12/14/2017 ISSUE 50

Jake & Friends sing Vero’s
praises at benefit. P25
Holidays in the Wild
at Museum of Art. P18

Aerial antics: Kids present
magical ‘Christmas Road Trip.’ P20

For breaking news visit

Vero Electric sale Four suitors vie to take over Indian River Medical Center
to FPL seems to be
moving smoothly

BY LISA ZAHNER Nothing else that occurs in Vero in recent years, in some specialties, a care organizations – each clearly in-
Staff Writer Beach in 2018 will be as important to very good – community hospital. terested in expanding to Vero – made
the future of our community as choos- two-hour presentations to the direc-
Vero Beach is hoping to ing the right healthcare system to take But now, at a time of rapid change in tors of IRMC and the trustees of the
complete the sale of its electric over operation of the Indian River healthcare, local hospitals – including Indian River County Hospital District.
utility to Florida Power and Medical Center. IRMC – are struggling. The outlook is not
Light by October 2018. With encouraging. Yet, out of these financial Vero Beach 32963 staff writer Michelle
that in mind, the City Council This is our hospital. This is the place challenges, unexpectedly comes an op- Genz was the only journalist present
last week approved resolu- you will be rushed to if a medical emer- portunity to elevate our hospital to a through all of these meetings. We strong-
tions that would end the city’s gency occurs in the middle of the night. higher level. ly urge you to carefully read her report.
contracts with the Florida This is where split-second decisions
Municipal Power Agency and may mean life or death. We clearly need a partner for IRMC – a At 6,800 words, this is the most space
its ownership share in the FPL bigger, better partner who can raise a hos- we have ever devoted to a single sub-
St. Lucie nuclear plant and None of us have any illusions about pital, started 85 years ago by a lone nurse, ject. As this process moves forward, we
Orlando’s Stanton coal plant IRMC being on a par with Johns Hop- to a new plateau – and quite surprisingly, will continue providing the compre-
when the sale closes. kins or the Mayo Clinic. Our belief has we suddenly have amazing suitors. hensive coverage a matter this impor-
been that this is on the whole a good – tant to our community deserves.
Vero is one of the FMPA Last week, four impressive health-
owner-member cities that
must approve its exit from the Dr. Mike Jablonski rushed The power point presenta- Missionary zeal is in Daryl With the fullest house of four
electric power cooperative. into the Indian River Medical tion of Hospital Corporation Tol’s DNA. The son and grand- for last week’s partner presen-
Vero’s transactional attorney Center conference room last of America last week did lit- son of missionaries, Tol, now tations, the nationally ranked
Nathaniel Doliner explained Tuesday, out of breath, late tle to disabuse a small-town CEO of Florida Hospital and Cleveland Clinic had head-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 CONTINUED ON PAGE 7 CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

Shrimp farm sold at
auction to Chinese

BY SAMANTHA ROHLFING BAITA
Staff Writer

Florida Organic Aquacul-
ture has been sold at auction
to a group of Chinese inves-
tors and will be renamed
Pristine Water Aquaculture.

When it opened in 2014,
the state-of-the-art Fells-
mere shrimp farm was widely
acclaimed for its pioneering,
environmentally responsible
technology and for the eco-
nomic benefit it was expect-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 11

December 14, 2017 Volume 10, Issue 50 Newsstand Price $1.00 Lighted boat parade
at The Moorings
News 1-12 Faith 45 Pets 46 TO ADVERTISE CALL is a marvel. Page 23
Arts 31-34 Games 47-49 Real Estate 71-80 772-559-4187
Books 44 Health 51-55 Style 56-59
Dining 60 Insight 35-50 Wine 61 FOR CIRCULATION
Editorial 42 People 13-30 CALL 772-226-7925

© 2017 Vero Beach 32963 Media LLC. All rights reserved.

2 Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Orlando Health tal District to pick his favorite hospital “why a group like Jewett doesn’t work ed about in Vero too, according to one
group, which includes the Orlando Re- more with Orlando Health.” hospital board member. And it extends
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 gional Medical Center. to the patient suggestion box. “We
“At the end of the meeting, he said, don’t want the community to check
from surgery, frazzled from rush hour “They asked me to drive four hours ‘Tell me anything that we can do to- their brains at the door,” said Strong.
traffic. to talk 10 minutes, and I said sure,” gether.’ That was a question that was
Jablonski told an amused room of foreign to me. I had never been asked If there were a metric for C-suite bed-
He almost missed his chance to IRMC leaders during the first of four by the CEO of a hospital what they side manner, Orlando Health’s team
speak on behalf of Orlando Health. As meetings the group held last week in could do for me,” he said. would score at the top. The panel of
it turned out, as the final speaker, he its search for a partner. presenters – and no one topped Jablon-
left a lasting impression. If that was the The next day, Jablonski called with ski – projected warmth, reassurance
healthcare system’s intention when it President of Orlando’s large Jewett Or- ideas.“And from there, it’s just blossomed. and candor. They also displayed humil-
invited a physician who isn’t even an thopedic Clinic, Jablonski launched into ity, in part because Orlando has had its
employee to speak on their behalf, the an off-the-cuff testimonial to Orlando “I can’t get half my group to show own financial travails, at one point even
strategy seemed to pay off. Health’s spirit of collaboration with phy- up at my meetings. But when we have searching for a partner, as IRMC is today.
sicians. It had all started, he said, the Orlando Health meetings, everybody’s
Jablonski all but dropped to one week he moved back to town, and was there. And they’re asking, why aren’t The dynamic between speakers and
knee to ask the IRMC board and trust- invited to dinner by CEO David Strong. we meeting more?” audience seemed to alternate between
ees of the Indian River County Hospi- mentor and student, both sides recep-
Jablonski said Strong asked him Orlando Health’s receptivity to ideas tive to the insights of the other.
put forth by physicians has been talk-
That was not by chance. If IRMC
leaders have found the partnering
process grueling, Orlando Health has
been through an exhaustive expansion
search as well.

“It’s been extremely selective. We’ve
gone through a process where we
have looked at every health system
across the state on a quantitative ba-
sis – population growth, household in-
come, current market share. Then ev-
ery health system is ranked on quality,
culture and readiness to change.

“We look at both of those, and we have
selected possible partners.You’re one that
we would like to partner with,” said CFO
Bernadette Spong. “It was a pure pleasure
to tour the facility. It is gorgeous.”

The Vero hospital is not the only one
in Orlando Health’s sights. And whether
Orlando Health is large enough now to
provide the capital necessary to revital-
ize IRMC is a question warm feelings
can’t resolve. Currently, the system has
less than half the total revenues of the
next smallest competitor in IRMC’s
search for a partner.

At the same time, the nine hospitals
within the Orlando Health system are
impressive: Arnold Palmer Hospital
for Children wins awards for its pe-
diatric trauma center and five other
specialties. Winnie Palmer Hospital
for Women and Babies delivers 15,000
babies a year and is the second biggest
birthing hospital in the country. It also
has one of the largest neo-natal inten-
sive care units. And Lakeland Regional
Health, the newest collaborator in the
Orlando Health system, has the busiest
emergency department in the country
– with 217,000 visits, and no wait.

System-wide, only one of Orlando
Health’s nine hospitals relies on tax-
payer money for indigent care – South
Lake, which gets $5 million a year. Even
Orlando Regional Medical Center,
considered a safety net hospital, gets
no indigent care funding. “It comes
out of profits,” said Strong. “We’re the
only level-one trauma center that does
not receive some indigent care.”

Orlando Regional is the busiest lev-
el-one trauma center in the state. Last

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 3

NEWS

year, it won accolades for its response but you’ve got to deliver patient out- considered as partners for IRMC). By late summer of 2013, staffers
to the Pulse nightclub shootings. comes. You can’t fail. That’s a condi- The CEO stepped down, and like were looking at unionizing. In Octo-
tion that precedes anything you do.” ber, Moody’s downgraded Orlando
“We believe we have sufficient scale IRMC, Orlando Health debated selling Health to an A3, lowering its outlook
to meet your needs,” said Strong. “At the Just four years ago, in 2013, Orlando to another company. Moody’s Investors to negative following dismal revenues
same time, we don’t think that we’re too Health was losing money; Modern Service downgraded its bond rating, and a drop in patient volume.
big that you’re going to be lost.” Healthcare magazine reported it ran a management responded with pay cuts,
$9.5 million operating deficit that year and in November 2012 announced the The cuts had almost immediate re-
Again and again, the organization and was losing market share to Ad- biggest layoff in the system’s 100-year sults: more profits in the first quarter of
wowed the audience with the scope of ventist’s Florida Hospital and nearby history – a reduction of up to 400 jobs FY 2013-2014 than in the entire previ-
its services. When District trustee Allen HCA hospitals (both now also being in its work force of 16,000.
Jones expressed concern about continu- CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
ation of the Partners in Women’s Health
program, a collaboration of IRMC and NEW LISTING
the Hospital District that provides prena-
tal care to indigent women, Dr. Jamal Ha- Exclusively John’s Island
kim, Orlando Health’s COO, spoke up.
Sited on .62± acres along John’s Island Sound, this elegant 5BR/5.5BA
“That kind of thing would be our ob- residence enjoys a beautiful covered terrace overlooking the lush
ligation,” he told the IRMC leaders. “We tropically landscaped pool, spa and private wetlands. This traditional
are quite proud of our women’s services. 6,325± SF home affords high ceilings and custom millwork, an island
We receive the sickest of sick moms from kitchen, dining area and family room with fireplace. Additional features
all across north and central Florida.” include a generous living room with fireplace, library, formal dining
room, luxurious master suite, office/guest suite, dock, bonus storage
As for quality metrics, the system room above the single-car garage and an air-conditioned 2-car garage.
has seen its all-cause mortality rate fall 240 Coconut Palm Road : $4,100,000
by 49 percent over five years. Infection
rates have been lowered 81 percent in three championship golf courses : 17 har-tru courts : beach club : squash
five years. “Now we’re up among the health & fitness center : pickleball : croquet : vertical equity membership
best of the best,” Strong said.
772.231.0900 : Vero Beach, FL : JohnsIslandRealEstate.com
Readmission is another area of con-
cern. Florida has the second worst rate in
the nation, he said, and within the state,
the central and southern regions are the
worst. In those same five years that mor-
tality fell by nearly half, Orlando Health
reduced readmissions by 19 percent.

“We used to think we were good,” he
said. “We were only good compared
to the locals, and that’s not good. We
don’t benchmark ourselves to local.
We benchmark national. And we don’t
talk top quartile. It’s top decile.”

Asked about the average tenure on
the hospital staff, Strong’s mind went
straight to an upcoming celebra-
tion. Friday night, the annual service
awards were to be presented at what
he described as “a huge party” for
4,800 invited guests – all of whom
have worked for five, 10, up to 50 years
with Orlando Health.

“Now that’s a positive,” he said. “But
it also carries some baggage. It’s won-
derful to have people with history, but
you also want to have fresh blood.”

Some of that fresh blood comes
from teaching programs. Currently Or-
lando Health has seven medical school
residency programs with 256 residents
and 18 fellows. “One of the great ad-
vantages of having all those teaching
programs is the ability to get doctors.
It’s rare for somebody to turn us down
simply for ‘Oh, I can get a better job.’”

As for executive talent, Orlando
Health board vice-chair David Brown
said, “We see growth interrelated to be-
ing able to attract talent, the kind of tal-
ent to manage what is going to be an in-
creasingly challenging environment.We
think we’re at Step One of what’s going
to be a lot more to deal with and face.”

Brown believes that health systems
must focus on improving patient out-
comes. “We can attract market share,

