08/12/2021 ISSUE 32

Laura Riding Jackson house a
hit on college campus. P10
Landowner cited for
clearing wooded tract. P12

Vaccinations rise as COVID-19
infections here set new record. P4

Island home prices For breaking news visit
soar, and are seen
likely to keep rising Schools reopen
with masks still
BY STEVEN M. THOMAS optional–fornow
Staff Writer
PHOTO BY BRENDA AHEARN BY GEORGE ANDREASSI
As eager cash buyers con- Staff Writer
tinue to flock to Vero Beach BY STEPHANIE LABAFF it is at best two-thirds done. ard Mutterback, lies in a
from the Northeast, Califor- Staff Writer Days go by with little sign combination of the discov- As school districts across
nia and South Florida, home ery of unexpected structural Florida reinstituted mandatory
prices on the 32963 barrier Five months after the ren- of progress, and often with damage and rainy weather. facemask policies in response
island are up dramatically – ovation of the popular Conn little sign of construction to skyrocketing COVID-19
and brokers expect them to Beach boardwalk started – workers. But the project is now ex- cases, Indian River County
keep rising. and two months after it was pected to be ‘substantially School District stuck by its op-
supposed to be completed – The explanation, accord- complete’ by the end of Au- tional facemask policy for the
“Single-family home prices ing to Vero Beach Assistant reopening of schools Tuesday.
in John’s Island have risen a Public Works Director Rich- CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
solid 25 percent across the But Schools Superintendent
board compared to last year David Moore said Monday he
at this time,” says John’s Is- might ask the School Board at
land Real Estate broker Bob its Aug. 24 meeting to reim-
Gibb. “Condo prices are up pose a “mandatory” facemask
30-to-35 percent.” policy if the pandemic contin-
ues to worsen.
Marsha Sherry, broker at The
Moorings Realty Sales Co., says “We may want to make it
the average price of condos a mandatory mask-wearing
sold by her agents in the south program,” Moore said during
island country club communi- a Facebook Live presentation.
ty is up 20 percent, year-over- “Those recommendations will
year, while the average price of be based on the reality of how
single-family homes has risen we did during the first two
an astonishing 45 percent. weeks of school.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 Currently, the school dis-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

‘As soon as I get out of here, I want to get the vaccine’

Elizabeth Pantano BY MICHELLE GENZ South Carolina to see him. sat on the porch and ate ribs Dr. Kim Yerich
Staff Writer Going to the family farm and peach ice cream, and
toured his Christmas tree
Three weeks and three near Charleston was like go- farm. Kim showed her the ad-
days before the death of Dr. ing home, Pantano says. She dition he was building to the
Kim Yerich, his beloved cous- and her cousin grew up to- horse barn.
in, Elizabeth Pantano, made gether there.
another of her routine pil- “He was always a dreamer,”
grimages from Vero Beach to Beth, as she is known, was recalled Pantano last Sunday,
happy to see Kim was his
usual boisterous self. They CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

August 12, 2021 Volume 14, Issue 32 Newsstand Price $1.00 Learning Alliance
enlists ‘Power of
News 1-14 Editorial 28 People 15-22 TO ADVERTISE CALL Puppetry.’ P16
Arts 37-40 Games 31-33 Pets 56 772-559-4187
Books 30 Health 41-47 Real Estate 59-68
Dining 52-55 Insight 23-36 Style 48-51 FOR CIRCULATION
CALL 772-226-7925

© 2021 Vero Beach 32963 Media LLC. All rights reserved.

2 Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Unvaccinated death knowing the long-term side effects,
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 especially with all the misinformation
around the vaccine.
one day after her cousin died of CO-
VID-19. “While I went completely against
my father’s beliefs and questioned
Seemingly overnight, Kim’s dreams him, I saved my life in the long run,”
had ended in a nightmare, a horror said Grayson, a Type One diabetic
Pantano knows might have been pre- who is at higher risk for severe COVID
vented had her cousin agreed to be disease. In childhood, Grayson spent
vaccinated. many days in the pediatric ICU.

“I am heartbroken and angry,” said “I grew up going in and out of the
Pantano, who has had a long career in PICU, and I have never seen a disease
healthcare. “If his suffering and death as horrible as COVID-19,” Grayson
can save one person, it would lighten said.
my heart a bit.”
“I lost my father to a disease that has
Kim, a retired veterinarian who been politicized when it should have
spent his career vaccinating ev- been prioritized. No one should have
erybody’s pets, was not vaccinated to watch a loved one suffer like this.
against COVID-19. Neither was his
wife, son, daughter, or son-in-law. “Everyone in my family had COVID
They all got COVID too. except me. To me, that proved the vac-
cine worked,” she said. “I just wish
Dad had gotten the vaccine.”

PHOTO BY BRENDA AHEARN

Only his youngest daughter Gray- During the worst of her father’s ill-
son, 21, didn’t get the virus. She was the ness, an overwhelmed Grayson would
only member of the family vaccinated. call Pantano – her cousin – in Vero,
sometimes two or three times a day.
Knowing her father opposed vac- Their conversations were devastat-
cines, she never told him until her ingly sad, said Pantano.
first visit to the hospital, when he was
already on a Bi-PAP machine to help “It was the tragedy of it all. I would
him breathe. try to support her but there were no
words. I would just tell her I loved her,
“Dad started to cry and said, ‘As and we prayed.”
soon as I get out of here, I want to get
the vaccine.’ He gave me a thumbs up For these past weeks, Pantano’s ro-
and said, ‘I am so proud of you.’” sary, stationed at her bedside, has
been a fixture in her fingers. As her
“Dad was completely against the cousin’s life spun out and away, her
COVID vaccine prior to having COV- anger began to swell.
ID-19,” said Grayson, who hopes to go
to medical school when she graduates She knows the vaccine could well
from Clemson. have saved her cousin’s life.

“He was concerned about not In her medically trained mind, the

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 3

NEWS

political views of her family mem- “I want him to be proud of me. This Kim, who was in high school, got a spe- field while he pointed out constella-
bers should not have entered into semester, I’m taking my dad’s favorite cial pass to leave early and run across tions.
their decision to get protection from class, organic chemistry.” the road to pick up Beth every time it
the virus. started to snow from preschool. She visited him in veterinary school
It was Grayson who called Pantano at the University of Georgia, and when
“When did it get political? Why is it in Vero before dawn last Saturday He taught her songs to sing while he he opened his office, she went to work
political? Trump is the one who im- morning to tell her about Kim’s death. played the guitar, and they recorded for him. He took her to her first con-
plemented Operation Warp Speed be- the music into his cassette player, con- cert – Chicago – and bought her first
cause we needed it out fast. A vaccine The news hit Pantano hard because vinced they’d be a rock band one day. legal drink when she turned 21.
was the only answer,” she said. Kim had been a kind of father to her
as well. When he took astronomy in college, Pantano left home after college,
But trying to tell people they are they stretched out on a blanket in the
wrong about the vaccine is risky busi- They went to the same school and CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
ness. “If you do, you may cause a di-
vide in your own family. Fighting and
arguing about it is never the answer,”
Pantano said.

She did talk to her nephew and his
wife – they were afraid of getting sick
from the vaccine, and of long-last-
ing adverse effects that social media
sources warned of.

“I said to them we eradicated wild
smallpox with a vaccine. We all had
the polio vaccine and that’s why it’s
almost eradicated. The older popula-
tion remembers polio and I think they
get vaccinated because they’ve lived
through a vaccine-preventable ill-
ness,” said Pantano.

“We’re vaccinated against measles,
mumps, rubella, diphtheria, hepatitis
A, hepatitis B. We give our babies hepa-
titis B vaccine while they’re still in the
hospital. Why are we afraid of this vac-
cine?”

Her nephew and his wife ended up
getting the vaccine. They also con-
vinced a friend to get it. Then they
spoke to their minister, who urged his
congregation to get vaccinated. Kim’s
impact on those around him may be
his final legacy.

“I don’t think it’s anything I said,”
said Pantano. “I think my nephew and
his wife saw [Kim’s suffering] and they
realized they needed the vaccine.

“People are in denial,” she went on.
“There’s been so much media, people
talking about faking numbers and all
this arguing and drama about it. Until
it affects somebody you know and love,
you really don’t know the suffering.”

Pantano points out researchers have
been studying the foundation of the
two most common COVID vaccines,
messenger RNA, since the 1970s, and
working on synthetic mRNA vaccines
since the 1990s.

The tweak that ultimately made
the COVID-19 vaccine possible was
discovered in 2005, “the starter pistol
for the vaccine sprint to come,” as the
medical magazine STAT put it.

That was 16 years ago.
Grayson doesn’t hold back about
the loss of her father.
“I have big plans. And I no longer
have my No. 1 cheerleader in my cor-
ner,” she said. “My father will never see
me graduate from Clemson. He will
never see me graduate from medical
school. He will never be able to walk
me down the aisle at my wedding.

4 Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Unvaccinated death Kim started feeling bad just five days
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 after Pantano last saw him. Shortly af-
ter, he was hospitalized; by July 30, he
bought herself a sailboat and for was on a BiPAP machine, using what
five years lived in a marina in Del- little breath he had to repeatedly tell
ray Beach. She met her husband and his family he couldn’t breathe and was
moved to Big Pine Key before settling in agony.
in Vero to raise their two kids.
Grayson posted to Facebook: “The
Now and then, Kim flew down to sheer amount of agony my father is in
Vero in his own plane – Grayson some- from this virus is terrifying, Please get
times flew with him, and after a couple vaccinated, wear your masks and stay
of days of going to the beach and out six feet apart. I cannot stress enough
to eat, they would typically head to the how desperate we are to prevent any-
Keys. one else from getting COVID-19. This
is an absolute nightmare.”
As for Pantano, she has always re-
turned to the farm several times a “My family cannot unsee every-
year, more when her parents were still thing that my father went through,”
alive. She and her brother kept owner- said Grayson. “My dad was scream-
ship of her parents’ house there when ing using every last breath he had to
they died, both in their 90s. tell us he couldn’t breathe. It was hor-
rible.”
“Our people are long-lived people,”
Pantano said. Finally, doctors felt they had no choice
but to put him on a ventilator, now used
Her cousin Kim was a tall, healthy, only as a last resort in COVID-19 treat-
outgoing, animal-loving soul about to ment. He died within 36 hours.
turn 66 before he was felled by COVID.
He missed his birthday, Aug. 23, and For nearly three weeks, Kim’s fam-
his 36th wedding anniversary the next ily – his wife, their three children and
day, and his daughter Grayson’s birth- their spouses – diligently maintained
day four days after that. shifts at his bedside for the 8 a.m. to
8 p.m. visiting hours, outfitted with
It was a trifecta of annual milestones N-95 masks. Overnight, though, he
that typically merged into a weeklong was alone. The end came at 4 a.m.
celebration. This year, the family will
mark the third week of mourning. “I only hope a nurse held his hand,”

Pantano said. 

NUMBER OF COVID-19 VACCINATIONS RISES
AS INFECTIONS HERE SET NEW RECORD

BY LISA ZAHNER The last time cases got nearly this
Staff Writer high was in January when Indian Riv-
er County saw an average of 120 cases
New COVID-19 infections, boosted per day or 840 in one week. For com-
by the widely circulating Delta vari- parison, during the summer surge of
ant, increased 40 percent over the pre- 2020, the largest number of cases in
vious week, the case count rising from one week was 385, or 55 per day.
682 to 955 and setting a new record for
Indian River County of an average of In early June, about eight people
136 cases per day, up from 97 cases per per day were testing positive. So, in
day the previous week. two months, that number has risen by
1,600 percent.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 5

NEWS

There’s some good news in the of people vaccinated in Indian River was similar – likely because people positivity rate hovered around 15
numbers, however, as the number of county to 98,485, or 68 percent of the who are fully vaccinated aren’t likely percent on average, meaning that 85
weekly vaccinations is also on an up- eligible population 12 years and older. to get tested unless their symptoms percent of people who got tested did
ward trend. In June, between 500 and are pretty bad. The problem with that not have the virus. With the case pos-
600 people were being vaccinated per Despite the transmissibility of the is that they can still be spreading the itivity rate last week in the 20-percent
week. Last week, 1,829 people were Delta variant, fewer people are get- virus with a mild case. range, one in five people tested had
vaccinated, bringing the total number ting tested right now than back in
January when the weekly case count Back in January the countywide the virus. 

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6 Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Schools reopen Cardona last week questioned that fold rise since the low of 3.1 percent to change the facemask policy, Moore
strategy. during the week of June 18 to June 24. said.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
In addition, on Saturday the Palm In addition, Cleveland Clinic Flor- “It may be we continue with the
trict “highly recommends” students Beach County School District joined ida’s hospitals on the Treasure Coast opt-out ... if we are able to manage
and educators wear facemasks indoors those in Broward, Duval, Alachua and reported a total of 197 patients being and that program is working well,”
when they cannot maintain 3 feet of Leon counties in reinstituting manda- treated for COVID-19 as of Sunday, Moore said. “Or, God willing, the cases
space from others, Moore said. tory facemasks in schools, despite the compared to 46 on July 2, a three-fold go down and we can make a recom-
governor’s orders. increase. mendation to move to masks being
For those who do not want to fol- strictly optional.”
low the recommendation, Moore said “We as a system for the last three Approximately 90 percent of the
the school district will allow parents to weeks have been saying, ‘It is highly COVID-19 patients admitted to Cleve- The third option would be to make
send their children to school without recommended that you wear a mask,’” land Clinic Florida’s hospitals had not facemasks mandatory.
a mask, but only if they complete an Moore said. “[But] the executive order been vaccinated against the virus,
opt-out form and submit it to the dis- provides the opportunity for parents said spokesman Scott Samples. However it shakes out, facemasks
trict by the end of the week. to have the right to opt out.” will not be allowed to create conflicts
As of Friday, 52 COVID-19 patients in the schools, Moore said.
“There are parents who are con- However, the school district will were still hospitalized at Cleveland
cerned we should not be wearing require visitors on campuses to wear Clinic Indian River, Samples said. “Expectations will be taught that
masks in schools, that it is the parents’ facemasks, Moore said. negative commentary or treatment
right to choose,” Moore said. “We un- Virus trends in the county and pub- of any individuals related to their face
derstand the political divide, but we A total of 955 Indian River County lic schools will be gauged during the covering choice will not be tolerated,”
also understand the challenge of edu- residents were diagnosed with CO- next two weeks to determine whether
cating in the midst of a pandemic.” VID-19 between July 30 and Aug. 5, Moore said. 
Florida Department of Health records Island home prices soar
Four parents filed an unsuccess- show. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 “We are at about 90 percent cash on
ful lawsuit against the school district the island at this point, compared to
challenging the mandatory facemask That represented a 40-percent in- “We have been seeing a 25- to 30-per- 65 percent two years ago,” she says.
policy instituted for the 2020-2021 crease compared to the prior week cent year-over-year jump in price,
school year and other parents showed and 17-fold jump since the recent low which is extraordinary,” says Sally Dal- The freedom of cash buyers to pay
up at School Board meetings to pro- of 51 cases during the week of June 18 ey, owner/broker at Daley & Company what they want to pay for a house or
test the policy. to June 24, state Health Department Real Estate. condo puts upward pressure on pric-
records show. es not just in the first instance, when
More recently, Gov. Ron DeSantis Other island brokers and online data their deal closes at a higher price, but
threatened to withhold state funding The positivity rate of people tested sources see similar increases, with Re- also going forward as those emotion-
from school districts that violate his for the virus rose to 22.8 percent dur- altor.com reporting the median sales driven purchases become legitimate
ban on mandatory facemask policies, ing the week of July 30 through Aug. price in 32963 was up by $180,000 in comps, justifying increased asking
but U.S. Education Secretary Miguel 5, state Health Department records July compared to a year earlier, soar- and sales prices for similar proper-
show. That represented a 22 percent ing from $740,000 to $920,000. ties.
increase in the past week and a six-
A market report prepared by ONE Other factors helping push prices
Sotheby’s International Realty that higher in Vero include the runup in
looks at prices by market segment the stock market, which has put cash
found the average sales price of island in buyers’ pockets, and nose-bleed
homes priced between $1 million and home prices in the places most buyers
$3 million – a big chunk of the mar- come from.
ket – was up by 38 percent in June
compared to June 2020, surging from “Vero is still a good value,” says Holt.
$1,303,000 to $1,794,000. “Prices in Miami are approximately 40
higher than they are here.” They’re
Daley says buyer emotion is help- also much higher in California and
ing drive the price surge in a market many northeastern markets, which
where inventory is at historic lows. means buyers who sell homes in those
locales have lots of money to spend in
“We have a market value on paper, Vero and tend to see prices here as a
but there’s also now an emotional val- bargain.
ue that can be 10-to-20 percent above
market,” says Daley. “When people see Buyers’ desire to enter the surging
something they really want and they Vero market is so strong that Daley
are tired of waiting and have been dis- says she is now seeing people pur-
appointed trying to get other houses, chase placeholder properties. “Some
they will spend more than comps sup- buyers are saying, ‘If we can’t get ex-
port.” actly what we want, then let’s just buy
the best thing we can find to get our
“When a buyer finds a property that foot in the door.’
meets their needs, they are willing to
pay what they have to pay to get it,” “These are buyers who are deter-
agrees Bobbie Holt, broker at ONE So- mined to be in Vero, and they feel,
theby’s barrier island office. “It is not rightly, that they might as well in-
a matter of what a house will appraise vest here and build equity while they
for; it’s all about what it is worth to that continue looking for their dream
buyer.” home.”

