenter.com. It tells the classic Charles Dickens’
tusville. Tickets are $25 to $34, with dis- Christopher Confessore. story of Ebeneezer Scrooge being vis-
counts available for students, military “The American Nutcracker” with ited by three spirits who change his
and seniors. Call 321-268-1125 or visit This is the production that has all the Galmont Ballet at Cocoa Village wicked ways.
TitusvillePlayhouse.com. the lavish Kirov-constructed sets and Playhouse, is Tchaikovsky with a down-
costumes. It is directed by Ekaterina home Americana twist. “A Christmas Carol” performs 3 p.m.
“White Christmas” will enjoy a re- Shchelkanova, formerly with the Kirov Sunday, Dec. 22 at the King Center, 3865
vival at Cocoa Village Playhouse where Ballet and the American Ballet Theatre. “The American Nutcracker” runs N. Wickham Rd., Melbourne. Tickets
it too opens Friday Nov. 22. Dec. 20 to 22 at Cocoa Village Play- start at $29.75 adults and $20 for chil-
It has been a long time since this fully house, 300 Brevard Ave., Cocoa. Tick- dren. Call 321-242-2219 or visit KingCen-
While “Elf” has that new car smell, staged and fully orchestrated produc- ets are $18 to $26. Call 321-636-5050 or ter.com. 
“White Christmas” is based on the 1954
Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and Rose-
mary Clooney movie with music by Ir-
ving Berlin. It took nearly half a century
for writers to bring it to the stage.

The storyline concerns some show
people who put on a show in order to
save a quaint Vermont inn. That means
snow, song and dance.

“White Christmas” performs Nov. 22
to Dec. 8 at Cocoa Village Playhouse, 300
Brevard Ave., Cocoa. Tickets are $18 to
$26. Call 321-636-5050 or visit CocoaVil-
lagePlayhouse.com.

“It’s A Wonderful Life” also will have
a revival at the Henegar in Melbourne.

“This is a completely different ver-
sion, with different writers and differ-
ent book,” said Stamos, who co-directs
the show with Heron. “It’s pretty much
the movie script.”

The plot, based on the 1946 James
Stewart movie, revolves around good-
guy banker George Bailey, who suffers
a financial blow and thinks that the
world would be better off without him.
He gets heavenly help from an angel
named Clarence.

“It’s a Wonderful Life” performs Dec.
6 to 22 at the Henegar Center, 625 E.
New Haven Ave., Melbourne. Tickets
are $19 to $29. Call 321-723-8693 or visit
Henegar.org.

“Making Spirits Bright” is the an-
nual holiday show/fundraiser at Mel-
bourne Civic Theatre.

The production is a variety show and
stars one the area’s most charismatic
stage performers, Alfie Silva. It brings
on stage performers who interact with
Silva and the audience. There is music,
dance, celebrity impersonations and
plenty of fun both on and off stage.

This year, director Peg Girard is stag-
ing the show so that a few VIP tables
will be placed on stage. The tables cost
$250, seat four people and include two
beverages per person and bar snacks.

“The Christmas show is a fun way to
get into the spirit,” Girard said. “Alfie
makes every Christmas season bet-
ter and ‘Making Spirits Bright’ is what
MCT does best.”