4 Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Orlando Health is “retaining a solid market position” in HCA Well, yes, of course they do. HCA’s
a “highly competitive market.” assets are enormous. The largest hos-
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 pital chain in America, HCA has 164
The most recent addition to the Or- hospitals, plus seven in the U.K., with
ous year. Net income went from minus lando Health system was finalized in Oc- audience of the notion that it was a total capacity of 443,000 beds. It is
$12.7 million in the first quarter of FY tober of this year, when it affiliated with looking down the maw of an acquisi- the second largest provider of behav-
2012-2013 to plus $30.9 million in the Lakeland Regional Health System. tion-hungry beast. ioral healthcare in the United States.
first quarter of FY 2013-2014. In addi-
tion to staff cuts, the health system off- That affiliation bumped up revenues If executives of the hospital manage- When it wants to analyze the process
set reductions in in-patient stays with to $3.7 billion, making Orlando Health ment giant, the only for-profit among of, say, getting a patient doubled over
an increase in out-patient treatment. the second largest system in the state, af- Indian River Medical Center’s four pro- in pain at the emergency department
ter Adventist Health Sunbelt. Total beds, spective partners, felt awkward wooing door tucked into an in-patient bed for
Dr. Hakim, an anesthesiologist who including rehab facilities, are just over a hospital built largely on charitable giv- a three-day (and multi-thousand dol-
was the system’s chief quality officer, 3,000. ing, there was little sign of it. Unblinking- lar) stay, it can crunch its system-wide
was named interim CEO. Under his ly, they pushed their numbers – almost data from the mobile phones of thou-
leadership, the health system ended Interestingly, as explained in the as if they were presenting to Wall Street sands of nurses and doctors.
its long affiliation with the MD Ander- Lakeland Ledger newspaper, Lakeland analysts – through a head-spinning first
son Cancer Center and in 2014 part- Regional Medical Center is owned by half of Thursday’s two hour-plus session. From cancer research to purchas-
nered with the University of Florida the city of Lakeland and leased by Lake- ing power, HCA’s imposing mass iron-
in creating UF Health Cancer Center land Regional Health System for around At one point, presenters paused to ically conferred significance as well as
– Orlando Health, allowing both UF $13 million a year, much as theVero hos- play a video, complete with surging insignificance to Vero’s stand-alone
Shands and Orlando Health to share pital is owned by Indian River County soundtrack, of the role one HCA hospi- community nonprofit hospital.
patients in clinical trials. through its Hospital District, and leased tal played in treating victims of the re-
to a separate nonprofit company. cent LasVegas mass shooting. As jarring “We think our mission fits with
CEO David Strong finally relieved Ha- as the subject was, the effort felt forced, yours,” Chuck Hall, HCA’s national
kim in 2015, bringing in from his Cha- The Lakeland lease arrangement and – to use an expression HCA leaders group president, said rather uncon-
pel Hill days Bernadette Spong as CFO. did not change with Orlando Health’s themselves used at one point – a “cram- vincingly. “How do we execute on this
Moody’s revised its outlook from nega- affiliation. The deal called for the down” of corporate marketing. mission of clinical excellence? It al-
tive to stable. Those actions and Strong’s Lakeland Regional Medical Center to ways starts with the data.”
arrival “should produce results that re- continue to be run by its own board By contrast, when the next day the
turn the system to its long history of fa- with the addition of one member from Cleveland Clinic similarly used a video Does it? It’s unclear how many “pa-
vorable performance,” Moody’s noted. Orlando Health. And two Lakeland to underscore its humanity – random tient first”-focused audience mem-
Regional board members were to join people moving through a hospital with bers would have agreed apart from
Both Strong and CFO Spong came Orlando Health’s board. Lakeland’s captions like “Just got diagnosed with the one data point sewn into the deep
from the Research Triangle area of CEO was to report to Strong. cancer” or “19-year-old son on life sup- pockets of those large assets: HCA’s
North Carolina. Both had worked for port” – it too was an obvious marketing capital outlay last year for its hospitals
Rex Healthcare, a nonprofit system Other Orlando Health hospitals in- ploy, but it was hard to hold back tears. was $2.8 billion.
with more than 5,400 employees and a clude Sand Lake, built in 1985; the Ar-
member of the $3.8 billion UNC Health nold Palmer Hospital, built four years Then suddenly, as HCA’s question- If nothing else, the presentation
Care System based in Chapel Hill. later; South Seminole Hospital, which and-answer period began and the gave context to the search for a part-
joined in 1992; and South Lake Hospi- overheads went blank, the parade of ner by making the local decision-
Under Spong, Orlando Health re- tal and Lucerne Hospital. In 2004, Or- suits speaking corporate- and health- makers consider the issues, outlook
covered its rating from Moody’s, which lando Health opened the Hospital for care-ese morphed into approachable and priorities of such a major player
today applies to some $769 million Women and Babies that became the people, answering questions one-on- in the morass that is modern health-
in debt issued by the Orange County Winnie Palmer Hospital in 2005. one in plain English, with empathy care. From the research at its institu-
Health Facilities Authority. In June, and a markedly humbler self-regard. tions to career opportunities, every-
its stable outlook was upgraded to Of the nine hospitals currently in thing the presenters talked about was
positive. Moody’s cited its “disciplined the system, Lakeland Regional is the It was as if HCA, all dressed up, of breath-taking scope.
approach to capital spending” and farthest from the center – about an took a look in the mirror and asked its
trends indicating that Orlando Health hour away from Orlando Regional. would-be partner: Do these stats make Step through the door of an HCA
my assets look big? facility to have your baby or pass a
Vero Beach would be the geographic kidney stone, and your visit, unique
outlier in an Orlando Health orbit. 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 5

NEWS

though it may feel, will be one of 27 $6 million a year – and the hospital IRMC’s total net revenue last year tion of this county.
million this year. kicks in another $6 million. was an estimated $280 million. HCA’s Hall, who spoke to IRMC board
net revenue: $33 billion.
Indian River taxpayers grumble over HCA? It’s like one giant societal members and Hospital District trustees
care for the indigent; at present, pa- safety net – that still makes a profit, IRMC has 1,300 employees, plus Thursday, oversees 81 hospitals in 12
tients at IRMC who can’t pay may be and still pays taxes – with its hospitals 300 more if you count employed phy- states, just under half the chain’s total.
covered by the Indian River County providing $2.8 billion in uncompen- sicians’ offices. HCA has 240,000 –
Hospital District contribution – about sated care a year. 100,000 more than the entire popula- Yet Thursday, he felt like a neighbor,

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

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6 Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

HCA That out-migration, as it is called, agents made it known they were in- two years ago to fill a vacancy on the
has been a major concern for IRMC vestigating the company for Medicaid Indian River Hospital District board: Dr.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 – a worry that surfaced during the and Medicare fraud. Less than four Val Zudans, an ophthalmologist, was
meeting. Were those HCA hospitals to months later, Scott resigned as CEO. subsequently defeated when he sought
with a soft southern drawl no doubt suddenly become corporate brethren According to Politifact, executives of election to a full term as a trustee, but he
nourished by his weekly commute to in an IRMC takeover, how would HCA the publicly traded company said if now is a Vero Beach City Council mem-
HCA headquarters in Nashville, but born divvy up the patient pot? Scott had stayed, “the entire chain ber. Earlier this year, Scott appointed
of his home base of Tallahassee; Hall has would have been in jeopardy.” Zudans’ wife, Tracey, to fill another va-
a B.S. and MBA from Florida State. “That’s the elephant in the room,” cancy on the Hospital District Board.
said one board member. “You’re mak- As Scott pleaded to fight the charg-
Another understated presence, this ing a commitment here to us, but I still es, the board instead decided to settle Val Zudans recently wrote an opin-
time with a Texas accent, was Jane En- am on some level naïve about how in 2000, paying $840 million in crimi- ion-piece in the daily paper urging
glebright. Chief nursing executive and those two hospitals would work to- nal fines, civil damages and penalties. IRMC to partner with HCA, claiming
a senior vice president, she leads a gether with us in close proximity to a that if the for-profit HCA were picked,
team of 80,000 nurses – three times the net positive advantage.” HCA hospitals made headlines again county residents would be relieved of
population of the city of Vero Beach. five years ago when the NewYork Times the $14 million tax burden levied by
“It’s not that close,” insisted Hall, be- wrote about medically unnecessary the Hospital District to pay for indi-
Just as each executive advocating fore going on to say he hoped to draw heart procedures. A whistleblowing gent care.
for HCA added his or her own inflec- patients to IRMC’s heart and cancer nurse at Lawnwood Regional Medical
tion to the presentation, individual centers from Raulerson Hospital in Center was mentioned in the second But unless the Hospital District were
doctors at the giant chain draw indi- Okeechobee and from its recent acqui- paragraph, describing a letter he had to be disbanded altogether, that figure
vidual patients to its hospitals. sition, Highlands Regional in Sebring. written to HCA’s chief ethics officer. is way off. Of the total projected District
tax revenue next year of around $13
While the two nearby HCA hospitals HCA is not only the largest by far of The Times cited a confidential HCA million, only $6.3 million is destined for
just south of us, Lawnwood Regional the groups looking to take over IRMC. review that showed 1,200 heart cath- the hospital. The Hospital District pre-
Medical Center and St. Lucie Medi- It is also the youngest. Formed in 1968 eterizations at Lawnwood were done sumably would continue to tax home-
cal Center, have generated mixed re- by the father and brother of former on patients without significant heart owners to subsidize indigent health
views in past years, it’s an open secret U.S. Senator Bill Frist, the Nashville- disease. In all 10 hospitals were in- care provided through the numerous
that one particularly well-regarded based company was frequently in the volved in the HCA investigation, most other organizations it supports.
Georgetown University-trained or- news for its mergers and spin-offs, in- in Florida. The day HCA told investors
thopedic surgeon, Dr. Mark Powers, cluding its sale to Columbia in 1994, in a conference call that the U.S. Attor- Further, in the event a non-profit
has replaced the joints of many afflu- with Rick Scott, founder of Columbia ney’s office in Miami was looking into takes over IRMC, the amount the Hos-
ent Vero residents – including some and now governor of Florida, becom- it, HCA’s stock dropped four points. pital District will contribute for indi-
closely connected to IRMC – at HCA’s ing chairman and CEO. gent care in the future will have to be
hospital in Port St. Lucie. One of HCA’s most vocal local sup- negotiated with the new partner.
Three years later, in 1997, federal porters was appointed by Gov. Scott

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 7

NEWS

How that may play out – particular- Report’s Best Hospitals list and is tied doom scenarios laid out by healthcare keting appeal and “become more of a
ly if a partner desirous of continuing for No. 1 in the Orlando metro area experts in the months since IRMC has conversation in the community,” Tol
to lease the hospital buildings owned with Orlando Health’s Orlando Re- been looking at restructuring. Among told the Orlando Sentinel. “We have to
by the District refuses to operate un- gional Medical Center. the sunny concepts in the company’s build a system around the consumer.”
der the state Government in the Sun- vision is connectedness. Healthcare
shine laws – injects an additional layer By the time Tol and the others finished has become fragmented, to the detri- To the IRMC group, Tol stressed that
of complexity and uncertainty into a two-hour, very persuasive presentation ment of patients, whom he empower- “we don’t just want to see people when
the negotiations ahead. Friday, it was hard not to wonder wheth- ingly calls consumers. their sick. We want them to think of us
er IRMC prayers for a large, wealthy part- when they’re well.”
From a purely financial standpoint, ner had finally been answered. And it is the consumer that belongs
many believe it is way too early in at the top of the priorities list, Tol said. Tol turned the floor over to Adventist
this process to draw conclusions as Tol didn’t wait to be asked how faith “What is the consumer’s experience of Health CFO Paul Rathbun to discuss
to whether it would be more advanta- fits into the Adventist Health System. healthcare? How does the consumer the organization’s financial health and
geous to choose a for-profit – or a non- His first sentence after introducing his define the problem in healthcare? How strategy. In the Orlando market, Ad-
profit – as IRMC’s new partner.  panel concerned the basic Adventist do we build entirely in the interest of ventist’s Florida Hospital goes head
belief in holistic care, and he talked the consumer?” to head with Orlando Health, another,
Adventist Health System about how deeply that concept per- smaller system that is also one of the
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 meates the organization. His views meshed perfectly with the four finalists for IRMC.
top goal of both the Hospital District
the Central Florida region of Adventist “Our mission is extending the healing trustees and the IRMC board: that in Adventist Health System includes
Health System, addressed Indian River ministry of Christ,” Tol said, straight out any future system IRMC joins, the pa- 46 hospitals in nine states, including
Medical Center board members and of the gate. “That means we are faith- tient must be the focus. Colorado, Texas and Illinois, as well as
Hospital District trustees last Friday based. It does not mean we are evange- 20 nursing homes and 25 home health
with equal parts fervor and candor. listic in the way that we approach our This past summer, Adventist Health agencies. The company’s Florida Hospi-
patients. It means we take a whole-per- began a billboard and Internet cam- tal division includes about half of those
Not that Adventist, a national son approach to patient care. paign to promote an idea Tol touted in hospitals. Headquartered in Altamonte
45-hospital health system with $10 his Vero presentation. Dubbed “Some- Springs, the system has most of its hos-
billion in revenues, wasn’t already “It’s impossible to slice a human be- day Starts Today,” the ads offer a tight pitals in relatively small communities,
high on the list of partners IRMC con- ing into component parts,” Tol went shot of a smiling face with verbiage including Apopka, Celebration, Deland,
sidered last week. on. “It is impossible to treat the physi- pointing to a different kind of health- Orange City, Palm Coast, Sebring and
cal needs without treating the emo- care path. “Someday HospitalsWill Heal Lake Placid, Tavares and Wauchula.
Florida Hospital in Orlando ranks tional and spiritual needs of patients.” More Than the Body,” and “Convenient
fourth in the state on U.S. News and Virtual Physician Visits Start Today.” Vero Beach would seem a good fit in
Whole person care, he insisted, is “a that list but for one trait: the affluence
strategic and clinical advantage.” The unconventional campaign’s of its barrier island. While that may
aim is to go beyond just being a mar-
Tol conveyed a welcome optimism, CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
a stark contrast to the gloom-and-

8 Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Adventist Health System tower IRMC desperately needs – and shift from community A to commu- zation that is a century old. “We do
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 was about to start soliciting donations nity B. What happens in Indian River not go into a community to flip. We
for – could one day be built with the County stays in Indian River County. go into communities to stay and grow
factor into marketing decisions, and millions coming instead from Adven- Seventy-five percent of that capital is and thrive. That has always been the
out-migration to faraway hospitals tist corporate. earmarked for capital. And the other case and that will always be the case,”
renowned for specialized treatment, 25 percent – you may have a small Tol declared. 
it would mostly seem to be a plus in “When we enter into a new market, amount of debt service but it stays on
terms of philanthropy. a lot of times that comes with capital the local balance sheet. We want every Cleveland Clinic
commitments,” said Rathbun. “Things individual market to be strong.”
As Rathbun flipped through images that had been deferred maintenance, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
of various rehabs Adventist has facili- but that are going to really jumpstart Rathbun also made it clear that
tated for the system’s acquisitions – a the organization and give it a lift. the same targeted fund-raising that liner status going in. And the panel
new patient tower here, a new exterior built IRMC’s cancer and heart centers likely disappointed few in the IRMC
façade there – it certainly must have “Once we do that, which gener- could still be possible if IRMC were to meeting room audience, particularly
passed through the minds of some au- ally takes five years, we have a capital partner with Adventist Health. “There when there was praise for the Vero fa-
dience members that the new patient model for the operating cash flow gen- are a lot of foundations that are inde- cility from executives of both the cor-
erated at each location. Those moneys pendent,” he said. “We want that and porate flagship in Cleveland as well as
stay within the community. We don’t most of the things in the company the Florida division, which includes a
driven by the individual market.” hospital in Weston.

