10/08/2020 ISSUE 41

More COVID-19 cases pop up
at county schools. P8
Three Corners

steering committee. P9
Record number of residents
seen voting in fall election by mail. P8

For breaking news visit

MY VERO COVID-19 cases
on island are high
BY RAY MCNULTY for a second week

It’s only right wrongful
death lawsuit reinstated

It shouldn’t have taken a Snowbirds returning to island earlier this year BY LISA ZAHNER
three-judge federal appeals Staff Writer
court to see what was obvious BY STEPHANIE LABAFF a strong influx of seasonal resi- before coming back to spend
to most: Sheriff’s Deputy Jon- Staff Writer dents this winter, according to January through April on the In a week of mixed good and
athan Lozada had plenty of government and other sources. barrier island. bad COVID-19 statistics, the
non-lethal options when he The first of the season’s barrier island community had
shot and killed Susan Teel – a snowbirds are returning to Ve- Snowbirds typically flock to But this year, evidence sug- a second consecutive trou-
suicidal, 62-year-old woman ro’s barrier island earlier than Vero in mid- to late October gests many plan to come and bling week, adding nine new
– in her Vero Beach home in normal, and all signs point to or early November, and often remain in Vero through the positive cases for a total of 20
July 2017. return north for the holidays new cases in the past fortnight.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
Fortunately, though, the That brings the case count
Miami-based U.S. 11th Cir- for the 32963 ZIP code since
cuit Court of Appeals pos- the beginning of the pandem-
sessed the vision, wisdom and ic to 132 as we went to press
common sense to overrule a on Monday – an 18 percent
lower-court judge’s puzzling increase in just the past two
decision last year to dismiss weeks.
a $10-million wrongful-death
lawsuit filed against Lozada What is not clear at this
and the Sheriff’s Office by point, however, is whether
Teel’s husband, Dudley, a lo- the spike in island cases rep-
cal emergency room doctor. resents random, unrelated
infections from generalized
In a 22-page opinion, the community spread, or one or
appeals court judges reject- more clusters where the virus
ed U.S. District Court Judge was spread.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

Vero to modify new sand screens after Study of county’s high
beachgoers protest missing ocean view infant mortality rate
enters its final phase
BY SUE COCKING being mounded up so high Edward Preston looks out
Staff Writer it covered parts of boardwalk toward the ocean from a BY MICHELLE GENZ
ramps and steps in several bench along the walkway Staff Writer
Indian River County seems locations. behind Humiston Park.
to have put a little bit too A $60,000 study into Indian
much sand on island beach- Since the project was PHOTO: BRENDA AHEARN River County’s historically
es – or put some of it in the completed, large amounts high infant mortality rate is
wrong places – in a beach of sand have been blowing entering its final phase, just as
renourishment project early into Sexton Plaza and Hu- economic hardship from the
this year that included sand miston Park, prompting the coronavirus pandemic threat-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

October 8, 2020 Volume 13, Issue 41 Newsstand Price $1.00 ‘Lines in Lagoon’
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News 1-12 Games 29-31 Real Estate 55-64 TO ADVERTISE CALL of anglers. P14
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Books 26 Insight 19-34 Style 44-47
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Editorial 24 Pets 28 CALL 772-226-7925

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2 Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

My Vero and the “purpose of the family’s 911 In other words, Lozada knew he had For those not familiar with the story:
call was to keep her alive.” alternatives, such as de-escalating Shortly after 8 p.m. on July 26, 2017,
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 what was a volatile situation by calmly Lozada responded to a 911 call for
She posed a threat only to herself, backing away, retreating into a nearby help at the Teels’ Carriage Lake home,
Donald Middlebrooks’ summary-judg- the judges’ opinion states. sitting room or down the stairs, where where Teel had attempted to commit
ment ruling that Lozada’s decision to he could seek assistance from a back- suicide by slashing her wrists.
shoot Teel three times was “reasonable “Yet (Deputy) Lozada drew his gun, up deputy.
under the circumstances” because she even before he encountered Mrs. Teel, According to Sheriff’s Office reports,
was moving toward the deputy with a pointed the gun at her before she came He could’ve disabled her with his Tas- Lozada spoke briefly with Teel’s hus-
butcher’s knife in her hands. near him and fired at her without er or fended her off with pepper spray, band – the couple was married for
warning,” the judges wrote. “Mrs. Teel both of which were at his disposal. If 40 years – who told him his wife was
Instead, the judges reversed Middle- was not pointing the knife at (Deputy) necessary, a trained deputy should’ve upstairs “trying to kill herself with a
brooks’ ruling and sent the civil case Lozada or charging at him. been able to overpower a 5-foot-2, knife,” prompting the deputy to pull
back to district court, writing that Lo- 118-pound woman old enough to col- his gun as he climbed the stairs.
zada’s use of deadly force was “wholly “By his own testimony, she was lect Social Security – yes, even if she was
unnecessary” because Teel was “not coming toward him slowly, and he had wielding a knife. It was in a second-floor bedroom
suspected of committing any crime” the opportunity to retreat beyond her that Lozada, who was a deputy for five
reach,” they added, “but he chose to Lozada did none of the above. years at the time of the incident, con-
shoot her instead.” fronted Teel. The initial Sheriff’s Office
report stated that the woman, believed
to have been under the influence of al-
cohol, was holding a knife and taunted
the deputy before she “lunged” at him.

That’s when Lozada pulled the trig-
ger.

The next day, Sheriff Deryl Loar de-
fended Lozada’s actions, saying the
deputy was acting in self-defense and
had no choice.

“The deputy did exactly what he was
trained to do” in a potentially deadly
confrontation, Loar said, adding that
it was an “unfortunate situation all the
way around.”

And it was.
It was unfortunate for Teel, whose
personal torment – whatever the
source – ended her life. It was unfor-
tunate for Lozada, who surely did not
intend to kill anyone when he climbed
those stairs. It was unfortunate for all
of us who are left to question whether
our sheriff’s deputies are equipped to
handle such incidents.
Did Lozada need to shoot the wom-
an three times? Wouldn’t one gunshot
wound have stopped her? Why didn’t
he try to merely wound her?
“We’re not trained to shoot the legs,”
Loar responded to a question at a news
conference.
Law enforcement officers will tell you
that they are trained to shoot to kill – not
to disable – which is why police should
draw their guns only when deadly force
is necessary. That’s why the job is so
dangerous. That’s why more emphasis
must be put on training. That’s why not
everyone should be a cop.
The hard truth is, Lozada found
himself in a difficult, fast-moving and
unpredictable situation that required
poise under pressure, and he choked.
He didn’t need to use deadly force
against Teel. He didn’t need to shoot
her three times, or at all.
She didn’t need to die.
Fact is, Lozada panicked and made
a split-second decision when he didn’t
need to – because, according to court
records, Teel was 6 to 10 feet away and
moving toward him slowly – not lung-
ing – when the deputy fired.
That doesn’t mean he should go to

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 3

NEWS

jail. The grand jury made the right call the pulse of seasonal residents’ com- reservations because they’re going to Traditionally, many JI members
in January 2018, when it declined to ings and goings as members begin to bring the family down. They’re arrang- spend early November at their Vero
indict him. The deputy made mistakes vie for tee times and prime dinner res- ing for the kids and grandkids to come Beach residence and return north for
which had terrible consequences, but ervations. to see them here for Thanksgiving and the holidays, then head back to Vero
he wasn’t criminally reckless. Christmas.” Beach again after the New Year.
At John’s Island, General Manager
But his actions were wrong and, as Brian Kroh said he thinks it’s going to be Kroh said many seasonal John’s Is- This year, however, “they’re coming
the appeals court ruled, Teel’s husband a busy season. “We started taking holi- land’s members are coming down in down, and they’re just going to stay
should get his day in court, where day [dining] reservations on Oct. 1, and mid-October, which is earlier than down, since people look at a gated
a jury can determine the liability of our phone lines were jammed all day. usual. He says the club typically sees community as a safe haven,” Kroh
Lozada and the Sheriff’s Office that its biggest influx in early November.
trained him, defended him and con- “A lot of people were calling to make CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
tinues to employ him.

“Isn’t it time we have deputies trained
to handle these cases more like ‘The
Negotiator’ and less like ‘Rambo?’”
said Guy Rubin, the Stuart-based at-
torney who represents the Teel family,
which he said called 911 for mental-
health help and got a “cowboy cop who
changed their lives forever because he
was not suited for the job and panicked
under the pressure of the moment.”

There’s no way to know what would’ve
happened if Lozada had diffused the
situation by retreating and waiting for
the assistance he needed.

Teel might’ve run back into the bed-
room, locked the door and finished
what she had started. Or she might’ve
re-thought her actions, put down the
knife and waited to talk to someone
who could help her.

Lozada’s best option – the only way he
could both defend himself and ensure
that Teel didn’t kill herself – would’ve
been to deploy his Taser, which almost
certainly would have resulted in the
woman dropping the knife.

He probably wishes he had.
She likely would still be alive, and nei-
ther he nor the Sheriff’s Office would be
facing a $10-million lawsuit an appeals
court rightly said should go forward.
This wasn’t suicide by cop – because
Teel didn’t call the cops or commit sui-
cide.
This was a wrongful death, and the
deputy and Sheriff’s Office should face

the consequences. 

Snowbirds returning earlier
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

holidays, moving their Thanksgiving
and Christmas celebrations here.

“We have noticed an influx of sea-
sonal residents returning over the past
couple of weeks,” said Indian River
Shores Public Safety Chief Rich Rosell,
who added he has seen a steady in-
crease in car carriers and delivery
trucks throughout September into Oc-
tober, a clear sign that some northern-
ers are returning earlier than usual.

At Pak Mail Beachside, general man-
ager Susan Lorenz said she is hearing
from her Fed Ex driver that he is al-
ready delivering golf clubs and boxes
of clothes to returning residents.

Island clubs have their fingers on

4 Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Snowbirds returning earlier of people coming in the next couple of When they noticed the problem, Added Monee Rich, who uses a
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 weeks. They’re anxious to get here.” city officials asked their county coun- wheelchair: “I go there to watch the
terparts for options to hold back the ocean. It’s soothing since I can’t swim
said. “One of our busiest years was the According to local postmaster Paul windblown sand; county officials re- in the water or go down to the beach.
year after 9/11 because people weren’t Folsom, most seasonal residents retain sponded that the ideal solution would To me, it’s not handicap-accessible
traveling around the world a lot. They their Florida addresses while they are be to plant more vegetation on the anymore. Sure hope it’s temporary.”
came here and stayed here, and all the up north and have their mail shipped dunes. But, they said, a quicker meth-
kids came to visit here. We’re expect- to a summer address once a week until od would be to install a windscreen. But poster Andrea Gilliland defend-
ing a similar demand this year.” a predetermined date when the for- ed the sand fence.
warding will cease. Early on, city work crews erected
At The Moorings and Orchid Island, plastic silt fences on stakes between “Right, so let’s just everyone get
residents are expected back more or “A lot of them set dates of when sand blasted in the face, and the side-
less on schedule they’re going to be back in Vero, and the dunes and the boardwalks, but
most of those are toward the end of those failed to keep the sand from cov- walks become the dunes of Arabia,”
“We surveyed all our seasonal mem- October. We see the biggest influx at ering walkways. So recently, workers read Gilliland’s post.
bers, and they plan to return to Vero the end of October and beginning of zip-tied a sand fence made of polymer
just as normal,” said Craig Lopes, The November,” says Folsom, adding that to the railing along 170 feet of board- In response, Mitts said city crews
MooringsYacht & Country Club general this year things seem to be trending in walk at Sexton Plaza, and about three will fold over the sand curtain at Hu-
manager. “We have a good group com- weeks ago added 450 feet of the semi- miston Park to half its current height
ing in October and November. We’re that same direction.  opaque curtain at Humiston Park. so beachgoers will still have an ocean
looking forward to a great season.” view.
Sand screens block ocean view Some beachgoers were not happy
Based on a survey of Orchid Island CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 and complained at length in a thread “We’ll see if it works as effectively as
Golf and Beach Club Members, club on the Vero Beach Neighborhood Inc. the entire screen,” Mitts said. “I don’t
general manager Rob Tench said 90 placement of wind screens that some Facebook page. know if it will make everyone happy.
percent of the club’s members are beachgoers are complaining about We’re doing what we can to make this
planning to return as they normally because they block beach views. “Boy what a mistake the city has facility function well.”
would. made at Humiston Park Beach!” post-
“All that sand blew on top of Sexton ed Janice Stewart. “The new ‘fence’ Mitts said the plan is to keep the
“Generally, this is about the time our Plaza and our boardwalk at Humiston blocks the view of the ocean. Older curtains up “indefinitely until the
clients start to return,” says Denise Ad- Park,” said Vero Beach public works people need to sit down to view the sand isn’t blowing on the boardwalk
ams, Whitehall Professional Property director Matthew Mitts. sea and handicapped people can not anymore. It’s a minor wrinkle. We’re
Management office manager. “We’ve see the sea at all. This is a definite dealing with it.”
got a few coming in now, but Oct. 15 is Indian River County brought in mistake, and it needs to be removed
our biggest date. some 200,000 cubic yards of sand and now.” He said the total cost of labor and
spread it on more than three miles of materials for both sand fences is about
“Everybody is pretty much looking Central Beach earlier this year. $2,300 – “cheaper than what it would
forward to coming back. There are a lot
cost to [repeatedly] shovel it off.” 

VOTE

MATT ERPENBECK

For Mosquito Control, Seat 3
November 3rd

Matt Erpenbeck Campaign - Mosquito Control

Paid for and Approved by Matt Erpenbeck for Mosquito Control

What the heck, vote Erpenbeck

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 5

NEWS

COVID-19 cases on island had until two weeks ago been able greater transparency. Another factor that increasingly
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 to keep their COVID-19 case count Unfortunately, the first private and will need to be taken into account
private and not release any detailed is that temperatures up north in the
Several more cases showed up in information about cases and quar- charter school report had not been up- 40s, plus the threat of new public
our public schools this past week. antines, were outed by the Florida dated prior to press time, so yet again, health shutdowns there, are driv-
Department of Health, in response to parents remain relatively in the dark ing some seasonal residents back to
Private and charter schools, which statewide media outlets’ demands for about any recent outbreaks in a signifi-
cant segment of our school population. CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

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6 Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

COVID-19 cases on island Four facilities – Consulate Health
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 Care of Vero, HarborChase of Vero, The
Promenade and Sonata of Vero – still
Vero’s barrier island early (see Snow- showed staff cases.
birds, Page 1).
Looking ahead to the next week or
Meanwhile, the number of new CO- two and what that might bring in terms
VID-19 cases countywide topped 100 of local cases, the number of new hos-
for the third week in a row, with 114 pitalizations over the past week in-
new cases over the past seven days. creased by 16 as patients were admit-
The number of new county deaths, ted due to complications of COVID-19.
however, fell to two – an encouraging The number of people currently hospi-
trend from previous weeks. talized on Monday had also risen back
into the double digits with 12 people
The one sector of the community hospitalized due to the virus.
where new cases were down over the
past week was in county nursing homes Half of the 24 intensive-care beds
and assisted-living facilities. As of Sun- at Cleveland Clinic were available as
day evening, no facilities reported any of Monday afternoon, with 39 percent
residents in-house with COVID-19. All of the 33 ICU beds in the county un-
the infected had been transferred out. occupied, according to the real-time

state reporting tool online. 

Infant mortality lies with the extraordinarily difficult
question: Would they be willing to re-
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 visit the circumstances surrounding
their baby’s death?
ens to derail recent improvements
here, one health official said. That meant discussing in some cas-
es the family’s own actions, lifestyles
Last week, the leaders of 18 coun- and health history. While their stories
ty agencies looking closely at infant and data have been anonymized, the
deaths joined a Zoom call to discuss willingness of the mothers and fami-
ways to better serve the families suf- lies to participate was an act of great
fering those losses and proposing personal generosity, offered in the
ideas to prevent infant deaths in the hopes of sparing other families the
first place. anguish they suffered.

