04/15/2021 ISSUE 15

High school swimmer headed
for Olympic trials. P6
One in four here
fully vaccinated. P16
Steil gas station, a link

to Vero’s past, closing. P12

Ex-School Board For breaking news visit
member Justice in
Beachland ruckus Surfsedge homes
sell at record pace
during pandemic

BY GEORGE ANDREASSI BY STEVEN M. THOMAS
Staff Writer Staff Writer

Former School Board mem- From left Judy Smith, Joyce and Bob Donohue, and Doug Smith enjoy dinner at Scampi Grill. PHOTO BY BRENDA AHEARN When real estate develop-
ber Tiffany Justice raised a ers from Florida’s Gulf Coast
ruckus at Beachland Elemen- Vero’s fine dining restaurants having great season bought a 5.2-acre tract of land
tary last week, seeking special in Indian River Shores at an
treatment for herself and her BY STEPHANIE LABAFF After a difficult 2020, Vero summer as snowbirds extend auction four years ago, they
fifth-grade son, claiming he Staff Writer restaurateurs are celebrating a their stays and new residents could hardly have anticipated
has difficulties coping with great first quarter of 2021, with flock in from locales hit hard that a pandemic would turn
facemask rules. If you’re planning to head many reporting record-break- by the pandemic. the luxury subdivision they en-
out for a nice dinner at your fa- ing numbers. And many chefs visaged into one of the hottest
Attempting to check on her vorite restaurant anytime soon, and owners expect the good “It’s been one of the busiest developments in Vero history.
son, Justice sought an excep- be sure to make a reservation. times to keep rolling into the seasons we’ve ever had,” said
tion from the policy requiring But that’s exactly what has
parents to give 24-hour notice CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 happened at Surfsedge, where
to visit their child’s classroom the 10 available homes – start-
but was rebuffed. She then ing at $1.76 million for the
demanded the policy’s repeal, least expensive – sold out in a
even though she voted to ap- two-month period this spring
prove the policy in 2018 when to buyers from as far away as
she represented the barrier is- Texas and the Northeast.
land on the School Board.
“Once we signed the first
Justice complained no spe- contract, it was like dominos
cial accommodations were falling,” said Megan Raasveldt,
made to allow her son to go the Dale Sorensen Real Estate
mask-free in his classroom. agent who leads the sales effort
She also objected to being at the 24-home luxury subdivi-
monitored by the school re- sion, which includes 12 single-
source officer during her visit family homes and 12 ocean-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

MY Charlie Wilson set to retire amid allegations of harassment Dick Winger’s return to Vero Beach
VERO City Council is not a feel-good story

BY RAY MCNULTY Property Appraiser two-plus necessary to push through BY LISA ZAHNER mer mayor Dick Winger to fill
Staff Writer years ago and the challenges ambitious and much-needed Staff Writer the final seven months of Joe
he faced as he embarked on technological changes to the Graves’ two-year council term.
Maybe there was no bet- his vision for the office. agency’s operations. Never in recent times has a
ter way to go, given the un- three-vote Vero City Council In nearly 13 years of cover-
usual circumstances under Maybe bringing in the Maybe, even now that Wil- majority acted in such a self- ing the Vero Beach City Coun-
which Wesley Davis became sometimes-abrasive, no- son has announced he will serving manner as last week, cil, we’ve seen members on
the Indian River County nonsense Charlie Wilson as retire as Davis’ director of when it voted to appoint for- the dais vote for policies both
one of his top lieutenants was
CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 CONTINUED ON PAGE 13

April 15, 2021 Volume 14, Issue 15 Newsstand Price $1.00 Shell of a turnout
for ‘Tipsy Turtle’
News 1-18 Games 45-49 Pets 78 TO ADVERTISE CALL 2-mile run/walk. P32
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Editorial 42 CALL 772-226-7925

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2 Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Surfsedge In one sense, the pace of sales is not ing construction, joined The Lutgert fall,” Raasveldt says. “Through August,
surprising, with island home inven- Companies 26 years ago. September and October there were
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 tory at all-time lows and a continuing many times when we saw only one or
influx of pandemic-driven buyers ea- Lutgert is a top-notch developer two prospective buyers in a week.
front condos priced at up to $3 million ger to purchase in Vero Beach. that’s had great success on the Gulf
for the largest condo. Coast of Florida, completing dozens of “Traffic finally started picking up in
At the same time, the $20-million major projects in and around Naples, December, and as the model started
The first of three model homes in burst of sales is remarkable – and high- but the company had never built a sub- getting closer and closer to comple-
the subdivision was completed on Jan. ly gratifying to Raasveldt and Michael division on the east coast of Florida. tion, I could feel the energy change.”
5, which seems to be what buyers were Hoyt, the Lutgert executive in charge of
waiting for – the opportunity to walk the project. At some point, Hoyt began to lobby With inventory low, buyers flooding
through the finished product before company leaders to seek development in and the model complete, the dam
committing to a purchase. But this “overnight” payoff did not opportunities on the Atlantic side of the broke on Jan. 18 and all the years of ef-
come easily – or quickly. state – specifically in his hometown. fort paid off.
The first contract was signed two
weeks later on Jan. 18 and Raasveldt The story of Surfsedge actually be- “It took a lot of convincing,” Hoyt says. Raasveldt says buyers have come
sold the last of 10 available homes on gan when Hoyt, who grew up in Vero “Most people don’t know about Vero from all over. About half bought their
Good Friday. Beach before heading to the Univer- Beach, so they were skeptical, but after I houses as second homes and half as
sity of Florida for a degree in build- got them to come over and look around primary residences. And the homes
a couple of times, they said, ‘How did we are actually sold, not reserved. All
not know about this place?’” buyers have put down a non-refund-
able 10-percent deposit.
With company chairman Scott Lu-
tgert and company president Howard There are three models in the subdi-
Gutman onboard, Hoyt teamed up with vision, including 1- and 2-story homes,
Raasveldt and started looking for land. ranging from 3,017 square feet to 3,513
square feet. The homes will be built si-
After several years of effort that in- multaneously, making for a busy con-
cluded a failed attempt to acquire the struction site over the next year or so.
old Surf Club Hotel property, Raas-
veldt zeroed in on the Surfsedge site. “We expect to be built out in 12 to 14
months with folks living in their homes,”
“I heard the town of Indian River Hoyt says.
Shores was starting to have conver-
sations about selling off this piece of Raasveldt’s focus now has shifted
property,” Raasveldt says. “I was patient to the condominium, which includes
and attended every town council meet- 12 luxury units on two floors ranging
ing for about a year where that was on in size from 2,880 square feet to 3,122
the agenda to get as much information square feet and in price from $2.5 mil-
as I could and then shared the informa- lion to $3 million.
tion back with Mike and Howard.”
The building also includes six ga-
The town had no need for the land rages with 20-foot ceilings, which with
– 5.2 acres north of Tracking Station a car-lift can house four cars. They will
Park – and decided to auction it off be sold for $65,000-$75,000 on a first-
to raise revenue. Lutgert spent six come, first-served basis. Buyers who
months doing intense due diligence don’t purchase a garage will have two
prior to the auction, figuring out what covered parking spaces.
to build and how much to pay.
With the first-level garages that tall,
“The property was originally zoned both the second-floor and third-floor
multifamily and approved for 32 units, condos will have wide-open ocean
but when we looked at it, we thought views over a buffer of seagrape dunes.
the best use was some type of hybrid,
a mix of single-family and multifam- There will be a lap pool, fitness cen-
ily,” Hoyt says. ter and “really cool rooftop amenity
that Vero has not seen before in place
Working closely with town officials of a clubhouse,” according to Raas-
and consulting with Raasveldt, Dale veldt. “There will be a summer kitchen,
Sorensen Sr. and Matilde Sorensen to hot tub, fire pit, water walls, conversa-
come up with the best product for Vero tion area and little pet walking area on
Beach, Lutgert developed a prelimi- the roof, all with spectacular views.
nary plan and showed up on auction
day, snagging the land for $4.4 million. “We are kind of flipping the switch
on a traditional clubhouse and having
That was in May 2017. something open-air and oceanfront,
Lutgert and the Sorensens unveiled rather than having something dinky
a finished plan for the site with two back on the land side where they can
gala events in December 2018 and the play cards.”
company broke ground in August 2019,
after getting the property rezoned as a The rooftop, pool and fitness center
planned residential development. will be for the use of the single-family
Seven months later the pandemic homes as well as condo homeowners.
began, throwing the future of the Surf-
sedge into doubt. “The rooftop amenity helped us sell
Against the odds, the real estate mar- the houses,” Raasveldt says.
ket quickly rebounded, and the project
got back on track, but months of uncer- Only one condo unit has been sold
tainty still lay ahead. so far but the instantaneous sale of the
“We finally felt safe to open the sales single-family homes once a model was
center last August, but there were defi- built has given Lutgert the confidence
nitely some dog days of summer and to forge ahead with construction.