Adventist Health System (not to be The team seemed to calm concerns
confused with California’s Adventist that their somewhat vague initial pro-
Health or the Maryland-based Adven- posal implied they were less than cer-
tist Healthcare) traces its roots to Ellen tain about wanting a presence here.
G. White, a 19th century author whose As testament to its commitment, the
spiritual visions as a young woman organization brought in Dr. Toby Cos-
were believed to be Biblical prophecy. grove, a heart surgeon and CEO who
is weeks away from retirement; he will
Along with healthy living, many Ad- stay on in an advisory capacity.
ventist social notions align closely with
modern American values: man’s es- Since taking the helm in 2004, Cos-
sential freedom of choice, separation grove has greatly expanded the Cleve-
of church and state, and the value of land Clinic brand, which is now consid-
education. While one well-known Sev- ered world-class in a list of high-acuity
enth Day Adventist, former presiden- specialties.
tial candidate Ben Carson, is known
for his conservative bent, many Ad- Cosgrove has also led the charge to
ventists consider themselves liberal. expand through acquiring community
hospitals like Vero’s. That shift, from
Today, Adventists have the second treating mainly the very, very sick to also
largest faith-based school system in treating, as one in Vero’s audience put
the nation, after Catholics. Ellen G. it, “my granddaughter’s broken ankle,”
White had a hand in the curriculum: has already taken place within the non-
holistic education would incorporate profit organization’s eight Ohio hospi-
intellectual growth with service to hu- tals outside its renowned main campus.
manity, encompassing mental, physi-
cal, social and spiritual health. Continuing that task will be left to Cos-
grove’s successor, Tomislav Mihaljevic,
Early adherents eschewed not only also on hand at the Saturday midday
alcohol but tobacco, caffeine and even- meeting. The Croatian-born cardiotho-
tually meat. Those dietary precepts racic surgeon most recently was CEO of
were of concern to Vero hospital lead- Cleveland Clinic’s hospital in Abu Dhabi.
ers during the initial discussion that led He has been with the Cleveland Clinic
to Adventist Health becoming a finalist. since 2004, after a decade at Brigham
Specifically, they wanted to know if pa- and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
tients could get coffee and bacon.
Mihaljevic’s appointment, an-
There was a time years ago when nounced in September, pointed up
a Wendy’s on the Florida Hospital the relevance of a question repeated at
premises wasn’t allowed to offer ba- most of the partner presentations: How
con burgers. That has changed. Di- does a company retain its executive
etary offerings appear to be similar to leadership, and what strategy is in place
any other hospitals. And among the for succession? Cleveland anticipated
dining options on the main campus of the question in its May 1 press release,
Florida Hospital is a vegetarian café. which wedged in the following between
accolades for Cosgrove: “By making
IRMC staff, already anxious about leadership development a top priority,
looming changes, also would be re- Cleveland Clinic has developed a deep,
assured to hear that the Gallup orga- talented pool of physician-leaders who
nization ranked Adventist Health a are ready to take on executive roles…”
“Great Place to Work” in 2017 for the
seventh straight year. Physician-CEOs have become a
something of a trend in the manage-
That honor is awarded after appli- ment of top hospitals, in part because
cants submit a 50-employee survey of the trust such leadership inspires
followed up with analysis by a Gallup in its clinical staff and because of the
panel. It was also named a Best Place increased focus on patient care and
to Work by Becker’s Hospital Review.

Tol pointed out that viability is an
ongoing concern, even in an organi-

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 9

NEWS

population health. Cosgrove and Mi- including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and dress, eye-popping architecture in Ve- ing only one finalist – Cleveland. They
haljevic were just two of the physician- Huntington’s disease. gas, and a presence in the richest city were dissuaded by their paid consul-
CEOs visiting Vero. in the world – Abu Dhabi – will not con- tants, in the event Cleveland Clinic
In U.S. News and World Report’s flict with the understated affluence of turned out not to want IRMC.
Cleveland also brought along Flori- best hospital rankings, Cleveland Clin- Vero Beach, should it find itself among
da division CEO and president Dr.Wael ic’s brand holds great status nationally. Cleveland Clinic’s components. But from the words of the Cleveland
Barsoum, an orthopedic surgeon, and Again this year, the Cleveland campus Clinic executives, it seems they may
one of its Ohio hospital presidents, Dr. ranked No. 2 in the nation (behind “Excellent, outstanding presenta- indeed want IRMC.
Neil Smith. Smith is an independent Mayo in Minnesota) and has ranked tion,” said hospital board member
physician who has led Fairview Hos- first in the nation in adult cardiology Gerri McPherson-Smith at the close “I think there’s a great cultural fit as
pital since 2013 while maintaining a and heart surgery for 23 years in a row. of Cleveland’s presentation. Similar we toured your hospital today,” said
private practice in internal medicine. praise echoed through the audience, Barsoum. “Everybody smiles. Every
Having replaced a registered nurse in With 14 hospitals, mostly in Ohio, just as it had when boards met last caregiver that we ran into clearly cares
that same position of leadership who the nonprofit system touts $8 billion month to narrow the field of candi- about what they’re doing.”
went on to Abu Dhabi, Smith spoke to in operating revenue. dates. During that session, there was a
the opportunities at Cleveland Clinic. point where the IRMC board of direc- Barsoum pointed out that like IRMC,
As for its Florida division, despite en- tors seemed to seriously consider hav- Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit; of the
Of the four healthcare systems vying tering its 30th year, it still rides the coat- four finalists, only HCA is not. Then he
to take over IRMC, only Cleveland had tails of the Cleveland hospital with rank-
a policy in place of clinician-led man- ings that lag behind those of the main CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
agement. And on the way up, staffers – campus. The Weston hospital slipped
all of whom are referred to as “caregiv- from sixth to eighth in the state in the
ers” to imbue them with the company’s most recent rankings, below Florida
patient-first culture – have opportuni- Hospital Orlando and Orlando Regional
ties in a wide range of arenas, and even Medical Center, tied for fourth place.
geographic locations. Internationally,
in addition to the United Arab Emir- Florida Hospital is part of the Adven-
ates, the clinic expects to open a hospi- tist Health System, a finalist in the IRMC
tal in London in 2020. Cosgrove joked partner search; Orlando Regional is part
about the “bad neighborhood” – be- of Orlando Health, also a top contender
hind Buckingham Palace – that will to partner with IRMC. (Jacksonville’s
now become the focus of his attentions. Mayo Clinic got the No. 1 spot in the
state for the second year in a row.)
There is also an outpatient clinic in
downtown Toronto, and a $100 million Still, the prestige of being affiliat-
facility in Las Vegas dedicated to diag- ed with an institution like Cleveland
nosis and treatment of brain diseases Clinic seems highly appealing to local
healthcare dealmakers. There seems
little doubt that the glitzy London ad-

10 Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Cleveland Clinic At one point midway through the “What happened in Naples?” Dis- with certain rules and regulations put
question-and-answer period, it be- trict board member Allen Jones asked out by the Cleveland Clinic and inhibit-
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 came so obvious that IRMC was smit- bluntly soon after the floor opened to ing their ability to practice?”
ten that Barsoum felt he needed to questions.
pointed up another commonality, one summarize. “It sounds to me like Cosgrove’s answer did not totally
the star-struck board may not have you’re not worried about whether or Cosgrove dove in. He described the allay these concerns. “We always wel-
considered. not we can run a hospital,” he told the scenario in 2004 when he first became come great physicians,” he began.
audience. The laugh he drew was at his CEO. Cleveland Clinic’s 150-bed hospi- “There will be quality metrics that will
“You have a great brand,” said Bar- understatement. tal inWeston at the time was a joint ven- be looked at, and some of the lower
soum. “The Indian River brand, to be ture with Tenet, and the Naples hospital tier people that don’t meet our metrics
completely candid, is the premier brand If Barsoum felt assured of kindred it had bought was bleeding money. will go through a training process.”
in this area. We want to partner with the spirts in Vero, there was certainly an
best. The way you’ve separated your- ill fit in a prior venture in which Cleve- “We were losing $1 million a month In the end, though, he tried to be re-
selves out in the cancer world, the car- land Clinic took over a hospital in Na- and had been for 20 years. It was im- assuring. “Let me be clear: we love in-
diac world, and the fact that you’ve been ples. That small affluent city on Flori- portant that we figure out how to get dependent physicians. They make us a
willing to invest in areas that have a huge da’s southwest coast is considered by in the black or break even,” he began. lot of money. They work real hard, and
community impact are important.” many to be similar to Vero Beach. “In Naples, we had an 80-bed facil- we don’t have to pay them.”
ity that would be filled in the winter,
and 10 patients there in the summer. That was not the only moment of
The second thing was that real estate hesitation in the Vero audience. When
prices were going so high that we were a listener pressed the executives on
having to buy housing for physicians. Cleveland Clinic’s plans for the future,
And the third thing was that we ap- it became clear Vero wasn’t the sole fo-
plied for cardiac privileges – we had cus of its expansion strategy.
somewhat of a reputation in cardiac.
And through the political process in “We are looking at several other ac-
Florida, we were turned down.” quisitions,” said Cosgrove, after Bar-
soum, poised to divulge the news, in-
That “political process” continues stead passed the baton to his boss.
to plague hospital operators. A state
regulatory board decides what health- In fact, part of that news was di-
care services and facilities can be in- vulged in the media this summer,
troduced in a marketplace. Efforts to after Boca Raton Regional Hospital
do away with Florida’s “certificate of announced it was scouting for a part-
need” have failed so far. nership or merger.

Those factors persuaded Cleveland Soon after, an article in the Palm
Clinic to sell the Naples facility in 2006, Beach Post quoted Barsoum as saying
and buy out Tenet in Weston. Cleveland Clinic and the Boca hospi-
tal “could be complementary” part-
Today, as the Weston hospital is un- ners, but denied they were in talks at
dergoing a major expansion, a new the time.
surgery center and family health clinic
in Coral Springs got underway in April. Another stand-alone nonprofit hos-
That center is expected to draw from the pital long rumored to be ripe for ac-
long sought-after market in Palm Beach quisition by Cleveland Clinic is Jupiter
County: surgery patients who don’t want Medical Center.
to drive an extra half-hour to Weston.
Both hospitals were mentioned in
There are no surgical facilities under the presentation as participating with
Cleveland Clinic’s name in Palm Beach Cleveland Clinic in a Medicare shared
County, though it has doctors’ offices in savings plan. If either or both of those
West Palm Beach’s CityPlace and Palm hospitals joined Vero in partnering
Beach Gardens and more are being dis- with Cleveland, it would give the sys-
cussed for Wellington. There is also a tem a patient/donor pipeline through
clinic in Parkland in Broward County. South Florida’s most affluent zip codes.
Last year, Jupiter Medical Center’s
And just as there was in Naples, foundation raised $42 million, includ-
there is concern with every new Cleve- ing one $25 million donation; Boca Ra-
land Clinic location of drawing pa- ton Regional raised $36 million.
tients away from local doctors.
Regardless of who the other part-
That concern was voiced at Satur- ners might be, the prospect was un-
day’s meeting by Dr. Pranay Ramdev, a settling to some.
Dartmouth- and Harvard-trained vas-
cular surgeon as well as IRMC’s medical Asked Hospital District Board mem-
staff representative on the Board of Di- ber Ann Marie McCrystal, “If you are
rectors. Ramdev said IRMC-employed looking at other hospitals in Florida
doctors as well as independent physi- and that happens, that would not di-
cians were fearful of being nudged out lute the attention and the investment
by Cleveland’s own physicians, or by if we were to join Cleveland Clinic
the high standards the system sets. Florida? In other words, spreading
yourselves out too fast?”
“Right now, there’s a tremendous
amount of anxiety about what’s going to Ann Huston, Cleveland’s chief strat-
happen,” Ramdev told the panel.“There’s egy officer, replied that adding several
all sort of rumors. Is there any truth to any hospitals at once would make for a
of the anxieties – because this is not just smoother transition. “It is much bet-
from independent physicians, it’s (IRMC) ter to do it all together,” she said. “If
employed physicians – as to contracts? we know who the partners are and we
Are they going to be forced to comply are doing the idealized design for that
pan-regional network, that excites me
no end.”

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 11

NEWS

“We feel we need to grow responsi- Mihaljevic fueled even more opti- nering meant extending educational tional aspects of running a hospital.”
bly,” said incoming CEO Mihaljevic. mism that Cleveland Clinic might be platforms to nurses and physicians As he closed out the presentation,
“If we were to jump at every oppor- smitten, too. “I can you tell, we’re all to assist with recruitment and reten-
tunity that comes across our desk, we in. We are truly here to partner. We tion of talent. “We are here to share Mihaljevic offered a final nugget:
could grow our brand like wildfire. But are not here just to put our name on our practices when it comes to stan- “One last thing: We are pretty persis-
this is not what we try to do.” the building.” He stressed that part- dardization of care and the opera- tent. Once we make a commitment,
we stick with our commitments.” 

Shrimp farm sold began to lose customers frustrated by nered some new investment and for the Southern District of Florida.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 sporadic deliveries. allowed Morris to catch up on pay- Negotiations among investors,
roll. But by then more customers
ed to bring to the rural community, Trying to meet demand, Morris had moved on and problems snow- potential bidders, management,
but the company ran into production built a second 4.2-acre barn in 2015, balled. landowner Fellsmere Joint Venture,
and cash-flow difficulties that led to but that expansion squeezed his cash LLC, various banks and other credi-
bankruptcy earlier this year. flow and in 2016 workers at the facil- In April, the company filed a volun- tors were contentious and the case
ity went unpaid for several months. tary petition for reorganization under slogged its way through U.S. Bank-
Pursuant to a bankruptcy court Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court
order, the Chinese investors will pay An emergency trip to China gar- CONTINUED ON PAGE 12
$1,250,000 to take over the operation
and acquire most of its property and
assets. Certain systems and equip-
ment being recovered by creditors
were not included in the bid.

