01/19/2023 ISSUE 03

of its building across the street from Crestlawn Cemetery. The decision was made this past week by the 700-member club’s new Board of Directors, now headed by President Denis Conlon, a retired business News 1-14 Arts 49-58 Books 42 Dining 74-77 Editorial 40 Games 43-45 Health 59-69 Insight 35-48 People 15-33 Pets 34 Real Estate 79-92 Style 70-73 January 19, 2023 Volume 16, Issue 3 Newsstand Price $2.00 TO ADVERTISE CALL 772-559-4187 FOR CIRCULATION CALL 772-226-7925 2022 is another stellar year for Dale Sorensen Real Estate. P12 Moorings partnership with Habitat grows. P16 County government struggles to fill vacancies. P10 ‘Furry’ of activity at H.A.L.O.’s Masquerade Ball. P31 © 2023 Vero Beach 32963 Media LLC. All rights reserved. For breaking news visit County sees rise in Covid-related hospitalizations BY LISA ZAHNER Staff Writer While the reopening of Jaycee Park’s iconic eatery, the Seaside Grill, remains on pause pending county perCONTINUED ON PAGE 8 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Jeffrey Pickering, president/CEO of the Indian River Community Foundation, can vividly recall the panic attack he experienced on Oct. 16, 2017. It unleashed a flood of disturbing images from a quarter of a century earlier; of being sexually abused as a teenager by his Orlandobased pediatric orthopedist. Over the past five years, Pickering has worked to heal his own psyche, while also working to have the license of the still-practicing physician revoked and advocatBYPIETER VANBENNEKOM Staff Writer Emeritus BY SAMANTHA ROHLFING BAITA Staff Writer The Vero Beach Bridge Club, a 63-year-old institution that has made Vero one of the bestknown cities in the bridge world, has decided to try to sell part A hike in local hospitalizations for COVID-19 shifted Indian River County from the COVID green zone into the Medium COVID Community Level as determined by federal public health officials, but the postholidays rise in new infections here leveled off this past week. Most of Florida is in the same “medium” category as Vero, with pockets of higher areas of community spread in Miami-Dade, and in NorthCentral Florida. The number of new infections statewide increased by only 29 cases from the previous week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Locally the numbers edged up very slightly from 162 to 169 new cases. But the CDC says 20 Indian River County residents fell ill enough with COVID to be hospitalized last week – that’s CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 Vero Beach Bridge Club puts part of its building up for sale Food truck (temporarily) fills beachside void PHOTOS BY JOSHUA KODIS BY MARY SCHENKEL Staff Writer MY VERO BY RAY MCNULTY Public has a right to view disputed jailhouse video CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 ‘Empowered’: Abuse victim’s book aids healing If you want to view video footage recorded by the surveillance system at the County Jail, you’ll need a court order. That’s the troubling new policy adopted by Sheriff Eric Flowers, even as the community’s trust in his administration continues to erode. The jail videos, as well as any accompanying audio, should be made available through Florida’s public records law, but the Sheriff’s Office is now denying such requests, claiming the recordings are exempt from public access or disclosure under a different statute – because they could compromise security and fire-safety systems on the premises. To be exempt from the public-records law, however, Florida Statute 281.301 states that the requested information must relate directly to or reveal the aforementioned systems. In other words: The Sheriff’s Office can’t refuse to turn over the videos simply because they were recorded at the jail, or

2 Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ mits, beachgoers this winter will still be able to grab a midday bite to eat. In the southeast corner of the parking lot, just a few steps from the now shuttered restaurant, a brightly painted food truck is “open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. seven days a week until the Seaside Grill reopens,” according to Tony Zorbaugh. Next to the truck is a shade canopy and a couple of tables. Zorbaugh is executive director of The Source, a local nonprofit dedicated to “changing the face of homelessness” by providing job training for homeless individuals, enabling them to “rejoin the community.” When Zorbaugh became aware of the Seaside Grill ongoing opening delay, he saw an opportunity for his organization to fill a community need while offering hands-on job experience for The Source’s members. As a bonus, it’s a way for the commuNEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Beachside food truck

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 3 “I spent a good couple of years trying to not only deal with it emotionally, but to make sense of what I could do, once I figured out that this doctor was still practicing,” says Pickering. “I couldn't sleep, thinking that it was a possibility with other people. And I didn’t have any proof whether it was or wasn’t.” His own abuse occurred during his high school years, from February 1990 through August 1991 and, through his research, Pickering discovered that there had been a criminal trial accusing the doctor of similar abuse in 1994. The boys and their families were no match for the doctor’s malpractice insurance attorneys, and he was acquitted. “You really have to have cold evidence to be able to convict these people. They know that no kid is going to walk out of this situation with their own evidence, so the only evidence that exists is if the doctor makes a mistake, like in the Nassar case,” Pickering explains, referencing the hundreds of women athletes sexually abused by Larry Nassar under the guise of ‘medical treatment.’ NEWS CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Jeffrey Pickering nity to support The Source’s mission. “We put the wheels in motion last summer, but waited until more people were back in town,” he said. The truck (one of two, and soon-to-be three, food trucks The Source operates) has been open since last week, manned by two of the nonprofit’s members, students of it’s culinary arts training program. Meanwhile, Andy Studebaker and partner Wiley Wong (AG Ventures), experienced restaurateurs with several operations in South Florida who have taken over the Seaside Grill, await word from the county on permit applications. Although the Seaside Grill is within the city limits, Vero Beach doesn’t have a building department, so all permitting goes through the county. According to the county’s building department, “a few different (Seaside Grill) permits ... are in review.” The popular little restaurant, ideally located just off the beach boardwalk, had stood vacant since April 2022, when popular, longtime operators Dan and Rose Culumber decided to retire after 3 decades of round-the-clock management of the business. Late last year, after the anticipated re-opening was first delayed, Studebaker told Vero Beach 32963 that – not uncommon when renovating old structures – issues had been discovered in the roof and the original commercial hood in the kitchen. Under its new owners, the Seaside Grill’s original 2,500-square-foot footprint will remains virtually the same, as will the seating capacity of 65 outside plus 36 inside. Echoing the nautical blue-andwhite exterior, the inside dining area is already furnished, and restaurant patrons will continue to have access to the city’s Jaycee Park restrooms. Vero Beach City Manager Monte Falls said the city continues to “look forward to the opening of the Seaside Grill and wish them much success after their extensive renovations. “Meantime, we are happy to have The Source food truck at Jaycee Park while the Seaside Grill renovations are being completed.” ing for improved laws to protect other children. His horrifying experience, the healing process, and his quest to help others are outlined in his book, “Better at the Broken Places,” for which there will be a book signing at 6 p.m. Jan. 25 at the Vero Beach Book Center.

4 Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ “When you think about the boogeyman, it's as bad as it gets. But it happens. It seems to happen with trusted people in positions of authority; doctors, clerics, teachers, coaches or a family member,” says Pickering. “But as was the case with Nasser, Sandusky, the priest scandals, there are people who don’t want to believe it. Either that or they had it happen to them and don't want to knowledge it. I would imagine that’s more often the case. This is such a painful thing to talk about, but all you want is to be believed.” As abuse progressed, Pickering says he knew that what the doctor was doing wasn’t right, but as a teenage boy he was too embarrassed to say anything. “When you're in there by yourself, the way it goes down is very different than what the clinical description is,” says Pickering. Then, during his final visit to the doctor, he recalls being drugged and raped. “Basically, I was incapacitated. I remember coming to, leaving disoriented. I know I was in total shock. I drove to college and then I just buried it. It’s taken me a long time to sort out the details, but my memory is crystal clear.” When the memories did resurface, Pickering says it was like looking at an old film strip. “My brain just took over and it was NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 Jeffrey Pickering DISCLAIMER: Information published or otherwise provided by Premier Estate Properties, Inc. and its representatives including but not limited to prices, measurements, square footages, lot sizes, calculations and statistics are deemed reliable but are not guaranteed and are subject to errors, omissions or changes without notice. All such information should be independently verified by any prospective purchaser or seller. Parties should perform their own due diligence to verify such information prior to a sale or listing. Premier Estate Properties, Inc. expressly disclaims any warranty or representation regarding such information. Prices published are either list price, sold price, and/or last asking price. Premier Estate Properties, Inc. participates in the Multiple Listing Service and IDX. The properties published as listed and sold are not necessarily exclusive to Premier Estate Properties, Inc. and may be listed or have sold with other members of the Multiple Listing Service. Transactions where Premier Estate Properties, Inc. represented both buyers and sellers are calculated as two sales. Cooperating Brokers are advised that in the event of a Buyer default, no commission will be paid to a cooperating Broker on the Deposits retained by the Seller. No commissions are paid to any cooperating broker until title passes or upon actual commencement of a lease. Some affiliations may not be applicable to certain geographic areas. If your property is currently listed with another broker, please disregard any solicitation for services. Copyright 2022 Premier Estate Properties, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Your Trusted Advisor for Vero Beach Luxury Real Estate 772.234.5555 675 Beachland Boulevard OUR INCOMPARABLE GLOBAL NETWORK Explore More Of Our Exceptional Vero Beach Collection 1148 RIVER WIND CIRCLE $1.495 Million Info:www.V264673.com Brown I Talley 772.234.5148 9013 SOMERSET BAY LANE $1.35 Million Info:www.264585.com Barbara & Courtney Dietrich 772.234.5116 941 ISLAND CLUB SQUARE $1.1 Million Info:www.V265249.com Nancy Hardy 772.257.7454 650 LAGOON ROAD $8.999 Million Info:www.V264653.com Brown I Talley 772.234.5148 726 RIOMAR DRIVE $3.295 Million Info:www.V263499.com Lange Sykes 772.234.5034 381 SHORES DRIVE $2.299 Million Info:www.V260645.com Brown I Talley 772.234.5148 925 Bay Oak Lane $5.595 Million Info:www.V263814.com Lange Sykes 772.234.5034 PremierEstateProperties.com