In markets where mortgage loans Holt says homebuying activity has
are the norm, that kind of buyer emo- not diminished heading into late sum-
tion would run up against the brick mer – traditionally a slow time in the
wall of banks’ refusal to write loans island market.
that exceed what comps support. But
here, Holt says, almost all deals now “Our sales activity has not slowed
are transacted in cash. down,” she says. “We are just as busy,
and prices just keep going up and up.
We market directly into our feeder

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8



8 Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Island home prices soar condos up 35 percent in the same pe- Conn Beach boardwalk rails, benches and streetside stairs, us-
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 riod. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 ing composite materials and stainless
hardware sturdier than the existing
markets – places like New York City, And brokers say they expect current gust, Mutterback says. materials.
Greenwich, Connecticut, California, trends to continue. Ask any of the people who formerly
Miami and Palm Beach, and we’re see- The job got underway in early
ing international clients back in the “I would say yes, prices are still ac- used the boardwalk for their daily ex- March, with Tadeos projecting a June
market for Florida homes.” celerating,” says Sherry. “I believe de- ercise if they believe that. 14 completion date, but the compa-
mand will remain for at least another ny soon discovered that more of the
Daley says things have slowed year, maybe longer, so now is still a The only thing most seemed pre- wooden substructure had to be re-
slightly but remain busy in the dog good time to buy.” pared to believe last week was that placed than anticipated, according to
days of summer. “Instead of going the original budget of $396,000 has al- Mutterback.
150 on the autobahn the way we were “I was with ONE Sotheby’s Chief ready increased by 10 percent.
in March and April, we are going Economist Fernando de Nuñez y Lu- “Most of that substructure is un-
about 110 or 115. Instead of every- gones the other day and he said we Over the past 37 years since it was der sand, so you couldn’t really tell
thing selling immediately, it may take have a good two-and-a-half to three built in 1984, frequent piecemeal re- how many of the pile caps had to be
a few weeks. years of rising home prices ahead of pairs were made to the seaside struc- replaced until they started the demo-
us,” says Holt. ture in an attempt to keep up with lition. Each time they open a section
“That said, certain properties still damage as it was battered, season af- up, the engineer of record goes out
go super-fast. Unicorn properties that “Economists say home prices will ter season, by wind, sand and waves. and inspects everything” to determine
have something especially unique and increase 8 percent next year and 5 per- what needs to be pulled out and re-
desirable and homes that are super cent the year after that,” says Daley. The environment gradually won the placed, Mutterback said.
move-in ready are still selling immedi- “Why wouldn’t you jump in and buy battle. By the end of 2020, the board-
ately with multiple offers.” in this market, even if it is just a place- walk was in bad shape, with broken- The most recent beach renourish-
holder property? down steps and a buckling surface. ment project adjacent to the board-
The situation is similar on the main- walk buried much of structure and the
land, according to Berkshire Hatha- “The average single-family de- Biting the bullet, the city hired Mi- sand had to be dug out by hand to re-
way agent Chip Landers. tached house on the island is around ami Lakes-based Tadeos Engineer- place rotted pilings.
$1,664,000 right now. Based on an an- ing LLC to completely renovate a
“Prices are 20-to-25 percent above nual survey of appreciated value, that 1,460-linear-foot stretch of the board- The going was made slower still by
where they were last year and still house will be worth $2,109,000 by the walk between the south end of the a need to avoid disturbing turtle nests.
moving up,” he says. That assessment end of 2026, which means someone structure and the flagpole near Jaycee Mutterback said the project man-
is backed up by figures from the Re- who buys it now would make almost Park, installing new decking, hand- ager was in frequent contact with the
altors Association of Indian River half a million dollars in equity over the
County that show countywide single- next five years.”
family home prices up 25 percent in
June compared to a year earlier, with “Demand has not lessened one
bit,” agrees Gibb at John’s Island.
“Some people think this is a bubble,

but I don’t.” 

PHOTO BY BRENDA AHEARN

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 9

NEWS

county turtle program to ensure nests their trek to the ocean, and installa-
weren’t impacted. tion of a sand fence along the western
base of the boardwalk to prevent sand
Workers have been making repairs from blowing off the dune and onto
in sections so that other parts of the streetside parking spots.
boardwalk could remain open.
“That way, you won’t step out of
“It has been our goal from the begin- your car and into the sand,” Mutter-
ning to maintain access,” said Mutter- back said. “As for the boardwalk itself,
back. “When this project first started, I it should be substantially completed
was so surprised by the number of peo- this month.”
ple who use that boardwalk. Every time
we go out – 9 o’clock in the morning A second phase of the project bud-
or 2 o’clock in the afternoon, it doesn’t geted at $400,000 over two years is in-
matter – it seems to always be in use.” cluded in the city’s 5-year plan. It will
include replacing all of the staircases
Besides structural repairs, the proj- and dune crossovers that drop down
ect includes installation of Florida from the boardwalk to the beach.
Department of Environmental Protec-
tion-approved turtle-strip lighting on Scheduled to get underway in the
the inside of the east handrails, fac- 2021-2022 fiscal year, which begins
ing toward the street, where the lights Oct. 1, it still has to be approved by the
won’t confuse sea turtle hatchlings on
City Council. 

Accused South Beach killer tries to
get judge thrown off his murder case

BY LISA ZAHNER
Staff Writer

Just weeks before he was expected Ashbury Perkins
to stand trial on first-degree murder
charges for the 2015 shooting death your case until I receive a hard copy
of his business partner and estranged of the actual signed court order by the
wife, former South Beach resident As- judge as the Florida Justice Commis-
bury Lee Perkins attempted to get the sion (JAC) will not accept or process
judge thrown off his case. my work hours.”

He claims Judge Dan Vaughn has On May 4, Cooper wrote to Vaughn
failed to issue orders needed for his and his assistant asking for the court
defense. order, providing his contact informa-
tion to send the order and emphasiz-
Perkins, who has been representing ing that he could not start work with-
himself with intermittent help from a out it.
stand-by, court-appointed defense at-
torney, petitioned Vaughn in April to Then on June 18, Cooper wrote to
appoint a private investigator to help Perkins at the Indian River County Jail
him prepare his case for trial. saying, “Not hearing from the court or
you and in particular not receiving a
The motion apparently was neces- written order of appointment signed
sary due to the expenditure of taxpay- by a Judge appointing me as your pri-
er dollars on the case, and on April 23, vate investigator concerning your pro
clerk’s notes on the case say Vaughn se case, I am closing the file without
“addressed motions.” But Perkins ar- any investigation activity.”
gues that the lack of a written order
from the judge has prevented him Perkins has also asked for a forensic
from engaging the services of the in- expert and an audiovisual crime scene
vestigator. reconstruction and is waiting on writ-
ten orders for those costs, as well.
Three letters from Stuart-based
Cooper and Hutchinson Professional CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
Detectives LLC were included in Per-
kins’ motion to have Vaughn disquali-
fied.

The first one to Perkins states that
Glenn Cooper contacted Vaughn’s
office about the order. “The legal as-
sistant for Judge Vaughn searched
the court notes and did verify I was
appointed or will be appointed and
should be receiving a copy of the court
order appointing me as investigator,”
Cooper wrote.

“But please note I cannot work on

10 Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Accused killer in three different counties – Broward, Perkins did get a quick response to motions,” Taylor said. “For example, if
Palm Beach and Indian River. his motion to disqualify Vaughn, how- [Perkins] wants to examine the com-
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 ever. Vaughn denied Perkins’ motion puters in evidence, he has 60 days to do
In a hand-written motion asking in writing the very next day, writing in it. I haven’t seen the judge’s orders yet.”
One of the defense strategies Perkins for a new judge filed from jail on July his July 16 order that “the defendant’s
is trying to employ is to claim that cir- 15, Perkins stated that, “the Defense motion is legally insufficient and At the beginning of the summer,
cumstances of his marriage over many contends that the delays regarding the therefore is denied.” Taylor estimated Perkins’ case might
years caused him to be temporarily in- signing of these above-referenced or- be ready for trial sometime in August,
sane at the time he shot Cynthia Betts ders ... could amount to an unfair trial Assistant State Attorney Christo- making it the first capital murder trial
in the home they once shared. due to the Defense’s inability to secure pher Taylor, who is prosecuting the to be held in Indian River County since
and introduce particular evidence at case, said he does not know whether the outbreak of the COVID-19 pan-
Perkins claims to be the victim of trial.” or not Perkins has begun his investiga- demic.
multiple false accusations that led him tion, or where things stand regarding
into a downward spiral of legal and fi- Perkins said Vaughn is guilty of fail- other things he requested. But it is unlikely that schedule will
nancial troubles, plus heavy drinking. ing “to rule in a reasonable time” as hold if Perkins is granted the time and
The incidents Perkins cites happened Perkins contends is required by ad- “I asked for a 60-day time limit on opportunity to hire the private inves-
ministrative court rules. the orders granting the defendants
tigator and other experts he wants. 

Laura Riding Jackson house a hit in its college campus location

BY SAMANTHA ROHLFING BAITA PHOTOS BY BRENDA AHEARN The Foundation’s signature event – up until 1994, when it was moved to the
the annual Poetry and BBQ – will be campus of the Environmental Learning
Staff Writer fall, ramping up the partnership, con- back at the house in April with live Center to save it from demolition.
tinuing on the path we started two years music, great food and, of course, poet-
Two years after the Laura Riding ago. It’ll be the first chance we’ve had to ry, with notable poets presenting their At ELC, it served successfully as a
Jackson house was moved from the expose the home and the gorgeous gar- work and running workshops. gathering place for readers, writers
Environmental Learning Center to the den” to a full campus, Lunceford says. and literary enthusiasts of all ages, as
Vero campus of Indian River State Col- Currently, the pole barn with its na- the Foundation describes, “a place of
lege, the Laura Riding Jackson House With the new school year, says tive plant garden is a favorite lunch literary legacy and history, and a cen-
Foundation and the school are enthu- Lunceford, service opportunities will spot for members of the public and ter for education and personal growth
siastic about their partnership. be offered not only for college stu- employees of nearby businesses. through writing.”
dents but also for students from the
Despite disruptions caused by the Charter High School “right next door,” The modest 111-year-old cracker After 25 years, though, the ELC’s
pandemic, the house has settled in and who will learn about the rich history of home was built by renowned poet and multimillion-dollar expansion project
become a lively and attractive part of the house and the life and work of the literary activist Laura Riding Jackson required the 1-acre corner occupied
the IRSC Mueller Campus near 66th Av- poet as they train to serve as docents on citrus grove land west of the railroad by the little homestead and the Foun-
enue and Route 60, providing a venue and tour guides, activities for which tracks near the Wabasso Bridge. There dation was forced to find a new home.
for literary events, college and high they can earn college credit. it stayed during her lifetime and after,
school student academic and volunteer Indian River State College jumped
opportunities, and al fresco dining. Lunceford is especially pleased that at the chance to secure the property
“several faculty members are already for its Mueller Campus. “It's ideal,”
Early on, the Foundation man- engaged” with the house and that Lunceford said at the time. “We like the
aged to make literary lemonade out “some of Ms. Jackson’s works are in- educational aspect. The west side of
of pandemic lemons with the first, cluded in their curriculum.” our campus is very open and natural.
and hopefully last, COVID-19 Writing Accessibility is not a problem. We have
Competitions, hosting a pair of writing Foundation President Marie Stiefel the space, and we'd be glad to host [the
and poetry contests in the spring and shares Lunceford’s enthusiasm about historic house].”
summer of 2020 “to unite the commu- the hands-on participation of the stu-
nity during the COVID-19 lockdown.” dents. “It’s very exciting that Charter Funds were raised and the house be-
students are already earning volunteer gan a dramatic – and very slow – three-
More than 300 entries were submit- hours working in our garden, weeding hour, 11.6-mile move to the campus.
ted from students, poets and other and planting,” she said, adding that There, the fragile, partially deconstruct-
writers, all inspired by the effects of students will begin giving guided tours ed little house and its pole barn were
COVID-19. of the house and grounds this fall. carefully reassembled in a large field ad-

In June and July this summer, with jacent to the college’s Brackett library. 
in-person events back on the sched-
ule, the Foundation’s “Write in the
Middle” creative writing summer
camp for 6th-, 7th-, 8th- and 9th-grad-
ers was well attended, and additional
indoor and outdoor learning oppor-
tunities for a variety of ages take place
several times a week, including eight
events in August.

Come November, says Foundation
President Marie Stiefel, North Caroli-
na’s Poet Laureate Cathy Smith Bowers
will be Poet in Residence, conducting
workshops for students and adults.

College Provost Casey Lunceford is
delighted with the partnership’s “won-
derful energy and synergy. We enjoy
having the house on our campus.