The Fetal and Infant Mortality Re- Their stories deeply moved the study
view, a public health strategy that organizers, including Berry, who called
dates to the 1980s and was last used the first phrase of the study “a heavy
in this county more than a decade lift.”
ago, is often taken as an indicator of
the health of the community at large. “I remember lying awake all night all
The FIMR, as the study is known, is weekend,” Berry said, after speaking
endorsed by the American College of with a family whose baby was smoth-
Obstetrics and Gynecology as well as ered by another child in the same bed.
the March of Dimes and Federal Ma-
ternal and Child Health Bureau. Despite the wrenching subject
matter, participation in the study by
“FIMRs aren’t usually done in such community health organizations was
a small community,” said Andrea Ber- unusually high. Berry said facilitators
ry, CEO of Indian River Healthy Start, who helped with a similar study in
the organization that coordinated Palm Beach County were impressed by
the study along with the Health De- the number of attendees here – school
partment. Berry believes that smaller leaders, law enforcement, hospital of-
population means greater awareness ficials and others – who gathered last
of individual tragedies and, as a result, summer for the case review phase of
a larger response to the call to improve the Indian River County study.
services.
“When they came in and saw 30
In all, from 2014 to 2018, 70 babies people sitting around the table, they
died before their first birthday in In- were flabbergasted,” said Berry. “They
dian River County. Frequent causes said it is not usual that this many peo-
were maternal complications of preg- ple care so much about the lives of in-
nancy; congenital or chromosomal ab- fants and families. Trust that this is a
normalities; unintentional injury; and great community.”
complications due to short gestation
or low birth weight. Three deaths were That group delved into each family’s
attributed to sudden infant death syn- medical reports and personal narra-
drome. In many cases, there were over- tive and came up with themes and rec-
lapping contributors to a single death. ommendations that the community
action committee took up last week.
Of those 70 deaths, the Health De- Their job is to propose measures to re-
partment and Healthy Start selected duce the number of infant deaths while
18 to study, searching for those with caring for and educating families.
the most complete medical records
and approaching the children’s fami- The committee will meet for a sec-
ond two-hour session next week to
consider how to implement their

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 7

NEWS

ideas and make their recommenda- studied in the FIMR were unintended, races; among Black infants only, the Berry would like to expand par-
tions sustainable. with two of those involving teenage rate was a startling 23.6 per thousand. ticipation in the study and wants the
mothers. Eight of the 18 women were That compared to a state rate among committee to reach more mothers in
Within a month, Berry said, the full not using birth control. Nationally, near- Black infants of 10.9 per thousand. Of- mourning.
FIMR report could be released. But the ly half of pregnancies are unintended. ficials often point out that because of
report won’t mark the end of the effort: the county’s small population, it can Along with recruiting more partici-
Funding has already been approved to Many of the so-called social determi- be difficult to track trends. pants, Berry hopes for more thorough
extend the study, adding new cases as nants of health – low income, crowded medical records to draw on. She wants
they arise. “This is an active process,” housing, or lack of education, for ex- One trend seems clear though: As far to work more closely with providers to
she said. ample – can affect the fetal and infant as prenatal care, the county has made develop consistency in local birth re-
mortality rate. Berry says in the years significant headway, thanks in part to cords.
The committee is addressing the following the 2008 recession, the infant efforts like Healthy Start as well as the
prevention of accidental deaths; gaps mortality rate shot up in the county, Partners in Women’s Health program While Indian River is undertaking
in services including for high-risk preg- reaching a peak in 2011 of 12.5 per funded by the Hospital District and a major renovation to its maternity
nancies; postpartum services to keep thousand, nearly twice the state aver- Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital. wing, plans still don’t include a neona-
mothers in the healthcare loop after age. Black women have suffered the loss tal intensive care unit, which cares for
their babies are born; and extending of an infant four times as often as white “Prenatal care is up 9 percent from critically ill newborns. Now, any such
the availability of bereavement sup- women in the county, state health sta- 2018 – that’s almost a double-digit in- infants delivered at the Vero hospital
port services, including two to three tistics show. crease, and that’s something we can must be transported to Tradition Hos-
years after the loss. all be proud of,” said Sharon Packard, pital in Port St. Lucie, which has a six-
Berry fears the current jobless rate Indian River Schools’ coordinator of bed Level II NICU; or Martin Health
As it stands, none of the 18 women and economic contraction due to CO- mental health services and a recent in Stuart, which has a five-bed NICU.
interviewed received true bereavement VID-19 could impact mothers and ba- addition to the board of Healthy Start. Both hospitals are part of the Cleve-
counseling. “That was something that bies for several years to come, a con- land Clinic system.
was very striking to us,” Berry said. cern that lends urgency to her efforts As for high-risk pregnancies, Cleve-
to put prevention programs in place. land Clinic Indian River now has a For Level III care, the most inten-
Another area of focus is preconcep- fetal and maternal health specialist, sive level of infant care in Florida, ba-
tion care, not only to help mothers Eleven of the 18 women in the study Berry said, but it does not have a neo- bies must be taken to Orlando, where
space out pregnancies with the use of were on Medicaid at the time of their natal intensive care unit, or NICU, and Nemours Children’s Hospital, which
effective contraception, but to make loss. babies born with problems often are has a relationship with Cleveland Clinic
women aware that even a pregnancy transferred to other hospitals. Indian River, maintains 18 NICU beds.
not yet detected can be affected by While 2018 had the lowest infant
things like poor nutrition, lack of exer- mortality rate in two decades in the The group urged that the county “be Two other Orlando hospitals also
cise, smoking and vaping, and drug or county – 1.5 per thousand births – that more aware of those high-risk pregnan- have NICU beds: Florida Hospital for
alcohol abuse. may have been an anomaly. The rate cies and monitoring those challenges Women, with 102 Level III NICU beds;
averaged 7.3 per thousand births over so we can be very strategic about how and Orlando Health’s Winnie Palmer
The importance of preconception the three prior years and stood at 5.6 we put interventions for those moms,” Children’s Hospital, with 142 NICU
care “can’t be overstated,” Packard told per thousand in 2019. That was for all Packard said.
the group. Six of the 18 pregnancies rooms. 

8 Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

COVID-19 CASES POP UP AT VERO BEACH
HIGH SCHOOL AND AT LIBERTY MAGNET

BY GEORGE ANDREASSI virus were directed to quarantine, but
Trefelner did not specify how many.
Staff Writer
The school also underwent deep
Two students at Vero Beach High cleaning at the time, Trefelner said.
School and a student at Liberty Mag- Among the safety measures in place
net School tested positive for COV- at St. Helen are mandatory facial cov-
ID-19 in the past week, resulting in the erings, daily temperature screenings,
quarantining of 29 students and four frequent hand washing, social dis-
staff members. tancing, enhanced cleaning protocols
and a ban on visitors.
A total of 20 students and four staff
members in 13 different public and Going into the first full week in Octo-
charter schools in Indian River Coun- ber, school district officials were ana-
ty have tested positive for COVID-19 lyzing the results of a “Campus Health
since the school year started on Aug. and Safety Measures Family Survey”
24, records show. that was due back from participants
on Sunday.
State health officials have directed
339 students and nine staff members The survey asked parents their
in the School District of Indian River thoughts about the in-person and vir-
County to quarantine since schools tual learning models and the health
reopened. and safety measures instituted on

Meanwhile, cases have cropped up school campuses. 
in private schools as well.
CORRECTION
Tabernacle Christian School in South
Vero Beach closed “due to a state man- In last week's issue, we re-
date,” a message on the school’s an- ported that the quarantining
swering machine said. of 24 St. Ed's students in Sep-
tember was in response to a
Two students and an unidentified student testing positive for CO-
person associated with the school test- VID-19. We were mistaken. The
ed positive for COVID-19 in late Sep- person with COVID-19 was not
tember, according to a state Health De- a student. The state has now
partment report. disclosed that the COVID-19
positive at St. Ed’s was a symp-
“The School Board has instructed tomatic teacher.
me to respond with a ‘no comment,’”
Susan Williams, an administrative as- This error resulted from St.
sistant at the school, said Monday. Ed’s – unlike our public schools
– declining to tell us whether
A teacher and an unidentified per- a student or a teacher tested
son at St. Helen Catholic School in Vero positive. We are all for patient
Beach tested positive for COVID-19 in privacy, but we believe parents
late September, the state report says. with children in a school are en-
titled to this information. The
Both people who tested positive at St. state now agrees. We regret
Helen Catholic School were staff mem- the error, and regret the cor-
bers, said Jennifer Trefelner, a spokes- rect information was not made
woman for the Diocese of Palm Beach. available to us in the first place.

“Those individuals did follow prop-
er protocol and they’re back in school
now,” Trefelner said.

Individuals who had come in close
contact with those diagnosed with the

Supervisor of Elections: ‘We’ve never had
this many mail-in ballots before, not ever’

BY RAY MCNULTY of those ballots needing to be “cured”
Staff Writer because of signature problems.

With the presidency to be decided Supervisor of Elections Leslie Swan
during the COVID-19 pandemic, a re- said last week nearly 48,000 of the
cord number of county residents are ex- county’s registered voters already had
pected to vote by mail in the November requested mail-in ballots. Accord-
election, which likely will result in more ing to her office’s website, more than

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 9

NEWS

Diverse group of city and county residents applied
for Vero’s Three Corners Steering Committee

BY LISA ZAHNER cate local economy,” she said.
Six-year Vero resident and market-
Staff Writer
ing manager Jason Ground applied for
Vero Beach City Council members the Three Corners Steering Commit-
removed themselves from the city’s tee, or for two other committees that
Three Corners Steering Committee last need volunteers.
month to clear a path for young people
and fresh ideas on the working group “I believe I am an ideal candidate
that will recommend the final plan for for the committee because I’m a radi-
redeveloping 37 acres of electric and cal pragmatist. I don’t have an agenda
sewer plant property on the riverfront. beyond my desire to see the area be-
come a hub for economic activity, lei-
But several of the 15 people who sure, culture and community.”
applied were hardly young or fresh.
Instead, the opening up of five seats Jeff Stassi, a 58-year-old retiree,
on this important committee provid- moved to Vero full-time in 2019 after
ed the opportunity for has-beens like three years as a snowbird. He would
former mayor Dick Winger and long- bring experience as a director of parks
time planning and zoning committee and recreation and a stint as an acting
member Mark Mucher to come in and city manager, along with project man-
try to take over a process that does not agement experience and a master’s of
need a major overhaul. public administration.

Hopefully, that did not happen when NEWS ANALYSIS
council members were to nominate
their picks this past Tuesday, because Retired pilot Skip Wood, a 14-year
the city actually did attract many of the Vero resident who served on the city’s
invested volunteers they were seeking Airport Commission for 10 years, also
– people who grew up in Vero, ventured applied for a seat on the steering com-
out to get an education and then re- mittee, as did Sheana Firth, a 1999
turned to build a future in their home- Vero Beach High School graduate who
town, or who chose to relocate in Vero is putting her psychology degree from
to ply their trade or profession. Florida State University to use work-
ing for the Mental Health Association.
One strong applicant was Sydney Firth said her skills related to “active
O’Haire, who regularly attends coun- listening, digesting and ideating so-
cil meetings and steering committee lutions to solve complex problems“
meetings and speaks up about the riv- would be of value to the committee.
erfront project. O’Haire, a client associ-
ate with O’Haire Wealth Management More than half of the people who ap-
Group at Merrill Lynch, is a 2010 St. Ed- plied for the committee positions do not
ward’s School graduate who earned her live in the city limits and, though most
bachelor’s degree from the University of of them are highly qualified, the council
Florida and a master’s degree from De- historically is pretty careful to make sure
Paul University, then returned to Vero that city residents make up the prepon-
ready to get involved in the community. derance of the committee members.

“After living in Chicago for the past If the council were to give a couple
four years, I can offer a unique per- of county residents a chance, they
spective as to what the younger gen- had several excellent candidates from
erations are gravitating towards in an which to choose.
effort to bring those that grew up here
back home,” O’Haire said. A promising choice, to bring in the
perspective of a long-time county resi-
O’Haire pointed to her studies of fine dent who works in the city limits, was
arts and sustainability, as well as her Ben Earman. Theater patrons may find
life-long love of boating on the lagoon Earman’s name familiar, not because his
as things that set her up to contribute father Joe was just elected to the Board
to the decision-making process. of County Commissioners, but because
he is an accomplished actor and a past
Brooke Steinkamp, a mother of five “Dancing with Vero’s Stars” contestant.
and a relative newcomer to Vero who
moved to the city two years ago, repre- A graduate of the Indian River Charter
sents a different demographic – Vero’s High School, Indian River State College
children. and the University of Tampa, Earman
now works as Gift Services Administrator
“Specifically, I feel my experience as with Riverside Theatre and serves on the
a mother to both adult and minor chil- boards of several cultural and charitable
dren makes me uniquely qualified to organizations, so he could represent the
represent the families of Vero beach,
and as a former local business owner CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
I am also acquainted with Vero’s deli-

10 Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Three Corners committee her entrepreneurial spirit to found her ity projects throughout the city and the “With the exception of college and
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 own marketing, branding and special county for more than five years. law school, I am a lifelong resident of
events firm. She has been attending Indian River County. My young age of
arts community on the committee, as meetings and a design charrette on the Also in the mix of county residents 31 combined with my experience with
well as his generation’s perspective. riverfront project. were three professionals with expertise commercial real estate in Indian river
in design – Georgia Tech-trained civil County and across the state of Florida
“I am very active and knowledge- “I believe in the unique beauty of engineer Blaine Bergstresser, who works makes me uniquely qualified to advise
able about our community, where it’s our amazing community and see the on commercial land development for the City Council,” Puttick said.
been and where the people would like endless potential for it to thrive. From Kimley-Horn; civil engineer and build-
to see it go,” Earman said. “As a young- the moment I stepped into the power ing contractor Joseph Schulke of Schul- “I have represented developers buy-
er, very active member of our commu- plant during the tours, I felt that the ke Bittle & Stoddard firm; and Christine ing selling and developing commercial
nity, I would be an excellent addition possibilities to make this happen were Pokorney-Sickterman, a University of real estate as well as representing fam-
to this committee.” endless,” she said. Florida design school graduate who ily interest in doing the same.”
says “having design professionals who
Vero native, St. Ed’s graduate and Keep Indian River Beautiful Execu- are familiar with the community and its The committee is tasked with taking
Florida State University alum Chloe tive Director Daisy Packer was a famil- needs is of upmost importance.“ the best elements of the dozen differ-
Rose Schwartz returned home to use iar face to the council, as she’s managed ent plans set forth by architect Andreas
cleanup, beautification and sustainabil- Thirty-one-year-old attorney Tyler Duany of the DPZ firm and settling on
Puttick of the Rossway Swan firm of- a design for the riverfront that the city
fered up his local knowledge and legal council can support and present to vot-
expertise to the steering committee.
ers in a referendum in 2021. 

Mail-in ballots may result in the ballot being rejected
and not counted.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8
All mail-in ballots must be submit-
11,000 of them had been filled out and ted by 7 p.m. Election Day.
returned to her office, as of Sunday.
“As long as we have a way to contact
“We’ve never had this many mail-in the voter – by phone or email – we’ll do
ballots before – not ever, ever, ever,” it, and we’ll do it as quickly as we can,”
Swan said. “A lot of people have been Swan said.
using the drop box at our office. We’re
emptying it three to four times a day. Voters who requested mail-in bal-
We’ve never had to do that.” lots can track online the status of their
ballots through the supervisor’s office
As a result, Swan said her staff is pre- or a link on the Florida Division of
pared to respond to a larger number of Elections’ website.
mail-in ballots that arrive with voters’
signatures missing or not matching Citing recent history, Swan said she
the signatures on file with her office. doesn’t expect many mail-in ballots to
be rejected, especially now that state
A state law enacted after the 2016 law provides a cure for those that con-
election requires the supervisor’s of- tain signature problems.
fice to notify voters as soon as is prac-
tical if there are signature issues. Once In the Aug. 18 primary, 24,660 of the
voters learn of missing or mismatched 40,452 votes recorded were mail-in bal-
signatures, they may complete and lots, of which only 30 arrived with no
return a “Vote-by-Mail Ballot Cure Af- signatures and 26 with mismatched sig-
fidavit” with a copy of their identifica- natures.
tions, usually a driver’s license.
Swam urged everyone who votes by
The documents may be returned by mail to include their phone number and
mail, email, fax or in person. However, email on the back of their ballots, which
the deadline to submit the affidavit will be counted even if they’re sent with-
and ID is no later than 5 p.m. on the out the enclosed security sleeve.
second day after an election – by Nov.
5, this year. Failure to submit a cure “There seems to be a lot of interest
in this one,” Swan said. “We also have
different groups flooding people with

CONTINUED ON PAGE 12



12 Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Mail-in ballots a great way to get people to turn out.” of voters turn out in person,” she said. the ballot and just insert it into the ma-
But not necessarily at the polls. “These are very strange times.” chine,” Swan said.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 With so many residents choosing to
The surge in mail-in ballots will create “But with the mail-in ballots, we’ve
vote-by-mail requests, where all they vote by mail, Swan said she’s curious to extra work for her staff, so Swan encour- got to take them out of the envelopes,
have to do is sign it, date it and send it see how many people opt to go to the aged those residents who choose to vote check signatures and record them.
in. It doesn’t take a lot of effort, so it’s polls to vote, especially on Election Day. by mail to do so as early as possible. When you consider the turnout we’re

“It could be that we don’t see a lot “When you go to the polls, you fill out expecting, that’s a lot of work.” 

