03/09/2023 ISSUE 10

At this time last year, Sheriff Eric Flowers was reeling amid the public exposure of his hypocrisy: He got caught having an extramarital affair only 13 months after telling his deputies to hold their oaths of office sacred, as if they were marriage vows. Now, the Sheriff’s Office is in crisis – with two members of Flowers’ command staff suddenly retiring, and two County Commissioners with extensive police backgrounds considering a run to replace him in 2024. Neither Deryl Loar, who served three terms as sheriff before retiring from law enforcement in early 2021, nor Joe Flescher, a former New York City cop and Indian River County deputy, was ready to commit to such a campaign. Both, though, said this week they are deeply concerned about the increasing turmoil and lack of Community leaders are stepping up to defend School Board Chair Peggy Jones and School Board Member Brian Barefoot after Gov. Ron DeSantis targeted the former Sebastian River High School principal and the former Indian River Shores mayor for electoral defeat in 2024. Local NAACP President Tony Brown, School Board Vice Chair Teri Barenborg and former School Board member Mara Schiff were among those who rallied around Barefoot and Jones last week, after they were included on DeSantis’ list of 14 Florida school board incumbents who, according to a Fox News report, didn’t protect parents’ rights and did not shield students from “woke” ideologies. The report stated the hit list was compiled after the governor’s aides met with Republican Three local Vero lawyers were set to be interviewed this week among a field of nine Treasure Coast residents hoping to gain the governor’s favor, and an appointment to the bench in the 19th Judicial Circuit. Three of the applicants are men and six are women. One reports assets worth more than $1 million; another is still burdened by nearly $300,000 in student loans. Longtime beachside criminal defense and divorce attorney Jeff Battista, who joined the Grall Law Group after his former law partner Nicole Menz was appointed to replace Joe Wild as County Judge, has applied for a sixth time to become a judge. In addition to his private practice, Battista serves as a hearing officer for traffic cases. Battista, 52, was born in Pennsylvania and has lived in Vero Beach for 23 years. He graduated in the top 3 percent of his class from West Virginia University with a degree in accounting, then went on to earn his Juris Doctorate from the University of Florida Levin College of Law INSIDE To advertise call: 772-559-4187 For circulation or where to pick up your issue call: 772-226-7925 NEWS HEALTH PETS REAL ESTATE 1-5 6 B12 16 ARTS GAMES CALENDAR B1 B13 B16 © 2023 Vero Beach 32963 Media LLC. All rights reserved. Is it possible that Susy Tomassi’s body had been submerged in the mangroves near the Oslo Road boat ramp for the past five years? Could the massive search that ensued after the 73-year-old woman’s high-profile disappearance in March 2018 simply have missed her? How did her body get there? Sheriff’s detectives hope to get answers to those questions and others after a fisherman found skeletal remains about 150 yards north of the boat ramp last Friday. According to a Sheriff’s Office statement, detectives believe the remains belong to Tomassi – who was last seen behind the Publix at U.S. 1 and Oslo Road – because of jewelry and other personal items located near the site. As of Monday afternoon, however, the identity of the remains, which had been transported to the regional Medical Examiner’s Office in Fort Pierce, had not yet been confirmed. Sheriff Eric Flowers said in the agency’s statement that the Tomassi family has requested privacy until more information becomes available. It’s unknown, however, how much detectives will learn from the skeletal remains, given how long Tomassi had been missing and how long her body had been submerged in the mangroves. The Sheriff’s Office dispatched a helicopter, K-9 and marine units, agricultural units on all-terrain veSheriff crisis deepens amid cracks in inner circle March 9, 2023 | Volume 10, Issue 10 | Newsstand Price: $1.00 | For breaking news visit VeroNews.com YOUR LOCAL NEWS SOURCE FOR INDIAN RIVER COUNTY WHY FRONTOTEMORAL DEMENTIA PRESENTS AT AN EARLIER AGE Your Health, Page 8 QUILT SHOW SEES RISE IN INTEREST FROM YOUNG SET Seen & Scene, P. B6 VOCAL SUPPORT FOR SCHOOL BOARD PAIR TARGETED BY GOVERNOR CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 By Lisa Zahner | Staff Writer [email protected] Three from Vero are hoping to be named to bench CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 By Ray McNulty | Staff Writer [email protected] Remains found may be those of missing woman By Ray McNulty | Staff Writer [email protected] By Ray McNulty | Staff Writer [email protected] PHOTO: JOSHUA KODIS MY TAKE

leadership in the Sheriff’s Office. In the past month, two members of Flowers’ command staff – two of the sheriff’s most-trusted confidants in the agency – suddenly decided to retire after spending lengthy careers working to rise to their lofty and wellpaid positions. Deputy Chief Lonnie Rich, 52, was the third-highest-ranking member of the Sheriff’s Office when he turned in his retirement papers last week, one month after Captain Pat White, 46, did the same. “Two guys in those positions? At their ages? That’s unusual,” Loar said of the upper-echelon departures. “That’s a sign of something.” It’s a sign that at least some members of Flowers’ inner circle have lost faith in his judgment and ability to effectively lead the agency. The embarrassing headlines – along with others connected to two controversial shootings by his deputies, an interview in which he inexplicably told a TV reporter where his agency’s school resource officers store their AR-15 rifles on campus, and getting pulled over for driving a car with stolen license plates – have all put a considerable dent in his credibility. Multiple sources familiar with situation inside the Sheriff’s Office said several of Flowers’ top deputies now see him as “damaged goods” and “unelectable,” which is why they have abandoned him and begun searching for someone they can endorse in the 2024 sheriff’s race. Some have approached Flescher, who won a fifth term as county commissioner in November. Others have reached out to Loar, who is four months into his first term on the commission. If either entered the race, he would immediately become the favorite to win – something Flowers surely knows. As of Monday, Flowers hadn’t yet filed to run for re-election, but he announced last year in a news report that he would seek a second term. The only candidates in the race when the week began were Fellsmere Police Chief Keith Touchberry and 2020 candidate Deborah Cooney. There’s no reason to believe Flowers would back away from either of them. But would he risk almost certain defeat against Loar or Flescher, knowing only one commissioner will run and likely will have the support of the other? “Looking at who’s in the race now, I don’t like the alternatives – so, yeah, I’m considering it,” Flescher said. “I haven’t committed to anything yet. I haven’t finalized any plans. I haven’t pulled any papers. “But being in my position, it’s very difficult to sit back and watch what’s happening to our Sheriff’s Office,” he added, saying he has noticed a “marked change in the sheriff and in the direction of the Sheriff’s Office,” as well as an “erosion of morale” within the agency. “I’m not seeing the energy, involvement and accountability the people of this county 2 March 9, 2023 VeroNews/Sebastian River News | LOCAL NEWS www.veronews.com CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 SKELETAL REMAINS FOUND CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 MY TAKE deserve from their sheriff.” Flescher also questioned Flowers’ ability to serve as sheriff while coping with the fallout from his affair, which has produced divorce proceedings. “I thought he could separate the personal life from his public responsibilities, but it’s obvious he can’t,” the longtime commissioner said. “Just look at how he’s handling this situation with Pat White’s retirement party. He’s getting too personal about the personnel.” The sources, who agreed to speak only on the condition of anonymity because they feared retaliation from Flowers, say he already has lashed out at deputies, including Rich, for their behavior at the party. Not only did White suggest that he might run against Flowers, but many of the deputies there embraced the idea and uttered unflattering remarks about the sheriff. Rich, in fact, was suspended with pay only days before he retired. Documents provided by the Sheriff’s Office did not include a reason for the suspension, but sources said it was related to Rich authorizing use of an agency helicopter to give White a ride to his Fellsmere home after his last day on the job. Certainly, the cost to taxpayers and the potential liability associated with allowing a civilian to fly in a Sheriff’s Office helicopter was worthy of investigation. But would Rich have been suspended if his once-close relationship with Flowers hadn’t deteriorated? For the record: Flowers did not respond to an email seeking comment on and explanation for Rich’s suspension, the retirements of Rich and White, and the impact of their departures. Flowers also offered no comment on the deputies’ remarks directed at him during White’s retirement party. Apparently, Flowers did not attend the gathering and was told of the remarks later that night. Sources said he began making phone calls at 7:30 a.m. the next day, and the retaliation against those the sheriff believes betrayed him soon followed. More disciplinary measures against other deputies were expected this week, when Flowers was scheduled to reorganize the upper tier of his 500-employee agency. The fact that Flowers was blindsided by these remarks, however, is as alarming as it is telling: Had the sheriff become so detached that he didn’t know he had lost the confidence and trust of members of his command staff? More than one source said Flowers was now “so alone at the top” that he has begun repairing his fractured relationship with Captain Milo Thornton, who he demoted from deputy chief last year in a feeble and transparent attempt to discredit a potential challenger in the 2024 sheriff’s race. Rumors about Thornton running continue to buzz – he was the highest-ranking black law enforcement officer in the county’s history – but he has not filed and declined comment on any political aspirations or his relationship with Flowers. Sources close to Thornton, though, said he would not run against Loar and, instead, would enthusiastically support the former sheriff’s candidacy. But will Loar run? Two weeks ago, he shrugged off growing rumors that he plans to run in 2024, saying, “Unless something catastrophic happens, I don’t see it.” Now he’s saying he has “given it consideration.” Clearly, Loar and Flescher are seeing something they don’t like in our seemingly leaderless and dysfunctional Sheriff’s Office. Maybe something catastrophic. hicles, a SWAT team, detectives, and patrol deputies within an hour after she was reported missing. No clues were found. Tomassi was in the early stages of dementia when she walked away from the Quilted Giraffe restaurant, which she owned with her husband Patrick, in the late afternoon of March 16, 2018. Video evidence appeared to show she was headed south through the South Vero Square shopping plaza, then east toward the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area, where her husband said she often would walk to smoke cigarettes. Detectives believed she might’ve been abducted, but they had no leads to pursue – until October 2019, when they received surveillance video that shows Tomassi getting into a white pickup truck at the exit of the shopping center about an hour after she wandered away from the restaurant. Detectives say the video shows the truck, after Tomassi got in, heading east on Oslo Road, toward the boat ramp before turning around and speeding west toward U.S. 1 only a few minutes later. “This enhances our speculation of foul play,” then-Sheriff Deryl Loar said at the time. While it’s possible the truck driver merely offered to give her a ride and innocently dropped her off somewhere, it seems unlikely – especially since police never heard from the driver during the intensive search for the missing woman. “I believe whoever was driving that truck did something bad to her,” Greg Farless, the detective initially assigned to the case, said then. “We know she walked the plaza, turned left at the Pizza Hut and was almost to the conservation area when she ran into the stopped truck. You can’t really see it, but I believe he said something to her as she walked behind the truck. I say ‘he,’ because I believe a man was driving the truck.” Farless, though, said he believed Tomassi was still in the truck when it returned from the boat-ramp area and sped toward U.S. 1. The video was the detectives’ last lead in the case – until last Friday. Tomassi’s husband subsequently closed the Quilted Giraffe, which has been razed and replaced by an emergency medical facility operated by the Fort Pierce-based Lawnwood Regional Medical Center.