“Making Spirits Bright” runs Dec. 6 to

42 Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

COMING UP! ‘Grand Night at Opera’ features superior sopranos

BY SAMANTHA ROHLFING BAITA glorious operatic program will be a sought for her ‘’Violetta.’” Together for each Christmas season. With this
Staff Writer pair of sopranos – Amy Cofield and this special presentation, Kruger and year’s theme “Winter Wonderland,”
Mary Anne Kruger, who have had ac- Cofield bring their breathtaking tal- area designers crank up their creative,
1 A glittering afternoon of opera claimed careers as international opera ent to bear with treasured grand op- artistic skills for intense competition
awaits: Are you mesmerized by performers and now (lucky for us op- era works by Puccini, Verdi, Bellini, in five categories, decorating to with-
era aficionados) live in Brevard Coun- Gounod and other masters of the form. in an inch of their branch-tips trees
the bel canto of “Norma”? Heartbro- ty. Kruger, according to the SCSO pro- A few: “Belle nuit” from Offenbach’s provided by Riverside: Tall Tree, Short
mo, spent most of her career in Europe, “Les Contes d’Hoffman”; Strauss’ “Ist Tree, Wreath, Gingerbread House and
ken by the drama of “Tosca”? You abso- singing 40-plus roles, including “Mad- ein Traum” from “Der Rosenkavalier”; Santa’s Village. Inside and out, you
ama Butterfly” and “Salome”; Cofield’s Bellini’s “Casta diva” from “Norma”; will not recognize the theater or the
lutely need to be at First Presbyterian international career has included Eu- Delibes’ “Dome epais” from “Lakme”; campus, amazingly transformed for
rope, Asia and the U.S., “often being and Puccini’s “Vissi d’arte” from “To- this one very special weekend into a
Church this Sunday afternoon, Nov. sca.” Curtain: 3 p.m. Admission: free. A magical Festival Forest, aglow with
$20 donation is always so much appre- thousands of twinkling lights, and the
24, when the Space Coast Symphony ciated. 855-252-7276. breathtaking Grand Festival Hall; as
well as that Christmas season Must,
Orchestra brings us “A Grand Night at a visit from and even meals with
Kris Kringle; plus another huge fav
the Opera.” Coming together for this – an ice rink for kids ages 2 through
11 ($3 rental, socks required). Sorry,
2 A glorious, gorgeous Christmas non-kids. There will also be live per-
tradition in Vero Beach: River- formances, vendor booths, and arts
and crafts (in case holiday shopping
side Theatre’s “Festival of Trees.” A should cross your mind). Time: Sat-
urday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, 10
family must-do to launch your holiday a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Admission: $10; 12
and under, $5; 3 and under, free. 772-
season, this three-day spectacular 231-6990. www.riversidetheatre.com/
festival-of-trees. 
starts with a gala this Friday, Nov. 22,

and is free for the public Saturday and

Sunday, Nov. 23-24. Now celebrating

its 22nd year, “Festival of Trees” has

always been a joy-filled, holiday-spir-

it-filled family event and (if you’ve at-

tended in past years, you know) it real-

ly, really does just get better and better

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, N.C. – On any ers such as post office head Celeste what nobody wants to say,” said Erin ty commissioner, remains committed
normal late-fall day, the ferries that Brooks and her two grandchildren Baker, the only doctor to serve this to its recovery.
ply the 30 miles between Swan Quar- scrambling into their attics. community of 1,000. “It’s a question of
ter and this barrier island might carry how do we continue to have life here.” “Is this really sustainable? The answer
vacationing retirees, sports fisher- Ocracoke has been closed to visitors is pretty clearly no,” he said. “But what’s
men and residents enjoying main- ever since. Island-bound ferries carry Scientists have long warned that the timeline? No one has been able to
land getaways after the busy summer yawning container trucks to haul back Ocracoke’s days are numbered, that say, ‘You’ve got 15 years, 40 years, 100
tourist season. the sodden detritus of destroyed homes. this treasured island is a bellwether for years.’ The clear-eyed vision is resiliency
And O’cockers – proud descendants of vast stretches of the U.S. coast. then retreat.”
But two months ago, Hurricane the pilots and pirates who navigated
Dorian washed away all signs of these treacherous shores – are faced “Virtually everyone from Virginia The disaster has in some ways short-
normalcy here. After buzz-cutting with a reckoning: whether this sliver Beach south to the U.S./Mexico bor- ened people’s outlook.
the Bahamas, the giant storm rolled of sand, crouched three feet above sea der is going to be in the same situation
overhead, raising a seven-foot wall of level between the Atlantic Ocean and in the next 50 years,” said Michael Or- “I don’t think we’re thinking that far
water in its wake that sloshed back Pamlico Sound, can survive the threats bach, professor emeritus of marine af- ahead right now,” said Monroe Gaskill,
through the harbor, invading centu- of extreme weather and rising sea lev- fairs at Duke University. “And it’s only 64, echoing in the distinctive island
ry-old homes that have never before els. And if it can’t, why rebuild? going to get worse after that.” brogue the immediate concerns of
taken in water and sending island- many “ol’ toimers”: whether the island
“That’s the unspoken question. That’s If Ocracoke’s ultimate prognosis is will be open in time for duck-hunting
grim, Tom Pahl, the township’s coun- season later this month; where stu-