Bryan Corrigan with Baxter
and Charlie Corrigan.

‘LINES IN THE LAGOON’ LURES
RECORD NUMBER OF
EAGER ANGLERS

14 Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

‘Lines in Lagoon’ lures record number of eager anglers

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF
Staff Writer

Young anglers clearly made good use Reef Blackman, Sebastian Blackman, Sky Amos and Mac Amos. PHOTOS: KAILA JONES
of their downtime over the summer,
honing their fishing skills in advance of Back: Allie Schlitt with Jim Roth and Caroline Roth. the program in the 2021 tournament.
the recent seventh annual Lines in the Front: Katie and Annabelle Schlitt with Jack Roth and Charlie Schlitt “We do this because it helps spread
Lagoon Tri-County Junior Fishing Tour-
nament. awareness that we need to do more re-
search about the Indian River Lagoon,”
The mission of the nonprofit Lines said Owen Collins, youth board mem-
in the Lagoon is to educate and inspire ber. “So that we can keep it safe and
youth to become passionate about clean and have many generations able
keeping the Indian River Lagoon clean to continue fishing like I have been able
and safe and to engage them in envi- too. It’s a way that they can get out with
ronmental solutions. their parents or friends to do something
that is fun in the outdoors, and raises
There were a record-breaking 146 money to be able to study different as-
participants this year, with the anglers pects of the river, so we can figure out if
catching more than 500 fish, each fish there are any problems that need to be
digitally photographed and released addressed.”
back into the lagoon to swim another
day. After a day of fishing the lagoon at For information, visit linesinthela-
locations of their choice on land and by goon.com. 
boat, families gathered at Walking Tree
Brewery for an awards ceremony and Grand Champion:
celebration. Andrew Higgins, 19 snook and one

Youngsters enjoyed dinner from the redfish, 350 inches total
Good Karma Co. food truck, and sweet
treats from Tristan’s Kool Dreemz ice First Place Snook:
cream truck, while adults partook of Matthew Vatland, 41 inches
the craft brews on tap as they perused a
variety of auction items and purchased First Place Redfish:
raffle tickets in hopes of winning a August Webster, 28 inches
Dragonfly paddle board.
First Place Sea Trout:
This year’s tournament raised rough- Trey Brady, 23 inches
ly $20,000, bringing total funds raised
over the past seven years to $130,000. First Place Mystery Fish:
Proceeds from the events support pro- Piper Haagenson, 19-inch stingray
grams at the Ocean Research & Con-
servation Association and Coastal Con- Ugliest Fish:
servation Association to help with their Rebecca Brandt, 6.6-inch pufferfish
efforts to improve the health of the la-
goon. Largest Non-Premium Fish:
Nicholas Rosario, 40-inch
Lines in the Lagoon directly supports crevalle jack
CCA’s Florida Star youth fishing pro-
grams and ORCA’s Citizen Scientist Fish Youngest Angler:
Monitoring program. Additionally, they Jacques Cherubin, age 4
helped to catch fish for testing through

Irina Fernandez, Danielle Konary, Kristin Hazelton and Chrissa Hoffmann. ORCA’s Citizen Scientist Fish Monitor-
ing program. Furthering their impact
on the health of the lagoon, LIL mem-
bers will participate in the Internation-
al Coastal Cleanup.

The group had planned to expand
the fishing tournament to include
disadvantaged youth this year, using
funds donated by Wheels and Keels
to cover the entry fees and fishing
gear for Boys & Girls Clubs members.
Additionally, the Indian River Power
Squadron had been scheduled to take
those children out on boats to experi-
ence fishing. Although the pandemic
prevented this new initiative from
taking place, Edie Collins, LIL board
president, said they plan to implement

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 15

PEOPLE

Carrie Sullivan and Mason Sullivan. Ashley Simmens and Carrie Franco. Abby Lenhardt, Owen Collins and Edie Collins.

Sarah Drake with Liam and Isabella Drake.

Billy Simpson with Carter Simpson.

Jennifer and Patrick Norris with
children Gavin and Grade Norris.

16 Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Heritage Center, citrus museum weather pandemic

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF performances, and during World War rentals. For the next five months, it op- because we weren’t considered an es-
Staff Writer II served as a club for servicemen and erated at 50 percent capacity; a ruling sential business.”
women. only recently lifted.
For the past 85 years, the Heritage All told, she said the nonprofit has
Center has been filled with music and Vero Heritage Inc. is the nonprofit According to Heather Stapleton, ex- lost $53,000 in potential income this
laughter, continually serving as a so- that operates and maintains the Vero ecutive director, their first cancellation year, slightly more than 25 percent of
cial gathering place for everything Heritage Center and its adjacent Indi- came even before Gov. Ron DeSantis their annual budget.
from weddings and beauty pageants an River Citrus Museum. signed his mid-March executive order.
to political debates and concerts. The “This calendar year, we have only
registered national landmark facil- Recently, it was graced with only “Then, the cancellations started had 1,319 guests. Last year at the same
ity has hosted meetings and theatrical echoes of bygone days. The facility sat pouring in. Every single event was time, we had 5,382 guests,” said Staple-
empty for nearly two months due to canceled for us in April and May,” said ton.
coronavirus mandates that halted all Stapleton. “We had to close our doors
Closures included their three most
significant annual events: the Hibis-
cus Pageant and Hibiscus Festival; the
Pioneer dinner – this year to honor the
Young family; and the Bridal Show.

To keep the doors open and the
lights on, Stapleton requested a PPP
loan, funding from the Lillian Becker
Family Foundation, an Economic Inju-
ry Disaster Loan and a grant from the
Florida Humanities.

Continuing with their mission to
preserve, educate and celebrate Vero
heritage, Stapleton said they have
branched out to a wider audience –
most recently accommodating a rap
concert, a nonprofit’s baby shower and
a dance studio recital.

“While we are not as busy with pri-
vate events that book nine months to a
year in advance, we have had the flex-
ibility to work with more diverse au-
diences,” said Stapleton. “I think this
building and our organization have
been given an opportunity to work
on becoming an even stronger part of
our community. After all, we are Vero’s
original community building.”

Through a grant from the Indian Riv-
er Community Foundation, the Heri-
tage Center participated in a Jumpstart
through Network for Good fundrais-
ing mentorship program, which has
provided the tools and techniques to
increase the number of individual do-
nors and total donations during the
pandemic.

Surprisingly, the Citrus Museum’s
gift shop is doing just as well, if not
better than pre-pandemic, said Staple-
ton. A Heritage Center Jigsaw Puzzle
has been a big hit during COVID con-
finements, and nearly 100 of their ap-
propriately themed citrus print masks
have already been sold. One individual
has placed an order for 100 more. The
gift shop also carries a host of citrus-
themed souvenirs and products.

The museum offers a step back into
the history of citrus, with photographs
of early citrus workers, artifacts, citrus
labels and a chronological timeline
from Ponce de León’s expedition to
Florida in 1513 through the citrus hey-
day and up to greening disease issues.

Admission to the museum is still

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 17

PEOPLE

Jim Brann and Jessica Schmitt. Heather Stapleton, executive director; Robyn Berry, special events coordinator. Sydney Mihailoff.

Natalie Kornicks. Emily Wilcox. PHOTOS: KAILA JONES

free, said Stapleton, and they have Because the labels are no longer
begun offering private tours for any- produced, the vintage citrus labels
one concerned about coming into have become collectors’ items.
close contact with others.
“It really stirs a sense of nostalgia
Stapleton happily announced that for a lot of people. The packing labels
they are moving forward with plans themselves were used until about the
for the Vero Heritage Citrus Label early ’50s,” she explained.
Tour, an outdoor Art in Public Places
project to “expand our educational The project, which has been under-
reach.” way for more than a year, calls for 15
4-foot-square signs, each featuring
In decades past, citrus labels were a reproduction of a local citrus label
glued to the side of wooden crates and its brief history. On the opposite
to advertise the citrus and the area side, a QR code (quick response) can
where it was grown. Depictions of be scanned using a smartphone, tak-
Florida flora and fauna, along with ing the user to the museum’s website
beautiful women basking in the for additional historical information.
sunshine, were impactful, especially
to citrus buyers in the frigid north. They recently received approval
from the Vero Beach City Council to
proceed with the placement of the
first three signs, with funding for
the design and construction of the
first three made possible through a
grant from the Tourism Development
Council. Stapleton hopes additional
funding and sponsors will follow, so
they may complete the remaining 12
signs.

The first three signs will be placed
outside the Indian River Citrus Muse-
um, the Indian River Chamber of Com-
merce and the Old Vero Beach Train
Station and Museum, said Stapleton,
noting the significance of tourism and
trains as related to the growth and suc-
cess of Indian River Citrus.

For information, visit veroheritage.
org. 

18 Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

‘Egan Golf Classic’ chips in
big-time for Samaritan Center

Francisco Chevere and Renee Bireley. Michael Lynn and Ben Williams. PHOTOS: KAILA JONES

Diane Parentela, Claudia McNulty, Dora Churchill and Karen Egan.

One hundred duffers teed up re- added that 75 percent of their total
cently at the 14th annual Bernard operating budget is derived from
and Betty Egan Memorial Golf Clas- special-event fundraisers, founda-
sic at the Vero Beach Country Club tions, private donations and grants.
to benefit the Samaritan Center for
Homeless Families. The tourna- The Samaritan Center, which
ment honors Bernard and Betty provides transitional housing and
Egan, founding members of the self-reliance guidance, housed cli-
Samaritan Center, who saw a need ent families off-campus in a lo-
to provide a helping hand to local cal motel and counseled them via
homeless families. Zoom during the early days of the
pandemic. Expenses were offset by
“The Samaritan Center is all funding and support from the Unit-
about providing hope to our fami- ed Way COVID-19 Community Re-
lies. Having a live event provided sponse and Recovery Fund, and the
so much hope and normalcy to the Treasure Coast Homeless Services
community,” said Renee Bireley, Council.
program development and relation-
ship manager. She expected the The Samaritan Center Soup Bowl
event would net more than $100,000, fundraiser (sans soup) takes place
in large part due to the Bernard from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov.
Egan Foundation, which matches 5 at the Heritage Center.
each sponsorship dollar. Bireley
For more information, call 772-
770-3039. 



20 Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT COVER STORY

For years, the offices and headquar- mations like dancing silhouettes and ployees they can continue to work re- CEO Tim Cook said that 10 to 15 per-
ters of tech companies weren’t much the Eye of Sauron. motely until at least summer 2021. cent of employees have come back to
to look at. But over the past decade, the office but that things won’t entirely
tech giants have invested in the kind Google is building the circus-tentlike A handful, including Twitter and return to the way they were. A recent
of buildings and campuses that draw 595,000-square-foot Charleston East Slack, have gone so far as to say work- video presentation of its latest gadgets
attention and lure thousands of em- building in Mountain View, which is ing from home, even in another part of showed a largely empty campus.
ployees to commute five days a week expected to be completed next year. the country, will be an option for some
to work inside their open floor plans. And by a marsh on the bay in Menlo or all employees indefinitely. When the pandemic winds down and
Park, Facebook erected boxy Frank offices are a safe option again, white-
Apple has its still-new $5 billion, 175- Gehry buildings topped with trees at Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the collar workplaces could be changed for-
acre, circular “spaceship” campus in around $300 million each, according to company was looking at more flexible ever. The corporate headquarters that
Cupertino, California. Amazon placed Build Zoom. hybrid models of in-person and re- serve as both branding and workspace
giant, glass-dome greenhouses at the mote work in a recent interview with could change too, with ripple effects
base of its main tower in downtown In March, the commutes stopped. Time magazine, after an internal sur- on their surrounding communities.
Seattle, part of a $4 billion city campus. Many tech company offices in the Unit- vey found that 62 percent of employees
Salesforce changed the San Francisco ed States have been fully or partially wanted to come back to work in the of- It is too early to know what trends
skyline with its massive billion-dollar closed since the coronavirus pandemic fice just “some days.” will stick. It could all depend on what
skyscraper, topped with moving ani- took hold here, and some of the largest makes the next generation of employ-
like Google and Facebook have told em- Even Apple seems to be embracing ees happy.
the shift, although still unofficially.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 21

INSIGHT COVER STORY

“Amazon and other tech companies in the country, and strict zoning laws closer to family. Once people get used to fice space after the company announced
are competing for, not average talent, – plus surrounding bodies of water – having more flexibility with where they employees could choose to work from
but the best of the best talent. The tal- have made it nearly impossible to build live, it could be hard for tech compa- home permanently.
ent that is going to be producing pat- enough new homes to keep up with the nies to enforce old norms like coming
ents or intellectual property that is go- demand exhausted by tech companies. in and meeting in conference rooms or Many of the tech giants are still
ing to be the next iPhone or next Alexa To compensate, tech employees receive chatting over low cubicle walls. pushing forward with existing real es-
or next Netflix,” said Mike Grella, a for- high salaries on top of the generous tate expansions, including a new gen-
mer Amazon executive who works in perks, and sometimes even get help Some tech companies have changed eration of campuses that goes in the
economic development. from the companies finding housing. their real estate plans. Pinterest paid opposite direction. They’re the mod-
an $89.5 million termination fee for ern version of company towns, mixing
While perks like YouTube’s giant in- During the pandemic, some tech the 490,000-square-foot office space public spaces, stores and housing with
door slide, Google’s college-like cam- workers found a way to pay less. They it was planning on moving into in traditional offices. If you live next door
pus complete with bikes and Face- have moved from major cities to sub- San Francisco. The company, which is to the company where you work, the
book’s free food were appealing in the urbs, or even away from the states keeping its current offices in the city, remote work decisions are suddenly
past, covid-19 has changed what may where their companies are based. said covid-19 was making it possible less complicated.
employees expect. to have a more distributed workforce.
Their decisions are often driven by Willow Village is the quaint-sound-
Housing costs in Silicon Valley and the desire for more space and a lower Twitter is subleasing 100,000 square ing name of Facebook’s planned 59-
Seattle are still some of the highest cost of living, but also wanting to be feet of its downtown San Francisco of-
CONTINUED ON PAGE 22

22 Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21 INSIGHT COVER STORY

acre campus in Menlo Park that has acre Downtown West mega campus, benefits for non-employee residents. community groups and lawmakers
been at least three years in the mak- which would include up to 7.3 million With claims of community connec- over nearly $3 billion in planned tax
ing. What’s notable about the plan, square feet of office space and around tions and environmentally friendly de- breaks for the company.
which is still in the review phase, isn’t 4,000 housing units, along with the sign, they’re also an attempt to appeal
how much is dedicated office space – The idea of diversifying office loca-
currently 1.25 million square feet – but mix of public spaces and parks that go tions stuck for the company, which has
how much is for other uses. hand-in-hand with these proposals. gone ahead with plans for a base in the
Construction could start in the next Crystal City area of Virginia. And di-
There’s a grocery store and pharma- few years, pending city approval. versifying locations is becoming more
cy, a hotel, an elevated park, a “town appealing for other tech companies, as
square,” bike paths, stores, a visitors These kinds of campuses could help talent scatters during the pandemic.
center and a dog park. There are also the companies get more control in
plans for up to 1,735 units of housing, their communities, while also offering Many of the major tech players are in-
about 20 percent of which would be vesting in smaller “hubs,” or big offices
made available at “below market rates.” outside their base locations. Facebook
just purchased outdoor company REI’s
“Half our employees could be re- 400,000-square-foot Bellevue, Wash.,
mote within the decade. We’re also campus for $367.6 million. Amazon in
growing fast. We continue to invest August announced plans to hire more
in additional office space around the people at offices in Dallas, Detroit, Den-
world and remain committed to our ver, New York, Phoenix and San Diego.
Bay Area offices,” said Chloe Meyere, a
Facebook company spokesperson.