“Pristine Water Aquaculture . . . is
very excited to have such an oppor-
tunity to work locally with Fellsmere
folks to further realize the potential
of this amazing facility,” said Helen
Ming, managing member of the in-
vestment group.

“We are actually one of the ear-
liest participants in this business,
but have been dismayed to see it go
downhill. We are glad that we have
taken the business into our own
hands.”

Cliff Morris, a South African Im-
migrant, founded Florida Organic
Aquaculture in 2010, according to
Bloomberg.

Backed mainly by the same EB-5
Chinese investors who just pur-
chased the company, Morris ac-
quired 122 acres of fallow farmland
in Fellsmere and built a sprawling
4.2-acre pole barn with plans to pro-
duce millions of pounds of fresh or-
ganic shrimp annually.

Created by the federal government
in the early 1990s, the EB-5 Program
awards green cards to foreign inves-
tors – along with their spouses and
unmarried children under 21 – who
invest half a million dollars in an
American commercial enterprise
that will create or preserve at least 10
permanent full-time jobs.

The project was backed by Enter-
prise Florida, the City of Fellsmere,
Indian River County Board of Coun-
ty Commissioners, the Indian River
County Chamber of Commerce,
Florida Department of Transporta-
tion and the Florida Department of
Economic Opportunity, according to
Enterprise Florida’s website.

Production of white Pacific shrimp
got underway in the summer of 2014
and the product was an immediate
hit with local restaurants and other
consumers. Demand was so strong
that Morris could not keep up and

12 Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Shrimp farm sold Vero Electric “What we’re looking at is the ulti- the other cities are agreeing that the
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11 mate answer in this issue, the ulti- mayor or city manager could sign off
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 mate resolution which is that at the on “non-material changes,” but that
ruptcy Court until Dec. 1. On that closing of the transaction between any material changes would have to
date, the court approved the sale to that the Oct. 24 FPL sale contract in- Vero Beach and FPL ... assuming that come back through all the various
high-bidder Pristine Water Aquacul- cluded some contingencies – Florida the closing is in October of 2018, city councils.
ture, which is designated NS FOA, Public Service Commission approval, which it is presently scheduled for,
LLC in the paperwork. other regulatory approvals and the Vero Beach would pay from the clos- Williams said the FMPA already
release of the city from its long-term ing proceeds $108 million and would has obtained approval by the Fitch
Once production and sales have wholesale power agreements and get a release from FMPA from all obli- bond rating agency, saying the value
been stabilized, Ming says, plans are other contractual entanglements re- gations and liabilities to FMPA.” of the cooperative’s bonds will not
to expand into the structure that was lated to the electric utility. be impacted by the transaction, and
built in 2015 but never put into op- FMPA’s contracts governing its that he’s awaiting final approval by
eration. After that, based on the level “One of the provisions in our con- rights and responsibilities with regard Moody’s and the bond trustees. “Ev-
of success, the company will look at tract with FPL is essentially the re- to the power plants Vero now partly erything on the financial side is mov-
building a third barn.  quirement that we terminate our rela- owns will not be scrapped and rene- ing along,” he said.
tionship with FMPA,” Doliner said. gotiated. For simplicity, Doliner said,
Vero’s proportional participation in Williams said he plans to have an
those plants will be “assigned” to the information item at the January FMPA
FMPA and its remaining member cit- meeting, with an action item set for
ies. All of that would happen in tan- February.
dem with the closing of the sale of Vero
electric to FPL. “If it doesn’t all hap- With regard to the regulatory hur-
pen at one time, none of it happens,” dles, FPL Regional Director of External
Doliner said. Affairs Amy Brunjes said “the approv-
als are going very well.”
Now that Vero has voted to ap-
prove its own exit from the power FPL is also working with the city’s
cooperative, that brings the total technical staff on a strategy to physi-
cally weave the Vero system into FPL’s
power network. Environmental stud-

PHOTO BY GORDON RADFORD

number of FMPA cities saying yes to ies and engineering studies are un-
Vero’s departure to 20. Meetings of derway for a new electric substation
the town or city councils of the re- to replace the one that will be demol-
maining 12 member cities are sched- ished along with Vero’s redundant
uled throughout December and into “Big Blue” power plant sometime af-
early January, with the final one be- ter the sale closes.
ing Jacksonville Beach on Jan. 15. All
of those cities must also approve the Brunjes said the first meeting with
transaction for it to go forward. city electric employees was sched-
uled for this Tuesday to give them an
Councilman Tony Young asked overview of how the handoff would
FMPA CEO Jacob Williams if he saw work, and what opportunities might
any problems cropping up with re- be open to them with FPL. In the
maining member cities approving coming year, Brunjes said, FPL will
the resolution. Williams said there begin to communicate more directly
might be “slight alterations,” but that, with Vero’s customers about the tran-
“we don’t see any of the changes that sition.
would cause a problem in getting to
close.” Overall, she said things are going so
smoothly that “it is our goal to close
Doliner explained that Vero and all before October of 2018.” 

CHRISTMAS LIGHTED BOAT PARADE
IS MOORINGS MARVEL P. 23

14 Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Lou Boccabella and Helen Robertson with Lisa and Alex Wynne. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE Brian and Robin Korkus with Lalita and Dr. Walter Janke.

Ro Smith and Petra King. Jan Harrell, Bill and Libby King, Ed and Ruth Farrell and Sally Pearse. Jean and Jim Kelly.

Hibiscus’ Gala sets ‘Gold’ standard in sumptuousness

BY MARY SCHENKEL designed by Pink Pelican Florist, fea- safe care for the abused, neglected PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 16
Staff Writer tured gorgeous bouquets of white hy- and abandoned children in our com- Tori Rossi and Jacob Craig.
drangea, tulips and roses, hung with munity. He cited some alarming sta-
Saturday evening’s Gala in Gold tea-candles in glass ornaments. tistics, including that 50,000 children
shimmered with a golden décor that are abused each year in Florida and
fittingly spotlighted the generosity of Guests were entertained during a that every month 3,000 children are re-
Hibiscus Children’s Center supporters delicious gourmet dinner with a band moved from their homes.
who themselves are renowned for their featuring vocalist Tori Rossi and even
hearts of gold. a surprise dance routine by Hibiscus “It’s a serious, serious challenge,”
Guild volunteers led by Shari and Joe said Sexton. He related that the teens
The black-tie affair at The Moorings Tessier of Swingsation’s 14th Avenue housed at Hibiscus Village in Vero
Yacht & Country Club was a study in el- Dance Studio. Beach face an uphill battle, with many
egance, as ladies in glimmering gowns becoming incarcerated or unemployed
and men in tuxedos mingled during “I was lucky enough to grow up in after they’re out of the system at age 18.
the cocktail hour, perusing long ta- Vero and I had supporting parents, sup- “We’ve got to do better than that.”
bles filled with donated silent-auction porting siblings and a great upbring-
items and descriptions of items to be ing,” said event MC Beckett Horner, an He praised the generosity of the sup-
bid on later during the live auction. attorney with Robin Lloyd & Associates porters of Hibiscus, noting that federal
Jacob Craig entertained at a piano in and a Hibiscus board member. “But and state funding covers just 70 per-
the center of the lounge as gilded girls not all the children in the community cent of costs. Fundraising efforts are
filled flutes from a champagne foun- are lucky enough to have that. Hibiscus critical to meet the additional $2 mil-
tain. Children’s Center is doing their best to lion needed for its programs and ser-
see that everybody gets that opportu- vices, which this year cared for almost
Co-chairs Petra King and Rosemary nity.” 2,000 children.
Smith and their hard-working com-
mittee carried the sophisticated theme Hibiscus CEO Paul Sexton spoke “The challenge is very, very
into the dining room as well, where briefly about the organization, which daunting; it’s very, very real,” said
dazzling high-pillared centerpieces, over its more than 30 years has pro- Sexton. “But thanks to you, we’re
vided more than 325,000 nights of making a difference.” 



16 Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14 Dan Brown, Heather Dean, Beckett Horner and Jennifer Nedimyer.
Marilyn Murto, Warren Schauer, Diane Catenaci and Shirley Becker.

Bob and Susan Kintner with Mackie and Richard Duch. Pam and Clay Price. Claudia and Tim Ball.

Luna Burns, Joe and Nancy Jones and Kelly Pryor.

Grand
Opening!

November 1st, 2017
3450-B West Drive

Corporate Air is excited to announce the Grand Opening of their new facility.
We would like to thank our loyal customers who made this growth possible.

We have been a family owned business since 1987 offering; Jet fuel and Avgas,
full aircraft maintenance, jet charters, aircraft management and aircraft storage.

Reservations available now for 2018 hangar space.

3450 Airport West Drive • Vero Beach, FL 32960 • 772.569.8473

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 17

PEOPLE

Kenneth Wynne, Carole Brown, Tricia Wynne and Marcello Lagreca. Harvey Wilson, Doreen Kantzler, Terry Wilson and Garrick Kantzler. Ted and Pat Tiemeyer with Michelle and Darren Tiemeyer.

Elke and George Fetterolf. George and Sue Sharpe.

Linda Teetz and Suzanne Bertman. Sherry and David Brown.

Simon Jenkins and Raquel Tilton. Nadja Ricci and Joe Cataldo.

18 Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

‘Organized chaos’ reigns at Holidays in the Wild

BY MARY SCHENKEL Dance Space ballerinas perform in the Buck Atrium. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE Health Sake performers. The Leon-
Staff Writer hardt Auditorium was packed with
chaos for sure.” performed. Dance Space ballerinas people watching the Osceola Sing-
Children were encouraged to run The entire museum was a hub- performed in the Buck Atrium, and ers, Riverside Theatre Apprentices,
wild – figuratively, of course – at the in the Holmes Great Hall the enter- Oslo Middle School Orchestra and
Holidays in the Wild event at the bub of activity; even the outdoor en- tainment was provided by the Indian Panther Performers.
Vero Beach Museum of Art, which try, where the Imagine South Vero River Charter High School Orches-
played homage to the 50 Years, 50 Tangerines, Liberty Magnet Eagle tra, Studio C Dance Company, Vero “We’ve had more children’s tours
Works, 50 Reasons Maurice Sendak: Sound, Liberty Magnet Eagle En- Beach Classical Ballet and Arts for and field trips than ever before,” said
The Memorial Exhibition. The ex- semble and Beachland Shark Singers Shanti Sanchez, school, youth and
hibit, on display through Dec. 30, community impact manager. Point-
commemorates the 50th anniver- ing to the garlands of children’s art-
sary of his classic children’s book, work, totem poles and decorative box
“Where the Wild Things Are.” towers, she added, “The idea was to
make the atrium into a wild rumpus
Several thousand people visited room; to deck the halls with student
throughout the afternoon, includ- artwork.”
ing hundreds of talented students
who added to the festivities with In the education wing studios,
their music and dance performanc- budding artists worked on a mural
es. To emulate Max, the book’s hero that stretched across three walls, or
who was crowned King by the Wild busied themselves with crafts, mak-
Things on a mysterious island, ar- ing reindeer and monsters to take
riving youngsters were offered gold home.
crowns to wear.
“We’re just so happy that the com-
“It’s overwhelmingly wonderful,” munity comes out to enjoy them-
said event chair Barbara Dorvee. selves here at the museum and that
“Everybody is smiling; that’s what’s we are able to give them a place for all
so great about this. It’s organized these children to perform,” said San-
dy Rolf, VBMA board president. 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 19

PEOPLE

Barbara Langdon, Andrew Currie and Maria Sommers. Donna and Bob Johnson.

Kimberly Chandler, Ava Wright and Averi Center. Sloan and Memphis Rains. Yuritzy Villanueva and Sophie Bentham-Wood.

Calleigh Beatty, Kyle Beatty and Nythias Velazquez.

Barb Dorvee and Jackie Farrell. Wilie Warrington.

20 Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Riding high: Aerial kids present ‘Christmas Road Trip’

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF The Vero Beach High School Per-
Staff Writer forming Arts Center was packed with
family, friends and diehard Christmas
The gymnastics and performing fans who had come to watch the excit-
arts students of the City of Vero Beach ing 22nd annual holiday performance.
Recreation Department’s Aerial Antics More than 200 performers ranging in
Youth Circus program took the classic age from 3 to 21 executed dance rou-
family road trip to a whole new level tines, aerial acts, gymnastics and ac-
with this year’s original production, robatics to the delight of the audience.
“Christmas Road Trip.”
In the story, three sisters had one

Ryan and Melissa Weaver, Agency Owners magical encounter after another as scaffolding and a triple trapeze to per-
Ryan Weaver Insurance Inc. is a locally owned they made their way north from the form some aerial magic. Other atypical
and operated independent agency. Located in the fictional Tinsel Town, Fla., to their props included Christmas bulb lights,
CenterState Bank Building, just off of Miracle Mile grandparents’ home in Silver Springs, a dancing tent and a couch filled with
and across from Classic Car Wash in Vero Beach. Md. the ‘crumbs’ of dancing gingerbread
men.
Serving Vero Beach for over 10 years! Shunning the stereotypical lineup
All lines of commercial or personal insurance available. of holiday elves and reindeer, the show “Our program is different because
instead featured a giant Christmas it’s performance-based,” said Patty
spider, faeries and dancing mice, were Howard, assistant recreation direc-
among the unlikely characters the tor, who is herself a product of the
sisters met while visiting a little town performing arts program. “There’s
along the way and during an overnight no competition; they don’t have to be
campout in the Candy Cane Forest. perfect. We teach them the proper way
to do things, but we just want them to
This year’s living Christmas tree go out there and have a great time. It’s
took things over the top, with the older, good for their self-esteem.” 
more experienced performers using

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Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 21

PHOTOS: GORDON RADFORD PEOPLE

PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 22

22 Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 23

PEOPLE

Christmas Lighted Boat Parade is Moorings marvel

BY MARY SCHENKEL impressive dragon on the lead boat.
Staff Writer Christmas trees, Santa, snowmen,
reindeer and snowflakes were popu-
lar embellishments and, this being PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 24
Florida, there were also dolphins and
flamingos. A 900-horsepower Coast
Guard response boat blaring Christ-
mas carols joined the pleasure craft,
and the Indian River County Sheriff’s
Office boat ensured their safety. 