“As we have seen from the single-
family homes,” Raasveldt says, “if you

build it they will come.” 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 3

NEWS

Vero’s restaurants booming Another plus for Citrus: “If I compare Maison Martinique took advantage outdoor seating to compensate for so-
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 my check average from seven months of the pandemic shutdown to update cial distancing inside the restaurant and
ago, it’s considerably higher now,” the restaurant’s interior and bring on accommodate more customers.
Scampi Grill’s chef-owner, Alessandro Varricchio said. “People are spending two new chefs with plans to expand
Amelio. “I think it has mostly to do money on the bigger steak, the more services by adding breakfast, brunch, Like Kelleher at The Tides, Amelio
with an influx of northerners coming expensive bourbon or bottle of wine.” and lunch. plans to continue delivery service,
down and staying for a longer period keeping in place third-party services
of time.” “There’s still a high demand for al Pomodoro Grill head chef Amadeo like DoorDash and Grubhub. “We’re
fresco,” says Andrea Mears, Maison Mar- Amelio says he’s back to about 70 per- able to reach different demographics
By expanding outdoor seating at tinique consultant. “I just hope that this cent capacity, counting indoor and out- where some of those people had never
Scampi, Amelio has been able to con- momentum that has started continues.” door seating, and he’s looking to expand
tinue serving the same number of CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
diners as he did before the pandemic
while maintaining social distancing
inside the restaurant.

“A lot of customers who come in never
thought about dining outside. Because
of the pandemic, they’ve ventured out a
little bit and now they think dining out-
side is awesome,” Amelio said.

“Our numbers have been consid-
erably better than 2019,” said Citron
Bistro owner Jay McLaughlin. So much
so that he has begun to rely on Open
Table to keep up with reservations. As
at Scampi, Citron has expanded out-
door seating to handle the dinner rush.

McLaughlin doesn’t expect things
to slow anytime soon: “People are less
anxious to get back north,” he said.
“They learned from the time they
spent down here last year because of
the pandemic how special Vero can be
with an extended season.”

“It’s been very busy, and it’s not look-
ing like it’s going to stop anytime soon,”
agreed Di Mare chef-owner Jean Zana,
adding that his patio is booked every
night. “It’s busier this year than it used
to be before the pandemic. We’re see-
ing a lot of new people we haven’t seen
before.”

“I’ve never been busier,” said The
Tides chef-owner Leanne Kelleher, not-
ing that she’s sold out for the next three
weeks.

“We are open to the fullest capacity
that we feel we can provide a safe and
comfortable environment without
sacrificing quality,” added Kelleher,
who has decided to continue provid-
ing to-go service along with dine-in.

“I feel obliged to do to-go service be-
cause when we weren’t operating, to-
go’s saved us. I don’t want to turn my
back on those people because they sup-
ported us when we really needed it.”

At Citrus, chef-owner Scott Varric-
chio continues to cap seating at 50 per-
cent occupancy and has been booked
within those limits. “The first quarter
went as well as I allowed it to,” Varric-
chio said. “I don’t see myself going full
tilt until we get an all-clear from the
government.”

As more and more people get vac-
cinated, Varricchio said he is seeing
people he hasn’t seen in many months.
He added that Easter Sunday “was the
first time in a year that families went
out together on a holiday. I had a lot of
big tables, socially distanced.”

4 Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Vero’s restaurants booming The trouble started last Monday
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 morning when Beachland Elementa-
ry School refused to grant Justice ac-
heard of us,” he said. “It’s really helped cess when she accompanied her fifth-
out.” grade son to see how teachers were
addressing his difficulties coping with
“We are able to do as much business the requirement to wear a facemask in
as we can handle,” said Dario Bordoli, class.
proprietor of Trattoria Dario, noting
that his bar is getting busy again, too. “I was told there is a policy that a
teacher must be given a 24-hour no-
Chill & Grill chef-owner Scott Birch tice before a parent is allowed to enter
said his restaurant is nearly back on their classroom,” Justice said on the
par with prior years. The number of radio. “It does beg the question: What
folks coming in and those ordering is the purpose of the 24 hours?”
to-go are helping him bridge the pan-
demic gap and get back to a normal Instead of being driven by profes-
revenue stream. sional courtesy and advanced plan-
ning, Justice implied the 24-hour rule
Roger Lenzi, Vero Prime owner, said was an opportunity for school officials
he too is nearly on par with pre-pan- to coverup wrongdoing but provided
demic numbers. “People we haven’t no evidence.
seen in a while have gotten vaccinated,
and they’re coming back in. They’re re- “Are lesson plans being changed? Are
ally happy. It’s nice seeing them again.” there things that are being removed
from classrooms?” Justice asked wild-
The number of patrons continues ly, without providing any basis for her
to increase at the Ocean Grill, accord- suspicions.
ing to general manager Joey Replogle,
who is helping keep the restaurant “I’m going to email all School Board
busy by continuing to take reserva- members today and I’m going to
tions for small parties as well as large make them aware of the policy, and I
ones, something he didn’t do before think I’m going to ask them actually to
the pandemic. repeal it immediately,” Justice said.

“A lot of people are expressing that Justice is a co-founder of Moms for
they don’t want to come in unless they Liberty, a right-wing organization that
have a reservation,” Replogle said, not- believes “the real monster under the
ing those people are comfortable com- bed in public education is the slow
ing out for dinner don’t want to wait in erosion of parental rights.”
a crowded reception area.
Another member of the group, Jen-
With an influx of new people moving nifer Pippin, was the lead plaintiff in
into the area and seasonal residents an unsuccessful legal challenge against
in no hurry to head to their north- the School Board’s mandatory mask
ern homes, restaurateurs don’t expect policy.
summer doldrums anytime soon.
School Board members Teri Baren-
“A lot of my New York chef friends are borg and Peggy Jones, both veteran
still struggling and wondering if they’re educators who worked their way up
going to make it at all,” said Varricchio. through the ranks from teacher to
“As a community and as a business, principal, said the 24-hour notice pol-
we are going to make out better than icy is designed to help teachers and
other parts of the country. In my heart protect students.
of hearts, I believe that, and a lot of my
chef friends in other cities believe that Barenborg and Jones also pointed
out Justice participated in the unani-
as well.”  mous School Board vote on April 24,
2018 to revise the 24-hour notice policy.
Tiffany Justice in ruckus
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 “Back then when she was a board
member, I guess, she read it and it was
to Beachland last Wednesday – even fine,” Barenborg said last Wednesday
though she had taken an adversarial on the Newsradio WTTB local news
stance against the school in person show. “Now, she’s a parent and was
and on a local radio talk show. frustrated and wanted to go in. But we
have policies for a reason.
Justice aired her grievances against
Beachland Elementary School and the “It minimizes disruptions in the class-
school district both before and after room. It’s the most frustrating thing for
her Wednesday school visit during ap- a teacher to constantly have visitors
pearances on Newsradio WTTB’s local walking through your classroom be-
news broadcast and podcast with Bob cause it disrupts everything, the kids
Soos last Tuesday and Thursday. turn around, they look to see who is in
the room. It stops the instruction.
“I was being treated like Enemy No.
1,” Justice said. “The fact they want to “The other thing is safety,” Baren-
silence us means we need to speak up borg said. “We have privacy and pro-
and be louder.” tection for students. We have some
students who have IEPs (Individual
Education Programs), we have some
students who are in the witness pro-
tection plan, and we have some stu-