“We’re looking forward to a robust



12 Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Island landowner cited for turning wooded tract into ‘moonscape’

BY GEORGE ANDREASSI wetlands without a permit, as the Environmental Planning and Code on a “For Sale” sign posted on cleared
Staff Writer cleared lot is adjacent to the Oyster Enforcement and provided photos of parcel. According to Vander Straten, she
Bay Marsh conservation area. tree stumps, prompting Hitt’s visit and said in a phone conversation last week
An island landowner has been cited the code violation citation. that she had the work done at the re-
by Indian River County for clearing a To avoid fines, the landowner can quest of a potential buyer who "wanted
3-acre wooded tract near Round Island apply for an after-the-fact permit by Vander Straten says the deforesta- to see where the exact boundaries were.”
Park without a permit, leaving what a paying triple the typical fee and prov- tion would have been even worse if not
neighbor describes as “a moonscape” ing to the county that no wetlands for his wife, who stopped the equip- Mary Schiltz did not respond to
in place of wildlife habitat where a were impacted by the deforestation. ment operator from cutting down the emails or telephone calls last week in-
family of bobcats and abundant bird- largest Ficus tree on the property. quiring about the situation.
life resided. “There was an incredible amount of
damage,” said Robert Vander Straten, “I wish I could have stopped them “The damage is done pretty much,”
Senior Environmental Planner Ste- whose yard adjoins the cleared proper- earlier,” the petite senior citizen said Vander Straten said. “It’s an ugly piece
ven Hitt inspected the property at ty. “We used to have a swath of 30-feet Friday. “I could not get close because of deadland right now, full of broken
1845 S. Highway A1A, last Tuesday and of trees and bushes, a canopy of trees that machine was very dangerous, and trees and very large mulch.”
issued a notice of code violation to the from the road, all the way to where we they could not hear me.”
owner, Charles J. Schiltz, who lives on live. He chopped it all down, all the way The county gave Schiltz until Sept.
Wyn Cove Drive on the island. up to the property line. Once she finally got the mower op- 24 to pull belated permits or otherwise
erator’s attention, she asked him why correct the suspected violations to
One suspected violation involved “A family of bobcats that lived in he was clear-cutting the forest. avoid fines, records show.
the removal of an unspecified number that forest would come regularly up
of protected native and specimen trees through our yard,” Vander Straten said. The operator said, “I don’t know, “The Oyster Bar Marsh Conserva-
without a permit, county records show. “So that’s gone, along with the birdlife. they just pay for me to do it,” accord- tion Area is a large mangrove wetland/
There is nothing for a bird to sit in any- ing to Alice Vander Straten. impoundment that extends from the
The maximum fine is $1,000 for each more, so they go somewhere else.” barrier island into the Indian River La-
protected tree removed and $15,000 As the operator continued toward the goon,” according to Indian River Coun-
for each specimen tree. Specimen trees Vander Straten told Vero Beach 32963 Ficus tree, “my wife told him there was ty. The 96-acre tract is home to numer-
are hardwood trees that are in good that the tract contained old growth oak no way he was going to cut that,” Rob- ous bird, fish and other animal species
health and have attained a certain size and Ficus trees, and that he saw stumps ert Vander Straten said. “She jumped and its “proximity to the Round Island
and diameter specified by the county. 4 feet in diameter when he inspected right in front of the machine and said, Conservation Area creates a broad,
the botanical wreckage. ‘You stop right here.’ So, he stopped. shallow expanse of river bottom suit-
The other suspected violation in- My wife is the hero of the story because able for seagrass establishment and
volved possible impacts to estuarine Based on what he saw, he reported she actually stopped the guy.”
the clearing to the county Division of manatee foraging.” 
Mary Schiltz is listed as the contact

PROPERTY INSURANCE REFORM IS HERE. UTILITY DISPUTE COULD BRING FORMER
Below are highlights of the revisions effective July 1, VERO CITY MANAGER BACK AS WITNESS
2021 relating to property insurance claims in Florida.
BY LISA ZAHNER mer Vice Mayor Jerry Weick show up
Contact us to discuss additional questions on how this Staff Writer on the list. From Vero’s side, Utilities
might impact you or your business. Director Rob Bolton, City Manager
If a pending breach of contract law- Monte Falls and former city attorney
• Deadline to submit claims reduced to suit between the Town of Indian Riv- Wayne Coment are listed.
two years from the date of loss, with an er Shores and the City of Vero Beach
additional year for supplemental claims. goes to trial, a key witness could wind But the next section is probably
up being former Vero City Manager the most interesting. It asks who the
• Prohibits any written or electronic Jim O’Connor. Shores thinks said or wrote anything
communication by a contractor encouraging that constitutes an admission or a
contact with a contractor or public adjuster O’Connor, who has been retired the “declaration against interest,” and
for the purpose of making an insurance past two years, negotiated the 2012 O’Connor is listed.
claim for roof damage. deal, and the Shores contends Vero
has not lived up to all that O’Connor The crux of the lawsuit is that, to
• Bans offering of anything of value in promised. prevent the Shores from accepting a
exchange for allowing someone to inspect a proposal from Indian River County
roof, interpret an insurance policy, or file a The Shores recently sent the city to provide water, sewer and irrigation
claim on an insured’s behalf. answers to interrogatories posed by water services in 2016 via a new fran-
Vero about the litigation and some fa- chise agreement when the town’s 30-
• Requires contractors to provide a good faith miliar names came up in the 24-page year franchise agreement with Vero ex-
estimate of the itemized and detailed cost document provided by the Shores’ pired, Vero Beach promised to match
of the services and materials required to outside attorney, Paul Berg, in re- the county’s rates in a replacement
complete repairs related to an insurance sponse to a public records request. franchise agreement signed in 2012 –
claim. The actual cost of repairs may differ four years before the previous agree-
from this estimate. The first question from Vero to the ment expired. But when the county de-
Shores asks which people the Shores creased its reuse irrigation water rates,
Julie Lewis Hauf, Esq., a graduate of Boston College Law School, has been practicing thinks have information or knowl- Vero refused to reduce the Shores’ cus-
law for more than 20 years in the areas of civil, business, and insurance litigation. The edge relevant to the allegations, tomers’ reuse irrigation water rates.
firm is based in Vero Beach, Florida, and maintains offices in Central Florida, South pleadings or facts of the case.
Florida, and Southwest Florida, serving clients around the state. Vero now says that the type of “pres-
On the Shores’ side, former town surized” reuse irrigation water service
700 Beachland Blvd., Vero Beach, FL 32963 manager Richard Jefferson, former
www.lewishauf.com (772) 492-6591 town attorney Chester Clem and for- CONTINUED ON PAGE 14



14 Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Utility dispute Other questions ask about what
the town thinks its damages are and
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 the Shores quantified that by stat-
ing: “The town’s damages are equal to
town customers receive is not compa- the difference between the 67 cents
rable to any reuse irrigation water ser- per 1,000 gallons charged and the 21
vice the county provides, so the city is cents per 1,000 gallons that should
not bound to match the rate. The rate be charged, i.e. 46 cents per 1,000
difference is substantial – 67 cents per gallons multiplied by the thousands
1,000 gallons versus 21 cents per 1,000 of gallons used. The amount has not
gallons of reuse irrigation water. been calculated yet, and it increases
daily.”
The Shores says that in the months
leading up to the signing of the fran- The last 16 pages of the response
chise agreement in October 2012, document include meeting minutes
O’Connor made numerous state- from 2012, correspondence from
ments about “the substance and in- Vero to the Shores and the Indian
tent of the 2012 franchise agreement River County rate structures at the
as well as the method and cost of pro- time the 2012 agreement was signed,
viding reuse water to the Town of In- and in 2019 when the reuse irrigation
dian River Shores.”
rates were reduced. 

Two pension board trustees file suit against
Indian River Shores and former town officials

BY LISA ZAHNER They say Haverland did not keep the
complaints he filed confidential, but
Staff Writer instead shared them with then-Town
Manager Joe Griffin.
Two Indian River Shores Public
Safety officers have filed suit against After Haverland’s complaints were
the town and former town officials, dismissed in September 2020, Villars
alleging that they and their jobs were and Crosby say Griffin tried to get
unfairly targeted after a controversial them fired, but neither Public Safety
vote they took in July 2019 as members Director Chief Rich Rosell nor his dep-
of the public safety pension board. uty would fire Villars and Crosby.

The Public Safety Pension Board The lawsuit, which names Haverland,
of Trustees is made up of two mem- Griffin and the late, former Mayor Tom
bers selected by the town, one fire- Slater as parties, has not been served on
fighter, one police officer and a fifth the town or on any of the respondents
member selected by the other four yet, according to court records.
members.
Town Manager Jim Harpring said
In 2019, Public Safety Sergeant Wil- last week “the town is not at liberty to
liam “Bart” Crosby served as the police comment at this time due to the liti-
officer and Firefighter-Medic Richard gation.” Rosell also said he could not
Villars served as the firefighter repre- comment for this article.
senting approximately 20 public safe-
ty employees in the pension plan. The first count of the lawsuit requests
a declaratory judgment. “The Plaintiffs’
In July 2019, Crosby and Villars vote to increase the rate of return as a
were two of the members present Trustee of the Board is protected from
who voted 4-0 to increase the as- any form of employment retaliation un-
sumed rate of return on the pension der the Constitution of the State of Flor-
fund by half a percent, from 6.25 per- ida,” the complaint said, and the em-
cent to 6.75 percent – a decision that ployees state that they have no other
provoked ire from certain council remedy than the court system for the
members, in part because the deci- damage they have suffered.
sion reduced the amount of money
employees were required to pay into The last three counts of the lawsuit
the pension plan. allege defamation from public state-
ments made against the employees,
Members of the town council dis- malicious prosecution and torturous
cussed the matter at council meetings interference in the relationship the
during the summer and fall of 2019, employees have with the town.
seeking some sort of remedy to what
they saw as a bad fiscal decision. Vil- As it is a civil matter, the case has
lars and Crosby cite meeting minutes been assigned to Judge Janet Croom.
in their 24-page complaint as the basis Attorney Craig Rappel of Vero Beach
for some of their allegations. is representing the plaintiffs. Indian
River Shores’ new Town Attorney
In addition, they cite state ethics Pete Sweeney, who started work on
complaints filed against them by for- Aug. 2, is expected to represent the
mer council member Dick Haverland.
Shores. 

Deploying the
‘power of puppetry’
in kids literacy push

Bridget Lyons and Moonshot.

16 Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Deploying the ‘power of puppetry’ in kids literacy push

Cat Faust and Bob. Richard Myhre and Ray Oglethorpe with Bob and Moonshot. Bridget Lyons and Moonshot.
Debbi Arseneaux reads with Bob and Moonshot while filming Moonshot Storytime.
PHOTOS BY KAILA JONES lation here makes them a powerful
teaching tool.”
BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF
Staff Writer Remington credits the artistic tal-
ents of Lyons, who plays Moonshot,
Two suspicious-looking characters and Cat Faust, a local artist who brings
have been sighted about town – one Bob to life, for the impactful success
blue and the other green. But no need of the puppets.
to worry: It’s just Moonshot and Bob,
recent additions to the Learning Al- “They are educators, they are art-
liance crew. The pair of blue and ists, and they deeply understand the
green spokes-puppets are filled with content that they are trying to con-
energy and fun in their quest to con- vey. They can be playful, and because
nect with children while encourag- they are very intentional with what
ing them to read. It’s all part of the they are trying to deliver, it’s very ac-
Learning Alliance’s effort to cultivate ademic without the kids or the adults
a nationwide culture where 90 per- even knowing that they are learn-
cent of children are reading at grade ing,” said Remington.
level by third grade.
Through their anonymity, Moon-
Pre-COVID, Bridget Lyons, cre- shot and Bob can take on personas
ator of the puppet project, regularly relatable to the children they interact
traveled to schools to conduct early with, meeting each child’s needs and
learning programs and community supporting communication on every
outreach events, providing young intellectual level.
children with immersive, interactive
literacy experiences through move- Moonshot lives with Grandma; it’s
ment, music and literacy. just the two of them. They love to
work in the garden and visit cultur-
Once the pandemic reached our al and historical sites around town.
shores, Lyons said, “we started to think Moonshot has been “diagnosed with
about how we could continue to reach dyslexia,” which provides an oppor-
the kids that I had been serving.” tunity to talk about how difficult it
can be to read and learn strategies to
TLA co-founder Liz Remington overcome similar issues.
felt that conditions were perfect to
incorporate puppets into the Moon- Bob lives with his mother, father,
shot curriculum. older sister Sophia, and their dog in
a close-knit family and they often in-
“We need to make literacy excit- clude Moonshot in various activities.
ing for adults and magical for kids.
There is a magic to the puppets that “The power of puppetry impacts
transcends barriers. Children relate the development of language, literacy
to Moonshot and Bob’s successes and social-emotional learning in chil-
and challenges, their shared expe- dren,” Lyons explained.
riences,” said Remington. “The fact
that Moonshot and Bob have stories Moonshot and Bob frequently
that mirror the realities of our popu- travel with the Moonshot Rocket and
the Moonshot Moment Bookmobile,

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 17

PEOPLE

this idea that you are sharing your ers. As Moonshot and Bob struggle book “A New Alphabet for Humanity,”
learning journey with someone out- and grow so will the students.” by Leesa McGregor. The puppets visit
side of yourself. Part of the intention members of the Moonshot Commu-
of Moonshot and Bob is that students The Moonshot Storytime videos nity Action Network – one letter at a
can identify with them as fellow learn- were so well received, another cam- time – to promote literacy while en-
paign was developed based on the couraging children to be compassion-
ate, kind and loving.

“We’re creating a community
around the puppets; a tool to deliver
content to kids,” said Lyons, adding
that the Learning Alliance is com-
mitted to improving education for all
children.

Videos can be seen on the Learning Al-
liance YouTube page. For more informa-
tion, visit thelearningalliance.org. 

Moonshot makes friends during a Word Walk in
Fellsmere over the summer.

making appearances at community
events, and they also take Word Walks
around town to help build language
and vocabulary skills.

Moonshot Storytime is a video
offshoot of the puppet program, in
which Debbie Dillon, retired Rose-
wood Elementary School principal,
chats with Moonshot and Bob, reads
stories and visits locations relevant
to that day’s theme. Moonshot and
Bob sometimes read the stories
themselves, demonstrating their
reading prowess to the children who
are watching.

Debbi Arseneaux, TLA Moonshot
Academy program manager, saw
Moonshot and Bob as a way to fur-
ther connect with students in its after-
school and summer literacy programs
for struggling and at-risk K-3 students.
Arseneaux developed activities and
projects to help students build their
vocabulary and reading skills.

“The puppets enabled us, in a time
of hybrid learning, to have one foot on
campus and one foot ready to pivot
back to online learning if needed,
with the added benefit of building a
resource bank of content that could be
used to support students and teach-
ers,” said Arseneaux.

“They’re cute and fun but there is

18 Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

63rd B-day bash suits Mental Health Association to a ‘Tee’

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF Amy Wagner and Sheana Firth.
Staff Writer
PHOTOS BY KAILA JONES
The Mental Health Association in In-
dian River County teed up an evening
of fun recently, with a 63rd Birthday
Par-Tee at Big Shots Golf. Attendees
swung away in support of the MHA’s
mission to “provide immediate access
with no barriers to mental health care.”

“Everyone missed a birthday in 2020,
including us,” said Sheana Firth, MHA
director of marketing, adding that the
celebration was, in essence, a birthday
party for everyone.

“We are the frontlines of mental
health in our community, and we’ve
been doing that for 63 years now,” said
MHA CEO Philip Cromer, Ph.D. “Now
more than ever, it’s critical to have the
support of the community. There is a
tremendous need for mental health
services in Indian River County and all
over the world right now.”

In the wake of the pandemic, the
need for mental health care has in-
creased exponentially, becoming even
more acute than before, said Cromer.

Wilfred Hart, Linda Scott, Jennifer Moore and Shannon Bass.
Gail Deroy and Meritt Scott.