Google is attempting something simi-
lar in Mountain View, with a new pro-
posal for a 40-acre “live-work” neigh-
borhood called Middlefield Park. It
envisions a mix of office space, stores
and up to 1,850 units of housing with
ample green areas where non-Googlers
would be allowed, as well. Construction
is expected to begin with the housing in
2022, and the first phase could be com-
pleted between 2025 and 2026.

Farther south in San Jose, the com-
pany is working on plans for its 80-

to the values of potential employees, Google is opening new offices in Hous-
Grella said. ton and recently expanded in Atlanta,
Chicago and Madison, Wis.
“Part of it is that appeal to a millen-
nial sense of wanting open space,” Grella Will Hunsinger, CEO of Silicon Val-
said. “There’s a strong bend among mil- ley executive-recruiting company Riv-
lennials in caring about sustainable de- iera Partners, says he has clients trying
velopment and sustainable place-mak- to recruit talent from the Bay Area by
ing and open spaces. I think that is a very selling the benefits of their less-ob-
intentional appeal to those employees.” vious locations, like Austin; Boulder,
Colo.; and even Bozeman, Mont.
Giving employees a reason to stay
local is one strategy for tech compa- In general, the tech companies he
nies. Another is meeting potential tal- works with are on the fence about go-
ent where they want to live. ing all-in on remote work. It could be a
tempting perk to lure talented employ-
Amazon changed how people think ees, but most companies still prefer
about headquarters by forcing them to to have people in the offices, he said.
think about headquarters nonstop for Smaller organizations might try it first,
much of 2018. The company launched because it could save them money on
a nationwide search to find a location real estate while being perceived as a
for a second corporate base, which perk. Companies can also offer lower
would cost $5 billion and employ up salaries to employees living outside of
to 50,000 people. costly cities.

Dubbed HQ2, the search quickly “For the senior executives, proxim-
became a media-ready contest among ity is more important. For the indi-
cities trying to woo the company and vidual or more junior folks, they’re the
its promise of economic revitalization ones who probably are going to gain
with tax breaks and other incentives. ground at the end of the day,” Hun-
singer said.
The dramatic buildup ended with a
fizzle after Amazon chose Long Island In the communities already forever
City for half of the promised campus, altered by their presence, by soaring
then pulled out after objections from

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 23

INSIGHT COVER STORY

housing prices, gentrification and in- piece of the local economy with them. The companies and their employees SPUR, an urban-planning think tank
vestments in infrastructure, the future “Who’s impacted the most, oddly it’s are also an important tax base for the in the Bay Area.
of these headquarters is complicated. cities where they are located. While the
If they stay and grow, problems of in- not the high-skilled service worker, it’s cost of some housing would go down, “What you’re going to see is there’s
equality, housing shortages and gen- the property owners, the small busi- the cost of delivering the social servic- just generally less tax revenue to in-
trification could be exacerbated. If the ness,” said Adie Tomer, a fellow at the es the communities rely on would not, vest in essential social services that
companies pull out, they could take a Brookings Institution. “They can take a said Nick Josefowitz, chief of policy at our communities rely on,” Josefowitz
real hit, that can create a negative cycle.” said. 

24 Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT OPINION

For New Yorkers, the prospect of seeing the nor- means the federal government, because state and 2015 federal, state and local governments generated
mally brilliant west side of Lincoln Center dark- local governments upended by the pandemic are in more than $27 billion in revenue from arts alloca-
ened for another year – as the Metropolitan Opera no position to offer much aid. tions of roughly $5 billion.
announced last week that it has canceled its entire
2020-21 season – is heartbreaking. Enter the Save Our Stages Act, a bipartisan bill in- While it will take time for these numbers to return
troduced in the Senate in July, which would provide to pre-covid norms, the underlying economic dy-
For the rest of the country, and Vero Beach, it $10 billion in aid over six months for live performance namic should entice all.
should be equally alarming. If even the Met, one of venues devastated by covid-19.
the nation’s premier cultural institutions, can’t come One way to assuage those with fiscal concerns
back, is COVID-19 now pushing America’s perform- Unfortunately, this legislation has gone nowhere. might be to structure federal funding as a match for
ing arts past the point of no return? The gridlock in Congress is not surprising. But there ticket sales at qualifying venues. The amount could
is plenty in the Save Our Stages Act for all to like. be set to cover the empty seats for each performance
Absent intervention from Congress, the answer First, it’s highly targeted. Grants would be adminis- mandated by safety regulations.
may well be yes. But the gravity of the situation should tered through the Small Business Administration to
give those who usually resist government support for qualifying organizations with up to 500 employees. Matching is a time-honored tool of philanthropy,
arts organizations good reason to help revive them. The largest organizations with the greatest fundrais- and it encourages venues to fill as many seats as pos-
ing prowess – such as the Met – wouldn’t get taxpay- sible on their own before government aid kicks in. It
First, it is important to understand why government er subsidies. also minimizes risk: If arts patrons don’t step up and
aid is necessary. Even as vaccines and treatments for buy tickets, then there’s no match, and the govern-
COVID-19 emerge, indoor performing venues may Second, government investment in the arts has ment spends nothing.
have to keep taking expensive safety measures against positive downstream economic effects. A study by
the coronavirus for months, even years. Of these, the the Chicago Loop Alliance concluded that every $1 To be sure, the Save Our Stages Act is no panacea
most challenging is social distancing. spent on arts tickets generated $12 in area economic – $10 billion won’t be enough to carry all eligible per-
activity, including spending at restaurants, hotels forming arts institutions until fully attended indoor
Unlike movie theaters, which have low fixed costs, and retailers. performances are safe again. Sadly, some organiza-
live venues bear large upfront expenses, including tions will fold.
performers, production crews and ushers. If these Similarly, Americans for the Arts found that in
venues – from small clubs and theaters to huge con- But this legislation could rescue many from per-
cert halls – are forced to hold seating way below ca- manent closure and inspire additional commitments
pacity, they simply will not be able to charge enough – maybe even for larger venues – from the private
for tickets to be able to continue to operate. sector. Plus, Washington would be paying for people
to work instead of paying them not to work – some-
Ninety percent of the member organizations of thing all should applaud.
the National Independent Venue Association polled
in a recent survey warned that, without government Arts audiences are passionate and, especially in
aid, they will close permanently in a few months. turbulent times, hunger for the fulfillment that a
transcendent performance can bring. Even skeptics
The disastrous impact would ripple across the of government funding for the arts should support
economy: Before the coronavirus struck, the per- making those experiences possible again.
forming arts and their associated industries collec-
tively employed some 5 million Americans and ac- As Winston Churchill once said, “The arts are es-
counted for $900 billion in economic activity – 4.5 sential to any complete national life. The State owes
percent of the gross domestic product. it to itself to sustain and encourage them.” 

Private-sector advocates have mobilized to help A version of this column by Ali Wambold and
performing artists. But our efforts will fall short Charles Segars first appeared in The Washington
without government support – which necessarily Post. It does not necessarily reflect the views of Vero
Beach 32963.

During the coronavirus crisis, our Pelican Plaza off ice is closed to visitors. We appreciate your understanding.

TOTAL FACET JOINT REPLACEMENT SURGERY In addition to helping the spine bend, twist and extend, facets also
restrict excessive movement such as hyperextension and hyperflexion
If your spine is unstable due to a degenerative condition, disease or (whiplash, for example). Nerve roots pass in between facet joints to
injury, even the simplest movement can sometimes pinch a nerve go from the spinal cord to the arms, legs and other parts of the body.
or nerves that trigger back, leg and/or neck pain, numbness and/or
weakness. After trying all appropriate conservative and nonsurgical FACET JOINT SYNDROME
options, your last resort for relief may be stabilization surgery. In
addition to spinal fusion surgery (covered last time), other types About 15% of low back pain complaints are due to facet joint syn-
of back stabilization surgeries include total facet joint replacement, drome (also known as facet arthropathy), an arthritis-like condi-
vertebroplasty/kyphoplasty and, in rare cases, disc replacement. tion of the spine. Over time, degenerative changes to facets and/
Today we’ll focus on total facet joint replacement surgery. or the cartilage inside wear the joints down, causing inflammation
and pain in nearby nerve endings.
SPINE ANATOMY 101 Facet joint syndrome often coexists with other spinal degenerative
disorders, including degenerative disc disease, spondylolisthesis
Prior to adolescence, the human spinal column is made up of 33 bones: (slipping vertebrae) and spondylosis (osteoarthritis of the spine).
 7 cervical (neck) vertebrae (referred to as C1-C7) Facets in the lumbar spine are most susceptible since the low back
 12 thoracic (midback) vertebrae (T1-T12) endures the greatest strain and bears the most weight.
 5 lumbar (lower back) vertebrae (L1-L5)
 5 sacrum vertebrae (which later naturally fuse together at TOTAL FACET JOINT REPLACEMENT SURGERY
the base of the spine to join the pelvic bones)
 4 coccyx vertebrae (later fuse to become the last bone that An alternative to spinal fusion surgery, total facet joint replace-
hangs down in a point like a small tail) ment surgery – =similar to total hip or total knee replacement
Around puberty, the sacrum’s five bones and coccyx’s four bones surgery – involves removing the damaged joint and replacing it.
fuse together, after which the number of spinal column bones Designed to relieve pain and nerve decompression, improve spine
becomes 26: 24 separate vertebra plus the sacrum and coccyx stability and regain normal spine structure, the surgery enables
bones. Cervical, thoracic and lumbar vertebrae regions are sepa- many patients to reclaim full (or almost full) movement and mo-
rated by intervertebral discs (“shock absorbers”); the sacrum and bility. This is ideal for patients in their 20s to 40s, and people who
coccyx don’t have discs between them. want to actively participate in sports and outdoor activities.
A joint is where two bones contact each other. In the spine, we As refinements in facet joint replacement technology and devices
have pairs of facet joints (“facets”) that run the length of the spine advance, clinical trials continue to study its promising outcomes and
on each side of every vertebra. If you’ve ever “popped” your neck long-term effectiveness. 
or back, that cracking sound is coming from a facet joint. Your comments and suggestions for future topics are always wel-
come. Email us at [email protected].

© 2020 Vero Beach 32963 Media, all rights reserved

26 Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT BOOKS

“There’s an old saying that great Steinbeck eventually came
writing is simple but not easy, and so to believe that you could not
it is. The search for that one plain but understand humankind by
inobvious word that will do the work looking at individuals – any
of five, the agony of untangling a more than you could interpret
complex idea that has become a mass a human being’s behavior by
of phrases in the writer’s mind, the looking at one of their cells
willingness to keep doing it over and
over and over again until it is right – all any more than decades later, in a hawkish vein, in Vietnam. In the pub-
of that plus some luck yields prose so you could interpret a human be- lic’s mind, and even more so in Steinbeck’s own, Ernest
clear that it seems a child could have ing’s behavior by looking at one of their cells,” Souder Hemingway loomed large as a figure of comparison.
written it.” explains. “The answers were all in the phalanx, the su- Steinbeck might be considered a more American-cen-
perorganism, the group unit.” The phalanx, Steinbeck tered version of Hemingway as Papa elbowed his way
That’s William Souder writing about believed, is a repository of knowledge about all that hu- around the world.
the author and conservationist Rachel manity has endured, including, in his words, “destruc-
Carson in his 2012 biography “On a tion, war, migration, hatred, and fear.” Souder explores the very real possibility that their be-
Farther Shore.” It also nicely describes Souder delineates the centrality of that notion to haviors and depression as men in their 60s might have
the work of biographer Souder himself: Steinbeck’s storytelling. It is the magical ingredient that parallels as well – both likely from head trauma in their
painstakingly researched, psychologi- makes his characters gritty but also larger than life. In war reporting and other endeavors. “Ironically,” Souder
cally nuanced, unshowy, lucid. “The Grapes of Wrath,” after all, what are the Joad fam- writes, “the only time he and Steinbeck met – at a bar in
ily and the greater migrant surge of Dust Bowl “Okies”? New York in the spring of 1944 – Hemingway had inter-
He is drawn in subject to American Phalanxes. rupted the otherwise dull evening by breaking a walking
originals whose lives are marked by great So, in a lighter vein, are the paisanos of “Tortilla Flat” stick over his own head to prove he could.”
success, self-doubt, and an eerie capacity (1935) and the bittersweet ragtag assortment of intel-
and need for solitude. A fascination with lectuals, tradesmen, prostitutes and derelicts in “Can- Out of touch, Steinbeck endeavored to reacquaint
and absorption in nature characterize nery Row.” Steinbeck also describes what happens to himself with America in the charming and bogus “Trav-
Carson and the ornithologist and painter those whom the societal phalanx rolls over, like the els With Charley,” an early-1960s quest, with his wife
John James Audubon, the focus of Souder’s 2005 Pulitzer two hapless wanderers Lennie and George in the 1937 Elaine’s standard poodle, into the heartland. Published
Prize finalist “Under a Wild Sky.” novella “Of Mice and Men.” Once Souder highlights just six years before his death at age 66, the book mas-
the phalanx theme, in fact, a reader could become ob- queraded as reporting but was mostly another reach of
In his newest biography, the smart, soulful and pan- sessed with it, charting it all the way to the corrupt Long the imagination. Steinbeck made the trek in defiance
oramic “Mad at the World,” Souder has chosen a subject Island suburbs of Steinbeck’s last novel, “The Winter of of doctors’ orders after recovering from what was prob-
on the same continuum: John Steinbeck, another loner Our Discontent” (1961). ably a stroke. His explanation drips with droll, self-sab-
who, like Audubon and Carson, refined his craft through Despite fame, the glamour of movie and stage adap- otaging stubbornness:
mature, dogged, self-punishing industry. tations, and a fortune that somehow still always left him
scrambling at tax time, Steinbeck – tall, rugged, charis- “I have always lived violently, drunk hugely, eaten
A key connecting thread between Souder’s last book matic – had trouble finding phalanxes of his own. Rick- too much or not at all, slept around the clock or missed
and the current one is the marine biologist Ed Ricketts, etts and the colorful crew around his Monterey, Calif., two nights of sleeping, worked too hard and too long in
who was a literary model for Carson, a best friend and glory, or slobbed for a time in utter laziness. I’ve lifted,
onetime co-author with Steinbeck, and the inspiration specimen lab may have pulled, chopped, climbed, made love with joy and taken
for the character Doc in Steinbeck’s 1945 novel “Cannery been the most satisfying my hangovers as a consequence, not as a punishment. I
Row.” Steinbeck and Ricketts collaborated on“Sea of Cor- before Ricketts’ 1948 death did not want to surrender fierceness for a small gain in
tez,” a 1941 chronicle – as hedonistic as scientific – of a in a car accident, a loss that yardage. My wife married a man; I saw no reason why she
voyage in the Gulf of California to collect marine speci- Steinbeck took hard. should inherit a baby.”
mens. One can easily imagine Souder deep into his re-
search on Carson, becoming smitten with the Monterey His third marriage was The author remained humble before the phalanx of lit-
mystique around Steinbeck and Ricketts, and happily the charm, yet as a father erature, as his characters are humbled by the phalanxes
awakening to his next subject. he demonstrated a neglect of life. Asked if he deserved the 1962 Nobel Prize for litera-
bordering on abuse that ture, he responded, “Frankly, no.”
Audubon struggled to capture some of the vast varia- echoed his distance from
tion and abundance of American bird life. Carson sound- his own father, whose mid- Steinbeck, of course, absolutely deserved the prize. He
ed the alarm over the dire insecticide threat to that abun- dle-class status was some- captured quintessentially American moments in indeli-
dance. And Steinbeck spied a pattern that bridged nature what precarious and who ble literary hues, from the demonic to the hopeless to the
and sociology. Assiduously trundling through the writer’s always seemed to be at the unstoppable. And Souder, in his own humble style, has
journals and letters, as well as his 33 books, Souder ex- office. brought a deeply human Steinbeck forth in all his flawed,
plains the particular importance of the “phalanx.” melancholy, brilliant complication. 
Steinbeck worked brief
“Steinbeck eventually came to believe that you could stints as a war correspon- MAD AT THE WORLD
not understand humankind by looking at individuals – dent in Africa and Europe
during World War II and A LIFE OF JOHN STEINBECK

BY WILLIAM SOUDER | W.W. NORTON. 464 PP. $32
REVIEW BY ALEXANDER C. KAFKA, THE WASHINGTON POST

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 27

ST. EDWARD’S

ST. ED’S EARNS NO-DOUBT ‘W’
IN COACH’S DELAYED DEBUT

BY RON HOLUB
Correspondent

After months of day-to-day uncer- St. Edward’s seniors gather for a group photo.
tainty starting with the cancellation
of spring practice and a subsequent PHOTO: BRENDA AHEARN
six-week delay to the start of the 2020
season, St. Ed’s football team brushed the designation of the game as Senior
away all of those distractions with a Night (generally reserved for the last
spirited 35-6 victory in the long-await- home game), no cheerleaders, the
ed opener against Cedar Creek Chris- home crowd limited to four family
tian last Friday night at Michael J. Mer- members per player – ergo, no student
sky Field. body per se, temperature checks at the
gate, a food truck in lieu of the custom-
In the debut of head coach Mark ary concession stand, and facemasks
Gowin, the Pirates dominated the not attached to any football helmets –
line of scrimmage on both sides of the just to name a few.
ball and took advantage of numerous
miscues by the visiting Saints. Quar- There will be no homecoming cel-
terback Brennan Wolfe tossed a pair ebration during the football season (it
of touchdowns to his brother Connor, may take place later during a different
while Drew Sternberg added two more sports season) since the schedule has
scores. Dylan Redmon relieved Bren- been pared down to five regular-sea-
nan Wolfe at QB and hit Connor Wolfe son games prior to the SSAC playoffs.
for his third TD reception late in the fi-
nal period. The planning for this first game was
painstaking down to every minute de-
Gowin was understandably appre- tail. Food service was just one example
hensive about the opener given the as explained by Monica Jennings, St.
threatening circumstances of 2020. Ed’s director of marketing.