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 5 flashing these images and I was piecing them together going, OK, these are trouble. And the way it was feeling was like it was happening right then. I just couldn't understand what was happening; what was I remembering?” After that first panic attack, he had a second one when he took his oldest son, about 14 at the time, for a sports physical. “That’s when I knew, I’ve got to get some medical help for this,” says Pickering. Two years ago, Pickering went public with an 18-episode blog, StillPracticingMeToo.fyi, in hopes that by sharing his story, other victims of sexual assault might realize that they are not alone and reach out for help. As a result of the blog, others came forward with similar accounts, including a childhood friend raped by the same doctor at age 14. “So many of these people that have reached out have said just by mentioning this, it's helped them get their head on straight,” says Pickering. “I think my voice is unique because I am a male, I’m a relatively stable and successful professional, and I’ve got a supportive spouse. Why in the world would I make this up?” Pickering also began working to end the doctor’s affiliation with AdventHealth, and to have his medical license revoked. He was successful with the first, but not the second. On the advocacy front, he became involved with the group that successfully NEWS CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 DISCLAIMER: Information published or otherwise provided by Premier Estate Properties, Inc. and its representatives including but not limited to prices, measurements, square footages, lot sizes, calculations and statistics are deemed reliable but are not guaranteed and are subject to errors, omissions or changes without notice. All such information should be independently verified by any prospective purchaser or seller. Parties should perform their own due diligence to verify such information prior to a sale or listing. Premier Estate Properties, Inc. expressly disclaims any warranty or representation regarding such information. Prices published are either list price, sold price, and/or last asking price. Premier Estate Properties, Inc. participates in the Multiple Listing Service and IDX. The properties published as listed and sold are not necessarily exclusive to Premier Estate Properties, Inc. and may be listed or have sold with other members of the Multiple Listing Service. Transactions where Premier Estate Properties, Inc. represented both buyers and sellers are calculated as two sales. Cooperating Brokers are advised that in the event of a Buyer default, no commission will be paid to a cooperating Broker on the Deposits retained by the Seller. No commissions are paid to any cooperating broker until title passes or upon actual commencement of a lease. Some affiliations may not be applicable to certain geographic areas. If your property is currently listed with another broker, please disregard any solicitation for services. Copyright 2022 Premier Estate Properties, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Your Trusted Advisor for Vero Beach Luxury Real Estate 772.234.5555 675 Beachland Boulevard OUR INCOMPARABLE GLOBAL NETWORK Explore More Of Our Exceptional Vero Beach Collection 1148 RIVER WIND CIRCLE $1.495 Million Info:www.V264673.com Brown I Talley 772.234.5148 9013 SOMERSET BAY LANE $1.35 Million Info:www.264585.com Barbara & Courtney Dietrich 772.234.5116 941 ISLAND CLUB SQUARE $1.1 Million Info:www.V265249.com Nancy Hardy 772.257.7454 650 LAGOON ROAD $8.999 Million Info:www.V264653.com Brown I Talley 772.234.5148 726 RIOMAR DRIVE $3.295 Million Info:www.V263499.com Lange Sykes 772.234.5034 381 SHORES DRIVE $2.299 Million Info:www.V260645.com Brown I Talley 772.234.5148 925 Bay Oak Lane $5.595 Million Info:www.V263814.com Lange Sykes 772.234.5034 PremierEstateProperties.com

6 Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ sponsored “Donna’s Law,” signed into effect in Florida in 2020, which changed the statute of limitations, going forward, for sexual battery on victims younger than 18 at the time of the offense. Pickering says the organization that helped get the law over the finish line is Child USA, the nation’s leading child protection advocate. One of its initiatives is statute of limitation reform, because it’s different in each state. He stresses that from a mental health standpoint, it is important to be able to raise your hand and say, ‘I need help.’ “It shouldn’t be taboo to say I’m really having a hard time,” says Pickering. He points out that the goal of “UnStruggle,” the new Mental Health Collaborative campaign, is to take the stigma away from mental health issues. Pickering says that hearing the words come out of his mouth as he told his wife, doctor, therapist and close friends, was one of the hardest things he has ever done, and considers himself lucky to have their support. “But personally, the more I say it, the more I feel empowered. I thought I was a freak, but apparently this happens to something like one in six men.” Despite that it is an uncomfortable subject, he feels that as a well-connected community leader, it is incumbent upon him to tell his story so that others might come forward and seek the help they need. “If the permission to get help is not there, or if it's too complicated to get there, I don't think people can overcome this stuff,” says Pickering, noting that too often, victims turn to alcohol, drugs or suicide. “My ability to overcome this is exclusively tied to the response I got from the people that I told first. Once I said it, to have people say, ‘I’ve got you,’ was amazing.” Pickering says he has “incredible respect” for organizations such as the Mental Health Association, the Mental Health Collaborative’s McCabe Connection Center, Treasure Coast Community Health and Whole Family Health, all of which are accessible to everyone, regardless of their financial situations. The title of the book, “Better at the Broken Places” is a riff on Hemingway’s line, “The world breaks everyone and afterward some are strong at the broken places.” From “A Farewell to Arms.” “My feeling is, I'm better at the places that were broken, and it's almost exclusively as a result of two things – people's kindness and my NEWS The Finest PreOwned Rolex Watches Le Classique Jewelers and Watchmakers Every Rolex Watch comes backed with our 1 year Warranty. All Rolex Service and repairs are done on premises. Prices Upon Request 3001 Ocean Drive # 105, Vero Beach, FL 32963 772-231-2060 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 Jeffrey Pickering ability to access the help that I needed when I needed to.” CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 My Vero anywhere else on the agency’s campus. That’s the argument put forth by Vero Beach criminal defense attorney Andrew Metcalf, who is taking the Sheriff’s Office to court to obtain video and audio recordings of a client’s recent overnight stay at the jail. The client, Kelly Menger, claims to have been physically abused by deputies at the jail last month, after her Dec. 27 arrest on misdemeanor charges of disorderly intoxication, trespassing and resisting arrest without violence. In a Motion to Compel filed last week, Metcalf challenges the grounds cited by the Sheriff’s Office in denying his public-records request. He also argues the videos should be turned over to him as part of the discovery process, so he can prepare a defense for Menger. Metcalf’s filing states that the Sheriff’s Office’s legal counsel “acknowledged that while these materials had been supplied in the past, they would no longer be provided without a court order or subpoena.” He goes on to argue that disclosing the videos would pose no threat to the jail security, adding that the jail has “routinely conducted visitor tours of the facility and routinely allows attorney and volunteers access to these areas.” Metcalf then calls out the hypocrisy of the new policy, writing that neither the sheriff nor the Sheriff’s Office’s attorney had presented him with an “articulable reason” for suppressing the release of such videos, which are “routinely” provided to prosecutors when a crime is committed on jail property. “Providing these materials when it aids the prosecution, but denying the very same materials when it may exonerate a defendant, demonstrates a true lack of applicability or concern with the protections afforded” under the statute exempting such information from the public-records law, Metcalf wrote. In a phone interview Monday, Metcalf said previous Sheriff’s Office administrations for decades have provided him with jail videos. “This one won’t,” he added. Why? “There have been a number of peoCONTINUED ON PAGE 8

8 Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ ple who have complained about the way they were treated at the jail,” Metcalf said. So now it’s up to County Judge Nicole Menz, who scheduled a hearing on Metcalf’s motion for next week. Menz, though, might not grant Metcalf’s motion because the charges against his client stem from her conduct before she arrived at the jail. He contends that Menger’s behavior and demeanor at the jail is relevant to the case, especially since the arresting deputy alleged that she was belligerent and intoxicated. It’s also unlikely Menz will rule on the Sheriff’s Office’s denial of Metcalf’s public-records request, seeing it as a civil matter that has no impact on the criminal case and could be addressed in a lawsuit. That’s exactly what the Sheriff’s Office is counting on – that no one will care enough to spend the money necessary to challenge its bogus policy in court, where the agency would be forced to present compelling evidence as to how providing public access to NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 My Vero these videos would jeopardize jail security. Is the sheriff really worried someone or some group might request a series of videos of different sections of the jail to produce a schematic drawing that could be used to plan an escape? Or bust someone out? Or launch an attack? Or is he worried that making these videos available to the public might possibly expose mistreatment of inmates? Menger claims two female deputies at the jail were physically and verbally abusive. She said she was shoved to the ground, pushed against a wall and had her arms “manipulated” to cause her additional pain. She said she was so frightened that she was crying and shaking, and when she asked where she was being taken, the deputies told her they were “sick of her questions” and to “quit crying.” She said they also used obscenities and taunted her. Menger said she doesn’t want anyone to endure the harsh treatment she received at the jail. That’s why she, too, wants to the video to be made available for public review. It should be. The jail belongs to the people of this county, and the public has a right to know what’s going on there – not just what our sheriff, who doesn’t like being held accountable and seems to be allergic to transparency, tells us is going on there. For the record: This newspaper sent a text message and email to Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lt. Joe Abollo, asking him or Flowers to explain the specific reason the security exemption to the public-records law applies in this case. As usual, there was no response. But the Sheriff’s Office will need to respond to Metcalf’s motion in court and Menz’s order, if she issues one. If she doesn’t, Flowers will continue to get away with mocking the law and hiding behind this concocted exemption, denying us access to public records he doesn’t want us to see. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Vero Beach Bridge Club executive from Philadelphia, who had previously served two terms as board president prior to the COVID pandemic. COVID has played havoc with the game of bridge all over the country and the world, and has seriously depressed attendance at brick-andmortar bridge clubs – including the one in Vero – as well as tournaments. The rise of online bridge during the pandemic has added to the challenge. “We don’t want to be one of the many clubs that will not survive,” Conlon said in reference to the fact that almost half the clubs registered with the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) before the pandemic have not reopened and probably never will. “We are not in any danger of closing. This move is designed to assure our future for years to come,” Conlon said. In a message to the membership, Conlon said the club at present is using less than half of its 20,000-squarefoot space and will try to sell the north half of the building located at 1520 14th Ave. The club would keep the south side of the building, with the main playing area, the men’s and women’s bathrooms and the kitchen, plus sufficient parking to accommodate all interested players. “A new owner for the north side would do their own improvements,” Conlon said. “Let’s hope the real estate market stays hot and we achieve a high-end sale that will help assure our future for years to come.” The bridge club moved from rented space to its present location in 1995, and until the COVID pandemic hit and forced the facility to temporarily close in March of 2020, the club had steadily grown every year until it had become the fourth largest in the country by table count. The club still carries a small mortgage on the building because of an expensive roof repair several years ago with serious cost overruns. Coincidentally, the bridge club also hired two new managers at the beginning of the year, the married couple of George and Jan Weber, who moved here at the beginning of the pandemic from North Jersey, where they ran bridge clubs and directed games at some of the biggest clubs in the country. The Webers are tasked with trying to increase game attendance with new imaginative game formats and by recruiting new members through intensive education programs to teach bridge to new and existing residents. Even in the club’s heyday, when it might draw 75 tables of bridge in a single day in the high winter season, the club never used all of the space in

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 9 the building. An unused storage space – part of the building that will go up for sale – still has some old bowling equipment from the days when the facility housed the former Diamond Lanes bowling alley. The bridge club recently launched a one-time fundraising drive with members, which Conlon said is ongoing and has been very successful, getting 20 percent of its members to make contributions. But Conlon said the sale of the unused space was still necessary to reduce operating costs and put the club on a solid financial footing. The club does not have a specific target figure in mind for the sale of half the building, but Conlon noted in his message to the membership that a smaller building in the area recently sold for $200 per square foot. The Board of Directors will still have to approve any final contract. Rumors had been swirling for some time that the club was considering the sale of all or part of its building, and CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 NEWS