with a 2.88 grade point average. Admitted to the Florida Bar in 2000, Battista joined the State Attorney’s Office here that same year, after working as an intern in Gainesville’s State Attorney’s Office during law school. After four years as a criminal prosecutor, Battista went into private practice. During the past five years, 93 percent of Battista’s practice has been trial law at the state circuit level. He estimates 84 percent of his cases have dealt with family law, while 5 percent have been criminal cases. Assistant State Attorney Robert “Robby” Stone Jr., son of former State Attorney Bob Stone and a former partner with his dad in the Stone and Stone law practice, is hoping to join his sister Robyn Stone on the bench. Robby Stone currently serves as a felony prosecutor at the State Attorney’s Fort Pierce office. Admitted to the Florida Bar in 2014, Stone earned his undergraduate degree from Indian River State College, then went on to Barry University School of Law, where he graduated in the lower fifth of his class. Stone, 41, reported spending 90 percent of his time over the past five years on criminal defense, with the balance of his caseload being family law. Assistant State Attorney William “Bill” Long, who during the pandemic took over running the Indian River County operations of State Attorney’s office, also is seeking the judicial appointment. Long was born and raised in the St. Petersburg area, relocating to Indian River County in 2009 after graduating from Stetson University College of Law in 2007, where he also served as a teaching assistant. He addressed head-on his regret about graduating law school 86th out of a class of 87 with a 2.26 grade point average. “It is not lost on this applicant that my law school rank and GPA may raise concern. I stand ready to address any apprehensions about this component of my education. Put simply, I did not apply myself either in the manner I was then capable of, or as I would if placed in that same academic setting today,” Long said. Long started in the misdemeanor division of the State Attorney’s Office in 2009, moving up to the felonies one year later, and eventually to major crimes in both St. Lucie and Indian River counties. He still manages a large felony caseload along with his administrative duties as “attorney in charge” at the downtown Vero Beach courthouse office. Six applicants for the job live outside Indian River County, as the 19th Circuit also spans St. Lucie, Martin and Okeechobee counties. Though newly retired Judge Dan Vaughn served much of his 32 years on the bench in Vero Beach, he first served as a St. Lucie County. Donna Eng is the most experienced of the six applicants from outside Indian River County, with nearly 26 years as a trial lawyer. Since being board-certified in appellate work in 2015, Eng has tried more Serving mainland Indian River County VeroNews/Sebastian River News | LOCAL NEWS March 9, 2023 3 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 19TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

than 250 appeals cases. After graduating from Florida State University with a 3.8 grade point average, she earned her Juris Doctorate from Loyola University School of Law, finishing in the top 20 percent of her class. Now a senior associate at the Stuart law firm of Mrachek, Fitzgerald, Rose, Konopka, Thomas and Weiss, P.A., Eng has served for three years as an Assistant State Attorney in Broward County, an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Florida in West Palm Beach and as a law clerk in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida. Maryellen Farrell, 40, a Palm Beach County native, works as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Florida at the West Palm Beach courthouse. Admitted to the Florida Bar in 2012, Farrell graduated ninth in her class with a 3.67 grade point average at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School at Western Michigan University, then graduated at the top of her University of Florida School of Law class with a 3.57 grade point average. After law school, Farrell clerked at the Fourth District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach where Vero cases go if they are appealed. Brennan Keeler, 41, a Hobe Sound resident and 33-year Floridian, works as general counsel for the Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association. Admitted to the Florida Bar in 2010, he earned his undergraduate degree from Boston University, and graduated in the top third of his class from the Florida State University College of Law. Keeler’s 13 years of experience includes three years as an assistant state attorney, three years as a staff attorney with the City of Port St. Lucie, six months as a Guardian ad Litem program attorney and three months as assistant county attorney for the Martin County government. Assistant State Attorney Anastasia Norman serves as a major crimes prosecutor in the State Attorney’s Fort Pierce office. Norman, 40, graduated in the top 10 percent of her class at Stetson University School of Law. She’s tried more than 150 cases since being admitted to the Florida Bar in 2007. Norman submitted an impressive set of recommendation letters from both the Martin and St. Lucie County sheriff’s, as well as from retired Assistant State Attorney Lev Evans. Assistant State Attorney Rubi Prieto Dial has worked as a criminal prosecutor in Okeechobee County since 2017. Admitted to the Florida Bar in 2016 after working her way through school, in law offices and at nonprofit organizations, Dial graduated from the Florida Coastal School of Law, the University of Central Florida and Indian River State College. Dial has practiced criminal trial law exclusively and managed a huge caseload, but the defendants she prosecutes rarely go to trial. Already a General Magistrate in the 19th Circuit, Lillian Ewen may be the stalking horse of the field. A John Carroll Catholic High School graduate, Ewen earned high marks at Wake Forest University. She graduated from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2008 with a 3.0 grade point average, then returned to UF to earn a master’s in business management with a 3.59 grade point average. While a student, Ewen worked as a Deputy Clerk with the St. Lucie County Clerk of Court, and as an intern with the Rossway Swan Tierney Barry & Oliver firm in Vero Beach. In addition to being a longtime Realtor, Ewen served for 12 years as a staff attorney in the 19th Judicial Circuit Appellate Division. 4 March 9, 2023 VeroNews/Sebastian River News | LOCAL NEWS www.veronews.com New COVID-19 infections here were down 25 percent this past week, decreasing from 98 cases to 73 cases, according to the Florida Department of Health. But COVID hospitalizations here doubled. “We have 12 COVID-positive patients inhouse, one of which is in intensive care,” said Cleveland Clinic spokesperson Erin Miller on Monday. Florida remains among the top five states for the number of total daily cases, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 19TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT New COVID cases down here, hospitalizations up and for greatest number of daily cases in relation to population. But statewide, in terms of hospitalizations per capita for COVID illness, Florida ranks pretty well with a declining statistic of seven hospitalizations per 100,000 residents. The worst state for hospitalizations this week is Delaware with 21 hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, followed by Maine, Washington, D.C. and North Carolina with 15 people hospitalized per 100,000 residents. So far, the predicted “tripledemic” of COVID, Influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus has not materialized this winter. Influenza outbreaks across Florida have been declining, and the number of flu cases statewide is rated as low this week. Though Indian River County remains in the “green zone” in terms of the impact of COVID illness on the community, statewide 51 out of Florida’s 67 counties are, to some degree, worse off. – LISA ZAHNER

leaders in the Florida Legislature and representatives from the Moms For Liberty, an ultra-conservative group co-founded by island resident and former county School Board member Tiffany Justice. “Today, it is Dr. Jones and Mr. Barefoot, but don’t close your eyes,” Brown said in an impassioned speech during the public-comment segment of a sixhour School Board meeting attended by more than 100 people last week. “Tomorrow, it might be you.” Brown was among more than a dozen local residents who spoke in support of Barefoot and Jones at the meeting, where Moms’ members were noticeably outnumbered by attendees who voiced opposition to the governor’s actions. Some of them said DeSantis’ collaboration with the Moms had put public education in Florida “under attack.” Many in the room booed the group’s local chair, Jennifer Pippin, as she addressed the board and endorsed the governor’s targeting of Barefoot and Jones. Pippin argued the two board members violated state law and DeSantis’ executive order when they voted to impose a temporary, on-campus mask mandate during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic – and that the Moms were merely “holding our elected officials accountable.” Barefoot said he continued to receive “a lot of support,” especially from Republicans around the state, in the days after the list was made public. He said many of the people who have contacted him share his concern that “public education is under attack and, in general, deteriorating” – because it has become too politicized. “It has become very partisan, and as a result, we’re seeing an absence of civility in discussions among people with different points of view,” Barefoot said. “And the teachers and administrators are caught in the middle.” Barefoot, a lifelong Republican who was surprised to learn he was on DeSantis’ list, said he spoke with one of the governor’s aides last week, and she told him she will get back to him this week. Jones, meanwhile, said she, too, has been hearing from supporters who have assured her that they would “be there for her” in 2024. Asked if she has received any negative responses from anyone other than backers of the Moms group, she replied, “Not one.” Schiff, who served one term on the board and decided last year to not seek re-election, expressed empathy for the embattled board members during her turn at the public-comment podium. A rare Democrat elected to countywide office here in recent years, Schiff did not flaunt her political leanings from the dais. She often voted with Barefoot and Barenborg – both longtime Republicans – and Jones, who was a Republican until changing to no-party-affiliation status after she was elected to the board. Schiff cited “constant accusations” and “blatant attacks” from others with “limited information, and awareness of laws and policies,” adding that the job is too often made less appealing by “others who think they can and should tell citizens of Indian River County how to think and how to vote.” She called DeSantis’ list a “blatant usurpation of local control and an expansion of government interference in local decision making,” and she said county voters should be able to select their representatives “without interference and propaganda from the state.” Schiff closed by telling Barefoot and Jones: “It’s unconscionable that you should have to suffer these attacks from the governor and others, and I, for one, support and value you for your impartial, unbiased and apolitical work.” Barenborg didn’t address DeSantis’ list during the meeting, but when reached by phone last week, she heaped praise on Jones, a career educator, and Barefoot, who was a wildly successful investment banker and served as president of Massachusetts’ Babson College. “Peggy and Brian are two of the most professional people I’ve ever served with on any board or committee,” Barenborg said. “Their reputations are above reproach, and their knowledge and backgrounds in education is a benefit to our school district. “They are the type of School Board members our community deserves.” Cindy Gibbs ran against Rosario for the School Board’s District 2 seat and lost, but she remains an advocate for public education and spoke flatteringly of Jones and Barefoot at last week’s meeting. She called Jones, the board chair, a “shining star” who has served in public education for decades and is “always for kids – all kids, every kind of kid – and for families and teachers.” As for Barefoot, Gibbs noted his “decades of business experience” and said she was “sad that he hasn’t been able to really use that experience here” because the board has been forced to waste time on culture-war issues rather than focus on improving education. “There are so many people in this room,” Gibbs said, “that are so tired of this nonsense.” Serving mainland Indian River County VeroNews/Sebastian River News | LOCAL NEWS March 9, 2023 5 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 SCHOOL BOARD

6 March 9, 2023 VeroNews/Sebastian River News | YOUR HEALTH www.veronews.com There is a diabetes crisis in America, and it is getting worse. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), more than 37 million Americans have diabetes – which is a staggering 11 percent of the population – and the numbers continue to rise. The disease hits older Americans the hardest, afflicting 29 percent of those over 65. But cases are projected to increase among much younger people in coming years. According to the CDC Newsroom: “Type 2 diabetes has substantially increased among young people over the last two decades ... and the number of young people under age 20 with diabetes in the United States is likely to increase more rapidly in future decades, according to a new modeling study published in Diabetes Care in December. Given this upward trend, a total of 526,000 young people may have diabetes (including both type 1 and type 2 diabetes) by 2060. Comparatively, 213,000 young people in the United States had diabetes in 2017.” Current diabetes numbers include both diagnosed and undiagnosed cases, based on estimates. Of the many afflicted by the disease, 90 percent to 95 percent have Diabetes crisis worsens, but clear ways to lower your risk By Kerry Firth | Correspondent 1225 US HWY 1, VERO BEACH, FL 32960 JULIE A. CROMER, DDS COSMETIC DENTISTRY GENERAL DENTISTRY DENTURES & PARTIALS DENTAL IMPLANTS WHITENING GUM SURGERY WALK-INS WELCOME FINANCING & SAVINGS PLAN AVAILABLE SE HABLA ESPANOL DENTAL LAB ON PREMISES Call 772-562-5051 CromerAndCairnsDental.com The patient and any other person responsible for payment has a right to refuse to pay, cancel payment, or be reimbursed for payment for any other services, examination, or treatment that is preformed as a result of and within 72 hours of responding to the advertisement for the free, discounted fee, or reduced fee service, examination, or treatment. NEW PATIENT SPECIAL COMPREHENSIVE EXAM FULL SET XRAYS TREATMENT PLAN CLEANING* $79 *Not in combination with any other offer. Offer good for new patients only and cleaning in absence of periodontal disease. Xrays are non transferable. (D0150) (D1110) (D0210) (D0330) Dr. Paul Graham. PHOTO: JOSHUA KODIS

Serving mainland Indian River County VeroNews/Sebastian River News | YOUR HEALTH March 9, 2023 7 type 2 diabetes. The rest have type 1. “Diabetes affects all ages and all eth - nicities, but the likelihood of contracting diabetes increases 30 percent after the age of 65, especially if there is a family history,” said Dr. Paul Graham, founding member and partner of Diabetes and En - docrine Associates of the Treasure Coast. “You inherit a predisposition to the disease, then something in your environment triggers it. “While both types of diabetes are genet - ically predisposed, the genes for type 1 and type 2 are different,” he continued. “Type 1 diabetes used to be called juvenile diabetes because it usually occurs in teenagers and young adults. You are genetically predis - posed to type 1 at birth and when you get to be a teenager, certain viruses can attack the pancreas and damage the beta cells so you don’t make insulin. Once the pancre - as stops making insulin, the condition will have to be managed by using insulin. “Type 2 diabetes used to be called adult onset diabetes because it’s more common in middle-aged patients. Its cause is partly genetic and partly environmental. Age, diet and obesity are the triggers for type 2 dia - betes, so the older you are and the more you weigh, the more likely you will get it. Type 2 means that your body doesn’t use insu - lin properly. Some people can control their blood-sugar levels with healthy eating and exercise, while others may need medication to manage it.” Dr. Graham stresses that if diabetes doesn’t run in the family, you most likely won’t get the disease. You have to first be genetically predisposed and then age and weight make the difference. That being said, more teens with the diabetes gene are being diagnosed earlier because of poor diet, excess weight and lack of exercise. Gestational diabetes affects nearly 10 percent of pregnancies in the U.S. every year. That doesn’t mean that you had di - abetes before you conceived or that you’ll have diabetes after you give birth. It does mean that you carry the gene and the baby was the trigger. Gestational diabetes can start when the mother’s body is not able to make and use all the insulin it needs for pregnancy. For - tunately, there are medications available to help the mother combat the disease. Unfortunately, nearly one third of those mothers will eventually develop full-blown diabetes as they age and gain weight, so they should be especially con - scious of their diet and exercise regimen. Dr. Graham feels that the terms predi - abetes and borderline diabetes are really misnomers. “It’s kind of like pregnancy,” he said jokingly. “You are either pregnant or you are not. There is no such thing as borderline pregnancy. And there is no such thing as borderline diabetes. Either you have normal glucose metabolism or not. “If you do not, then you have mild early diabetes. Your blood glucose lev - els are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. While it’s not curable, it can be controlled by weight loss. Twenty percent of diabetics can control their diabetes with weight loss and may never need medication.” There are several ways to diagnose dia - betes and yearly testing should be done in your doctor’s office or a lab. The A1C test measures your average blood glucose for the past three months. The nor - mal range should be less than 5.7 percent. If your blood glucose is between 5.7 percent and 6.4 percent, you are in the prediabetes or early mild diabetes stage. Higher than 6.5 percent is full blown diabetes. The Fasting Plasma Glucose (FPG) test checks your fasting blood glucose levels. This test is given after the patient fasts for at least eight hours before the test. Normal results are less than 100mg/dl. A measure - ment of 100mg/dl to 125mg/dl signifies pre - diabetes or early mild diabetes, and above 125mg/dl is full blown diabetes. There is also an Oral Glucose Tolerance test that checks your blood glucose level two hours before and two hours after you drink a special sweet drink. It will tell the doctor how your body processes sugar. Diabetes is diagnosed at a two-hour blood glucose of 200mg/dl or more. One or more of these tests should be performed during your yearly physical by your primary care physician. Primary care physicians are skilled in treating type 2 diabetes with various medications that auto-regulate sugar in your bloodstream. Type 1 diabetics will most likely be re - ferred to an endocrinologist. Having diabetes doubles your risk of heart attack, stroke and kidney disease, and was a grim factor during the pandem - ic, contributing to many deaths, so con - trolling it is imperative. Most diabetics are also prescribed cholesterol medication to lower their cholesterol and reduce that risk. The ADA states that you can lower your risk for type 2 diabetes by 58 percent by losing approximately 7 percent of your body weight (15 pounds if you weight 200 pounds) and by moderate exercise such as walking 30 min - utes a day. Even if you don’t reach your ideal body weight, losing 10 to 15 pounds can make a huge difference in your risk of diabetes. There was good news last week for diabe - tes patients who need insulin when Eli Lilly announced price reductions of 70 percent for its most commonly prescribed insulins and an expansion of its Insulin Value Pro - gram that caps patient out-of-pocket costs at $35 or less per month. Dr. Graham graduated from the Univer - sity of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in Rochester, N.Y., and did his residency in Internal Medicine and fellow - ship in Endocrinology at Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center, Lackland Air Force Base, in San Antonio, Texas. He moved to Florida in 1989 and joined the Doctors Clinic until it closed in 2001. He then cofounded Diabetes and Endocrine Associates of the Treasure Coast specializing in diabetes, thyroid, os - teoporosis, adrenal and pituitary disorders. His office is located at 2835 20th St., Vero Beach. Call 772-299-3003 .