“This has been a very unusual pre- “Once we decided to proceed with
season,” he told us. “It was difficult the football season, there was a lot of
enough starting late because of CO- talk about how to handle food and
VID-19 concerns for everyone. In addi- water. In the moment, we decided we
tion, the poor weather we have had has would offer bottled water and not offer
made it hard to have consistent practic- food options because we didn’t want
es outdoors over the last few weeks. As people standing around in a crowd
coaches we were very excited to see how and we were concerned about money
our boys responded to competition.” changing hands, etc.,” she said.

The team kept its focus and Gowin “Later I read about the Dignity Food
was quickly reassured when Wolfe-to- Truck in 32963. I reached out to them
Wolfe connected from 14 yards out on and they were really excited at the op-
a slick corner route and Sternberg (77 portunity to work together (we have a
yards on five carries) sliced in from the motto that we’re a private school with
11 for a 14-0 lead less than seven min- a public purpose), and they solved our
utes into the game. The Pirates benefit- crowd and money concerns in an in-
ed from a short field on both occasions stant. They have a mobile app that al-
after consecutive botched punt at- lows the user to order and pay through
tempts. The first two “drives” together their phones, and it sends a message
totaled 29 yards. when the food is ready. Perfect! Home-
less people are learning work skills, our
Sternberg then put on a crowd-pleas- ‘crowds’ have food and drink options,
ing shake-and-bake move for chunk and it’s the start of what could become
yardage to set up the Wolfe brothers a really great partnership.”
for a 35-yard pitch-and-catch for a 21-0
halftime lead. As for the team, it had to be gratify-
ing to finally get back on the field and
Sternberg’s second score came on play some real football. And the out-
defense when he scooped up a fum- come didn’t disappoint.
bled pitch and danced in to make it
28-0 in the third. Redmon-to-Connor “I was pleasantly surprised at how
Wolfe capped it off from 30 yards out well we played considering our late
with 4:07 remaining. Sternberg con- start and the fact that Cedar Creek
verted all five PAT kicks. had already played four games,” said
Gowin. 
A schedule that should be at mid-
season by at this point isn’t, but St.
Ed’s seemed to be in midseason form
on the field. That added a semblance
of normalcy to the events of the eve-
ning. Some things that didn’t included

28 Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PETS

Bonzo meets purr-sonable pair Jerry and Lexi

Hi Dog Buddies! say so. All the other cats were doing PHOTOS: KAILA JONES catch one. I NEVER hurt it. I bring it to
those uppity cat things, being all skit- Mom an Dad as a liddle present. Soon as
This week’s very fun innerview was tish an grumpy. But not me, no siree. H.A.L.O. You know how sometimes you I carefully set it on the floor, it zooms off.
with Jerry an Lexi Schoenbrun, Cool just KNOW you’ve found your Forever Then Dad tracks it down, picks it up inna
Kibbles rescue step-sisters of the feline “I was right up at the front of the Famly? Well, when me an Mom an Dad NAP-kin an puts it back in the grass.”
variety. Their coats are short an very Ba- cage, movin’ in for the pats, all en- spotted each other, I just KNEW. But in
sic Cat: that stylish gray-ish/black-ish/ ergetic. So Mom an Dad scooped a strange new place, I was a tad skittish. “One time, there was this snake that
brown-ish tiger stripe with a long, slim I’d hide. One time I crawled under the got into the porch. That was kinda
tail. (Just between me an you, they buh- me right up an, Wah-Lah! bed an curled up in this liddle place in scary.”
haved more like dogs in catsuits. They the mattress. It was nice an cozy, an
were real frenly an laid-back – not the I finally had a Forever Home. I fell asleep. Mom an Dad were con- “Woof, I’ll bet,” I said.
teeniest bit concerned that I was, you “For quite a while, I was an Only Cat. CERNED. Took ’em a haff hour to find “Ackshully, Mr. Bonz, I think they
know, a DOG. They even like BATHS, if me an gently pull me out. wouldn’t be so scary if they had fluffy
you can buh-lieve it.) I’d sit an look out the window, an watch fur like us, you know?”
birds an those silly, Ninny-Muffin squir- “Now I sleep in the bathroom, on my “I’d never thought of it that way, Lexi,”
Anyway, their dad met me an my as- rels, or just hang with Mom an Dad.” comfy mat. Jerry sleeps with Mom an I said, imagining a fluffy snake.
sistant at the door and ushered us in. Dad, an he does a lotta roamin’ at night. “Bottom line, Bonz,” concluded Jerry,
Right away Jerry an Lexi approached, “That is So Cool Catnip,” I comment- I guess that’s from his Tom Cattin’ days, “me an Lexi are two of the most fortu-
with absolutely no hesitation, for the ed, making use of one of the few Cat Ex- huh, Jer?” nate cats around. There are still so many
Sniff-an-Size-Up. pressions I knew. (Thank Lassie for my rescue cats without Forever Homes. I
“Cat 101” handbook.) “So, how’d you get “Those days are nothin’ but a dim hope there’re a lot more like Mom an
“Good morning,” I said, in my Warm- down here?” memry,” Jerry said. “I just like to patrol, Dad who ree-lize what wonnerful famly
But-Professional Voice. “Thanks so make sure the house is suh-CURE!” members we can be.”
much for agreeing to an innerview.” “We moved about a year ago. Preddy “Ditto that, Big Brother,” Lexi said.
soon after we got settled in (this past “So, whaddya you do for fun?” I hast- I heartily agreed.
“Totally our pleasure, Bonz. I’m March I think), Mom an Dad decided I ily inquired. Heading home, I was thinkin’ about
Jerry Schoenbrun, I’m about 9 in Hu- should have a come-PAN-yun, since I’d all the homeless cats an pooches who
man. This is our Mom an Dad, Gail an been around fellow cats pretty much my “We like hangin’ by the pool and still need Forever Famlys, an feeling
Fred, an this is my liddle step-sister Lexi, whole life.” watchin’ the squirrels an birds, just extra glad I was gonna be in my own
she’s about 4 anna haff.” like in Cuh-NETTI-cut. Those squirrels Forever Home with my Gramma an
“OK. MY turn!” Lexi piped up. “I’m sometimes make us Catnip Nuts! PLUS, Grandpa soon. I was also trying to get
Lexi was smaller than Jerry, an had tellin’ THIS part.” down here, there’s those liddle lizards. the creepy image of a fluffy snake outta
pretty, snow white paws. “Hi, Mr. Bonz,” Sometimes they get inside the porch: my head. P.S.: Speakin’ of the Humane
she said. “I can’t wait to get my PICK- “Go for it, Kiddo,” said Jerry, curling then we CHASE ’em. I’m not sure why. I Society, they’re gonna have a big Pet
shur in the PAY-purr!” up on the cool tile. think it’s an IN-stink.” Adoption Day an BBQ at Dyer Suburu
this very Friday, Oct. 9. Pass it on.
“An I can’t wait to hear your story,” I “Mom an Dad looked at a buncha cat “They’re super speedy,” Lexi inner-
replied. rescue places, an finally found me at jected, “but sometimes I accidently Till next time,

“Since I’m the Boss of the House, I’ll The Bonz
start,” innerjected Jerry. (I’m almost
positive Lexi gave me a wink anna big Don’t Be Shy
grin.)
We are always looking for pets
Jerry began. “Mom an Dad, they lived with interesting stories.
up in Cuh-NETTI-cut with a coupla res-
cue cats anna dog. When it was time To set up an interview, email
to get another cat, they were checking [email protected].
around and, this one day, they were at
the Cosgrove Animal Shelter and spot-
ted me amongst all the other shelter
cats. I was around 3. I’ve never been one
of those aloof, Meowy-er-Than-Thou
cats. I dig humans an I’m not afraid to

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 29

INSIGHT BRIDGE

NORTH

THE TRICKS ARE THERE IF YOU TAKE THEM A63

By Phillip Alder - Bridge Columnist 843

Sidney Madwed, a design engineer, said, “Never value the valueless. The trick is to know J752
how to recognize it.”
Q85
In bridge, the trick is to win the number of tricks that you need to make or break the
contract. In addition, when faced with different choices, it can be a case of rejecting the WEST EAST
losing lines — the valueless — and adopting a winning approach — the valuable. Q J 10 9
— 852
What should South do in four hearts after West leads the spade queen? 10 8 4 3
K7643 K962
Yes, three no-trump is easy to make, but it is tough to reach.
KQ9
South starts with four potential losers: one in each suit. He could hope that the club
finesse will succeed. Worse is to take the trump finesse, because that needs more than 10 9 2
just the heart king onside. So, there is a temptation to take the first trick with dummy’s
spade ace and play a club to the jack. Here, though, the finesse loses and the contract will SOUTH
fail.
K74
It is a good idea for declarer, after checking losers, to count winners. How many does he
have here? A Q J 10 7 5

There are two spades, five hearts, one diamond and two clubs — surprise, surprise, a total A6
of 10. Is there a way to cash them all?
AJ
As you have no doubt seen, South should win the first trick with his spade king, cash
the club ace (perhaps after taking the heart ace, though that does not matter here) and Dealer: South; Vulnerable: Both
continue with the club jack. West takes the trick and leads another spade, but South wins
on the board and discards a spade or diamond loser on the club queen. Then he draws The Bidding:
trumps as quickly as possible.
SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST OPENING
1 Hearts Pass 2 Hearts Pass
4 Hearts Pass Pass Pass LEAD:
Q Spades

30 Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT GAMES

SOLUTIONS TO PREVIOUS ISSUE (OCTOBER 1) ON PAGE 54

ACROSS DOWN
1 Consequently (4) 1 Tr affic queue (8)
3 Circular band (4) 2 Natural (8)
9 Lots of paper (5) 4 Musical dramas (6)
10 Not genuine (9) 5 Plot in advance (3-4)
11 Puzzle (5) 6 One-liners (4)
12 A station shop (9) 7 Russian ruler (4)
15 Pillar (6) 8 Burden (4)
17 Smooth out (eyebrows) (6) 13 Maintained firmly (8)
19 Illusion (9) 14 Acts as sub (6,2)
21 Trunk (5) 16 The Virgin Mary (7)
23 Proposes (9) 18 Shrewdness (6)
24 Find out (5) 20 Rosé colour (4)
25 Skin problem (4) 21 Story (4)
26 Norse god (4) 22 Authentic (4)

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

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 31

INSIGHT GAMES

ACROSS Three Kings”) 37 1101, in Roman numerals The Washington Post
86 See 83 Across 38 “My word!”
1 Gift-opening time, 91 A really big shoe 39 Alvin York was one: abbr. CAROL-LINERS By Merl Reagle
for kids 92 Sitarist Shankar 41 Charged particles
93 Gettysburg general and others 42 Alleviator THE Art & Science
5 Great Expectations kid 94 Monterrey mom 43 Lightheaded from drinking
8 Ms. Farrow 96 Recuperation loc. 44 Bateman and Robards of Cosmetic Surgery
11 “___ lied!” 99 Numbers class: abbr. 45 Cat ___ Tin Roof
14 Laundromat invitation 101 Clothes coloring 46 Noted cellist SPECIALTIES INCLUDE:
102 “Deck the Halls” verb 47 M.M. Kaye’s ___ Pavilions • Minimal Incision Lift for the
(from “A Holly Jolly 103 Composer Danny of 48 Slang for a cheap cigar, El
Christmas”) Face, Body, Neck & Brow
19 Reason that Broadway shows Simpsons and Batman fame ___ • Breast Augmentations
flop (from “The Christmas 105 Sault ___ Marie 53 Gromyko or Sakharov
Song”) 106 Sweet conclusion 54 Said no to & Reductions
22 Insect wings 108 “Fiddlesticks!” 56 “Hog” of the open road • Post Cancer Reconstructions
23 Most expansive 111 Major river of Spain 57 Simple organism • Chemical Peels • Botox
24 Radiator sound 112 Complaint about an inveterate 58 Nobelist Elie • Laser Surgery • Tummy Tucks
25 Patty Hearst 61 Latin abbr. • Obagi Products • Liposculpture
kidnapping gp. fibber (from “O Little Town of 63 Arrived • Skin Cancer Treatments
26 Accumulate Bethlehem”) 66 Diamond measure
29 Instance, in France 118 Great thing about old movies 67 Warning
30 Stage signal (also from “O Little Town of 68 Lillehammer’s land: abbr.
32 Closet floor collection Bethlehem”) 73 Peter and the Wolf instrument
34 Conger, for one 119 Popeye’s goil 75 Native people who watch the
35 Out of practice 120 Tack on
37 ___ Mini-Minor (Mini Cooper 121 Old spy org. aurora borealis
forerunner) 122 The sound of music? 77 Out of the way
40 Prefix meaning “all” 78 Home debt: abbr.
41 Without much thought DOWN 82 Pec-building building
42 What aerobicisers indulge 84 Christmas morning cries
in after a good workout, with 1 Shelley of The Shining 85 Gift for a fisherman
44 Across (from “Angels We 2 “... a poem lovely 86 Forward
Have Heard On High”) 87 Keep an ___ the ground
44 See 42 Across as ___” 88 Bond film, ___ a Kill
49 Mother’s brother, 3 “___ bother?” 89 Actress Bonnie
in Monterrey 4 Collar, as a con 90 Drop of golden sun
50 Auth. unknown 5 Check time 94 Some French paintings
51 A Musketeer 6 FDR’s Interior secretary 95 Marcello’s La Dolce Vita
52 Rocky deposits beneath
glaciers (anagram of SOAR) Harold co-star
55 “Fiddlesticks!” 7 Groaners 96 Drink
59 Is of the opinion that 8 Do a yard job 97 Comedian Drew
60 Indian’s home 9 Conditions 98 One, in Oaxaca
62 Darkroom origs. 10 ___ point (one example) 100 Stay here
64 “What a good boy ___” 11 Grinch inventor 102 Gift for 107 Down
65 “So that’s it!” 12 “___ the fields 104 Penitentiary denizen
66 Noted sex author and his topic 107 A girl in the family
(from “God Rest Ye Merry, we go ...” 108 Quiet room
Gentlemen”) 13 Annoying 109 Concerning
69 Shad product 14 Give a false impression of 110 “Open Mon. ___ Fri.”
70 ___ de plume 15 Promise 113 Assertively challenged
71 Song for Bartoli 16 Proclamation 114 Type of legal degree: abbr.
72 Once-popular breath mint 17 Gift for a chef 115 Get hitched
73 Cheers of a sort 18 Elevated pts. of town 116 Superlative ending
74 12-step structure? 20 Nicholas Gage book 117 A piece of Sigmund’s mind
76 Study hard 21 Mr. Arafat
79 Without slouching 22 Mimic
80 Tony winner Neuwirth 27 Language of Pakistan
81 Find fault with 28 Throbbing device
83 Grace Kelly, with 30 What words do in this puzzle
86 Across (from “We 31 Mr. Geller
33 Santa’s favorite Hostess

cakes?
36 Affecting the whole body

The Telegraph Proudly caring for patients over 28 years.