10 Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Local businesses aren’t the only employers struggling to find workers, even as the COVID-spawned “Great Resignation” starts to wane amid fears of a recession. Many Indian River County government departments also are alarmingly short staffed, forcing supervisors and staffers to take on more work. “We’re busting our tails to keep up,” Interim County Administrator Michael Zito said last week. “It’s a tough situation – being down people and, as the county continues to grow, trying to meet a greater demand for services. “We have an inordinately large number of vacancies.” As of Monday morning, the Job Opportunities Page on the county’s website listed 37 openings, the most prominent of which was the county administrator’s position vacated by Jason Brown on Dec. 31. Brown, 48, worked in several county departments for 25 years and was appointed administrator in 2016. He announced in October that he planned to resign at the end of the year, citing the “stress” that accompanied the position, to take a job as senior accountant in the County Clerk of Court’s Office. According to the listings, the county administrator’s job will pay $190,000 to $220,000 annually. “This worker shortage isn’t just a loNEWS BY RAY MCNULTY Staff Writer CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 Vero Beach Bridge Club the club had also offered some space to other tenants, like Mah Jongg game directors, but those feelers did not lead anywhere. The Conlon announcement ends that speculation and sets the record straight as to what the club will and will not do – it will stay right where it is and has been for the past 28 years. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 COVID hospitalizations rise up from 11 people newly hospitalized the previous week, or an 81 percent increase in hospitalizations. “We have 13 COVID-positive patients in house currently, none are in ICU,” Cleveland Clinic spokesperson Arlene Allen-Mitchell said on Monday. That’s up 30 percent from the prior week when the hospital’s COVID ward had 10 patients. The reason the CDC moved Indian River County from a Low COVID Community Level to Medium is because 4.3 percent of staffed hospital beds in the county were occupied by COVID patients in the week ending Jan. 11. Meanwhile, world frustration is growing over what public health leaders see as a total lack of transparency in China’s COVID-19 reporting since the country lifted its zero-COVID policy near the end of 2022. Based upon the chaos and overwhelmed Chinese healthcare system depicted in reports coming out of Chinese cities, it appears that China is in the throes of the largest global outbreak of the virus to date. Officials in Henan province told the Washington Post that 89 percent of that area’s 99 million people have contracted the virus. Henan is just northwest of Wuhan, which is widely believed to have been ground zero for the earliest outbreaks of the virus. “Authorities say the worst of the outbreak is over for Chinese cities where infections spread quickly in December. Now, they are preparing for a new surge in rural areas around the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday that begins Jan. 21,” the Post reported. It was during and after these festivities in 2020 celebrating the Year of the Rat – a time when Chinese people from all over the world return to their hometowns to reconnect with family – when the respiratory illness caused by COVID-19 infection began turning up outside China, on cruise ships and in the United States. On Jan. 28, 2020, the CDC warned against all non-essential travel to China and the United States began repatriating Americans from China to stateside isolation facilities on military bases. A week later, the cruise ship the Diamond Princess with 3,700 people onboard was quarantined in a Japanese port due to a COVID outbreak. More than 700 were infected and nine people aboard that ship died from COVID. County offices not immune to difficulty in filling vacancies CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

12 Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ cal problem – it’s happening statewide and nationally – and it isn’t limited to just hourly employees,” Zito said. “We’re seeing it on the professional level, too.” Among the county’s openings was an assistant public works director’s job that pays $104,000 to $156,000 per year. Five other positions had pay ranges that could exceed $100,000 annually – county engineer ($99,000 to $149,000), utilities finance manager ($86,000 to $129,000), project engineer/architect ($82,000 to $122,000), utilities engineer ($82,000 to $122,000), and utilities services asset manager ($74,000 to $111,000). In addition, the county had wellpaying vacancies for an accountant, environmental planner, deputy building official, systems administrator, traffic operations manager, traffic analyst, recreation facilities supervisor/Intergenerational Center and two senior planners. The listings included hourly-wage positions for two heavy equipment operators, three utility service workers, senior building inspector, senior road-and-bridge maintenance worker, stormwater maintenance worker, and two lifeguards (part time). Zito said there’s a lack of applicants – especially quality candidates – for the open jobs, but he doesn’t know why. “Whatever the reason, we’re not getting the volume and quality of applicants we need,” he said. “I wish I knew why, so we could address it. But how do you get feedback from people who aren’t applying?” Zito said his staff has examined the county’s salary structure and found that the compensation being offered is competitive in today’s market. The county’s efforts to address its recruitment issues also include exploring “alternative methods” – beyond simply listing positions on its website – to find job candidates, Zito said, adding that some applicants have told staffers they rarely check job boards and often rely on word of mouth. For that reason, the county has begun engaging professional associations, utilizing modern search engines on the Internet, scheduling on-campus visits at local high schools and Indian River State College, and participating in job fairs. “There could be several factors contributing to the problem – housing costs, the modern workforce wanting to work remotely, even compatibility with the area,” Zito said. “Are potential applicants attracted to this area?” he continued. “We’re biased because we know what it’s like to live here. But is the area a factor? Maybe the demographics of our community? “We’re not just sitting around, waiting for people to apply,” he added. “We’re being aggressive, looking at everything, kicking around every possibility.” Zito said he’s reluctant to increase the salaries being offered for open positions, but the county might need to – if that’s what’s necessary to attract applicants. “I know we wear the fiscal conservative badge of honor, but we’re looking at that possibility,” Zito said. “That said, we can’t just throw our pay plan out of whack. It’s not fair to the people already here. “Also, if we react to the political and economic climate we’re currently in, we could be in a different climate next year.” Despite 12 roller-coaster months that Dale Sorensen Sr. called “puzzling and challenging,” his real estate company had another stellar year in 2022, closing approximately $1.42 billion in sales out of its eight offices in Indian River, Brevard and St. Lucie counties. That number included nearly $400 million on the 32963 barrier island, where the family-run business had a leading 26 percent market share, and well over a billion in Indian River County. The year was puzzling in part because it started in the midst of a stillaccelerating hyper-boom, with home prices on a steep upward trajectory and sales through the roof, and then slowed dramatically, dropping from 90 miles an hour to about 30 almost overnight. With little warning, the pandemic tidal wave that flooded the island market with eager buyers for 20 months or so, starting in the fall of 2020, flattened out on the beach in May and June, its power finally and somewhat mysteriously spent. Sorensen, who has been in real estate and development for more than 50 years, said he has never seen the real estate market shift as abruptly as NEWS 772.494.7660 3055 Cardinal Dr, Suite 305, Vero Beach, FL 32963 www.warrencapitalmanagement.com Investment products and services are offered through Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC (WFAFN), Member SIPC. Warren Capital Management is a separate entity from WFAFN. Jenna Suleman, Barb Magee, Thomas Rollando, Sue Tompkins, Alexander Batt, Jamie Burger and Raz Ilie 2023 Deserves A Fresh Look Markets have changed Your portfolio should too Helping Generations of Families Live the Lives They Love CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 Vacancies Dale Sorensen Real Estate, despite ‘puzzling’ year, tops $1.4B in sales BY STEVEN M. THOMAS Staff Writer CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

14 Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ it did in the summer of 2022. That shift came in somewhat symbi - otic response to a near unprecedented variety of economic challenges that included a savage war in Europe, an unstable stock market, high inflation, predictions of recession, severe lack of inventory, and mortgage interest rates that doubled between January and November. Higher interest rates were the big - gest baffle breaking the force of the pandemic surge. They made housing more expensive and froze recent buyers in place, con - tributing to the shortage of homes for sale. People who bought in recent years, especially during the boom, had mort - gage rates as low 2.6 percent. Many of those buyers who might have moved again in 2022, did not want – or could not afford – to give up that sweet deal for a mortgage at 6 percent or 7 percent that would add hundreds or thousands of dollars to their monthly housing costs. “People say interest rates don’t im - pact high-end cash buyers, but that isn’t true,” said Sorensen managing partner Dale Sorensen Jr. “Many cash buyers borrowed against their port - folios to purchase a house when rates were so cheap, so higher rates have an impact on their thinking. “So do all the headlines about war and predictions of recession. That kind of news impacts consumer confidence and weighs on the real estate market,” making both average and wealthy buy - ers more hesitant. “The buyer urgency is gone,” said So - rensen Sr. Even with all those headwinds, So - rensen, the largest real estate company headquartered in Indian River County, did more business than in any other year in its 45-year history except for 2021. Sorensen Sr. told Vero Beach 32963 that despite its challenges, 2022 ulti - mately was “very satisfying. “How can you not be happy with the level of production we achieved in such a difficult year?” he said. “We saw strong growth over our 2020 numbers. If you forget about 2021, 2022 would have been a new record for the com - pany, an amazing record. We had 20 of the top 100 agents in the county, six of the top 20 and three of the top five.” “We are very grateful to our clients for choosing us,” added company coowner and top-selling agent Matilde Sorensen. As season gets under way, the So - rensens see a number of positive indi - cators. After a quiet December, Matilde So - rensen said her high-end business sell - ing homes mostly between $1.5 mil - lion and $5 million has been busy, with as many as eight showings a day and three offers on one property last week. “Prices are staying pretty stable,” she said. House and condo inventory is ris - ing, loosening up the market a little, with the number of houses for sale in 32963 up from fewer than 50 at the end of April to about 120 today, and the number of condos for sale up from 30 to approximately 100. Those numbers are still only about 50 percent of typical pre-pandemic num - bers, which tends to support prices. “Demand has decreased, but it is still substantial,” said Sorensen Jr. “I think the expectation is very positive. What I mean by that is the town is very, very much on the map. It is not the quiet ‘Zero Beach’ people used to refer to – though it never was that, re - ally. Vero is all over the national news. There is south going north, [people from Miami and Lauderdale moving here], and strong demand from buyers in other parts of the country. All these things that are positive.” On top of that, Vero is still a tremen - dous bargain, objectively speaking, compared to other highly desirable Florida destinations. Sorensen Jr. said the average price of a home sold on the island by his family’s company in 2022 was $1.69 million, up astronomically from be - fore the boom but still only about 10 percent of the average price on Palm Beach Island, which recently hit $16 million – for the same ocean, sand and palm trees as in Vero. Dale Sorensen Sr. said he expects a stable market for the first half of 2022 but would not make a prediction be - yond that due to uncertainties in the economy. The Sorensens attribute their strong sales in 2022 and their confidence go - ing forward to quality of their agents and their hyper-local focus. The com - pany was founded in a small office on Beachland in the late 1970s and, even with expansion into Brevard and St. Lucie counties, the great bulk of their business is in and around Vero Beach. “Our differentiator is how focused we are on the local market and com - munity,” said Sorensen Jr. “We are all about Vero Beach,” add - ed Matilde Sorensen. NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 Dale Sorensen Real Estate

‘CROSSOVER’ GALA STUDENTS, BENEFACTORS FORM WINNING TEAM P. 22 Sebastian Letcher and Jarrett Stephens.