“The shutdown and staying in the
house for three months affected every-
one’s mental health. For those without
good coping skills and mechanisms, it
sent them into a critical point in their
lives,” said Cromer, adding that there
has been a noticeable increase in drug
and alcohol use as well as suicides.

What makes the MHA different,
said Cromer, is that they offer free
walk-in screenings, and no one is
ever turned away.

His goal is to increase their psy-
chiatric services, provide additional
support for children in schools and

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 19

PEOPLELee Orr and Laura Moss.

Curtis Carpenter, Matt Erpenbeck, Michele and Monte Falls.

Koa, Amy, Philip and which is offered in-person at the Inter- mental health.
Kona Cromer. generational Center. “As the saying goes, ‘We’re all in this

The MHA has partnered with together,’” said Amy Wagner, director of
Friends of the Sebastian Inlet to hatch fund development.
a plan to raise mental health aware-
ness and to encourage people to visit Wagner said they are partnering on
the great outdoors as a way to reduce Oct. 4 with the Indian River Firefight-
stress. A 5-foot TurtleTrax sea turtle, ers Benevolent Association to host an
painted by artist Steve Diossy, will be inaugural Golf Tournament, and on
displayed on the grounds of the Sebas- Nov. 7 will partner with the American
tian Inlet State Park. Gold Star Mothers of IRC for the third
annual Walk-A-Thon for Military Sui-
“There is a really strong correlation cide Awareness.
between being in nature and mental
health. There is so much in nature “I think there is definitely power in
that calms your spirit and helps center numbers,” said Wagner. “I’m so very
you,” said Firth. proud that the MHA is involved with
both of these very important causes.”
The MHA is also teaming up with
other nonprofits to shine a light on For more information, visit mhairc.
org. 

Mark Bock, Dan Kross,
Brandon Nobile and
Peter Anderson.

in after-school programs, and offer Their Veterans Support group was
continuing education to local mental launched last spring once COVID re-
health professionals. strictions were lifted. Participants
meet each Wednesday, and on every
The MHA is also in the process of de- third Wednesday they have added
veloping additional programs to sup- guided meditation.
port individuals suffering from anxiety
or depression, and creating treatment Another new edition to the program
platforms that meet everyone’s comfort is Health Talks, a series of free infor-
levels by offering in-person, telehealth mational presentations by local mental
and virtual access. health professionals on various topics,

20 Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

BBQ heats up fundraising for Gifford Youth Orchestra

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF
Staff Writer

Members of the Gifford Youth Or-
chestra recently traded in their strings
and bows and took their places at the
grill, producing enticing aromas rather
than musical notes during their annual

Barbeque Festival, held at the Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. Park
and Walking Trail.
Supporters of the
nonprofit gathered
in the shade to
escape the hot
Florida sun,
and enjoyed

Rev. Dr. Crystal Bujol, Aiden Robinson, Angelia Perry and Joan Haar. PHOTOS BY KAILA JONES

Mark Wygonik.

Freddie Woolfork, Marcus Rogers and Larry Staley.

interesting conversation and music Marcus Rogers, fundraising commit-
while nibbling on succulent ribs, fried tee co-chair, admitted that he has “ab-
fish and all the fixings. solutely no musical skills whatsoever,”
but said he joined the GYO board last
Funds raised will help GYO provide year to give back to the community.
instruction in the cultural and per-
forming arts to youth from Gifford and “One of the important things for
neighboring communities.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 22



22 Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20 PEOPLE

Rosemary Flescher, Ken Ross and Joe Flescher. Leah and David LoPresti.

the kids is that not only do they get to into someone else’s program.
play a musical instrument, but they “Like what happened with the Ne-
get to live another completely differ-
ent type of cultural existence through gro Baseball team. All the best baseball
playing that musical instrument, that players were hired away, and the whole
they probably would never have even Negro League disappeared,” she ex-
thought of before.” plained. She instead wanted GYO stu-
dents to serve as role models for other
Growing up, Rogers said he had Gifford children “that look like and live
opted to play tennis rather than bas- around the corner from them.”
ketball, which most of his friends pre-
ferred, adding, “I met so many differ- As the program evolved, so did the
ent people and did so many different motivational affirmations they adopt-
things playing tennis. The same can be ed: “More violins equals less violence.”
said about music.” “Our program keeps kids off the streets
and on the stage.” “Each one, teach one.”
GYO was founded 18 years ago by Rev.
Dr. Crystal Bujol after her friend An- “These aren’t just phrases. It takes
nie Powell challenged her to do some- discipline to stay off the street and on
thing about Gifford children who were the stage. And these kids really loved to
being “left behind.” A vivid image of a be on the stage,” said Bujol.
little Black boy lugging a cello as big as
he was set her on the path to introduce A study published by the Ameri-
music to the children of Gifford. can Psychological Association indi-
cates that playing an instrument has
“We hoped we would get five kids such quantifiable benefits as lower-
when we first started. Fifteen showed ing blood pressure, decreasing heart
up,” said Bujol. rates, stress, depression and anxiety,
and keeping the mind sharper.
Today, about 60 children ranging in
age from 8 to 18 are instructed by a team The impact music has had on for-
of dedicated teachers in instrumentals, mer GYO students ranges far and
drama, dance and vocal arts. wide, says Bujol.

Joan Haar, who has taught music Success stories include Jamari Wil-
to children for about 50 years, has liams, who attended the American
worked with GYO students since the Musical and Dramatic Academy near
program’s inception. Lincoln Center and has gone on to per-
form on Broadway and at Vero’s own
“I had opportunities that kids don’t Riverside Theatre. Another former stu-
always get. It meant so much to me dent majored in music and now teaches
to get those opportunities, that I feel music to 400 children a year.
like all children should have them,”
said Haar. “Music brings joy in a way “The ramifications of what this pro-
nothing else does. And when you can gram can mean, not just to Gifford, not
produce your own music, it’s even just to Black and Brown children, but to
better. This program opens doors for Indian River County, are larger than the
these children.” circle we first drew when we started 18
years ago,” said Bujol.
Initially, Bujol had thought GYO stu-
dents would go on to perform with the Bujol announced recently that she
Indian River Youth Symphony Orches- is retiring, but is leaving behind a leg-
tra, but then decided that she didn’t acy she hopes will continue to grow
and thrive.
want to train them to go
During COVID, students were in-
structed via a virtual format and, when

several students moved out of the
area, they shipped violins to
them so they could continue
their lessons virtually.
Inspired by this turn of
events, Bujol said her dream
is to introduce music and
culture wherever there are
underserved children.

For more information,
visit gyotigers.org. 





Ransomware is the invisible threat purported department data after mak- what we call societal infrastructure,” surrounding the threat. Attacks, such
that’s sweeping the nation. ing demands for money. said George Thomas, vice president of as one on the Colonial Pipeline sys-
innovation and strategic initiatives at tem that prompted a run on gasoline
In March, the computer system of Underneath the big attacks, in met- Connected DMV, a group representing in May, brought new attention to ran-
the Broward County school district – ropolitan areas where security is a high local academic, nonprofit, public and somware concerns as many Americans
one of Florida’s largest – was hacked by priority, local government agencies in private sectors. “Think schools, think experienced firsthand the seismic ef-
a criminal gang that encrypted district smaller communities – school districts, water utilities, think service organiza- fects of these attacks.
data and demanded $40 million in city halls and police departments – are tions, think smaller local governments,
ransom or it would erase the files and among the most vulnerable to ransom- all of that.” Cybersecurity experts have warned
post students’ and employees’ person- ware attacks, experts say. for years about the damage such at-
al information online. Ransomware is not a new threat. For tacks could cause.
Often strapped with small IT de- years, hackers have been using meth-
Last fall, Baltimore County Public partments, aging computer systems ods as simple as phishing emails to Beyond disrupting day-to-day func-
Schools and Fairfax County Public and limited budgets to allocate to cy- steal data, lock computer systems and tion, attacks on local governments can
Schools faced similar attacks, causing bersecurity, local governments across demand a ransom. It’s often paired rack up millions of dollars in recovery
online classes in Baltimore County to the country make for ill-equipped and with a threat of releasing the data on- costs, even when an agency doesn’t
briefly stop. easy targets for cyber criminals. line if an agency doesn’t comply. pay the ransom. And it erodes the in-
tegrity of critical systems that manage
In April, Washington, D.C.’s police “Where we have a soft underbelly What has changed is public concern
suffered an attack, with a group posting as a community is that middle layer of CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

26 Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25 INSIGHT COVER STORY

services like water, public safety, per- the country. In 2020, at least 2,354 gov- Brett Callow, threat analyst at Em- lines, systems and “cyber hygiene” prac-
sonal data and voter registration. ernments, health care facilities and sisoft, a cybersecurity firm, said local tices aimed to limit vulnerabilities.
schools in the United States were af- governments are not necessarily tar-
“Just because we can’t see [ransom- fected by ransomware and in 2021 the geted more by ransomware groups. Washington, DC’s local government
ware], we have this kind of percep- threat remains consistent, experts say. Rather they’re hit as an operator of in- has an extensive cybersecurity plan
tion that everybody is on their own,” adequate security systems caught in a and resources to defend against at-
Thomas said. “What we really need to According to the Center for Inter- wide-cast net. tackers, according to the city’s website.
be doing is figuring out how we can net Security’s Multi-State Information
provide a collective umbrella to shield Sharing and Analysis Center (MS- “Most ransomware attacks are Mayor Muriel E. Bowser added $8
us from the cyber criminals and state ISAC), a federally funded organization spray-and-pay in nature, and those hit million for cybersecurity efforts in the
actors that protects the individuals, tasked with helping improve cyberse- are the ones with the weakest systems,” fiscal year 2022 budget.
but in essence, is protecting all of our curity for state, local and tribal gov- Callow said. “Local governments seem
society.” ernment entities, 75 ransomware at- to have the weakest systems.” But for smaller local governments,
tacks across the country were reported most of that protection is often miss-
In 2019, cybersecurity experts no- by its 11,000 members between Jan. 1 At the state and federal levels, there ing.
ticed a significant uptick in ransom- and June 4. are entire departments dedicated to
ware attacks on municipalities across cybersecurity. There are specific guide- Government and private cybersecu-
rity experts agree that limited resourc-
es are the root of the problem. Local

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 27

INSIGHT COVER STORY

governments often have outdated “Knowing what is happening and Ed Mattison, executive vice presi- enforcement, attacks on smaller agen-
computer systems. They lack person- how it is happening is the first step to dent of operations and security ser- cies often fly completely under the ra-
nel, or qualified personnel, to manage stop it from happening,” said Callow, vices at the Center for Internet Secu- dar and never become public.
these types of attacks, and don’t have the threat analyst. rity, emphasized the importance of
the money or time to devote to cyber- reporting attacks to get a better under- In January, the Bristol Police Depart-
security. Experts say there’s a number of rea- standing of the issue. He said MS-ISAC ment in southwest Virginia suffered an
sons agencies don’t report attacks. doesn’t publicly disclose reports, so attack. It knocked the system offline
“They are not, number one, think- They say sometimes it’s financially local agencies can feel more comfort- and forced staff back to pen and paper
ing about security most of the time,” easier to just pay the ransom. It can able reporting. for some functions, Capt. Maynard
said Mike Watson, Virginia’s chief in- also be embarrassing to admit to hav- Ratcliffe said.
formation security officer. “They’re ing weak systems. “Number one, we need as much in-
doing a lot of the other basic govern- formation as possible to understand “We lost quite a bit of information,”
ment functions that we look at on “There’s a PR element to all this,” the full scope of the problem,” Mattison Ratcliffe said.
our local level. And that cybersecurity said Connected DMV’s Thomas. “Some said. “But number two, we also need to
component isn’t always something agencies, schools, banks, especially the report so that if there is information sto- But the attack didn’t appear in head-
that they fully understand.” privates, don’t want to ever say they are len, that proper notifications are done.” lines until last week – when the cyber
vulnerable, because they think then criminals posted an auction for the
At a cybersecurity summit hosted people will not bring business to them.” Even if attacks are reported to law data purportedly stolen from the po-
last week, leaders and experts from lice department. 
across the country convened in An-
napolis, Maryland, to discuss federal,
state and private-sector efforts to pro-
tect the nation’s infrastructure from
cyberattacks.

In a brief discussion about the
threat to local governments, Maryland
Gov. Larry Hogan acknowledged the
lack of resources in comparison with
state and federal agencies.

“We probably shouldn’t have left lo-
cal government out of that conversa-
tion,” Hogan said.

Maryland Chief Information Secu-
rity Officer Chip Stewart said the state
has been working especially close
with school districts.

“I know that many of those school
districts are working very hard to en-
sure that they’re not the next ones on
national news,” Stewart said.

In 2020, K-12 schools emerged as
an especially vulnerable group as they
faced a barrage of ransomware attacks.
A year of online learning opened the
door to a host of new vulnerabilities.

In the fall, Baltimore County Public
Schools suffered a ransomware attack
that forced the school district to can-
cel classes for two days and racked up
recovery costs in the millions.

Fairfax County Public Schools in
Virginia, one of the largest school dis-
tricts in the country, similarly fell prey
to a ransomware attack that resulted
in stolen data being published online.

“The new team, among the many
competing cybersecurity priorities,
will focus on strengthening Division’s
cybersecurity defenses, protecting
student and staff data from unauthor-
ized access and help build a strong
cyber-aware workforce and student
body,” Fairfax School District spokes-
woman Julie Moult wrote in an email.

Just how big a threat ransomware
poses to municipalities specifically
remains a mystery, because many
attacks go unreported, experts say.
Many state laws requiring report-
ing cyberattacks are limited to only
reporting a certain threshold of data
breached. If no data is taken, small
agencies and companies are often off
the hook from reporting.