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 47

INSIGHT COVER STORY

dents will study next semester when said Young, so FEMA’s decision “comes public sector is either not going to want “We’re loving these islands to death,”
they have to relinquish their tempo- across as arbitrary.” or to be able to afford to accept the risk.” Riggs said, constructing roads and
rary classrooms in the old Coast Guard bridges to bring in tourists and block-
Station; and what will become of all While Young does not advocate mass Meanwhile, the future of the Outer ing the natural flow of tides and storms
the displaced residents, who are holed migration, wetter storms are raising Banks is made more precarious by de- that over millennia have shaped the
up in rental units, once the tourists re- questions about using taxpayer money velopment, said Stanley Riggs, who 175-mile string of shifting sand banks.
turn next Easter. to rebuild coastal communities. devoted his career at East Carolina Uni-
versity to studying the state’s 10,000- Riggs served on a state advisory
Even as some houses are being bull- “At some point, there is going to be mile coastline. panel that in 2010 predicted more
dozed, neighbors are working together a breaking point,” he said, “when the than three feet of sea-level rise by
to raise others. Monroe Gaskill, a commercial fisherman and 2100, prompting a backlash from law-
A fuel truck and emergency response equipment licensed hunter guide, said he thinks people makers skeptical of climate change
“Now I know there is no such thing is loaded onto a ferry to Ocracoke Island in Swan on the island are more focused on their and developers. A compromise bill,
as high enough,” said Janet Spencer be- Quarter, N.C., across Pamlico Sound from the immediate concerns right now. based on a shorter timeline, passed
hind the counter of the hardware store, island, on Saturday Sept. 7th, 2019. in 2012, even as the jeopardy has be-
which reopened without power right An overturned sailboat in Beaufort, N.C. after come clearer here: The coastline of
after the storm. She and her husband What remains of Highway 12 is piled Hurricane Dorian passed the North Carolina Cape Hatteras, north of Ocracoke, is
jacked up their home 18 years ago – just up to be hauled away after flooding coast on Friday, Sept. 6, 2019. eroding rapidly, retreating by more
one cinder block too few to keep out caused by Hurricane Dorian. than a mile since Hurricane Isabel in
Dorian. Still, she said, long-term resi- Little Ocracoke Island took a major hit. 2003; to the south, once-vibrant Ports-
dents won’t leave. The storm moved quickly, but it left the mouth is a ghost town.
island ravaged from waters that rose
“It’s the only thing we know,” she said. like a tidal wave. Sitting outside the makeshift class-
There are hazards everywhere, said rooms, middle school science teacher
Amy Howard, 47, a local historian and Patricia Piland described how cli-
craft store manager, and hurricanes mate science has become real for her
have shaped the culture of this storied eighth-graders. Their curriculum this
village. She showed off the floorboards semester focuses on the hydrosphere,
her great-grandfather cut out in 1933 but she has moderated her message
to relieve pressure from mounting wa- for students shell shocked by their
ter and prevent the house from floating narrow escape.
off its foundations. The building was
raised in 1944 after a storm, and now “One girl said, ‘So, we’re screwed.’ ”
her father plans to elevate it further. Piland recalled. “I told them I believe
Alton Ballance, a descendant, like we can plan for sea-level rise.” Doing
Gaskill and Howard, of the island’s ear- so, she said, will require working with
liest white settlers, has heard the call nature rather than responding to the
to retreat. “Time to get off that island!” demands of developers.
one friend, an ocean scientist, has told
him. “There may come a day when Enrollment at the school has dropped
it’s not feasible to continue,” Ballance from 174 to 157 since the storm, and
concedes, but for now he is methodi- Brooks, the post office head, is seeing
cally stripping out the old family home the community fray slightly as families
and installing new electrical outlets file change-of-address forms. “There
waist-high. will be more,” she predicted, weep-
“It’s easy for people in government ing as she recalled the trauma of being
and sometimes in the media to target trapped by rising water.
a small place like this,” Ballance said,
rocking back and forth on a porch Some people who lost their jobs
swing outside the room where his took off quickly. Others are still decid-
mother was born. ing. Tom Parker, 66, who moved here
The Federal Emergency Manage- 20 years ago, wiped away tears as he
ment Agency provided support for sat under the live oak tree where he
rebuilding roads and other infrastruc- has made a steady income charging
ture. But a recent decision to deny tourists $1 to have their photo taken
residents individual assistance, which among its gnarled branches.
would have helped with temporary
housing, has provoked ire when so “I’m tired of having this constant
many coastal communities received risk of having it all destroyed,” he said.
funds after hurricanes such as Sandy
in 2012. But for many people who come here
FEMA said it provides the funding to wait tables or clean motel rooms,
only when state and local resources Ocracoke remains a place of opportu-
are overwhelmed. nity, not retreat. The storm was a set-
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper back for Idalid Maldonado, a seasonal
has signaled his commitment to re- worker already facing problems this
building. But the islanders’ sense of year with her visa, but she hopes it’s
injustice reflects a broad dilemma, ac- only a temporary one.
cording to Rob Young, director of the
Program for the Study of Developed She set down the wheelbarrow she
Shorelines at Western Carolina Uni- has been using to lug the salt-stained
versity – a lack of clarity about which contents out of guest rooms to ponder
parts of the nation’s threatened shore- whether she will be back next summer.
line can and should be protected.
“There is no clear national plan,” “I don’t know,” Maldonado said. “I
don’t know.”