8 March 9, 2023 VeroNews/Sebastian River News | YOUR HEALTH www.veronews.com When the family of show business legend Bruce Willis announced that he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), people scurried to the Internet to learn more about this fatal disease. According to the Association for Frontotemporal Dementia (AFTD), it is the most common form of dementia for people under age 60. Dr. Samina Kazmi, a board-certified neurologist who practices in Cleveland Clinic’s Tradition Hospital complex and is not involved in Willis’ medical care, says the average age of onset is 45-to-65, although the disease can present at a younger age. “Between 10 percent and 20 percent of cases are genetically transferred,” says Dr. Kazmi. If one parent has this type of FTD, there is a 50-percent chance it will be inherited by their child. Men and women develop FTD in similar percentages. “Because it starts in the front of the Frontotemporal most common dementia for those under 60 By Jackie Holfelder | Correspondent By Jackie Holfelder | Correspondent HARBOR PRIMARY CARE 1300 36TH ST, STE 1G VERO BEACH, FL 32960 Medical Arts Center West of Hospital Emergency Department PLEASE CALL 772-562-3960 FOR APPOINTMENT THET L. TUN M.D. Board Certified Internal Medicine Board Certified Hospice & Palliative Medicine • Accepts Medicare and Most Major Insurance Plans • Dr. Tun is an Active Member of the Medical Staff at Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital since 2011 Dr. Samina Kazmi. PHOTO: JOSHUA KODIS

Serving mainland Indian River County VeroNews/Sebastian River News | YOUR HEALTH March 9, 2023 9 brain – where behavior and language functions are controlled – some early symptoms include blunting of emotions, inappropriate behavior and trouble expressing yourself. The person affected may experience increasing difficulty in planning or organizing activities.” The progression of symptoms varies by individual according to AFTD, but there is an inevitable decline in functioning. “The length of progression varies from two to over 20 years,” Dr Kazmi says. Over time, FTD predisposes an individual to physical complications such as pneumonia, infection or injury from a fall. Average life expectancy is 7-to-13 years after the start of symptoms. The most common cause of death is pneumonia. “Memory isn’t affected at first,” Dr. Kazmi says., “But no matter what part of the brain your neurological problem appears in initially, as it progresses, the entire brain will be involved.” And although presently there is no cure, she adds, “anti-depressants and medications that can treat certain behavioral symptoms and improve quality of life are available.” According to the National Institute of Health’s National Institute on Aging, there are several ways a doctor can diagnose frontotemporal dementia: • Perform an exam and ask about symptoms. • Look at personal and family medical history. • Use laboratory tests to help rule out other conditions. • Order genetic testing. • Conduct tests to assess memory, thinking, language skills, and physical functioning. • Order imaging of the brain. A psychiatric evaluation can help determine if depression or another mental health problem is causing or contributing to the condition. However, only genetic tests in familial cases or a brain autopsy after a person dies can confirm with certainty a diagnosis of FTD. Researchers are studying ways to diagnose FTD earlier and more accurately and to distinguish it from other types of dementia. One area of research involves biomarkers, such as proteins or other substances in the blood or cerebrospinal fluid which can be used to measure disease progression or the effects of treatment. Researchers are also exploring ways to improve brain imaging and neuropsychological testing. Anyone concerned about their risk for FTD has the option of meeting with a genetic counselor, either individually or accompanied by a family member or friend. In some cases, the genetic counselor may recommend genetic testing to help clarify risk, but genetic testing is never a required part of genetic counseling. A genetic counselor can evaluate the likelihood that a specific case has a genetic cause and help an individual think through the benefits and risks of genetic testing, ways to talk to family members about genetic testing, privacy concerns, and more. Last spring, Willis was diagnosed with Aphasia, a disorder that affects how you communicate, hampering speech, writing, and understanding of both spoken and written language. But Aphasia is really just a term given to a set of symptoms. It wasn’t until last month that the more specific underlying diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia was announced. After Willis’ condition was made public by his family, his wife, ex-wife and five daughters issued a statement which says, in part, “Bruce always believed in using his voice in the world to help others, and to raise awareness about important issues, both publicly and privately. We know in our hearts that – if he could today – he would want to respond by bringing global attention and connectedness with those who are also dealing with this debilitating disease and how it impacts so many individuals and their families.” Dr. Samina Kazmi, a board-certified neurologist, is on the staff of Cleveland Clinic Martin Health. She earned her medical degree at Sindh Medical College, completed the residency program in the Department of Neurology at University of Mississippi Medical Center, and completed the fellowship program in Clinical Neurophysiology at West Virginia University. She is a Diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, of the American Board of Clinical Neurophysiology and of the American Board of Vascular Neurology. She received her Florida medical license in 2010. She is accepting new patients at Tradition HealthPark One, 10050 SW Innovation Way, Port St. Lucie. Call 772-344-3811 or visit martinhealth.org/neurology for an appointment. “Memory isn’t affected at first. But not matter what part of the brain your neurological problem appears in initially, as it progresses, the entire brain will be involved.” – Dr. Samina Kazmi

10 March 9, 2023 VeroNews/Sebastian River News | YOUR HEALTH www.veronews.com The popular artificial sweetener erythritol, which is used as a sugar substitute in many low-calorie, low-carb and keto products, has been linked to heightened risk of heart attack, stroke and death, according to a study published in Nature Medicine. Looking at more than 4,000 people in the United States and Europe who were undergoing elective cardiac evaluation, researchers at Cleveland Clinic found that those who had greater erythritol levels in their blood had a higher chance of experiencing adverse cardiac events. In preclinical studies, they also found evidence that ingestion of erythritol increased blood clot formation. Researchers caution that more study is necessary and that participants independently had a high prevalence of cardiovascular disease, so the “translatability” of the findings to the general population needs to be determined. Still, the results offer a significant challenge to product marketing that pitches erythritol as a healthy, natural sugar alternative. And the insights arrive as erythritol has come into vogue, with plantbased, keto and low-carb diet trends spurring interest in alternative sweeteners sold as “natural.” According to 2022 reports from research firm NielsenIQ, sales growth for products with erythritol grew 43 percent over two years, and products that claim to contain “natural sweeteners” grew by 91 percent. “Sugar-free” products with erythritol are often recommended to individuals with obesity, diabetes or metabolic syndrome – who are already at risk for such cardiovascular health problems, the paper’s authors note. In a statement about the study, Stanley Hazen, a cardiologist at Cleveland Clinic, called for more research into alternative sweeteners. “Cardiovascular disease builds over time, and heart disease is the leading cause of death globally,” he said. “We need to make sure the foods we eat aren’t hidden contributors.” Hazen wrote in an email that his team did not set out to study artificial sweeteners but was rather looking to find chemicals in the blood that identified “who was at risk for a future heart attack, stroke or dying in the next three years.” The compound that predicted this “ended up being Erythritol.” His team then developed a test for it, independently tested their hypothesis and replicated the findings. A sugar alcohol that is found in small amounts in fruits and vegetables, erythritol is poorly metabolized, excreted almost entirely in urine and characterized as a “zero-calorie” sweetener. Many foods that claim to be naturally flavored, such as keto cookies and granola, contain erythritol. But when it is artificially added to processed foods, it is seen at levels “1,000 fold higher than endogenous levels,” the researchers wrote. Greg Neely, a professor of functional genomics at the University of Sydney who has studied artificial sweeteners, said many “natural” labels amount to “misleading marketing,” noting that people assume, “If it occurs in nature, it’s probably not as bad for us.” Neely said the Cleveland Clinic study is “extremely important, and it will likely trigger immediate changes in what we consume,” emphasizing that researchers went in “without any specific agenda.” The study highlights that “we don’t fully understand what the health consequences of industrialized food have been, and just because something is sold as ‘natural’ doesn’t mean it is safe or good for us to consume at an industrial scale.” The merits and shortcomings of alternative sweeteners, such as aspartame, sucralose, stevia and saccharin, have been debated for years. Often pitched as a weightloss shortcut that offers the sweet taste of high-sugar foods without the health consequences, such sweeteners have been linked to higher calorie consumption and higher blood sugar levels. One 2019 study suggested that drinking artificially sweetened soft drinks was associated with increased deaths from circulatory disease. Still, some maintain that such associations are a product of the lifestyle of people who consume these sweeteners, not the sweeteners themselves. And despite decades of studies into the safety of sugar substitutes and whether consuming them helps or harms the body, much of the research is inconclusive. Still, Neely said he tries to avoid artificial sweeteners “when at all possible.” The incidence of conditions such as obesity and diabetes is rising at a rate “much faster than they would if this was just genetic,” Neely said. “So we know our environment is driving these diseases somehow, and the industrialization of our food is one critical component we need to consider.” Study links artificial sweetener to higher heart attack risk By Kelsey Ables The Washington Post

Serving mainland Indian River County VeroNews/Sebastian River News | YOUR HEALTH March 9, 2023 11 Regular laxative use may be correlated with dementia, according to research published in the journal Neurology in February. The study looked at a cohort of 502,229 British adults participating in UK Biobank, a long-term initiative that gathered extensive genetic and health information from 40- to 69-year-olds in England, Wales and Scotland between 2006 and 2010. The participants had no history of dementia. Researchers compared those who reported no regular laxative use with those who said they used laxatives most days of the week for the past four weeks in surveys. The study adjusted for factors that might influence the outcome of the analysis, such as age, diseases, family history of dementia and more. The analysis showed that, over about a 10-year period, 1.3 percent of the participants who regularly used laxatives were diagnosed with dementia, compared with 0.4 percent who didn’t regularly use laxatives. Overall, people who used laxatives regularly were 51 percent more likely to develop dementia than their counterparts. The type of laxative affected the outcome: People who regularly used osmotic laxatives, which attract water into the colon, were 64 percent more likely to be diagnosed with dementia than their counterparts; they were also more likely to develop vascular dementia than those who used stimulants or bulk-forming laxatives. Those who regularly used more than one type of laxative were at higher risk, too: They had a 28 percent higher risk of developing dementia, and those who regularly used two or more had a 90 percent higher risk. Researchers write that their analysis supports a hypothesis that laxative use may change the gut microbiome, affecting gut nerves’ signaling ability or possibly producing toxic substances that affect the brain. The research did not show that laxatives caused dementia, but the association is cause for more research, the scientists write. “Finding ways to reduce a person’s risk of dementia by identifying risk factors that can be modified is crucial,” Feng Sha, a health statistician and associate professor at the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Guangdong, China, who co-authored the study, said in a news release. “If our findings are confirmed, medical professionals could encourage people to treat constipation by making lifestyle changes such as drinking more water, increasing dietary fiber and adding more activity into their daily lives.” According to the National Institutes of Health, about 16 percent of U.S. adults and a third of adults over age 60 have constipation symptoms, and up to 18 percent of American adults regularly use laxatives. Regular laxative use correlated with higher dementia risk By Erin Blakemore The Washington Post