16 Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ At an Appreciation Luncheon at the Moorings Yacht and Country Club, members of the Moorings Habitat Partnership committee, sponsors and staff were thanked for helping to raise a total of $875,000 this past year to support Indian River Habitat for Humanity. That number includes $688,000 raised primarily through the 2022 Habitat Classic Weekend, plus $187,000 contributed by the Moorings Club through the Community Contribution Tax Credit Program, a Florida sales tax incentive program targeting affordable housing organizations. Since 1999, the Moorings community has contributed $11 million to Habitat, funding the construction of 90 homes, repairing others, and providing scholarships to Habitat homeowners and their families. Habitat homeowner Cheryl Hathaway said a quote by Coretta Scott King could define the Moorings: “The greatness of a community is best defined by the compassionate actions of its members.” When told that her rent was going to double, Hathaway, who has worked at the same job since moving here about five years ago, and volunteers at the Vero Beach Volunteer Fire Department and the Salvation Army, applied to become a Habitat homeowner. “When I got accepted, I felt like I was part of a family. We go out and we work together, we sweat together, we even go to classes together,” said Hathaway, referencing the mandatory classes on everything from budgeting to home maintenance. She recalled noticing a stone in the shape of a heart as she said a prayer to bless her lot, adding, “And this heartshaped stone is a sign from God that this home is where the heart is. So this is clearly my home.” Speaking on behalf of the other Habitat homeowners, she thanked everyone and said, “I know that our futures are brighter because of you, because of the Moorings.” “You heard earlier that each of the homebuyers isn’t only buying a home. They’re learning about what it is to be a homeowner, enhancing their financial ability and in many cases, it’s changing their life astronomically,” said Mark Parent, vice chair of the Habitat Partnership committee. Gary Parker, president of the Moorings Board of Governors, said the Moorings-Habitat partnership is the club’s largest philanthropic commitment. Explaining the Tax Credit Program, he said it is derived from a percentage of the sales tax that the club annually collects and is obligated to pay the state, plus the number of “sweat equity” hours spent and recorded by members and staff, as they help build Habitat homes or volunteer in the ReStore. “So it’s a real financially tangible way that we contribute,” said Parker, adding that club members, the management team, staff and the board are very much behind the effort. “It’s a terrific cause and we all feel great about it.” Trevor Loomis, Habitat president/ CEO, stressed the enormous need for housing, noting that if an employee Moorings-Habitat partnership builds on rock-solid foundation BY MARY SCHENKEL Staff Writer Gary Parker and Karen Sones. PHOTOS: JOSHUA KODIS Shirley Becker and Susan Becker. Collier Proctor, Marsha Sherry and Craig Lopes. John and Emilie Brady. Laurie Duke, Dearrow Ellis, Maureen Tully and Tiffany Thompson. Trevor Loomis and Dick Sameth. Dionne McNamee and Tim Zappala. PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 17 making $15 an hour spends half their salary on rent, that would be $1,300 a month. According to Zillow, he said, there are only three units at $1,300 or less. “There’s just nothing that is available for working people in our community to afford. The need for housing is more than it’s ever been,” said Loomis, adding that they have launched a fiveyear strategic plan to seek solutions. “We have to stop calling it affordable housing. It’s time we start talking about it as essential housing,” said Loomis, noting that it is essential workers who are struggling to find decent housing. “Housing for those people is essential for our community to operate in a way that works best for everyone. Without essential housing, we all suffer, and we all feel the effects of this crunch.” For more information, visit IRC Habitat.org.

18 Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Edward Elias, Judy Zappala, Sheryl Hathaway and Jeff Francisco. Proudly Serving the Treasure Coast for over 40 years 640 Old Dixie Highway Vero Beach, FL 32962 772-569-3874 [email protected] ISA Certified Arborist Hazardous Tree Removal Oak Tree Trimming Specialist Professional Mangrove Trimmers Fully Licensed and Insured Charles Green and Heidi Sommers. Mark Parent and David Somers. Jean and Edd Hyde. Richard and Jaime Schulte. Sandy Parent and Rose Galloway. Sonja Haley and Gary Oakley. PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16

PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 19 Santa sprinkled a bit of Christmas magic over McKee Botanical Garden, lighting up the tropical treasure during its annual McKee Festival of Lights. Members were given a sneak peek at the festivities in advance of the public, strolling along the luminaria-lit pathways of the historic 18-acre wonderland. Thousands of lights illuminated the garden, where flamingoes, frogs, goldfish and pandas dotted joyful scenes alongside decorative trees and oversized flowers which bloomed luminously. A stupendous blowup Santa Claus watched over guests as they entered the garden through a tunnel of lights, keeping a close watch as he made a list and checked it twice to see who was being naughty or nice. Visitors traipsed through “snow” flurries blowing over the Spanish Kitchen, before heading into the glow of warmth in the Hall of Giants. A wealth of gnomes inside skied down a slope set up on the world’s largest mahogany table, fed farm animals, dined family style, napped in their bunkbeds, and wreaked havoc among a forest of Christmas trees. New this year, a specially curated giant snow globe featured even more gnomes. After taking in the more than 25,000 red and white lights strung up along the Royal Palm Grove’s Candy Cane Lane, visitors enjoyed visits with Santa and Mrs. Claus. An outdoor holiday movie, Christmas shopping and snacks at the Garden Café were also on tap for everyone to experience. In the weeks following, local performers provided entertainment, and a 1924 Wurlitzer vintage band organ and model train were added to the amusements. Beginning Jan. 20 and running until April 30, McKee will present the Garden of Glass, by master glass sculptor Jason Gamrath. For more information, visit McKeeGarden.org. Santa looms large at McKee’s merry Festival of Lights BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF Staff Writer Christine and Michael Hyde. Amayra Sheoran and Jariek Frankel with Mrs. and Mr. Claus. PHOTOS: JOSHUA KODIS & STEPHANIE LABAFF Eli and Tim Stauffer. John and Riley Yohn. PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

20 Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Renee and Scarlett Stauffer. Abby, Luciana and Alexandra Moore. Annabeth and Claudia Sowers. Brayden Long and Eric Holt. Tor and Jennifer Jones PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 21 Rani and L.P. Pathade. Barbara Ferrera, Cindy Jacobs and John Ferrera. Susie, Xander and Alex Catlin. Susan and Richard Bradley.

22 Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ The student-athletes of Crossover Mission brought their ‘A’ game to the eighth annual Home Court Advantage Gala at Oak Harbor Club to celebrate the recent accomplishments of the nonprofit, which supports students through year-round basketball training and academic mentoring. Before dinner, the Crossover Student Dribble Team showcased their skills and ability to work together as a team by dribbling with lighted basketballs to a mashup of powerful music. Cathy De Schouwer, Crossover cofounder and executive director, announced that they had just obtained their “long-awaited building permit,” which will enable them to proceed with the construction of the Darlene W. Ryder Center for Academics and Training. The facility will be a space where “students will bond with mentors, learn to excel in school, and shape their future dreams,” she explained. Tom and Darlene Ryder had announced the Ryder Challenge Grant earlier this year, committing to match new contributions up to $500,000. “Tom Ryder and his wonderful wife, Darlene, fully understand the importance of our work. Their own experiences shaped their lives and beliefs,” said De Schouwer. Tom Ryder recalled the reaction Darlene had after her first visit to the facility. “She believes that Antoine’s dream is something special,” said Ryder, referencing Crossover co-founder Antoine Jennings. “The combination of athletics and academics in the right environment will change the lives of the boys and girls in the program.” Directing his comments to the student-athletes, Ryder said that while the chances that they would become professional athletes were slim, the experiences they will acquire from playing sports will assist them in other aspects of life. Ryder said they will learn teamwork, the power of commitment and dedication, how to work hard and practice, the value of supporting their teammates and following orders, and the importance of showing up on time. “You will practice those things at Crossover every day and become good at them. And those will become incredibly important traits you will use for the rest of your life. They will make you, by themselves, different and better,” said Ryder, noting that those same virtues should be applied to academics as well. “You will be a rare person in the real world. You might not become a professional athlete, but I’ll bet you will become a professional,” he added. Ryder quoted hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, who once said, “You miss 100 percent of the shots that you don’t take.” “Crossover can be your shot. Take it,” said Ryder. “Antoine and I stand together with all our differences as equals at the helm of Crossover Mission. We are Black and white, male and female, and despite our startling different backgrounds and perspectives, we remain deeply like-minded in the mission and stand as proof that it can be done,” said De Schouwer. “That we can work together, we can be brothers and sisters in peace, in business, in education and creative thought. We can and must unify to improve the situation of young people in our community,” she continued. Referencing their 2022 accomplishments, De Schouwer said that 96 percent of participants maintained a minimum GPA of 2.0, with 69 percent of those maintaining a 3.0 or higher; that 98 percent stayed out of the juvenile justice system and that there is no known gang involvement. She noted that Crossover Mission has raised 50 percent of their $6.5 million Home Court Advantage Capital Campaign, noting, “Our capital campaign is essential to renovating our new home into the Crossover Center for Excellence.” For more information, visit crossovermission.com. ‘Crossover’ gala: Students, benefactors form winning team BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF Staff Writer

PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 23 Jay and Linda Knoll. Pat Shook and Tom Piper. Candice Hendley Judon and Patricia Harris. Rev. Dr. Anna Copeland with Dale and Betty Jacobs. Cathy De Schouwer, Tom Ryder and Antoine Jennings. Gregory Pitts II with Patricia and Rev. Gregory Pitts. PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

24 Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Jacqueline and Robert Ryder. PHOTOS: STEPHANIE LABAFF Mark and Patricia Mulvoy with Courtney Mulvoy. Deanna McDermott and Crystal Tyler Sam Gregory and Mary Lou Calhoun. Barbara Ruddy and Capt. Milo Thornton. Andy Bowler and Helen Crockett PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23 PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

26 Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Doug and Suzanne Sweeney. Elizabeth De Schouwer and Leeora Bonnet. Haizea Lulich, Georgia Irish and Jordan Lulich. Crossover Mission Student Dribble Team. Matt and Becki Rundels. PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 24

PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 27 Wearing Christmas hats and earto-ear grins, young participants in Float Hope of Indian River County marched with confidence into the large dining room of the John’s Island Club where they greeted and thanked their benefactors. Float Hope is a nonprofit founded by Jeffrey Powers, CEO, to give children from low-income families free swimming lessons. Of the 150 children currently in the program, 100 are from the Boys and Girls Club and 50 are from the Gifford Youth Achievement Center. With rare exceptions, none previously knew how to swim. As guests enjoyed cocktails and passed hors d’oeuvres, they watched a video montage of the swimmers at swim meets, swim practices and a Halloween parade, so that they might get a better feel for the program. “We started seven years ago, and we’ve taught about 3,000 kids how to swim,” said Powers, explaining that students range from about age 6 to 14. Float Hope head coaches Scott Barlow and Holly McClain also coach the Treasure Coast Swim Team (a USA swim team), and, respectively, the teams at Sebastian River High School and Vero Beach High School. Powers says their goal is not to create great swimmers, although that’s a plus, but rather to give the gift of swimming to children as a life skill. The sport can also open them up to a wider group of friends, give them a Donors get ‘splash’ course in Float Hope program’s success BY MARY SCHENKEL Staff Writer Andrea Muller, Jeff Powers and Rudy Muller. Frank Dinger, Holly McClain and Scott Barlow. PHOTOS: MARY SCHENKEL Susie Perticone, Mandy Robinson and Trish Essick. PHOTOS, STORY CONTINUED ON PAGE 28-29

