New home permits in county
up over 50 percent. P10
Mosquito trial being
closely watched. P8
County to Miami-Dade:
Keep hands off our sand. P11
For breaking news visit
MY VERO An aerial shot of property owned by Indian River Shores that the town is considering rezoning for development. PHOTO BY PHIL SUNKEL School District
putting schools,
BY RAY MCNULTY Neighbors of Shores A1A parcel want it turned into park property in hock
No charges filed in BY LISA ZAHNER she called the Town’s “hidden the Town needs the green space BY KATHLEEN SLOAN
Christmas Eve death Staff Writer gem” for public enjoyment in- more than it needs the tax dol- Staff Writer
stead of selling the property, lars that would flow in from sell-
There are still unanswered Residents who live near a which has an appraised value ing the land for development. Eleven year ago, the Indian
questions about what exactly 5.5-acre parcel near the ocean of $7.7 million, for condomin- River County School Dis-
happened on that Roseland that the Town of Indian River iums or townhouses. “There may never be anoth- trict owned Vero Beach High
Road driveway in December, Shores is considering rezoning er opportunity like this one to School and the land it sits on
only minutes shy of midnight for development want the land Orcutt, an environmental along with all the other district
and just over 24 hours before turned into a park instead. activist and major supporter CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 schools and land. But that was
the clock struck Christmas, of efforts to deal with lagoon before it plunged into a build-
despite the exhaustive, four- Shores Planning Zoning and issues and set aside conserva- ing finance scheme designed
month investigation conduct- Variance Board alternate Judy tion lands, told the PZV Board to prevent voters from having
ed by the Indian River County Orcutt presented a proposal members that the Shores has a say in school bond issues as
Sheriff’s Office. last week to preserve what no parks, and that she thinks required by state law.
There’s also a pending civil Orchid rejects plan for assisted living facility Since that time, the District
lawsuit that might eventually has put about 30 percent of
provide additional answers – BY LISA ZAHNER & STEVEN M. THOMAS before last Wednesday’s town school property, including
but that, for now, prevents the Staff Writers council meeting got underway. the high school, in hock, and
driver, a former law-enforce- encumbered $133 million in
ment officer, from speaking The fate of Ken Puttick’s as- Call it a classic case of NIM- property taxes, all while using
publicly about the tragic death sisted living project, planned BYism or the legitimate ex- a legal loophole to bypass the
of his girlfriend, a popular as- for a 7-acre commercial par- pression of a community’s state’s constitutional require-
sistant principal at Glendale cel on CR-510 in the town of lifestyle concerns; either way, ment that “long-term” debt
Elementary School. Orchid, was plain to see even the plan was never going to fly be approved by voters. Cer-
It’s unlikely, though, that CONTINUED ON PAGE 7 CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
we’ll ever know how Janai
Cornelia Pérez, 73,
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 longtime friend of
homeless animals
PSC sets hearing on
Shores’ bid to escape BY MARY SCHENKEL
grasp of Vero electric Staff Writer
BY LISA ZAHNER Vero Beach lost one of its
Staff Writer most compassionate ani-
mal lovers Sunday with the
The Florida Public Service passing of Cornelia Pérez
Commission has scheduled
a hearing June 9 to decide CONTINUED ON PAGE 9
whether it will consider or
dismiss the Town of Indian
River Shores’ request that it
look into the status of Vero
Beach’s electric territory.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 12
May 19, 2016 Volume 9, Issue 20 Newsstand Price $1.00 Dancing with
Stars raises
News 1-12 Faith 68 Pets 69 TO ADVERTISE CALL $297K. Page 18
Arts 31-36 Games 49-51 Real Estate 71-80 772-559-4187
Books 45 Health 53-57 St Ed’s 58
Dining 62 Insight 37-52 Style 59-61 FOR CIRCULATION
Editorial 46 People 13-30 Wine 63 CALL 772-226-7925
© 2016 Vero Beach 32963 Media LLC. All rights reserved.
2 Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
NEWS
My Vero cause to seek an arrest warrant charging turned home when Cooper, still seated night,” said Nicole Menz, Coffey’s Vero
Coffey with DUI manslaughter. in their parked SUV, realized she was Beach attorney. “We are happy that the
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 low on cigarettes and asked him to thorough investigation done by the In-
Taylor wrote that there was no evi- “run to the store fast” to buy her a pack. dian River County Sheriff’s Office has
Cooper ended up in the path of Brian dence to show Coffey’s blood-alcohol supported Brian’s claims and are thank-
Coffey’s pickup truck as he started content was above the legal limit or However, when paramedics took a ful that the State Attorney’s Office will
down the long driveway in front of that, at the time of the incident, he blood sample three hours later, after not be filing any criminal charges.
their home on that ill-fated night. was “under the influence to the extent Coffey told deputies he drank “half of the
his normal faculties were impaired.” bottle” of a half-gallon bottle of Crown “Brian and Janai were planning to
And unless some new information Royal whiskey while a deputy and para- spend the rest of their lives together,”
turns up, there will be no criminal charg- In his 10-page warrant affidavit, in medics performed CPR on Cooper, his she added. “That plan was cut short by
es brought against Coffey in connection fact, Finnegan wrote that Coffey ad- blood-alcohol level was only .072. this terrible tragedy. While he is relieved
with Cooper’s Christmas Eve death. mitted the couple had gone out for that he will not face criminal charges as
dinner and drinks earlier in the eve- The legal limit is .08. a result of her death, he remains heart-
According to Assistant State Attorney ning – he reportedly consumed six or “Brian has always stated that what broken at the loss of his life partner.”
Chris Taylor’s April 20 letter to Sheriff’s seven Michelob Ultras and 20 chicken happened on Christmas Eve was an ac-
Det. John Finnegan, who led the investi- wings in four hours at two nearby res- cident; as such, he has been fully coop- Coffey, 44, spent three years as an
gation, there was “insufficient” probable taurants – and that they had just re- erating with law enforcement since that officer with the Fellsmere Police De-
partment and just under one year as
an Indian River County Sheriff’s dep-
uty before starting his own construc-
tion and roofing company in 1996.
Menz said Coffey and Cooper had
been a couple for two and a half
years, had lived together for about 18
months and were planning to get mar-
ried this year. She said he continues to
be haunted by the incident – so much
so that he no longer drives the Chevy
Silverado that killed Cooper.
Not only was Coffey grieving, but he
also was confronted with the possibil-
ity he would face criminal charges.
“The loss of Janai, in and of itself, is
unbearable, but wondering whether
you are going to be charged criminally
with causing her death is almost too
much to comprehend,” Menz said.
“Every day since Dec. 24, Brian has
thought about the accident and has
feared being arrested.
“As a former law-enforcement offi-
cer, he knows that an arrest can come
at any time in any place,” she added.
“Brian also knows that an arrest for
crimes of this nature would, in all like-
lihood, mean several years in prison.
Time spent in prison would take him
away from his two young boys, who
are the only things that matter to him
now that Janai is gone.”
Cooper, who was 39, also had two boys.
In February, her ex-husband, acting on
behalf of her estate and their sons, filed a
wrongful death lawsuit against Coffey in
Indian River County Circuit Court.
Menz said Coffey, who is being rep-
resented in the civil matter by Boca
Raton attorney John Wilke, was ad-
vised to not speak publicly about the
incident or the lawsuit.
“I think he would talk about it,” she
said, “but he can’t.”
Nor can he, or anyone else, explain
how he ran over the woman he loved
– a Vero Beach High School graduate
who studied education at Florida At-
lantic University, earned a master’s de-
gree from Nova Southeastern Univer-
sity and was pursuing her doctorate.
There were no witnesses.
Jillian Miller, identified as Cooper’s
sister in the report, told Finnegan the
couple had a “great relationship” and
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 3
NEWS
enjoyed drinking socially. She said she If Coffey couldn’t see through his hours later, produced a blood-alcohol key, why did Coffey say that he did?
“couldn’t imagine this being anything truck’s windshield because of late- level below the legal limit? You can expect those questions and
more than an accident.” night condensation, why didn’t he turn
on his wipers and defroster and wait a In his report, Finnegan said a super- others to be answered in depositions
The owner of The Old Fish House in few seconds until his view wasn’t ob- visor in the Florida Department of Law taken for the civil lawsuit. Even then,
Grant and a server at Outriggers Restau- structed? What was the rush? Enforcement’s Toxicology Division told however, we might never know how
rant in Micco confirmed to Finnegan him the amount Coffey claimed to have Cooper ended up in front of that truck.
that Cooper, too, was drinking that Then there’s this: Is it really pos- consumed was the equivalent of rough-
night and the couple seemed to be hav- sible Coffey drank “half of the bottle” ly 20 shots, or enough in one sitting to Whatever the reason, there seems lit-
ing fun. Finnegan’s investigation found of a half-gallon bottle of Crown Royal render most people unconscious. tle doubt now her death was the result
that she had consumed a total of seven without passing out and, just three of an accident – a terrible, tragic twist of
bottles of Angry Orchard Hard Cider. So if he didn’t drink all that whis- fate that Coffey must live with.
The amount of alcohol Cooper NEW PRICE
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As Coffey started down the drive- parking are sure to please. 850 Beach Road #377 : $2,500,000
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According to Finnegan’s report, Coffey
said he immediately called 911 – at ap-
proximately 11:40 p.m. – and began to
administer CPR until Sheriff’s Cpl. Rich-
ard Daniels arrived at the scene. When
the deputy took over CPR, Coffey be-
gan “freaking out” and “panicking” and
drinking from a bottle of Crown Royal.
Daniels said Coffey “spontaneously
uttered” that he did not see Cooper and
accidentally ran her over. He also said
Coffey “appeared intoxicated” and had
to be told several times to put down the
bottle before he finally complied.
Cooper was transported to the Se-
bastian River Medical Center, where
minutes later she was pronounced
dead – at 12:33 a.m. Christmas Eve.
When told she had died, Coffey “be-
came very emotional and began cry-
ing hysterically,” the report said.
Finnegan, who arrived at the scene at
1:15 a.m., said he told Coffey he would
be the detective handling the case and
then read him his Miranda rights. Cof-
fey waived them and agreed to answer
questions about the incident.
In conducting his investigation,
Finnegan also interviewed friends
and relatives of both Cooper and Cof-
fey, including Coffey’s ex-wife, Patri-
cia. She said Coffey called her after the
accident and was so distraught that he
“couldn’t live with himself” and “was
going to commit suicide.”
That reaction, given the circum-
stances, is understandable. Other
parts of this story, however, don’t make
sense. Or at least raise questions.
Having just run over the woman he
loved – with Cooper lying unrespon-
sive on the ground as a deputy per-
formed CPR – how could Coffey walk
away, grab a bottle of booze and start
drinking, instead of staying right there
in case the deputy needed assistance?
4 Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
NEWS
Shores A1A parcel
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
preserve open space for future gen- the 1970s as part of a land swap deal would assume the cost of developing both. A portion of the proceeds could
erations,” Orcutt said in her proposal. for some property on A1A. What cove- and maintaining the park. be used to fund the Shores’ ongoing
“The Town doesn’t own any other land nants or restrictions might have trans- battle with Vero electric.
that is suitable for a park. A park’s nat- ferred with the deed is unknown. If the property is sold, the cash infu-
ural features and open environment sion could be used to bolster reserves Theoretically the windfall could also
would help define the Town’s image Should the land be retained for or to pay down the Town’s unfunded be used to reduce property taxes for a
and distinctive character.” recreation, the Town would lose any pension or other post-employment year or a number of years, should the
opportunity to tax it, plus residents benefit liabilities, or a combination of Town Council choose that route. Each
She said wildlife on the property, year, the Town raises about $4 mil-
including protected gopher tortoises, lion in property taxes from its tax rate
would be displaced should the land be of $1.67 per $1,000 in taxable value,
developed for townhomes or condos. roughly 90 percent of which goes to
In addition, Orcutt said, developing the fund public safety services.
property would increase traffic on A1A.
County Administrator Joe Baird told
Members of the Pebble Bay Home- Town officials he would work with staff
owners Association are also concerned to create some sort of license agreement
about the future of the property that permitting a purchaser of the parcel to
abuts their community; they fear the have beach access, either by a beach path
loss of beach access they’ve historical- or some sort of dune crossover, which
ly enjoyed – passing across the parcel would add to the value of the property.
to reach a strip of county-owned land
on the ocean – if the property is devel-
oped and perhaps walled or gated off.
Despite concerns, the Planning
Zoning and Variance Board recom-
mended rezoning the property for de-
velopment. The Shores Town Council
is next set to meet at 9 a.m. on May 25.
The agenda is not yet available but the
re-zoning item is expected to be on it.
Meanwhile Orcutt and her neigh-
bors are in the process of retaining bar-
rier island attorney Michael O’Haire –
who has also been working on resident
concerns related to the cell phone tow-
er controversy – to look into supposed
deed restrictions on the property that
might make it ineligible for develop-
ment, and aid the cause of setting it
aside for a public use like recreation.
The property was reportedly donat-
ed to Indian River County decades ago
and then turned over to the Shores in
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 5
NEWS
If sold and on the tax rolls, the nation would provide for a maximum lions of dollars’ worth of additional in trying to develop the property, the
County and the School Board, as well of three units per acre, Stabe said; real estate value. Shores can find someone to market
as the Town, would enjoy new tax rev- R2-A residential zoning with medium- the land. Appraisers estimated it might
enue from the property, with tax rev- density or MD land-use designation Once all of the annexation and up- take a year to find the right buyer, but
enue increasing further as homes are would allow up to six units per acre, dated zoning work is completed, and Pebble Bay homeowners believe the
built there. An R1-A residential zoning meaning as many as 20-30 units could the land use is incorporated into the Town already has a developer waiting
with low-density or LD land use desig- be built on the property, creating mil- Town’s comprehensive plan to ensure in the wings.
the buyer has no issues down the road
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6 Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
NEWS
School District financing Florida school districts lead the coun- Over the last 11 years, the Indian River has no choice but to raise taxes rather
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 try in using “master leases” bundling County School District’s certificates-of- than dislocate students. Such financ-
multiple properties as a form of col- participation debt has grown from zero to ing could be deemed “an indirect
tificates of participation, a fancy form lateral, and the Indian River County about $133 million and extends through pledge of ad valorem taxation much
of financing using double-speak, legal School District, again, is no exception. 2029. It has used the non-voted 1.50 capi- like granting a mortgage on property,
fictions and pass-through leasing en- tal outlay millage residents pay through which the Court had previously ruled
tities, are wildly popular with Florida A master lease gives a bank trustee their property taxes to service this debt. ... required voter approval,” under the
school districts and the Indian River eviction and repossession power over state constitution, Taylor said.