28 Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT OPINION

A video shows a swarm of eight drones advancing The Pentagon had been focusing on lasers as its Verstandig, whose mother ToniVerstandig had been
across a government test range in Nevada. As they directed energy weapon of choice. But lasers are a prominent State Department official, meanwhile
come nearer, a mobile ground station fires a high- heavy, require lots of power, can’t penetrate clouds, joined the National Security Agency as an unpaid
powered microwave pulse toward the attackers. The and can take as long as five seconds to zap a target. adviser in 2014, specializing in developing jamming
drones tumble from the sky like dead birds. technology against IEDs and then drones. As he fo-
Adm. James A. Winnefeld, a former vice chairman cused on national security, his investing partner was
Welcome to two of the most powerful new trends of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, argued for the alternative John Tenet, son of former CIA director George Tenet.
in warfare. Small, cheap, lightweight drones are the microwave approach in a recent article titled, “Don’t
new “improvised explosive devices” that can threat- Miss the Boat on High-Power Microwave Defense.” Verstandig and Tenet recruited Bo Marr, a top spe-
en military or civilian targets anywhere in the world. cialist in directed energy research at Raytheon, to
Some versions of this technology present signifi- help found Epirus in July 2018. Marr, now the com-
But the defense start-up Epirus, which produced cant potential dangers. U.S. officials believe that the pany’s chief technology officer, remembers the “eu-
the video, is among the leaders in a promising de- “Havana syndrome” that has afflicted U.S. diplo- reka” moment in 2019 when they realized that the
fense technology that uses the directed energy of mi- mats abroad may be caused by adversaries’ use of breakthrough for anti-drone microwaves was what
crowaves to disable the drones’ electronics. microwave radiation. they call “SmartPower” – using super-dense Gallium
Nitrite chips and AI algorithms to stabilize, focus
What’s potentially revolutionary about this ap- But Leigh Madden, the chief executive of Epirus, and direct energy to precise frequencies.
proach is that using artificial intelligence, it can tar- says that his company’s approach can’t harm hu-
get precise frequencies with a densely concentrated mans because, unlike other systems, it doesn’t emit It’s complicated technology, for sure. But you sense
pulse of energy. any harmful ionizing radiation. The “radiation” from the youthful exuberance of a start-up in a video Ver-
its solid-state chips is comparable to what’s emitted standig showed me of a January 2019 backyard test in
In the video demonstrations, the Epirus system, by a cellphone, he says. suburban Los Angeles that disabled three test drones.
known as Leonidas, can disable an adversary drone
but leave untouched a friendly one a few feet away. Like so many technology breakthroughs, this one As with so many defense technologies, the Epirus
It can take down big, fixed-wing drones as well as involves some colorful characters. The co-founder approach has some dazzling (if still unproved) po-
tiny quadcopters. Epirus executives say their system of Epirus, Grant Verstandig, dropped out of Brown tential spinoffs. Verstandig explained that the high-
can disable a drone’s rotor, or its camera, or its GPS as a sophomore in 2009, taught himself coding and powered microwaves could burn the carbon out of
navigation system, or even implant code to manipu- artificial intelligence, and the next year founded a carbon dioxide emissions, an approach more than
late its movements. health-care company that was eventually acquired 10 times cheaper than sequestration. He explained
by the giant UnitedHealth, which named him chief how his “SmartPower” technology for directing elec-
The Pentagon has been slow to embrace this new digital officer in 2017. trons could reduce charging times for electric vehi-
microwave technology, which China has been devel- cles from hours to minutes.
oping for more than a decade. But it’s finally getting
serious attention. Former defense secretary Mark T. “Whoever owns directed energy will own the 21st
Esper just joined the Epirus board, and the Pentagon century,” Verstandig told me. That’s an audacious
plans to start deploying the company’s counter-drone boast, but it’s shaking up the Pentagon. If micro-
systems to U.S. forces around the world this year. waves can disable drones from a distance, they can
overwhelm computers, too. If they can take down a
Skeptics argue that the Epirus approach won’t be quadcopter, why not a missile?
proved until it’s been shown to work in complex,
real-world battlefield environments. For the military, it’s a brave new world, and a dan-
gerous one, too. 
A new Air Force study explains the urgency. “We are
approaching or have passed the tipping point for the A version of this column by David Ignatius first ap-
criticality of Directed Energy capabilities as applied peared in the Washington Post. It does not necessarily
to the successful execution of military operations,” reflect the views of Vero Beach 32963.
argues the study, “Directed Energy Futures 2060.”

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

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 29

INSIGHT OPINION

Bessie Walker cancels her Carnival stating we had until May 2021 to de- gest you contacted Carnival on April 18, phone call generates no paper trail, it's
cruise after the COVID-19 outbreak. The cide whether to accept a full refund or more than a month after it announced really Carnival's word against yours.
company offers a full refund of her de- reschedule a cruise and get $500 addi- its suspension. You indicated at the time
posit or a future cruise credit. But now tional cruise credit. that you intended to accept the future You said it should be Carnival's re-
it won't give her either. $500 onboard credit offered by Carnival. sponsibility to provide an exact date
But somewhere along the line, they and name of the person you called
QUESTION: decided to change the offer without in- Here's the problem: Carnival's emails and canceled the booking, as well as a
forming their customers.When I asked a to you were clear about its refund pro- transcript. But unfortunately, that's not
Last year, I paid a $750 deposit for three representative said they had an internal cess. It had "fully automated" the re- how it works. Although companies like
tickets on a Carnival cruise from Los email that they decided to deny refunds fund and credit process, "avoiding the Carnival have sophisticated call center
Angeles to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Af- to anyone that had canceled more than need to call us." technology that generates transcripts
ter the COVID-19 outbreak, Carnival 90 days before the cancellation. Now and track each conversation, the only
canceled its cruises. Carnival refunded they are refusing our refund. Can you "We urge you to carefully review way to access it is with a court order.
one of the deposits. It sent me a letter help me get my $500 deposit back? this information and follow the online And no one is going to hire a lawyer over
process, as calling us will not expedite a $500 deposit; it's not cost-effective.
ANSWER: your request," it added.
I recommended that you reach out
Carnival, like all other cruise lines, I'm not sure if Carnival wanted you to one of the cruise line's executive
suspended operations during the CO- to call. Phoning it may have led to contacts. I publish the names, num-
VID-19 pandemic. It offered a choice some confusion about the timing of bers and email addresses of Carnival's
of a refund or a future cruise credit. your rebooking request. And since a managers on my consumer advocacy
The offer changed over time, which led site, Elliott.org.
to some confusion for the cruise line,
as well as travel agents and passengers. You emailed Carnival's executives, as
Yours appears to be one of those cases. I suggested. Separately, I also reached
out to Carnival on your behalf. It re-
Carnival's records show that you can- viewed its records, including its phone
celed your booking 68 days before it sus- logs, and fully refunded your deposit. 
pended its operations. It offered you no
refund but said you qualified for a $150 Get help with any consumer prob-
"early saver credit" for each booking. lem by contacting Christopher Elliott at
http://www.elliott.org/help
However, your phone records sug-

30 Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT BOOKS

The rarefied world of high-level physics confer- are familiar for their groundbreaking work in the more famous for overcoming such prejudices than
ences is usually inaccessible to scientific laypeople. late 19th and early 20th centuries. Not only Einstein for her science. Touring the States in 1921, she was
Meetings are by invitation and conducted in jargon and Curie, but also Max Planck, Ernest Rutherford, disappointed that only one of the planned celebra-
that few nonexperts understand. We learn in Jeffrey J.H. Jeans and Henri Poincaré were there. Nine par- tory events included meeting another scientist.
Orens’ book “The Soul of Genius: Marie Curie, Albert ticipants had won or would win Nobel Prizes. Orens’
Einstein, and the Meeting That Changed the Course approach to the lives and work of the attendees, In his treatment of Einstein, Orens discusses a
of Science” that such gatherings can be disappoint- through the story of this conference, is unusual and claim that science historians have almost unani-
ing, no matter how brilliant the invitees are. The well conceived. His account revisits what is certainly mously dismissed – that it was Einstein’s first wife,
First Solvay Conference in Physics, in Brussels in Oc- one of the most exciting, turbulent periods in the Mileva, who developed the theory of special relativ-
tober 1911, accomplished far less than its organizers history of science and better acquaints us with peo- ity. In a book much concerned with lack of recog-
envisioned, making Orens’ subtitle something of a ple who played significant roles in this drama. nition for women, Orens’ careful assessment of her
mystery. minor contribution is appropriate. The cold corre-
Curie was the only woman among the partici- spondence that ended Einstein’s marriage to Mileva
The conference was called in the hope of making pants. Her story, beginning in Poland in a century reveals a less-attractive person than we prefer to
significant progress toward settling an argument when scientific education for women there could think him. Otherwise, Orens describes a kind man
that was raging in the physics world: the debate be- be had only clandestinely, is a harsh reminder of who defended Curie when few did, an astonishing
tween the classic Newtonian physics and the new the obstacles facing women in science in her era. mind and a fervent advocate for internationalism in
quantum physics, a view of the subatomic world in Her husband, Pierre Curie, refused the 1903 Nobel science.
which light could be thought of as traveling either Prize for research on radiation until his wife was in-
in waves or as particles called quanta. At many sci- cluded in the honor. It was assumed that a woman Less known than the attendees at the First Solvay
entific meetings, paper presentations follow one could have assisted a man but surely not worked as Conference is Ernest Solvay himself, the Belgian
another with only brief intervals between for com- an equal or leader. In America, Curie would become businessman and self-taught scientist who paid for
ments and questions. This conference, by contrast, the meeting. Solvay had been thinking since 1858
provided ample time for discussion. It was a remark- about matter and energy, speculating “that one of
able opportunity for the most influential people in these elements is only … a transformation of the
physics and chemistry to meet in person, but they other.” Lacking formal training in theoretical phys-
made little headway in resolving the debate. Accord- ics, Solvay was not equipped to argue decisively,
ing to one attendee, Albert Einstein, “Nothing posi- as Einstein would, that this idea is correct. Instead,
tive has come out of it.” he devoted his scientific acumen to developing an
improved method of producing industrial soda. He
But on a personal level for Einstein, the occasion amassed a fortune.
was not without consequence, for the First Solvay
Conference allowed the elite of physics and chem- It was German physicist Walther Nernst who in
istry to make his acquaintance. Orens calls it Ein- 1910 suggested that Solvay fund a gathering where
stein’s “debutante ball.” A second positive outcome the world’s top physicists could discuss Solvay’s
was the friendship that began there for Einstein ideas. Nernst knew that they would discuss much
and Marie Curie. Sadly, near the close of the meet- more than what Solvay would offer in his opening
ing, the press in France published reports of Curie’s talk and material sent out ahead of time. He antici-
affair with a younger married physicist, Paul Lan- pated a productive albeit argumentative discussion
gevin, her late husband’s assistant. The news might of the classic physics vs. quantum physics problem.
have raised little interest had Curie been a man, but Argumentative it was. Conclusive it was not.
it caused an onslaught of condemnation, severely
damaged her personal and professional reputation, The Solvay Conference of 1911 may have fallen
and threatened her second Nobel Prize. The issue is short of changing the course of science, but it initi-
familiar today: Should a failure to live up to current ated more than a century of Solvay support for con-
standards of morality diminish appreciation for pro- ferences, scientific institutes and science programs.
fessional achievements? While Nobel Prizes celebrate discoveries already
made and work already done, Solvay funding focus-
Orens is not an academic scientist, but a former es on the future, supporting scientists on the cusp of
chemical engineer and business executive with the making such discoveries. 
chemical company Solvay. Curious about wall-size
photographs of Solvay conferences in the recep- THE SOUL OF GENIUS
tion areas and hallways of many Solvay offices,
Orens became particularly interested in the first of MARIE CURIE, ALBERT EINSTEIN, AND THE MEETING
these meetings. The names of some who gathered THAT CHANGED THE COURSE OF SCIENCE
in 1911 in the Grand Hotel Metropole in Brussels BY JEFFREY ORENS | PEGASUS. 290 PP. $28.95

REVIEW BY KITTY FERGUSON, THE WASHINGTON POST

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 31

INSIGHT BRIDGE

FOR HOW LONG IS THE DOOR OPEN? WEST NORTH EAST
832 Q974 A
By Phillip Alder - Bridge Columnist A7 86532 J 10 9 4
Q J 10 9 K85 643
On a game show that was trying to give away a vacation, the person describing the A 10 7 2 4 98653
trip said, “You get 24-hour access to your hotel room.”
SOUTH
How often do you not get all-day access to your room? K J 10 6 5
KQ
Bridge players like to be able to get into one hand or the other at will — they watch A72
their entries. At first glance, that does not seem important in this deal, but it is. KQJ

How should South play in four spades after West leads the diamond queen? Dealer: South; Vulnerable: East-West

In the auction, South might rebid three no-trump to show a maximum balanced hand. The Bidding:
Here, North, with four trumps and a singleton, would retreat to four spades. Three no-
trump has no chance, as is usual when several aces are missing. SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST OPENING
1 Spades Pass 2 Spades Pass
In four spades, South has four losers: one in each suit. He cannot avoid the aces, so 4 Spades Pass Pass Pass LEAD:
he must do something about the diamond problem — but what? Q Diamonds

Declarer needs to set up his club suit and discard a diamond from the dummy. But
South has to watch his entries. He must take the first trick with dummy’s diamond
king, then play a club to his king and West’s ace. Declarer wins the next diamond trick
with his ace and cashes the club queen to jettison that pesky diamond eight. Finally,
South can turn to the trump suit.

Note that if you discard a loser from the long-trump hand, that is the end of the
problem. But if you pitch from the short-trump hand, you must also, sooner or later,
ruff in the short-trump hand the loser that is still in the long-trump hand — as in this
deal. South takes four spades, one heart, two diamonds, two clubs and a diamond ruff
on the board.

Established 18 Years in Indian River County

(772) 562-2288 | www.kitchensvero.com
3920 US Hwy 1, Vero Beach FL 32960

32 Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT GAMES

SOLUTIONS TO PREVIOUS ISSUE (AUGUST 5) ON PAGE 58

ACROSS DOWN
1 Tote (5) 1 Collided (7)
4 Fine; authorise (4) 2 Herb (8)
7 Sheepish noises?(4) 3 Thine (5)
8 Rising punch (8) 4 Monster (4)
9 Signature tune (5,4) 5 Sky blue (5)
10 Bishopric (3) 6 Cleaning item (6)
12 Soared (anag.) (6) 11 Desperate-looking (4-4)
14 Draw out (6) 13 Hi-fi (6)
16 Rowing paddle (3) 15 Prudential, e.g. (7)
18 Type of Christian (9) 17 Drying frame (5)
21 Sweater top (4,4) 19 Long-range pedestrian (5)
22 Famous bishopric(4) 20 Get; stick (4)
23 Haul; bore (4)
24 Detection system (5)