White chairs dotted the waterside
viewing area as Moorings residents
and friends gathered at Compass
Cove last Friday for the 2017 Christ-
mas Lighted Boat Parade, jointly
sponsored by The Moorings Prop-
erty Owners Association, Inc., The
Moorings Realty Sales Company
and The Moorings Yacht & Country
Club.

Many showed off their holiday
spirit with assorted Christmas garb
as they enjoyed refreshments, min-
gled with friends and enjoyed the
lovely weather. As the sun began to
set, choir director Gary Miller led
members of the Indian River Char-
ter High School Show Choir in a
delightful performance of holiday
songs.

Afterward, to the delight of eager
little ones who had waited patiently
for his arrival, Santa was driven in
via golf cart to pass out candy canes
and listen on bended knee to their
oh-so-serious Christmas wishes.
After a blessing by Father Murphy
of Holy Cross Church, the Moorings’
Christmas tree was lit and fireworks
sparkled overhead.

Parade organizer Vince DeTurris
provided the commentary as the col-
orful fleet began to make their way
into the cove and past the appreciative
crowd, who waved and called out to
their friends on boats bedecked with
twinkling lights from bow to stern
and even outriggers. Many boasted
inflatable decorations, including an

24 Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 25

PEOPLE

Jake & Friends sing Vero’s praises at benefit gig

The Jake Owen Foundation has childhood diseases.
raised more than $1.25 million, with Other dedicated music fans re-
80 percent of the funds remaining turned to the Beach Town Music
in Indian River County to benefit Festival, trekking through the mud
such nonprofits as the Boys & Girls Saturday night for performances by
Clubs of Indian River County, Hibis- Beyond Blondes, David Ray, Edwin
cus Children’s Center and the Mardy McCain, the Gin Blossoms and head-
Fish Foundation. Nationally, Owen’s liner Bret Michaels.
foundation supports the St. Jude The Festival returns to Vero Beach
Children’s Research Hospital for next Dec. 7-8 featuring Vince Neil of
children battling cancer and other Motley Crue. 
12

34

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF 1. Patta Conboy and Carol-Ann Marty.
Staff Writer
2. Mitzi and Steve Owen. 3. Katie
Fans doubled down on country
music last weekend as hometown Glazier, Carly Colella and Payten Joy.
stars Jake Owen and Scotty Emerick
took to the stage during the Beach 4. Scotty Emerick and Jake Owen.
Town Music Festival. Festival-goers
were thrilled to finally settle into PHOTOS: STEPHANIE LABAFF
their beach chairs for the two-day
concert in Vero Beach, the inaugural guys. I’m proud of Vero Beach.”
event having been postponed when On Saturday night some fans en-
Hurricane Matthew made its visit to
Florida in 2016. joyed a more intimate evening with
their hometown hero at An Evening
Two large screens ensured every- with Jake to benefit the Jake Owen
one could see the performers, which Foundation, held at the Vero Beach
also included Clare Dunn and Da- Country Club. Guests packed the VIP
vid Nail, and cute little 6-year-old reception and enjoyed a bountiful
J.D. Sorensen singing a duet with buffet, drinks and a silent auction
Emerick. The crowd surged to their before auctioneer Wesley Davis ca-
feet to welcome home headliner joled them into a live-auction bid-
Jake Owen, who peppered his per- ding frenzy that raised more than
formance with references to his fa- $63,000.
vorite old haunts, such as Riverside
Café and Waldo’s, roller skating and After the dust settled singer/song-
hot summer days. writer Scotty Emerick joined Owen
on stage and the two got down to
“I don’t care if I’m at Walmart buy- business, playing some of their fa-
ing fishing lures or out to dinner, vorites and reminiscing with the
year after year the people of this audience about growing up in Vero
community say the nicest things,” Beach. The guests, comprised in
said Owen, giving heartfelt thanks to large part of friends and family, had
his fans. “I just hope you guys know plenty of tales to tell about the pair
how much you mean to me. It’s been as well, giving the evening the feel-
11 years that we’ve been doing the ing of a laid-back family reunion.
Jake Owen Foundation concert. And
without a community like this we Sunday morning the day dawned
wouldn’t be raising the money we’re bright with a crisp nip in the air as
raising for the people that need it golfers headed to the greens for the
and I wouldn’t be standing on this Hale Groves Indian River Grape-
stage here today playing for you fruit Pro-Am, also at the Vero Beach
Country Club, where Owen raised
even more money for the foundation
playing with champion golfer John
Daly.

26 Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

BEPAhoCtoHs frToOm WtheN MUSIC FESTIVAL

PHOTOS: GORDON RADFORD

PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 28



28 Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 26 1 2
3
4
5
6

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 29

PEOPLE

78
9

10 11

1. Scotty Emerick. 2. Jake Owen’s band mates. 3. Susie and Michael Lacorte. 4. Jan Fleisher and Jill
Jaynes. 5. Paul and Jen Massey. 6. MIchelle Briggs with granddaughter Cayla. 7. Dep. Teddy Floyd works
the gate. 8. Dale Sorenson with daughter Elizabeth and grandson J.D. 9. Taylor, Chase, Dale Jr. and
Maltide Sorenson. 10. Jim and Amy Hill. 11. Susan Keller Horn and Maire Healy. PHOTOS: GORDON RADFORD

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HISTORIC
‘MAIN STREET’ GETS
JOLT OF NEW ENERGY

32 Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

Historic ‘Main Street Vero Beach’ gets jolt of new energy

BY STEPHANIE LABAFF parts,” she says. munity. “She brought back the whole woda. Vero’s Main Street participates in
Staff Writer According to Paliwoda, Jones’ most idea of Main Street by getting more the monthly gallery strolls, maintain-
people to believe in the program again.” ing a gallery and artist studio, and pro-
Main Street Vero Beach has a new ex- significant legacy was her ability to moting a monthly guest artist there.
ecutive director. Katherina Paliwoda, mend broken bridges among various “Elaine also played a part in growing
who has a master’s degree in historic factions in the historic downtown com- our role with the arts district,” says Pali- “Some of the more successful Main
preservation, took over the reins of the Street programs have an art overlay. Art
nonprofit’s local chapter when former Carolyn Kleinpeter and Katherina Paliwoda. and history are really good together,”
director Elaine Jones retired. Jones will says Paliwoda. Whether it’s murals of
stay on as vice president of the board. PHOTOS BY: GORDON RADFORD orange groves that portray the area’s
history or galleries featuring art both
Paliwoda’s predecessor brought a Vero-centric and inspired by far-off
lengthy resume focused on her fun- places visited by a well-traveled com-
draising skills while working and munity, the arts district is a microcosm
volunteering for an impressive list of of the demographics of Vero Beach.
nonprofits. During her tenure as Vero’s
Main Street executive director, Jones “People may be drawn here by the
increased membership threefold and beach, but while they’re here they also
brought in new vendors for Downtown crave cultural experiences,” says Pali-
Friday. woda. “People want to be able to take
a piece of Vero home with them to re-
Few if any of the past Main Street di- mind them of this nice place. Art brings
rectors are as credentialed as Paliwoda that out.”
in historic preservation. Already she
has managed something of a coup for She cites the work of the mostly Af-
Vero Beach: For the first time, Vero will rican-American landscape painters
be hosting the Florida Main Street An- known as the Florida Highwaymen as
nual Conference July 30 through Aug. 1. unique to this area and a draw for heri-
tage tourism. At the same time, Vero’s
“It’s an opportunity to share our pro- visitors who are attracted to the ocean
grams with others and get feedback and tropical environment might lean
on what has worked with our counter- toward beachscapes and landscapes.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 33

ARTS & THEATRE

While Main Street America focuses program. She’s hoping to add new nonprofit’s growth depends on how ion. The baskets, flowerpots and flags
on the revitalization of older commer- events along the lines of the three al- well it achieves its goals, and in the pro- really make a difference; when you
cial areas by protecting the historic ready well-known traditions: Down- cess, gaining recognition for its efforts. have something aesthetically pleasing,
character while promoting the eco- town Friday Night, the Main Street Vin- people will take the time to stop and
nomics of those communities, Pali- tage Market and the Hibiscus Festival, Preservation is the foundation upon walk, she says. “You want to see people
woda brings new energy to the streets all of which have helped to draw crowds which the Main Street program was standing in the street to take a picture.
of Vero Beach’s historic downtown with to the downtown area. founded, and downtown Vero Beach You want them to see buildings that are
her love of architecture and history. has excellent “bones,” Paliwoda says. well cared for.”
As crowds grow, she is working to im-
Paliwoda was born in Germany but prove basic needs like outdoor lighting, “When I look at buildings, I look at Gazing down 14th Avenue, Paliwoda
moved to Panama City when she was 4. long an issue at the after-dark festivi- them a little differently than other peo- literally rubs her hands together as she
She spent much of her life in the Pan- ties. ple. I notice the little cracks in the walls pauses to look at the marquee over the
handle and developed a love of old Flor- or pieces missing off intricate detailing. old Florida Theatre and then over at the
ida. But her penchant for history and ar- “Main Street created events as a way Maybe it needs to have a paint job or Pocahontas building up the street. “We
chitecture extended far beyond Florida, to bring people downtown, but what the signage isn’t authentic.” have some really great buildings down
and took root at an early age. Her par- Main Street does is much bigger than here, and I can’t wait to see what we can
ents met in Thailand where her mother that,” explains Paliwoda. In terms of streetscape, Main Street do with them.” 
is from and where her father served in has already done a lot toward beauti-
the Air Force during the Vietnam War; “We also work with the city on infra- fying downtown, in Paliwoda’s opin-
every other year while Paliwoda was structure and the preservation of his-
young, she spent the summer months toric buildings through facade grants.
in Thailand, immersed in the country’s We’re an economic-based preservation
rich culture and ancient history. program.”

Unsure of what direction she wanted Main Street’s job is to recreate the
to take her career, she changed majors sense of community that once filled
three times before finally settling on the historic area. Paliwoda explains
humanities at Florida State University; that it was first the Interstate and later
later, she went on to earn a master’s in malls and big-box stores west of town
historic preservation from Goucher that some killed downtown business-
College in Baltimore. As part of that es. Gradually, others have opened and
program, Paliwoda participated in with support, are doing well. “We have
what she refers to as “Preservation shops like the Tea and Chi and The Pa-
Camp,” a two-week intensive introduc- risian Hostess that carry unique items
tion to the graduate program. that you can’t find anywhere else.”

Guest lecturers were highly regard- With an ever-changing streetscape,
ed preservation professionals from it’s crucial for Main Street Vero Beach to
around the country. It was through reevaluate the area included within the
these intensive sessions that Paliwoda organization’s boundaries. And since
discovered the Main Street movement. her arrival, Paliwoda has brought to the
“I realized how much I loved the history board’s attention several historic build-
of architecture. The lead professor was ings that lie just outside their domain,
Richard Wagoner, the main coordina- such as the Vero Railroad Station and
tor for the national Main Street Center.” Orchid Island Catering.

Back in Tallahassee, Paliwoda spent Her biggest challenge has been edu-
time as a docent at the Florida Histor- cating the community on everything
ic Capitol Museum. She then went on Main Street has to offer. Paliwoda’s
to work as a program assistant for the multi-faceted approach includes plans
Florida Main Street program in Talla- to expand the boundaries, improve
hassee. That experience, she says, has branding and networking. She also
given her a unique overview of the state wants to facilitate preservation and
and its 50-plus Main Street programs. develop events that will increase con-
sumer traffic along 14th Avenue. While
Now that she is in Vero Beach, Pali- Main Street receives both private and
woda’s excitement is palpable as she public funding, most of its capital is
talks over plans for growing the MSVB generated through membership fees
and event proceeds. That means the

SEE THESE AND OTHER FINE THINGS AT VERO’S FINEST
COLLECTION OF AMERICAN-MADE ART AND JEWELRY

THEL AUGHINGDOGGALLERY.COM 2910 CARDINAL DR.
VERO BEACH, FL
7 72 . 2 3 4 . 6711

34 Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

Coming Up: Treat yourself to this Christmas cantata

BY SAMANTHA BAITA tion will enhance the presentation, and beautiful, one-of-a-kind stained-glass
Staff Writer the choir and orchestra will be dressed window art. Performances will be at
in garb representing many nations, as 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. They are free, and
1 Under the baton of Dr. Marcos befitting the cantata’s theme and title. tickets are not required.
Flores, Christ by the Sea brings The evening will include a moving,
candlelight singing of “Silent Night.”
the gift of music to the community this Flores describes the cantata as “a big 2 A beloved yuletide tradition that
production with a small church feel.” If has illuminated the Christmas
Saturday with its largest choir and or- you have yet to visit Christ by the Sea,
expect to be moved not only by the glo-
chestra ever, in the brand new Christ- rious, uplifting music, but also by the season from generation to generation

mas cantata “The Song Heard ’Round for close to half a century, the presenta-

the World,” written by Joseph Martin. tion of Handel’s “Messiah” at the First

Liturgical dancers and powerful narra- Baptist Church in Vero Beach will be

this Saturday and Sunday – for its 48th

year. Area community choirs and top-

notch soloists come together as the

Treasure Coast Chorale, lifting their

voices to perform Handel’s powerful

and iconic masterwork. The music be- ‘The Celtic Angels Christmas Concert.’