12 March 9, 2023 VeroNews/Sebastian River News | YOUR HEALTH www.veronews.com When Laura Nye Falsone’s first child was born in 1996, the Wallflowers album “Bringing Down the Horse” was a big hit. “All I have to hear are the first notes from ‘One Headlight,’ and I am back to dancing … with my brand-new baby boy in my arms,” she says. “It fills my heart with joy every time.” When Carol Howard’s early-onset Alzheimer’s worsened, often she couldn’t recognize her husband. She once introduced him as her father. But if she heard a 1960s Simon & Garfunkel song playing, Howard, a marine biologist who died in 2019, could sing every word “effortlessly,” her husband says. This ability of music to conjure up vivid memories is a phenomenon well known to brain researchers. It can trigger intense recollections from years past – for many, more strongly than other senses such as taste and smell – and provoke strong emotions from those earlier experiences. “Music can open forgotten doors to your memory,” says Andrew Budson, chief of cognitive and behavioral neurology, associate chief of staff for education and director of the Center for Translational Cognitive Neuroscience at Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System. “Music can take you back in time, as well as act like a jolt of electricity that can fire up your brain and get it going,” he says. “We all have the familiar experience of going back to our hometown, visiting our high school and feeling the memories come flooding back. Music can do same thing. It provides an auditory and emotional setting that allows us to retrieve all those memories.” Scientists who study music’s powerful effects on the brain say that growing knowledge could improve therapy for such conditions as dementia and other memory disorders, anxiety, stress and depression, learning disabilities and many physical illnesses, such as chronic pain, cancer and Parkinson’s disease. Evidence also exists that music prompts the secretion of brain neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, a chemical messenger that plays a role in the brain’s reward/ pleasure system. Other studies have shown that music reduces the stress-producing hormone cortisol and increases the secretion of oxytocin, which plays a role in labor and childbirth, as well as in infant-parental bonding, trust and romantic attachment. “Music activates different parts of the brain,” making it an especially versatile tool, says Amy Belfi, assistant professor of psychological science at Missouri University of Science and Technology and principal investigator in its Music Cognition and Aesthetics Lab. “We can use it to improve mood, to help us learn, to socially bond with other people. It becomes part of our identity, like the soundtrack of our lives, which explains why it is so effective in stimulating and retrieving memories.” Some experts also see a role for music – which can ease agitation in those with dementia – as an alternative to sedating medications, for example, or as a means of enabling patients to keep living at home. Frank Russo, professor of psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University, says he believes this ultimately will be possible. He is chief scientific officer of a company that is developing a music player that uses Why does music cause memories to come flooding back? By Marlene Cimons The Washington Post

Serving mainland Indian River County VeroNews/Sebastian River News | YOUR HEALTH March 9, 2023 13 artificial intelligence to curate an individualized play list designed to guide a patient from a state of anxiety to one of calm. “One of the really challenging things for caregivers is the anxiety and agitation,” says Russo, whose research focuses on the intersection of neuroscience and music. “A good chunk of people will end up in those care homes, where they resort to sedatives or antipsychotics. Music has a real opportunity here.” Melissa Owens, a music therapist at Virginia Commonwealth University Health, already has seen this in her work. “I still find myself in awe of music’s ability to positively change behavior, emotion and even the relationship between a caregiver and their loved one, if even only for the duration of the specific song,” she says. It provides “a moment of normalcy which so much of the time seems lost.” To understand music’s effect on the brain, experts look at the different types of memory involved. For instance, when we perform music, rather than just listen to it, we use “procedural” memory, a type of long-term “implicit” memory, which is the unconscious ability to remember a habit or routine that we can do every day without thinking about it, such as touch typing, riding a bike or brushing our teeth, researchers say. This differs from “episodic” memory, a type of long-term “explicit” memory, which is a conscious recollection and is what your brain uses to remember – for example, the items on your shopping list. (Both implicit and explicit are types of long-term memory – the first unconscious and effortless, the second requiring conscious work to remember.) Episodic memory originates in the brain’s hippocampus region, which “is the first to go” when dementia hits, Budson says. “Alzheimer’s attacks the hippocampus first and foremost,” he says, explaining why procedural memory still enables dementia patients to remember lyrics and perform. “It’s a completely different memory system,” he says. In those with healthy brains, “episodic memory allows you to be transported back in time” to a specific past event or time period “when you listen to a piece of music” Budson says, while the ability to sing or make music is procedural memory, meaning you don’t have to deliberately think about what you’re doing. A wellknown recent example has been that of legendary singer Tony Bennett, 96, who in the throes of Alzheimer’s could still flawlessly perform his classic hits. He says, however, that patients with Alzheimer’s still can experience the music “time travel” episodic memory phenomenon even after the disease has attacked their hippocampus, as long as those episodic memories are more than two years old. “They have been ‘consolidated,’ and once consolidated, they can be accessed even though the hippocampus has been destroyed,” says Budson, who also is a professor of neurology at Boston University. “The consolidation process begins as soon as the first night we sleep after a memory is formed, and may take up to two years,” Budson explains. “When a memory forms, it is not stored in the hippocampus directly. The different aspects of a memory – the sights, sounds, smells, emotions and thoughts – are represented by a pattern of neural activity in different parts of the cortex, the outer surface of the brain, where the seeing, hearing, smelling, emoting and thinking is taking place.” To grasp the concept, he says, think of memories as little balloons floating in different areas of the brain. “When a new memory is formed, it is as if the hippocampus is tying together the strings of the balloons, just like if you would hold the strings of helium balloons in your hand,” he says. “If the hippocampus was destroyed, the balloons would separate and fly away and the memory would be gone.” But after the memory is consolidated, he says, “the different balloons become linked directly to each other through heavy cords and because of this the hippocampus is no longer needed for the memory to remain intact. “This is why people with Alzheimer’s disease can recall stuff from their childhood but not remember what they had for lunch or who they saw yesterday.” When people hear a piece of music from their youth, the “time machine” effect is something “everyone can relate to,” Russo says. “I was in high school in the 1980s and today, when I hear a song from Blondie or Depeche Mode, I have that feeling of being out with my friends, on my own, independent from my parents, when I was first starting to feel like an adult – it’s really powerful.” He adds, “we don’t just hear a song once. There are lots of opportunities to encode that memory. Deeply encoded music can unlock these ‘flashbulb’ memories. We can remember more vivid details about events in the past when we are exposed to music.” Research has shown that effect is more so than with familiar faces or other stimuli. Belfi has conducted research specifically on this. In one small study, 30 participants listened to 15-second excerpts from music that was popular when they were younger – ages 15 to 30. After hearing the clips, they saw photos of famous people’s faces from the same time period, including politicians, athletes and movie stars – but no musicians, to avoid confusion. The scientists asked participants about each stimulus and to describe any “autobiographical” memories inspired by the exposure. “The music prompted much more detailed memories than the faces,” she says. “We found from this study that music tends to be associated with personal memories from life.”

14 March 9, 2023 VeroNews/Sebastian River News | YOUR HEALTH www.veronews.com Experiencing three or more concussions, even mild ones, can lead to cognitive problems decades later, according to research published in the Journal of Neurotrauma. But just one moderate to severe concussion – or traumatic brain injury (TBI), in medical terms – was found to have a long-term impact on brain function, including but not limited to memory issues. The findings stem from the analysis of medical and lifestyle data and the results of annual cognitive tests on 15,764 adults, ages 50 to 90. More than 40 percent of the participants had experienced at least one TBI earlier in life, at an average of 30 years before their study participation began. A concussion is a blow to the head or body that causes the brain to rapidly bounce around or twist in the skull. Causes include falls, car accidents, contact sports injuries and more. Concussions have been considered to be mild TBIs, mainly because they are seldom life-threatening. Still, concussions can have serious, long-lasting effects on the brain, the researchers found. The most common cognitive deficits among participants with a history of TBI were problems with attention and the ability to complete complex tasks, components of what is known as executive functioning (brain-controlled skills that help a person get things done by organizing thoughts and activities and managing time efficiently). The study also found that cognitive problems were dose-dependent, meaning the effects on long-term cognitive performance increased as the number of TBIs grew – with thought-processing speed and working memory suffering. This should be considered when someone is deciding whether to continue high-risk activities, the researchers wrote. “The more times you injure your brain in life, the worse your brain function could be as you age,” lead investigator Vanessa Raymont of the University of Oxford said in a news release. Even 3 mild concussions can cause cognitive problems By Linda Searing The Washington Post

Serving mainland Indian River County VeroNews/Sebastian River News | HEALTHY SENIOR March 9, 2023 15 Q. Whenever I go to the doctor and she takes my blood pressure it is a little high. Then, at the end of the office visit, she takes my pressure again and it’s normal. Do you know what causes this? A. What you describe is a common symptom of “white-coat hypertension.” This means that your blood pressure goes up whenever anyone in a white coat (or reasonable medical facsimile) comes near you. I suffer from this myself so I have a visceral understanding of the problem. In a study employing 24-hour ambulatory monitoring, about a third of patients thought to have “resistant hypertension,” actually had white-coat hypertension. The study was published by the American Heart Association. Resistant hypertension occurs when a patient’s blood pressure remains above treatment goals, despite using three different types of drugs at the same time. “Ambulatory monitoring showed that many of these patients’ blood pressures were in the normal range when they were at home or participating in their usual activities,” said Alejandro de la Sierra, M.D., lead author of the study. “While those who actually had white-coat hypertension are not risk free, their cardiovascular outcomes are much better.” You can determine if your high blood pressure only occurs in the doctor’s office, or if it’s a persistent condition that needs treatment. All you need is a home blood-pressure monitor that you can buy in a pharmacy. All monitors have the same basic parts — an inflatable cuff or strap, a gauge for readouts, and sometimes a stethoscope, depending on the type of monitor you choose. Cuff. The cuff consists of an inner layer made of rubber that fills with air and squeezes your arm. The cuff’s outer layer is generally made of nylon and has a fastener to hold the cuff in place. Gauge. Blood pressure monitors are either digital or aneroid. The aneroid monitors have a gauge with a dial on it that points at a number related to your blood pressure. Some older gauges look similar to a thermometer. There are two types of home blood pressure monitors: manual and digital devices. Manual blood pressure monitors use a stethoscope and an inflatable arm cuff connected by a rubber tube to a gauge that records the pressure. Digital monitors have a cuff and a gauge that records the pressure. The cuff automatically inflates at the touch of a button. T h e s e d e - vices automatically calculate heart rate and check your blood pressure. Digital monitors can be fitted on the upper arm, wrist or finger. Arm devices are the most accurate. Doctors say you have high blood pressure if you have a reading of 140/90 or higher. A blood pressure reading of 120/80 or lower is considered normal. “Prehypertension” is blood pressure between 120 and 139 for the top number, or between 80 and 89 for the bottom number. The first number represents your “systolic” pressure when the heart beats. The second number represents the “diastolic” pressure when the heart rests. If only one number is elevated, you still have high blood pressure with all of its dangers. ‘White-coat hypertension’ common during doctor visits By Fred Cicetti | Columnist

16 March 9, 2023 VeroNews/Sebastian River News | REAL ESTATE www.veronews.com You’ll love touring this breezy, lightfilled penthouse condo, located at 5080 Harmony Circle, No. 304, in Grand Harbor’s Harmony Island. As you approach Harmony Island, cruising along the winding, oak-shaded avenues of Grand Harbor, you’ll immediately see that this serene enclave is in a class by itself, with its fine Mediterranean architecture – sunshine yellow facades and red-tiled roofs – and wonderful setting. This third-floor penthouse beauty radiates a feeling of being in a lush resort. The condo’s congenial owners, Karen and Gary Salino, call it “the perfect set-up.” You’ll see why, standing on the long, screened porch, gazing at the charming view of Grand Harbor’s just refurbished River Course, one of two championship golf courses in the community. “We did the updates as soon as we bought it,” said Gary Salino, who has the tools and the talent to make remodeling ideas come to life. Both Salinos came up with all sorts of renovation ideas, and together they made numerous, well-conceived and tasteful updates throughout the unit, creating a delightful, one-of-a-kind dwelling you’ll easily envision adapting to your own tastes and lifestyle. When you step off the elevator, it is just steps down the outside walkway to your front door. The walkway with west-facing balcony is wide enough, say the Salinos, to accommodate a couple of chairs, where they often sit and enjoy the pleasant Harmony Island neighborhood view and gorgeous Florida sunsets. Inside, the palette is creamy pastel with white millwork, including crown molding, corner blocks and end caps. The floor is sand-colored, neutral tile, with neutral carpet in the spacious living room/dining room area, where a wood-look tropical leaf blade fan/light provides illumination and a gentle breeze. From the foyer, look across the living/ dining space to a wide window/slider wall that opens onto the east-facing screen porch with its beautiful golf course panorama. Residents have the option of watching the sunrise from the screen porch and then the sunset from the front door sitting area. Not a bad way to bookend the day. The shady porch is a fine place to read, nap, chat with family and friends, snack, catch up on email, brush the cat, or just enjoy being in such a lovely place. Open it for wonderful entertaining. The dining area features a graceful tiered chandelier, fashioned with hundreds of small white wooden beads, and an alcove with blonde cabinetry with a white quartzite top – which blends nicely with the adjacent kitchen. During the updating, the couple couldn’t find ready-made cabinetry that made the best use of the space, separated kitchen and living/dining room, and was visually to their liking. So Gary found a stand-alone storage/display cabinet, reworked it, obtained the perfect piece of quartzite to top it, and made a stylish conversation piece with four stools and a counter that serves as a room divider and provides additional storage. The kitchen itself boasts white subway tile splash, white cabinetry, stainless-steel appliances, a lovely chandelier extending from a tray ceiling, crown molding, a window above the sink and beautiful granite countertops. There is an adjoining laundry room with cabinetry and a cleaning tool storage area, The carpeted primary suite is a cool and private retreat, with whisper gray walls, crown molding, a lovely mirror-and-white millwork accent wall, leaf ceiling fan/light and two walk-in closets. An east-facing window wall provides another green golf course view. French doors open onto the long screen porch, just the spot to bring that first cup of coffee and a copy of Vero News. The en suite bathroom features a large walk-in shower, w/c and a long white cabinet vanity with gorgeous cream and green striated granite countertop, two sunken oval basins and an end-to-end white-framed mirror, topped with a strip of down-lights. Live the ‘high’ life in Harmony Island penthouse condo By Samantha Rohlfing Baita | Staff Writer [email protected]