County School District is no exception. an ever-increasing group of school In 1990, the Florida Supreme Court
It is the go-to form of financing for properties. The Indian River County ruled the certificate of participation It would only take one court case to
multimillion-dollar capital projects be- School District, so far, has essentially lease payments are one-year – not long- demonstrate whether a trustee can ac-
cause it gets around holding a referen- mortgaged about 30 percent of the term – debt, thereby allowing school tually evict an insolvent school district
dum meant to ensure the current and county’s total school property. If it de- districts to evade the state’s constitu- from its property, Taylor said. Since it’s
next generation aren’t saddled with faults on just one of its string of debts, tional requirement to hold an election an essential public use and school dis-
paying off debt through their property then SunTrust Bank, its trustee, could before encumbering property taxes. tricts have strong home-rule powers, it
taxes without first giving permission. take over all the real estate collateral in is likely a court would rule against the
one fell swoop, displacing about 5,000 However, the deputy executive direc- trustee and faith in all Florida certifi-
Part of the double-speak involves of the district’s 17,600 students. tor of the Florida State Board of Admin- cates of participation would collapse.
using property tax revenue to pay off istration, E. Lamar Taylor, who oversees
construction bonds that are sold with When a new school building is built, about $162 billion in retirement and Such a ruling almost happened in
no guarantee tax revenue will be avail- such as the upcoming Beachland Ele- local government investment pools, 2007, Taylor said. The Florida Supreme
able to service the debt. Without the mentary classroom building and cafe- warns that a lot has changed since Court, in Strand v. Escambia County,
guarantee, which could only be given torium, that property too is added to 1990 and the facts of a new case could almost reversed the 1990 ruling.
with voter approval, some other form the master lease, subject to reposses- result in a different ruling. In a Stetson
of collateral must be put up to make sion if the School District defaults. Law Review article, Taylor urges Flori- “Rating agencies’ reactions to the
investors and trustees confident the da school districts to move away from Court’s decision was swift ... Standard
school district will pay them back their The Indian River County School master leases, an action that could & Poor’s issued a press release and
principal, with interest, on time – or District set up a master lease with Sun- bring the certificates-of-participation placed all ratings on Florida’s school
suffer dire consequences. Trust Bank in 2005, creating the collat- house of cards tumbling down. districts certificates of participation
eral for issuing certificates of partici- on ‘Credit Watch’ with ‘negative im-
The collateral turns out to be school pation, a form of revenue bond. The Taylor said the master leases are a plications.’ This had the potential to
land and buildings. But again, it is not revenue stream for investors is rent form of “cross collateralization” that bring lease-financed school construc-
a straightforward proposition where a that the school district promises to pay reduces risk for investors but ups the tion to a complete stop,” Taylor said,
single property backs a specific bond. for 20 years for the use of its own prop- risk for school districts of losing the use which should serve as an object lesson
erty. It is an elaborate rent-to-own or of school property. Therefore a judge to school districts what damage one
lease-back financing arrangement. could rule that a school board actually court ruling could do.
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 7
NEWS
Orchid assisted living project More than 100 residents of Orchid Island attended Wednesday’s town council meeting. PHOTO BY PHIL SUNKEL or council to see the comparison in
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 those terms.
code. Specific items cited were land- when Project Manager Keith Pelan
and the meeting was more of a formal- use type, density, building height and of Kimley-Horn stated the size of the Another key sticking point was
ity than a decision-making endeavor. square footage, all of which the coun- building. whether the project should be classi-
cil and Town consultants said were fied as commercial – since it is a busi-
Even though Orchid Island Golf & outside the bounds of what is permit- Any project built on the site that ness – or residential, since people
Beach Club is largely empty this time ted by municipal building code. sticks to that 6,000-square-foot limit would live there. The council inclined
of year, with most residents gone back would almost certainly include mul- toward the belief it would be primar-
to northern homes, the second-floor Under the code, building size tiple buildings, so the overall square ily residential and said that was not
dining room in the oceanfront club- on the property is limited to 6,000 footage would be much higher and a good fit for a commercially zoned
house was packed with more than a square feet, but Puttick proposed a closer to the proposed size of the as- parcel.
100 residents by the time the 9 a.m. 142,000-square-foot facility. The au- sisted care facility, but Pelan was not
meeting got underway. Most looked dience erupted in groans and hoots successful in getting the audience Puttick’s team, which included an
grim and all who were asked said they attorney, an architect and the presi-
opposed the upscale 120-unit senior dent of the company that would
living and memory care project Put- run the facility, as well as Pelan, ac-
tick’s team was there to pitch. knowledged the project exceeded
the bounds of the code, but sought
“What is being proposed violates ev- waivers and variances to allow con-
ery restriction there is on the property,” struction. Those allowances were ap-
said former town council member Bill proved by the Orchid Local Planning
Troxell. “I am dead set against it.” Agency, which also imposed dozens
of additional conditions.
After more than seven hours of pre-
sentations, expert testimony, legal Puttick agreed to the agency’s stipu-
and consultant recommendations, lations and the project appeared to
public comment and council discus- have much in its favor.
sion, the council saw it the same way,
voting 5-0 to block construction. It would have been a quiet, low-
impact development, generating little
Despite a 4-1 vote in favor of the traffic or noise and well screened from
project two weeks earlier by the Or- view by wide setbacks and dense land-
chid Local Planning Agency, council- scaping, as described at the meeting.
members said the project is incom- Since Orchid is largely a retirement
patible with the intent of the Town community with many older residents,
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
8 Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
NEWS
Orchid assisted living project he said, without affording him the due Genetically modified mosquito trial
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 process of a full-blown public hearing in Keys being closely followed here
and ability to offer testimony and ex-
it also would have provided a service perts on behalf of the project. BY ALAN SNEL mosquito. Indeed, residents in the Keys
and setting Orchid residents might who oppose the release of the geneti-
have found helpful in later years. The Town settled with Puttick, re- Staff Writer cally modified mosquitoes have signed
portedly for $35,000 to cover legal fees, online petitions and showed up at Flor-
Proposed operator Watercress Se- and formed its Local Planning Agency A proposed scientific trial on a tiny ida Keys Mosquito Control Board meet-
nior Living Group is a successful Vero in January to correct deficiencies in its island a stone’s throw from Key West ings to express their opposition.
Beach company that operates other development application process. The has caught the attention of Doug Carl-
upscale assisted living facilities that volunteer board first met in January son, Indian River County’s veteran “Some people are leery that they
were offered as examples of the quality and in April recommended approval mosquito control director and other are genetically modified. Some people
of construction and care that would be of Puttick's application. mosquito researchers in Vero Beach. also have problems with using chemi-
offered. cals,” he said.
Puttick, who could not attend the A British company called Oxitec
Even though little of the facil- hearing due to a recent surgery, vowed hopes to release several million ge- One person who doesn’t take issue
ity would have been seen from club to appeal this latest rejection, saying netically modified mosquitos in a trial with genetically modified mosquitos
grounds, the architecture was tailored that he feels the Town Council failed to in Key Haven within a year to dem- is U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson.
to the community’s style. recognize the benefits a senior living and onstrate that the frankenskeeters can
memory care community would bestow suppress the spread of the a local mos- In a statement last month when the
But none of that swayed the packed upon the barrier island community. quito with an ominous track record of CDC confirmed the first Zika-related
room, where sentiment ran strong against spreading diseases such as Zika, den- death in the U.S., Nelson said, “The
the project throughout the meeting. "I'm not exactly sure what the pro- gue and chikungunya. death of an American citizen should
cess is, but we're going to appeal," serve as a wake-up call to all those in
Puttick is a longtime Vero Beach Puttick said. If it takes place, this would be the Congress who continue to block our
businessman and auto dealer who first U.S. trial of Oxitec’s self-limiting efforts to stop the spread of this virus.
lives in Orchid Island. The proposed "My only thought process would be mosquitoes, though other genetically While this may be the first Zika-related
senior living facility – which would that the Local Planning Agency was modified insects have been released death in our country, it won’t be the
have been the first on the island – was unbiased enough to listen to the proof in this country and Oxitec has released last if Congress does not start taking
his third attempt to gain approval to and evidence and when they listened its GM mosquitoes in other nations. this virus seriously.”
develop the unimproved 7-acre par- to the proof and evidence they ap-
cel he owns on the Wabasso Causeway proved it," Puttick said. "I don't believe Interestingly enough, Oxitec consid- More recently, Nelson said he sup-
across from Indian River County Fire- these people (the Town Council) were ered Vero Beach as a place to launch ports the release of the mosquitoes
Rescue Station 11. open-minded enough to look at the the trial but ended up preferring the near Key West for the trial.
evidence. Their minds were made up. Lower Keys.
Puttick sued the Town of Orchid People can have their opinion about Glenn Henderson, interim director of
last fall because its hired consultants something, but it doesn't change the Here’s how the genetically-modi- the St. Lucie County mosquito control
multiple times rejected his proposals, legality of the facts." fied mosquito technology works: The department, said every option needs to
males, which do not bite, have been be considered to thwart the spread of Zika
altered so that when they mate with and other mosquito-borne diseases.
a female, the offspring die and don’t
make it to adulthood. “The GM program seems promis-
ing, though it appears to have a ways
Oxitec creates the eggs for its GM to go before it’s viable on the Treasure
mosquito in a United Kingdom facility, Coast. With Zika and other mosquito-
and then grows the flying male insect to borne diseases becoming such a pub-
adulthood in a plant in Marathon in the lic-health threat, though, we need to
Keys. In a typical trial, between 3 million consider every option that’s open to
and 4 million males are released during us. Science is the biggest weapon in
a six- to nine-month period. the fight,” said Henderson.
“They’re modifying one mosquito “Other research also shows poten-
species,” said Carlson, a leading figure in tial for a natural method to reduce the
Florida’s mosquito-control community. Aedes mosquito population,” Hender-
“It makes good sense. It’s a serious trans- son added. “I’m confident that a solu-
mitter of diseases around the world.” tion may be near, whether it’s GM or
otherwise.”
This particular mosquito – Aedes
aegypti – is insidious because it doesn’t Gov. Rick Scott is also calling on the
wander away once it finds hospitable federal agreement for money to help
human hosts, he noted. “They stay stem any spread of the Zika virus.
close to where the blood is and don’t
go more than 100 yards,” Carlson said. Oxitec spokesman Matthew Warren
said the company has conducted five
Vero Beach is home to the Universi- trials in urban environments in Bra-
ty of Florida Medical Entomology Lab- zil, Panama and the Cayman Islands.
oratory on Oslo Road, where lab direc- Releases of the GM mosquitoes sup-
tor Jorge Rey and his 12 fellow faculty pressed the wild population of the Ae-
members and mosquito researchers des aegypti by more than 90 percent,
also are keeping tabs on Oxitec’s work. Warren said, adding that conventional
methods such as insecticides can only
“It could be a useful technique to reduce the wild population by 30 per-
control mosquitoes that carry dis- cent to 50 percent.
ease,” Rey said. “It’s relatively environ-
mentally safe. You don’t have to use Derric Nimmo, Oxitec product de-
pesticides.” velopment manager, said three federal
agencies have reviewed the informa-
Rey understands some people will be tion related to the field trials in Brazil,
concerned with genetically modifying a
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 9
NEWS
Panama and the Cayman Islands in “There is a hardcore group of people 13, and Nimmo says field trials could to control operations in the world.
addition to the company’s application who are against any type of genetically start late this year or early 2017, pend- The first modified mosquito was
to conduct the Florida trial. formed modification,” Nimmo said. ing final federal approvals.
“[But] the risk of Zika is very real, and the produced at Oxford University in 2002
Oxitec has been communicating risk of our technology is very, very low.” Nimmo praised Indian River Coun- and a multimillion-dollar Bill Gates
with Keys residents through meetings, ty – along with mosquito control Foundation grant kick-started Oxitec’s
fliers, door-to-door visits and work- Public comments as part of the trial districts in the Keys and in Manatee research and development for the first
shops, Nimmo said. permit process ended last Friday, May County – for having the best mosqui- five years, Nimmo said.
Cornelia Pérez Interviewed by this writer for did more for people, two-legged and five grandchildren, she leaves behind
another publication 11 years ago, four-legged, than even I realized. She five dogs and a grand-dog, her family
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Pérez said her epitaph should sim- really didn’t want or need recognition noted.
ply read “a child of God, a friend to for what she did; she wanted to help
following a stalwart six-month battle animals.” people from her heart.” Funeral services will be private. Do-
with cancer. Pérez died May 15, just nations may be made to the local Hu-
days before her 74th birthday. “That’s my mother in a nutshell,” Along with her husband, daugh- mane Society or to the Women’s Ref-
said daughter Bretton Jenks. “My mom ter, son Jason Perez of Denver and uge of Vero Beach.
A soft-spoken woman with a soft
spot for “those who cannot speak for
themselves,” as the animal welfare
slogan goes, Pérez began volunteering
with homeless animals around age 12,
when she would ride her bicycle over
to the original shelter and walk the
rescued dogs.
Pérez had moved here as a child in
1948 with her parents Lucy and Her-
schel Auxier. For 42 years, her mother
was co-owner with Alma Lee Loy of a
popular downtown children’s shop.
Her father developed a cattle ranch
west of Wabasso.
With bachelor’s and master’s de-
grees in speech pathology and au-
diology from the University of Colo-
rado, Pérez returned to Vero around
1983 and set down roots, marrying
Tomas Réne Pérez and raising their
family.
For 13 years, Pérez taught kinder-
garten at Saint Edward’s School, hav-
ing pitched the idea for a kindergarten
program to then Headmaster Peter
Benedict. Later she would become a
volunteer education coordinator at
the Humane Society, visiting public
school children to talk about caring
for pets.
Pérez helped out at the Humane
Society wherever she saw a need. She
was equally at home serving on the
board of directors as she was working
in the shelter’s laundry.
The creator of many programs to
encourage people to donate – in-
cluding the popular Guardian Angel
program, which puts people’s names
on various dog runs and cat condos –
Pérez worked tirelessly for the group’s
annual fundraiser, Cause for Paws. In
the late 1990s, she co-chaired the cap-
ital campaign to build the $6 million
facility on 77th Street.
She and her husband adopted
countless dogs over the years, primar-
ily taking in those special needs or el-
derly dogs that nobody else wanted.
And when there was no more room at
the Pérez home, she would send out
e-blasts to hundreds of contacts seek-
ing homes for animals, many of them
orphaned when their owners passed
away.
10 Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
NEWS
New home permits up more than 50 percent this year
BY ALAN SNEL
Staff Writer
The pace of new home sales contin- With national builders such as
ues to pick up in Indian River County Pulte, Divosta and D. R. Horton active
with 363 building permits issued this in multiple subdivisions and building
year so far, compared to about 230 in hot spots in south county, north coun-
the same period last year.
The market “feels back to normal,”
said Bill Handler, president of GHO
Homes, one of the largest new home
builders in the area with construction
underway in a dozen subdivisions in
and around Vero Beach.
Handler said demand is deepest in
the $260,000 to $330,000 range and that
he is seeing new home buyers coming
from both out of state and South Flor-
ida, from cities such as Delray Beach
and Fort Lauderdale. He also observed
that buyers are moving because of a
changed lifestyle, such as retirement or
becoming empty nesters, and are “not
coming here for the workforce.”
New houses are sprouting from Se-
bastian to the St. Lucie county line, ac-
cording to a map prepared by Will Rice
of the county’s GIS Department show-
ing new construction.
Client 1st Advisory Group ty and along SR-60 near the Indian small local builders,” said Ederer, who
welcomes River Mall, nearly a 1,000 single-fam- sits on the board of the Treasure Coast
ily home permits were issued between Builders Association but does not
Shaun P. Fedder Jan. 1, 2105, and mid-May 2016, with speak for the association.
as Managing Partner each new home representing a solid
jot of economic activity. Ederer, who does custom house
Client 1st is the result of a proud merger between construction, said as a small builder,
Client 1st Advisory Group and Capital Investment Advisors - Indian River County Building Offi- “We’re dipping our toes into getting
cial Scott McAdam said there has been back into land development.”
serving Indian River County for over 15 years. a 108 percent increase in single-family
home inspections from 2013 to 2016. For a number of years after the hous-
736 Beachland Blvd. Vero Beach, FL 32963 ing bust that began in 2007, there was
(772) 231-3122 www.c1ag.com “With the permitting increasing, no reason to develop new land because
that increases all the inspections too,” there were so many finished building
McAdam said. lots available in failed subdivisions,
often going for dimes on the dollar.