gins at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m., and

it’s strongly suggested you arrive as ear-

ly as possible to ensure a seat. “glorious harmonies of Sheeva make
you think that the angels are singing.”
‘A Christmas Story.’ All five Angels are from Ireland, as are
the other stars of this exciting Christ-
3 On stage at Riverside Theatre for mas concert, the world-class Celtic
Kids through this Friday and Sat- Knight and Angel Dancers (including
Patrick O’Mahoney of the internation-
urday is “A Christmas Story, The Musi- al phenomenon, “Riverdance”) with
their stunning, heart-pounding rou-
cal,” by the Tony-winning team of Ben tines; and the Trinity Band Ensemble
of Dublin. The program includes Celt-
Pasek and Justin Paul. The talented ic Christmas songs such as “Christmas
in Killarney,” the lovely and haunt-
Riverside kids take us back to the 1940s ing “Wexford Carol,” “Once Upon a
Time in Ireland” and “Oichie Chiuin”
in the fictional town of Hohman, Indi- (Silent Night) sung in Gaelic, the na-
tive language of the Celts. You’ll also
ana, to tell the story of a holiday sea- hear classics including “Jingle Bell
Rock,” “Let It Snow,” “It Came Upon
son through the eyes of another kid. the Midnight Clear” and others. “The
Celtic Angels Christmas Concert” is
Nine-year-old Ralphie, full of spunk certainly one to share with the family,
young and old. Tickets are $35, online
and vinegar, has all sorts of wintry ad- at verobeachschools.tix.com, or at the
PAC box office.
ventures with his pals in his quest for,

says Riverside’s promo, “the Holy Grail

of Christmas gifts: an Official Red Ry-

GIVE ART. BE MERRY. der carbine-action 200-shot Range 5 It’s always a pleasant day at “Art
By The River,” the Sebastian Riv-
Original works from American artists Model air rifle.” The show opened on
are gifts they’ll treasure.
Broadway in 2012 and was nominated er Art Club’s seasonal/ monthly fine
SEE THESE AND OTHER FINE THINGS AT VERO’S FINEST
COLLECTION OF AMERICAN-MADE ART AND JEWELRY for several Tonys, and you’ll find it still art show, set up along the winding,

playing in theaters throughout the oak-dappled sidewalks of Sebastian’s

country during the Christmas season. Riverview Park, just across Indian

Tickets are $10. Show times are Friday River Drive from the beautiful Indian

at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m. and 5:30 River Lagoon. This Saturday will be

p.m. “A Christmas Story, The Musical” especially festive as artists and art

is a holiday treat to share with the kids lovers share a bountiful array of origi-

you know and love. nal work in myriad media – paintings,

drawings, sculpture, photography,

4 Some of the Emerald Isle’s most jewelry, art glass, pottery, prints and
gorgeous female voices headline
on – with a decidedly holiday ambi-

an evening that will warm your heart ance. Proceeds from this project sup-

and wonderfully enrich your holiday port the Ecumenical Council Food

season, as “The Celtic Angels Christ- Pantry. There will be some refresh-

mas Concert” national tour comes to ments, and you may choose to make

2910 CARDINAL DR. the Vero Beach High School Perform- a day of it by checking out one of the
VERO BEACH, FL
7 72 . 2 3 4 . 6711 ing Arts Center this Saturday at 7 p.m. nearby riverside restaurants. Show

THEL AUGHINGDOGGALLERY.COM Of the enchanting vocal quintet, She- hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday is

eva, The Ledger (Ireland) writes: The the rain date. 



36 Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT COVER STORY

Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, hold up their weapons But none of that compares with the
to protest against Saudi-led airstrikes. misery being inflicted on the country
today by the current conflict, which
The death last week of Ali Abdullah has become another front in the proxy
Saleh, Yemen’s former dictator who war between Saudi Arabia and Iran
was killed outside the capital Sana’a, and has heaped devastation upon
seems likely only to escalate a three- poverty.
year civil war that has laid waste to
the country. The assassination was The U.N. reckons three-quarters of
also a microcosm of the Yemeni war’s Yemen’s 28 million people need some
complexity: Saleh was killed by former kind of humanitarian aid. Mounting
foes who had become allies, only to be- rubbish, failing sewerage and wrecked
come enemies again. water supplies have led to the worst
cholera outbreak in recent history. The
Yemen already was the poorest country is on the brink of famine.
country in the Middle East even before
the outbreak of war in 2014 between The economy has crumbled, leaving
government forces and the Houthis, people with impossible choices. Each
a Shia militia. Over the decades, Ye- day the al-Thawra hospital in Hodeida
men had suffered civil wars, tribalism,
jihadist violence and appalling poverty.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 37

Houthi fighters during a INSIGHT COVER STORY
gathering to mobilize more fighters.
Yet the world ignores Yemen at its who had fought Saleh, rejected it. The
must decide which of the life-saving peril. Set aside for a moment the ob- Houthis, who follow the Zaydi branch
equipment to run with what little fuel ligation to relieve suffering and pro- of Shiism (as do perhaps 40% of Ye-
it has. tect civilians. Hard security interests menis), complained that, among other
are also at stake. The world can ill af- things, the constitution stuck them in
Perhaps the worst of it is that much ford another failed state – a new Af- a region with few resources and with-
of the world seems unperturbed, cal- ghanistan or Somalia – that becomes a out access to the sea.
loused by the years of bloodshed in breeding-ground for global terrorism.
Syria and other parts of the Middle Allied with Saleh, who commanded
East, and despairing of its ability to ef- Yemen, moreover, dominates the a network of tribal fighters and spot-
fect change. Bab al-Mandab strait, a choke-point ted an opportunity for a comeback,
for ships using the Suez Canal. Like it the Houthis ousted Hadi from Sana’a,
At least 10,000 people, most of them or not, the West is involved. The Saudi- the capital, and chased him all the
civilians, have been killed by bullets led coalition is fighting with Western way to Aden. Saudi Arabia gathered a
and bombs. Around 40 times more warplanes and munitions. Western coalition of Arab states and local mili-
people have died in Syria’s war, which satellites guide its bombs. tias – among them Islamists, Salafists
also sent a wave of refugees to Europe. and southern separatists – and forced
Perhaps that is why it has gained inter- Like so much else in the Arab world, the Houthis to retreat partway.
national attention, while the conflict in Yemen’s agony can be traced to the
Yemen is overlooked. Arab-spring uprisings of 2011. Mass Until recently, for the past year, the
protests, a near-assassination of then battle-lines barely moved.
president Saleh, and a shove from
neighboring petro-states forced him to Then two weeks ago, Saleh suddenly
step down in 2012 in favor of his vice- ended his three-year partnership with
president, Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi. the Houthis. Backed by Saudi war-
planes, Saleh’s tribal loyalists recap-
A draft constitution in 2015 pro- tured large parts of the capital. In a
posed a federal system and a parlia- televised speech on December 2nd,
ment split between northerners and Saleh condemned the “recklessness” of
southerners. But the Houthi rebels, his former Houthi allies and called for
a dialogue with the Saudi-led coalition.
A Yemeni girl waits to receive local charity-provided food rations in Sana'a.
But within days, Saleh suffered a
dramatic reversal. The Houthis recap-
tured most of the territory they had
lost and besieged the area around the
ex-president’s home, which they later
blew up. More than 120 people were
killed in Sana’a, according to the Red
Cross. The former president was one
of them.

So where does that leave Yemen?
The Houthis are too weak to rule over
Yemen, but they are seemingly too
powerful for Saudi Arabia to defeat.

As a result, Yemenis have become
the pawns in the regional power-
struggle between Saudi Arabia and
Iran. Alarmed by Iran’s spreading in-
fluence, the Saudis have begun to
speak of the Houthis rather as Israelis
refer to the Lebanese militia, Hizbul-
lah: a dangerous Iranian proxy army
on their border.

America has concluded that Iran
does not exert “command and con-
trol” over the Houthis. But there is lit-
tle doubt that it is arming the group. It
appears to have supplied missiles the
Houthis have fired.

But the Saudis have much to learn
from Israel’s experience with Hizbul-
lah. Even with the most sophisticated
weapons, it is all but impossible to de-
feat a militia that is well entrenched
in a civilian population. The stronger
side is blamed for the pain of those ci-
vilians. For the weaker lot, survival is
victory.

So, even though the Houthis are pri-
marily responsible for starting the war
and capable of great cruelty, it is the
Saudis who are accused of war crimes.
Often the accusation is justified. In
their air campaign, they have been

STORY CONTINUED ON PAGE 38

38 Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 INSIGHT COVER STORY Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 37 How? Peace talks led by the U.N. have
begun with the demand that the Houthis
careless and incompetent at best, and surrender. That is unrealistic. Better to
probably cynical. freeze the conflict and find another me-
diator, such as Oman or Kuwait.
Nothing seems out of bounds for the
bombers. About 40 health centers were A deal should involve a phased with-
struck by the coalition over the first six drawal of Houthi fighters from Sana’a
months of the war. Amnesty Interna- and the Saudi border, and the end of
tional, a pressure group, has accused it the Saudi blockade. Yemen needs an
of deliberately targeting civilians, hos- inclusive government, elections and a
pitals, schools, markets and mosques; new structure for the state. Saudi Ara-
and of using imprecise weapons, such
as cluster bombs, which most coun- A Yemeni stands at the site of an
tries have outlawed. alleged Saudi-led airstrike.

And the blockade raises suspicion A pointless
that the Saudis are using food as a tool conflict has
of war. caused the
worst humani-
The longer the war goes on, the tarian crisis in
more Saudi Arabia’s Western allies the world
are complicit in its actions. President
Donald Trump has given Saudi Arabia
carte blanche to act recklessly. He may
think it is all part of confronting Iran; or
he may want to support the liberalizing
reforms of the Saudi crown prince, Mu-
hammad bin Salman; or he may hope
to profit by selling the Saudis “lots of
beautiful military equipment.”

Whatever the case, he is damaging
America’s interests. Precisely because
of the importance of Saudi Arabia – the
world’s biggest oil exporter and home
to Islam’s two holiest places – the West
should urge restraint on the impetuous
prince and help disentangle him from
an unwinnable war.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 39

INSIGHT COVER STORY

bia will need guarantees that Iranian ing. Without the cover of fighting Saudi deepened the Houthis’ reliance on Iran, time of austerity and wrenching econom-
arms are not flowing into Yemen. Then aggression, the Houthis will have to which has an easy and cheap means of ic reforms at home. They should, there-
it will have to cough up the cash to re- answer for their failures. The public is tormenting the Saudis. And because fore, learn another lesson from Israel’s ex-
build the country. increasingly turning against them, and Saudi Arabia is bogged down in Yemen, perience of fighting Hizbullah. If wars are
the Houthis themselves are divided. Iran has a freer hand to set the terms of to be fought at all, they should be short,
None of this will be easy. But a rea- a settlement in Syria. and have limited aims. Deterrence is bet-
sonable peace offer is more likely to Right now, far from halting the ter than debilitating entanglement. 
crack the Houthis than more bomb- spread of Iran’s influence, the war has The war is a drain on the Saudis at a

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INSIGHT OPINION

Machine learning: Algorithm is gonna get you

The Neural Information Process- zying number of advances (laid out in termining if an object in the road is a searchers at the Federal University Lo-
ing Systems (NIPS) conference began more than 670 published papers) from pedestrian or a plastic bag, a system koja in Nigeria trying to use machine
in 1987 as a humble little affair on an the likes of Facebook, DeepMind (a using Bayesian learning offers a more learning to identify potential child sui-
obscure branch of machine learning unit of Google) and Tencent; and de- nuanced view that will allow AI sys- cide bombers to the Donders Institute
called neural networks. It used to be a vour stories of novel ways to train ma- tems to handle uncertainty better. in the Netherlands presenting a system
quiet affair, with a few hundred mathy chines to perform useful tasks. that can reconstruct pictures of faces
computer scientists coming together Netflix already uses data science to that a person sees simply by scanning
to explain how they had solved some Those stories come not just from recommend shows to its subscribers. their brains. Google researchers used
abstract problem in a new way. the big names of technology, but also Nirmal Govind, who develops algo- machine learning to hide a complete
from more old-fangled companies, rithms at the firm, was on the lookout image inside another picture of the
Then, at the 2003 conference, Geof- such as Target. at NIPS for new, improved versions same size. What they might do with
frey Hinton, a British polymath, and a that can handle imagery and video. that remains to be seen.
cabal of artificial intelligence research- Brian Copeland, one of Target’s data
ers founded the Neural Computation scientists in Minneapolis, says he is Besides fundamental algorithms New hardware for machine learning
& Adaptive Perception (NCAP) work- trying to apply machine-vision al- which firms hope to apply to their own was on display, too. At its party Intel
ing group. As a proponent of neural gorithms to the video feeds from the operations, NIPS is also home to ap- unveiled its latest chip dedicated to
networks, Dr Hinton and the group cameras in Target’s stores. Retailers plied research, particularly in health solving AI problems. NVIDIA, a chip-
helped accelerate the pace of research employ behavioral experts to watch care and biology. Becks Simpson from making rival that sells graphical-pro-
into a form of machine learning known such videos so they can work out how Maxwell MRI, a startup from Brisbane cessing units for deep learning, dis-
as deep learning, leading to huge ad- people use their stores and where to in Australia, showed a way to combine played its latest wares.
vances in image recognition in 2012. place goods to the best advantage. magnetic resonance imaging with
deep learning to improve the diagnosis Graphcore, a British startup, caused
Deep learning, which stacks many Many firms were also putting on a of prostate cancer. particular waves. It presented bench-
neural networks on top of one another show as part of the battle for AI tal- marks for its chip’s performance on
to learn the features of giant databas- ent. They included Mercedes-Benz, a Elisabeth Rumetshofer from Jo- common machine-learning tasks that
es, now powers the image-processing first-time sponsor, which is trying to hannes Kepler University Linz pre- tripled speeds for image recognition
operations of firms like Facebook and recruit data scientists to work on its sented a system that could automati- and delivered a claimed 200 times
Google. As machines, trained with autonomous cars. Rigel Smiroldo, the cally recognize and track proteins in improvement over NVIDIA for the
heaps of data to develop clever algo- firm’s machine-learning boss in North cells, helping to illuminate the un- kinds of machine learning required
rithms, have become capable of carry- America, was happy to recite how the derlying biology. A team from Duke for speech-recognition and translation
ing out more and more tasks, so inter- E-class Mercedes he drove to NIPS University in North Carolina had used applications.
est has grown. handled 250 miles of highway driving machine learning to detect cervical
without him needing to intervene. cancer automatically using a pocket Will the corporate obsession with
Google was sponsoring NIPS by 2010, colposcope, to the same level of accu- machine learning last? The systems
and this year all of the world’s largest Mr Smiroldo does put his finger on racy as a human expert. being developed are just beginning to
tech firms could be found on the spon- one of the main trends at this year’s be a broadly useful technology, and
sor sheet. For the 7,850 attendees, the NIPS: the merging of Bayesian statis- Some used AI to mine doctors’ notes new algorithms presented at the con-
big draw is the algorithms presented in tics with deep learning. Instead of algo- to estimate the chances that a patient ference are likely to be adopted rapidly.
halls heaving with mostly male bod- rithms presenting deterministic “yes” will be readmitted to hospital, to cat-
ies (90% of the authors of NIPS papers or “no” results to queries, new systems egorize and understand the allergic Powerful computers and large vol-
were male this year, a gender imbal- are able to offer up more probabilistic reactions of children and to model the umes of data lie waiting for exploi-
ance widely found in science). inferences about the world. geographic distribution of naloxone, tation. The world’s most valuable
which can help block the effects of companies have grasped the power
They hang on every word of AI wis- This is particularly useful for Mer- opioids, in order to get a better grip on of machine learning, and they are un-
dom imparted by luminaries from cedes-Benz, which needs driverless the use of such drugs. likely to let go. 
Google and Microsoft; pore over a diz- cars that can handle tricky situations.
Instead of an algorithm simply de- Other applications ranged from re- The Economist