Serving mainland Indian River County VeroNews/Sebastian River News | REAL ESTATE March 9, 2023 17 On the other side of the unit, the guest bedroom is large and comfy, with a fan/ light, closet, French doors to the porch and wide windows filled with golf course vistas. There is a walk-in closet, tub/shower, w/c, linen closet, double-basin, whitewood vanity with green and tan top and a pair of charming mirrors, each with four-blossom bulb light strips. Grand Harbor is an expansive country club community just across the bridge from Vero’s charming seaside village, with its excellent restaurants, shops, resorts and pubs, as well as Riverside Theatre, the Vero Beach Museum of Art, and the city tennis center and city marina in and around Riverside Park. Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital and all the medical offices around it are only a mile or two away, and the downtown art gallery and restaurant district is just beyond the hospital. Neighborhood: Harmony Island at Grand Harbor Year built: 1988, updated Construction: CBS; tile roof Home size: 1,368 square feet Bedrooms: 2 • Bathrooms: 2 full baths Additional features: Central heat/air; 1-space covered carport; granite countertops; concrete and tile flooring; ceiling fan/lights; venetian blinds; French doors; split bedroom plan; in-unit laundry room; kitchen island; pantry; walk-in closet; screened porch; heated community pool; county sewer; public water; building elevator; storage facilities Listing agency: AMAC Alex MacWilliam Real Estate Listing agents: Craig Von Kohorn, 772-713-7973, and Kyle Von Kohorn, 772-501-0816 Listing price: $370,000 FEATURES FOR 5080 HARMONY CIRCLE, APT. 304

18 March 9, 2023 VeroNews/Sebastian River News | REAL ESTATE www.veronews.com MAINLAND REAL ESTATE SALES: FEB. 27 THROUGH MARCH 3 TOP SALES OF THE WEEK Sales activity came to life in a very big way on the mainland as the calendar turned to March, with 53 transactions of single-family residences and lots reported last week (some shown below). The top sale of the week was in Vero Beach, where the 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom condo at 4878 S Harbor Dr., Unit #201 – listed in November for $1,500,000 – sold for $1,300,000 on Feb. 28. Representing both the seller and the buyer in the transaction was agent Diane DeFrancisci of Alex MacWilliam, Inc. SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENCES AND LOTS ORIGINAL SELLING TOWN ADDRESS LISTED ASKING PRICE SOLD PRICE VERO BEACH 4878 S HARBOR DR UNIT#201 11/14/2022 $1,500,000 2/28/2023 $1,300,000 VERO BEACH 6420 12TH ST 1/17/2023 $1,299,999 3/3/2023 $1,250,000 VERO BEACH 4821 RIVER VILLAGE DR 11/21/2022 $1,400,000 2/28/2023 $1,250,000 VERO BEACH 1316 LILYS CAY CIR 1/25/2023 $1,049,000 3/3/2023 $1,000,000 VERO BEACH 1215 MARINA VILLAGE CIR UNIT#302 1/25/2023 $949,000 3/3/2023 $944,000 VERO BEACH 1215 MARINA VILLAGE CIR UNIT#202 12/20/2022 $875,000 2/28/2023 $875,000 VERO BEACH 1890 TARPON LN UNIT#302 5/16/2022 $900,000 2/28/2023 $775,000 VERO BEACH 4300 AMELIA PLANTATION CT 1/3/2023 $799,000 3/2/2023 $772,000 VERO BEACH 5466 BARBADOS SQ 11/28/2022 $599,000 3/3/2023 $565,000 VERO BEACH 1420 BUNKER CT 11/1/2022 $515,000 3/2/2023 $470,000 VERO BEACH 8090 WESTFIELD CIR 1/21/2023 $500,000 3/2/2023 $465,000 VERO BEACH 4352 BEAUTY LEAF CIR 7/20/2022 $500,000 2/28/2023 $460,000 VERO BEACH 421 W TEMPLE CT SW 2/3/2023 $450,000 3/1/2023 $450,000 VERO BEACH 1971 GREY FALCON CIR SW 11/3/2022 $469,500 3/1/2023 $450,000 Stats were pulled 3/4/23 11:00 AM

Serving mainland Indian River County VeroNews/Sebastian River News | REAL ESTATE March 9, 2023 19 HERE ARE SOME OF THE TOP RECENT INDIAN RIVER COUNTY REAL ESTATE SALES. Listing Date: Original Price: Sold: Selling Price: Listing Agent: Selling Agent: Listing Date: Original Price: Sold: Selling Price: Listing Agent: Selling Agent: Listing Date: Original Price: Sold: Selling Price: Listing Agent: Selling Agent: Listing Date: Original Price: Sold: Selling Price: Listing Agent: Selling Agent: 1/25/2023 $949,000 3/3/2023 $944,000 Diane DeFrancisci Alex MacWilliam, Inc. Candace Kennedy Alex MacWilliam, Inc. 1215 Marina Village Cir, Unit #302, Vero Beach 1/25/2023 $1,049,000 3/3/2023 $1,000,000 Sally Daley Douglas Elliman Florida LLC NOT PROVIDED NOT PROVIDED 1316 Lilys Cay Cir, Vero Beach Listing Date: Original Price: Sold: Selling Price: Listing Agent: Selling Agent: 12/20/2022 $875,000 2/28/2023 $875,000 Diane DeFrancisci Alex MacWilliam, Inc. Martin Carder Alex MacWilliam, Inc. 1215 Marina Village Cir, Unit #202, Vero Beach 11/21/2022 $1,400,000 2/28/2023 $1,250,000 Diane DeFrancisci Alex MacWilliam, Inc. Kathleen Pogany Compass Florida LLC 4821 River Village Dr, Vero Beach 1/17/2023 $1,299,999 3/3/2023 $1,250,000 Jessica Massagee Alex MacWilliam, Inc. Jason Pogany Compass Florida LLC 6420 12th St, Vero Beach

20 March 9, 2023 VeroNews/Sebastian River News | REAL ESTATE www.veronews.com Sales of new U.S. homes increased in January by more than expected to the highest level in nearly a year, fueled by purchases in the South, indicating some stabilization in the housing market after a brutal year. Purchases of new single-family homes rose 7.2 percent to an annualized 670,000 pace after an upwardly revised 625,000 in December, government data showed late last month. The January pace exceeded all forecasts in a Bloomberg survey of economists, which had a median estimate of a 620,000 pace. While the data tend to be volatile, the increase suggests the housing market may be steadying after one of its worst years. Mortgage rates eased in January but they’ve risen since – and may increase further as the Federal Reserve keeps boosting borrowing costs – so the reprieve in sales could be short-lived. Other data point to a slowdown: Home-purchase applications tumbled to a 28-year low last week amid a jump in borrowing costs, and new home construction retreated for a fifth month in January to the lowest level since June 2020. Still, homebuilders were more optimistic last month, partly on the assumption that peak mortgage rates have passed for this cycle. Sales in the South, the largest U.S. region, jumped 17.1 percent last month to the highest annualized pace in nearly a year, but other regions declined, including a 19.4 percent slump in the Northeast. There were 439,000 new homes for sale as of the end of last month, the lowest since May. That represents 7.9 months of supply at the current sales rate, the lowest in almost a year. The number of homes sold in January and awaiting the start of construction – a measure of backlogs – increased to an almost one-year high. Buyers may also be flocking to new construction since properties already on the market are hard to come by. Given the run-up in mortgage rates, homeowners have been disincentivized from listing if they locked in a low rate on their current house. The report showing increased sales, produced by the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, also showed the median sales price of a new home fell 0.7 percent from a year earlier to $427,500. That’s the first decline since August 2020. Companies and the federal government are stepping in to ease affordability. Lenders are offering enticements to clients to compensate for the higher mortgage rates, while the Biden administration announced last week some of the biggest changes to home lending in a decade to make buying more affordable for young and first-time purchasers. New-home purchases account for about 10 percent of the market and are calculated when contracts are signed. They are considered a timelier barometer than purchases of previously owned homes, which are calculated when contracts close. Those sales fell in January. U.S. new home sales climb to highest level in near a year By Katia Dmitrieva | Bloomberg Contract signings nationwide jumped 7.2% in January to an annualized rate of 670,000 while sales in US South increased 17.1%.

It’s music and more music this weekend – and a highlight is sure to be the Vero Beach Chamber Orchestra concert. They will perform Mozart’s Overture to Don Giovanni, Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll and Haydn’s Symphony No. 94 “Surprise.” The concert begins 2 p.m. Sunday, March 12, at the Vero Beach High School Performing Arts Center, 1707 16th St. The concert is free, but donations are appreciated. For more information, visit VeroBeachChamberOrchestra.org. DUKE ‘NOSEWORK’ AND HOW TO PLAY CONTINUED ON PAGE B5 CHAMBER ORCHESTRA SHOW AMONG SUPER MUSICAL OPTIONS By Pam Harbaugh | Correspondent Coming Up 1 WAYS TO LOWER B7 RISK OF DIABETES 6 CELEBRITY CHEFS SERVE UP DINNER B12 A MIXED-MEDIA ARTIST’S ‘CONTINUAL AND EXCITING JOURNEY’ PAGE B2

B2 March 9, 2023 VeroNews/Sebastian River News | ARTS & THEATRE www.veronews.com Creative expression and visual beauty have been lifelong passions for Vero Beach artist Reggie McCormack, whose studio offers an all-encompassing view of an extraordinary woman, one who creates beauty in everything she touches. A self-described mixed-media abstract artist, her range is eclectic, and includes acrylics, oils, pastels, wax and collages. Another favorite is encaustics, an ancient art form where oil paint is mixed with beeswax and then torched, a technique that creates multiple layers with rich depth and texture. “I love mixed media,” says McCormack. “It allows so much freedom to create a lot of interesting layers which evoke much emotion.” McCormack says she signs her work on the back, so as to not interrupt the flow of the eye and, not wanting to influence what the viewer sees, does not name her abstracts. “Abstract art can be appreciated on many levels, considering the use of color, shape, texture, line and how these relate to one another,” she explains. “Moving in and out of a painting and connecting on a deeper level often is related to our life experiences and where we are on our journey.” She says her creativity and love of art stems from her artistic mother, who was always working on some sort of creative project. As a child growing up on the New Jersey coast, she followed suit, drawing and doodling, and dreaming of becoming an artist. “I’m just so passionate about creBY DEBBIE TIMMERMANN CORRESPONDENT Mixed-media artist rejoices in ‘continual and exciting journey’

Serving mainland Indian River County VeroNews/Sebastian River News | ARTS & THEATRE March 9, 2023 B3 ating. It’s in my blood. I’ve always felt like this. In my late teens, it was just pouring out of me. Through all of these careers, decades in my life, they were all creative,” says McCormack. She has drawn influence from many artists, such as Picasso, for his genius in continually changing and experimenting with his art; Matisse, for his use of color and shapes; and Andy Warhol, for his pop art and graphic-like painting. She was also inspired by a quote by Maya Angelou: “Everyone born comes from the Creator trailing wisps of glory. We come from the Creator with creativity. I think each one of us is born with creativity.” Her current works are a culmination of those years of creativity and the wonderful gift she has been given. “I am humbled by it. My love for God, my family and home ignites me and brings me great joy,” says McCormack. “This joy fills my life and my studio and is mirrored in my paintings.” McCormack and husband Steve moved from Duxbury, Mass., to Vero Beach several years ago, where her artistic journey continues to evolve. Moved by nature’s exquisite hues and the beauty of her surroundings, she seeks to transpose the richness of the elements onto a canvas. “I feel we need to be happy and joyful in this world we are living in. I look at so much art that is sad, dark and depressing. Creating positive, happy art, I am sharing my joy.” She believes that while everyone has difficulties in life, if they are able to work through them, they will find love, light and beauty. “If you don’t get through the muck, that’s your lens for life; you don’t see clearly, you don’t appreciate it,” she explains. McCormack graduated with a B.A. in English from Monmouth University in New Jersey, where she also studied studio art and art history, and spent many hours throwing CONTINUED ON PAGE B4 Reggie McCormack. PHOTOS BY JOSHUA KOIDS