McAdam theorized that the increase Hedge funds bought up many of them
in home construction is being driven and are now reselling them to builders
by newcomers from the North who are at prices that keep going up, pushing
spurning the hectic lifestyle of South Flor- builders to consider buying, entitling
ida for small-town living in Vero Beach. and plating new building sites.
“A lot has to do with Vero Beach it- While home construction is not at
self. People are finding out about Vero. the go-go rate of the mid 2000s, new
They’re coming from up North, [but home industry observers said the in-
don’t want] the hustle and bustle of dustry is trending upward statewide.
South Florida,” McAdam said. “Small
Vero with nothing happening has “Things are good. Things are bet-
changed to something happening with ter. Things are improving,” said Doug
just the right size. It’s becoming very Buck, director of government affairs at
attractive. Not too big. Not too small. ” the Florida Home Builders Association.
David Ederer, manager of Navo “Everything is moving forward. But
Builders LLC in Vero Beach, said the there are some headwinds. One of
majority of the permits are pulled by them is labor. We lost half of our work-
the big brand-name builders such as force [during the housing downturn
Pulte and D.R. Horton. of the Great Recession]. We are getting
back to where we were, but we don’t
“What we’re seeing is the larger have our same workforce so the houses
builders have taken over the market are taking a little longer to build,” Buck
and it has created a dilemma for the
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 11
NEWS
said. “A house that should take five Another builder, LifeStyle Homes, is Lifestyle in Indian River County. “There were an overabundance of
months to build is taking six months.” also seeing brisk sales at developments She noted Lifestyle opened up a foreclosures that contractors were re-
such as Huntington Place near 61st St. habbing and flipping, but that inven-
Handler said Vero Beach develop- and 58th Ave.; 4 Lakes, near 43rd Ave. model on Feb. 1 and has since sold five tory has dried up significantly,” she
ments with strong buyer activity in- and 13st St. SW; and Cross Creek Lake homes in Huntington Place. The mod- said. “So now for an updated home,
clude Serenoa, where prices range Estates on Powerline Road in Sebastian. el is not even completed in 4 Lakes by the time a buyer purchases a re-
from the $200,000s to the $400,000s; and Lifestyle has two builds underway sale home, modifies it to their specif-
Three Oaks, with attached villas, start- “This is the first year for Lifestyle in there. Raasveldt said half of Lifestyle’s ics, the costs and time of construc-
ing in the low $200,000s; Summer Indian River County to have a pres- business is done on buyers’ own land tion are almost the same as building
Lake, with homes in the $200,000s and ence in multiple developments, as outside of subdivisions. from the ground up and getting ev-
$300,000s; and Lake Mandarin at Cit- well as custom homes on buyers’ own erything they want [and everything
rus Springs, with home selling from land,” said Megan Raasveldt of Dale She said a lack of inventory is a main brand new].”
the $200,000s to the $400,000s. Sorenson Real Estate, listing agent for driver of the new home construction
upswing.
County to Miami-Dade: Keep your hands off our sand
BY SAMANTHA ROHLFING BAITA of sand needed to restore the barrier is- another party removes the sand? protection for the county. It referred
land’s critically eroded shoreline. A final question: Why doesn't Miami- specifically to impact on “sites of cul-
Staff Writer tural or historical significance, and en-
County Coastal Engineer James Gray Dade look south for its sand – to the dangered species,” and did not address
Keep your shovels out of our sand! Jr. brought this new front in the ongo- Bahamas, for example? The sand in the impact on a community of losing
That's the message Indian River ing Sand Wars before the Commis- those waters is said to be more compat- valuable ocean sand intended for future
County, along with Martin and St. Lu- sion May 10 as he explained concerns ible with South Florida beaches, and beach restoration projects.
cie, will send to the Army Corps of Engi- and questions the County's Beach and is also closer and therefore probably
neers, protesting a plan to gobble up and Shore Preservation Advisory Board – the cheaper to transport than sand from The Commission will send a letter to
relocate an unspecified amount of “bulk beach committee – compiled after pe- the Treasure Coast. However, Gray said, the U.S. Department of Energy Bureau
ocean sand” from the Treasure Coast to rusing the lengthy federal rule proposal. the Corps so far wants to use domestic of Ocean Management, as Indian River
Miami-Dade County, via an agreement sources as long as they are available. joins Martin and St. Lucie Counties in
between Miami-Dade and the Corps. Indian River County does not use fed- a coordinated outreach to several state
Of the 100-plus million cubic yards eral funds for beach restoration, relying The Corps environmental assessment and federal offices. Congressman Pat-
of beach-compatible sand along on state and local funds instead, and on the Miami-Dade project, which con- rick Murphy's support is also being
the shores of St. Lucie, Martin, Palm beach committee members fear proj- cluded “no significant impact” doesn’t sought, according to Gray.
Beach and Miami Dade counties, ap- ects that are funded by the federal gov- necessarily provide any assurance or
proximately 5.2 million cubic yards ernment may take priority over county
is available for removal in federal wa- projects if both have identified the same M HASTERS OF
ters off St. Lucie and Martin Counties, offshore sand for beach repair. THE OUSE
according to a Florida Department
of Environmental Protection-Army The Beach Committee wants to 772.231.4222 • 2801 Ocean Drive, Suite 302
Corps of Engineers study. It is these know: How would projects be priori- Vero Beach, FL • www.HGHowleArchitects.com772.231.4222 2801Ocean Drive, Suite 302 Vero Beach, FL 32963 ww w.HGHowleArchitects.com
counties the Miami-Dade project spe- tized? Would a federally funded proj-
cifically names as a source of sand to ect take precedence over a local entity
replenish South Florida’s world fa- that has identified the same offshore
mous beaches. borrow source for its beach fill needs,
When the project first appeared on or would it be first come, first served?
Indian River County radar back in Jan- Can such borrow material be reserved
uary, the County Commission, along for future use, since permitting typi-
with the other Treasure Coast coun- cally takes a couple of years?
ties, voiced opposition, and listed sev-
eral concerns. Although Indian River Other questions raised by Gray and
County was not included in the study, the beach committee: According to the
officials believe removal of beach sand Federal Register, the Department of In-
from the neighboring counties could terior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Man-
negatively affect Indian River County agement has issued almost 50 Florida
as the growing demand for beach leases for sand removal with 22 parties,
quality sand continues. including five small public entities. The
Despite the objections, the Corps beach committee asks: Where are they?
issued a “Finding of No Significant Are agreement documents available?
Impact.” Now the project is moving Were there any legal challenges?
forward, and a permit application has
been submitted to the Florida Depart- Gray said Indian River County has
ment of Environmental Protection. spent significant funds on detailed
Making the problem worse, as the sediment studies to identify three off-
County views it, are new rules for the shore borrow sources – north, central
use of “Outer Continental Shelf sand, and south – that contain a combined
gravel and shell resources for shore pro- volume of approximately 8 million cu-
tection projects authorized by or fund- bic yards of “beach compatible sand.”
ed in whole or in part by the Federal
government,” recently proposed by the Use of these offshore sand resourc-
U.S. Department of the Interior, which es, he emphasized, “in full or in part,
the county fears could result in the loss will be required if the county is to con-
tinue its beach management efforts
for the next 30-50 years.” Will those
sources be at risk under the proposed
new rules, and if so, would funds spent
to survey the sources be reimbursed if
12 Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
NEWS
PSC sets hearing on electric circumstances – the termination of host a public hearing in Indian River County and Shores customers also
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Vero’s franchise agreement with the County to give ratepayers the chance have an eye out for a Florida Supreme
Shores when the agreement expires to voice their concerns without trek- Court ruling expected in coming
Eighty percent of Shores residents in November and the Town’s wish to king all the way to Tallahassee. weeks. In December, County officials
are served by Vero’s electric utility, bring all of its residents into FPL’s sys- appealed to Florida’s high court, ask-
while 20 percent get power from Flor- tem. The PSC’s technical and legal staff ing for clarification of the County’s
ida Power & Light, paying substan- needs to produce a detailed recom- rights with regard to the termination
tially lower rates. The Town wants all Vero says its PSC-awarded service mendation for the commission by of its electric franchise with Vero in
residents to be served by FPL, but Vero territory is virtually permanent and May 26 in order for the June 9 hearing March 2017.
says the Town lacks standing to ask the immune to whether or not it has a to take place, according to Shores’ lead
Public Service Commission to consid- valid franchise agreement with the utility attorney Bruce May of the Hol- “There are an awful lot of moving
er changing the bounds of Vero’s elec- Shores; it has asked the PSC to dismiss land and Knight law firm. parts,” May said on Monday, but the
tric territory. the Shores’ complaint. PSC territorial dispute would defi-
If the staff cannot complete its work nitely be a game-changer should the
The Town alleges the PSC should Should the PSC decide at the June by that time, the matter will come be- Shores prevail. FPL has come out
open up the territory due to changed hearing to move forward with the re- fore the PSC in August. strongly supporting the Shores’ bid to
evaluation the Town seeks, the Town’s have the territory reviewed.
attorneys want the Commission to While the parties await the next
steps in the PSC dispute, Indian River With the PSC territorial dispute
and the Florida Supreme Court ruling
looming, Vero and the Shores negotia-
tors have tentatively agreed – yet to be
ratified by their respective councils –
to shelve two related legal disputes for
the time being.
The parties met for 15 minutes last
Thursday as part of a state-mandated
conflict resolution process aimed at
ironing out a legal disagreement over
whether or not Indian River Shores
has the power to regulate Vero’s elec-
tric rates after the 30-year franchise
agreement expires on Nov. 6. The
Shores passed an ordinance last year
giving itself that authority.
Under the tentative agreement, the
Shores would postpone implementing
the ordinance, and would give Vero up
to one year’s notice should the Town
plan to implement the rate control.
The negotiating teams also tenta-
tively agreed to place a civil lawsuit,
also disputing Vero’s electric rates, in
abatement while the parties await the
outcome of the PSC complaint.
Vero’s utility attorney Robert Scheffel
“Schef” Wright warned that the pro-
cess of preparing, presenting and con-
sidering a “rate case,” by which Vero
would defend what it charges Shores
residents, “would be very expensive.”
Shores Town Manager Robbie Stabe
said after the meeting, “It’s a reason-
able idea to abate the lawsuit while the
PSC complaint moves forward,” add-
ing that voluminous public records re-
quests, interrogatories and other prep-
aration for litigation sucks up staff time
and results in mounting attorneys’ fees
for everyone involved.
14 Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
PEOPLE
Talk of the town: Vero matriarchs share memories
BY MARY SCHENKEL
Staff Writer
Vero Beach was a relatively quiet little Above: Paula Kauffmann, Lorene White, Nat Jackson, Mary Ellen Replogle and Patti Willmot Gibbons. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE
town back in the 1960s, with friendly Selma Luther, Nancy Luther and Henrietta Sullivan. Hariot Greene, Celeta Arden and Dotti Smith.
neighborhoods and unpaved roads,
fragrant aromas from citrus groves nurses.
permeating the air and cattle ranches Williams recalled having dinner at
outnumbering gated communities.
Roughly 50 indomitable senior and Ocean Grill the night of her first prom.
junior matriarchs of the era gathered “I ordered lobster and when it came I
recently at the Ocean Grill for a Vero didn’t know what to do with it!” laughed
Beach Matriarchs Reunion Luncheon Williams. “I was almost in tears. It was
to reminisce and share memories. an up-north lobster with these big
claws; not what we get down here. And
“I put this together because my moth- there I was, probably 16 or 17, sitting
er-in-law Gloria Gibbons said, ‘I rarely there with a big old orange thing on my
see this person or that person.’ I just plate, trying to eat it in a prom dress.”
wish my mom was here because she too
was a Vero Beach matriarch,” explained Mary Etters Schlitt was born in Wa-
Patti Gibbons, whose mother, Marilyn basso and graduated from Vero Beach
“Ollie” Willmot, taught for more than 35 High School in 1948, where she has es-
years at St. Helen’s Catholic School. pecially fond memories as the head ma-
jorette. “My husband [Frank] saw me
“This luncheon is a tribute to these on the field and he said, ‘I want to meet
women and it’s a reunion for them,” that drum majorette.’ We married a
said Gibbons. “Back in the ’60s, Vero year later and had nine children; seven
Beach had three grade schools, one still live in Vero,” said Schlitt, who also
high school, one theater, one drive-in has 42 grandchildren and nine great-
theater, family-owned businesses and grandchildren.
eateries. These women car-pooled to-
gether, belonged to garden clubs, ran Patsy Helseth was a war bride who
the school’s PTAs, volunteered for the met husband Phillip Helseth when he
ambulance squad, etc. They had much was stationed overseas. She moved here
in common back then, but time and from war-torn England in 1946, carry-
family changes separated them over ing a return ticket she happily did not
the years.” have to use, and married into the Nor-
wegian pioneering family that settled
The Ocean Grill – for generations here around 1894.
THE place to go for special occasions –
was an obvious choice and the group Daughter Susan Helseth Roberson,
met in the large room known by locals who remembers sneaking into the old
as the “bucket.” drive-in by hiding in the trunk of the
“The rumor is that in the mornings, CONTINUED ON PAGE 17
when they weren’t really open, Waldo
[Sexton] would hold court. They called
it the ‘bucket of blood’ because they
would all drink bloody Mary’s,” ex-
plained Mary Ellen Replogle, whose
family has managed the restaurant
since 1965.
A favorite but frightening memory
of hers involved the 1949 birth of her
first child, Anne, at the old Vero Beach
Airport Naval Hospital. Just a day after
delivery, the nurse said there was going
to be a bad storm and that they could
take and protect the baby, but she had
to take ‘shelter’ under the bed. “It was a
real bad one,” said Replogle of the hur-
ricane. “The whole building was sway-
ing.”
Colleen Beatty began visiting in 1946
when her in-laws bought a house in
McAnsh Park and moved here in 1958.
After raising a family she attended nurs-
ing school with her daughter, Donna
Beatty Williams. The two graduated
together in 1972 and became registered
16 Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
PEOPLE
Patti Lajoie, Wanda Knight, Mary Schlitt and Ouida Wyatt. Colleen Beatty, Pat DuBose, Blanch Owen and Mary Owen. Arlyne Zorc, Gladys Earman and Dolores Damore.
Jackie Harvey, Alice Denmark, Heather Lowther, Mary Jane Mitchell Stewart and Marie Gibbons, with (seated) Gloria Gibbons. Patsy Helseth, Susan Helseth Roberson, Sandra Daniel and Shirley Helseth Morris.
(front) Anne Michael, Ann Carter, Dotty Hogan; (back) Mary Graves and Elizabeth Graves Bass.