GIFTS OF GIVING portive interaction with others helped givers mesolimbic pathway – the reward center of
recover from coronary-related events like heart the brain – releasing endorphins and creating
After following the “10 Tips for a Joyful Holi- attack and cardiac arrest. what is known as the “helper’s high.” Be aware
day” in last week’s column, you’re probably – it’s addictive.
coolly and calmly focused now on the holiday The University of California at Berkeley studied
ritual of gift-giving. .; people age 55 and older who volunteered for In a study in which some people were randomly
two or more organizations. They discovered instructed to spend money on themselves and
The whole act of gift-giving can offer psycho- that these volunteers were 44 percent less likely others were to spend money on others, those
logical benefits. Giving a gift to someone ex- to die over a five-year period than those who who spent money on others experienced more
presses interest, appreciation and gratitude, didn’t volunteer. feelings of happiness. Another study found that
and strengthens bonds. participants who concentrated more on family
Similar findings were reported by the University or religious-oriented traditions and rituals had
But let’s take it a step further. In addition to gift- of Michigan. Their study included elderly peo- a greater level of happiness than those who fo-
ing family, friends, business associates and oth- ple who helped friends, relatives and neighbors, cused on spending money and receiving gifts.
ers during the holidays, being a giving person or gave emotional support to their spouses vs.
– of your time, talent and treasure – is good for those who didn’t. Material aspects can actually undermine sea-
you yearlong. As Winston Churchill put it, “We son happiness and well-being. Instead of fixat-
make a living by what we get. We make a life by Giving creates a “warm glow” that doctors can ing on money, possessions, image and status,
what we give.” actually see on a scan in the areas of the brain engage more on the social aspects of the holi-
associated with pleasure, connection with day – kindness, relationships and altruism.
Giving boosts physical and mental health. In other people and trust. And they’ve learned
addition to lowering blood pressure, giving that during gift-giving, the brain secretes “feel This year, experience the wonders of the sea-
increases self-esteem, decreases depression, good” chemicals such as serotonin (a mood- son. And remember, in the words of Mother Te-
lowers stress and produces a longer, happier mediating chemical), dopamine (a feel-good resa, “It’s not how much we give but how much
life. chemical) and oxytocin (a compassion and love we put into giving.” 
bonding chemical).
The International Journal of Pscyhophysiology Your comments and suggestions for fu-
reported that people who give social support to The National Institutes of Health reviewed ture topics are always welcome. Email us at
others have lower blood pressure than people functional MRIs of people who give to various [email protected].
who don’t. Furthermore, they found that sup- charities and found that giving stimulates the
© 2017 Vero Beach 32963 Media, all rights reserved

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INSIGHT BOOK REVIEW

The Hollywood studios that cul- a combination of astute archival re- As the medium grew, Fox orga- ment, Fox was one of the first major
tivated the golden age of movies al- search and personal stories from Fox’s nized the Motion Picture Association moguls to invest in sound technol-
most never got off the ground. Blame niece, Angela Fox Dunn, Krefft weaves (MPA) to protect theater owners from ogy. While Warner Bros. substanti-
Thomas Edison. The great inventor a tale that will engage amateur movie Edison’s patent attorneys. Without the ated the sale of talking movies with its
fought to secure royalties from any- enthusiasts and film historians. MPA, Krefft explains, there would have sound-on-disk format, Fox’s venture
one using a film projector, which ulti- been no MGM, Paramount, Universal into sound-on-film, Movietone, would
mately crushed many exhibitors. But Like his peer moguls, Fox was a Jew- or Warner Bros. Taking down Edison’s ultimately become the industry stan-
one industry pioneer fought back. He ish emigre who came from nothing Trust in 1915 changed film history for- dard. (Murnau’s critically acclaimed
was William Fox, who used much of and had big dreams. Unlike many of ever but left Fox in a dicey financial “Sunrise” [1927] would be an early
his own money to take down Edison’s his peers, Fox was unequivocally loyal situation. However, Fox was able to user of Movietone.) After a horrible car
Motion Picture Patents Co. (often re- to his wife and often credited his suc- secure investors, save his assets and accident coupled with the economic
ferred to as “The Trust”) and to secure cess on her unwavering emotional move from exhibition into produc- collapse of 1929, Fox was unable to
freedom for film exhibitors to operate support. Fox was one of the first in tion with the Fox Film Corp. Among keep Fox Film Corp., Fox Theaters and
without legal harassment. New York City to pursue movies as a his earliest feature films, “A Fool There Fox News (a newsreel outfit that is now
business, beginning with film exhibi- Was” (1915) starred Theda Bara, one of Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News). In what
If not for Fox, Edison’s Trust would tion in 1904. His only major competi- cinema’s first sex symbols. became possibly the largest legal fias-
certainly have delayed the growth of tor during those early years was Mar- co in U.S. history, Fox was forced to sell
movies. cus Loew, who would eventually own Krefft chronicles the significant the controlling share of his company
the iconic MGM studio. shift that came about at the end of while facing several lawsuits, con-
Frequently passed over as just a 1915, when Fox sent employees to Los stant threats of receivership and an-
footnote in mainstream cinema his- As Krefft explains, those early days Angeles to helm the Fox West Coast gry creditors. He went down swinging,
tory, Fox deserves a place among the were tough because, while movies studio. By 1916, 80 percent of all mov- lobbing lawsuits in every direction to
giants who founded what we call Hol- were interesting as a new medium, ies were made in Southern California. keep hold of something in the film in-
lywood. And now he gets that place in they did not have a bankable audi- Fox’s West Coast studio was respon- dustry and solidifying his reputation
Vanda Krefft’s new biography, “The ence. Fox had to lure newcomers into sible for many important silent films, as a cold, greedy business executive.
Man Who Made the Movies.” With a room with a carnival act to get them including “A Daughter of the Gods”
in front of a screen. Once inside, au- (1916) – an epic that trumped “Birth Krefft’s history gives us the whole
diences would marvel at the moving of a Nation” (1915) in scale and bud- story, one that shows us the tenacity
images. get but is largely forgotten today be- of a titan instead of the bitter carica-
cause no print survives. The next film, ture left by his final years. Coupling
But Fox also had to battle the nega- “Cleopatra” (1917), was a star vehicle expert scholarship and the tight prose
tive social stature of movies. For many for Bara and an advertising project for of a seasoned journalist, “The Man
cultural elitists, the movies were a the famed “Father of Public Relations” Who Made the Movies” provides an
place for criminals and degenerates. Edward Bernays. overdue addition to film history. Krefft
With steadfast faith in the future, Fox captures both the culture of the ori-
opened a 600-seat theater in Brooklyn. While Fox was fortunate to have gins of cinema as a business and the
He continued to buy or rent property vaulted one of cinema’s first starlets many fascinating personalities at play
to open movie theaters around Man- to fame, Krefft argues that the mo- within the narrative. No longer Holly-
hattan on a scale unrivaled by his gul was more interested in housing wood’s forgotten pioneer, William Fox
peers, thanks to influential New York great directors. John Ford completed now has the history he deserves. 
politician “Big Tim” Sullivan, his un- “The Iron Horse” (1924) and “3 Bad
derwriter and investor. In 1911, Fox Men” (1926) with Fox. The studio also THE MAN WHO MADE THE MOVIES
opened the Riverside with 1,800 seats brought in the celebrated F.W. Mur- The Meteoric Rise and Tragic Fall of William Fox
and in 1912 opened the Audubon, a nau, famous for directing “Nosferatu”
3,000-seat movie palace that ran an (1922) in Germany. The Fox studio By Vanda Krefft
entire city block and came complete was also home to the rising talents of Harper. 944 pp. $40
with a roof garden, ballroom and 25 Raoul Walsh, Howard Hawks and Al- Review by Christ Yogerst
stores. By 1913, Fox owned theaters in lan Dwan. The Washington Post
Manhattan, Brooklyn, New Jersey and
New England. Always looking for a new invest-

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Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 45

ON FAITH

Winning isn’t as important as the worthy struggle

BY REV. DRS. CASEY AND BOB BAGGOTT And how about those who do not And so the wrestling opponent offers by constantly greater beings.”
Columnists win? Well, we have some pretty derog- Jacob the blessing of a new name and What are you wrestling with? Is it
atory things to say about them, don’t with it, a new identity. As day breaks,
Winning can be a wonderfully ex- we? They are the losers, the failures, Jacob (now Israel) went on his way significant enough to be a genuine
hilarating and validating experience. the also-rans, the has-beens and the though he had been wounded by the struggle? Are you engaging a worthy
Who doesn’t like to win, whether the duds. Losing does not feel great. No struggle. Wrestling against a more opponent? Perhaps our biggest chal-
win comes in a friendly game of golf or one wants to lose. powerful opponent had left its mark lenges – the ones that rise up to test
bridge, a business deal, or some other upon him, even as it had blessed him. our strength and our ingenuity, to
contest? No matter how small or great But maybe it’s worth reconsidering sharpen our focus, recharge our vi-
the stakes, winners in any competition the commonly accepted belief that The wisdom of that ancient story sion, and firm our resolve – are some-
usually gain recognition and a nod of winning is always good and losing is would seem to lie in acknowledging thing like divine challenges. When
respect. Success is thrilling. Winning always bad, if for no other reason than the gifts that may come by wrestling we willingly wrestle with difficult
feels great. from time to time we all lose. Some- and struggling with forces more pow- problems we cannot easily surmount,
times our losses are our own doing, erful than ourselves. Yes, we could something extraordinary happens.
but some of our losses seem thrust probably preserve a nearly perfect Winning seems to matter less and less,
upon us and are just unavoidable. And winning streak through life and avoid because in the worthy struggles we are
perhaps, oddly enough, there are even a lot of bumps and bruises as well if being renewed, restored and remade.
some losses of which we can be proud. we simply walked away from difficult We are being blessed. 
struggles of all kinds. But we would
One of the most intriguing stories probably be weaker, poorer and small-
in the biblical book of Genesis tells of er by that choice.
a nocturnal wrestling match between
Jacob and a mysterious individual. The German poet Rainer Maria
Was Jacob’s opponent a man, an angel, Rilke wrote a fascinating reflection
God? The story is a bit unclear about inspired by the story of Jacob’s unwin-
the identity of the other wrestler, but nable match. In his poem, The Man
tells us that the two struggled against Watching, Rilke writes: “When we win
each other all night long without a it’s with small things and the triumph
winner emerging. Finally, as dawn ap- itself makes us small … Winning does
proached, Jacob agreed to release his not tempt that man. This is how he
opponent, but only if he will bless him. grows: by being defeated, decisively,

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46 Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PETS