B4 March 9, 2023 VeroNews/Sebastian River News | ARTS & THEATRE www.veronews.com on the wheel and hand building in clay. Afterward, she spent 10 rewarding years as the in-house stylist for designer Liz Claiborne, and ran Claiborne’s fashion office, producing press shows and photo shoots, and traveling with the designer. That experience influenced her creation of fashion collages, using designer names coupled with photos of women and exciting places, and various textures. When her daughter Liz was growing up, she enjoyed working on the collages as well. “We collaged every box we could get our hands on and just loved the process of cutting, pasting and creating together.” To add additional skills to her repertoire, she earned an associate degree in interior architecture and design at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. For the next 35 years, she ran her own company designing residential interiors, with a specialization in historic restoration in and around Boston. As with her artwork, she would approach each room differently, but they all had a thread that connected them. While she has continued working on special projects in the design field, her main passion is her artwork. “Every day is a different experience in the studio, connecting, letting go and loving the process, along with exploring, learning and moving beyond existing boundaries. It’s a continual and exciting journey while painting from my heart and soul,” she says. McCormack is very involved with an online arts community called Art2Life, based in Marin, Calif., that involves artists from around the world, painting in a variety of styles and mediums. “It’s a wonderful way of seeing what other artists are creating and to continue learning and growing. I love keeping my finger on the pulse of the design and art world. It’s such an exciting journey,” she says. McCormack describes the textures and layers in her work as reflective of those of our own life’s experiences, which is what people see in art. Quoting Vincent Van Gogh, she says, “‘Paintings have a life of their own that derives from the painter’s soul.’ That’s why it’s so exciting for me. I am pulling in all of these multi-faceted pieces in my art. I am learning so much about myself and the eclecticism of all of this work, and it all marries. It just works.” CONTINUED FROM PAGE B3 35th Annual ITALIAN FOOD FESTIVAL 2023 Italian American Civic Association 1600 25th St. Vero Beach, FL 32960 (Off US1 & 26th Street) 772.778.1522 Super Raffle • Live Music • Beer & Wine FRIDAY March 10 3PM to 9PM SATURDAY March 11 11AM to 9PM FREE ADMISSION • FREE PARKING Raimondo Roberti Post Impressionist Artist’s Will Be Work For Sale Chicken Parmigiana • Braciole Eggplant Parmigiana • Manicotti Meatballs & Sausage Pasta Fagioli Soup Clams on the 1/2 Shell Mussels/Shrimp Marinara Fried Shrimp/Calamari Sausage/Pepper/Onion Sub Philly Cheese Steak Pizza, Desserts & Much More ASSORTED ITALIAN DELICACIES SUNDAY March 12 11AM to 6PM CONTINUED FROM PAGE B3

Serving mainland Indian River County VeroNews/Sebastian River News | ARTS & THEATRE March 9, 2023 B5 “Beginnings – The Ultimate Chicago Tribute Band” performs 7 p.m. Thursday, March 9, at the Emerson Center, 1590 27th Ave., Vero Beach. Tickets are $35 to $85. Call 800-595-4849 or visit MusicWorksConcerts.com. The Treasure Coast Chorale will perform in concert 4 p.m. Sunday, March 12, at the First Baptist Church, 2206 16th Ave., Vero Beach. The concert, called “Food, Glorious Food,” includes tunes from “Cabaret,” “Oliver!” and “Beauty and the Beast.” They will also perform “Favorite Things,” “That’s Amore” and novelty songs like “Fugue for Fast Food.” Admission is free but donations accepted. For more information, visit TreasureCoastChorale.org. Get the blood pumping when “On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan” comes to the King Center for the Performing Arts in Melbourne. This is a new production of the smash-hit musical and is directed and choreographed by Luis Salgado, who performed in the original Broadway production of “On Your Feet!” The music in it includes favorites such as “Rhythm is Gonna Get You,” “Get On Your Feet” and “Don’t Want to Lose You Now.” The show performs 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 12, and Monday, March 13. Tickets are $49 to $79. The King Center is at 3865 N. Wickham Rd. Call 321-242-2219 or visit BroadwayAtTheKingCenter.com. The Vero Beach Theatre Guild opens the musical “Pippin” Friday, March 10. The show, which runs through Sunday, March 26, has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. It performs 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets are $40. And by the way, the Theatre Guild recently announced its new season and is offering $20 discounts for season tickets if you purchase them by March 15. The Vero Beach Theatre Guild is at 2020 San Juan Ave. Call 772-562-8300 or visit VeroBeachTheatreGuild.com. Riverside Theatre presents the riotous “A Comedy of Tenors” through Sunday, March 12. Tickets start at $45. The Riverside Theatre Spring Gala Celebration starring Tony Award-winner Kelli O’Hara begins 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 14. The Spring Gala includes cocktails followed by a performance on the Stark Stage and dinner in the Orchid Lobby. The Gala tickets are $800 to $1,000. Riverside Theatre is at 3250 Riverside Park Dr., Vero Beach. Call 772-231- 6990 or visit RiversideTheatre.com. Festivals are also happening. The Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge 120th Anniversary Celebration runs Friday, March 10, to Sunday, March 12, at various locations. It includes “An Evening with President Theodore Roosevelt” 6 p.m. Friday, March 10, at the Heritage Center, 2140 14th Ave., Vero Beach. (FYI, Theodore Roosevelt established the refuge.) That event includes heavy hors d’oeuvres, wine and beer, a screening of the documentary “Feather Wars,” and costs $150. There will be free all-day activities 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 11, at the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge entrance at the north end of Jungle Trail, off the A1A. There will be a Sunset Wine & Cheese Cruise to Pelican Island 4 p.m. Saturday, March 11. The cruise leaves from the Environmental Learning Center, 255 Live Oak Dr., Wabasso. The cost of the cruise is $70. The anniversary celebration ends with a free Sundae Social 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, March 12, at the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge near the entrance to north end of Jungle Trail, off the A1A. For more information, call 772-202-0697 or visit FirstRefuge.org. The Indian River County Firefighters’ Fair runs Friday, March 10, to Sunday, March 19, at the Indian River County Fairgrounds, 7955 58th Ave., Vero Beach. There will be 4-H competitions, rides, live entertainment, demonstrations and carnival food. Doors open 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information, visit FireFightersFair.org. The International Lecture Series presents the Art of Filmmaking by Emmy-winning filmmaker Ric Burns, 4:30 p.m. Monday, March 13, at Vero Beach Museum of Art, 3001 Riverside Park Dr. $145 with discounts for museum members. Call 772- 231-0707 or visit VBMuseum.org. The Emerson Center E-Series presents Dr. Thomas Reinert, of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, speaking on the Manatee Crisis and Efforts to Save Them, 7 p.m. at the Emerson Center, 1590 27th Ave., Vero Beach. Free. Call 772-778-5249 or visit TheEmersonCenter.org. CONTINUED FROM PAGE B1 3 4 2 6 The Fiber ArT STudio Weaving, Fabric Collage and Basket Coiling Lessons and Workshops available Open: Wednesday & Thursday 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM Or By Appointment, Call Leigh 440-552-8578 57 Royal Palm Pointe Vero Beach, FL 32960 Verofiberartstudio.com 5 7 8 9

B6 March 9, 2023 VeroNews/Sebastian River News | SEEN & SCENE www.veronews.com Fiber artists showcased their talents with a colorful display of more than 200 quilts at the Vero Beach Quilt Guild – Sunbonnet Sue Quilt Show, held at the Indian River County Fairgrounds. “We turned the Quilt Show over in 11 months, so that was a big undertaking,” said Cindy Baron, show co-chair with Diane Miller. While Vero Beach shows are generally held on the odd year, they held their 2021 show in 2022 due to COVID and are now back on track. The fairgrounds have already been booked for the next show, Feb. 6-8, 2025. A complex art form that spans thousands of generations around the world, quilting has experienced a resurgence in recent years. “We’re finding a lot of new, younger folks interested in quilting and fiber art, which is stunning to us. I think they’re trying to find peace in their lives, and this is a peaceful thing to do. It’s meditative,” said Miller. “I think COVID had a lot to do with it also, bringing back old-fashioned values and trying to keep the art alive,” said Baron. Proceeds from items sold in their Boutique Booth benefit a different charity each show and this time it was Shining Light Garden, which grows and donates food to feed the hungry. Because the nonprofit also gives flowers to places such as nursing homes and the Hospice House, the guild held a Floral Quilt Challenge, where each 20-inch by 20-inch wall hanging featured a floral interpretation. Those pieces were judged by Beth Sweet of Sweet Time Quilting and Diane Titherington from Shining Light Garden. Quilters who wished to could have their other pieces judged by a professional show judge. Categories included small, medium and large sized pieces, various sizes of appliqued and mixed techniques, miniature, wool quilted with batting, wool only, abstract/art and block of the month. This year’s Best of Show was “Moorea” by Martha Dallesandro. New this year was a Youth Fabric Textile Art category. The guild had invited high school students to participate and the quilts from six students at Masters Academy who accepted the challenge were on display. Additionally, Vero Beach fiber artist Susan Rienzo brought a selection of her remarkable abstract and pictorial art quilts, and Judith Kratts created the beautiful “Potted Petals” Raffle Quilt, and a Tiny Quilt Exhibit and Sale of 36 pieces, with proceeds from both to benefit the guild. “She purchased a book and did every miniature inside the book. And then she just turned around and donated them to the quilt show to sell,” said Miller. The nonprofit guild will use those funds to craft and donate items, such as placemats, fidget quilts and teddy bears to some 15 local charities and the Sheriff’s Victims’ Advocate Unit, and Baron said they have just started making covers to put over isolettes in neonatal intensive care units. The guild meets Thursdays from 10 a.m. to noon at St. Augustine Episcopal Church parish hall, and quilters of all levels are invited to join. Quilt Show sees surge in interest from young fabric artists By Mary Schenkel | Staff Writer [email protected] Cindy Baron and Diane Miller. Liz Locke and Peggy Stoll. PHOTOS JOSHUA KODIS Marilyn Pacheco and Joyce Belfour. Jo Wigington and Wendy Bernstein.

Serving mainland Indian River County VeroNews/Sebastian River News | DINING & WINE March 9, 2023 B7 While celebrity chefs can be viewed most any night of the week competing on shows like “Chopped” and “Beat Bobby Flay,” it is far more unusual to find these masters of the kitchen collaborating to prepare a spectacular joint dinner. But last Wednesday, three big-time chefs – one TV regular who almost beat Bobby Flay, a second award-winning chef from Los Angeles, and a third who was one-time executive chef of New York’s legendary Le Cirque – teamed up with Vero chef Scott Varricchio to put on a $450-a-head dinner at Citrus. The four chefs were joined by sommelier Benjamin Rodney, who did the best job of pairing interesting wines with the most creative dishes that I’ve seen in a long time. As a lucky 100 diners who signed up even before the first public announcement of Dinner by the Sea were finding their way to tables, servers circulated with trays of amuse bouches that offered a tease of the evening to come. Chef Amanda Freitag followed up with the first course of the evening. If the name sounds familiar, you’ve probably seen her as a judge on “Chopped.” Or perhaps battling Bobby Flay on “Iron Chef America.” Her appetizer consisted of a piquillo pepper, stuffed with charred eggplant, and garnished with white gazpacho and marcona crumble. This dish was accompanied by the first of the evening’s wines, a 2020 Via Nua from Portugal. For diners expecting a white wine with this opening course, this red wine made from Touriga Nacional grapes came as a surprise – and a very fine pair for lighter fare. The second course was a collaboration between Chef Amanda and Chef Scott – beautiful little baby carrots garnished with pea and carrot puree, goat cheese, and a carrot top pesto. It was paired with a light 2021 Ingrid Groiss Reisling Braitenpuechtorff. This Austrian reisling was surprisingly crisp, and again an excellent pairing for the tasty dish. Chef Tom Valenti led the way with the third course. Author of three best-selling cookbooks, Chef Tom, who over the years was executive chef at a number of highly-rated Manhattan spots including the fabled Le Cirque, now presides over the restaurant at the Morristown, N.J., landmark Jockey Hollow. One of his signature dishes there is fava bean agnolotti adorned by a bacon and white wine jus. On this evening, it was paired with a Sicilian white wine, the 2021 Etna Bianco from Benanti. Perfection. Then for course No. 4, it was time for Vero’s Chef Scott to step up. He prepared a piece of Alaskan Halibut topped by a sauce gribiche, accompanied by pommes pailCelebrity chefs serve up memorable wine-pairing dinner By Tina Rondeau | Columnist CONTINUED ON PAGE B8 Chef Lincoln Carson and Chef Amanda Freitag. PHOTOS: JOSHUA KODIS Chef Tom Valenti and Benjamin Rodney. Chef Lincoln Carson. Chef Scott Varricchio.