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 5

NEWS

dents who have a dangerous situation pened in the neighborhood,” Baren- teachers union and take time to nego- “I wanted to make sure her child was
happening in their family. borg said. “If we have to, we’ll remove a tiate, Barenborg said. being treated correctly, that the school
child from a class so a parent can come was following the protocols we had put
“When one parent goes in and visits in and visit. That sometimes happens, But there is no 24-hour waiting peri- in place,” Barenborg said.
a classroom, unfortunately, sometimes unfortunately.” od for School Board members, Baren-
another parent doesn’t want that par- borg said, so she visited Beachland El- “They’ve got a great fifth grade there
ent in that classroom with their child Reversing the 24-hour notice pol- ementary School after hearing Justice and they’re doing some phenomenal
because something might have hap- icy would require approval from the complain on the radio.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

6 Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Tiffany Justice in ruckus “It is my professional opinion that in ate unless the teacher and principal to direct Schools Superintendent Da-
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 the absence of an extreme emergency, approve of an earlier time.” vid Moore to develop a plan regarding
you give at least 24 hours’ notice,” Jones when to rescind the mandatory mask
things,” Barenborg said. “I walked in said in an email reply to Justice’s email. Justice, who opposed the mandatory policy, depending on the prevalence
and saw teaching and learning and ev- facemask requirement up until leaving of COVID-19 in Indian River County
ery child on task. I didn’t see a child off “Giving a teacher a day’s notice to the School Board in November 2020, and the schools, but there are no im-
task. So, I was impressed with it.” make sure a parent is not coming in was allowed into her son’s school on mediate plans to do that.
during a test, assembly, or any other Wednesday after giving notice, but then
Jones expressed full support for the plan that takes them out of their regu- complained about being monitored by In its most recent report, the school
24-hour notice policy and said she lar schedule, in my opinion, is simply the school resource officer, who kept an district said eight students and one
would not vote to amend it. a sign of professional respect,” Jones eye on her while she was there. staff member tested positive for CO-
said. “A notice of 24 hours is appropri-
The board planned to vote Tuesday VID-19 between April 5 and April 9. 

Sebastian high school swimmer headed for Olympic trials

BY MICHELLE GENZ Sophomore Mitchell Ledford at the North County Aquatic Center. PHOTO BY BRENDA AHEARN as dryland training for swimmers, be-
gan working with Mitchell through vid-
Staff Writer Today, weeks after the meet, his mind down his lane like something out of eo calls, allowing him in the water only
still reeling from those intense races, Sea World. to kick behind a kickboard.
On a recent Saturday morning, at Mitchell feels his future shifting.
an elite competition in St. Peters- His current success is an astonish- Carrie Ledford was astounded at how
burg, Florida that would turn out to In his analytical, pragmatic way, he ing turn of events for Mitchell, who fast her son improved. “It really was an
be Mitchell Ledford’s ticket to the sees that his performance at the March just 15 months before was sidelined incredible comeback,” she said.
U.S. Olympic Trials, the sophomore races and at another meet in Decem- by a serious injury.
at Sebastian River High School took ber have expanded his horizons. Where Today, Lyng continues dryland
his place on the block with four of the once his highest goal was to be recruit- In January 2020, when his sights training with Mitchell, who believes
fastest swimmers in the world. ed for a U.S. military academy – like his were already set on trials for the sum- the training has improved his perfor-
three brothers, all top swimmers at Se- mer Olympics that ended up being mance and helped prevent injuries.
On his right was Ryan Lochte, win- bastian – he now dreams of a berth on canceled, Mitchell woke up with sud-
ner of six gold medals. On his left was the U.S. Olympic swim team. If not this den, excruciating pain in his shoulder. “He’s done an excellent job working
Caeleb Dressell, two-time gold medal- year, another year. on the small details that made a huge
ist and holder of the world record in He and his parents were visiting his difference,” said Lyng. “His bodyline,
butterfly, Mitchell’s stroke. On the far “I had my head set on the Air Force brother in Hawaii at the time and for balance, coordination, power and en-
side of Dressell was Joseph Schooling, Academy,” he said last week, barely the rest of the week-long vacation, the durance all have improved.”
who held a state record Ledford had winded after a two-hour practice at family was on the phone with doctors.
his eye on. the North County Aquatic Center. Mitchell was despondent. By mid-March a year ago, when
Mitchell was just getting back into
Mitchell Ledford’s goal in St. Pete “But then last year, I started going “I was really upset about it, really swimming butterfly, the cascade of pan-
was to swim well enough to earn a faster than I thought I would, and then I broken by it,” said Mitchell. “I wanted demic-related closures rippled through
trip to the Olympic Trials in Omaha in started beating my brothers’ times. And to keep training, but I knew I couldn’t.” the county, shutting down the North
June, a goal thwarted last year by the I started thinking about what I could County pool where he trains.
lockdown. possibly do with this in the future.” “Emotionally, Mitchell felt all his
dreams were crashing down,” said his Desperate to keep swimming de-
When the swimmers hit the water, Now, Mitchell is thinking of “just go- mother, Carrie Ledford. “He didn’t think spite the lockdown, Mitchell turned to
Mitchell’s drive to keep up with the ing to normal college and then seeing he would recover.” the ocean, driving to the beach from
Olympians flanking him was hard to what I can do, if I can go further.” his home in Sebastian.
curb. The short course race meant When X-rays pointed to tendinitis,
more turns, and more time underwa- On the block with the gold medal- doctors recommended physical ther- “He would have dog-paddled in the
ter, and Mitchell had to portion out his ists in St. Petersburg, Mitchell stood apy instead of surgery. That was good bathtub if he had to,” his mom said.
energy all the way to the end. out for his youth; Lochte is 36, the oth- news, except that the soonest appoint-
ers in their mid-20s. But at his prac- ment for therapy was three weeks out. “These athletes were torn from their
“I started off the race really fast and tice pool in Sebastian, alongside two network of school and practice [by the
I didn’t have much to finish the race dozen teenage swimmers, Mitchell Mitchell’s dad, Patrick Ledford, turned pandemic],” she said. “For someone like
with,” Mitchell said last week follow- is a standout for his speed, powering to the Internet and found Markell Lyng, Mitchell, there was almost a desperate
ing practice in Sebastian. “I swam that a swim coach in Sugar Land, Texas. search for how to stay in condition, not
race much different than I should have Lyng, who specializes in what is known knowing how long it would last.
because they were next to me. But it
was still awesome.” “There was also the fear of getting
COVID, which attacks the respiratory
If his power felt depleted, it was system. Coupled with trying to recover
enough to get him to the wall ahead of from his injury, he, like many kids, was
Lochte and to break fellow swimmer very depleted emotionally.”
Schooling’s own high school record.
“For our swimmers, it was very for-
That afternoon, Mitchell swam the eign,” said Sebastian swim coach Scott
100-meter long – the only format at the Barlow. “It was very strange because
Olympics – racing the length of a 50-me- swimmers in the state of Florida swim
ter pool, in longer laps with fewer turns. year-round. We only take small little
Swimming with his age group, some of breaks here and there, like a week in
the best young swimmers in the coun- spring after their season, and maybe a
try, he came in second by 2/100s of a week in the winter and a little bit at the
second. But his time – 53.79 seconds, end of the summer. But two months
qualified him for Olympic trials. out of the water? None of my swimmers
have ever taken that much time off.
For his age, gender and stroke, but-
terfly, Mitchell Ledford now ranks “But in a strange twist,” Barlow went
third in the United States. on, “I think the time out of the water
really allowed a lot of swimmers to let