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 17
PEOPLE
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14 switch made out of palmetto palms.” aldehyde – all the clothes came with it father’s pickup truck. “When I turned
Everyone remembered shopping at – and must from the old building. I fi- 16 I went to get my driver’s license and
car, later taught school for 32 years, 26 nally got a chemist from the Vero Beach there were two highway patrolmen –
at Rosewood Magnet. Alma Lee’s Children’s Shop, but one High School. He came in and he hadn’t their nicknames were Red Rider and
thing puzzled them. been in there five minutes before say- Little Beaver. And they said, ‘All you
“The wonderful thing is I know ing it was formaldehyde.” have to do is take the written test. We’ve
my generation and the generation I “There was a distinct aroma of ev- seen you driving all your life!’”
taught,” said Ouida Wyatt, who taught erything you bought at Alma Lee’s Hariot Greene had a dance studio on
here for 26 years. Children’s Shop; it was like a brand,” the second floor of the old administra- “This is the best luncheon I have ever
said Patti Gibbons with a laugh. “We tion building at the airport and remem- been to,” said Ann Howard, who, as a
Pat DuBose was born in Sebastian all knew when we got a present, as bers looking out the window between 13-year old, hated Vero Beach when her
in 1927 into a family that moved here soon as you opened the box, that it was classes to watch the Dodgers practice. father moved the family here in 1939.
in 1908 and has fond memories of life something from Alma Lee’s. Everybody “Mary Jane Stewart’s father was an at- “Now I love it. Vero Beach is one of the
on the lagoon – swimming, fishing and wanted to have something from Alma torney for the city and arranged for me most beautiful towns in the whole state
boating, all the while swatting mosqui- Lee’s.” to have a room upstairs; Mary Jane was of Florida.”
toes and sandflies. just a 5-year-old,” said Greene.
Asked about it, Alma Lee Loy smiled Organizers plan to host another re-
“That was before air conditioning. and explained, “There was a notorious Wanda Simmons Knight, born here union in the fall. Anyone interested
We didn’t even have streetlights in Se- aroma; it got to be a trademark. It turns in 1933, learned at age 7 how to drive her should contact Sue Wodtke Smith.
bastian,” said Du Bose. “We would walk out that it was a combination of form-
along with a flashlight and a mosquito
Jade Shelton Cole, Sharon Shelton Gorry, Debbie Howard Dobeck and Ann Howard.
Susan Wodtke Smith and Ellen Wodtke. 3325 Ocean Drive
Brenda Spillman Bullock, Patti Willmot Gibbons and Ruth Spillman. Vero Beach, FL 32963
772.234.3404
18 Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
PEOPLE
Cha-cha-ching! Vero’s dancing stars raise $297K
1
BY CHRISTINA TASCON
Staff Writer
Nicki Maslin, vice president at Sea- 2 3 4
coast Bank, emerged victorious as
this year’s Mirror Ball Trophy win- DANCING CAPTIONS 5 6
ner, dazzling with a cha-cha with her nell praised Tripaldi’s “wiggle” and Shelley Adelle and Laconte Turner
professional dance partner George 1. Grand Champion winners George Cho and emcee Hamp Elliott thanked Tripaldi charmed the audience with the first
Go at the eighth annual Dancing with Nicki Maslin. 2. Dr. Marc Mccain and Anya for stepping in when another celebrity lift of the night in a fun West Coast
Vero’s Stars fundraiser to benefit the Christina. 3. Cindy O’Dare and Joe Wynes. had to withdraw. Swing and Hip Hop Mash, earning
Indian River County Healthy Start 4. Dr. Denise Pieczynski and Craig Galvin.
Coalition. Maslin and the other nine 5. Shelley Adelle and Laconte Turner. 6. Paul
sets of dancers performed in front of Tripaldi and Marianella Tobar.
a packed house at Riverside Theatre
Saturday evening at one of the most PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE AND PHIL SUNKEL
glamorous events of the year, raising
$297,810 to help babies and pregnant packages with a value of at least $200.
mothers. As each dancer took the stage a
Cindy O’Dare was awarded First short, humorous video played prior
Runner Up with her partner Joe Wyn- to their performances, which were
es, and also won awards for Highest judged by Dee Rose-Imbro, Chris Fos-
Online Donations and Top Fundrais- ter and Judy Cornell.
er, bringing in a total of $76,558. The
award for Highest Dance Score was Dr. Denise Pieczynski drew the dif-
presented to Steve Rennick and part- ficult opening number with partner
ner Karren Walters. Craig Galvin. Her smile lit up the stage
as she danced a fast-paced salsa that
Dance teams were chauffeured in earned a score of 25 and garnered
luxury vehicles to an enthusiastic praise for her personality and outfit,
red-carpet arrival as loyal supporters called “fabulous!” by Foster.
screamed and waved banners before
exchanging banter as interviewees Paul Tripaldi and Marianella Tobar
with emcee Geoff Moore from 93.7 danced a slow, sexy salsa and cha-cha
WGYL. Everyone then moved inside combo, scoring a 25. Belly dancer Cor-
to enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres
by Catering by Adrienne Drew while
perusing the 175 silent-auction offer-
ings provided by the dancers.
Celebrity votes were calculated by
combining dance scores, online con-
tributions, ticket sales in their name,
donations and funds raised through
silent auction items.
Auction coordinators Katy Faires
and Natasha Potter said the dancers
had collected more than 300 indi-
vidual items which they bundled into
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 19
PEOPLE
a park bench and newspapers as
props for their humorous jazz num-
ber. The judges loved the concept and
the dancers’ obvious enjoyment and
scored it at 24.
Dr. Marc McCain and Anya Chris-
tina really wowed with several per-
fect lifts and freefall drops in a sensu-
ous, smooth rumba, receiving several
spontaneous bursts of applause and
high praise from judges, who gave it a
11 score of 29.
Dana Baker and Robert Scott’s cha-
another 25. When Foster critiqued cha was enhanced by Baker’s bubbly
that she didn’t get low enough in the personality. When Baker’s partner
dance, Adelle garnered laughter from had to drop out, Scott stepped in to
the audience by responding with a put the routine together in less than a
little twerking. week.
O’Dare and Wynes revived the twist Judges praised her finale dip and
scene from “Pulp Fiction” in their vid- “shiver and shake” and scored it 24
7 eo and performance, which Rose-Im- points.
bro said was clever. Her enthusiastic Rennick and Walters received the
supporters cheered her performance only perfect 30 of the evening, danc-
and booed the judges’ straight sevens ing a cha-cha to “Ex’s & Oh’s.” Judges
for a total score of 21. were unanimous in praising Rennick’s
Maslin and Go cha-cha’d to “Shut wonderful footwork and execution of
Up and Dance,” which had the audi- the dance, with Foster saying, “This
ence clapping along, especially to is what I love to see; full of technique
Maslin’s shimmying solo. Foster said and the frame was on point.”
“Wow! Finally, a dance filled with Jay Ganzi and Shari Tessier ended
technique and footwork!” She re- the competition with a smooth fox-
ceived the first 10 of the evening and trot, with Cornell calling him the
a score of 28. most dapper man on the stage and the
Bob Brunjes and Beth Shestak used CONTINUED ON PAGE 21
8
9 10
DANCING CAPTIONS
7. Beth Shestak and Bob Brunjes. 8. Steve Rennick and Karren Walter. 9. Jay Ganzi and Shari
Tessier. 10. Dana Baker and Robert Scott. 11. Bev Paris (standing), with Dee Rose-Imbro, Judy
Cornell, Chirs Foster and Ross Cotherman.
20 Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
PEOPLE
12 17 18
13 15 20
14 16 19 21
22 23
24 25
DANCING CAPTIONS
12. Brenda Lloyd, Kathleen Cain and Karen Franke. 13. Marianella Tobar, Paul Tripaldi,
Cindy O’Dare, Joe Wynes, Anya Christina and Dr. Marc McCain. 14. Keith Baker and
daughter Aubrey with 15. Dr. Denise Pieczynski and Craig Galvin. 16. Chuck Evans, Dr.
Susan O’Toole-Evans, Lily O’Dare and Brian Koenigsberg. 17. Connie and Ross Cotherman.
18. Emily and Dr. Glenn Tremml. 19. Winncy Schlitt, Shelby Harrison, Jennifer Mills and Crystal
Lemly. 20. Dunsleys Valladares, Marianella Tobar, Belinda Girmonde, Paul Tripaldi, Shelley Adelle
and Richard Giessert. 21. Ginny and Austin Hunt, Leah Sewell and Crystal Lemley. 22. Sue and
John Kehoe with Hamp and Valerie Elliott. 23. Jon Moses, Beth Shestak and Mark Wygonik.
24. Carrie Marquez, Katie Oess, Tanya Hyde and Maria Klipstine. 25. Erika Esposito; Nicki Maslin,
Kristin Dayton and Alicia Hjalmeby.
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 21
PEOPLE
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19 jubilant Maslin. “I got my jitters out at press,” said HSC Executive Director Elliott ended the evening by thank-
dress rehearsal and tonight we were Kathie Cain of the efforts of danc- ing the committee and co-chairs
other two judges agreeing. Ganzi said here to help a good cause. Healthy ers and volunteers to support local Adam Chrzan and Karen Franke, jok-
it was the best thing he had done for Start contributes to every child here mothers and babies. “These people ing that Franke, last year’s winner,
himself in a long time. His final total in Vero Beach. It is such a great pro- are the heart and soul of a vibrant was so attached to her mirror ball
was another 21. gram.” community and are making a differ- that she had bought it its own seat in
ence.” the back row of the theater.
“We practiced for seven months, “My gratefulness is so hard to ex-
one to two hours every week,” said a
22 Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
PEOPLE
Judy Graves, Jeane Graves Bartlet and Janie Graves Hoover. Ahnna Suranofsky, Darren Cole, Jennifer Seton. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE Chelsea Miller, Erin Arena and Ashlee Diehl.
4-H Foundation earns all A’s in supporting youth
BY CHRISTINA TASCON event paid tribute to the late Hubert Mark Tripson and Kristen Tripson. Joy Nottage,
Staff Writer Graves Jr. Becky Seton, and
and Janie Graves Hoover accepted Barbara Langdon
Members of some of Vero Beach’s “Mr. Graves was a lifelong sup- a dedication plaque awarded on
oldest families attended the Indi- porter of 4-H in Indian River Coun- behalf of their father. Additional
an River County 4-H Foundation’s ty,” said 4-H President Ahnna Sura- awards were presented to ardent
eighth annual Cocktail Party & Auc- nofsky, noting that when he passed 4-H supporters Audrey Sexton and
tion last Thursday evening at the away, many people donated money Samuel Adams.
Courthouse Executive Center. In ad- to the organization in his memory.
dition to raising money to support “These funds will be used for our “4-H was so important to him
4-H youth and offset the expenses Youth Leadership Programs to send because he grew up in Vero and Wa-
they incur for various activities 4-H’ers to Camp Cloverleaf this basso growing citrus and his dad had
with the organization, this year’s year.” cattle,” said Judy Graves. “He was
in Future Farmers of America and
Judy Graves, Jeane Graves Bartlett 4-H; agriculture was just his life. He
went to every pig and steer auction at
the fair. That was the exciting thing said Davis. Her father, County
for us and my children – to go with
granddaddy to the auction.” C om m i s sioner Wesley Davis,
Although most equate 4-H with served as auctioneer for the event’s
farming, cattle and horse breeding,
the organization represents much live auction. “It also helps you feel
more to its devotees.
more a part of the community
“I was in 4-H from about 9 to when
I was 18,” said Rob Tripson, president through the community service we
of the Indian River Cattlemen’s As-
sociation. His son Will is now very do and brings all of us together.”
active with 4-H. “It builds character,
puts you in front of people and teach- Guests had been encouraged to
es you about responsibility with live-
stock and animals in general.” wear Kentucky Derby attire and many
Taylor Davis was a 4-H member of the women took the cue to wear
from 8 to 18, the maximum ages
allowed, and received numerous bonnets and colorful, floral dresses.
awards for the animals she raised
each year for the Steer Show at the In- Guests enjoyed cocktails and a buffet
dian River County Firefighter’s Fair.
of hors d’oeuvres while perusing a long
“It taught me leadership, a sense of
responsibility and gave me a sense wall of tables filled with silent auction
of purpose on what I wanted to do,”
items. The event raised approximately
$10,000 after expenses, which will help
underwrite some of the programs and
activities of the 259 Indian River Coun-
ty 4-H members.
“Club members may also request
scholarships from us too,” said Vice
President Jennifer Seton. “The money
we raise sends kids to camp to teach
them leadership skills, teamwork and
community service.”
“This is so important because all
of the funds go to our youth. It is
bettering the next generation, so
who cannot get excited about that?”
asked Suranofsky.
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 23
1 PEOPLE
2
3 68
49
4-H CAPTIONS
1. Tom Fretwell and Jacque Stevens with Dawn
and Kevin Peavy. 2. Tiffany Tripson, Taylor
Davis, Tonya Davis, and Patrice Campbell.
3. Vinny and Diane Parentela. 4. Tamara
Zaharczuk, Amanda Murdock and Tanya Darress.
5. Chris Black, Lisa Snycersky, Shelly Ferger,
and Michael Black. 6. Pat Profeta, Joanne
Bartolucci, and Katie Profeta. 7. John and
Patrice Campbell. 8. Lynn Foster and Jeff
5 7 Luther. 9. Rob Tripson and Wesley Davis.
24 Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
PEOPLE
What drive! 4 raise $4K in 72-hole golf odyssey
Dave Haller, Darren Sylvia, Michael Hauser and Andrew Hartline. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE Dave Haller teeing off, with Michael Hauser, Andrew Hartline and Darren Sylvia.
Four local businessmen and golfing buddies – Michael Hauser, Andrew Hartline, Dave Haller and Darren Sylvia – sweated it out last Sunday as mem-
bers of their own “72 Club,” playing 72 holes of golf at four country clubs. If that weren’t enough, they did it the hard way – walking the course while
carrying their own bags. The four walked roughly 26 miles, sitting down only for the drives between courses. The foursome began at dawn at the Vero
Beach Country Club before moving on to John’s Island Club and Riomar Country Club, finishing as the sun set over the lagoon at the Moorings Yacht
and Country Club. This is the third time they’ve attempted to test their drive – pun intended – while in the process raising more than $4,000 to benefit
the Indian River Golf Foundation, where Hauser is a board member. Funds raised will help provide access to young people who would not otherwise
be able to play.
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 25
PEOPLE
26 Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
PEOPLE
Triathletes give their all for leukemia/lymphoma cause
4
5
1. John Reback wins first place for the second
year in a year row. 2. Drs. Rob Reinauer and
David O’Brien. 3. Tomas Botero and Martha
Berrio. 4. Jackie McKinnon and Linda Soresi.
5. Karen and Kendall Schlitt. 6. Gerri, Maggie
Stacey and Jonathan Zedek. 7. Dr. Dan Rukeyser,
Ashley Kemler, Jerry Kyckelhahn and Dr. Kurt
Barnhill. 8. Ramon and Karen Echeverria with
daughter Aimee 9. Maryjo, Bruce and Sandy
Bevard. 10. John and Alice Kirby.
PHOTOS: PHIL SUNKEL
Friends, families and onlook-
ers lined the beach, boardwalk
and roadways Sunday morning,
cheering on participants as they
1 swam, biked and ran to bring
awareness to the fight against
2 blood cancers through the sixth
annual LLS Conquistadores Tri-
athlon to benefit the Leukemia
& Lymphoma Society. More than
100 participants, including sev-
eral survivors, competed in the
USAT Sanctioned Sprint Triath-
lon, inspired equally by the chal-
lenge and the wonderful cause.