B8 March 9, 2023 VeroNews/Sebastian River News | DINING www.veronews.com lasson (a French dish of shredded and fried potatoes). This course was paired with a 2019 St. Joseph blanc, Etienne Guigal, from France’s Rhone Valley. Then for the fifth course, Chef Scott prepared a beautifully marbled Wagyu filet, accompanied by a root vegetable puree, potatoes, and adorned with maitake mushrooms and a truffle jus. This dish was served with Promis, a 2020 vintage from the Gaja winery’s Ca‘Marcanda vineyard in Tuscany. This super Tuscan blend was voluptuous in the mouth. Finally came the dessert course, prepared by Chef Lincoln Carson. While in recent years he has been executive chef of several highly regarded L.A. restaurants, Chef Lincoln made his reputation as a pastry chef – and to conclude this spectacular evening, he produced a Valrhona milk chocolate delice topped with salted caramel and walnuts. It was paired with a dessert wine, M. Chapoutier Banyuls Rimage, a 2012 Grenache from the Rhone Valley. I can’t let a wonderful evening end without one little quibble. If Vero is going to be treated to more special evenings like this, the fine wine and fine food should be served in fine wine glasses and with fine cutlery. At the risk of sounding ungracious, the glasses and utensils were not worthy of the occasion. But while the accessories needed upgrading, the food was as good as it gets – and the wine selections proved that a knowledgeable sommelier can find remarkable vintages at a relatively modest price point. Following the dinner and a well-deserved ovation for the culinary stars, Chef Lincoln said: “Beyond being able to celebrate a reunion amongst such a group of old friends, seeing the love and support that the Vero Beach community has for Scott and the team at Citrus was incredible.” “Being able to spend some time cooking with old friends was just special,” Chef Scott told me a couple of days later. “It was a lot of work, but a whole lot of reward for all involved.” And will there be another? “We will do a Dinner by the Sea next year,” Chef Scott said, “but topping this will be a very large feat.” The reviewer dines at restaurants at the expense of Vero Beach 32963. Fine Dining, Elevated Exciting Innovative Cuisine Award Winning Wine List Unparalleled Service Expanded outdoor dining in The Café. Proud recipient of Trip Advisor’s Traveler’s Choice Award placing us in “The Top 10% of restaurants worldwide”. Catering Now Available (772) 234-3966 • tidesofvero.com Open 7 Days a Week Starting at 5 PM 3103 Cardinal Drive, Vero Beach, FL Reservations Highly Recommended • Proper Attire Appreciated Wine Spectator Award 2002 – 2021 CONTINUED FROM PAGE B7 Wines & Predinner Teasers from the Night

Serving mainland Indian River County VeroNews/Sebastian River News | DINING March 9, 2023 B9 Serving Dinner Tues - Sat from 5pm (772) 226-7870 Downwn Vero Bea 2023 14th Avenue www.VeroPrime.com Prime Steaks, Seafood & Italian Specialties Happy Hour featuring Premium Spirits Nightly 5 - 6:30pm (Bar Only) Early Dining Menu Nightly 5 - 5:30pm

B10 March 9, 2023 VeroNews/Sebastian River News | DINING www.veronews.com

Serving mainland Indian River County VeroNews/Sebastian River News | DINING March 9, 2023 B11 The Gri One free kids meal per one adult 772.770.5970 | 3700 Oslo Rd (9th St Sw), Vero Beach C W W I L L I S F A M I LY F A R M S . C O M Fridays at The Grill Kids eat FREE with the purchase of an adult entree 4pm to 6pm 1931 Old Dixie • 772.770.0977 fishackverobeach.com • Like us on Facebook! Gift Certificates, Private Parties & Patio Dining Available TUESDAY NIGHT l ALL YOU CAN EAT FISH FRY HAPPY HOUR 4-6 PM l TUES.- SAT. WE CAN ACCOMMODATE LARGE PARTIES TUES OPEN FOR DINNER AT 4 WED-SAT OPEN FOR LUNCH & DINNER CLOSED SUNDAYS & MONDAYS OFFERING Local Fish Northern Fish Patio Dining Happy Hour Best Margaritas Full Liquor Bar Large Parties Daily Specials PARTY PLATTERS AVAILABLE 56 Royal Palm Pointe 772-567-4160 Follow us on Facebook & Instagram OPEN FOR DINNER WEDNESDAY-SUNDAY BEGINNING AT 4 PM. CLOSED MONDAY & TUESDAY. ORDER ONLINE FOR DELIVERY OR PICKUP THROUGH Pizzoodles.com or ToastTakeout.com SALADS, PASTA, VEAL, CHICKEN , SUBS AND DESSERTS OPEN WEDNESDAY - SUNDAY OPEN Tues-Sun 11:30 AM to Close Daily Drink Specials Daily Dinner Specials Where Vero goes for a Lil bit of Ireland! 2019 14th Ave (772) 217-2183 seanryanpub.com Chef Chet Perrotti Be Known’ My Friends March 17 is the Wearin’ O’ the Green Sean Ryan Pub is the place for St Patrick’s Day Celebrate with us and the Jameson Shot Girls with outside bar & dining available LOCAL • FRESH • ORGANIC • NATURAL • MADE TO ORDER 915 17TH STREET, SUITE 101 • VERO BEACH, FL 32960 • 772-643-4975 PALATOCAFEVERO.COM • [email protected] SANDWICHES • ACAI BOWL • WRAPS • SOUPS • PASTRIES • SMOOTHIES • JUICES • SHOTS OPEN: MONDAY THRU FRIDAY 8AM - 3PM SATURDAY 8:30AM -2:00PM OUTDOOR SEATING AVAILABLE GLUTEN FREE AND VEGETARIAN OPTIONS ALWAYS AVAILABLE

B12 March 9, 2023 VeroNews/Sebastian River News | PETS www.veronews.com Well there’s totally no chance I’m EVER gonna get bored or ever know everything there is to know about fellow pooches. I learn something new pretty much every week, it feels like. This week, for ex-zample, I learned about Nosework. My innerview-eee was Duke Sumner, a big frenly poocheroo, short coarse hair, budderscotch color with Crispy Biscuits white sprinkles on it, stick-uppy ears that flop over a liddle at the ends, an a nice, smiley face. He says his mixture’s a misstery, but “Mom says, cuz I’m so big an such a pain in the butt, I’m probly part Great Dane an part Jack Russell. I’m not sure if she’s kiddin’, tho.” We decided to meet on the padio where it was nice an cool. I introduced myself an my assistant an Duke introduced himself an his Mom, Cissie. Following the Wag-anSniff, we got comf-tubble, an I opened my notebook. “I’m ready to hear your story,” I said. “And your career sounds in-TREE-ging.” “It IS,” he agreed. “I guess I should start at the buh-ginning, right?” “Absolutely. How’d you an your Mom find each other?” “Well, I was inna town called, um, CLUE-wiss-tun, stayin’ at a foster home that’s part of the Ewenity Farm Herding Dog Haven foster-based rescue organization (I think I got that right). “Mom already had Sally, she’s a sorta hound like me but smaller; an Odie, a Rat Terrier; an Rio, who she’d had since he was a pupper and he was getting Up There (he was 11); an she was lookin’ for another pooch. She was swipin’ thru pooch pickshurs on The Web: like, swipe, NOPE; swipe, NOPE; swipe, NOPE; then swipe, YEP! when she saw mine! She says there was Something in My Ex-preshun. She says it was Pure Luck.” “Woof! What was it?” I wondered. “I’m not sure,” Duke replied. “It’s a MISStree to me, but Mom’s been a pruh-fessional dog trainer for 25 years in human an she Knows Stuff, an the look I had in the pick-shur told her I would be TRAIN-ubble. And, guess what? I Totally AM! A week later I was dropped off!” “So what was it like at first, meetin’ your new famly?” “Mom innerduced me to my new brothers an sister one atta time so there’d be no, you know, drama. It was pretty easy peasy. I’m jus’ naturally a frenly sorta pooch, kinda silly I guess. It did take a while for me to get the message that Odie was old an didn’t wanna play. Rio was kinda old too, but him an me hung out for about a year, he was sorta like a big brother, I guess, an he taught me a lotta basic dog stuff, then he hadda go to Dog Heaven. We still miss him a lot. Me an Sally love playin’ an runnin’ around together, sorta pooches of a feather, ya’ know?” “So tell me about your excitin’ Nosework training. I see you have a lotta ribbons!” I prompted. “Rio had been a really Hot Dog competitor in what humans call the Canine Sport of Nosework, and he really loved it, so Mom started my training the very first week I got here. I hadda learn what she calls Target OH-ders, which us pooches call SMELLS: Anise, Birch an Clove. Nosework’s for civilian dogs to learn the same skills as pruh-fessional puh-leece and military dogs do for sniffin’ out drugs and BOMS, but with no danger an no bad guys.” “That sounds So Ex-citin’!” “It IS. The smells are hidden inside or outside, an we have to find ’um (it’s called Trailing) an let our human know. Turns out, I’m Really Good at it. I’ve got lotsa ribbons and titles, which are pieces of paper, pretty much. Important pieces of paper, tho. “I love Nosework, an goin’ to events. Me an Mom an Sally go for car rides almost every day, events all over Florida an other fun stuff.” “That is SO Cool Kibbles, Duke! You must have some Super Sniffer! So do you have any fave foodstuffs. Toys? Where do you pooches sleep? Who’s the Alpha?” “Well, thanks, Bonz! To tell you the truth, everything I eat is my favorite. Chicken for dinner? That’s my fave! Turkey? My Fave! Animal Crackers? Oh, yeah! Food is my favrite food! “Toys? Well, pretty much anything that squeaks. They don’t last that long, tho. I ’specially like to employ a nice squeaky toy when it’s meal time an Mom apparently needs a subtle liddle reminder. I usually squeak a squeaky toy every day at 5:15 p.m. on the nose. “We have our own dog beds, an we sorta sleep wherever we feel most comfy. “As far as the Alpha, that’s easy. It’s Mom! I’ve heard humans say she’s a Dog Whisperer. The way us pooches look at it, we like learnin’ Important Stuff from her cuz we respect an understand each other. She doesn’t yell and scare the dog biscuits outta us; she gives us a treat when we do the right thing and also pats us on the head an says lotsa nice words. I can’t say she ackshully whispers. It usually sounds like regular human talk to me.” Headin’ home, I was thinkin’ about big, frenly, somewhat goofy Duke an his happily blended family. An how Cool Kibbles his Nosework Sport Career is. It’d be fun to go to one of his competitions someday an report back to you. I’ve never put my own sniffer to the test, but I’m confident I can sniff out my evening yoghurt in the back of the fridge or a random piece of bread on the kitchen counter. Till next time, Hi Dog Buddies! Bonz’s bud Duke ‘Nosework’ ... and knows how to play! The Bonz Don’t Be Shy We are always looking for pets with interesting stories. To set up an interview, email [email protected]. Duke.