CONTINUED ON PAGE 9





Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 9

NEWS

High school swimmer – she is a financial planner withWells Far- After the early-morning practice, COVID-19 has caused one more hitch
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 go, though she admits she “works to sup- he’ll have another two-hour practice in Mitchell’s life and Olympic plans.
port being a homemaker, my first job.” at 3 p.m. In between, he’ll squeeze in a
their bodies grow and heal, not being dryland workout, a couple of healthy The Olympic trials have been split
under such stringent training and the Patrick Ledford, who worked for meals, and a nap. in two this year to allow for social dis-
regimens that they do. These are high- ATT in Buffalo, got a job at Cape Ca- tancing. Mitchell’s time in the 100-me-
level athletes that swim nine or 10 naveral working on communications He also keeps up his coursework, ter long course in St. Pete qualified him
times a week.” equipment. He gets up at 4 a.m. for the which is rigorous – he is in Sebastian for Wave 1, but was 42/100s of a second
long commute from Sebastian. Carrie River’s IB program and has a weighted shy of qualifying for Wave 2, where the
When his swimmers came back in rises at 5 a.m. to get in a walk around 4.397 GPA, ranked 13th in a class of 481. most serious contenders for this year’s
May and started training, they seemed the block, inspired by Mitchell, who That academic accomplishment com- Olympic team will compete.
to flourish, like plants sprouting new gets up at the same time in order to bined with his swimming times earned
growth after a period of dormancy. make it to swim practice by 6 a.m. him the title of Scholastic All American. In order for Mitchell to compete in
Wave 2, he must finish in the top two
Barlow, who has coached swimming Though Mitchell went back to bricks- Soon he’ll begin SAT prep – unless in his Wave 1 race.
for 35 years, including a young Olym- and-mortar school last fall, he returned the Olympics get in the way. And that’s
pic gold medalist from Delray Beach, to learning from home this semester to all “just a Tuesday” for Mitchell, as he “That is not an impossibility,” said his
decided to hold a competition in Au- better accommodate his swim schedule. likes to say. mother. “He’s nothing short of shocking
gust – one of the first meets in the state
after lockdown. every time he swims.” 

“It was really a strange experience,”
said Barlow. Because of COVID restric-
tions, there were no parents on the
deck cheering. “But the kids swam out
of their minds.They were just so amped
up because they didn’t compete for so
long. I had kids getting up on the block
and swimming best times.”

There was also emotional improve-
ment, Barlow said.

“Everybody was on a mental high.
They were so happy to be back in the
water, just getting into the pool, seeing
their friends – that social aspect was
taken away from them. And just getting
back in a routine. I think they missed
the routine more than anything else.”

Carrie Ledford understands the im-
pulse. She and her husband Patrick both
were swimmers, and their stroke, like
that of all four of their sons, was butterfly.

The couple swam together in high
school near Buffalo, N.Y., having met
when Carrie was 10.

Today, Carrie and Patrick Ledford
are both swim meet officials. She han-
dles the starts, he keeps the times.

For this aquatic family, the deci-
sion to move to Florida was driven
by swimming – not for Mitchell, who
was only 4 and didn’t even know how
to swim, but for their eldest son, Sean,
the one they were visiting in Hawaii.

Sean, now a C-17 pilot and graduate
of the Air Force Academy, was a talent-
ed butterflier. By age 14, he had already
swept the three butterfly events at the
Eastern Zone Competition that includ-
ed swimmers from Maine to Virginia.

Sean had enough potential that
his parents quit their jobs, sold their
house, pulled four kids out of four
schools, and headed to Florida where
Sean could train all year. The coach
they chose was Scott Barlow, who
went on to coach all four Ledford boys.

In addition to swimming for his com-
petition club, Treasure Coast Swim-
ming, the Ledford crew also swam for
Sebastian River High School, where
Barlow has been head swim coach for
the past decade.

Carrie quickly found a job in banking

10 Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

My Vero months too long. But now my work is lenged – and lost to – David Nolte, who voiced complaints that included alle-
done. won a 10th consecutive four-year term gations he:
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 as Property Appraiser.
“We’ve made the Property Apprais-  Purposefully pitted staffers against
communications and governmental af- er’s Office more transparent, more When Nolte died in November 2018,
fairs on May 1 – amid alarming allega- efficient and more accessible to the then-Gov. Rick Scott appointed Davis to each other.
tions by staff members of “harassment,” public, particularly through technol- serve the two years remaining of Nolte’s
“intimidation,” “bullying” and “retalia- ogy, and that’s what I was asked to do,” term, choosing the former school board  Bullied and intimidated staffers to
tion” – it was worth all the turmoil. he explained. “Sometimes, you have member and county commissioner over
to rattle the cage to get things done for three other applicants. get tasks completed the way he wanted
“Is Charlie the most popular guy in the public, and there were times when them done.
the office? No,” Davis said last week, ad- I had to be the tough guy. One of those applicants was Assis-
dressing the complaints about Wilson. tant Property Appraiser Helen “Sissy”  Used his reputation as Davis’
“He’s not the most popular guy in a lot “But I didn’t bully anybody,” Wil- Long, who Nolte endorsed in a letter
of places. But he does his job, and he son continued. “I didn’t do anything written to Scott days before his death. henchman to manipulate staffers into
does it well.” wrong. I don’t regret anything I did. I agreeing to ideas they didn’t agree with,
apologize if I made a few people un- Davis said Scott’s decision to name sometimes threatening retaliation that
Wilson’s job, among other duties, comfortable along the way, but I ac- him rather than Long “didn’t sit well” included the loss of their jobs.
was to make sure Davis achieved his complished my tasks.” with some of the office’s longtime em-
three major initiatives: installing an ployees, and that Wilson’s take-charge  Invaded staffers’ privacy by stand-
online system that enables residents to He paused for a moment, then add- approach “ruffled some feathers.”
remotely apply for homestead exemp- ed, “Are there some people in that of- ing outside of offices and listening to
tions; remodeling and upgrading the fice who are happy to see me retire? “Change isn’t an easy thing, espe- private conversations.
agency’s website; and improving cus- Absolutely.” cially after your predecessor has been
tomer service by simplifying the home- there for nearly 40 years, and some of  Didn’t listen to advice given by
stead application process. I can’t help but wonder if Davis is the things I’m trying to do differently
one of those people, though he’d never were not well-received,” Davis said. staffers that collectively had more than
Wilson said his efforts to implement say so publicly. “So, you have to look at both sides. 160 years of experience.
the changes Davis wanted were “met
with some resistance” from longtime The relationship between the two “It wasn’t just Charlie,” he added. “It More recently, Davis ordered an in-
staffers, some of whom questioned his men dates back to 2008, when Wilson takes two to tango.” house investigation into complaints
motives, tactics and authority. headed Davis’ campaign for re-elec- stemming from a September incident
tion to the County Commission. Wil- Actually, more than two staffers involving Wilson quizzing the agency’s
“I make a terrible government em- son also played a significant role on complained about Wilson’s conduct, front-office staff about the application
ployee, because I understand things the transition team Davis brought to which, according to documents pro- process for homestead exemptions.
like deadlines,” Wilson said. “I was the Property Appraiser’s Office, where vided by Davis, has been a topic of dis-
there two years and three months, some staffers weren’t overly welcom- cussion as far back as July 2019. During the investigation, staffers were
which was probably two years and two ing. interviewed, statements were taken,
In a meeting attended by Davis and videos were reviewed, and reports were
Remember: In 2016, Davis chal- staff members to discuss “issues with filed, after which Davis accepted its
Charlie Wilson,” five different staffers findings – that there was no evidence to
support allegations that Wilson in that
incident had bullied staffers, retaliated
against them, or acted outside the chain
of command and beyond his authority.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 12