Bonz says canine Owen Wilson is hilarious, too

Hi Dog Buddies! was here. She was a stray, all the cool Christmas stuff. “Woof,
your place is PAWsome.
This week I had a super fun in- a Boxer mix. After she re- Puts me in the
nerview with Owen Wilson Armuth- Holiday Mood.”
Close, a big, good lookin’ poocheroo, alized I was here to stay, “I help Mom
golden with a white face his Mom wrap prezzents, an
calls “frosting.” He’s got his own she became my big I really like OPEN-
Facebook page, too, with lotsa fodos ING prezzents. I dig
an other huh-LARRY-us stuff. Totally sister, taught me lotsa all our Christmas
Cool Kibbles! He was right at the door stuff ’cept this one
with his Mom for the Wag-and-Sniff, stuff. I usta be a total thing – kinda a toy,
wearing a green bandana with candy kinda a decoration – a
canes on it. Wild Man, Mom says. rocking reindeer. I tell
ya, Bonz, I’m a pretty
“Bonz! Hey, Dog! Come right on IN! But Roxy was calm. chill poocheroo, but
We got all our Christmas stuff up! An, this goofy thing drives
see here, I got my Christmas Scarf on! I was 12 when she
Pretty snazzy, right? This is my Mom, me Barkin’ Cuckoo! It
Jo. She’s a flight attendant. My Dad went to Dog Heaven. rocks an sings an its red
Mike’s flyin’ today. He’s a PIE-lutt!” nose lights up, for Lassie’s
When I turned 13, Sake! It’s just obNOXious!”
“It’s a pleasure, Owen Wilson! I’m “Travel much?” I in-
eager to hear your story.” I decided maybe quired.
“Love it! Once, we heard
We all sat by a Big Christmas tree I should try to be some guy named Matthew
and Owen Wilson began. First thing was gonna visit. I thought,
he said was, “You can call me Owen more ma-CHUR. ‘Cool Kibbles!’ cuz I love visi-
– or O.W. I was born 14 years ago in tors. But then, we pack some stuff and
Indiana. When I was a 6-week-old “How’s that drive to Orlando, where we hang out
fluffmuffin, my (future) Mom an Dad with some frens an watch TV. EVERY-
and brother an sister (Jake an Jenna) workin’ out for body’s talkin’ about how this Mat-
were puppy shopping an they saw thew guy’s gonna come knock the dog
this ad in the paper for my litter. Well, ya?” I wondered. biscuits outta us. THEN Mom an Dad
I musta out-adorabled my sibs cuz I say, ‘We’re goin’ home.’ I never did
got picked. Jake (who was 7) wanted “Well, now I meet Matthew. Who is he? What’s up?
to name me Steve, but Mom an Jenna Humans can be weird.”
(who was 17) said Steve was NOT a help Dad with “Word!”
good Yelling Name, as in ‘HEEEERE,
STEEEEVE!’ So Jenna came up with his business. has a Owen Wilson. PHOTO GORDON RADFORD The Bonz
Owen Wilson (he’s a human actor Not the flyin,’ pen l i f e
who does a buncha comedy an is sor- (but I do wanna train to Don’t Be Shy
ta nuts), an, it’s great for yelling.” be his co-pie-lutt). He also
We are always looking for pets
Owen demonstrated: “OWEN WIL- business. I can’t ackshully operate vest on and with interesting stories.
SON! GET YOUR FLUFFY TAIL BACK
IN THIS YARD RIGHT THIS MIN- the equipment cuz of not having op- hang out in the shallow end. To set up an interview, email
UTE!!” [email protected].
posable thumbs. However, I am his Plus, I had this neck injury which
“Can’t argue with that,” I laughed.
“So, are you an only dog?” Official Closer, a Very Serious Posi- slowed me down, but now I’m getting

“Nope. When I first arrived, Roxy tion. I have a GIFT. Humans just like this great treatment which helps A

me. What can I say? Plus, I have WIS- Lot. It’s called ACK-u-punk-shure. My

dom cuz I’m old – 98 in people years. vet, Miss Marcia, says, ‘Don’t ask!’

“When I’m not workin,’ I play with so I don’t. I just lie quietly for a liddle

my toys. I LOVE TOYS. Got two big while, then I feel all better.

baskets full. Once my blue octopus “Any favorite food?”

tried to escape though my doggie “Well, once I stealthily swiped

door, so I hadda isolate him to avoid a couple biscuits off the counter.

a MUTE-nee! Dad thought Mom did it. An I am

“I also do a lotta hangin’ out with my a (mostly) reformed Pie Thief: I’ve

frens on the beach. We are Total Beach been known to successfully counter-

Pooches. Simon’s an Official Golden surf for a Lemon Meringue pie. Leave

Doodle, but he’s all black. Go figure. those Cat Burglars in the dust!

Then there’s Taco, a chihuahua mix; “I get two 1-mile leashwalks a day,

an Rosie, a fluffy white rescue. I also an do a lotta zoomin’ around in be-

have a cousin, Raven, a Basset Hound. tween. Mom an Dad say I live up to

He SWIMS, which is Abby-Normal for my name cuz I make people laugh.

a Basset. His tail sticks out of the wa- One time, Dad put my ears up in a

ter the whole time, so he has no rud- Man Bun. That was pretty huh-LAR-

der. I dunno how he does it. I don’t RY-us, everyone thought!”

swim that much now, but I do put my “I can imagine!” I looked around at

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 47

INSIGHT GAMES

NORTH

COULD THE LAYOUT BE ANY WORSE? 872

QJ7

Bennett Cerf, one of the founders of Random House, said, “Gross ignorance is 144 AKJ9
times worse than ordinary ignorance.”
Q 10 3
That’s the sort of clever comment some people — like me! — wish they had thought of
first. In this week’s deal, though, the word “worse” was used by the original declarer. He WEST EAST
was in four hearts. He ruffed the club-ace lead, drew two rounds of trumps leaving the A965
queen on the board, cashed the diamond ace and king, then played a third diamond. 4 Q J 10
However, East won with the queen and shifted to the spade queen. Three spade losers 832
later, declarer was one down. AKJ65 83

“Did you ever see a worse distribution?” South asked his partner. “East had the Q65
diamond queen and West had ace-third of spades. If the diamond queen or spade ace
had been doubleton, or the diamond queen with West, I would have been all right.” 98742

North agreed that his partner was unlucky. However, after the session, what did he point SOUTH
out that his partner had missed?
K43
After ruffing at trick one, South could have made the contract with some excellent
guesswork. The curious may work it out. But much simpler was not to ruff; instead, to A K 10 9 6 5 2
discard a diamond. Suppose West switches to a diamond. South wins with dummy’s
king, draws trumps, plays his last diamond to dummy’s ace and leads another diamond. 10 7 4
Here, the queen appears, so declarer ruffs, crosses to the heart queen and discards
a spade on the diamond jack. If East plays low on the third diamond, South pitches a —
spade and cannot be defeated even if West wins the trick.
Dealer: North; Vulnerable: East-West

The Bidding:

SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST OPENING
1 Diamonds Pass
1 Hearts Dbl. 2 Hearts Pass LEAD:
4 Hearts Pass Pass Pass A Clubs

48 Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
SOLUTIONS TO PREVIOUS ISSUE (DECEMBER 7) ON PAGE 70
INSIGHT GAMES

ACROSS DOWN
1 Attention (5) 1 Banquet (5)
4 Joy (7) 2 Provide food (5)
8 Factual (13) 3 Boaster (4-3)
9 Attendance (7) 4 Twee (6)
10 Concluded (5) 5 Depart (5)
11 Rock-faces (6) 6 Peppermill (7)
13 Extent (6) 7 Foot-lever (7)
16 Best (5) 11 Bathe (7)
18 Clothes (7) 12 First (7)
21 Community (13) 14 Ends (7)
22 Registers (7) 15 Well-known (6)
23 Panache (5) 17 Beliefs (5)
19 Spacious (5)
20 Chalet (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 / December 14, 2017 49

INSIGHT GAMES

ACROSS 60 Airport abbr. 120 Ox attachment granter The Washington Post
1 Thinking aids? 61 A Gabor DOWN 58 Triskaideka
5 Crosby, Stills & 63 You stay here 2B OR NOT 2B By Merl Reagle
65 Ursula Andress 1 Jazz quartet, e.g. follower
___ 2 Fugard’s A 62 Hindu retreat
9 Parts of a film 64 She had an
66 Instance, in Lesson from ___
washboard 3 Bean or car Arden following
stomach, briefly France 4 Chimney coating 66 Glitterati member
12 It goes with the 69 Magician’s word 5 Slangy “sorry” 67 Take ___ at (try)
airflow 71 Composer 6 Don King 68 Rife with rock
16 Grab bag 69 Bombard
17 Popular cookie Charles booking 70 Insect-loving
18 Bed crosspiece 73 Ideally 7 Fax
19 Alfred the Great 75 Fat bird’s walk? 8 Relaxing soaks leaper
was one 79 Focus of a 9 Tiny Alice 72 Great guy?
20 Single-channel 74 Breakfast option
syst. driving obsession playwright 75 Central, for one
21 A ___ TIP (apt 81 Choir member 10 ___ breath 76 Stern with a bow
anagram of 82 ___ as 77 Really succeed
“pittance”) (flower) 78 Drop cloth?
22 Author of Honor Methuselah 11 With poly and 15 80 “Feels good”
Thy Yakking 83 Heyerdahl’s
Father? Down, a plastic sound
24 Graffiti from second papyrus 12 Curbside 84 Stick it in your
a certain boat
Flintstones fan? 84 “Feels good” employee ear
27 Bolivian bear sound 13 Rail splitter 85 Some
28 ___ roll 85 Deck view 14 ZIP Codes, for
29 Juice points 86 Rapids transit woodwinds
under 87 Noel Coward ex. 87 Mary Wells
the hood song about 15 See 11 Down
30 Subside loving a man 18 Shore floor classic
33 Symbolic slander in uniform? 19 Bargain events 88 Cassini et al.
34 Sicilian peak 91 Mowgli’s python 22 Express 89 Tucson school,
35 Baseball’s Kaline friend
and others 92 Pep rally site dissatisfaction to locals
36 Vermilion 93 Plunder 23 Veil material 90 Trash-strewn lot,
38 Title for a woman 94 Over there, back 25 Acting Gig
who’s a light then 26 Novelist Rice e.g.
eater? 95 Jenny of weight 31 Heep of trouble 92 Young female
45 Location loss 32 It means “rock”
46 Exploiting 97 Honchos in 33 “... she loves ___ pigs
47 Start of many headdresses 96 Fatty ___
Southwestern 100 “___-lish!” ...” 97 People with
cities 101 Cyclamate 34 Some collars
48 Don’t work banner: abbr. 35 Funny lyricist handles
49 Comical 104 What frustrated 98 Sword parts
Catherine solvers may end Sherman and 99 Dom Pedro’s ill-
50 “___ soak your up doing today? others
head!” 108 Once-popular 37 Situation fated wife
51 See 47 Across kids’ cereal in 38 Proportion 100 Drifted (off)
52 What the sot Brazil? 39 The Poe House 101 Big sheet
started 111 Anise-flavored 40 The ___ 102 Swig
doing? aperitif Sanction 103 Aphorism
55 Go through an 112 Inter ___ 41 EPCOT’s st. 105 Elks’ letters
infant 113 CrOWds 42 “___ were you ...” 106 Drive to
stage 114 Leftovers 43 Kin of a bauble
57 Skater’s finale, 115 Fishing spot 44 Nickname of bankruptcy,
often 116 PED act basketball great maybe
59 Has ___ pot 117 Pivot point Oscar Robertson 107 Ceraceous
118 Priest’s add-on 45 Chasing word 108 Housing agcy.
119 Apt author of The 49 Eightsome 109 Reviewer Reed
Never-Ending 51 Vegas roll 110 Swiss canton
Story 52 1992 Earth
Summit city
53 “___ we meet
again”
54 The Merry
Widow composer
56 Salome’s wish

The Telegraph

50 Vero Beach 32963 / December 14, 2017 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT BACK PAGE

Ex looking to ‘make amends’? Say goodbye, good luck

STORY BY CAROLYN HAX THE WASHINGTON POST So respond as if he were actually making amends: my mother’s blue eyes and my husband being blond as
Say, by reply email, that you accept his apology, for- a child, and that answer never seems to satisfy them.
Dear Carolyn: My first love give him and wish him the best in his recovery. Gen-
emailed me out of the blue, after 10 tle, brief, goodbye. This baffles me, but even more baffling is why I
years, to make amends as part of feel the need to explain my family’s genetics to perfect
his AA program. He was an incred- Hi, Carolyn: I am the mother of two very young strangers.
ible person, but after many years children. The elder child looks just like me, with dark
and many chances, the alcoholism hair and eyes and olive skin, and the other is the polar I don’t want my children to think this is a big or
won. opposite – blond hair and blue eyes. People will ap- important issue. Could you suggest a polite but unre-
proach me in the street to comment on how different sponsive response to this question?
While it was a traumatic break – they look, and ask where my younger child’s coloring
we lived together and talked mar- came from. I start going into chapter and verse about – Baffled
riage – I soon met a wonderful man
who is now my husband. Baffled: You can make this question go away
The lengthy email detailed my ex’s love for me, re- in no words (death stare); one word (“Really?”);
grets, and urged me to consider a phone call or Face- two words (“Genetic quirks”); or the snark of your
Time to help free him of pain. Memories both good choice.
and bad came flooding back, along with some anger
that he imposed on me this way. It seems narcissistic, I’m not baffled by reflexive overexplaining. It’s
especially not knowing what I may be going through tough to disentangle overt questions on a child’s
in my life. coloring from covert questions on a child’s parent-
I’m grappling with how to think and feel about this age, and it’s pretty much impossible to ignore the
grand gesture. How do you suggest I respond? dated and inappropriate but persistent tinge of
scorn that comes with parentage questions.
– Clueless in Chicago
And even a whiff of judginess about their chil-
Clueless in Chicago: If he’s looking to you to free dren can poke Mama Bears hard.
him of his pain, then he’s not paying close enough
attention in AA. Even without that subtext, too, the fact of being
nosy-parkered over and over and over and over and
Asking you to help him – via phone, FaceTime or over on the same topic is a provocation unto itself.
interpretive dance – isn’t making amends. It’s an at-
tempt to outsource his emotional work to you. So while I hear regularly from people who don’t
endorse (with apologies to Mad Magazine) the
It’s important for the health of both of you to de- snappy-answers-to-stupid-questions approach to
cline that assignment. Be kind, of course, but don’t dismissing busybodies, I’m all for it. It’s your life,
be available to him in this way. your business and others’ boundary blindness – so
you have every right to streamline this nuisance
away. In snarky words, few words or none. 