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 / August 12, 2021 33

INSIGHT GAMES

NOTE: P.D.Q. Bach, 71 Aged, in Latin 27 Dalmatian, for one The Washington Post
“the last son of Johann (or backwards, a drink) 28 Soothing agent
Sebastian Bach,” was (on 29 Feeler P.D.Q. BACH COMPOSES HIMSELF By Merl Reagle
a good day) the most drunk 72 Revealing comment? 31 Not too bright
and debauched member 75 Sean Lennon’s mom 33 Sly Stone’s ’do in THE Art & Science
of the Bach family, but that 76 Inventor’s quest
didn’t stop him from being 79 P.D.Q. Bach’s favorite the ’60s of Cosmetic Surgery
a truly mediocre composer. 34 Security org. with jets
Actually, he’s the subject tenor (and frequent 35 Drinking charge: abbr. SPECIALTIES INCLUDE:
of a long-standing put-on drinking buddy) 36 Commotion • Minimal Incision Lift for the
by classical composer 83 Author Seton 37 Actor Stephen
Peter Schickele, and all of 84 Helpful one: abbr. 38 Reverent ending Face, Body, Neck & Brow
the theme answers in this 86 Eater greeter 40 Hanoi holiday • Breast Augmentations
puzzle are taken either 87 P.D.Q. Bach piece for 43 Young seal
from P.D.Q.’s “definitive seven heavy instruments 44 Actor Morales & Reductions
biography” or from the 91 “___ take a hint” 45 Designer Lauren • Post Cancer Reconstructions
many “authentic” recordings 95 Italian pop hit of 1962 46 Observant one • Chemical Peels • Botox
performed by Schickele 96 Put-on 47 Lunch for Luis • Laser Surgery • Tummy Tucks
himself. 97 Sculptor Luca 48 Out of control • Obagi Products • Liposculpture
___ Robbia 52 Mountain lake • Skin Cancer Treatments
ACROSS 98 Stationary 53 ’70s rock orchestra
100 Fall turner 55 Fast in tempo, to P.D.Q. Bach
1 Zodiac zoo member 102 Field of Dreams setting 56 Privy to
4 Island E of Java 105 ___ supra 57 Order to a dog
8 On vacation (where cited above) 58 Exec’s first acquisition?
12 15 Down’s guys 106 Get stuck 59 “Skip to ___”
16 “Lively, on the piano,” 107 With 112 Across, P.D.Q. Bach’s 61 Terrible tsar
“opera in one unnatural act” 62 Goldfinger portrayer Frobe
to P.D.Q. Bach 111 “What’s ___ like 63 Compass pt.
19 Sheer linen fabric you ...” 64 Paper with a Sun. magazine
20 German town near where 112 See 107 Across 65 Hepburn film, The ___ Story
113 Something taboo 69 Semiliquid
P.D.Q. Bach is buried 114 Delgado’s dollar 71 Salad with salami
21 Docking perils 115 Colleen 72 8 starter
22 Tired 116 ___ blond 73 Gary or Mary
23 “This ___ inform you ...” 74 Gold in the raw
24 Hollywood Jose DOWN 76 French step
25 Comes clean? 77 Mandela’s org.
26 Oklahoma city 1 Hoffa’s apt middle name 78 Bronco Layne of 1950s TV
28 Will was one 2 Monopoly’s Baltic, 79 Ultimate ending
30 Forsyth’s The ___ File 80 Espresso establishment
32 Foot part for ex. 81 Rich strike
33 “Moderate in tempo,” 3 Beatle or Brady phenom 82 Garfield dog
4 Bushed 84 Part of 34 Down
to P.D.Q. Bach 5 Mr. Gucci 85 Shipping route
39 To blame 6 Green position 88 Car with a “horsecollar grille”
41 Pernell Roberts role 7 ___ Saud 89 Orchestra area
42 Zeno’s home 8 Theda Bara’s infamous 90 Aspect of pro bono work
43 P.D.Q. Bach piece featuring 92 Bunch of eggs
anagram 93 Playwright Edward
improper use of a bagpipe 9 Walk in water 94 Carpentry connector
47 Of the anklebone 10 Cherry used in vitamins 97 “Our Gang” girl
49 Olympic boycotter of ’80 11 Hankering 98 Hale Jr. of Gilligan’s Island
50 Overly 12 P.D.Q. Bach’s “foot-pedal 99 Not for here
51 Japanese drama 101 Tips
52 Cigar brand that means arpeggios for organ” as they’ve 102 Comfy layovers
come to be known 103 Vegas calculations
“love you” in Spanish 13 SNL producer Lorne 104 Screenwriters’ org.
54 Friends 14 Actress Sommer 107 Gen. Arnold
56 “Say It ___ So” 15 1930s crimebuster 108 The “bad” cholesterol
58 Writer Muggeridge 16 Shopper’s quest 109 Driver’s org.
60 P.D.Q. Bach’s inner-city cantata 17 Magnum, P.I. network 110 Start of a Grafton mystery
66 Wherewithal lacker 18 Chicago critic
67 Greenish blue 19 Take it outside
68 The fist type of fest 20 The two (of you)
70 Actress Black 25 Order to a dog

The Telegraph Proudly caring for patients over 28 years.

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

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MD, FACS





36 Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT BACK PAGE

Sharing is scaring? Cheater’s confidant no longer trusts her

BY CAROLYN HAX And you hope she will be transparent with you
Washington Post if this worry keeps dogging her. Good for her for
speaking up where she could have just backed away
Dear Carolyn: Last week, I confid- from you slowly.

ed in my friend “Maya” that I slept It may be your friendship can’t recover from hav-
ing this truth out there, it happens – but if you’re
with a different friend’s husband transparent with each other, then there’s also a
chance you become closer for it.
for a short period a few years ago.

I don’t want to make excuses, but it

was during a very bad time in my

life and I did a lot of things I would never do now. Hi, Carolyn: My boyfriend has suddenly become

I knew I was disclosing a pretty big secret and Maya a little distant. When I asked whether everything

would probably pass judgment, but I didn't know is OK, he said yes. His actions are telling me other-

how much. A few days after that conversation, she wise. My instinct is to back off until he either comes

texted me to say she had been thinking about it a lot around or ends things. But if he’s distant and I’m

and wanted to know if I could provide her any assur- distant, it seems that will inevitably lead to a break-

ances that I would be more trustworthy to her than I up.

was to that other friend. I wanted to write back that So, do I act as if everything is business as usual?

OF COURSE I would never go behind Maya's back, How long should I give it before I end things myself? I

but those words feel hollow. don’t want to be strung along, but I also don’t want to

The answer is that I never would, both because overreact if this is something that may pass.

Maya’s friendship is so important to me (the other – Back Off?

friend’s was too, but maybe not in the same way),

and because I am now an entirely different person swer, like,“Of course I’d never do that to you.” Or even,“I Back Off?: You can say you want to take his an-
am now an entirely different person,” because presum- swer at face value, but you’re skeptical – so if there
who makes better choices in general. But I don’t know ably before the affair you also saw yourself as someone is something on his mind, you hope he’ll trust you
who wouldn’t do that.We know our current selves pretty with it when he’s ready.
whether these words seem hollow too. well at best – and our future selves are a guess.
Then give him some room to come to you.
– Scarlet Letter? Instead, you’ll say only what you know to be true: If you distance each other into a breakup, then
that this experience changed you, that you’re mak- that doesn’t strike me as an overreaction so much as
Scarlet Letter?: A better topic for conversation ing better choices in general, and that like yourself a sign – if nothing else, that you don’t communicate
than text, no? so much better now for it.
well enough to work. 
Either way: Tell her it’s a great question, and fair, and
you will respect that by not giving her some hollow an-



38 Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

Mallory Wixson

Beverly Swatt

Good-hearted enthusiasm is once san Scarola, treasurer of the nonprofit make 1,500 of the highly sought-after to the cause by working in their own pri-
again fueling the talented potters of clay studio. creations. vate studios, many also using their own
Indian River Clay, as come pandemic clay.
or high-water its members are in the Fellow potter Beverly Swatt chirrups “I will never be an artist the way Bev-
midst of making more than 1,200 clay in, “A little bit, huh?” erly is,” Scarola says. “Last year I made “Some of the potters are experi-
bowls for the annual Samaritan Cen- about 20 bowls, each built by hand. I’ve enced, good on the potters’ wheel,”
ter Soup Bowl fundraiser, scheduled to Scarola laughs as she identifies already made 22 this year. I’m upping Swatt says. “Some are novices, only
take place Thursday, Nov. 4. Swatt as the instigator of a challenge the ante.” been doing clay for a small amount
to have each potter make at least their of time. They hand build. We encour-
“There’s a little bit of competitive own age in bowls; preferably twice “Last year, I made 79 bowls,” says age anyone who wants to make a bowl
spirit in the studio right now,” says Su- their age. Although committed to cre- Swatt. “I was joking around to every- to make a bowl. One Sunday, we had
ating 1,200 bowls, the artisans hope to body to make double their age plus a mother, daughter and son-in-law
two. So, I’ve got 59 in the process of come in just to watch. They ended up
being made. I will try to get up to 150 each making a bowl while they were
bowls. We’ll see.” here.”

It’s a time-consuming process. Be- A tremendous amount of support,
tween building, glazing, firing and sharing and encouragement fills the
decorating, Scarola says she spends studio, Sarcola says. Recently, her own
about two hours on each of the cov- self-confidence was bolstered when
eted bowls. Swatt adds that there are an “incredibly experienced” potter
some potters who make some 200 borrowed an idea from her.
bowls for the fundraiser.
“That made me feel really good,”
“We had a gal Tuesday night who says Scarola. “This potter, for whom
made 37 bowls in three and a half I have incredible respect, looked at
hours,” Swatt says. “She’s a wizard. She what I was doing and learned from it.”
sits at the potter’s wheel and she’s just
like a machine. She listens to music and Indian River Clay has turned out
makes pottery. So, there’s all levels of to be exactly the type of organiza-
talent and efficiency and productivity.” tion Scarola had hoped for when she
helped establish it three years ago.
In addition to Indian River Clay
members, other area potters contribute Like many transplants, she had re-

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 39

Brittany Llorente ARTS & THEATRE

we go without controlling our space?” adult beverages come out. There’s a lot
Swatt, a potter since the early 1970s, of giggling and silliness all the time; it’s
not a serious place at all. There is al-
says she initially discovered pottery ways somebody laughing about some-
while living in Boca Raton, but it wasn’t thing.”
until her children were busy with ac-
tivities of their own that she got more Just as there are differences in oil,
involved with it. After a move to Mi- watercolor and acrylic paints, clay
ami, she opened a gallery in North Mi- also has various qualities to it. Some
ami Beach and represented about 130 clay works best for people who want
artists, before moving back to Boca. to make pinch pots, while other clay
works well for those potters who pre-
She learned about the formation of fer to use the wheel.
Indian River Clay shortly after moving
to Vero Beach and quickly contacted What all varieties do have in com-
them. mon is that the clay in each of the
25-pound bags needs to be prepped.
“I said, ‘Me too, me too!’” Swatt re-
calls with a laugh. “After 5 p.m. the CONTINUED ON PAGE 40

Karen Ekonomou

Myrna Renkert

PHOTOS BY Ken Gioeli
KAILA JONES

tired from corporate life and moved would enable them to bring in some
from the Hudson River Valley area of additional equipment.
New York to Florida. New to the area,
she was looking for something to keep “There are different kinds of kilns
her busy and “kind of stumbled” into and equipment that would allow art-
pottery. ists to continue to develop skills,” she
says. “But we’re hesitant. How far do
“I leveraged my corporate skills and
gained a whole world of art and friends
and passion,” she says.

The success of the clay studio has
both shocked and pleased Scarola.
The nonprofit currently has 55 mem-
bers, with a waiting list of potters
wanting to join, and classes are selling
out at 80 percent plus.

“We can’t fill all the demand,” Sca-
rola says.

She says members have been do-
ing some of their own fundraising in
hopes of buying the building, which

40 Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 39 ARTS & THEATRE

The potters who churn out dozens and “Indian River Clay is instrumental; again prepare gallons of delicious soup, play with clay and help the Soup Bowl
dozens of bowls can do so more effi- it’s a true labor of love,” says Renee Bi- and hold the event at multiple sites. project. And, while it’s a nice thought,
ciently when someone else has cut the reley, Samaritan Center program de- nobody is expecting you to go full Demi
clay, kneaded the air bubbles out of it, velopment manager. “Indian River Clay and its awesome Moore at a potter’s wheel. Indian River
and has formed it into uniformly sized potters have committed to producing Clay members have forms over which
balls. While the date of this year’s Soup 1,200 bowls. We are so indebted to the you can drape rolled sheets of clay and,
Bowl is planned for Nov. 4, Bireley says potters who each year donate their once it hardens a little bit, you can dec-
The decorative bowls are a key part that given the current surge in the pan- time and talent,” said Bireley. “Without orate your own masterpiece.
of the fundraising effort to benefit the demic from the Delta variant, they are Indian River Clay’s partnership, as well
Samaritan Center, which helps home- waiting before determining its format. as the Heritage Center, there wouldn’t Indian River Clay is located at 1239
less families transition into living The event could mirror last year’s event, have been Soup Bowl last year. What- 16th St., Vero Beach. For more infor-
independently. The event annually which saw just bowl sales at one loca- ever the future brings for this year’s mation, call 772-202-8598 or visit In-
raises about $100,000 for the charity, tion, the Heritage Center. Or, if condi- event, our hearts once again will be dianRiverClay.org. For more informa-
which equates to roughly 20 percent tions allow, they will enlist the support full even if the bowls may be empty.” tion about the Samaritan Center Soup
of its operating budget. of restaurants and businesses to once
For a while, anyway, everyone can Bowl fundraiser, call 772-770-3039. 

BY PAM HARBAUGH map and go to different places. It’s a their way of giving back to the com- parking. “But we do have a cool story
Correspondent big party, almost like a scavenger hunt. munity. They just want to go all out.” to go with that building.” The Histori-
But instead of trying to find some- And those businesses may offer sales, cal Ghost Tour begins 7 p.m. Saturday,
1 There’s a lot going on in Sebas- thing, you get food (much of it with discounts and door prizes. The event is Aug. 14 at Café Latte Da, 1101 U.S. 1,
tian this weekend. It starts Friday coconut), mocktails (probably some free and open to the public. Organiz- Suite B, Sebastian. Tickets are $15 for
pineapple in there), little desserts, and ers suggest beginning your Grill Out people 12 years and older, $12 for chil-
the 13th with “Grill Out Night,” an an- a bag full of goodies. You’ll be stuffed Night by stopping at the Chamber of dren 5 to 12 years of age, and free to
by the time you leave.” And, mem- Commerce offices where you can pick children under the age of 5 years. For
nual event sponsored by the Sebastian bers are all sensitive to people’s desire up a map of the member businesses more information or to purchase tick-
to be COVID-safe. In fact, you might participating in Grill Out Night. Most ets, visit IndianRiverHauntings.com
River Area Chamber of Commerce. be able to participate and still stay in of those businesses participating are or call 772-633-3955.
your car. “Some of the businesses re- within walking distance of the Cham-
This year, it’s a Polynesian theme. “It’s ally get involved,” Thibault said. “It’s ber. However, there are some that will
be a car ride away. Grill Out Night runs
definitely family fun,” said Chamber 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. this Friday, Aug. 13.
The Sebastian River Area Chamber of
operations director Cheryl Thibault. Commerce is at 700 Main St. For more
information, call 772-589-5969 or visit
“Some places will have bounce houses. SebastianChamber.com.

They’ll play Hawaiian music. You get a

3 Shake off any freak-out by head-
ing to the Pareidolia Brew-

ing Company’s “Open Mic Jam” on

Wednesday evening. This is a very ca-

sual spot, perfect for the whole family

to relax. And you can even bring Fido

because its deck is dog friendly. There

are river views and plenty of fun when

2 Grab those walking shoes and who-knows-what takes the stage to
open your mind – it’s time for In-
entertain. Or, bring along your own

dian River Hauntings Historical Ghost ukulele or bongos and join in. Yes, you

Tour. This is a ghost tour through the can buy brews, but there’s also wine,

history of Sebastian. Since it’s a two- seltzer and cider available for pur-

hour walking tour, you are advised to chase. Open Mic Jam runs 7 p.m. to 10

dress comfortably. During the tour, p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 18, at the Pare-

you’ll hear stories about the past and idolia Brewing Company, 712 Cleve-

about paranormal evidence gathered land St., Sebastian. Call 772-571-5693

by the Florida Bureau of Paranormal or visit PareidoliaBeer.com.