12 Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

My Vero Wilson wrote that he would be retiring not blame the rest of the staff for their at- “They’re scared of me,” Wilson said of
“earlier than expected,” explaining that titude or reaction to his personality.” the staff. “They were scared of me when
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 “recent events have taken a dangerous I first got there.
toll on my health.” Clearly, Wilson’s relationship with the
In other words, Wilson was cleared Property Appraiser’s Office is in tatters. “I’m 70 years old and I’ve had health
of any wrongdoing. In a March 4 email to Davis, Wilson He knows it. Baker knows it. Surely, Da- issues,” Wilson said. “It’s time to retire.”
appeared to be laying the groundwork vis knows it.
At the end of his report to Davis, Op- for a lawsuit against the Property Ap- He’ll get no argument here. 
erations Director Rick Baker described praiser’s Office, claiming to be a “victim
the incident as a “misunderstanding” of a hostile workplace” that has affected Link toVero’s past disappearing.
that was “overblown,” attributing the his health, hurt his financial status and Steil gas station on U.S. 1 to close
staffers’ reactions to “Charlie’s persona.” damaged his character and reputation.
PHOTO BY BRENDA AHEARN
When asked about the allegations He wrote that his ability to defend
against Wilson, Davis didn’t dodge the himself “has been compromised,” and Doug Mull stands outside the Steil Gas Station on U.S. 1. Mull has worked at the station for 25 years.
issue. he said last weekend that he was never
given the opportunity to contest the
He returned every call, answered ev- staffers’ allegations against him. He also
ery question and immediately respond- told Vero Beach 32963 he has been hos-
ed to every public-records request, pro- pitalized twice in the past two months.
viding documents that contained the
staffers’ allegations against Wilson. He blamed his problems on the agen-
cy’s managers – not the staffers, who he
“You can see from our report: We said were merely “misinformed” about
took it seriously,” Davis said. “We did his role and authority.
what needed to be done, and prob-
ably more. We investigated. We talked Wilson’s email brought a strong re-
to the people involved. We reviewed sponse from Baker, who recommend-
the statements and the evidence. We ed in a March 10 email that Davis allow
handled it the right way.” Wilson to resign “to help you diffuse a
toxic situation” in the office.
Still,Wilson’s decision last week – after
being informed this column was com- Baker, who stated that he was“once an
ing – to move up his planned departure ardent advocate” forWilson, took excep-
date from Sept. 30 to May 1 was curious. tion to Wilson’s claim that he’s a victim.
Also interesting is what looks like an at-
tempt to flip the script and portray him- “That is nonsense, and completely a
self as the victim in the matter. figment of his imagination,” Baker wrote.
“He has directly affected his own health
In his resignation letter to Davis, and lack of status in the office and should

BY RAY MCNULTY majors, all within a mile of us, and that
competition just kept making it harder.”
Staff Writer
Simons said the family decided
Vero Beach’s iconic Steil gas sta- “within the last couple of months” to
tion on U.S. 1 – a local landmark for shutter the station and sell the prop-
more than five decades – is scheduled erty, which is under contract. She de-
to close Saturday, unable to compete clined to identify the buyer, the buy-
with the upgraded products, services er’s plans or the sale price.
and ambiance at nearby Wawa, Cum-
berland Farms and Speedway stores. She said the decision was “very, very
difficult for us,” but she believes her fa-
The property will be sold next week, ther –who worked as a real estate agent
but it will not remain a gas station, ac- for the General Development Corpo-
cording to Cecilia Simons, daughter of ration in the Vero Highlands and Vero
Jim Steil, who founded the indepen- Shores before starting his business –
dent Steil Oil Company in 1965 with would have agreed with it.
the gas station on U.S. 1 and saw it ex-
pand to 16 Florida locations. “My father created a successful
business, and that first station on U.S.
Steil, a Miami native who served 1 has been a great one for a long time,”
in the Army during World War II and Simons said, adding that she became
moved to Vero Beach in 1954, died in involved with the company’s opera-
2019. The station on U.S. 1 is the com- tions 33 years ago. “But he knew what
pany’s lone surviving station. the competition was doing to us.”

“We’re a small, family business, and The original Steil gas station flour-
we’re like all the other small, locally ished through the 1970s and into the
owned businesses that are getting 1980s, when the stretch of I-95 linking
pushed out by big corporations,” said Vero Beach and Fort Pierce was un-
Simons, who co-owns the company finished and thru traffic on U.S. 1 was
with her brother and sister. heavier.

“We were doing well enough to keep Southbound traffic was diverted
everyone employed, and we wanted to eastbound onto State Road 60 to U.S.
keep going, if only for sentimental rea- 1, through Vero Beach, then south to
sons,” she added. “We developed a lot the turnpike feeder road, which took
of loyal customers over 56 years, going drivers back to I-95 near Fort Pierce.
back to when the area code here was
305, and the station still reminds them “You had to get off at Vero Beach
of old Vero. and go to U.S. 1, so a lot of the big
trucks would stop for gas on their way
“But we’re competing against three through,” Simons said. “They liked us

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 13

NEWS

because our prices have always been continue to fight against government After the vote to appoint Winger, ship of the Indian River Neighborhood
very competitive. They still are.” excess and question spending that will Brackett accused his colleagues on Association, which has strongly advo-
place an additional tax burden on city the dais of walking into the interviews cated for a stormwater utility tax and
Competitive pricing hasn’t been the residents and businesses, but he won’t with a prearranged outcome in mind. where Winger serves on the board of
only draw for local motorists, however. even have the support to get a second “I wish it had been a little more trans- directors.
The Steil station was one of the last at for a motion. parent,” Brackett said.
which an attendant would still pump Brackett, who opposes levying a
your gas. Brackett will continue as mayor until There is nothing illegal about re- stormwater tax in a pandemic econ-
Nov. 15, according to City Clerk Tammy cruiting a person to run for office or omy, believes Winger was encouraged
Simons said she’s concerned about Bursick, as the city charter does not call apply for an open seat, but Neville, to apply to bolster the stormwater util-
Steil’s older customers, especially those for a new vote for mayor and vice may- McCabe and Minuse all denied con- ity agenda – or at least to prevent any-
who might struggle physically to han- or after the appointment of a council tacting Winger or asking him to run. one who would challenge that agenda
dle self-service pumps. member – only after an election. from landing the temporary job.
“I never asked him to run, I swear,”
“They depend on us to pump their But Brackett likely will be on the said Minuse. “The opinion was out weeks ago that
gas, but I don’t know where to send lonely end of numerous 4-1 votes, with Mr. Winger was the guy,” Brackett said.
them,” she said. “It’s sad.” Winger committing to side with the Assuming that’s true, the recruit-
other three council members. ment contact may have been made Vero’s operating budget for the com-
Simons said she has had a particu- through someone else in the leader-
larly tough time breaking the news to CONTINUED ON PAGE 16
longtime customers, many of whom
have accounts with the company.

“I had tears in my eyes when I talk-
ed to them on the phone,” she said. “I
keep remembering pictures of my dad
pumping gas or holding a hose, water-
ing the grass. There are so many mem-
ories of that station.”

If all goes as planned, Simons said,
the station’s underground gas tanks
will be removed early next week, and
the sale of the property will close
next Friday.

And just like that, another nostalgic
connection to Vero Beach's past will
disappear.

"This was our first station, and now
it’s our last,” she said. “It’s been quite a

ride.” 

Winger’s return to council
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

wise and foolish, in times of recession
and times of surplus. But we’ve never
witnessed anything quite like this.

The council had three or four other
solid candidates for the seat left open
by Graves resignation. But they chose
Winger, who pledged to serve as a de
facto rubber stamp for whatever the
three-member voting bloc of Vice
Mayor Rey Neville, Councilwoman
Honey Minuse and Councilman Bob
McCabe want to do.

In his interview during the public
meeting, Winger, 83, said he would go

along with the prevailing will of the
council.

“I would not be the tie-breaking vote,”
Winger said, adding that being merely
appointed and not elected, he does
not feel he would have the authority to
push his own objectives or opinions, or
to block the majority from acting.

What does that mean for Vero Beach
taxpayers? Well, most likely it means
hold onto your wallets. And prepare to
pay a stormwater tax starting this fall.

Mayor Robbie Brackett will certainly





16 Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Winger’s return to council in previous years, may burst forth
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13 into the 2021-2022 budget if it is not
closely scrutinized.
ing year is currently being formulated
by department heads and managers Over the next seven months, public
who now know there will be little re- engagement and live public comment
sistance to added spending as long as at meetings will be more important
they can justify it as maintaining the than usual if residents oppose the di-
quality of life in the city or bolstering rection this new council could take the
city services. city.

With additional money from a That, plus ensuring that a fiscal con-
stormwater tax rolling in, pricey wish servative runs for Winger’s seat in No-
list items and projects, held back vember, is all that can be done to halt
the long-term effects of whatever this

council aims to achieve. 