3790 7th Terrace, Suite 101, Vero Beach, Florida

772.562.5859

www.rosatoplasticsurgery.com

Ralph M. Rosato
MD, FACS





34 Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT BACK PAGE

Girlfriend gets left out in the cold for the holidays

BY CAROLYN HAX know where she stands, and
Washington Post you can revisit where you
stand, so you both can know
Dear Carolyn: I’ve been with where you stand together,
and no one is playing Hide
my girlfriend a little over a year. the Bouquet for fear of catch-
ing wedding cooties.
Like last year, I plan to spend both

Thanksgiving and Christmas with

my family, who live about 90 min-

utes from me. Re: Thanksgiving: Initially,

My girlfriend is upset that I didn’t invite her to join I thought it was flattering

me. In all honesty, it’s because my family would take to meet boyfriends’ parents,

this as an indication that I plan to marry her, and that until I learned I was one in

would just produce incredible pressure from them. It’s a long assembly line of girl-

all they think about because I’m the only kid who isn’t friends. Relatives would nod

married yet. But I’m only 29 and not ready to rush into and smile and quickly for-

anything, so I don’t want to even put that idea into my get my name. One grandma

girlfriend’s head. The whole thing is about marriage! Your unreadi- couldn’t keep any of the girlfriends’ names straight so
ness for it, your family’s preoccupation with it, your
I have explained this to my girlfriend – excluding status as the only one who doesn’t have one yet. it was, “Hey you,” for three years. I felt the opposite of

the part about marriage – but she is still really upset. So what more you can say is everything after “In special.
all honesty,” except for the part that poses a severe
I can understand why she is disappointed since she tearing-out threat to my hair, that you don’t want to I put an end to it by asking, “Why?” every time a guy
give the little woman any ideas.
wasn’t included last year, either, but she has her own wanted me to meet the parents. I never heard an an-
So, something like this:
family she could go to (six hours away). “It’s because my family is on marriage watch and swer beyond “I don’t know” until I met my husband.
would just put incredible pressure on us. It’s all they
I did say next year there is a good chance she will think about because I’m the only kid who isn’t mar- – Hey You
ried yet, but I’m only 29 and not ready to rush into
be invited, when we have a better understanding of anything.”
This way, you own your feelings, she knows where
where we are, but that didn’t help her any. you stand, she can know where she stands, you can Hey You: This is not only a great point, thanks, but
also potentially backdoor instructive to Not Ready,
What more can I say or do? who needs to get right on with bringing home every
single woman he dates, for every holiday – major,
– Not Ready minor, Canadian – thereby overwhelming his over-
invested family with too many names and possibili-
Not Ready: “I told her we couldn’t go because go- ties to keep straight. You’re welcome. 
rillas were running loose downtown – excluding the
part about the gorillas.”

BY REMODELING, THEATRE GUILD
FOUND UPSIDE TO DOWNTIME

36 Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

BY PAM HARBAUGH | CORRESPONDENT BYFORUENMDODUEPLSIINDGE,TTOHEDAOTWRNETGIMUIELD

The Vero Beach Theatre Guild dis- Jon Putzke, Jeff Hall, Sunny Uttley,
covered something unexpected dur- Lisa McNamee and Gerry Quimby.
ing the pandemic – they had time to
get things done. PHOTOS BY KAILA JONES

With the theater forced to halt pro- theater. We did it on a shoestring, for Floors restored the building’s origi- Stones of Italy donated granite
ductions in March, staff and volun- a minimal amount.” nal terrazzo floors. When Hall and shelving for improvements to the box
teers have spent the downtime remod- his two-man crew, Jim LaPorte and office. Don Smith’s Paint and Decorat-
eling roughly 75 percent of the theater, Indeed, McNamee and Hall esti- Gerry Quimby, started pulling out ing gave whopping discounts for all
paying careful attention to incorpo- mate the improvements have a value ceiling insulation, they realized the the paint needed to turn the interior
rating methods that will keep audi- of nearly $75,000. However, because building needed new air condition- from a salmon/pink palette to a more
ence, volunteers, cast and crew safe, of in-kind donations from a generous ing. They turned to Barker Air Con- desirable neutral one of warm grays.
says VBTG president Lisa McNamee. community, the cost to the theater ditioning, which stepped up to help
was less than $15,000. keep costs down. And Wisconsin-based Davis Com-
Now, after seven months of the stage pany came through with big discounts
being “dark,” the lights are slowly With the seats removed, Epoxy
flickering back to life at the 63-year-
old community theater.

“It’s important for a community
to have a place where they can ex-
press their love for the arts and forget
what’s going on outside,” says McNa-
mee. “Come as a community to smile,
laugh, enjoy and be entertained. Es-
pecially now.”

For sure, the physical changes high-
light the lingering effects of the coro-
navirus; in this case, all for the better.

Audiences at the friendly theater
will see seating spaced further apart,
shifted aisles, meticulously cleaned
chairs, an expanded lobby, and im-
proved air conditioning. The box of-
fice has been made more efficient, and
contactless for those who enjoy a tech-
nically sophisticated bent.

Volunteers, cast and crew will see
remodeled administrative offices,
expanded volunteer areas and a mod-
ernized second floor rehearsal room.
In addition, the downstairs green
room has been turned into a black
box theater, which McNamee expects
will enable them to bring in more
revenue by presenting events such as
offbeat theater, jazz and original play
readings.

“This is what happens when you
leave the shop guys alone,” says de-
sign director Jeff Hall. “When the
CDC said no gatherings, I put out to
the volunteers that we have an op-
portunity to do some things in the

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 37

ARTS & THEATRE

to reinstall auditorium chairs in a new Things kick off Saturday, Oct. 10
with three days of auditions for the
configuration. The seating has been February comedy “Almost, Maine.”
In November, the curtain rises on the
reduced by one-third, keeping people revival of the highly profitable com-
edy “Things You Shouldn’t Say Past
6 feet apart. It has the added benefit of Midnight,” which is being used for a
soft reopening. The six-show season
perfect sightlines for every seat, with opens Dec. 4.

no worry about the person in front The Vero Beach Theatre Guild is at
2020 San Juan Ave., Vero Beach. Flex
blocking your view, Hall says. pass tickets cost $100 for four tickets
within the next two seasons. Individu-
“For these people to have given us al tickets cost $30. Call 772-562-8300 or
visit VeroBeachTheatreGuild.com. 
their time and donations meant that
THE LAUGHING DOG GALLERY | CELEBRATING
we could complete our vision of pro-
MORE THAN EVER
viding a safe environment, so patrons
Proudly celebrating 20 years of
will feel comfortable American craft and our commitment to

coming back to the the- VB Theatre Guild American-made products.
ater,” says McNamee.
2910 CARDINAL DRIVE, VERO BEACH • 772-234-6711 • THELAUGHINGDOGGALLERY.COM
At this point, however, 2020-21 Season:

staffers are holding their
collective breath, hoping

that people who had al- Nov. 13-22: “Things You Shouldn’t Say
ready purchased tickets

will convert them into Past Midnight”
a newly envisioned flex
pass, offering four tickets Dec. 4-13: “Death of a Salesman”

to any shows in the next Jan. 13-24: “Over the Tavern”
two seasons, rather than

asking for a refund. Feb. 10-21: “Almost, Maine”

For sure, live theater March 10-21: “A Shot in the Dark”
around the country has

taken a financial hit dur- April 7-25: “Sister Act”
ing the pandemic. The
VBTG had just opened May 12-23: “Moonlight and Magnolias”
“Jesus Christ Superstar”

when they had to shut

it down in March. The

show had brought in an avalanche of concerns about singing releasing aero-

ticket sales. sol virus germs further into the air, the

They had originally planned to re- musical “Sister Act” has been pushed

open the show in January 2021, but to April. Hopes are that a vaccine will

artistic director Jon Putzke received become available by that time.

word from the show’s publishers that Moreover, staging will be key.

the Theatre Guild’s rights to produce “Things You Shouldn’t Say Past Mid-

the musical were being pulled due to a night” pits people facing away from

planned professional tour. each other. For “Death of a Salesman,”

The theater also had to cancel five the production will be presented in

other 2020 shows, including “Sister reader’s theater style, with actors sit-

Act,” another musical expected to do ting on stools spread 6 feet apart and

quite well at the box office. The theater facing the audience. “Over the Tav-

ended up losing about 75 percent of its ern” deals with a dysfunctional family

anticipated $485,000 budget. whose members like to keep their dis-

“We put out a spring appeal letter,” tance from each other.

McNamee says, adding that checks Other shows, including “Almost,

came in every day. “People were amaz- Maine,” “A Shot in the Dark” and

ing in the money they have given us.” “Moonlight and Magnolias,” will,

Some of the checks were for $50 hopefully, run during a time where

and others were for much more. One people can get closer to one another.

patron wrote a check for $6,000, then But if not, then appropriate staging

another check for $6,000, then one for will be used.

$4,000. In addition, grants have come Masks will be required during re-

in from the Indian River Community hearsals, temperatures will be taken

Foundation and Florida’s Division of and hand sanitizer will be available.

Cultural Affairs. And, if a cast member gets sick, the

McNamee also found a couple of director can send someone onto the

items the theater no longer needed. stage to perform “on book” (with a

She spent days cleaning and polishing script in their hand).

an old piano and an old truck and sold “It’s really amazing what has hap-

them both. pened to our theater,” says Putzke.

Of course, in addition to an audi- “The spirit is incredibly positive. The

ence, the theater needs to attract ac- renovations have helped the morale

tors and volunteer crew to create … so much. The biggest issue I see com-

well, the actual product to be sold. ing our way is what happens when the

The first way of tackling social dis- box office opens. We’re all praying.

tancing on stage is by considering the We’re hoping that people will stay

season bill. For example, knowing the with us.”

38 Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

COMING UP! ‘Comedy Zone’ stand-ups will deliver laughs

BY PAM HARBAUGH Jim Holder.
Correspondent

1 This has been quite a month al-
ready, and we’re not even half-

way through it. What better time to

escape the world, even if just for a

couple hours. And there’s no place

more fun than Riverside Theatre’s

“Comedy Zone.” And it’s not just the

stand-up show, which always features

two comedians. It’s the whole experi-

ence, from pre-show cover band con- Andy Huggins.

cert, to picnic-style dinner and even a comedian” act onto the stage with
“America’s Got Talent.” A disarm-
drinky-poo or two. This weekend, the ing comedian, Huggins will get you
laughing at some naughty subjects
Comedy Zone presents to its stage Jim seen through the lens of age. You can

Holder and Andy Huggins. A funny

and affable guy, Holder has been on

the comedy circuit for 18 years and

has performed with the “Texas Outlaw

Comics,” which featured the late great find clips of both these comedians new curator for their art galleries. The
on YouTube.com. In addition to the Fall Art Installment is open from noon
Sam Kinison. He’s opened for Tim Al- Comedy Zone acts, Riverside presents to 3 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays.
Minglewood, which covers music by Guided tours are available 3 p.m. to 5
len, Bob Saget, Rita Rudner and even the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane p.m. Wednesdays. Admission is free.
and more on Friday. Then, it’s the The art galleries are in the Gietz Mu-
Dionne Warwick. Don’t be surprised if Real Deal, which covers the Beatles, sic Suite off the lobby in the Center for
the Beach Boys, the Kinks, Creedence Christian life. Facemasks are required.
you become part of his good-natured and more. Admission to the Live in The reception will be held 4 p.m. to 6
the Loop music is free, but you need p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11. The First Pres-
kidding. Huggins is a real veteran of a ticket in order for staffers to main- byterian Church is at 520 Royal Palm
tain social distancing. Comedy Zone Blvd., Vero Beach. Call 772-562-9088 or
the stand-up world. He’s written for begins 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Tickets are visit FirstPresVero.org.
$18. Extra charges for menu items, of
Jay Leno and Billy Crystal’s gig on the course. Patrons must wear masks un-
til they are seated. Riverside Theatre is
Academy Awards. He took his “senior at 3250 Riverside Dr., Vero Beach. For
more information, visit RiversideThe-
atre.com or call 772-231-6990. 3 Here’s a fun outdoor event for
you and your dog: the 6th An-

nual Running of the Weiners. The

good-natured and friendly event be-

gins 1 p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 10 at

the Pareidolia Brewing Company in

2 For something beautiful, inspir- Sebastian. It raises funds for H.A.L.O.
ing and a bit tamer, consider Sun-
No-Kill Animal Shelter while at the

day’s opening reception for the Fall Art same time setting the stage for a lot of

Installment at the First Presbyterian fun. Participants are invited to dress

Church of Vero Beach. The featured up their dachshunds, or, in truth, any

local artists include Jemal Hayes, Suze other friendly doggy they have, and

Lavender and Maciek von Ato, all of set them lose in an outdoor race. “It’s

whom will be at the reception and avail- really cool, an awesome event,” said

able for a socially distanced meet-and- bartender Trish Baker. To form the

greet. Born and raised in Vero Beach, racetrack, Pareidolia sets up bales of

Hayes studied graphic design at Indian hay in an adjacent parking lot. There

River State College and now runs Mr. J’s will be four races held. In addition, the

Video Productions. Hayes has quite the talented Melbourne duo String Daddy

inspiring life story, which informs the will perform. The cost to enter your

positive subjects in his works. Born and dog is $20, again, with all proceeds

raised on Long Island, N.Y., Lavender benefiting H.A.L.O. (Helping Animals

studied with Frits van Eeden, whose in- Live and Overcome). Pareidolia co-

fluence can be seen in her uninhibited owner Lynn Anderson expects that

use of color and line. Von Ato has a mas- the shelter will bring adoptable pup-

ter’s degree from the Academy of Fine pies to the event. In addition to serv-

Arts in Warsaw, Poland. His abstract ing craft beers, wine, hard seltzers

figuratives reveal his deep study in art. and soft drinks, Pareidolia is also a

He has exhibited throughout Western full-service restaurant with both lim-

Europe and he worked in Philadelphia ited indoor and outdoor seating. It’s at

for nearly two decades. Sunday’s re- 712 Cleveland St., Sebastian. Call 772-

ception will also be the chance to meet 571-5693 or visit PareidoliaBrewing.

artist Pamela Schwartz, the church’s com or find them on Facebook. 

SURGEON PLANS ONLINE TRIBUTE
TO BREAST CANCER PATIENTS

40 Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

HEALTH

Surgeon plans online tribute to breast cancer patients

BY TOM LLOYD
Staff Writer

Medical fact No. 1: According to Dr. Jason Radecke’s wife and daughter shave procedure, Radecke pauses briefly “The idea was [to create] free ac-
the National Institutes of Health, his head for breast cancer awareness month. and says “I’ve always felt like you cess to educational information for
obesity is “the second leading cause shouldn’t fit the surgery to the pa- people,” says Radecke, “since their
of preventable death in the United PHOTOS: KAILA JONES tient. Right? You fit the patient to the normal lives had been disrupted and
States.” An estimated 300,000 deaths surgery.” In other words, he helps in- people weren’t going out on Friday
per year are linked to the obesity 75 percent of diabetics are cured of dividual patients choose the proce- nights.”
epidemic. their diabetes, [and it helps] about dure that will accomplish what that
70 percent of hypertensives [those patient wants, not which procedure Making the videos, says Radecke,
Medical fact No. 2: Breastcan- with abnormally high blood pres- he likes to perform. “has actually been fun. And thera-
cer.org says “in 2020, an estimated sure] lower those numbers, on and peutic for me, too.” And that is as
276,480 new cases of invasive breast on and on. Radecke has even taken to social good a segue as any to that tribute
cancer are expected to be diagnosed media to inform people about their Radecke is making for breast cancer
in women in the U.S., along with “A gastric bypass patient,” Radecke bariatric surgery options. awareness month.
48,530 new cases of non-invasive continues, “will lose up to about 80
(in situ) breast cancer. About 42,170 percent of their excess weight and If you do a Facebook search for He’s getting his head shaved and
women in the U.S. are expected to about 85 percent of diabetics will “Dr. Rad MD” you will find and can the video will be on his ‘Dr. Rad MD
die in 2020 from breast cancer.” never be a diabetic again.” view his ‘Doc Talk’ videos. Free. Doc Talk’ on Facebook.