About one-third of Ocracoke’s pop-
ulation is Latino, many of whom came
like Maldonado to serve summer visi-
tors and then were seduced by the

CONTINUED ON PAGE 48

48 Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 47 INSIGHT COVER STORY

gentle year-round rhythm of island Local artists painted and The home of Edward and Stella O’Neal
life where children can roam free. displayed signs to boost is torn down due to damage caused by
morale in Ocracoke after flooding during Hurricane Dorian
“We talked about moving, but here, in Ocracoke.
it’s a special place,” said Gloria Benitez- Hurricane Dorian.
Perez, whose husband is in the con-
struction business and built their house A pile of debris
on stilts. “We are going to be fine.” grows in Ocracoke.

But, like the shipwrecks that sur- Alton Ballance, a descendant of the
face after storms, existing problems island’s earliest white settlers, said:
gained prominence following Dorian’s “There may come a day when it’s not
blow. Stanley “Chip” Stevens, owner of
Blackbeard’s Lodge, named after the feasible to continue.” But for now
fearsome buccaneer who was behead- he’s trying to salvage his home.
ed here, said there has been no full ac-
counting of Dorian’s damage and of
the impact on people living in sheds
and trailers who are “the backbone of
our service workforce.”

He advocates more building, not less,
to support the “shadow economy” on
which Ocracoke – and impoverished
Hyde County – depend.

“What the island needs is affordable
housing,” Stevens said.

Aid workers, meanwhile, comment
on the extraordinary challenges of off-
shore construction. Every box of nails,
each bottle of bleach and all the two-
by-fours have to be driven out through
low-lying country before being loaded
for the almost three-hour ride across
the Sound. Contractors face a round-
trip commute of six hours or more, or
they have to find a place to stay.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 49

INSIGHT COVER STORY

There is another, shorter, route out Dorian chewed up the tarmac. by late November – it will provide a metal mobile clinic shipped in to
of Ocracoke. Only four-wheel drives are allowed lifeline. But it won’t restore normalcy replace her flooded facility. The hur-
to make the trip, tucking in behind or eliminate the sense that this little ricane that pummeled the Bahamas
North of the village, past the dis- a tow truck that leads over rutted, paradise is in limbo. had reduced to a Category 1 by the
carded cars and the corroded appli- chassis-scraping sand to the waiting time it swamped Ocracoke, she said.
ances, Highway 12 leads through the Hatteras ferry. “The hard part hasn’t started yet,”
National Park’s windswept dunes to an said Baker, the island doctor, who “There’s a whole new level of fear for
isolated ferry terminal. Once the road is passable – perhaps is monitoring patients’ stress at the those who stay.” 