28 Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ greater sense of confidence at school and, if they stick with it, college scholarship opportunities. Pointing to the bright and bubbly youngsters roaming the room, Powers said, “When these kids first came to me, they didn’t know how to swim, they looked down at their shoes, they were afraid to have a conversation. Half of these kids swam this year for the first time.” Last summer, to reach even more children, they created a Minnows Swim program, where they taught an additional 100 children with 12 instructors. About half have stayed with the program. “If we can get better funding, next summer I’d like to do 500 kids,” said Powers. “Each year the clubs get new kids and none of them know how to swim.” Florida ranks among the top five states in the nation in terms of death by drowning, roughly half of those children. “It’s a very sad statistic. If you were to go around the county, you’ll find 95 percent of the kids don’t know how to swim,” Powers said. “And the county does nothing about it.” Float Hope trains students at the North County Aquatic Center and the Gifford Aquatic Center, and Powers said his long-term goal is to lobby for an even larger pool in South County, for people who can’t access the others. Additionally, he would like to see the school district make swimming a requirement in grade school and an intramural sport in middle and high school. A new Senate Bill 1028 “requires public schools to provide parents with information on the important role water safety education courses and swimming lessons play in saving lives,” and to post where water safety courses and swimming lessons are available. Options on the SDIRC site are limited at best. “Nobody is doing anything about it,” said Powers. “This is all grassroots. I can count my lucky stars that the John’s Island community and a small community outside the gates has made it happen.” For more information, visit FloatHopeNow.org. PHOTOS, STORY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27 Irvin and Toni Cherashore with Linda and Don Proctor. Cliff Norris, Alison Leigh, Julie Norris, Roger Lynch and Charlie Leigh.

PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 29 Lisa Holmes, George Higgs and Mary Grimm. Adrianna, Aleah and Cedrick with Brian Foley and Dr. Patricia Carneval. Hope Eiseman and Robert Grusky. Gardy Desrosiers and Lisa Bell. Karen and Bill Penney. PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 30 Freddie and Faye Woolfork.

30 Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Natalie and Andrew Bella. Glenn Smith, Diane Walker, Stephanie Russell and Austin Hunt. Roz Cline and Kathryn Barton. Sandra Clark and Chris Bates. PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 29 710 15th Pl., Vero Beach, FL 32960 I 772.999.3292 I VBAutoSports.net Hours: Mon-Fri: 9:30 am - 5:30 pm I Saturday: 10am - 4pm I Closed Sunday Buy I Sell I Trade I Consignment I If We Don’t Have It, We Will Find It 2019 Range Rover Sport S/C HSE, 39K Mi. 2002 Mercedes Benz SLK 230, 52K Mi. 2022 PORSCHE 911 TURBO S, 4K Mi. 2002 Lexus SC 430, 47K Mi. 2015 Mercedes Benz S 550, 47K Mi. 2022 Mazda Miata RF Grand Touring, 4K Mi. $11K $22K $35K $59K $270K $44K Family Owned & Operated Follow Us On Vero’s Exclusive Destination for Exciting Automobiles Specializing in Exotic, Luxury & Collectible Automobiles • Now Offering Financing Peter and Kerry Macnee. Koriann with Tara and Scott Layne.

PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 31 A fat cat named Jack Torrance, a standard poodle named Raider, and a tail-wagging pit bull mix named Zeus were just a few of the furry friends welcoming guests to the H.A.L.O. NoKill Rescue’s annual Masquerade Fur Ball, held at Cobalt in the Vero Beach Hotel and Spa. Attendees were greeted with outstretched paws, wet noses and puppy dog eyes from adoptable dogs and cats, all hoping to find their fur-ever home. The magical evening was a one-ofa-kind gala for pet lovers, who came to support H.A.L.O. and celebrate the 20,000 lives saved over the past 16 years. Masked guests joined the furry greeters in a private party room for champagne and photos, before migrating to the bar for libations, laughter and some competitive bidding on silent-auction experiences and gifts. Private VIP tours of Busch Wildlife Sanctuary in Jupiter and Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, were among the live-auction favorites, along with a fine-dining-athome experience prepared by Chef Rob and served by Jacque Petrone, H.A.L.O. founder and executive director. Each elegant place setting for the sumptuous six-course dinner was graced with an irresistible photo of an adoptable H.A.L.O. resident. “We have about 90 dogs and 40 cats currently available for adoption,” said Petrone. “Each and every one of them deserves a second chance.” According to Allyson Bootes, H.A.L.O. director of development, a couple of the dog greeters found their homes through the event and a lot of interest was generated for their kennel mates. “We had 130 supporters in attendance and raised about $140,000 at this event. It’s a very generous community,” she said. H.A.L.O. (Helping Animals Live and Overcome) was established here in 2006 as the first no-kill rescue shelter in Indian River County. Through community partnerships, donations and grants, the nonprofit continues to grow and expand its facilities and programs. Their Angel Wing Program allows an ‘Angel’ to sponsor a pet, waiving their adoption fee and increasing their chance for adoption. An Angel Medical Program provides funds to cover medical services for H.A.L.O. residents. Their Barn Cat Program provides a solution to the county’s outdoor cat problem by spaying, neutering and vaccinating feral cats and re-homing them to local barns. A Foster Program provides training and supplies to families willing to give temporary one-onone attention to animals needing to become accustomed to living in a home, and frees up room in the shelter to save more lives. And a Fresh Start Program focuses on rehabilitating ‘misfit’ dogs who are mistrusting, poorly behaved and under-socialized, thereby helping them to find a loving home. Proceeds from the event will enable H.A.L.O to continue providing care to the animals in their shelter, help them find permanent homes and advocate for our community’s pets while reducing euthanasia rates. In March H.A.L.O. will host a ‘Spay Ghetti’ event to raise money for low-cost spaying and neutering. For more information, visit HaloRescue.org. ‘Furry’ of activity at H.A.L.O.’s magnificent Masquerade Ball BY KERRY FIRTH Correspondent PHOTOS ON PAGES 32-33

32 Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Michelle Wallenstein and Jacque Petrone. Susan Kamer and Gina Johnson. Carla and Kenneth Klein. Jack Torrance (cat) with Maddi Hite. Pancakes the kitten with Kerri and Kalista Bolling. Blythe Mchenry, Kathy Casey with Bluemoon.

PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 33 Allyson Bootes, Marina Harvey and Devyn Grest. PHOTOS: JOSHUA KODIS Michele Ciancio, Laura Rendon and Taryn Simm. Niko with Lisa Esposito.

PETS 34 Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Henley Gandy’s a Total People Pooch. I mean, she’s great with fellow pooches, but she love, love, loves humans and Gettin’ Atten-shun from ’em. She came right up for the Wag-an-Sniff, an nosed the pages around a liddle when I opened my notebook, but she mostly hung out with her Mom, an my assistant who, of course, gave her pats an friffles pretty much the whole time. Henley is about 4: She’s a middle-size grrrl with a great smile, an short white hair with several big black spots. (One on her caboose, I happened to notice, was shaped like a heart.) She has freckles, too, an pink skin with black polka dots all over, sparkly eyes, anna pink collar. “This is my Mom, Taylor. My Dad’s Jean Paul. He’s at work,” she told me as we were gettin’ situated in the livin’ room. Her voice was soft an nice. “Ah’ve only been here since Ock-TOE-bur, so ah don’t know too many fellow pooches.” “Where were you before? And how’d you find you Furever Famly?” I inquired. “Ah’m a Southern Grrrl born-’n-raised, but mah puppyhood was sorta dizzmull an, when ah was about 9 months old, ah found mahself inna town called MEM-fuss, TENNAH-seee, with a whole buncha other pooches inna place called a Pound. It’s like what y’all down here call a shelter. We were in liddle cages, all lined up. Ah mean, it wasn’t awful, but ah was kinda still puppy-ish an ah was a liddle confused. An con-CERNED. “Meanwhile, my future Mom’s buhloved pooch, Hootie (he was an Australian Shepherd), had recently gone to Dog Heaven an Mom was Very Sad. But she was also lonely without a pooch so she decided to look around. There were lotsa shelters in MEM-fuss, an she looked an looked, but she didn’t wanna go to the same one where she’d found Hootie, cuz it’d make her More Sad. But, when she couldn’t find The Dog after lookin’ everywhere else, she did. An, guess what?” I ree-lized her question was rhetorical. “She hadn’t even been there 5 minutes when, only two cages down the row – in the Very Same Cage where she had found Hootie – There Ah WAS! I looked just like him, too. (’Cept for bein’ a grrrl, of course.) The Pound Person asked if Mom wanted to check me out, maybe take me for a liddle walk or somethin’. But Mom didn’t haff to. She said, ‘She’s the One. Ah want HER!’” “Woof, Miss Henley, that’s such a Crispy Biscuits story!” “Ah KNOW! Ah have such a lovely Furever Famly, an ah’m SO Happy. (Turns out, ah hafta take the same allergy meds as Hootie, too.)” “So, what was your new life like at first?” I asked. “Turned out ah LOVE car rides. Which was a good thing since when we moved down here, we hadda two-day car ride. Ah mostly snoozed. An ah found out I pruh-FUR boddled water. Mom an Dad got me all fixed up with a lovely fluffy bed an BLANKETS. An mah own dishes. An this wonda-full pink collah. Ah love it So Much. It’s been washed, like, a zillion times since ah got it.” “Well, it’s still lovely, Miss Henley,” I told her. Durin’ the innerview, Miss Henley moved back an forth between her Mom an my assistant. As we talked, she’d lay on her back as her Mom patted her pinkwith-black-polka-dots tummy with her foot. Then Miss Henley’d pad over to My Assistant for head scratches an Ear Friffles. “What are some of you favrite activities? Favrite foodstuffs? Any toys?” I wondered. “Ah guess ah’d say my most favrite things to do are Nappin’, Eatin’ an Contemplatin’ Squirrels. Ah have an en-TAR box fulla toys: One of mah favrites is mah squirrel stuffy. Ah do, on occasion, chew mah blankets or toys. Like mah stuffy Grinch. Ah’ve had it for 3 years. It’s been washed a LOT. An Mom’s sewed the leg back on several times. “Ah also like cats,” she mentioned casually. “One time there was this neighborhood cat who’d come around. Ah’d bark a liddle bark, but jus to be soshul. He was cool. Dogs, too, of course. I’m jus an outgoin’ sorta grrrl. I do feel pruh-TECK-tive of Mom. An I SO look fah-ward to when Dad comes home an we take our evenin’ leash walk. “Which ruh-mines me: YES-terday I saw my fist LIZZ-urd. Ah was a liddle disconcerted. Neve saw anything like it. Mom said, ‘Henley, it’s OK, It’s jus’ a lizz-urd.’ Ah’m still a tad puzzled. Whatsa LIZZ-urd? How come it didn’t have any clothes? Oh well.” Before I could share my limited knowledge of REP-tiles, she continued. “I have lotsa human famly up in TENNAH-see. There’s Gramma Diane. An Uncle Jake. An Great-Uncle Mark. He drove the U-Haul when we moved down. They’re So Fun! But as far as pooch pals, ah’m a happy solo kinda grrrl. Ah expect it’s cuz ah like ALL the atten-shun.” “I can understand that. I’m a Solo Dog as well,” I told her. Then, “Any favrite foodstuffs?” “Ah enjoy turkey treats,” she replied. “AN … CHEESE. Duh-lishus! Ah only get it when ah hafta take mah allergy medicine. Mom doesn’t know that AH know but,” she leaned closer an lowered her voice. “She hides my medicine in cheese.” “Sly,” I commented. “It works, too,” she happily agreed. “Full disclosure, Ah DO tend to SHED, even though ah have short hair. It’s SO annoying, but what can ah do? Mom says she wishes ah knew how to use a broom or vacuum. Also, AH DON’T LIKE WATER. Baths are Dismal Dog Biscuits. Even face washin’. No clothes, either. ’Cept antlers at Christmas cuzza the Grinch’s dog Max. He wears antlers.” Heading home, I was thinkin’ about sweet, lovin,’ polka-dotted Henley, livin’ her best life an eager to make frens with all livin’ creatures. Even lizards, I expect, once she gets ’em figured out. I was also thinkin’ about cheese. Till next time, The Bonz Hi Dog Buddies! Don’t Be Shy We are always looking for pets with interesting stories. To set up an interview, email [email protected]. Bonz hangs with Henley, a real Southern sweetheart Henley. PHOTO: JOSHUA KODIS