Racers bounded into the surf at
Jaycee Park for a fast 500-meter
ocean swim, followed by a 12.4-
mile bike race along A1A and
3.1-mile run along Ocean Drive.
Proceeds from the event will help
combat blood cancers through
research, education and patient
3 programs.
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 27
PEOPLE
67
8
9
10
28 Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
PEOPLE
Lionfish? One way to beat ’em ... is to eat ’em!
Jessica Newton with Captain Hiram’s adds a finishing sauce to the plates. PHOTOS: LEAH DUBOIS
BY MARY SCHENKEL
Staff Writer
Sometime around 1985, lionfish Costa d’Este serves up lionfish ceviche. Alfredo Arce and Megan Zerba with Costa d’Este
joined the ranks of thousands of Crystal Wright and Ashleigh Bates with Mulligans Grill.
other non-native fish, wildlife and – the inaugural Sebastian Lionfish
plant species that are negatively im- Fest: Making Delicious Dishes from
pacting Florida’s ecosystems. And, Destructive Fishes, which also fea-
like the aggressive pythons released tured a lionfish diving tournament.
into the Everglades, the invasive The event was put together by Ken-
lionfish are yet another caution- dra Cope, sea turtle coordinator and
ary tale demonstrating how human environmental specialist for Indian
carelessness can wreak havoc on the River County Public Works, along
environment. with volunteers from numerous gov-
ernmental and environmental orga-
Two years ago the Florida Fish and nizations.
Wildlife Conservation Commission
(FWC) established the first Satur-
day after Mother’s Day as annual
Lionfish Removal and Awareness
Day, encouraging events around the
state to heighten awareness of the
problem. One of those took place
this past Saturday at Capt. Hiram’s
Don’t get nervous, call Scott Tree Services
SCOTT TREE BILL BARRY
SERVICES
CERTIFIED ARBORIST
CELL: 772-473-7150
OFFICE: 772-569-3874
OAK TREE SPECIALIST
TREE CARE, MOVING & CLEARING
LANDSCAPE & DESIGN SERVICES
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 29
PEOPLE
Lionfish, which have no signifi- the event, each preparing the fish in a ers or Kountry Kitchen’s simple fish In addition to demonstrating safe
cant natural predators, are rapidly variety of styles and offering up gen- skewers with bacon and tomato on filleting techniques (using caution to
expanding their range while deci- erous servings to roughly 250 hungry a lettuce leaf. Host restaurant Capt. avoid the venomous spines along dor-
mating the native fish population diners. The Wave at Costa d’Este and Hiram’s served up delightful lionfish sal, pelvic and anal fins), researchers
along the way. Humans are about the The Old Fish House served two tasty and seaweed salad nachos. from the Marine Lab were setting
only way to control their spread, so to versions of ceviche. Citrus Grillhouse aside inedible bits and pieces such as
assist with their eradication there are highlighted the delicate taste of the “My favorite was Citrus Grillhouse, guts and eyes for later analysis.
no fishing licenses required or sea- white, flaky fish, searing and serving but I have to say, I liked it all. I’m
sonal/size/number limits and they it over lemony pasta. Carb lovers and glad I came up to do this,” said Grant “This is a lesson to all of us that
really do taste pretty good. dieters were equally satisfied, en- Withers, an Environmental Learning we shouldn’t release our pets into
joying Mulligan’s fried lionfish slid- Center volunteer. the wild because of the potential
Six local restaurants participated in consequences,” said FWC’s Jeff Beal.
The ELC was one of a number of “It’s most important to not release
organizations – including FAU Har- destructive species. We encourage
bor Branch Oceanographic Institute, people to turn the animals in respon-
the Vero Beach FIT Marine Lab, Keep sibly, and we have pet amnesty days
Indian River Beautiful and the Indi- where people can bring us pets they
an River Lagoon Aquatic Preserves – no longer want.”
which partnered for the event.
George and Betty McLean with Linda and Edward Belchy.
LIONFISH PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 30
Zak Schmitz preps food for Kountry Kitchen.
30 Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
PEOPLE
LIONFISH PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29
Don Pinder with The Old Fish House hands off a plate.
Eddie Trusty preps plates for Citrus Grill. Six restaurants compete for tastiest dish.
Sam, Linda and Emily Chancellor with Sam Green.
Joan Patota with Denice and Joe Kowalski.
32 Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
ARTS & THEATRE
She’s got the beat! Kosal a premier percussionist
BY MICHELLE GENZ Christie Kosal works with Laura Greenwood on
Staff Writer how to hold the mallets. PHOTOS BY PHIL SUNKEL
When Christie Kosal teaches at Vero
Beach High School, she is rarely without
a mallet. Not that she’s rapping knuck-
les, though if that sound were appeal-
ing, she might.
Kosal, who doubles as the cho-
ral teacher at Gifford Middle School,
teaches percussion at the high school.
Her charge is the group known as front
ensemble, the stationary section of the
marching band. Along with timpani,
she specializes in the marimba, a wood-
and-metal, table-size instrument on a
frame that gets rolled onto the field be-
fore game time.
For her advanced students, she holds
two mallets in each hand, manipulating
them like chopsticks over the wooden
keys of the marimba. Once the mallet is
over a key, the player must strike the key
at the right instant, changing intervals
between mallets to play chords. “Four
mallets doubles that challenge,” Kosal
says.
Marimba soloists like Kosal were a
rarity until the 1980s or so. Specialized
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 33
ARTS & THEATRE
school, there was no orchestra program. bass drum, tambourine and cymbals.
Already feeling lost after a mid-semes- By the second year, though, she was
ter transfer – she needed a school with learning marimba.
A.P. classes – Kosal realized that what
she was still missing was music. As it turned out, the public school
music program would help her
“I was sitting in art class next door through a very rough ninth-grade
to the band room, and I could hear the year. Her pricey private violin lessons
band playing, and I knew I just wanted fell by the wayside when Christie’s
to play music. So I went over to the band father, fighting hepatitis C, needed
director and said ‘I can read music.’ He a liver transplant. He got one, at UF
put me in the front ensemble and the Health Shands Hospital, and his care
marching band. I had no clue what I was there moved Kosal to vow she would
doing when I joined, and I just started to one day be a UF graduate.
love it.”
“My father had an extra year of life
That first year, like most beginning because of a liver transplant at UF
percussion students, she played only
CONTINUED ON PAGE 34
teachers of marimba are still uncom- played “Me Tarzan”; chest-pounding
mon, though, increasingly, colleges are figured prominently in the piece. Kosal,
requiring percussion students to in- in the part of Jane, was at an obvious
clude the instrument in their studies. disadvantage.
Managing the mallets is phenome- “I didn’t have the very best, uh, stom-
nally tricky to teach, she says. Kids start ach,” she says. “The boys had a deeper
out with two, learning the layout of the sound.”
notes. But she pushes hard to get them
to four, a wrist-twisting, elbows-akimbo She did, however, get a standing ova-
feat of rhythmic nimbleness. tion in a multi-percussion piece called
“Sex in the Kitchen,” a fierce 12-minute
“This is the world now, it’s about the drum duet that included her cracking
four mallets,” she says, as if percussion a whip and sending a table set for two
were their destiny. clattering to the stage floor.
For her, it certainly has been. A 2014 Along with timpani, which she played
cum laude graduate of the University in the UF Orchestra, Kosal is a star on
of Florida in music education, Kosal the marimba.
next month will be teaching for the sec-
ond year at the Treasure Coast Percus- Related to the xylophone and vibra-
sion Camp. The remarkable week-long phone, the marimba shares its origins
camp held at Vero Beach High School in Africa and Central America. Its four
brings in clinicians from around the to five octaves of wooden bars span a
country, ranging from a former mem- frame the width of a dining room table.
ber of the Blue Man Group to university Beneath each key hangs a finely tuned
professors. metal tube through which the sound
resonates.
Launched 12 years ago by Vero na-
tives Brandon Putzke and Michael In the last century, that rich, ringing
Sammons, the camp has drawn up to tone, mellowed by a softer mallet or
165 students per session. Instructors punctuated with a harder one, has in-
teach everything from marching band spired composers of not only jazz but
to world music on a vast array of instru- contemporary classical repertoire to
ments – including their own bodies. create new music for the marimba.
That last technique, called body per- In childhood, Kosal studied violin.
cussion, was part of Kosal’s senior recital She excelled at in her middle school or-
at UF. A quartet of body percussionists chestra in Spring Hill, a small city north
of Tampa. But when she started high
34 Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33 ARTS & THEATRE
Shands,” she says. “Ever since then, I’ve ing music at Glendale Elementary, instrument she grew to love, but that fessor citing the 10 triangle strikes in a
had this loyalty to UF.” Kosal teaches chorus at Gifford Middle was utterly unforgiving of mistakes. passage of the “William Tell Overture.”
School, in addition to teaching percus- “You’re way in the back and you prac- All must be played softly and all have to
Admitted as a civil engineering and sion at Vero High. ticed and practiced and you know sound the same. “You play one, and you
physics major, Kosal again found her- your part backwards and forwards think, OK, that was good, and you try to
self at loose ends. “Freshman year was In both arenas, it’s easy for her to re- and it doesn’t matter. You know you’re play another just like it, but it comes out
a very difficult year for me. I kept want- member the hardest thing about learn- going to make a mistake and the con- loud. So you go to play the third note
ing to go home every weekend and go to ing to perform: taking criticism well. ductor’s going to stop the group and and you think, do I play it the same, or
high school football games and visit my Particularly in percussion, where “usu- embarrass you. It happens every re- like the first one? You think oh, it’s just
band director,” she says. “Something ally you are the loudest, loudest person hearsal. And you get over it.” a triangle. But that’s what’s going on in
was not right.” in the entire group,” getting used to em- our heads.”
barrassment is an essential skill. Even something as simple-looking as
In an attempt to feel a part of things, the triangle can be a maddening instru- Once, she was playing crash cymbals
she joined the rowing club. The training She describes the anxiety of play- ment to perform on. She tells of a pro- next to a friend playing the triangle. To-
included 5-mile runs, and though she ing timpani for the UF Orchestra, an gether they had to count 140 rests to
runs marathons now, she hated run- play the final notes in a movement, so
ning then. One day, the run took her they agreed to count silently and mouth
right past the practice field for the UF the numbers to each other. “All of a sud-
marching band. den, we’re mouthing different num-
bers.” As they watched the color drain
“I was miserable. I was almost ready from each other’s faces, they scrambled
to cry, I wanted to be out there so bad,” to pick up cues from other players. In
she recalls. the end, they hit their marks.
The next day, she quit crew and “If you make a mistake, the whole
joined the marching band. Among her world knows,” she says. “I’ve had my
professors was Dr. Kenneth Broadway, moments where the criticism was too
who was a clinician at the 2009 Treasure much and I’ve cried. But you have to
Coast Percussion Camp. strive to get over it. It’s not personal, and
it will make your music better.”
Today, along with a certificate in per-
formance, Kosal has a degree in music The Treasure Coast Percussion Camp
education which allows her to teach runs June 13 through 16. For more in-
any field of music from kindergarten formation, go to tcpercussioncamp.
through high school. Having taken com. The website, by the way, was en-
up the violin again in college, she can tirely redesigned this year by Kosal, and
teach orchestra as well as band. She now includes online registration.
also discovered a love for choral con-
ducting, and today, after a year teach-
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 35
ARTS & THEATRE
Coming Up: Out-of-this-world art … and ‘Moon’ howlin’
BY MICHELLE GENZ
Staff Writer
1 It’s summer, and the great weight
of high-brow cultural offerings is
lifting, as if to offset the oppressive heat
and humidity. The two remaining art ex-
hibits at the Vero Beach Museum of Art
are about to be packed up – this is the
last weekend to see the Oscar Bluemner
exhibit, and Martin Johnson Heade’s
landscapes and still lifes come down
June 5.
After that, it’s playtime. For two of the
three exhibits this summer, museum
staff got to dig into their permanent col-
lection like kids in a toy box and they’ve Upcoming exhibits, starting June 4, at the Vero Beach Museum of Art.
pulled out enough to fill two galleries.
One will feature a cross-section of works;
what they have in common is that they a former car mechanic from New Jer-
sey turned comedian, who headlines
were each acquired after being part of Friday and Saturday night’s Comedy
Zone at Riverside Theatre. It’s the sec-
solo exhibitions held over the museum’s ond of its Summer Nights-themed
evenings. Before the show starts in the
30-year history. Waxlax, you can stretch out under the
oaks and listen to live music while Riv-
The other gallery will show off the ex- erside manages the bar and the grill.
As for the bands, Friday, it’s Southern
tent of the permanent collection’s works Exposure; Saturday, the Jacks are play-
ing. Both do a variety of styles of rock.
of studio glass including pieces by Dale
Chihuly and Harvey Littleton.
Both of those shows start June 4. Then,
June 16 in the Holmes Gallery, the mu-
seum looks beyond its earthly limits to
the largesse of NASA, which is sharing its
collection of space-related art, including
one by Andy Warhol. Commissioned Orlando’s Howl at the Moon is coming to 4 While you have to wait a week for
Riverside Theatre this June. Howl at the Moon at Riverside,
or collected by the space agency since
1962, the idea was to make its highly CONTINUED ON PAGE 36
technical mission more accessible to the
masses.
2 Riverside Theatre is also lighten-
ing up its summer offerings – not
that its splashy musicals are ever heavy,
but the new Howl at the Moon events
starting next month allow for audience
participation beyond the usual stand-
ing ovation.
Howl at the Moon, a dueling piano
singalong with a playlist generated
by audience requests, has become a
national phenomenon. Riverside has
teamed up with the Orlando Howl to
bring the musicians here. It’s bound to
be a far cry from the International Drive
set – tons of stranger-in-a-strange-land
tourists, as compared to everybody-
knows-everybody Vero Beach. I’m
thinking familiarity would breed hilari-
ty. Hopefully for the pianists, it will also
generate good tips – which is what you
attach to your request if you want to up
your chances of hearing it.
The bi-monthly event will rotate with
Comedy Zone on theWaxlax stage, with
the black-box theater set up cabaret-
style with a full bar and snacks menu.
3 Meanwhile, there’s comedy this
weekend from Frank Del Pizzo,
36 Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
ARTS & THEATRE
Lee Hunter and Joey Kerr will be perfoming at Coconut Point in Sebastian Saturday.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35 the Copper Tones up from Fort Lauder-
dale playing a pretty delightful sound
this Saturday evening you can howl at they call Soulgrass. Formed a couple
the moon with a folk duo, performing of years ago, vocalist Stephanie Smerk-
under the pavilions on Coconut Point ers plays a banjulele, which adds a nice
on the south side of Sebastian Inlet touch, and Dylann Thieme sings play-
State Park. The park’s Nightsounds se- ing upright bass. Those two went to
ries, timed to the full moon, this month high school together, though Smerkers
features songwriter and multi-instru- sang jazz and Thieme played bluegrass.
mentalist Lee Hunter, who performed They’re joined by a drummer with a
for many years with guitarist Arvid background in punk, Andy Annoied.