Medical fact No. 3: For most peo- Radecke then adds that 90 percent Doc Talk was inspired by one of his It’s his online tribute to those who
ple, those two statistics may be jar- see their cholesterol levels plummet patients who had a sleeve gastrec- lose their hair during breast cancer
ring but they don’t seem to be nec- to healthy levels and as many as 90 tomy and went on to lose so much treatment.
essarily related. The two are linked, percent see their sleep apnea issues excess weight he’s now an Ironman
however, in the person and practice fully resolved. runner, a marathoner and a pilot. Dr. Jason Radecke is a general and
of Dr. Jason Radecke of Riverside That patient called Radecke at the bariatric surgeon with Riverside Sur-
Surgical and Weight Loss Center. Which procedure is right for you? height of the COVID-19 pandemic gical and Weight Loss Center. The of-
That’s not an easy question. In saying, “You’ve got to do something fice is at 14430 U.S. 1 in Sebastian,
Aside from having what he calls addition to the options mentioned for people who are now stuck at Florida. The phone number is 772-
“thousands” of breast and breast above there are Roux-en-Y gastric home.” 581-8003. 
cancer surgeries on his surgical re- bypasses, sleeve gastrectomies, du-
sume, Radecke has a personal rela- odenal jejunal bypasses with sleeve
tionship with breast cancer. gastrectomies, duodenal switches
and more from which to choose.
It runs in his family – in the male When asked if he has a favorite
members of his family.

As the National Breast Cancer
Foundation says, mutations in the
BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes can lead
to breast cancer in both women and
men.

Radecke pauses briefly and ex-
plains. “My twin brother [had it], my
father [had it], my uncle, who un-
fortunately just passed away a year
ago last week. He passed away with
breast cancer, stage four, and he had
stage four for 12 years. He fought like
a champ.”

His brother and cousin underwent
bilateral mastectomies or the surgi-
cal removal of both breasts.

Maybe that’s why he’s planning
a video tribute for breast cancer
awareness month that we’ll get to
shortly.

In the meantime, Radecke and
his partner, Dr. Patrick Domkowski,
were among the very first surgeons
in this part of the state to embrace
bariatric procedures as an actual
cure for obesity and, in many cases,
for diabetes, hypertension and sleep
apnea as well.

Effortlessly, Radecke fires off some
impressive facts and figures for bar-
iatric procedures.

“A sleeve gastrectomy,” he says, “is
really great at losing about 60 to 70
percent of your excess weight; 70 to

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 41

HEALTH

How to treat athlete’s foot – and to avoid getting it

BY FRED CICETTI athlete’s foot. After twice daily applica- Do not apply tea tree oil to your feet  Never borrow other people’s shoes.
tions for four weeks, the tea tree oil was without consulting a physician.  Dry carefully between the toes af-
Columnist found to be significantly more effec- ter showering.
tive than placebo. There are ways to prevent getting  Apply antifungal foot powder daily
Question: What’s the best way to get athlete’s foot. The best general advice to feet and inside shoes.
rid of athlete’s foot? I have used many over-the-counter is to keep your feet clean and dry. Here  Wear shoes and socks made of nat-
products on athlete’s foot. A few did are some good specific tips: ural materials that breathe.
As a victim of athlete’s foot, I’ve had not work at all. A few were effective af-  Don’t wear the same shoes two
a lot of experience battling that nasty ter several weeks. I applied 100 percent  When you can, remove your shoes. days in a row; give shoes a chance to
nuisance so I can add some personal tea tree oil twice a day and my athlete’s  Change your socks at least once dry out.
notes on this subject. I’ve had the most foot was gone in a week. I’ve continued daily.  Have a veterinarian check your
success treating my athlete’s foot with to apply it once a day to prevent a re-  Avoid walking barefoot in public pets for fungus. 
an Australian remedy. I’ll get to that currence. areas. Wear sandals or flip-flops in
later. communal showers.

Athlete’s foot is caused by tinea, a
fungus that can also cause jock itch
and ringworm. You can catch it from
another person, from animals or wet
surfaces such as the floors of public
showers.

Athlete’s foot symptoms include dry
skin, itching, burning, scaling, inflam-
mation and blisters. If blisters break,
tissue becomes exposed and this can
be painful.

Athlete’s foot usually shows up be-
tween the toes, especially the last two
toes. Tinea thrives on feet because they
are usually in shoes, which are perfect
for fungus – they are warm, dark and
humid.

The fungus can spread on the feet.
It can also travel to other parts of the
body if you scratch your feet and then
touch elsewhere.

Before attempting to treat what you
think is athlete’s foot, you should have
your feet examined by a doctor. Symp-
toms you assume are from athlete’s
foot could be from eczema, psoriasis or
other maladies such as a skin reaction
to shoe dyes.

For a mild case of athlete’s foot, your
doctor may recommend an over-the-
counter or prescription preparation.
There are antifungal sprays, powders,
creams and lotions. If you have a se-
vere case of athlete’s foot, your doctor
may prescribe an oral medication.

After the medication works, athlete’s
foot recurs in some people because
they are prone to get it. The tendency to
get athlete’s foot repeatedly is a genetic
condition.

This brings us to a remedy that works
better than any I’ve tried since my first
of many cases of athlete’s foot about 40
years ago. It’s tea tree oil. You can get it
in health food stores.

Tea tree oil is an essential oil distilled
from the leaves of Melaleuca alterni-
folia, an Australian plant. For many
years, the leaves of the plant were used
for treating cuts, burns and infections.

A randomized controlled trial ex-
amined the use of 25 percent tea tree
oil solution, 50 percent tea tree oil so-
lution, or placebo in 158 people with

42 Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

HEALTH

Aaron’s Hearing Care Center New study says coffee may slow
progression of colorectal cancer
As you reconnect with others, trust your hearing

to an audiologist with 30+ years of experience

Aaron Liebman, Au. D. Hopefully, all of you are doing well as we BY LINDA SEARING four or more cups daily increased
Doctor of Audiology take the necessary precautions to reduce The Washington Post their survival rate by 36 percent
the spread of Covid-19 (coronavirus). We compared with nondrinkers. One
Why wouldn’t you want to be fit are committed to keeping our patients, any Drinking one to four or more cups cup a day yielded a 7 percent in-
with your hearing aid from the visitors to our offices and our staff healthy of coffee a day may help people with crease, and two to three cups in-
only audiologist-owned hearing and safe. advanced colorectal cancer live lon- creased the survival rate by 18 per-
aid office in Indian River At all times we’re careful to maintain clean- ger and slow the progression of their cent.
County? According to Aaron liness in our offices in Vero Beach. We take disease. The finding, from a study by
Liebman, Au.D., Doctor of extra steps and follow guidelines to further the Boston-based Dana-Farber Can- Study participants who drank the
Audiology, “both Audiologists protect everyone. cer Institute, was based on about most coffee survived for about 39
and hearing aid salesmen five years of data from 1,171 peo- months compared with 31 months
are licensed by the state. But, We have instituted a deep cleaning policy ple treated with chemotherapy for for those who drank none, a Dana-
typically, the salesman has no and our staff disinfects all surfaces that are colorectal cancer that had spread, Farber researcher said. Although
formal education in hearing, touched throughout the day. We’re read- referred to as Stage 4 cancer. research has not determined why
while the audiologist has gone ing up to date recommendations as they coffee might slow the progression of
to college and obtained a degree become available while discussing and im- Overall, as coffee consumption deadly colorectal cancer, cancer ex-
in the field”. plementing best hygiene practices to ensure increased, so did the benefits, and perts theorize that it may be related
your safety. whether the coffee was caffeinated to the antioxidant, anti-inflamma-
What this means to you – or decaffeinated made little dif- tory and insulin-sensitizing effects
as a patient – is that Liebman than I thought possible.” ference, according to the research of compounds found in coffee.
will not only fit you with “Aaron is a very caring man, published in the journal JAMA On-
a hearing aid, he’ll use patient and works very hard to cology. During the study period, the Research has suggested that cof-
alternative methods of testing do the best for your problems. cancer was 5 percent less likely to fee may lower risk for some other
for accuracy, so you receive I would highly recommend worsen for people who drank one cancers. U.S. Dietary Guidelines
the proper instrument. He’ll him.” These are just three cup of coffee a day, compared with consider moderate coffee consump-
provide all-around service and of the glowing testimonials those who did not drink coffee, 18 tion – described as three to five cups
counseling so its full potential delivered by local people who percent less likely for two to three a day – safe and healthy for most
will be clear. And, perhaps most are “graduates” of Liebman at cups daily and 22 percent for four or people. But problems can develop
importantly, he’ll consider you Aaron’s Hearing Aid Center. more cups a day. for people sensitive to caffeine, such
as an individual…including as headaches, insomnia, dizziness
the affordability of the product Dr. Liebman moved to Florida As for survival, those who drank and more. 
he’ll be recommending. in 2001. He is originally from
This type of kid glove treatment Albany, N.Y. area where both he
may have contributed to a and his father were audiologists.
finding quoted on the AARP He has found the residents
website that states ‘people fitted of Vero Beach and the rest
for hearing aids by audiologists of Indian River County to be
are 13 times more likely to receptive and loyal once they
be satisfied than people who are exposed to his caring and
made their purchase through a concern for them.
hearing aid salesman’. So, if the concept of having your
hearing aid fitted by someone
Dr. Liebman’s satisfied clients who offers more than 30+
have willingly put their praises years of experience, who offers
into print. no-fee consultations, who will
“Everything I needed to know return your phone calls, who
was talked about up front in a will supply free batteries for the
very professional way.” “Aaron life of your hearing instrument,
has done more for my hearing and who will provide quarterly
clean up and adjustments
attractive to you, there’s only
one local audiologist to seek
out: Dr. Aaron Liebman,
owner of Aarons Hearing Care,
the ONLY AUDIOLOGIST
OWNED hearing aid office in
Indian River County.

For more information call
(772) 562-5100 in Vero Beach.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 43

HEALTH

Child deaths tied to COVID-19 remain remarkably low

BY LENNY BERNSTEIN part a very mild infection in chil- care and 12 (5.8 percent) were put on
The Washington Post dren,” said Kristin Moffitt, an associ- ventilators. One child died.
ate physician of infectious diseases at
Boston Children’s Hospital. “I don’t want people to get the im-
pression that it’s completely benign
Some children and adolescents in children,” said Sean O’Leary, vice
suffer the same terrible symptoms as chair of the American Academy of
their elders. In an Aug. 7 review of 208 Pediatrics’ committee on infectious
children and adolescents hospitalized diseases and a pediatric infectious-
with covid-19, the Centers for Disease disease specialist at Children’s Hos-
Control and Prevention reported that pital Colorado. “It’s just that it’s much,
69 (33.2 percent) required intensive much less bad than it is in adults.” 

BY LENNY BERNSTEIN cine. Steinman led a team that re-
viewed why children may enjoy some
The Washington Post natural protection from the novel
coronavirus in a Sept. 3 article in the
As the United States’ COVID-19 Proceedings of the National Academy
death toll moves relentlessly beyond of Sciences.
200,000, data shows that only about
100 children and teenagers have died Less clear is the role younger peo-
of the disease, a fatality rate that is ple play in spreading the virus to oth-
drawing wonder from clinicians and ers, even if they do not often become
increasing interest among research- ill themselves – a critical issue as
ers hoping to understand why. educators struggle to make decisions
about reopening schools and child-
COVID-19 has become the na- care centers.
tion’s third-leading cause of death
this year, but 18 states had not seen a Healthcare officials recognized
single fatality among people under 20 early in the outbreak that children
as of Sept. 10, according to statistics were much less likely than adults to
compiled by the American Academy become infected with the virus, show
of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hos- symptoms, require hospitalization or
pital Association. die of COVID-19. Nearly 80 percent of
the deaths linked to the disease are
Children are much more likely to among people 65 and older, one of
die of homicides (there were 1,865 in the defining demographic character-
2016, according to government data), istics of the U.S. outbreak.
drowning (995) or even fires and
burns (340). But in the early months, there were
concerns that COVID-19’s true im-
The numbers are all the more re- pact on children had yet to emerge –
markable because respiratory diseas- hidden, perhaps, by the country’s in-
es typically hit the young and the old adequate testing regimen or because
hard, and children are often highly many youngsters were asymptom-
vulnerable to infectious disease. In atic. Now, though testing for people
this way, COVID-19 is similar to the under 18 can still be difficult to find,
flu, which killed an estimated 24,000 eight months of data and experience
to 62,000 people last winter, but 188 have made researchers more confi-
people age 17 and below. (That was a dent in younger people’s ability to
record high for that age group, how- survive the infection. This is true de-
ever.) spite recent upticks in the infection
and hospitalization rates for children
“It seems notable that this pan- and teenagers, and a decline in the
demic, which has had so much of a median age of the infected popula-
toll in mortality and morbidity, does tion.
seem to spare kids in a dramatic
way,” said Larry Steinman, a profes- “I think, in general, it remains true,
sor of pediatrics and neurology at thankfully, that this is for the most
Stanford University School of Medi-

44 Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 Style Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

Delightful Dozen: The 12 best shows from Milan Fashion Week

BY BETHAN HOLT lots of dangling cameras). It wasn’t trousers, rucksacks and calf-length, Giorgio Armani
The Telegraph even that this was Miuccia Prada’s flared skirts with almost no surface “I think that the challenge has al-
first collection with her new (and first) embellishment, apart from flower, ways been to adapt to the times with-
Our fashion staff presents the shows to co-creative director, Raf Simons. The leaf and tree silhouettes. But a lemon, out changing one’s nature,” Giorgio Ar-
know from Milan Fashion Week ... truly disruptive element was the ques- buttonless coat here – an industrial- mani said, before presenting no fewer
tions from the public that followed. ized take on Fifties opera coats – here, than 99 looks in an audience-free cat-
Prada The clothes exuded a similar lack of a pale pink dress there added warmth walk show that was for the first time
The most radical change wasn’t the ease – white nylon shell tops, slim if not coziness. broadcast on primetime television in
dystopian show (live-streamed via Italy as well as streamed online. The
Fendi Armani show aired after “The Good
Established 18 Years in Indian River County How do you create a sense of ease Wife” and before a rerun of “American
and not make it about a pair of jog- Gigolo,” the 1980 film starring Rich-
(772) 562-2288 | www.kitchensvero.com ging pants and a fleece? Silvia Fendi ard Gere, who famously wore Armani
3920 US Hwy 1, Vero Beach FL 32960 took a Forties silhouette and pumped throughout. This collection included
it full of air. Was that really Karen all the motifs that are not supposed
Elson, liberated from the U.S. travel to translate well on television –
eye-
ban (it was). Ashley Graham? (Ditto). tricking geometric jacquards and
Fendi also invited craftspeople from finely checked brocades. Yet it all came
each of Italy’s 21 regions to reinter- across smoothly, interspersed with silk
pret the famous Fendi Baguette bag. satin dresses and pajama-like trousers
From Abruzzo comes a white lace that moved like liquid.
one, dipped in sugar water to stiffen
the lace. “If we don’t do it, these crafts Boss
will be lost,” Fendi told me via Zoom. Given that Boss is a brand esteemed
This is Italy’s “we’re all in it together” for its tailoring, the collection designer
moment. Ingo Wilts show in Milan read as one of
its most casual yet. Relatively. There are
Dolce & Gabbana still blazers aplenty in the Boss wom-
Dolce & Gabbana last created a patch- en’s spring/summer ’21 world; they’re
work collection in 1993, at the zenith of just styled with silky tracksuit bottoms
the supermodel era when Evangelista, and flat utility sandals. The whole col-
Crawford, Campbell, et al. were sprin- lection made a convincing case for mix-
kling their super-stardust on fashion. ing work and play, with tailoring fabrics
There’s so much apposite about patch- applied to relaxed shapes. And rather
work now, 27 years later. It feels comfort- than office black or navy, the palette
ing, nostalgic and crafty. In the rarefied was dominated by duck-egg blue, mint
world of D&G, patchwork is less about green, pine. The look that made you go
DIY, more an appreciation of fatto a mano “ooh” was one of these smart-casual hy-
and the craftsmanship still poured into brids: a double-faced leather coat worn
these collections of almost 100 looks. over a hoodie and split-hem tracksuit
They offered tailored wiggle dresses bottoms, all in clotted cream – an ideal
alongside laze-luxe kaftans, hedging look for a first-class long-haul flight,
their bets on whether we’ll be partying whenever that may be.
and jet-setting or doing GFH (Glam From
Home) next summer – either way, we can Max Mara
rest assured we’ll look fabulous. Ian Griffiths, creative director at Max