36 Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ INSIGHT COVER STORY

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 37 INSIGHT COVER STORY LES GETS, France – With children running around inflatable cactuses and sunburned mountain bikers racing under blue skies, the French village of Les Gets looked like an enviable summer holidays destination last week. The problem was it was not summer but the middle of winter, when this Alpine ski resort should have been covered by thick layers of snow, ice and even more snow. Instead of icicle-clad chalets, however, visitors to this village at an altitude of almost 4,000 feet encountered muddy paths and halted lifts in recent weeks, as Europe’s unusually warm winter closed half of French slopes, forced the cancellation of winter sports competitions and left recreational skiers clamoring for refunds. It may only be a preview of what is to come in a warming world, researchers worry, with average temperatures rising two times as fast in parts of the Alps as elsewhere. While some tourists in Les Gets were quick to adapt to the winter heat wave – renting bikes instead of skis, ordering cold beer instead of hot mulled wine – many locals struggled to suppress a creeping feeling that this could be the beginning of the end of skiing in their part of the Alps and life as they know it. “This is more than ‘warming,’” said Fabrice Dumaine, 52, who was waxing a pair of skis in the rental shop he operates, near a vending machine that sells cheese for raclette, a traditional apres-ski meal. “It’s usually minus-5 degrees [23 degrees Fahrenheit] here at this time, and now it’s 15 degrees [59 degrees Fahrenheit]. Even some summers are colder.” In the snowless weeks this winter, Dumaine lost about a third of his usual business. “What’s scary,” he said, “is the uncertainty.” Many locals hope this year could still prove to be an outlier. Even in the 1960s, some recall, there were snow-free weeks in Les Gets. Here and in many other Alpine resorts, colder temperatures and snow finally returned last week. But researchers say the trend in resorts like Les Gets is clear. Within the next seven to 17 years, skiing will become impossible “in the medium-altitude mountains, and the snow cover will inexorably decrease in the highest parts of the mountain ranges,” said Magali ReghezzaZitt, a French geographer. By some estimates, by the end of the century, snow may have declined between 30 and 70 percent in the Alps, impacting even resorts that have so far been safe. The past weeks have been “an impressive example of how the average future could look like,” said Robert Steiger, a tourism researcher at the University of Innsbruck in Austria. In towns across the Alps, recreational skiing carries a heavy cultural value and economic weight. Since resorts were massively scaled up in the ’60s and ’70s, winter sports have been essential to the region’s economy. Almost half a million permanent or seasonal jobs depend on it in France, which shares the Alps with seven other countries that rely on the mountains for revenue. And so, many European reSTORY CONTINUED ON PAGE 38 A ski lift is closed because of the lack of snow in Le Revard in the French Alps on Jan. 5. A skiing class practices on artificial snow at Austria's Semmering resort.

38 Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 37 INSIGHT COVER STORY sorts have treated the lack of snow in recent weeks as an existential crisis. They’ve deployed snow cannons to artificially freeze water droplets into snow crystals. Some villages loaded snow piles onto trucks. A Swiss resort even attempted to fly in snow by helicopter. To the extent that any of it worked, it was only enough to cover narrow stretches that were soon featured in viral and at times dystopian videos on social media. While artificial snow kept at least some of the slopes open in Les Gets last week, the runs were an unsatisfying experience for many. “Everyone is at the same bit of snow, and it’s really bad snow,” said Marius van Hasselt, 21, a Dutch visitor. Some of his friends headed home early. At the same time, the frenzied efforts to keep business running at all costs are increasingly moving ski resorts into the center of a broader and particularly divisive climate debate: For how long should seemingly doomed economic sectors be allowed to cling on in a warming world? Activists celebrated when the Spanish government in 2021 banned parts of a small ski resort near Madrid from operating, citing in part a 25 percent decline in snowfall over the previous 50 years and an increasingly unjustifiable environmental footprint. In the Alps, climate activists warn that the more frequent use of snow cannons will aggravate drought. Water is lost in the artificial snow-making process, as a result of evaporation, wind drift and other influences. And France, where some reservoirs dried up last summer, can’t afford to have that water taken out of natural circulation, activists say. Over the past weeks, snow cannons in at least five Alpine ski resorts were sabotaged, including La Clusaz, Les Gets and Switzerland’s Verbier resort. “No skiing without snow,” read a message sprayed onto a cannon in Les Gets, next to a symbol for the climate activism group Extinction Rebellion. (The group has denied responsibility.) Instead of trying to fix the problem with artificial snow, “it is urgently necessary to start thinking about the ecological transition of this model,” said Fiona Mille, president of environmental group Mountain Wilderness France. That could mean zip lines instead of ski lifts, summer toboggan tracks instead of winter sledding hills in low- or medium-altitude resorts. In parts of the Alps, the end of skiing is not only near, activists argue. It is overdue. La Clusaz Mayor Didier Thévenet said the resorts are being unfairly criticized, because it is easy to engage in “ski-bashing.” “In the minds of people, it’s for the rich, we use water, we use energy. We’ve used cement mixers, we’ve built a lot. So, for them, we’re wrong about everything,” he said, sipping coffee in a small mountain cabin on the peak above his village, overlooking western Europe’s highest mountain, the Mont Blanc, where snow is still plentiful. “Skiing stands for everything environmentalists don’t like,” he said. Ski resort operators point to all the environmental practices they have adopted: reducing their use of polluting snow groomer fuel, and encouraging tourists to arrive on sleek high-speed trains instead of cars that clog the mountain roads. “We’re convinced that there is a path for a reasonable operation of ski areas in harmony with nature,” said Laurent Reynaud, who represents France’s association of ski areas. Officials in La Clusaz acknowledge that they will need to expand their use of snow cannons to remain profitable in the coming years. But the village recently cited environmental concerns in rejecting a major hotel chain’s lucrative offer to build a new resort. Officials have been working to develop a bigger sumA man practices Nordic skiing despite the lack of snow in La Feclaz in the French Alps. January 1, 2023 Ski routes 1 MILE 1 MILE 1 MILE 1 MILE France Detail Detail France Ski routes January 1, 2023 December 31, 2021 December 31, 2021 Les Gets La Clusaz Sources : Planet, OpenStreetMap | JANICE KAI CHEN/THE WASHINGTON POST

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 39 INSIGHT COVER STORY mer tourism sector, while exploring the potential closure of ski slopes that are particularly vulnerable in warm winters. “What we ask the public and the [environmental] associations is to give us time to work with elected officials, engineers, experts and consultants, to bring about this evolution of our economic model,” said Jean-Philippe Monfort, head of the village’s tourism office. But there may be economic and technological limits to how much and how quickly villages like La Clusaz can adapt. Skiers spend far more on lift passes and equipment rentals than hikers contribute to the local economy. “We will have less money, and we will probably lower our standard of living,” Thévenet said. Already, some of the economic pain is being felt. Nicolas Chauvin, 23, one of tens of thousands of seasonal workers in French ski resorts, was supposed to start working as a waiter in La Clusaz in late November. But he had to rely on unemployment benefits during a no-snow delay, and when he finally arrived in the village on Saturday, rolling his suitcase over the snow-free road, he wasn’t sure if the wait had been worth it. “The cable car cabins are all empty,” he said, staring at the lift in front of him with disappointment. Climate change has upended his life more than once over the past years. When he was working at a beach resort restaurant during the summer, record heat waves across Europe kept the majority of tables empty for weeks. “I’m only 23 years old, but within the past 10 years, it has all completely changed,” he said. “We need to reinvent everything.” For some resorts, it may be too late. Already, many smaller ski resorts struggle to “charge the price that would be necessary to run a profitable business,” said tourism researcher Steiger, meaning they have little financial leeway to invest in other areas. Resorts may run up so much debt that they will eventually be forced to go out of business without having built viable long-term alternatives, researchers warn. “A wasteland – whether touristic or industrial – is a wasteland,” ReghezzaZitt said. But where some see wastelands, others sense opportunities. On a remote La Clusaz hiking trail that in past winters was usually only accessible with snow shoes, a stream of tourists in sneakers and hiking boots sweated in temperatures of up to 57 degrees Fahrenheit two weeks ago. Some laughed about the “avalanche” warning signs that stuck out of the green grass in front of barren slopes. Even though some lifts in the resort were still running, Geraldine Guironnet, 49, didn’t join her husband and son in their attempt to ski that day. She feared that after having been spoiled by excellent skiing conditions in the past, she wouldn’t have enjoyed sliding over the sparse snow cover that was left. “I loved it,” she said of her walk. “You just have to adapt.” Snow cannons produce a bit of snow on this slope near the German village of Lenggries. The slopes remain bare on either side of the Giant Slalom course in Adelboden, Switzerland, on Jan. 6 A hiker negotiates a trail alongside a ski lift at the Navacerrada ski resort, outside Madrid. A staff member checks the pumps that provide water to the snow cannons at the Font-Romeu/Bolquere Pyrenees 2000 ski resort in southwestern France.