Smith as Tammerlin. She’s now joined
by Joey Kerr, himself a songwriter who If you can’t make it Friday, you can
sings and plays guitar and mandolin. catch the Copper Tones later this sum-
He won the Gram Parsons Guitar Pull mer when they come back to Vero Aug.
and Tribute Festival Songwriting Con- 6 to play outside during one of River-
test in 2013. The moon rises over the side Theatre’s Comedy Zone nights.
water during the concert, which starts
at 7 p.m. Folding chairs are suggested, In Stuart on Saturday night, at the
and the nearby Island Grill sells hot lively outdoor bar Terra Fermata, a Latin
dogs, burgers and soft drinks. The con- fusion band from Miami is hosting an
cert is free with the park admission fee. album launch celebration. The Jupiter-
based, six-piece Moska Project is releas-
5 If you like a brew or two with your ing its latest album, Cuatro, that day.
roots music, Friday night at the It plays from 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. The
East Coast Reggae jam band Treehouse
Kilted Mermaid there’s a band called warms up the crowd starting at 7 p.m.
The Copper Tones are coming to the Kilted Mermad Friday night.
38 Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
INSIGHT COVER STORY
While other countries turn Syrian refugees
away, Canadians are taking them home
In Canada, citizens help Syrian refugees settle in tions. That makes sponsors feel helping refugees will
benefit Canada. “For most of us, it wasn’t charity – it’s
BY ROBIN SHULMAN | THE WASHINGTON POST “I have absolutely never seen anything like this in more like city-building,” says Ashley.
my entire career in the public service,” says Sarita
TORONTO – Amir Al Jabouli leads the way, hold- Bhatla, Canada’s director of refugees. “Our group is pretty young, a lot of young profession-
ing his Samsung phone out into the snowfall with his als downtown,” she says. Many, like Amir and Raghda,
bare right hand. The instructions the speakerphone In the United States – which has the largest refu- have young kids, and that will make it easy for the new-
emits are barely audible in the whir of the wind. But gee resettlement program in the world but does not comers and the sponsors to connect, Ashley says. But
Amir is focused. permit private sponsorship – lawmakers and refugee there are differences. Amir is a butcher. Raghda mar-
advocates are watching Canada. The U.S. is taking in ried Amir when she was 14. They are scarred from the
“Turn right in 200 meters,” comes the tinny, digi- about 10,000 Syrian refugees this fiscal year, but some war. “The surprise is that they are wonderful people,”
tized voice of Arabic Google Maps. say private citizens could do much more. A coalition says Ashley. “They’re open, fun people who we would
of organizations led by the libertarian Niskanen Cen- have been friends with in any circumstances.”
He turns, and so do his wife, Raghda Altellawi, and ter has been lobbying the White House for executive
their daughters, Ghena, 6, and Nagham, 5. The girls, action to authorize a scaled-back version of private Ali Khan helps Amir Al Jabouli adjust the fire alarm in Al Jabou-
who are wearing snow pants and bulky winter boots sponsorship. The center proposes that private donors li’s apartment in Toronto. Amir, wife Raghda Altellawi and their
for the first time, are struggling to walk. They laugh create a fund to cover costs of bringing refugees in ex- two children have settled in Canada after fleeing the conflict in
and grab each other’s hands. cess of the government quotas. There’s a precedent. In Syria. Ali is among thousands of Canadians who have banded
1986, President Ronald Reagan began a program that together to help resettle Syrian refugees.
They have just come to Canada as refugees from allowed private organizations to resettle 16,000 Soviet
the war in Syria, and this late winter day is their first Jews and Cubans – but it was not renewed. The idea to bring a Syrian family to Canada had
day of school. It is not only the girls’ first day of school taken shape slowly. Thirty-two-year-old Ashley
in Canada, but their first ever. Ghena and Nagham Meanwhile, in the borderless era of Facebook fun- Hilkewich, a nonprofit manager, first brought it up
were just babies when fighting closed schools in their draising, U.S. citizens interested in sponsoring Syr- in August. “Then she went quiet,” says her husband,
home town of Homs. After surviving siege, bombard- ian refugees have been donating money to Canadian Ali Khan, 43 and a director at Sun Life Financial. The
ment and Amir’s kidnapping, they fled to Lebanon, groups. Tens of thousands of Americans have also timing wasn’t great: Their daughter, Aria, was only 18
where school was out of reach for many Syrians. Now offered help to U.S. resettlement agencies, the orga- months old, and Ashley had recently started a new
Nagham is starting junior kindergarten and Ghena, nizations the federal government contracts to help job. Evenings were a dash to get home from work, get
first grade. Twenty-two-year-old Raghda and 31-year- dinner on the table and get Aria to sleep. There hardly
old Amir, who left school in seventh and ninth grades, “For most of us, it wasn’t charity – seemed time to support another family.
respectively, are starting full-time English classes. it’s more like city-building,” one volunteer says.
Then the body of 3-year-old Alan Kurdi washed
The snow looks beautiful to Amir, a clean white refugees begin new lives. Watching Canada, refugee up on the shores of Turkey. The image of the Syr-
sheet over a dirty world. Every footstep makes a fresh advocates wonder: What if there was a mechanism ian child face-down in the sand, the Velcro still fas-
imprint. It’s how he feels about all of life in Canada. to translate these offers of help into direct action? tened on his tiny shoes, appeared around the world.
Could the ability of regular people to take action in- Soon it emerged that the child’s extended family had
“I feel reborn,” he has been saying since he landed ject goodwill throughout the society? tried and failed to join relatives in Canada through a
in Toronto 10 days earlier. Of course, there are details stalled private sponsorship, after the policies of for-
to figure out. No one in the family speaks English. Instead, they battle a host of anti-refugee mea- mer Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper
They have no jobs. And they know almost no one. sures, inspired by vitriolic political rhetoric and fear had created delays. That failure cut to a core sense of
that terrorists posing as refugees could sneak into national identity. Were Canadians a people that re-
But they do have a network of people poised to the country. sponded to the greatest refugee crisis in decades by
help. A group of strangers brought them to Canada, turning a blind eye? The consensus was: no.
using a private sponsorship process that has become Amir and Raghda’s sponsors see their effort as
a global model and that some refugee advocates in more of an investment than a risk. None has any di- Ashley and Ali are practical people, a double MBA
the United States want to replicate. The program rect connection to Syria. Many were born in Canada household of project managers who set up a daily
places the power of selecting, financing and reset- to parents who came from places like Portugal, Hong iPhone alert to get ready for bed. Ashley has pale blue
tling refugees in the hands of regular citizens, as long Kong and Pakistan, under the liberalized immigra- eyes and long blond hair, a solid authoritative beauty.
as the refugees clear Canadian government security, tion policies of Justin Trudeau’s father, Prime Min- She grew up in small-town Saskatchewan, where her
background and health checks. ister Pierre Trudeau. In a generation, those policies father, an oil-well operations manager, and her moth-
remade Toronto – once a genteel, strait-laced, Anglo- er, an accountant, taught her never to quit: “You don’t
So as Amir and Raghda navigate this new land- phile town – so that half the sprawling, tolerant city try to do things, you do them.” Ali is tall, shaggy-haired,
scape, they are not alone. Amir was able to access is foreign-born. Today, Canada ranks among the best slightly formal, himself an immigrant who grew up in
Google Maps because his sponsor Ali Khan had set countries in the world for integrating newcomers, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, where his parents ran a small
him up with a new phone and data plan. Sponsor according to an annual study of 38 developed na- garment manufacturing company. His mother would
Ashley Hilkewich had taken a day off work to take
them to an English assessment, and another sponsor
had registered the girls in school. For one year, Amir,
Raghda and the girls have the support of about 20 Ca-
nadian volunteers and 80 donors.
In December, the world saw images of Prime Min-
ister Justin Trudeau welcoming the first planeload of
incoming refugees from Syria in the Toronto airport,
telling them, “You are home. Welcome home.” But
as many as 10,000 of the more than 26,000 Syrians
who have arrived in Canada so far are being privately
sponsored by groups of regular Canadians – a dog-
walking group, a book club, a choir, officemates, block
associations. Young families offer up basement apart-
ments and retirees donate housewares from the attic.
Resettling refugees has become a national project.
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 39
INSIGHT COVER STORY
talk about helping the impoverished seamstresses in objects. Still, they appreciate all their sponsors At the end of the school day, Amir and Raghda
who did piecework. It gave him an impulse to “iden- thought to provide. pick up the girls.
tify the privilege we have and find a way of sharing it.”
“I’m nervous,” says Amir on this first day of Eng- Secord Elementary School has a happy, bright
So in December, when Ali and Ashley’s 62-year-old lish class. A lot depends on their school success. Will energy. Teachers speak with cheerful authority, and
housekeeper mentioned that she was sponsoring a they learn to communicate enough to make their children listen. The school has a reputation for great
Syrian family with members of her church – and had way in this new place? Will they make good on all teaching. There’s a protocol for screening refugees.
helped raise $20,000 selling chicken on a bun – Ash- their sponsors have invested?
ley thought, “If she can do this, we can do this.” “I asked, ‘Have you seen war?’” says Jane May, an
Amir has shepherded his family through three reloca- English-as-a-second-language teacher who did in-
Ashley worked out the math with her sister, Mal- tions since the war began. Small, handsome and capa- take when Ghena and Nagham registered, acknowl-
lory Hilkewich, a 28-year-old social work student, ble, he prides himself on being able to figure things out edging that often, the worst does not come out.
and Ali. They would need $35,000. How many people easily: Even when he doesn’t understand the English all
would they have to ask to commit $100 a month over around him, he watches people’s faces and gestures. In the morning, Raghda and Amir had left Nagham
12 months? On Dec. 20, they sent an email to friends. standing alone on the playground while the other ju-
People responded instantly, saying, “Thank you, I Ali often tells Amir and Raghda, through a Google nior kindergarten children played together. Nagham
was thinking of getting involved, but I didn’t know Translate app on his phone, “You’re going to be su- – whose entire life has been war and who has rarely
how,” says Ali. “This is what I do professionally. I’m a perstars in Canada.” been without family – climbed up a ladder all by her-
fundraiser,” Ashley adds. “I can tell you, people don’t self, then slid down a snowy slide.
usually thank you for asking them for money.” By the But the language gap is hard.
end of January, they had $50,000. “When I have my family around me, I’m okay,” After school, she throws herself into her mother’s
Amir says. “But when I’m out in the world, something arms. “Everyone talked to me in English, and I just
Any five or more citizens can form a group to always keeps me apart.” answered with nonsense,” she reports.
bring refugees to Canada. The group must write a
settlement plan dozens of pages long, specifying who Raghda Altellawi and Amir Al Jabouli visit a local supermarket Ghena, on the other hand, had a great day. “My
will perform tasks such as pick the family up at the with their sponsor Ali Khan. friends brought me presents!” she announces. The
airport, find a dentist and provide social support. In- teacher had organized the kids to bring welcome gifts.
stead, Ashley chose a less bureaucratic path through Early on, Raghda talked about her future with Ashley.
Humanity First, a volunteer-run organization that She had never imagined she would finish high school, Nagham looks at her sister, frowning. “No one
can serve as the official sponsor. learn a trade or attend university, but Ashley said these brought me presents.”
things were possible. “She told me I’m young, I can
A real estate agent in their group found a basement learn, I can work,” says Raghda – as though saying the As they pass Dentonia Park on the way home, Ragh-
apartment in a neighborhood of pristine brick hous- words made them true. da sees a six-foot snowman. She runs to wrap her arms
es and high-rise apartments. It was across the street around its snowball belly. The girls follow. Then Ragh-
from the Victoria Park subway station, and cheap Now she and Amir walk up to the building that da lies on her back to make a snow angel, and Amir
enough, at about $830 a month, that after the spon- houses Danforth Language Instruction for New- and the girls tumble down into the snow with her.
sorship year, the family still might be able to afford it. comers to Canada building, in a nondescript strip
mall by a Tim Hortons coffee shop. She grins and “I can’t believe I’m actually here,” Raghda says.
On Jan. 31, Ashley called the director of Human- does a little jig as she stomps snow off her boots on
ity First to say they would be ready for a family by the welcome mat. Amir and Raghda come from Homs, Syria’s third-
March. He said, “You have housing? We have a family largest city. Amir grew up in the Old City, in a stone
arriving this week!” Her excitement dims as she and Amir word- house built hundreds of years ago from the distinc-
lessly approach the fluorescent-lit front desk. They tive local black basalt. His father and grandfather
“Ashley called me on Sunday at 10:30 at night,” have no English words to say. The receptionist asks were butchers. As a child, the enterprising Amir set
says Janice Sousa, a group member. “She said, ‘Can if they’re here to start classes, and presents forms to up little businesses – he and his older brother Mo-
we get our act together?’ I said, ‘Yeah, we can do it.’ ” fill out. “Oh, you’re brand new!” she says, as Amir and hanad bought fava beans in bulk and cooked them,
Raghda stare in silence at the Latin letters. or cactus fruits, and cut them up, and sold them on
Janice filled an online registry with everything she the street in single-serve portions at profit. Amir, who
could imagine a family of four would need to set up Finally, Amir picks up a pen to fill out his address: wanted to be just like his father and older brothers,
house, and she blasted her contacts with requests to “VKTORA PARK,” he spells, laboriously, for Victoria would ask, “Can I go to work with you?” At age 9, he
donate. “I said, ‘I will drive anywhere in southwestern Park. Arabic writing does not include most vowels, started learning how to break down meat. In grade
Ontario to come pick anything up.” She took a day off and he’s transliterating the language in his head. nine, he left school to work full time as a butcher.
from work and rented a van to manage a dozen pickups.
Their new teacher, Catherine Porter, sits them Raghda, center, attends an English-language class in Toronto.
The night before Amir and Raghda were sched- down for a conversational assessment. “Good morn-
uled to arrive, eight people gathered to put together ing,” says Porter, who wears large glasses and carries Eventually Amir got a job in the government slaugh-
their apartment. her keys on a cord around her neck. Raghda says, terhouse where Raghda’s father worked. When he
“Good morning.” Then Porter turns to Amir. “How asked about marriage, Raghda was only 14. “I liked
What makes a place feel like home? Everyone, it are you?” she asks. Flustered, he repeats just what him from the first time I saw him,” says Raghda. They
turns out, has a different idea. Janice knew her own Raghda said: “Good morning.” got officially engaged. “Then I fell in love with him,”
parents, Portuguese immigrants, had missed familiar she says. Amir likes to joke, “We got married in a
foods. She had heard that cumin is as essential to a Partway through the assessment, Amir furrows his butcher shop!”
Syrian dinner table as salt and pepper, so she went brow and looks away into middle distance, his jaw
on a mission to find a cumin shaker. Another group tightening. Porter gives him an encouraging smile. After the wedding, they lived with Amir’s family in a
member picked up pastel decals of owls for the girls’ modern apartment in the Fairouzeh suburb just south-
bedroom. Mallory helped other sponsors fill a cup- “Your English, for my class, is in the middle,” she east of Homs. “They became my second family,” Ragh-
board with coffee mugs and plates. tells them. Suddenly, Amir smiles too. “Good start,” da says of Amir’s parents. “It was one of the things my
she says. “You both have a good start.”
The homemaking was imperfect. Owls are con- CONTINUED ON PAGE 42
sidered bad luck in Syria. Cumin is well-used, but
no one sprinkles it raw on food at the table. Syrians
rarely drink coffee or tea from mugs.