70,000 county residents have received
at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine

PHOTO BY BRENDA AHEARN

BY LISA ZAHNER and college vacation time in March.
Staff Writer The number of new infections per

More than 70,000 Indian River Coun- day jumped from a daily average of
ty residents have received at least one 21 last week to 26 this week, but the
dose of COVID-19 vaccine as of press positivity rate remained way below 10
time Monday, and of those, more than percent, ranging from 4 percent to 7
42,000 people are fully vaccinated. percent over the past week.

That means more than a quarter of Hospitalizations are still in the teens,
the county should be fully protected steady from last week, with nearly half
from serious COVID disease and hos- the county’s intensive-care beds avail-
pitalization – which outpaces the state able as the week began. These statis-
of Florida as a whole, where only one- tics indicate that efforts to vaccinate
fifth of residents are fully vaccinated. the most at-risk residents in the senior
and medically vulnerable population,
Combining the number of locals as well as people in long-term care fa-
partially and fully vaccinated with cilities, is having the desired effect.
those recently recovered from infec-
tion results in heartening news that The Indian River County Health
nearly half of all county residents have Department is trying a new strategy
at least some level of immunity from to get more shots in arms by schedul-
COVID-19. ing three walk-up, no-appointment-
needed clinic days to get the first dose
Despite those numbers, the local of the Pfizer vaccine at the Indian Riv-
daily case count is up slightly this er County Fairgrounds.
week – possibly due to the expected
post-spring break hump from more The first walk-up day was this past
people traveling over public school Saturday, with two upcoming events

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18



18 Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

COVID-19 vaccine All residents must show photo iden- the U.S. Food and Drug Administra- “highly effective” in younger patients.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16 tification to get the shot. The Pfizer tion to expand its Emergency Use The FDA has not yet scheduled a
vaccine is approved for emergency use Authorization of the two-dose vac-
offering 450 first-dose shots each day in people age 16 and older, but minors cine to children ages 12 to 16, based meeting of its vaccine advisory com-
from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, April must have a parent present to sign off upon data from a limited clinical mittee to review this request, which
16 and Friday, April 23. on teens getting the shot. trial of a few thousand kids over re- is likely to be controversial due to the
cent months, claiming the vaccine is experimental nature of mRNA-based
Pfizer BioNTech has applied to
vaccine technology in humans. 

JOHN’S ISLAND SERVICE LEAGUE
RAISES THE PHILANTHROPIC BAR

20 Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

John’s Island Service League raises the philanthropic bar

Hope Woodhouse, Betsy Fox
and Pat Thompson. PHOTOS: KAILA JONES

BY MARY SCHENKEL PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 22 Rural Legal Services to assist local
Staff Writer Sue Ann Siegelbaum and Sallyan Pelletier. residents faced with evictions and
foreclosures.
Under normal circumstances, the to 39 agencies and $55,000 in scholar- port the United Way COVID-19 Fund
John’s Island Community Service ships for John’s Island employees and (an initial $50,000 had been granted in “We had all hoped that the pan-
League has supported its charitable their children. March). demic would be over by the fall and
endeavors primarily through fund- things would go back to normal for us
raising events and revenue from the COVID came to town just two Around the same time, Ellen Ken- and everyone else. We were wrong,”
Tambourine Shop. But as everyone months before Betsy Fox began her dall and Michelle Julian pivoted their says Fox, adding that the next hurdle
knows, this past year has been any- two-year term as JICSL president, and efforts from an Affordable Housing was raising money without events.
thing but normal. as the situation began to unfold, she Task Force in partnership with the
says they recognized that food, rent John’s Island Foundation, to a collab- “Our fundraising has always been
Curtailing their funding of local and utility assistance would soon be- orative HEART (Housing Emergency event-driven, and events dropped
charities was never an option for this come a priority. Advocacy Response Team) program. from our calendar one by one. We
philanthropic group, who despite the The JICSL is currently funding a dedi- were all wondering what we were go-
forced cancellation of their 40th An- As a result, they issued a successful cated legal aid attorney at Florida ing to do, and then Pat Thompson
niversary Gala last March, dispersed $200,000 challenge grant to again sup- sprang into action and got it started,”
a then all-time high of more than $1.2 says Fox.
million in 2020, which included grants
to charitable agencies, to the United Mandated to shelter at home,
Way COVID-19 Fund, and to scholar- Thomson kept herself busy by compil-
ships to John’s Island employees and ing a cookbook with help from family
their children. and friends. The resulting “Kitchen
Captive” has already sold more than
Through sheer determination and 1,000 copies.
the generosity of residents and spon-
sors, the JICSL this fiscal year (May 1, “It is a compilation of about 100 rec-
2020 to April 30, 2021) has surpassed ipes collected by Pat and contributed
even that amount, distributing more by members. Pat tested every single
than $1.5 million back into the com- one and it’s got a lot of her wonder-
munity. ful personality in it. It’s really a huge
success,” says Fox. “She created the
Included in that $1.5 million, grant momentum of ‘we can do this; we’ll
co-chairs Lynne Whipple and Sarah figure out another way.’ It’s ingenuity
Jane Moore allocated $1.118 million like Pat’s that made us realize there is
more than one way to do this.”

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 21

PEOPLE

The book is available at Consider I think that makes a difference,” she The one event they did hold, an ible roles are equally important.
the Cook, off Ocean Drive, and Note- explains. “The same thing happened inaugural Masters Par 3 Family Golf “One of the most rewarding mo-
worthy in the Village Shops, with 100 when we highlighted our employ- Tournament, was a huge hit.
percent of sales funneled back into ees and their children who received ments I’ve had this season was
JICSL. scholarships. I think that encouraged “Since we are an event-driven or- when a new resident of John’s Island
people to give more.” ganization, we really wanted to have stopped me and said the reason that
They joined the virtual world with some kind of event and the only thing she and her husband had contribut-
Tiffany and Co., perennially a major Meanwhile, the Tambourine Shop we knew we could do was a golf event. ed to the campaign was because they
event sponsor, taking the raffle of a had one of its most successful years, We had mechanisms in place to keep knew that the Service League would
Tiffany T Square bracelet online. Ad- despite being closed last March and everyone safe,” Fox explains. “Every- be good stewards of their donation,”
ditionally, JICSL opted to have an on- April. “Terry Osteen has been there one really enjoyed themselves. We’re says Fox.
line auction of about a dozen must- practically every day; she’s really 100 percent certain we’ll do it again
have items. put her heart and soul into it,” says next year.” “And that’s not something that hap-
Fox. “A lot of people were home and pens overnight. It’s because of the re-
“Our sponsors were more generous so they were cleaning out closets, Fox is quick to give credit for the markable work of previous presidents
this season than ever before. They kitchens and donating things they success of their endeavors to the hard and board members. I feel very fortu-
did get a lot of exposure, despite not weren’t using any more.” work of the board members, commit- nate to lead such an incredibly well-
having events, because we’ve done so tee chairs and all those whose less vis- respected organization.” 
much online. It’s been great,” says Fox.

“Our Spring Event co-chairs, Sally-
an Pelletier and Sue Siegelbaum, had
hoped to plan an outdoor concert,
with concertgoers seated in pods of
eight,” says Fox, but they eventually
realized it wouldn’t be possible.

During a brainstorming session,
Pelletier and Siegelbaum with Bo
Forbes from Ironside Press devised
the idea for their successful ‘I’m in!
1,000 for $1,000 Campaign.’

In addition to being an opportunity
to engage a larger percentage of John’s
Island residents, they felt it would be
an opportunity to educate residents as
to where their generous donations go.
“We knew that we wanted to highlight
some of our agencies and the wonder-
ful work they do in our community;
what critical roles they play in helping
our Indian River County neighbors.”

Fox says Pelletier and Siegelbaum
have been “prodigious workers” who
treated the campaign like a gala, with
eye-catching invitations and “I’m in”
ballcaps delivered to donors, adding
that they hit every one of their goals.

Starting in mid-January, they
emailed weekly “Agency Spotlight”
videos of some of the agencies that
provide our community with much-
needed services, as well as some of
the scholarship recipients. They also
arranged to video some of the people
who had made donations proclaim-
ing, “I’m in!” – which were shown be-
fore and after each agency video.