40 Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ INSIGHT EDITORIAL During the coronavirus crisis, our Pelican Plaza office is closed to visitors. We appreciate your understanding. By David Ignatius | Washington Post It takes a lot to break Japan’s post-1945 stance of reticence and restraint in military matters. But China and Russia have accomplished just that – by convincing Japanese leaders that they need “counterstrike” capability to protect themselves against growing threats. Japan’s hawkish new stance was on display last week at a White House meeting between visiting Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and President Biden. The Japanese leader explained his decision in November to seek parliamentary approval to spend 2 percent of gross domestic product annually on defense, roughly doubling what Japan has been spending. “This is an inflection point” for Asia, argues Kurt Campbell, who oversees regional policy for Biden’s National Security Council. It moves Japan from reliance on its own soft power and U.S. weapons to a real military partnership. And it redraws the security map, framing a NATO-like alliance of containment in the Indo-Pacific as well as the Atlantic. Why is Japan taking this step toward remilitarization? One galvanizing moment for Japanese leaders, U.S. officials say, was when China and Russia flew six heavy bombers near Japan in a joint exercise on May 24, as Tokyo was hosting a meeting of the “Quad” partnership of Australia, India, Japan and the United States. Japan expressed “serious concerns” about the flights. But China and Russia did it again in late November, sending two Chinese heavy bombers and two Russian planes over the Sea of Japan. This time Tokyo expressed “severe concerns,” again with no apparent response. Another wake-up call came in August, when China fired five missiles into Japan’s “exclusive economic zone” during a spasm of military exercises after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) visited Taiwan. “We have protested strongly through diplomatic channels,” said Nobuo Kishi, Japan’s former defense minister who now serves as a special adviser to the prime minister. The lesson was that “nothing in the Taiwan Strait stays in the Taiwan Strait,” Rahm Emanuel, the U.S. ambassador to Tokyo, told me in an interview. Japan has moved from talk to action over the past year. A big reason is shock over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, coming less than a month after Russia and China announced a “no limits” partnership. “The world has changed in a dramatic fashion, and the Japanese know it,” Emanuel said. Kishida, though a new and politically weak prime minister, moved aggressively to support Ukraine. Japan quickly sent military and humanitarian assistance, and in March it successfully lobbied eight of the 10 ASEAN countries to back a U.N. resolution condemning Russia’s invasion. “Kishida understood early that the Russian attack on Ukraine represented a blending of the Indo-Pacific and European worlds. He saw a fundamental challenge to world order,” says Campbell. So, rather than adopt the usual approach of relying on the United States to fix matters, he explains, Kishida “decided to make common cause with Europe.” The heart of Japan’s security problem is missiles, and not just from China; North Korea regularly tests ballistic missiles that overfly Japanese territory. A decade ago, Japan invested heavily in antimissile technologies, hoping that this would blunt the threat. But several years ago, Japanese military planners realized that an adversary could overwhelm their missile-defense shield. They needed something more. The “counterstrike” strategy should offer that. The United States will provide Japan with 400 to 500 Tomahawk missiles that can hit missile sites in China or North Korea. Japan also wants to protect its spacebased defense assets, which include satellite-guided bombs and a Japanese version of the U.S. Global Positioning System, from China’s expanding antisatellite arsenal. So, the Biden administration will extend the long-standing U.S. security treaty with Japan to cover attacks in space. Japan’s new militancy will inevitably trigger a backlash in China, where there’s a deep antipathy to Japanese military power dating back to Japanese occupation in the 1930s and early ’40s. If you doubt it, just visit the museum in Nanjing that documents Japan’s savage assault on the city in 1937. Japan has disdained power projection since its defeat in 1945 partly in deference to such historical memories. Japan is still a deeply peaceful country. But the weight of the past is easing, and younger Japanese want a stronger military to deal with belligerent neighbors. A poll last summer by Jiji Press showed that 75 percent of respondents between 18 and 29 supported increased defense spending, and over 60 percent of that age group favored Japanese “counterstrike capabilities.” China is in the early stages of what might be the biggest military buildup in history. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine effectively ended the post-Cold War era. Japan is reacting to those developments rationally. But beware: As the global order frays, the chain of action and reaction is only beginning. A version of this column appeared first in The Washington Post. It does not necessarily reflect the views of Vero Beach 32963.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 41 INSIGHT OP-ED Kimberli Eicher and her daughter just experienced the worst Amtrak train ride imaginable. It was so bad that they canceled their return trip and flew home. Don’t they deserve a refund? QUESTION: I took my seven-year-old daughter on our first Amtrak trip, from Chemult, Ore., to Oklahoma City to visit her cousins this summer. The trip was a nightmare. Amtrak delayed our first train by seven hours. It failed to provide all the meals on our 26-hour trip. I had paid for a sleeper, but Amtrak seated us in the wrong section. An employee yelled at me for "taking his seat" in a coach car where there were no assigned seats. I canceled our return trip and paid almost $1,000 to fly home. The airfare wiped out my savings. When I canceled our Amtrak return trip and explained why, a representative assured me that I'd receive a "full refund for my purchase." That promise was six weeks ago. Now they're saying I'm not eligible for a refund. In my view, I purchased services that were never delivered (i.e., meals and bedroom accommodations for three days), and as a result of Amtrak not with a detailed trip report that you sent to your bank when you disputed the charges for your train fare. You were not exaggerating when you called it a traumatic nightmare. I would have fought for a refund, too. Technically, Amtrak was entitled to keep your money. But a representative agreed to refund half your fare, so it's reasonable to expect Amtrak to do what it promised. Instead, Amtrak reneged. But I think you may have missed a step. When a company says "no" you can always appeal to an executive. I list the names, numbers and email addresses of the Amtrak executives on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org. I would have tried that before disputing your charges. I reached out to Amtrak for you. A representative reviewed your file and agreed that your trip did not go as it should have. Amtrak refunded your ticket and offered you a credit for a make-good trip – just in case you want to try Amtrak again someday. Get help with any consumer problem by contacting Christopher Elliott at http://www.elliott.org/help providing the services promised, they forced me to spend money I don't really have to transport my daughter and myself back home. ANSWER: Amtrak should have done better – no delays, putting you in the right section of the train and treating you with dignity. But none of these issues rises to the level of qualifying for a refund. Amtrak doesn't provide refunds for late trains. It does refund part of your ticket for an involuntary downgrade. But it does not offer your money back because of rude employees. Taken together, however, these complaints add up. You also furnished me POOL DECKS • DRIVEWAYS • WALKWAYS FIREPLACES • RETAINING WALLS STAIRS • ASTROTURF & MORE! 634 Old Dixie Hwy. SW Vero Beach, FL 32962 O: (772) 999-5136 C: (772) 563-8377 Licensed & Insured LIC #16674 INSTALLATIONS • CLEANINGS REFINISHING • REPAIRS Committed To Exceeding Expectations

42 Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Two excellent new books examine the complicated reality of the Himalayan region: John Keay’s “Himalaya: Exploring the Roof of the World” and Erika Fatland’s “High: A Journey Across the Himalaya Through Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Nepal, and China.” The pair complement each other perfectly. Keay, a British journalist and historian, focuses on topography, climate, wildlife and, above all, exploration, while Fatland – a Norwegian social anthropologist – tirelessly interviews some of the ordinary and extraordinary people who live in the Himalayan region today. Two of Keay’s earlier books, “When Men and Mountains Meet” (1977) and “The Gilgit Game” (1979), covered the West’s fascination with, and clashes over, this forbidding mountainous territory during the 19th century. This latest takes up the story with Francis Edward Younghusband’s successful 1904 British incursion into Tibet, but then steps back to dive deep into the area’s geological and cultural past. Keay explains the plate tectonics that created the Himalayan peaks, traces the origins of the Tibetan people and emphasizes the importance of the ancient religion known as Bon, which preceded Buddhism. Subsequent chapters discuss glaciers and glaciation, take readers on a visit to the ultra-sacred Mount Kailash, and describe the work of various Indian, Tibetan and European scholars and explorers. The bulk of Keay’s book, however, continues his two earlier histories of the region, treating the reader to a series of mini-biographies. For example, we learn about Emily and David Lorimer, who, in the 1920s and ’30s, managed to master “the scriptless Burushaski” spoken in Hunza: “With its seven words for ‘mother,’ its four genders, twenty-eight plural endings, numerous syntactic oddities and subtle meaning shifts, it was the sole surviving relic of India’s pre-Aryan languages.” The explorer and government agent Frederick “Hatter” Bailey – his nickname alludes to the Mad Hatter – so filled his diaries with lists of the animals he had shot that they read like “game-books.” Yet Bailey lived in a compound surrounded by animals and, with his wife, introduced the Lhasa apso terrier into Britain. Keay also tracks the careers of the swashbuckling Swedish explorer Sven Hedin and the highly spiritual Alexandra David-Neel, who in 1924, disguised as a monk, became the first European woman to enter the forbidden city of Lhasa. Almost inevitably, this excellent book’s final section surveys the repeated, often disastrous attempts to scale not only Everest – ultimately conquered by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay – but also K2 and other Himalayan peaks. Keay closes “Himalaya” with a plea that this “garden of God” deserves all the conservation safeguards that can be devised. Fatland’s “High: A Journey Across the Himalaya Through Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Nepal, and China” reinforces this same message: When she visits the base camp of Mount Everest, she notes that tourist trash and human waste have become both an eyesore and a disposal nightmare. In general, though, Fatland focuses less on the Transhimalaya’s history and ecology and more on its inhabitants, who are caught in various geographical power struggles, mainly between China and India. If you’ve read “The Border” (2021) – Fatland’s account of a journey through all the countries that abut Russia – you already know she’s a superb reporter, with an engaging personality and boundless curiosity. Moreover, thanks to her exemplary translator, Kari Dickson, the English versions of her books convey her immense vitality and charm. Fatland, for instance, confesses that she was first drawn to this part of the world when, as a little girl, she reveled in the comic-book adventures of Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge set in “the hidden valley of Tralla La, high up in the Himalayas.” During Fatland’s 2018 travels, she discovers that “the story is the same throughout the Himalayas: the borders are closing as nation states pull back to protect themselves and plug any holes with military posts.” China, she wryly notes, “has spent more money on domestic security than on the military – and China’s defense budget is the second largest in the world.” Everywhere, Fatland is confronted by supercilious officials or hostile bureaucrats. Despite these obstacles, the multilingual reporter perseveres: “I wanted to discover what life stories and cultures were to be found there, beyond the well-trodden paths, high up in the valleys and villages of the mountains with the beautiful name.” Thus, she talks with three living goddesses in Kathmandu (whose feet must never touch the ground), sits at the feet of priests from various faiths, drinks endless cups of tea with the estate manager of a tea company in Darjeeling and interviews a trans beauty queen in Nepal. She visits Rishikesh, the capital of yoga; learns about the training needed to join the elite Gurkha brigade; and listens to the stories of girls who were sex-trafficked. She even journeys to Malana, said to produce the world’s best cannabis, and consults several astrologers who give her conflicting predictions about her future. Everyone knows somebody who has glimpsed a yeti, albeit from a distance. Neither Keay nor Fatland neglects the religious conflicts so sadly endemic to a region inhabited by devotees of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and other faiths. Nearly everywhere Fatland hears about atrocities carried out by governments, religious groups and terrorists. As she resignedly notes at the end of one such recitation, “I cannot count the number of kitchen tables where I have sat and listened to these same words and accusations, spoken with the same endless grief and pain, only in another language, in another country.” By now, I hope it’s obvious that both John Keay’s “Himalaya” and Erika Fatland’s “High” are ideal books for armchair travelers, packed with information and entertaining anecdotes. HIMALAYA EXPLORING THE ROOF OF THE WORLD BY JOHN KEAY | BLOOMSBURY. 432 PP. $30 HIGH A JOURNEY ACROSS THE HIMALAYA, THROUGH PAKISTAN, INDIA, BHUTAN, NEPAL, AND CHINA BY ERIKA FATLAND | PEGASUS. 624 PP. $35 REVIEW BY MICHAEL DIRDA, THE WASHINGTON POST INSIGHT BOOKS