And Amir and Raghda had their own ideas about
making the apartment homey. In three suitcases, they
brought 18 tiny clear glass cups for serving tea –“We like
to see the color of the tea,” Amir says. They also brought
a pestle, blue plastic children’s plates decorated with
cartoon birds, a favorite spice mix and nigella seeds.
Ask them what really provides a sense of home,
and they talk about the people they miss. They left
almost everything they own behind; they are people
who have already decided that home is not located
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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 39 INSIGHT COVER STORY
husband loved about me: I get used to things easily.” leaving his lower body paralyzed, Amir says. By the time they arrived, Amir was working seven
Ghena was born when Raghda was only 15. Then Amir’s father urged him to leave the country. days a week for 12 or more hours a day, and living
with seven relatives in a three-bedroom apartment.
Nagham came just after Raghda’s 17th birthday. And Neighbors were clearing out, heading to Jordan and Raghda began caring for Osama, Amir’s paralyzed
in March 2011, when Nagham was just a few months Turkey, and some were attempting the sea passage brother. “I was so sad all the time,” she says. Amir
old, protests began. to Europe. Amir followed their journeys in real time had to renew their Lebanese residency visas ev-
on Facebook and using text messaging on WhatsApp. ery six months, until officials refused more renew-
“We didn’t go out; we were just watching,” says Some made it. But Amir had no interest in subjecting als. But Amir had to pay for rent, food and Osama’s
Amir. “Every week, we said, ‘This week, everything his family to risky border crossings. medication. He worked for months without papers
will be sorted out.’” But it wasn’t sorted out. Instead, and, several times, he was picked up and thrown in
“the events,” as Raghda and Amir call them, esca- Instead, they moved to the quiet city of Nabek, jail. He worried about Raghda and the girls. “He gets
lated. By the end of April, thousands were protesting halfway between Homs and Damascus. Amir got scared for me more than for himself, because I’m still
in Homs. By May, the army sent tanks. Opposition work as a butcher, and they rented a ground-floor young,” Raghda says. “He knows I’m older than my
forces consolidated and fought street battles. The apartment – safer, in case of bombing. age in years, but he still feels responsible.”
government launched airstrikes. “Is the army bomb-
ing us, Mommy?” Ghena would ask. After a peaceful year, the war came to Nabek, too. Amir and his brother Akram had both registered
One day, just before sunset, when relatives were vis- their families as refugees with the United Nations and
“I never stopped working,” Amir says. “I knew iting, the Syrian air force launched new strikes. Ragh- applied to be resettled in Canada. In August 2015,
which way to take to get to work, I knew where there da tried to distract the children with games. Suddenly, Amir got a phone call requesting a screening inter-
were snipers, I knew how to avoid them.” He would a flash as bright as lightning filled the airshaft. There view. Then there were medical checks, background
deliver meat with his brother Mohanad in a small was an enormous boom, the windows shattered, and checks and a two-hour interview at the Canadian Em-
white Suzuki truck. the foundation of the building shook. “My sister’s kids bassy. Where does your sister live? How did she meet her
were so scared, they had diarrhea,” Amir says. husband? Did you go to demonstrations? Did you ever
One day, Amir and Mohanad turned a corner and The top floor of the building had been hit. hold a gun? Meanwhile, Akram and his family were
drove right into a phalanx of 60 armed men, part of a Soon afterward, they decided to move back to Homs. approved and traveled to Canada in October. Then
pro-government Alawite militia. They shot up the van “The only thing left standing in Homs when we got Amir got word that his family was approved, too.
and held Amir and his brother hostage, Amir says, hop- back was the sign, ‘Welcome to Homs,’” Amir says wry-
ing for an exchange for their own men. “I don’t want ly. In eerily empty, rubbled streets, war damage had left Late into the night, Amir and Raghda plotted their
to talk about the torture,” Amir says. He went in two many buildings as transparent and flimsy as lace. Amir lives in Canada. “We said as soon as we arrive, we’d
months from 150 pounds to 120 pounds. By the time was afraid to leave the house. “My country is a place start learning English and enroll the girls in school,”
he was freed, says Raghda, “He was skin and bones.” where you can find bodies in garbage cans,” he says. Raghda says. “Even if I have to act like I’m deaf and
“I never in my life imagined leaving Syria,” says mute and learn the language from the beginning – I
Others suffered worse. Two of Raghda’s brothers Raghda. “But we couldn’t live that way.” can do that,” Amir says.
were forced into conscription and one disappeared, They decided Amir would go alone to Tripoli and
she and Amir say; one of Amir’s brothers was killed in test the waters. On his second day, he got a job as a The Canadian government chartered a bus to
a bombing. Another of Amir’s brothers, Osama, was butcher for a new restaurant. In a few weeks, he had bring them and other Syrians from Tripoli to Beirut,
walking down the street when a mortar shell struck money to send for his family. then a plane to transport them to Amman, Jordan,
nearby, spewing shrapnel, including a piece that
lodged between his tenth and eleventh vertebrae,
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 43
INSIGHT COVER STORY
and another to Montreal. Finally, Amir, Raghda and their final destination was the mid-sized Canadian By the end of the first week, Raghda is dominat-
the girls boarded a commercial flight to Toronto. city of London. ing her English class. “What color is the food?” Porter
asks the students, pointing to a picture of an avoca-
One woman cried the entire flight. Ghena and Only in the Toronto airport did they learn a group of do. “Green!” Raghda calls out. Her amber eyes lock
Nagham watched cartoons, clutching teddy bears Canadians was waiting to meet them, that these peo- onto the teacher’s face. “Oranges: Are they a fruit or a
they had carried from Syria. People had only foggy ple were offering a year of financial support, logistical vegetable?” “Fruit!” Raghda answers, as though she’s
ideas about their new lives. Some said, “We’re go- help and friendship. “We were in disbelief,” Amir says.
ing to England, not coming with you” – not realizing CONTINUED ON PAGE 44
“It restored my faith in humanity,” says Raghda.
44 Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 43 INSIGHT COVER STORY
on a game show, racing to hit the buzzer. “Very good, yuck. Instead of regular flour, she bought corn flour, Recently, Bhatla, Canada’s refugees director, trav-
Raghda!” Porter says. too dry and course to make her usual flatbread. eled to Washington to speak with U.S. refugee advo-
cates. They peppered her with questions, she says.
At home, after dinner, Nagham and Ghena play in Some evenings, Raghda ventures out to the local “They were asking, ‘How can we let people help?’ ”
their room on a red-and-white Canadian Red Cross grocery shop by herself while Amir stays home with
blanket they’ve fashioned into a carpet over the cold the girls. No one looks twice in her direction, and Nagham Al Jabouli, 5, attends class at Secord Elementary School
tile floor. Amir unfolds a donated laptop, so he and men don’t say a word or make a move. In Lebanon, in Toronto. Until she arrived in Canada, she and her older sister
Raghda can study vegetables in teach-yourself-Eng- Amir felt he had to call a driver and have him wait had not been able to go to school of any kind because of the
lish videos on YouTube. while she shopped, to make sure she was safe. Here, war in Syria and conditions for refugees in Lebanon, where the
she feels safe all the time. family lived for a time.
Every evening after Ashley puts Aria to sleep, she
gets out her MacBook Pro to do administrative work “We used to hear about freedom a lot, and we nev- In mid-March, Ali sends out an email to the
for Amir and Raghda. She created a Google doc she er knew what it is,” Amir says, slowly and quietly. “I sponsor group announcing the end of Phase 1. Fi-
fills with tasks for the other sponsors: Get a blender, feel safe, and that makes me feel free. Now I under- nancial planning, banking, housing, Internet, phone,
for Raghda’s cooking. Find a local Arabic-speaking stand what freedom is.” government IDs, doctors, dentists, school admis-
doctor. Get information on accreditation for a halal sions and English classes have all been taken care of.
butcher. Members of the sponsor group can log in Many Canadians see private citizens as more ef- “Phase 2 will be English proficiency and social net-
and complete tasks. fective at helping refugees integrate than the govern- working,” he explains. Volunteers are invited to sign
ment. A 2007 Canadian government study found that up on Ashley’s Google document to take the family
Humanity First recommended that only two privately sponsored refugees reported higher rates of on excursions in the city. Incredibly, for the sponsors,
people be the face of the sponsor group in the early satisfaction and integration after six months. Other all these many, many tasks seem to be helping Ragh-
days, so as not to overwhelm the family. Mallory and data suggests that government-sponsored refugees da and Amir construct new lives. “It’s been so easy,”
Ali are each dropping by two evenings a week to see are twice as likely to end up on public assistance as Ashley says. “That’s what’s surprising.”
Raghda and Amir and the girls. compared with privately sponsored refugees.
Soon after Raghda and Amir arrived, Ashley Ali,
Amir, left, helps himself to dinner at the home of Ali Khan and Canada’s private sponsorship program began in and Mallory submitted an application to sponsor
his wife, Ashley Hilkewich, two of his sponsors. 1979, under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, and over Amir’s brother Osama, who was living with other
the course of two years, helped bring 60,000 refugees disabled men in an apartment in Tripoli. They also
There’s a bureaucracy to building a new life. Ali from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. started raising money to sponsor other relatives.
takes them to apply for government health insurance
cards that Canadians use to get health care. Today, as private sponsors work to bring Syrians to On a warmer day, Ali, Ashley, Mallory, Amir and
Canada, the whole society has rallied around them. Air Raghda take the girls to Riverdale Park, where short
Then they go to the Clothing Drive, a volunteer-run travelers have donated frequent flier miles to pay for yellow grass covers the hills after a winter of snow.
storefront set up so Syrians can “shop” for free from do- refugees’ flights to their new homes from hubs such
nations. Every week, newcomers empty the place, and as Montreal and Toronto. Ikea Canada has offered free They can see the Toronto skyline, the skinny con-
every week, a new load of donations comes in. furniture. Major companies, including Ali’s employer, crete of the CN Tower poking up like a needle above
Sun Life Financial, have contributed money. Some the office buildings.
“Pick out enough things that the girls can wear have expressed concern the Syrians could drain re-
something different every day at school,” Ali says. sources and compete for scarce jobs – and others have Even here, Amir is partway in the Middle East. His
security concerns. But support is widespread. phone dings, alerting him to a message on What-
“Is it necessary to change your clothes every day?” sApp. “Good night,” says his brother Mohanad in
Raghda asks, in surprise. In some ways, the United States had a similar start- Jordan. “Good morning,” types Amir, their running
ing point last summer, when the death of the tod- joke as they greet each other from time zones across
“It’s the culture,” Ali says. dler Alan Kurdi roused public sympathy for refugees. the world.
Amir has been avoiding the subway because Settlement agencies were swamped with emails and
it’s the one place he can’t use his Arabic-language calls offering help, says Melanie Nezer, the head of the Nagham and Ghena take off running down a hill
Google Maps. “When you go underground, you lose Refugee Council USA, a coalition of refugee advocacy toward some reeds, toward the distant city skyline.
reception – that’s scary for me,” he says. But one day, organizations. “We thought, ‘How do we harness the
Ali shows him how to read the subway map and lis- interest and get people involved in a more direct way?” Little Aria starts after them. “I go running,” she an-
ten for the station names. Soon Amir is taking public Politicians, including Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and nounces, as she trots unsteadily downhill.
transportation everywhere. Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), began to talk of creat-
Almost as soon as they met, Amir told Ali he would ing a mechanism for private sponsorship of refugees “Yeah,” Amir tells her, his basic English matched
return the money the sponsors raised, and he often as a low-cost way to quickly bring more Syrians. hers. “Go. Run.”
says that once he’s standing on his own two feet, he
will help the group help other Syrians. But then ISIS attacked Paris, killing 130 people. At least “Nagham, Ghena, wait!” Amir calls to his daughters.
Raghda has a more immediate way of showing her one of the perpetrators held a fake Syrian passport that The older girls stop halfway down the slope and turn,
gratitude: She cooks and invites Ali, Ashley and Mal- may have been used to enter Europe. Americans’ post- squinting back, and waiting until Aria catches up.
lory to meals. 9/11 fear honed in on Syrian refugees – even though Amir surveys the scene, a huge grin breaking over
One night, Ali drives them to an Arabic grocery refugees destined for the United States must wait for his face. Raghda glances over and smiles too.
store. Raghda smiles as she grabs some fresh grape security checks that take years, and there are plenty of They are entwining their lives with this other Ca-
leaves to stuff with rice and herbs. They often take easier and faster ways to enter the United States. nadian family, entrusting their daughters to grow up
pictures on their cell phones of food packages and with them.
enter the photos into a translation app. The ingredi- Days after the Paris attacks, public dialogue turned Amir calls again, in English, to all three girls: “Go!
ents instantly appear in Arabic. against refugees. Presidential candidates called them Run!”
But they still make mistakes. Raghda unknowingly a threat. The House passed a law that would have ef- And the girls run, laughing, their arms open like
purchased French vanilla yogurt for a pasta dish – fectively shut down processing Syrians and Iraqis. wings,their hair flying in the breeze.
Soon more than half of the nation’s governors said
they opposed resettling refugees in their states.
In March, the Niskanen Center released a report
providing a blueprint for a step toward private spon-
sorship in the United States. Private donors could cre-
ate a fund to directly pay costs of bringing refugees in
excess of the government quotas, the authors wrote.
They argued that such a fund could help quantify
support for refugees and skirt the political quagmire.
Settlement officials agree that the goodwill of reg-
ular people has been invisible in the public dialogue.
Many are working to engage citizens more directly in
resettlement.
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 45
INSIGHT BOOK REVIEW
Almost 24,000 thoroughbred colts and fillies were Zayat imagined that his horse would fetch $1 mil- – was notoriously slow to pay his bills and twice fired
born in North America in 2012, one of them a bay lion at the yearling sale in Saratoga, N.Y. But just be- trainer Bob Baffert before hiring him back to work
called American Pharoah that would three years lat- fore the auction, American Pharoah bumped an an- with American Pharoah. The trainer, ever recogniz-
er win the American Triple Crown of thoroughbred kle, it swelled, bidders balked, and the owner bought able by his white hair and dark sunglasses (to shield
racing – a feat that only 12 horses have managed him back for the posted minimum of $300,000 – but his watery eyes – for he is allergic to horses), had the
since the first one did it in 1919. Even the casual rac- the ankle never flared again. Later, reeling with debt dubious distinction of having seven horses under his
ing fan recognizes some of them: Sir Barton, Gallant and afraid that another injury – this one to a knee – care drop dead in a 16-month period. Investigators
Fox, Omaha, War Admiral, Whirlaway, Count Fleet, had dashed the horse’s future, the owner sold breed- challenged his use of a thyroid hormone but turned
Assault, Citation, Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Affirmed. ing rights before American Pharoah won the Ken- up no wrongdoing. That only proves, Drape writes,
tucky Derby, the Preakness, the Belmont and the “how loosely regulated the sport is and how a wide
American Pharoah spent most of his first year Breeders’ Cup Classic. array of questionable tactics would be considered
at the Vinery, a classy farm in Kentucky with black permissible.” As for the jockey, Victor Espinoza, some
fences and stone walls, where he caught the eye of A book like this one tilts on the owner/trainer/ fans – though not racing stewards – bristled at see-
farm manager Frances Relihan, who did something rider/horse axis, and the author, an award-winning ing the rider hit American Pharoah “at least thirty-
unusual when the horse left. She called his owner, turf writer with the New York Times, gives each their one times” with his whip coming down the stretch in
Ahmed Zayat, to say this: “There’s something special due while conceding their flaws. The owner – who the Derby. As for the horse, his only sins were to react
about him.” made his fortune selling beer in mostly Muslim Egypt badly to crowd noise (cotton in his ears cured that)
and occasional fractiousness (earning him the barn
Indeed there was. In “American Pharoah,” Joe nickname of pendejo, or idiot).