Investigation. There may also be a few

guests from previous tours who will

share their own knowledge. It will be 4 Back in Vero Beach: If you had
plans to attend the Vero Beach
led by Larry Lawson, a retired police

detective and founder of Indian River Museum of Art’s “Art Unwrapped”

Hauntings. Lawson is quite sincere event this Saturday, Aug. 14, please be

about all this, so the tour is not filled advised that the museum has canceled

with staged vignettes designed to it. So instead, why not walk across the

frighten guests. “It’s more than a ghost park to Riverside Theatre and enjoy its

tour,” he said. “It’s not a jump scare. It’s Comedy Zone. This weekend’s stand-

really a historical tour.” Lawson said up comics are headliner Ken Miller

that you can’t really learn about para- and opening act Casey Peruski. Shows

normal activity in an area without first start 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. this Friday and

studying its history. “We want folks to Saturday. Food and drinks are avail-

hear the stories of the paranormal but able for purchase. Get there early and

also learn about the town they’re living enjoy free concerts in the Loop before

in or visiting,” he said. The tour begins the shows. Show tickets are $20. Riv-

at Café Latte Da, a location that had erside Theatre is at 3250 Riverside Park

“an event,” Lawson said. But more im- Dr. Call 772-231-6990 or visit River-
sideTheatre.com. 
portantly, the business has plenty of

HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES CAN COUNT
ON THIS WINNING MEDICAL TEAM

42 Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

HEALTH

High school athletes can count on this winning medical team

BY KERRY FIRTH have symptomatic headaches or blur- Dr. Wernicki and Dr. Robinson schools if they don’t have a team doc-
ry vision, they have to sit out. I will assess injured knees, ankles, shoul- tor,” Dr. Robinson said. “If we are on
Correspondent reassess them 10 to 20 minutes after ders, necks and any other part of the the sidelines and a player from the
the injury and if they are still symp- body that’s hurt. Sometimes they opposing team gets hurt, they’ll call
It won’t be long before Friday night tomatic, I pull them out of the game. administer aid on the field before us out. We’re here to help all the kids,
lights shine at the Citrus Bowl at Vero not just our own.”
Beach High School and Pirate Stadi- Dr. Ron Robinson and Dr. Peter Wenicki.
um at St. Edward’s School on the is- Wernicki said he and his col-
land. Each time players take the field Worthington Keville and Dr. Marcus Malone. PHOTOS BY KAILA JONES leagues took care of the L.A. Dodg-
in either stadium, there will be a sec- ers when they were in town for
ond team in attendance – the doctors “It’s not like the old days when you the player even gets up. They’ve re- spring training, as well as a couple
from Pro Sports medicine who show were hit and hurt, and you go back in. located shoulders and elbows on the minor league teams that trained in
up at every game to administer aid if We know more and we proceed with spot because that is usually the easi- Vero. Since then, they often treat
an injury occurs. caution. The coaches leave the call to est time to do it. players training at Historic Dodger-
us whether the athlete can play or not.” town.
Dr. Peter Wernicki, a board-certi- “We also help players from other
fied orthopaedic surgeon, heads up “For a few months a year we’ll have
the team of skilled sports medicine 300-pound football players waiting in
practitioners. He’s joined by col- the office with little old ladies here for
leagues Dr. Ron Robinson, board- arthritis,” Dr. Wernicki said. “It keeps
certified orthopaedic surgeon; Dr. things interesting.”
Marcus Malone, board-certified
physical medicine and rehabilita- Before the start of school, the Pro
tion physician; and Worthington Sports team sets up in the high school
Keville, board-certified physician gym where they offer free physicals
assistant. for any school athlete.

“I’ve been the team physician “It’s all about the kids,” Dr. Robin-
for St. Edward’s High School for 30 son explained. “We donate our time
years and Vero Beach High School and expertise because we want to
for about 15 years,” Dr. Wernicki said. make sure they can get a physical
“The rest of our team came on board even if they aren’t financially able
as they joined our practice. All four of to pay. Our reward is seeing the kids
us will be on the sidelines, and if both thrive. I’ve seen a lot of kids become
teams are playing on the same night, interested in medicine through their
we’ll split up – two per game. We were injuries and the process of going
all sports players in our youth and through recovery. If they show an
recognize the importance of team interest, we’ll invite them to shadow
sports for character building as well us.”
as athleticism. We saw a need in the
community and have the ability to “It’s also about building relation-
fulfill it.” ships with the kids,” Dr. Malone con-
tinued. “We like the camaraderie
The physicians offer their services with the kids and want them to be
for free, not only on the field but for comfortable talking to us and willing
follow-up visits if necessary. Some to come to us if there is a problem. We
of the student-athletes are not in- strive to be mentors and role models
sured or underinsured, but that does as well as doctors.”
not stop the doctors from providing
treatment. Their goal is to take care “The bottom line is that we want
of the kids and get them off to col- them to play, but we want them to
lege safely. play safe,” Dr. Wernicki added. “The
kids are great. They are genuine and
Generally speaking, if a player gets polite. The coaches put a lot of effort
hurt on the field, the first line of as- into making kids not just good ath-
sessment comes from the team train- letes but good citizens. We try to do
er. Frequently it’s a cramp or some- the same things. Sports oftentimes
thing that can be handled right on helps them get to college.”
the field. If more help is needed and
the trainer feels he can safely get the During regular office hours the Pro
injured player to the sidelines, he will Sports doctors provide a full array of
do that. If he can’t, he’ll waive the orthopaedic services, including diag-
doctors over. nostic imaging and testing, physical
therapy, injection therapy, regenera-
“I deal with a lot of kids with con- tive medicine and surgical proce-
cussion protocols, which is a really dures. They try to see someone with
big thing right now,” Dr. Malone ex- an injury the same day, oftentimes
plained. “It’s my job to access the avoiding a visit to the emergency
player for a brain injury to make sure room.
he is qualified to get back on the field.
If someone gets hit on the field, I have Pro Sports is located at 1355 37th St.,
them do simple math, simple recall Vero Beach. Call 772-978-7808 or visit
and simple coordination skills. If they www.prosportsandeliterehab.com to
learn more about the services offered
or to schedule an appointment. 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 43

HEALTH

440,000 in America are at risk for post-polio syndrome

BY FRED CICETTI trophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Lou cades of lying dormant in the victim’s
Gehrig’s disease. Gehrig, who played cells. Another possibility involves im-
Columnist baseball for the New York Yankees, paired production of hormones and
died of the disease in 1941. ALS usu- neurotransmitters in brain.
Question: A friend of mine had polio ally strikes between the ages of 40
when he was a kid and now the disease and 70. In some countries, ALS is of- The most promising theory is that
seems to be coming back in his old age. ten called motor neuron disease. nerve cells that survived polio as-
Have you heard of this? sumed the added burden of the work
To date, researchers are not certain of dead cells. These surviving cells be-
The National Center for Health what causes PPS, but they have theories. came overworked and weakened. This
Statistics estimates that more than phenomenon led to new polio-like
440,000 polio survivors in the United One possibility is that the polio symptoms, according to the theory. 
States may be at risk for post-polio syn- virus becomes active again after de-
drome (PPS), a condition that strikes
polio survivors decades after they’ve
recovered from an attack of the po-
liomyelitis virus. Various researchers
estimate that PPS affects from 40 to 80
percent of polio survivors.

Common PPS symptoms include
muscle and joint weakness, fatigue,
pain, muscle atrophy, difficulty
breathing or swallowing, skeletal de-
formities, cold intolerance, and tem-
porary interruptions of breathing
while sleeping.

PPS usually progresses slowly. It is
rarely life-threatening. There is no
known cause for PPS. Unlike polio,
PPS is not contagious.

If a person suffered from a severe
case of polio, it is likely that the PPS
that strikes later will also be severe.
Those who had minimal symptoms
from the original illness usually will
have only mild symptoms when they
get PPS.

The risk of developing PPS is greater
if you acquired polio as an adolescent
or adult, rather than as a young child.
Women get PPS more often than men.

There is no effective treatment for
the syndrome itself. Doctors recom-
mend that polio survivors get the
proper amount of sleep, maintain a
well-balanced diet, avoid unhealthy
habits such as smoking and over-
eating, and use judicious exercise,
preferably under the supervision of
an experienced professional. Proper
lifestyle changes, the use of assistive
devices, and taking certain anti-in-
flammatory medications may help
some of the symptoms of PPS.

Polio, also known as infantile pa-
ralysis, was lethal. It was once one of
the most feared diseases in America.
Shortly after polio reached its peak in
the early 1950s, the disease was erad-
icated by a vaccine developed by Dr.
Jonas Salk.

Because PPS symptoms are similar
to those linked with other disorders,
your doctor will attempt to exclude
other possible causes, such as arthri-
tis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syn-
drome and scoliosis.

PPS has been mistaken for amyo-

44 Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

HEALTH

When feeling happy and sad at same time can be unhealthy

BY GALADRIEL WATSON Everyday events can trigger this considering the possible outcomes, While nostalgia is no longer clas-
The Washington Post state, and Larsen has found that it may get eaten. As for humans, say sified in the same way, Damasio says
“meaningful endings” can, too. Uni- you meet a person you like but who that negative emotions of any kind
When my son left for university, I versity students, for example, are gives you strange vibe – and then can infringe on your physical health,
felt both elated for him and sad that likely to spend their graduation day wants you to do something with your as they involve chemical molecules
he would no longer be home. When reminiscing about the good times finances. Ambivalence makes you that result, for example, in increases
I’m invited to dinner, I’m pleased to over the past several years. In a “more likely to be cautious when you in blood pressure, repeat tightening
be included but would also rather study led by Larsen, which is in the make the decision and think twice,” of blood vessels and changes in cardi-
lounge on the couch. When I occa- process of being published, such Damasio says. ac rhythm. These can cause diseases
sionally leave my mask in my bag, graduates reported both happiness in blood vessels and the heart.
I delight in the freedom but worry and sadness on this occasion. “We It can also help you learn from yes-
about my health. feel sad when we experience an irre- terday’s missteps. David Newman is Mental well-being may also suffer.
vocable loss,” he says. a postdoctoral scholar in the depart- Prolonged ambivalence has been as-
Wrestling with two opposite feel- ment of psychiatry and behavioral sociated with post-traumatic stress
ings at once is called ambivalence. The ability to experience two con- sciences at the University of Califor- disorder, obsessive-compulsive dis-
It’s a normal part of being human, but tradictory feelings at once has an nia at San Francisco. He gave this order, depression and addiction.
at times such internal conflict can be evolutionary benefit, says Antonio example: “If you feel nostalgic about “People tend to be really sad when
unhealthy. I spoke with three experts Damasio, professor of psychology, some past romantic relationship, they feel nostalgia,” Newman says.
to understand more about this phe- philosophy and neurology at the Uni- maybe it’s good to not simply just act By comparing the present to an ideal-
nomenon. versity of Southern California and on the positive but also remember ized past, “you’re always going to be
author of “Feeling & Knowing: Mak- some of the negative, so you don’t re- upset and feeling as if you’re not sat-
Ambivalence means “feeling both ing Minds Conscious.” “Animals that peat the mistakes.” isfied.”
good and bad,” Jeff Larsen, a profes- have only positive or negative feel-
sor of psychology at the University of ings are very limited because things So, when does ambivalence be- Ambivalence can also make us
Tennessee at Knoxville, told me. Feel- are too much black or white,” he says, come a problem? In the 18th and freeze. Whether deciding to buy a
ing bittersweet or nostalgic are com- “whereas we have the possibility of 19th centuries, nostalgia was con- car or break up with a partner, “the
mon forms of it. “Think about how seeing nuances.” sidered a serious psychiatric condi- prospect of teasing apart the pros
you might feel when you’re at the top tion. Being too attached to the past and cons can make it really difficult
of a roller coaster: excited but also ter- These nuances can help people meant one couldn’t adapt to the to make a decision,” Larsen says. “In
rified.” make good decisions. If an animal present – which could ultimately those cases, ambivalence can para-
approaches a watering hole without lead to death. lyze us.”
Amusement parks aren’t required.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 45

Are there some people who feel HEALTH
ambivalent more often than oth-
ers? Newman’s work has found that ing this habit can force you to focus
neurotic people or those who try to on the positive side of things, which
avoid negative stimuli are more like- Newman says can improve one’s
ly to become nostalgic: They tend to well-being.
find the present unpleasant and so
spend more time idealizing the past. Therapy could also help. By learn-
ing various skills – to increase mind-
As for ambivalence in general – not fulness, for example, or the ability to
just nostalgia – people who are open endure distress – people taking part
to new experiences tend to feel more in dialectical behavior therapy “find
mixed emotions. “If you’re always a way to tolerate, and hold together
seeking out the same thing, you’re side by side, experiences or realities
probably seeking out the things that that seem incongruent,” says Sarah
make you happy,” Larsen says. If you Mintz, a psychologist with the Wake
like to dive into new situations, you Kendall Group in Washington.
may experience the fun you were
hoping for, but you may also experi- Even without a therapist’s guid-
ence some less-than-great aspects ance, people can try breathing ex-
you hadn’t expected – thus ending up ercises, such as “falling into the
with contradictory feelings. pauses between your in-breath and
out-breath,” Mintz says.
Damasio adds: “There are people
that are extremely jovial and for- Sometimes, the answer may be
ward-looking and are in a sort-of per- as simple as letting your conflict-
manent happy state, and people that ing feelings run their course. “Often,
are cautious and tend to be always mixed emotions get resolved, so we’re
finding something negative with day- left feeling one or the other,” Larsen
to-day events.” The latter may experi- says.
ence more ambivalence in their ev-
eryday lives. Plus, it’s important to remember
that feeling sad or scared can help
What can people who experience us. Like animals at a watering hole
an unhealthy amount of ambiva- that need to judge what’s safe, hu-
lence do about it? One simple way is mans, too, can benefit from the con-
to keep a gratitude journal. Sustain- tradictory emotions caused by am-
bivalence. “The world’s a complex
place,” Larsen says, “and we simplify
it at our peril.” 

46 Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

HEALTH

Drowning deaths (4,000 per year in U.S.) called a ‘silent crisis’

BY CHRISTINE VESTAL country of 330 million – there are 10 ashamed of and be energized to ad- doing enough to develop and enforce
The Washington Post times as many annual traffic deaths, dress when we see that thousands of proven water safety policies, she said,
for example – public health experts us are dying every year from drown- primarily because they receive no
As temperatures soar in much of the say water safety is worth focusing on ing,” said Shannon Frattaroli, direc- federal funding.
country, more Americans are cooling because nearly all drowning deaths tor of the Johns Hopkins Center for
off in swimming pools, lakes, rivers are preventable. Injury Research and Policy at the Some advocates say this is the year
and oceans. Yet, when people flock to Bloomberg School of Public Health. that may start to change.
the water, drowning deaths spike. “These deaths do not have to occur. State public health agencies aren’t
It really is something we should be With greater awareness of deficits
Nearly 4,000 people drown in the in the nation’s public health infra-
United States every year according to structure since the pandemic and the
the Centers for Disease Control and Biden administration’s willingness to
Prevention, and another estimated spend billions of dollars to improve
8,000 are treated for nonfatal drown- the health and welfare of Americans,
ing injuries. About 10 percent of the drowning prevention may finally get
deaths occur in Florida, according to the attention and investment it de-
state health statistics. serves, said Richard Hamburg, exec-
utive director of Safe States Alliance.
For children, drowning is the sec-
ond leading cause of death after birth The CDC, he said, may for the first
defects, with three dying every day, time receive funding for drowning pre-
and it is the second leading cause of vention that can be allocated to state
accidental death after vehicle crashes public health agencies to save lives.
for those ages 1 to 14.
Most state and local health depart-
Although the CDC reports that ments are chronically underfunded
drowning death rates have declined for accident prevention in general and
by 32 percent in the past decade, many have no expertise in drowning
water safety experts say that is not prevention, Hamburg said.
enough.
But a handful of states – including
Although the number of annual Colorado, Florida, Nebraska, New
drowning deaths is relatively low in a York, North Carolina and Washington
– have robust drowning prevention

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Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 47

HEALTH

programs primarily funded by state The study, which is intended for
revenues, he said. state and local health agencies, as
well as the federal government, will
In Florida, which has the fourth focus on successful drowning preven-
highest drowning death rate in the tion policies, including greater use of
country, lawmakers considered a bill lifeguards, expansion of life vest re-
this year that would have required quirements, promotion of CPR train-
public schools to give parents infor- ing, enforcing swimming pool fencing
mation on water safety education requirements, improving drowning
courses. But the bill never reached surveillance and expanding swim-
the floor for a vote. ming and water safety education.