Serving mainland Indian River County VeroNews/Sebastian River News | GAMES March 9, 2023 B13 YOU SHOULD OBEY THE RULE OF LAW By Phillip Alder - Bridge Columnist Once, when playing in a tournament in London and sitting North, I bid seven diamonds after a competitive auction in which our opponents had preempted us out of Blackwood. East sacrificed in seven hearts, whereupon West took the diamond ace from his hand, licked the back of the card and stuck it to his forehead! My partner, West, the kibitzers and I started laughing. East, properly keeping his eyes on his cards, wondered why. If a card is exposed during the auction, it becomes a penalty card, to be played at the first legal opportunity. There are some other possibilities, but they didn’t arise in this deal. Uncoincidentally, it also features the diamond ace. West’s bid of four no-trump was wild with 4=8 distribution. Then, when South bid seven diamonds, East couldn’t wait for his turn. He doubled and immediately led the diamond ace! South, realizing that seven diamonds was doomed, retreated to seven no-trump. Declarer was now permitted to stop West from leading a diamond! Smiling to himself, West selected the spade five. Expecting West to be 5=7 in the black suits, declarer tried to restrict his losses. He finessed the spade jack at trick one; then, with the aid of three finesses, he took four heart tricks. Next, South played a club to dummy’s king and cashed dummy’s spade ace and king. Finally, he led a club to the ace, preparing to concede down four, when something strange happened. East, being out of clubs, was forced to discard the exposed diamond ace! Dealer: South; Vulnerable: North-South NORTH A K J Q 9 3 9 8 7 4 3 K 9 WEST Q 7 6 5 2 — Q J 8 7 6 5 3 2 SOUTH 10 A J 10 4 K Q J 6 5 2 A 4 EAST 9 8 4 3 2 K 8 7 6 5 A 10 10 The Bidding: OPENING LEAD: 5 Spades SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST 1 Diamonds Pass 3 Diamonds Pass 3 Hearts 4 NT 5 Diamonds 5 Spades 6 Diamonds 6 Spades Pass Pass 7 Diamonds -- -- Dbl. 7 NT Pass Pass Pass

B14 March 9, 2023 VeroNews/Sebastian River News | GAMES www.veronews.com 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 (MARCH 2) ON PAGE B16 ACROSS 1 Strength (5) 5 Comes down from cloud (5) 8 Scold; hard rock (5) 9 Indian rice (5) 10 On which papers sit (4-5) 11 I (3) 12 Fruit with many seeds in edible flesh (11) 15 Thorough (11) 19 Yours and my (3) 20 Other way around (4,5) 22 Brass instrument without valves (5) 23 Eddy (5) 24 In that place (5) 25 North African country (5) DOWN 1 Cleared away (liquid) (6,2) 2 Horse’s pace (6) 3 Destructive waves (8) 4 Insect; eavesdrop (6) 5 Agents (4) 6 Tropical lizard (6) 7 Tray on which to slide (4) 13 Friendly (8) 14 Hungry; retinues (anag.) (8) 16 Because of the possibility of (2,4) 17 Skilful (6) 18 Unusual cricket delivery (6) 20 Unit of electric potential (4) 21 Urn (4)

Serving mainland Indian River County VeroNews/Sebastian River News | GAMES March 9, 2023 B15 ACROSS 1 Up on things 6 Bee-deviled? 11 Smear 15 Cops having COs 18 Groundhog’s favorite painter? 20 See 124 Across 21 Northern sea bird 22 “The ___” (groundhog’s favorite song?) 24 The rocks 25 Adder relatives 26 Away from the wind 27 Do up 28 “So what else ___?” 30 Alcoholic’s affliction 31 Malicious hoaxes 34 Naturalist’s prefix 35 Org. for sharp students 36 Number 37 Conger mongers 40 Pt. of 4/1, calendar-wise 42 Up on things 45 Does the first show 48 Quick on ___ 51 Striver’s model 52 One pound sterling, once 53 Grier of Mars Attacks! 56 “There came ___ without reply” (Emerson) 57 Groundhog’s way of saying he’s a nonsmoker? 61 Had the rights to 62 Plop or plunk preceder 63 Move carefully 64 Eagles’ home 65 Targets of Eliot Ness’s ax 66 Some of a beach 68 Fish in a John Cleese comedy 70 Perjured oneself 72 M*A*S*H co-star 74 Mr. Arledge 76 Premeditate 78 Lea plea, perhaps 81 Between, poetically 82 Rueful groundhog’s comment? 86 Plane lane 88 Teacher’s advanced degree: abbr. 89 Prepare apples for a Waldorf 90 Close again, as a fly 91 Meantime 93 Alexander Pope forte 95 Jackson and Leigh 96 Kin of “hmmm” 97 White powder used in soapmaking 100 LeBlanc of Friends 101 Studio that made Suspicion 103 Pine or Ly follower 104 Like an October birthstone 108 Kitchen meas. 111 Film director Raoul 113 6,700-ton Cunard liner, familiarly 115 Take down ___ (humble) 116 Pennsylvania city 117 One of Cybill’s exes, on Cybill 118 “___ Groundhog” (his second favorite song?) 123 Pantagruel, to Gargantua 124 With 20 Across, a “current” college course: abbr. 125 Groundhog’s favorite car magazine? 126 Remnant 127 Waistband or window frame 128 A Muse 129 Big name in decaf DOWN 1 ___ of wind 2 Corrupts 3 Affected manners 4 Abbr. after Al D’Amato’s name when he was in office 5 Superlative ending 6 Bottom of a shoe, in Italian (or backward, a noted baseball family) 7 Less phony 8 Entreated 9 Japanese theater 10 1939 epic: abbr. 11 Vandalize 12 “___ in a storm” 13 Actor Tognazzi 14 UCLA player 15 It can get all wound up 16 Brownish purple 17 Bias, as results 19 Explosive-sounding Indian hemp plant 22 Pet rocks, once 23 Pitcher Hershiser 29 Followed 31 Electromagnet parts 32 Colonist of a sort 33 Subcmte. member, perhaps 36 Man and Superman author 38 Noticed 39 ___ Na Na 41 Derbies 42 Candle part 43 Unencumbered by employment 44 Go like lightning 45 Inning events 46 Film studios outside London 47 Tokyo’s old name 49 Call up, as an image 50 Tied the knot 52 It means “four” 54 Loss of the ability to write 55 With tai, a cocktail 58 Dustin in The Graduate 59 Whacked with a malacca 60 Tie (shoes) again 66 Dudley Moore-Mary Tyler Moore movie 67 Rose oil 69 Battery terminals 71 India, for one 72 Went for a pitch 73 San Francisco concert hall where Scorsese’s The Last Waltz was filmed 75 Be a prisoner of plastic? 77 Ethel’s friend 78 Labyrinth 79 Landed 80 Where edelweiss bloom 81 52 Down minus one? 83 Certain bank securities, for short 84 On the warpath 85 Abode in a bag 87 Nickname of Wizard of Oz lyricist E.Y. Harburg 92 They have minarets 94 “___ nuff!” 95 Michael Vincent’s missing piece? 98 “___ his own” 99 Et ___ (and others, in Latin) 100 Strength 102 “But of course!” 105 Bamboo lover 106 Cocteau’s Blood of ___ 107 ___ Man Write My Epitaph 108 Hauler 109 Island town of Alaska 110 Pod dweller 111 Possessing discernment 112 East of Eden character 114 Concerning, in contracts 116 Abba of Israel 119 Pay ending 120 Craggy peak 121 The thing is 122 Rifleman’s grp. The Telegraph The Washington Post COMING-OUT PARTY By Merl Reagle Established 19 Years in Indian River County (772) 562-2288 | www.kitchensvero.com 3920 US Hwy 1, Vero Beach FL 32960

B16 March 9, 2023 VeroNews/Sebastian River News | CALENDAR www.veronews.com Check with organizations directly for updates/cancellations. Riverside Theatre: “A Comedy of Tenors” on the Stark Stage through March 12. 772-231- 6990 or RiversideTheatre.com Vero Beach Museum of Art: Rolling Sculpture: Streamlined Art Deco Automobiles and Motorcycles exhibit through April 30. VBMuseum.org or 772-231-0707 Garden of Glass at McKee Botanical Garden through April 30. McKeeGarden.org or 772- 794-0601 First Friday Gallery Strolls, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Downtown Vero Beach Arts District. 9 Live from Vero Beach presents Beginnings, the ultimate Chicago tribute band, 7 p.m. at the Emerson Center. 800-595-4849 10-12 Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge 120th Anniversary Celebration, with an Evening with Pres. Theodore Roosevelt, 6 p.m. Fri. at the Heritage Center ($150); free all-day activities, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sat. at PINWR; Sunset Wine & Cheese Cruise to Pelican Island ($70) from Environmental Learning Center, 4 p.m. Sat.; free Sundae Social, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sun. at PINWF. FirstRefuge.org or 772-202-0697 10-12 72nd Annual Under the Oaks Fine Arts & Craft Show at Riverside Park, hosted by Vero Beach Art Club, a juried show with works by 200+ artists. VeroBeachArtClub.org 10-12 Italian American Civic Association’s 35th annual Italian Food Festival, 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Fri.; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sat.; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sun. at 1600 25th St., with great food, live music and raffles. 772- 778-1522 10-19 Indian River County Firefighters’ Fair at the IRC Fairgrounds, with 4-H competitions, rides, live entertainment, demonstrations and carney food. Doors open 5 p.m. Mon. to Fri., and 1 p.m. Sat. and Sun. FireFightersFair.org 10-26 Vero Beach Theatre Guild presents the musical “Pippin.” VeroBeachTheatreGuild.com or 772-562-8300 11 Citrus Classic 5K, 7:30 a.m. from Pocahontas Park to benefit Girls on the Run. RunVero.com 11 Inaugural Sporting Fun Clay Shooting Competition, 9 a.m. at Vero Beach Clay Shooting Sports to benefit the Scholarship Foundation of IRC. $800 per 4-person team. SFIndianRiver.org or 772-569-9869 11 Friends of the Vero Beach Art Village benefit concert with vocalists Debbi Arseneaux, Alesandra Valenzuela and Ronn Brown, and saxophonist Tanner Goulet, 6:30 p.m. at Raw Space Gallery. $15; $7 students. 12 Vero Beach Chamber Orchestra concert, with Mozart’s Overture to Don Giovanni, Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll, and Haydn’s Symphony No. 94 “Surprise,” 2 p.m. at Vero Beach High School PAC. Free; donations appreciated. VeroBeachChamberOrchestra.org 12 Space Coast Symphony Orchestra presents the Yale underclassman a cappella group, Spizzwinks (?), 3 p.m. at the Emerson Center. SpaceCoastSymphony.org 12 Treasure Coast Chorale presents ‘Food, Glorious Food,’ with food an integral part of the songs, 4 p.m. at First Baptist Church. Free; donations appreciated. 772-231-3498 12|13 American Theatre Guild presents “On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan” at the Maxwell C. King Center for the Performing Arts. BroadwayAtTheKingCenter.com or 321- 242-2219. 13 International Lecture Series presents the Art of Filmmaking by Emmy-winning filmmaker Ric Burns, 4:30 p.m. at Vero Beach Museum of Art. VBMuseum.org or 772- 231-0707 13 Rock the Boat Gala to benefit Youth Sailing Foundation, 5 p.m. at Quail Valley River Club, with regatta, open bar, dinner and auction. $225. YSFIRC.org 14 Shining Light Garden Benefit Dinner, 5 p.m. at Bent Pine Golf Club with cocktail social and dinner, to help raise funds to grow fresh fruits and vegetables for food pantries, soup kitchens, veterans and senior programs. $125. 772-643-5092 or 772-532-8777 14 Riverside Theatre Spring Gala Celebration with Kelli O’Hara, 5:30 p.m. cocktails, followed by the performance on the Stark Stage and dinner in the Orchid Lobby. $800- $1,000. 772-231-6990 or RiversideTheatre.com 14 Emerson Center E-Series presents Dr. Thomas Reinert, of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on Update on the Manatee Crisis and Efforts to Save Them, 7 p.m. at the Emerson Center. Free. 772-778-5249 16 Live from Vero Beach presents Classic Albums Live performing Creedence Clearwater Revival ‘Chronicle, Vol. 1,’ 7 p.m. at the Emerson Center. 800-595-4849 16 Atlantic Classical Orchestra Masterworks III, 7:30 p.m. at Community Church of VB, featuring Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto with soloist Ansel Norris. 772-460- 0851 or AtlanticClassicalOrchestra.com 17 Love of Literacy Luncheon, 11:30 a.m. at Quail Valley River Club, with Students of the Year Awards and featuring author Elizabeth Winthrop Alsop. $150. 772-778-2223 17-19 Sebastian Rotary and City of Sebastian host River Days & Craft Brew Hullabaloo at Riverview Park, with live music, food trucks, car show (Sun.) and beer tastings (Sat. $35), 3 to 8 p.m. Fri; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sat; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sun. Free admission. RiverDaysFL.com 18 44th annual Antique Automobile Show, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Riverside Park hosted by Indian River Region Antique Automobile Club Assoc., with 330 antique, vintage and collectible cars on display, and others for sale. ONGOING MARCH Sudoku Page B14 Sudoku Page B15 Crossword Page B14 Solutions from Games Pages in March 2, 2023 Edition ACROSS 1 FORTNIGHTLY 9 AISLE 10 STRANGE 11 STREETS 12 OCEAN 13 PECAN 15 GRAPE 20 WORTH 22 UNLUCKY 24 FIGMENT 25 MOOSE 26 ALTERCATION DOWN 2 OBSERVE 3 THEME 4 INSIST 5 HARBOUR 6 LUNGE 7 HARSH 8 JEANS 14 ACHIEVE 16 PICCOLO 17 SWIFT 18 RUSTIC 19 TYPES 21 REGAL 23 LIMIT Crossword Page B15 (RUNNING THE GAMUT) BUSINESS DIRECTORY - ADVERTISING INDIAN RIVER COUNTY BUSINESSES Our directory gives small business people eager to provide services to the community an opportunity to make themselves known to our readers at an affordable cost. This is the only service directory mailed each week during season. If you would like your service to appear in our directory, please call 772-633-0753. Surfing Lessons for Beginners All Equipment Provided Certified Master Surfing Instructor Lou Maresca Call Today, Surf Tomorrow 772-925-4402 ARE you turning 65 or new to Medicare? ARE you looking to review Medicare Choices for 2023. I can help you with over 10+years of experience, the dedication and honesty of a LOCAL INDEPENDENT agent that specializes in Medicare choices. Rose Mary McIlvain Treasure Coast Insurance Sources MAKE IT YOUR CHOICE! 772-766-1558