50 Vero Beach 32963 / November 21, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT OPINION

The Press Journal gets yet another owner

Two of the largest newspaper groups gious Nieman journalism lab at Harvard wait for the first of the year to begin lay- Financing the deal is Apollo Global
have merged giving birth to the biggest said it’s fair to ask “how much blood is offs: With immediate savings a priority, ex- Management led by Leon Black, a close
newspaper company in the history of left to be drawn from this stone?” pect those anxiety-inducing conversations associate of Jeffrey Epstein. Apollo is
the United States. to begin the week after Thanksgiving.” providing $1.79 billion in financing on
But, said Doctor, “the company won’t a 5-year short-term note at 11.5% inter-
The merger between Gannett, which est. (Can you say, “junk” rates?)
owns the Vero Beach Press Journal, and
Gatehouse, which owns 150 other daily Many media experts have questioned
papers, creates a company with 263 dai- the financial viability of the deal. “No
ly media organizations across 47 states. one believes the numbers,” said billion-
aire investor Leon Cooperman on an
While the combined entity will con- earnings conference call on October 31.
tinue to be called Gannett, the purchas-
er is Gatehouse. The final closing was “The deal is bad for journalists, it’s
scheduled to take place Tuesday, giving bad for readers and it’s bad for the fu-
the Press Journal its 4th owner in 5 years. ture of local journalism,” said the presi-
dent of America’s largest union of jour-
And what the new management was nalists, Bernie Lunzer, “Local papers
once touting as an opportunity to re- will likely vanish, jobs will be slashed,
alize $200 million in annual cost sav- and reporting will suffer.”
ings from the merger has now grown to
$400 million or more. And if the merger goes south, as
many think likely, Apollo and Leon
What does that mean? Given the cuts Black could wind up the next owner of
of the past few years, which have left the what was once Vero’s local paper. Not a
tiny Press Journal office in Vero Beach proud week in American journalism. 
a ghost town, Ken Doctor of the presti-

THE MYTHOLOGY OF BIG TECH DRIVING THE U.S. ECONOMY

The public face of American capital- ent from the superstars of the past. were in the top group for every decade somehow the pillars of the U.S. economy.
ism is Big Tech. Philippon, who teaches at New York from the 1950s to the 1980s. Since the 1950s, the share of employ-

Its constituent firms – Apple, Amazon, University, examined the profitability It was only in the new century that ment represented by the top five com-
Google and Microsoft, to name a few – of the five largest U.S. corporations for Microsoft, Apple and Google pushed panies has dropped from 2.59 percent
seem unique in U.S. history. Awash in each decade since the 1950s. Profit- aside these traditional corporate lead- to 0.44 percent.
profits (Apple earned nearly $60 billion ability was measured by the compa- ers. What has changed, Philippon says,
in 2018), they’re the economy’s driving nies’ profits divided by their sales. are corporate taxes. As late as 1980, they There is no doubt today’s superstar
force. That’s the consensus. were about 50 percent, he says. Now, companies are genuinely impressive,
In the 1950s, the average profitability they’re around 20 percent. The result but so were GM, GE, IBM and AT&T
But it might be wrong. of the five largest firms was 20 percent; in is that, although pre-tax profitability is before them. 
It turns out that the profitability of the 1990s, the average was 19.5 percent. stable, after-tax profits have risen.
these mega-companies – called “su- A version of this column by Robert
perstars” by Thomas Philippon and Likewise, there was enormous stabil- Philippon is also contemptuous of Samuelson first appeared in The Wash-
other economists – isn’t that differ- ity in the companies that made the top the idea that the biggest tech firms are ington Post. It does not necessarily re-
five. General Motors, Exxon and AT&T flect the views of Vero Beach 32963.