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 43 INSIGHT BRIDGE CAN YOU CATCH A BLACK HERRING? By Phillip Alder - Bridge Columnist There are some contracts that would be much easier to make if you didn’t hold a particular card to distract you. Cover the East-West hands in this week’s diagram. How should South play in four hearts after West leads a spade and East puts up the queen? The auction was straightforward. North raised the five-card-major opening bid, and South jumped to game with all of his extra values. The original declarer won the first trick with the spade ace, crossed to dummy with a trump and took the club finesse. However, West won with the king, led a spade to his partner’s king and carefully played the spade six under East’s spade 10. Now East shifted to the diamond jack, covered by the queen, king and ace. Declarer led a club to his ace, played a heart to the jack and ruffed a club. But the clubs didn’t break 3-3, so South had to lose a diamond trick and concede down one. The red — or black — herring was the club queen. After leading a trump to the dummy at trick two and discovering that they weren’t breaking 4-0, South should have led a club to the ace, then followed with the club queen. Here, West wins with the king and leads a spade, East taking two spade tricks and switching to the diamond jack. But declarer wins in the dummy, ruffs a club high, returns to dummy with a trump and ruffs another club. Finally, South leads a heart to dummy’s king and discards his diamond loser on the established club seven. If South had been dealt a low club instead of the queen, he surely would have made his contract. Dealer: South; Vulnerable: Both NORTH 8 7 2 K J 10 A 4 7 6 5 3 2 WEST J 6 5 3 5 K 8 7 5 3 2 K 8 SOUTH A 9 4 A Q 9 8 6 3 Q 6 A Q EAST K Q 10 7 4 2 J 10 9 J 10 9 4 The Bidding: OPENING LEAD: 3 Spades SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST 1 Hearts Pass 2 Hearts Pass 4 Hearts Pass Pass Pass CARPET ONE CREATIVE FLOORS & HOME Creative Floors & Home has more for your entire home from the floor up! With Flooring, Tile, Cabinets and even vacuum cleaners! 772.569.0240 1137 Old Dixie Hwy • Vero Beach creativefloorscarpet1verobeach.com Professional Cabinet Design Available

44 Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ INSIGHT GAMES The Telegraph How to do Sudoku: Fill in the grid so the numbers one through nine appear just once in every column, row and three-by-three square. The Telegraph SOLUTIONS TO PREVIOUS ISSUE (JANUARY 12) ON PAGE 74 ACROSS 1 Marinate (5) 4 Book of maps (5) 10 Exit (5) 11 Ormer (7) 12 Small mat (7) 13 Morsel (5) 14 Roar, shout (6) 16 Clown (6) 19 Tomato relish (5) 21 Employ (7) 23 Study (7) 24 Courtyard (5) 25 Glow (5) 26 Armada (5) DOWN 2 Toil (7) 3 Oust (5) 5 Trudge (7) 6 Solo (5) 7 Smash hit (11) 8 Convey (5) 9 Revelry (11) 15 Applause (7) 17 Prickly plant (7) 18 Hubbub (5) 20 Tether (5) 22 Student (5)

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 45 INSIGHT GAMES ACROSS 1 Palindrome guy 5 Cobb who played Arthur Miller’s Willy 9 It fell on 4/30/75 15 Horse preceder? 19 Shower room wrap 20 Switch back? 21 Julius Caesar character 22 Karl in Patton 23 Condiment with a real wallop? 26 Iditarod city 27 Tic-tac-toe line 28 Fashion mag 29 Dog food that’s unanimously popular? 31 Machines that are great for blowing up photos? 37 Itty-bitty birdies 38 Do a tire job 39 Dumas dueler 40 Weasel type 44 Architect Maya 45 Indian wrap 47 Offers an orison 48 More than a little 52 “Yeah, right” 54 Store that boasts, “Even our shopping bags are chic”? 59 Illuminated, camp-style 61 Job for Ford 62 Old taping choice 63 After expenses 64 Motel-rating org. 65 Certain Muslim 66 Stuffy room’s need 67 Stats for A-Rod 69 Wipes that are strong enough to write on? 73 Oxidation coat 74 Ms. Hagen 75 Ballerina’s bend 76 Certain residence: abbr. 77 Yes, to Yves 7 8 Actress Pitts 80 Oft-shared graphic 81 “___ the Nile” 85 Company that solves empty-tank problems? 89 Broad lowland 90 Against 91 As a companion 92 Stare in amazement 94 Potential perch 95 West Side Story Oscar winner 97 Hermosillo homes 100 Blake’s rank on M*A*S*H, for ex. 102 “Waves of grain” hue 105 Store where readers can’t reach anything? 108 Store where readers hang out way too long? 112 Bird with an eerie call 113 “I’ll bet that hurt” 114 Rice-a-___ 115 Store where readers can’t find anything? 122 Evelyn Waugh’s brother 123 C to C, e.g. 124 Notes from people who are short? 125 Out of cards in a suit 126 Cover up 127 Less cluttered 128 Fork part 129 Former partners DOWN 1 Beast-ly boat 2 “When ___ start?” 3 Network that fired Bill Maher 4 Thailand-Laos separator 5 Crummy car 6 Historic time 7 Geologic time 8 Mr. Pulitzer 9 Sunshine State director John 10 Goose genus 11 Call ___ day 12 Ascend 13 Formerly 14 Turgenev turndown 15 English playwright 16 Love, Italian-style 17 Noodles for Nomo 18 Kilmer poem 24 Nerve thingies 25 Mixed bag 30 Grain beard 31 Where Angels tread: abbr. 32 Grafton’s A 33 S.F. pro 34 Lapidary unit 35 Eary? 36 Helot’s cousin 41 Wound on the set of Willard, perhaps 42 Rescuee’s cry 43 “The wolf ___ the door” 46 Tibetan, e.g. 47 Pan dessert 49 Heath’s character in Brokeback Mountain 50 Regrets 51 So far 53 “Waterworks” 55 Drummer Gene 56 Sitting site 57 Pinball feature 58 “The Father of Electronic Music,” Edgar ___ 60 Taoism VIP 65 Besieged 66 Sprite in The Tempest 68 Run, as colors 69 Constructed 70 Wrestle 71 Sailor’s saint 72 Sound of Charlie Brown hitting the ground 73 Destruction 77 Son-gun insert 79 On ___ with (similar to) 80 Confab: abbr. 81 Partly 82 It means “sleep” 83 “___! the sun begins to rise” (Tennyson) 84 Is of the opinion 86 Oft-perverse verse 87 Sufficient, formerly 88 “Holy cats!” 93 Nudger’s need 96 Old California fort 97 Whisperer’s request 98 Baseball’s Matty 99 Plaited straw used in making hats (anagram of TENNIS) 101 Start of a Hemingway title 102 President Garfield’s middle name 103 Dough 104 Scourges 106 Tylenol rival 107 Old West “necktie” 109 Black, to Blake 110 Test of speed 111 Sp. girl 116 Crooner Cole 117 Colorful carp 118 Taker of vows 119 Go a round in a ring The Telegraph The Washington Post BUSINESS MADE SIMPLE By Merl Reagle

48 Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ INSIGHT BACK PAGE Dear Carolyn: I struggled with infertility for many years and ultimately chose to be childless after many unsuccessful fertility treatments. A few weeks ago, my sister announced a surprise pregnancy, and I’m really struggling with it. How do I tell her this without sounding like a terrible, jealous person? This will be the only grandchild in our family, and I can’t help feeling as if she’s getting something unfairly. There are some other family dynamics at play here. (Things always seem to work out for her, and my parents give her much more support.) I feel like a terrible person/sister, but I’m also really struggling. – Surprised Surprised: I’m so sorry for your struggle. It’s understandable that your feelings are particularly raw right now. That’s why it’s not only OK to tell your sister how you feel, but also important that you do. Kindly, generously. There is always the risk someone will respond poorly to your honesty – especially someone who is both hormonal and adjusting to big feelings of her own. Your other ways of communicating, though, such as facial expressions, body language or conspicuous absences from family gatherings, will often tell the truth for you, whether you want them to or not, and less delicately than you would choose to in words. So words are your chance to get the message right. I assume she knows of your treatments and disappointments. If that’s the case, then keep your approach to her pregnancy news simple, and make three key points: You are so happy for her. Your feelings are raw right now, so you might not always appear as happy for her as you’d like. You hope she can forgive you for that. If she doesn’t know, then note your feelings are raw from tough decisions of your own about having children. No more data required. Again, she might not receive your message well, no matter how kindly you mean it or effectively you deliver it. These are beyond a messenger’s control. You can only try to do right by both of you. That can include your own reckoning, in private, with the resentment you still carry from your family’s dynamics. Just because it contributes to your current hard feelings doesn’t mean there’s any call to express it. And even if its origins are valid, you can still choose to maintain perspective and not indulge your resentment – with the help of a therapist, if you feel stuck. Your sister did not choose the position she’s in any more than you did. Any children she has won’t have chosen to bring attention to your sister or frustration to you. In fact, if you and your sister are close enough familially and geographically, and if you have steadied your emotions by then, nurturing a bond with the child as a doting auntie could write a graceful twist into this difficult story. Whether that bond forms or not – something else over which you have only partial say – any openness and warmth you can show to a child, for decency’s sake alone, will be a balm to you both. BY CAROLYN HAX Washington Post She’s struggling with her sister’s surprise pregnancy news

SKETCH IT IF YOU CAN ARTIST MASTERS GRAPHITE DRAWING

ARTS & THEATRE 50 Vero Beach 32963 / January 19, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ After many years of routinely drawing, Steven Edgar Bradbury appears fused with his chosen art discipline at this stage of his life. His art, primarily graphite drawings on Yupo, a treeless paper from Japan made of polypropylene, has become widely recognized near and far. A solo show of his artwork is on display at the Center for Spiritual Care through Jan. 28. Bradbury says he finds it exciting to work outdoors, and always carries a writing instrument and a notebook on his walks and excursions. “Cameras are great, but they cannot capture the wealth of detail that the human eye can. Most of the work I do are 30-to-40-minute drawings I make on my daily walks or plein air excursions. I take walks and see something and start drawing. I draw almost every day, walking three to six miles. Like a musician, you have to do your scales every day. You have to draw every day to keep up with it,” says Bradbury. “It takes me 15 minutes to an hour to do a sketch. If I kayak on the river, I may do two or three. A sketch pad itself is such a wonderful thing to hold in our hands. I now have 20 or so sketch pads. I don’t remove a sketch until someone might want to buy it. If I take care of the BY DEBBIE TIMMERMANN | CORRESPONDENT Sketch it if you can Artist masters graphite drawing genre