New York lawmakers proposed a bill “Drowning prevention doesn’t
that would make swimming and wa- have a federal government agency
ter safety education a mandatory part that oversees it,” said Tina Dessart, a
of the state’s K-12 curriculum. The bill member of the action plan committee
never reached the floor for a vote, but and a program director at USA Swim-
it is expected to be refiled next year. ming, which governs U.S. swimming
competitions, including Olympic tri-
Washington state lawmakers con- als. “That’s a big part of what we’re
sidered a proposal that would require trying to address in the national ac-
paddle boarders, kayakers and even tion plan.”
tubers to pass a water safety class
and carry a certificate with them. But The World Health Organization
the measure was roundly opposed by published a global report on drown-
consumers and the recreation indus- ing in 2014 that called on all countries
try and did not pass the legislature. to develop a national water safety
plan. Australia, Canada, Ireland, New
In Massachusetts, Gov. Charlie Zealand and the United Kingdom al-
Baker (R) responded to a spate of ready have such plans.
drownings this year by filing legisla-
tion that would hike fines to $500 for The last time the United States
swimming outside of designated ar- made significant progress in reduc-
eas in the state’s waterfronts. The bill ing drowning fatalities was in 1914,
is still under consideration. when the American Red Cross added
water safety to its mission and offered
Water safety laws vary widely from free swimming lessons for millions of
state to state, and most states lack the people of all ages.
statutes and regulations water safety
experts say are needed to effectively In 2014, the nonprofit organization
prevent drowning. “It’s not rocket sci- celebrated the centennial of its “wa-
ence,” Frattaroli said. “This is a field terproofing of America” campaign
that is chronically under-resourced and has continued to promote water
and underrecognized.” safety and provide swimming lessons
for thousands of people every sum-
In a March letter to Congress, more mer since.
than 200 national and local organi-
zations and state agencies, including By increasing access to pools and
the American Red Cross, the YMCA training people in swimming compe-
and California Highway Patrol, called tency and water safety, the Red Cross
drownings a “silent crisis” that re- says it has helped reduce accidental
quires federal leadership and money. drownings by nearly 90 percent over
the past century.
Without funding, most states are
unable to adequately enforce the wa- Connie Harvey, director of the
ter safety regulations they have, such nonprofit group’s Centennial Initia-
as required fencing around pools, tives and a member of the action plan
hiring lifeguards to supervise pub- steering committee, said a national
lic pools and beaches, and requiring water safety plan is an essential first
people to wear life jackets in boats step to substantially slashing the
and unsupervised open waters. nation’s stubbornly high number of
drowning deaths.
Even more difficult for states to ac-
complish without federal funding is A big part of the national plan,
expanding access to swimming les- she said, will be to expand access to
sons and water safety education. Ac- swimming and water safety lessons.
cording to the Red Cross, more than But public pools are limited in many
half of all Americans don’t know how low-income neighborhoods and rural
to swim well enough to save them- towns. And building new pools is an
selves in the water. expensive proposition.

A group of more than 100 research- Harvey said a proven strategy is
ers backed by Water Safety USA – an to encourage swimming classes at a
alliance of nonprofit groups and young age by working with schools
government agencies, including the that have pools and arranging for
CDC, the National Park Service, the schools without pools to collaborate
Consumer Product Safety Commis- with nearby hotels, condominiums,
sion, the Coast Guard and the Army public parks, recreation centers and
Corps of Engineers – is planning to community groups to help more kids
publish the first national water safety learn how to swim. 
action plan for drowning prevention.

48 Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 Style Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

‘Jungle Cruise’ will make you want to channel grown-up safari style

BY LISA ARMSTRONG Laurent’s first Safari collection from
The Telegraph 1967, best demonstrated on an outra-
geously sexy Veruschka, and endlessly
What is it about the jungle, a place not copied ever since.
conducive to high fashion, that inspires
so much of it? Katharine Hepburn in Audiences of all ages lap this stuff up.
“The African Queen”; Grace Kelly and Anything jungle-y seems to get us reach-
Ava Gardner in “Mogambo”; Naomi ing for the safari jackets and khaki shorts
Watts in “King Kong”… all were dressed every time there’s a big cinema release.
in varying degrees of implausible. Talk- Latest case in point is “Jungle Cruise,”
ing of unbelievable, there’s Yves Saint the Disney smash starring Emily Blunt,
Dwayne Johnson and Jack Whitehall
which is currently gracing a cinema near

you. Since the film is a spin-off of a ride Delgado, the Oscar-nominated Canary
at various Disney Worlds, we need not Island native who also designed the
bother ourselves too much about the costumes for “Les Miserables” and “The
plot. Suffice to say it concerns a feisty Danish Girl,” they’re a beguiling blend
young British woman who makes her of the historical and the current. Del-
way to the African jungle and wears gado studied hundreds of Colonial-era
some fabulous clothes along the way. photographs but readily admits he was
also influenced by “The African Queen”
Not many of them, because she’s a and “Mogambo.” “Once you’ve seen
practical sort, and an early adopter of those films you can’t unsee those im-
the Capsule Wardrobe. But even so, the ages,” he says. He’s a diligent researcher
clothes probably steal the film, which but also wants the characters to reso-
is set in 1917. Masterminded by Paco

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Style Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 49

nate with modern audiences. The khaki, tan and taupe colors make and in social terms it showed they ei- there’s an atmosphere of a disappear-
“Emily’s character is required to move them particularly good for an August ther had a lot of servants to clean it or 10 ing world,” it’s bound to have an impact
staycation, where the weather can’t identical white outfits.” on what we see next season, ensuring
a lot and the director [Jaume Collet- make up its mind. Although the direc- items like the utility jacket, linen trou-
Serra] wanted her to look like a strong tor of photography on “Jungle Cruise” “Jungle Cruise” may not be punctili- sers, romantic blouses, tea dresses,
woman and represent a role model for was initially resistant to having leafy ously historical, but its costumes are a panama hats and safari boots remain
his own daughter,” said Delgado when colored clothes in a jungle, Delgado worthy addition to the Safari sarto- top of fashion’s list for a while to come.
we talked on the phone recently, “so al- was adamant there should be a lot of rial canon, and along with Delgado’s Not that Delgado is vaunting his influ-
though not many women, even female green, a color that’s extraordinarily next film, a remake of “Death on the ence. “I think those looks are here al-
explorers wore trousers back then, Em- popular right now, in clothes as well Nile” with Kenneth Branagh, which is ready,” he says modestly. 
ily is in them all the time.” as interiors, underlining our renewed now set in 1939, “on the brink of war so
appreciation of nature. It’s also flat-
Tomboyishness is part of what tering on all skins. Keeping to a tight
makes safari clothing appeal to mod- color scheme is another good lesson
ern fashionistas, combined with the for all of us when building a wardrobe,
twist of femininity that often accom- and particularly when we’re packing
panies it. Pintucking, gauzy linens, for a vacation.
silk scarves, shapely trousers, equal-
ly shapely knee high boots, slouchy, Delgado and his team dyed every-
timeless looking knitwear and pretty, thing themselves. “A lot of the fabrics
ruffled dresses – although Blunt only we used to make the clothes come in
gets to wear those when she’s in Lon- raw canvas shades, sometimes you
don, posing as a secretary. want a special brown with a hint of
yellow and if you go to normal ready to
Delgado refined the jodhpur sil- wear they might not have those par-
houette favored by early 20th century ticular shades. You get much more in-
Western explorers into something teresting shades if you dye it yourself.”
more flattering. “Before we made a
single piece I spent several hours with Amazingly, they used Dylon – noth-
Emily and a tailor in a hotel room in ing fancy. “But they approach it like
Brooklyn near where she lives so that chemistry, mixing a bit of Havana
she could try on lots of different pe- Brown with a little bit of Mustard Yel-
riod pieces in various shapes. There’s low and a drizzle of orange and record-
no point being scrupulously accurate ing every formulation in notebooks
if it doesn’t make the actor look good.” because while the audience might only
see one Safari jacket, in reality there
That’s a sound nugget of advice for will be lots of replicas.” There are some
anyone thinking of adopting the Sa- ivory jackets too. “At the start of the 20th
fari look – or any other trend. Parse it century there was a big rubber boom in
first for what works on your body. the Amazon,” says Delgado. “All these
European and American adventurers
Blunt doesn’t get the lion’s share settled there, often in very basic hous-
of the costumes – that honor goes to ing, with a lot of mud. But they all wore
Jack Whitehall, who plays her fop- white from top to toe. It kept them cool
pish brother. But those she wears, like
Carey Mulligan’s costumes in “The
Dig,” thumpingly resonate with now.

50 Vero Beach 32963 / August 12, 2021 Style Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

Bobbi Brown:‘Why I’m starting a new brand in my 60s’

BY SONIA HARIA help women do their own makeup and Bobbi Brown Cosmetics was bought artist and talking to people and teach-
look and feel better,” she explains. “That by Estée Lauder Companies in 1995, ing.” What drove her to leave? “I had a
The Telegraph is why I bring products to market – so I becoming one of their most success- call with my 90-year-old aunt Alice one
can teach people how to achieve a good ful brands globally. day in 2016. She asked how I was doing.
There aren’t many people who make look in a matter of minutes.” I wasn’t happy. Usually she’d say to me,
me star-struck, but for a beauty editor, Bobbi was a disruptor in the beauty ‘You’ve got this,’ but she said, ‘I think it’s
the makeup artist, bestselling author Born in Chicago, Illinois, after gradu- space back then, and she is now, too. time.’ So I left. It certainly was not an
and mother-of-three Bobbi Brown is ating with a degree in theatrical make- With the rise of social media, makeup easy transition, I didn’t just pop off one
royalty. In 1991, aged 30, she launched up, Bobbi moved to New York in 1980 to for the past decade has been largely treadmill on to another one seamlessly.
a makeup range under her own name – work as a makeup artist. In the late ’80s, homogenized: a heavily contoured There were emotional things to deal
you may be familiar with it – and built and off the back of the excess of bright look that has been popularized by with as well as practical.”
a billion-dollar enterprise. In 2016, aged colors and in-your-face, more-is-more reality TV. In creating a simple, hard-
59, she left the company. After a few makeup of the decade, Bobbi – then working wardrobe of products, Bobbi How does she feel starting a new
years off (which for ‘accidental entrepre- pregnant with her first son – developed has offered a breath of fresh air, I tell brand in her 60s? “I don’t find it daunt-
neur’ Bobbi involved launching a range a range of 10 lipsticks in ultra-wearable her. “I’m not saying a heavily con- ing at all. I find it invigorating and I am
of supplements and renovating a hotel beige and brown tones. (We have Bobbi toured look is wrong for some people, so grateful that I have something that I
in her home town of Montclair, New Jer- to thank for the trend for nude lipsticks.) but it’s just not for me, or how I like to am so excited about. And then I think I
sey), she’s back in the makeup business Her focus on makeup that flattered make people up,” she smiles. actually have to be better at not talking
with her latest venture, Jones Road. rather than overpowered a face struck a about how excited I am and find other
chord with women at the time and her One of the Jones Road bestsellers is things to talk about because my friends
We’re chatting over Zoom; I’m in Lon- lipsticks flew off the shelves at Bergdorf the Miracle Balm. Unlike anything I’ve and family will be bored of me!
don and Bobbi is at a desk in her son’s Goodman in New York. tried, it is a pot of a solid cream that
bedroom at her beach house in Sag Har- melts into the skin when warmed up. “I was faced with decisions like,
bor, the Hamptons. With her hair tied She also created inclusive shade It’s available in several shades that can do I do Nicole Kidman’s makeup on
back and tucked behind her ears, sig- ranges of makeup years before other be used as a bronzer, highlighter, mois- ‘Saturday Night Live’ or do I go to my
nature black glasses frames and what premium brands saw the need to. “It’s turizer or blush. The Miracle Balm best friend’s husband’s 40th birthday
seems like hardly a scrap of obvious- not even a responsibility for a brand, is the essence of Bobbi’s pared-back party? I went to the party! I still see
looking makeup on, she has an air of it’s just common sense – when someone aesthetic; by January this year all four my friends all the time and so I’ve al-
ease that makes me think she’s probably wants to try your range, but they don’t shades had sold out, with huge waiting ways known that having a family and
sitting cross-legged on her chair with see colors for them when they go to a lists. “The Miracle Balm came about my route was important. I’ve always
a couple of dogs pottering about out of counter, that’s not nice,” she shakes her as an accident, actually,” she says. “I been a normal person, it was the most
view (she has five). “I’m going to have you head. “I didn’t do it because I care about wanted a foundation, but the lab sent comfortable thing for me, and now it’s
test the 16 on your forehead, because ac- a brand, I care about people. I also had me this balm. As soon as I tried it, I called a trend of authenticity. I guess
tually I think you’re more of a 17.” A min- trouble finding a foundation to match loved it – and gave it to my focus group, I’m trendy,” she tells me, laughing.
ute in and I’m already getting advice on my skin anywhere because I have very essentially my girlfriends, and they
concealer shades from one of the greats. yellow skin and everything would make would come back to me with empty Did she struggle launching a new
“I could be wrong, with the lighting.” me look pink. So I made my own. pots asking, ‘Please can I have some brand in a pandemic? There’s always
more?’ I was like, ‘OK, this is amaz- an upbeat, silver lining for Bobbi, as I’ve
She’s not wrong. Bobbi is shade- “I didn’t know what I was doing, but ing.’” For Bobbi, the best way to apply come to learn. “Look,” she tells me, “I’m
matching me with one of her Face I just did what made sense to me at the it is on the cheeks, to give some color, wearing shorts right now, I’m not spend-
Pencils, which can be used as a con- time,” she explains. “I basically tried to before any other makeup, and then ing lots of money flying around, so many
cealer or foundation. From the woman do the makeup that was popular at the spot-conceal where needed with her amazing positive things have happened
who practically invented the term ‘no- time, but I just didn’t like it. So I started Face Pencils. “You just figure out what since the pandemic.” She takes a deep
makeup makeup,’ Jones Road is a tight- to do makeup on people the way I want you need, you don’t need a full face of breath and smiles. “I’ve taken it as an
ly edited range of cosmetics so simple to look, which was blended, and I will make-up every day,” she adds. interesting time to reinvent things.” 
and effective that, when it launched in never forget the moment I tried to con-
America nine months ago, it became a tour Jerry Hall for the cover of British How did the name Jones Road
sell-out success almost overnight. “The Cosmo and I couldn’t do it because it’s come about, I ask? “I couldn’t use my
real essence of a makeup brand is to just not my style of makeup. She ended name, of course. So when thinking of
up doing it herself!” a new name, I had copywriters and
friends that came in, I even had Gloria
Steinem suggesting names. But they
would either not resonate with me or
were not available. And then one day I
was driving to the Hamptons with my
husband. He was using Google Maps,
he had me on Waze and I looked down
on my phone and I saw Jones Road.”
She pauses, and smiles. “I said to him,
Jones Road Beauty! That was it.”

Having built one successful make-
up brand with Bobbi Brown Cosmet-
ics, was it always the intention to start
another? She shakes her head. “No,
absolutely not – I didn’t have the space
in my brain to think about that. I hon-
estly didn’t realize what I was going to
do until I started to think about what I
really love – which is being a makeup