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Style Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 45

Mara, chose to riff on the fact that we’ve director Paul Andrew. Shot in deserted watched by various socialites and We may not be at Atlantis levels of de-
all been wearing sweatpants for the last locations in Milan (a comment on this influencers. “I like to be spontane- struction just yet, but if you’re feeling
six months, rather than delivering yet year’s evacuations from the cities in ous, playful yet serious,” said cre- bleak, Donatella Versace has some
more of them. Drawstring and ruching which we once bustled?), this was TV ative director Walter Chiapponi, who good news. In a digital-only show,
elements were added to relaxed suiting fashion at its most desirable. brought joy and ease to this collec- we saw ancient, broken columns
and casual outerwear, for a new take on tion after forging a closer bond with and Medusa heads in an underwater
easy dressing at the office. Ports 1961 his colleagues during lockdown. “It world, quiet and abandoned. Then in
“I wanted it to feel blankety and feels fluid and sensual but we added marched Versace’s troop of modern
“To present restrictive uncomfort- cozy,” creative director Karl Templer femininity, too,” he explained, show- mermaids, in strong dark tailoring at
able clothes just would not be realis- told me before his show – which was ing how he’d paired silk ruffled dress- first, soon evolving into an uplifting
tic,” Griffiths acknowledged. “But if simultaneously staged in a courtyard es with Plexiglas heels. Here’s hoping spectrum of color and aquatic-themed
people want to buy any clothes at all, in front of 50 guests and streamed they get a real-life outing. decoration. This was Versaceopolis –
they want to buy special clothes that online. Fine cottons and taffetas had “a utopian settlement created on the
make them feel good. They might be been pre-washed to make them softer. Versace seabed and populated by strong and
going to the office for only two days a A laser-cut dress over a slip had the It can feel as if we’re living through confident men and women.” Putting
week instead of five, so now those two ease of a T-shirt. Even the gold jewelry some kind of Greek myth these days. in my visa application now. 
days feel more like an event and they was hammered to look molten and
take pleasure in thinking about what more tactile. The brief was versatility:
they’re going to wear.” double layered, designed to be worn
loose or belted, and whooshed up at
Moschino night with necklaces and belts. Ports,
“Of course Lady Penelope [star of founded in Canada in 1961, might just
British Sixties puppet show ‘Thunder- have found its identity and purpose.
birds’] wafted through my mind,” Jere-
my Scott enthused over Zoom from Los Valentino
Angeles, where he lives and works. “But Pierpaolo Piccioli, Valentino’s cre-
I have to say, my marionettes have slim- ative director, opted for real models,
mer necks.” live music courtesy of British artist
Lockdown made him hungrier Labrinth and a real audience, albeit
than ever for glamour. Fifties couture, a drastically reduced one – and a live
old brocades, sky blue and bronzy- screening. Aerial views, landscapes
pink tulles and duchess satins were and split screens meant that besides
whooshed up into full skirts, shawl seeing close-up details of those la-
necklines and nipped-in jackets. It was ser-cut cotton dresses and shirts, we
charming and so crazily off beam in could appreciate the life-enhancing
terms of what most other designers are qualities of his beautiful yet realistic
designing, it can’t fail to resonate on clothes. Floral chiffon maxi dresses
some level (you can see it still on Mos- billowed, oversized blouses in fuch-
chino.com). “My role is to raise a smile,” sia or cappuccino fluttered over slim
says Scott. Job done. trousers and cycling shorts and high
waisted denim jeans worn with white
Salvatore Ferrgamo blazers looked somehow so fresh and
I always end up wanting the clothes approachably chic you may not want
in Luca Guadagnino films. There were to don a hoodie again.
Tilda Swinton’s simple yet elevated
sundresses in “A Bigger Splash” and Tod’s
the preppy Eighties shirts and baggy Did you groom for Zoom? Use your
shorts in “Call Me By Your Name.” virtual quiz nights as an excuse to
Now, it’s the sinuous powder-blue silk dress up? Well, your efforts will likely
dresses, sage tailoring and sumptu- pale in comparison to Tod’s, which
ously plush leather clutch bags and reimagined a digital party for its pre-
mules which feature in “Life in Tech- sentation, switching from room to
nicolor,” the Hitchcock-inspired short room as models sang and sashayed
film Guadagnino created in collabora- to a screen where they were being
tion with Salvatore Ferragamo creative

46 Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 Style Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

Chloe does a David Attenborough at Paris Fashion Week

BY BETHAN HOLT
The Telegraph

In 2020, pavements and parks have the risk,” said Chloe’s creative director attitude,” which the ambling about in a
become our catwalks. With fewer proper Natacha Ramsay-Levi, perhaps sound- crowd part had offered.
events to dress up for, a walk to the shops ing a little more like she was directing a
or a picnic in your local green space safari documentary than coordinating As for the clothes themselves, they
has become as exciting as a wedding or 37 women strolling through Paris. The had all the effortless boho elan for
birthday party might have been before. effect was refreshing, though, seeing the which Chloe is known. Ramsay-Levi,
clothes in their natural habitat. an artsy Parisian who is surely her own
I’ll admit, I was confused for a mo- best muse, said that lockdown had
ment when I tuned into Chloe’s spring/ Eventually, they all came together forced her to be “pretty simple.” She
summer 2021 show recently. Were the for a short, sharp catwalk which was an pointed to the concept of a three-holes-
models just milling around nonchalant- expression of the women’s “outer confi- dress (yes, that’s a dress with a hole for
ly on the street before it began? And who dence” after the “chance to show their both arms and your head, but not much
were this elderly couple shuffling across more) as an example of something you
the screen obscuring my view? It was could “just slip into.”
soon clear this was the show … a bunch
of fabulously dressed women scattered There were updates on the ’70s shapes
in the streets around the Palais de To- which the Chloe look is rooted in; shirts
kyo, some going purposefully about with exaggerated, pointed collars, sub-
their business, others congregating to tly flared trousers and long, languid
chat in small, stylish groups … this was maxi dresses. The house’s famous flou
the joy of people-spotting translated to swooshed across the screen in the form
virtual fashion show format. of sarong shirt dresses, delicate layers of
peach and salmon chiffon and the pret-
It was a bit like David Attenborough- tiest pale blue, lace-trimmed, spaghetti
does-fashion-week; “the girls were in the strap dress.
wild, we couldn’t control what was hap-
pening … we just decided to embrace Chloe isn’t really about the individual
items – although horse-stamped wide
belts, slinky knitted vests and over- Kent, a social justice campaigner who
sized collar blouses all have ‘It’ poten- died in 1986, appeared in the collec-
tial – but how you wear it … you might tion). Then, of course, you’d add one of
shrug a blazer over a long shirt or pair a the new Hailey handbags and few talis-
delicate floral mini skirt with a slogan manic necklaces.
knit (several art works created by Corita
That’s why Ramsay-Levi has taken to
mixing the models on her catwalk with
other women she admires and works
with, to bring their own style and at-
titude to her designs. Algerian-French
dancer and singer Sofia Boutella closed
the show in a fitted, cut-out top with a
chic crystal-embellished skirt. Just the
sort of look you might walk past in the
park and want to emulate. If you lived
near a very stylish park. 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Style Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 47

Dior’s Maria Grazia Chiuri makes ‘The New Look’ sofa-compatible

BY LISA ARMSTRONG
The Telegraph

Even during a discombobulating, dig-
ital fashion month, catwalks still attract
protests. Designers ought to be relieved.
Isn’t this evidence that fashion can still
provoke a reaction? That said, the lone
Extinction Rebellion protester who
marched her way onto Dior’s catwalk
last week with a banner pointing out that
We’re All Fashion Victims (a cheeky play
on Dior’s $860 We Should All Be Femi-
nists T-shirts), looked tame in compari-
son with the sometimes feral riots that
broke out on the streets after Christian
Dior launched his New Look in 1947.

The New Look was in many ways pro-
foundly old, co-opting as it did the cor-
sets and full skirts of the 19th century
and it created quite the commotion. Mil-
lions lapped up its brazen nostalgia, ro-
mance and femininity. Others were ap-

matching lace maxis were as formal as close-up appreciation. Deli-
it got. Somber colors such as khaki and cate and finely wrought as this was,
nude gave way to rose pink and petrol none of it looked as though it should be
blue. It was quietly lovely, designed for saved for best. 

palled by its profligacy. The skirt alone or worn open, inspired by the “home”
required around 13 and a half yards of jacket Christian Dior introduced in 1975,
fabric at a time of acute rationing. The based loosely on the kimono.
same arguments about waste, albeit for
different reasons, are an incendiary is- Could anything be a more apposite
sue in fashion now. starting point for Chiuri, who has been
on a mission to make the New Look rel-
Street fights notwithstanding, the evant since she joined the house almost
New Look became one of the most four years ago? The upended lives of Dior
enduring Dior emblems, endlessly re- customers this year have pushed her
worked by subsequent designers ever further than ever towards this goal with
since. arguably her most deconstructed collec-
tion to date. Sheer chiffon maxi dresses
None of them has made the New worn over sporty-looking race back bras,
Look as sofa-compatible as Maria Gra- tie-dye anoraks and silky trousers had
zia Chiuri in this live-streamed show, been styled to look as though they’d been
which took place in Paris in front of a haphazardly shrugged on. To emphasise
handful of guests. But then none of this point, she collaborated with collage
them was a woman. artist Lucia Marcucci on a collaged set.

Chiuri’s ‘New’ New Look comprises Shoes were flat – ballet pumps with
full(ish) calf-length skirts in soft, pre- ribbons; fabrics were prewashed to
washed fabrics and embroidered or soften them and make them feel less
African-inspired wax-printed wrap jack- precious. Shrunken waistcoats over
ets that could be cinched at the waist

48 Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

DINING COLUMN

Diners angry about masks prompt training for restaurants

BY EMILY HEIL Kristi Gilmore prepares drinks at Citrus.

The Washington Post PHOTOS BY KAILA JONES

Six-plus months into the pandemic
that has upended the way many busi-
nesses operate, videos of irate customers
refusing to wear masks or maintain so-
cial distance are by now no novelty.

Restaurant workers have frequently
borne the brunt of people objecting to
policies put in place by their establish-
ments or by local and state orders, with
conflicts big and small – caught on viral
video or mostly unnoticed – playing out
in dining rooms around the country.

That reality, where shouting matches
might be on the menu along with the
evening’s steak special, prompted the
National Restaurant Association to re-
cently introduce training to help restau-
rant and hospitality workers defuse con-
flicts with patrons who balk – or worse.

Since the start of the pandemic, the
organization has been offering advice
on issues from hand-washing tech-
niques to packaging takeout. Increas-
ingly, restaurant workers found them-
selves not just battling the virus, but
their customers, too.

“We were hearing, ‘My employees
need tactics on how to handle this, on
how to handle the intensity,’” says Janet
Benoit, vice president of learning and
development for ServSafe, the associa-
tion’s training and education program.
“They needed some information and
tools at their fingertips.”

In the free videos, workers are given
advice explaining how to “de-escalate
conflict” that seems to be common
sense. Listen to the customer, the video
instructs. Repeat back what you hear.
Oh, and stay calm. “An angry guest isn’t
necessarily mad at you,” the narrator in-
tones. “They’re just mad.”

The training also anticipates several

Regan Sowa waits to
run food at Citrus.

Vernon Jackson.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 49

DINING COLUMN

The restaurant association’s guidance tics: He notes that Michigan is home to
comes just after the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention recently updat- anti-mask organizations and to groups
ed its own worker-safety guidance, urg-
ing workers not to argue or to force angry of citizens who patrol restaurants and
and violent people to comply with coro-
navirus policies. report people they see violating corona-

The guidance noted that assaults and virus policies. “So where does that put all
threats were most likely in retail and ser-
vice settings, such as restaurants, and it of us?” he asks. “Right in the middle.”
recommended that employers offer con-
flict-resolution training. He says one of the most effective tech-

Scott Ellis, executive director of the niques has been asking customers to
Michigan Licensed Beverage Associa-
tion, says conflicts between customers help out in a difficult time. Instead of
and restaurant workers have often been
caused by confusion, particularly in the disagreeing with their customers’ anti-
early days of the pandemic, when vari-
ous jurisdictions imposed different rules mask stance, he says, some servers and
and enforcement was uneven.
owners have defused potentially fraught
Ellis also says that restaurant con-
frontations are typically fueled by poli- situations by appealing to their patrons’

sympathy for struggling businesses hit

hard by the virus.

“They’ll say, ‘You might disagree

with face masks, and that’s your right,

but even though you might hate the

government, I need you to help me

Kyle Mills prepares stay open,’” he says. “toS,oamnedptehoeSpyleewjrauvnsittn g Dinn
food at Citrus. want to be listened
Rese
‘You might disagree since the beginning of the COVID era, to be part of the solution.” 
with face masks, and she figures, a little refresh might be in
order. “Sometimes, you need a good re- CITRUS
that’s your right ... minder of what that means in the face
I need you to help of a new context,” she says. E A R LY D I N I N G M E N U I S BAC K!

me stay open.’ Of course, servers and other “front- Tuesday - Thursday 5 to 6pm
of-house workers” have always had 2 Courses for $25
– Scott Ellis occasional static with customers:
Maybe there’s a dispute over a bill, or En joy a Bottle of H ouse Wi ne for $15
scenarios, including a diner who doesn’t a tipsy customer angry that he won’t
want to wear a face covering, or a fight be served another drink. But the pan- Serving Dinner Tuesday - Sunday from 5-9pm
that might erupt between two custom- demic has introduced an entirely new Reservations Recommended • (772) 234-4114
ers. It also brings up the possibility that dynamic, with servers often policing 1050 Easter Lily Lane • CitrusGrillhouse.com
patrons might film a confrontation on how far apart people are dining or how
their phones. large a party size can be.

Benoit agrees that the keep-calm ad- A Colorado man last month was re-
vice might seem like the kind of thing portedly charged with harassment and
that functioning adults should already trespassing after an incident in which he
know. But given the fundamental allegedly attacked his server over being
changes in the restaurant experience asked to wear a mask. A teenage waitress
at a Chili’s in Baton Rouge, La., was alleg-
edly attacked and her face bloodied by a
group of women when she told them the
party couldn’t sit together.

Zagat Rated We would like to thank our loyal clientele for
2013 - 2020 all of your support during the summer as we
Wine Spectator Award
2002 – 2020 offered lunch and the mercantile.

As the season approaches we are pleased to
announce our return to regular business hours
serving dinner every night starting in October at 5 PM.

Online ordering and the Tides-to-go
are available for your convenience.
The Tides staff are COVID-19 certified and
all social distancing measures remain in effect.
Proud recipient of 2020 Trip Advisor
Traveler’s Choice Award placing us in the
“TOP 10% OF RESTAURANTS WORLD-WIDE”

Go to www.TidesofVero.com for
our specials and online ordering.

(772) 234-3966

3103 Cardinal Drive, Vero Beach, FL
tidesofvero.com

50 Vero Beach 32963 / October 8, 2020 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

Vero & Casual Dining