“It really just made a wonderful im-
pact to see all the people who partici-
pated,” says Fox.

“One thing that was interesting as
we watched the campaign unfold, is
that as soon as we sent out one of these
videos on a Monday morning, there
was an almost immediate response
with donations. These videos are in-
credibly meaningful and moving.”

A Special Equestrians of the Trea-
sure Coast video highlighted the child
of a man who had done a lot of work
on homes in the John’s Island com-
munity.

“We realized this was impacting
someone we know in our community.

22 Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

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Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 23

PEOPLE

‘Grand’ gestures for needy at Community Outreach gala

Catherine Reichert and Susanne Sweeny. PHOTOS: BRENDA AHEARN Doug and Sue Marquis with Peter Weiss. PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 24
Richard and Ann Passen.

mained, though – their Angel Auction. Grand Harbor Community Outreach
The annual paddle raise encouraged has given away more than $6 million
attendees “to pause and bring our focus in contributions, and in 2021 is provid-
back to those in need,” with a special ing funding to 28 charitable agencies.
emphasis on at-risk children, homeless The group focuses its philanthropic
families, the elderly and military veter- efforts toward local agencies that seek
ans. In return, each of the special angel to transform lives, strengthen fami-
bidders were given handmade angels, lies and improve the community.
fashioned out of shells.
For more information, visit ghcop.
Over the course of the past 20 years, org. 

John Sullivan and Molly Mugler with Helen Evans and Melanie Lewis.

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF they had been surprised by the re-
Staff Writer sponse, given the pandemic. With
some 180 guests in attendance, Grand
Supporters of the Grand Harbor Harbor residents have once again
Community Outreach Program cel- stepped up to show that they care
ebrated 20 years of addressing the un- about their neighbors in need.
met needs of groups and individuals
in Indian River County in the areas of “We had no idea if we would have
health, education and human services anything this year. The club was
during their recent Return to Paradise closed, the vaccine was still a wish, and
Gala Dinner and Auction, held out- you hardly ever saw anyone unless you
doors at the Grand Harbor Golf Club. were out walking. We remember that
all too well. And yet, here we are to-
The annual event was initially night on this beautiful evening, in this
scheduled to take place at the Grand wonderful setting,” said Kathy Tonkel,
Harbor Beach Club, but it was moved Grand Harbor Outreach board presi-
at the last minute due to gusting winds dent, crediting the co-chairs for pull-
off the ocean. Club staff and the event ing it off. “Here we are in this beautiful
committee pivoted seamlessly, ensur- setting, a true return to paradise.”
ing that guests would enjoy a lovely
evening. With travel still considered risky,
Sweeny said the committee turned
The event was held outside by the their sights toward locally sourced
putting green, where attendees en- live-auction items, such as premier
joyed appetizers, an elegant dinner, parking spaces, Indian River Lagoon
and live and silent auctions, before river cruises, an Audubon adventure
closing out the evening by dancing to and Grand Harbor dining experienc-
the Riptide Band. es, rather than their traditional travel
packages to Manhattan with accom-
“The gala sold out in two hours,” panying Broadway tickets.
said Susanne Sweeny, event co-chair
with Catherine Reichert, adding that One time-honored tradition re-

24 Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

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26 Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Solemn ‘Memory Field’ honors tragic child-abuse victims

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF hands of a parent or family member. do to their children. Help us to de- velop social support systems, and
Staff Writer The Exchange Clubs of Indian velop better programs and be able to safeguard child safety. Non-violent
reach further into our communities parenting practices are developed,
A somber group gathered recently River, Sebastian, Vero Beach and the to help stop this,” said Judy Landgrave community connections are built to
at Riverview Park in Sebastian amid Treasure Coast sponsored the Chil- past president of the Exchange Club enable access to the services needed
a field of 82 flags waving in the wind dren’s Memory Field in recognition of Vero Beach, during her invocation. to meet their children’s needs, and
to honor the tragic loss of life that of April as National Child Abuse Pre- modifications are made to the entire
each of those flags represents – one vention Month. Each flag carried the name and age family unit.
for each Florida child whose life was of a child whose life was cut tragically
lost in 2020 to child abuse at the “As we gather here at this solemn short: Jaxson, age 3 months; Mercalli, “You cannot just mentor a child
place, please help us to understand age 2 years; Madilyn, 10 months, and and send the child back to their en-
how people can do the things they on it goes. vironment and expect a change. You
have to change the environment in
“Every day should be about pre- which the child is developing. We
venting child abuse, but we honor can only do that by working with the
them during this month, and we’re parents,” said Munoz, noting that
able to recognize it and bring aware- their ultimate objective is ending
ness to the situation,” said Sandy Mu- the cycle of child abuse.
noz, Psy.D., Children’s Healing Insti-
tute CEO. “That is our goal. We want to cre-
ate that generational change by
The Children’s Healing Institute building that trusting relationship,
offers a six-month intensive Parent creating effective household disci-
Aide program that provides weekly, pline in the home, modeling in the
in-home support to give parents the home, and really making an impact
skills and knowledge needed to nur- with those kids,” added Munoz.
ture and care for their children. Fam-
ilies are referred to CHI by the Florida Area Exchange Clubs have con-
Department of Children and Families tinued the Children’s Memory Field
or by self-referral. originally launched by the now-de-
funct CASTLE (Child Abuse Services
“Each year, so many children die Training and Life Enrichment).
from abuse. In Florida, when I first
started, we had about 250 kids that Florida District Exchange presi-
would die as a result of child abuse dent-elect Joseph Walsh noted that
and neglect. This past year we are due to COVID, funding for Child
under 100, which is amazing, but we Abuse Prevention programs had
need to get that down to zero. We been stripped out of the state bud-
shouldn’t have any flags standing,” get.
said Munoz.
“We got no funding from them last
“This should be a time of celebra- year and probably will not this year,”
tion of all the wonderful work that said Walsh, adding that Exchange
we do with families and not having Club fundraisers help support those
to recognize all the children that we local nonprofits that focus on assist-
lost. Sadly, until that day happens, ing families and child abuse preven-
there will be a child abuse prevention tion.
agency like ours trying to work with
those families.” The flags spent the first half of the
month at Riverview Park in Sebas-
During home visits, parents are tian and will remain at St. Helen’s
taught to improve their parenting Catholic Church in Vero Beach from
and problem-solving skills, de- April 18-30. 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 27

PEOPLE

Suzan Santosus, Sandy Munoz and Robin Dapp. PHOTOS: BRENDA AHEARN

Barbara Parent and Marni Parent-Howder. Vance Brinkerhoff and Rick Hahn.

Jonathan Rhodeback, Michael Natale, Joni Mazzola and Joe Walsh.

Joy Walsh, Kathy Burns and Judy Landgrave.

28 Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

‘Keep Indian River Beautiful’ honorees went above, beyond

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF
Staff Writer

Keep Indian River Beautiful las- County Commissioner Laura Moss, Daisy Packer and Kristie Woodward. PHOTOS: KAILA JONES
soed a few environmental champi-
ons recently at a Western Shindig-
themed Environmental Awards
Ceremony at LaPorte Farms, where
the bucolic setting underscored the
importance of living in harmony
with our natural surroundings. The
annual KIRB awards highlight the
efforts of individuals, businesses
and civic clubs working to improve
Indian River County.

Daisy Packer, KIRB executive di-
rector, said Laura LaPorte, a new
board member, had generously of-
fered the use of the farm, after con-
cerns were expressed about holding
the event indoors, as in years past.