Drape describes what struck Relihan: “Even as a foal
and weanling, Frances saw how easily he moved, his Drape, a habitue of some 90 tracks, does a nice
head high, folding and unfolding himself with exqui- job of taking the reader inside the racing game, and
site balance. His stride had range and scope and he he (mostly) resists the urge to cheerlead – although
had a lovely sloping shoulder and great body angles. crisper editing might have trimmed all those refer-
There was nothing out of place on him, especially ences to “horse for the ages” and “one for the ages.”
when he was in flight. The colt shared a field with nine He observes that Triple Crown winners are rare be-
mares and their foals, and when playtime broke out, cause horse breeders breed for speed, not endurance,
he looked like a bullet train among steam engines.” which the mile-and-a-half Belmont distance requires.
What distinguished this colt was the joy he took American Pharoah won his crown in the summer;
from running and his singular aplomb. Weaning his memoir follows in spring. There is much to ad-
can be traumatic both for foal and mare, and separa- mire in this comprehensive and often candid book,
tion anxiety is common, but American Pharoah was but I do wonder if more time might have produced a
only briefly flustered before rejoining his pals in the better one. The turf writers I most admire (John Jer-
paddock. This handsome, muscled horse had a faint emiah Sullivan, William Nack, Jane Smiley, Bill Bar-
white star on his forehead and a short tail – chewed ich) have written good books, and good books take
on, apparently, by another horse. At the Florida farm time. The rush to produce the next bestseller – or the
where he learned to race, he again stood out – a next Secretariat – often ends badly. Too many books
seeming old soul in a sea of skittishness. American are published in haste, too many land in remainder
Pharoah accepted bridle, saddle, girth, rider, cues bins. Too many racehorses are bred, too many board
and starting gate, all with ease. slaughterhouse trucks.
Zayat was there the day the colt was timed in his AMERICAN PHAROAH
first breeze, or moderate gallop. His times for the
first, second and third eighths of a mile were 11.6, THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE TRIPLE CROWN
22.1 and 36.6 seconds, respectively. As the clocker re-
layed each fraction, Zayat said the same thing: “Holy WINNER’S LEGENDARY RISE
s---!” The rider had asked for none of that quickness.
And there was this: American Pharoah had no desire By Joe Drape, Hachette. 292pp. $27
to stop running, nor was he winded by workouts.
Review by Lawrence Scanlan, The Washington Post
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46 Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
INSIGHT EDITORIAL
EcWoHnAToAmJOiKcE development efforts in Indian River County
Remember the joke about the boss who called in Why the overall rate of return, the Washington Eco- there are fewer jobs in the county now than when
an economist, and told him he wanted to commis- nomics Group raved, is about 15 times greater than the economic development program started a de-
sion a study that would place a value on a service the money laid out by the county – tens of millions cade ago – even though the county’s population has
his organization provided. of dollars – because of the indirect benefits such as a increased by more than 10 percent over that time.
higher standard of living, tax revenue and an increase
The economist gets up, locks the door, sits down in economic activity. But when the County Commission considers this
next to the boss, and asks: “What do you want it to BS (Big Study), it might want to also recall one of the
be?” Ah, yes. Washington Economics Group’s premier achieve-
Those marvelous indirect benefits economists like ments, the economic impact study it produced ex-
Well, no joke, it appears the Indian River Cham- to use to swell the numbers. The old multiplier effect, actly two years ago for All Aboard Florida.
ber of Commerce did something pretty similar fol- they call it.
lowing our story several weeks ago exposing how Kind of reminds us of the joke about the difference Among other rosy forecasts, that report projected
little return the county has gotten for the millions between an economist and a used car salesman. The that from mid-2014 to mid-2016, All Aboard Florida
of our tax dollars laid out over the past decade for used car salesman knows when he is exaggerating. would create 392 new jobs right here in Indian Riv-
economic development. But we digress. er County, paying local workers $44.6 million, and
Thrilled with the glowing WEG analysis, the Cham- producing a total positive economic impact on our
Much of that money was funneled through the ber said it plans to present this report to the County county of $123 million.
Chamber, with hundreds of thousands of dollars going Commission later this month to show commission-
not for inducement payments, job grants or tax abate- ers how successful the economic development pro- Sort of reminds us of the old joke about why astrol-
ments but for Chamber administrative expenses. gram has been. ogy was invented – so economics would seem like an
This despite the fact that, as our story pointed out, accurate science. But we digress.
But rather than doing some soul searching about
a job creation program that has consistently over- If WEG’s objective, as it proclaims on its website, is
promised and under-delivered, the Chamber hired to provide “outstanding service to clients,” our guess
the Washington Economics Group – not, as you is that All Aboard Florida, which paid for its study,
might guess, a Washington, DC firm but a Coral loved the WEG analysis.
Gables outfit – “to demonstrate there was a return
on investment,” according to Chamber President And our Chamber certainly seems pleased with
Penny Chandler. the study it bought. (Wonder how much money they
wasted on this contract.)
That’s right.
This wasn’t a study to review what we got for our And by the way, while we are talking about things
millions. This was a report designed to justify the ex- that are pathetic, we can hardly omit the front-page
penditure. story by the local daily last week after the Chamb-
Washington Economics Group, in pitching its ser- spoon fed it the WEP report.
vices, doesn’t make any secret of the fact that it is
selling customers reports they are going to like. On “Jobs plan yields return,” the headlines shouted.
its website, they promise: “Investment works for county.”
“WEG’s Economic Impact Studies quantify the
importance of your business activities or project. We Talk about uncritically writing down and regurgi-
estimate the influence or effect that your business, tating anything you’re told.
investment or specific project has on the commu-
nity, city, region or state, focusing on jobs created, We had hoped with Gannett taking over the Press
labor income, value added, and fiscal contributions Journal a month ago, the quality of the reporting and
to both governments and communities of local, editing in our daily newspaper might become a bit
county, state and national levels.” more professional.
And boy, they really fulfilled on their promise in
the report they produced for the Chamber. Sure no sign of that yet.
“Economics is extremely useful as a form
of employment for economists.”
– John Kenneth Galbraith
BRAIN ATTACK, PART II es with age. Up to 40 percent of all people who suf- HOW TO RECOGNIZE AND RESPOND TO © 2015 Vero Beach 32963 Media, all rights reserved
fer a TIA will go on to experience a stroke. THE SIGNS OF A STROKE
Last time we learned that “brain attack” is synony- Use the FAST test to recognize and respond to the
mous with stroke and that there are two types of RISK FACTORS FOR STROKE signs of stroke.
strokes: ischemic and hemorrhagic. Two million F = FACE Ask the person to smile. Does one
brain cells die every minute during stroke, increas- Stroke can happen to anyone at any time, regard- side of the face droop?
ing the risk of permanent brain damage, disability less of race, sex or age. Everyone has some stroke A = ARMS Ask the person to raise both arms.
or death. risk. Does one arm drift downward?
S = SPEECH Ask the person to repeat a sim-
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ISCHEMIC AND UNCONTROLLABLE RISK FACTORS INCLUDE: ple sentence.Does the speech sound slurred or
HEMORRHAGIC STROKES Being over age 55 strange?
Being a male T = TIME If you observe any of these signs (inde-
While an ischemic stroke occurs when arteries are � Stroke is more common in men than wom- pendently or together), call 9-1-1 immediately.
blocked by blood clots or by the gradual build-up en at younger ages, but more women experi-
of plaque and other fatty deposits, a hemorrhagic ence strokes at older ages and more women THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT!
stroke occurs when a blood vessel in the brain than men die from stroke The American Stroke Association has created a
breaks and blood leaks into the brain. About 87 Being African-American handy “app” for Smartphones you can refer to in a
percent of strokes are ischemic; 13 percent are split second if you think you or someone else might
hemorrhagic. While hemorrhagic strokes are less CONTROLLABLE RISK FACTORS INCLUDE: be having a stroke. To install this free application on
common, they are responsible for more than 30 Having diabetes your mobile device search for the app called “Spot
percent of all stroke deaths. Having a previous stroke a Stroke FAST.” The app gives you a list of signs and
Having a previous episode of TIA (mini-stroke) symptoms of a stroke to check for, helpful resourc-
TRANSIENT ISCHEMIC ATTACKS (MINI-STROKES) High cholesterol es and a button to call 9-1-1 to report a stroke. It
High blood pressure also has a quick F.A.S.T. quiz to test your knowledge.
Transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) are “mini-strokes” Heart disease
that occur when the blood supply to part of the Atrial fibrillation Next time we’ll share practical guidelines to follow
brain is briefly interrupted. A TIA occurs suddenly Carotid artery disease to help prevent a stroke.
and lasts only a few minutes. Most symptoms dis- Smoking
appear within an hour, although they may persist Being overweight Your comments and suggestions for future topics are
for up to 24 hours. The prevalence of a TIA increas- Drinking too much alcohol always welcome. Email us at [email protected].
48 Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
INSIGHT TRAVEL
Going places? Consider these summer/fall getaways
BY JOHN OWENS Alaskan cruise. Canadian Rockies.
Columnist Iceland’s Gullfoss waterfall. it’s that far north), and thanks to the
Gulf Stream, average July tempera-
It’s getaway season here in Vero. Or tures typically are in the 50s. Thriving
at least the time to plan your summer/ arts and culinary scenes combine with
fall getaway. And while we each have a landscape that not only looks amaz-
our own ideas about what makes the ing (as in Gullfoss, the sprawling, roar-
perfect trip, based on everything from ing waterfall that drops 105 feet in two
budget to ambition, local travel agents stages), but also envelopes you, as nat-
report that many of our neighbors are ural, geothermal “hot tubs” seem to be
on the same page when it comes to everywhere.
this season’s vacation plans.
Although Iceland is easy to navigate
“The Canadian Rockies and Alas- on your own, and English is widely
ka are very popular right now,” said spoken among its 325,000 inhabit-
Sarah Garrett of Garrett Travel in Vero ants, many travelers prefer escorted
Beach. “Especially for multi-genera- trips. One such package is Alexander +
tional travel.” Roberts’ seven-day Adventures Across
Iceland.
These destinations are not only
“timeless and beautiful,” she said, but “The great thing with Tauck and Alex-
also far from such dangers as political ander + Roberts is they are small group
turmoil and the Zika virus. Just the thing tours with very unique itineraries,” said
for a party ranging from small children Jenkins.
to seniors.
Starting at just under $4,000 per
One of the most sought-after pack- person, this trip explores not only
ages is the Best of Canadian Rock- the island’s unique natural facets, but
ies from Tauck Tours. This eight-day also the cultural and quotidian, with
escorted adventure, which starts at visits to artists, farmers, brewers and
about $3,600 per person, takes off fishermen.
from Calgary, Alberta, and visits Banff,
Yoho and Jasper national parks, with In the fall, trips continue, and as day-
helicopter “flightseeing” over the awe- light becomes scarce, attention turns to
some Three Sisters Peaks, as well as what Alexander +Roberts calls the “hunt
a drive along the Icefields Parkway, for the Northern Lights.”
which packs 600 glaciers, six icefields
and enough mountainous vistas to Have you recently returned from a
wear out your camera along its 143- trip? We would like to tell your story,
mile length. and share your insights and adventures
with your neighbors. Send us an email at
As for Alaska, a cruise to the 49th state [email protected].
is more attractive than ever, said Garrett.
“The lines have taken the traditional
seven-night Alaska cruise and really
stepped it up,” she said.
A good example is what Princess
Cruises calls its Exclusive Alaska En-
richment Programs. “They are bring-
ing the local cultural experience on-
board,” she said, citing shipboard
visits and seminars from Alaskans of
various stripes.
The idea is to get passengers up close
and personal with naturalists, Iditarod
mushers, the native Huna Tlingit peo-
ple and others who can bring the land
and its denizens to life.
Canada and Alaska aren’t the only
high-latitude spots high on the popu-
larity list.
“Iceland is a hot destination this
year,” said Mark Jenkins, AAA spokes-
man for the Auto Club Group, which
has a Vero Beach office.
This island of Viking heritage, hot
springs, volcanoes and geysers that sits
in the Atlantic Ocean just below the Arc-
tic Circle truly is a natural and cultural
wonder of the world.
In summer, the sun barely sets (yes,
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 49
INSIGHT GAMES BRIDGE
TWO REASONS FOR A WEIRD PLAY WEST NORTH EAST
? J964 ?532
By Phillip Alder - Bridge Columnist 9742 K Q J 10 63
Q85 AK2 10 9 7
Leonard Susskind, a renowned theoretical physicist at Stanford University, said, A K J 10 9 63 8742
“Unforeseen surprises are the rule in science, not the exception. Remember: Stuff
happens.” SOUTH
A Q 10 7
At the bridge table, exceptions keep the game alive. For example, you have J-9-6-4 in A85
the dummy opposite A-Q-10-7 in your hand. To play that suit for four tricks, you should J643
finesse through your right-hand opponent. It gives you a 50-50 shot at avoiding a loser. Q5
Instead, to lead the jack and then to put up the ace wins only when lefty has a singleton
king, which has an a priori probability of just under three percent. Mathematically, it is a Dealer: West; Vulnerable: Both
crazy play. But can you think of any reasons why it would be the right play?
The Bidding:
Now look at the North-South hands in today’s diagram. South is in four spades. West
cashes the club ace and club king before shifting to a heart. How should South SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST OPENING
continue? 1 Clubs Dbl. Pass
2 Clubs Pass 2 Hearts Pass LEAD:
In the bidding, South’s two-club cue-bid was totally artificial, indicating at least 12 2 Spades Pass 4 Spades All Pass A Clubs
points. The rest of the auction was natural.
I can think of three reasons not to finesse in that suit. The first is fanciful: if you know
righty will always cover an honor with an honor, regardless of its stupidity. The second
will be the theme of a future column.
This deal exhibits the third. Dummy has 14 points and declarer has 13. That leaves
only 13 for the opponents, but West opened — he must have the spade king. So, there
is no point in taking a losing finesse; you never know, you might get lucky and drop a
singleton king.
50 Vero Beach 32963 / May 19, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
SOLUTIONS TO PREVIOUS ISSUE (MAY 12) ON PAGE 70
INSIGHT GAMES & CO.
ACROSS DOWN
7 Deficiency (8) 1 Sanctuary (6)
8 Sculls (4) 2 Macabre (8)
9 Muted (6) 3 Detainee (7)
10 Notify (6) 4 Danger (5)
11 Conclude (7) 5 Canopy (4)
12 Odour (5) 6 Rehearsal (3,3)
15 Sugary (5) 13 Baffle (8)
17 Neeps (7) 14 Rock formation (7)
20 Ending (6) 16 Mass (6)
22 Groups of singers (6) 18 Expression (6)
23 As a result (4) 19 Taupe (5)
24 Virtue (8) 21 Too (4)
The Telegraph
How to do Sudoku:
Fill in the grid so the
numbers one through
nine appear just once
in every column, row
and three-by-three
square.
The Telegraph
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