In addition to being lauded for
their efforts to “Keep Indian River
Beautiful,” this year’s honorees also
had the distinction of soldiering on
through the pandemic. Although
several recipients could not attend
the awards ceremony – as is their

Law Offices of Jennifer D. Peshke, P.A. nature, they were off doing good addresses coastal pollution and
deeds elsewhere – others accepted beach ecology, received the Part-
Ryne E.Hartt, Esq.recently the awards in their stead. ner of the Year Award for its con-
joined The Law Offices of sistent and reliable sponsorship of
Jennifer D. Peshke, P.A. as Indian River County Sheriff’s Of- KIRB beach cleanups and increased
an Associate Attorney. A fice Dep. Teddy Floyd was the recip- support. Additionally, a grant from
Florida native, Ryne grew ient of the Extra Mile Award for his them enabled KIRB to plant 3,000
up on a cattle and citrus unwavering dedication to the com- sea oats along a 1-mile stretch of
operation in Highlands munity, with Packer commenting dune at Sebastian Inlet Park, fund-
County, Florida. He graduated from the University of Florida with a BS in that he can always be counted on to ed through the sale of the Endless
Food and Resource Economics and a Master of International Business roll up his sleeves and lend a hand, Summer specialty license plate.
in 2015. He continued to earn his JD from the University of Florida Levin no matter the challenge.
College of Law in 2018. Prior to joining The Law Offices of Jennifer D. The Volunteer of the Year Award
Peshke, P.A., Ryne worked as an Associate Attorney in Sebring, Florida, “We are grateful for Deputy Floyd, was presented to McKenzie Wil-
for two years focusing on estate administration and probate, estate his strengths and his leadership in liams, a real “go-getter,” as evi-
planning, and guardianships. He is an active member of the Florida Bar this community. He is the gold stan- denced by her impressive resume
Association. dard and epitomizes this Extra Mile of volunteerism and extracurricu-
Award,” said Packer. lar activities. Williams is a past re-
Ryne is available to meet with clients regarding real estate matters, cipient of the KIRB Environmental
estate planning consultations including wills, trusts, powers of attorney Surfing’s Evolution & Preserva-
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Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 29

PEOPLE

Youth Award and, at age 11, now holds PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 30 like the beaches and the lagoon,”
the distinction of being the youngest Oakey Bragg, Keltie Casalina and Jaelyn Casalina. said Packer. “The environment fol-
Volunteer of the Year recipient. lows us into our communities. It fol-
be spotted picking up litter along The Tiki Company received the lows us into our neighborhoods. It’s
Kaden Funnell was named Envi- Roseland Boulevard, was recognized Recycling Excellence Award for everything that we are a part of, and
ronmental Youth for his efforts to as an Environmental Champion. its use of recycled materials. More it’s a part of our lives at all times.”
keep our natural environs clean, than 8,000 pounds of re-used paint
healthy and safe. “He has worked The Community Builder Award was and 100 percent recycled wood are Packer said KIRB is making a re-
hard to be a shining example to oth- given to Rosi Stubbs for her tireless used to create Tiki sign art, reduc- newed effort to do more to “enhance
er students. He believes that keeping energy working to improve schools, ing the amount of wood ending up our community environment by up-
our community clean is essential for provide aid to teachers, organize fun- in the landfill by an estimated 15,000 lifting our residents, beautifying our
our environment,” said Packer. draisers, and coordinate volunteers to pounds. neighborhoods and promoting sus-
maintain the Winter Beach Historical tainability. That way, we can take on
She added that the Sebastian River Cemetery. Packer said Stubbs is “more “We want to remind people that new tasks, new programs and really
High School Future Business Lead- than a pillar in this community. She is the environment doesn’t stop at do a lot of new partnerships. We’re
ers of America club was the recipient the foundation.” those areas that we want to preserve, really excited about that direction
of the Environmental Youth Group and how you all can work with us in
Award for their litter cleanup efforts, the future.”
in large part due to the urging of
Funnell. KIRB continued its work during
the pandemic by transitioning away
For its environmental efforts, the from big-event cleanups to having
Vero Beach Yacht Club was named people contact KIRB for supplies
the 2020 Environmental Business before organizing their own group
of the Year. After adopting Spoil Is- cleanups and environmental activi-
land IR 25, club members collected ties.
15 bags of trash weighing 80 pounds.
The VBYC has also been identified During the event, attendees also
as a Clean Marina, as defined by the visited with the animals that call
Florida Department of Environmen- LaPorte Farms home, rode the me-
tal Protection, and, in addition to chanical bull, bid on auction items,
endeavoring to recycle all glass and and enjoyed a barbecue dinner and
corrugated boxes, has transitioned dancing to George Clarke’s lively
away from plastic straws to the ex- country tunes.
clusive use of paper straws.
For more information, visit keepin-
For his environmental efforts, dianriverbeautiful.org. 
Rene VanDeVoorde, who can often

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and experience to the table and are available to assist with your legal needs including:

Real Estate Purchases & Sales • Business Entity Formation & Advice

Estate Planning Needs Including Wills,Trusts, POA and Healthcare Directives for Florida Residents

Probate & Trust Administration Services • Guardianship and Special Needs Planning Matters

Please Call 772-231-1233 to learn more and schedule your consultation, or
visit: www.peshkelaw.com for more information.

30 Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29 Sabby Hightower and Michele Vergho.
Nancy Clarke with Bruce and Dot Judah.

Gloria Bentley and Donna Griffin. Marleigh Coletti and Molly Reiman. Kristen Reiman and Tonya Coletti.

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Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 31

PEOPLE

Sheriff Eric Flowers and Kristie Woodward. George Brandon, Laura LaPorte and Mike Baran. Kenneth and Rosi Stubbs with Daisy Packer.

Joyce and Sean Kashawlic.

Lily Brandon and Kimberly Keithahn.
Judy and Tom Peschio.

32 Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Shell of a turnout for eco-friendly ‘Tipsy Turtle’ event

BY MARY SCHENKEL Jake Kramer, Adrian Castro, Noah McMann, Zac Willocks and Caleb Wilkinson. PHOTOS: BRENDA AHEARN dash across the sand, making their
Staff Writer way through volunteers dressed to
early, and we’re very excited about it.” “I believe every marine turtle per- simulate the dangers faced by sea
After last year’s inaugural Tipsy Tur- One of the marked leatherback nests mit holder will be monitoring it to turtles as they scramble up out of their
tle was torpedoed by the pandemic, make sure it remains safe,” said Cope, nests and dash to the water, where an
Coastal Connections resolutely picked is north of Sexton Plaza, a rarity in that referencing groups such as theirs that ocean filled with dangers awaits them,
up where they had left off, hosting location for the largest and one of the are authorized to do so by the Florida before, hopefully, making it back to the
a family-friendly, educational Tipsy least common of sea turtles in Florida, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Com- beach of their birth to nest. Threats on
Turtle 2-Mile Run/Walk along Ocean and the hope is that everyone will real- mission. land and in the water include natu-
Drive last Saturday morning. The ize how special it is. ral predators such as raccoons, crabs
nonprofit, founded in 2017 by Kendra Cope explained that leatherbacks and sharks, but the greatest hazards
Cope, is dedicated to the protection of are the earliest nesters and have the are man-made, such as plastic bags,
sea turtles, coastal habitats and wild- longest incubation period – between straws and other debris, fishing nets
life through educational activities, 70 and 80 days. Loggerheads and green and long-lines, and coastal develop-
programs and initiatives that safe- sea turtles have incubation periods ment and disorienting lights on the
guard the environment. of between 50 and 60 days and begin beach.
nesting in April and May, respectively.
Roughly 200 participants gathered After the race, folks enjoyed mu-
in the Ocean Grill parking lot at the “The event is more than just a 2-mile sic by Donnie Haight, sipped on beer
start of the race and returned to Sex- race. It’s an educational day to share from Sailfish Brewing Co. and mimo-
ton Plaza for a morning of eco-centric with our community and to raise sas from Mulligan’s Beach House, bid
fun. awareness of local sea turtle conserva- on items in a silent auction, and pe-
tion efforts supported by Coastal Con- rused several tables with educational
“We’re excited to be doing this now nections,” said Cope. materials.
to bring awareness of sea turtle nest-
ing season,” said Cope, noting that the A Hatchling Dash was meant to edu- “As we enter into sea turtle nesting
nesting season officially runs from cate the younger set, ages 9 and under, season, don’t forget that every person
March 1 to Oct. 31. “We do already said Cope. “So, they get to learn what can have an impact and play a role in
have a couple of leatherback nests on it’s like to be a hatchling and what they the turtle conservation story. Every
our beaches now, so we have started have to do to survive as a sea turtle.” small behavior or decision that you
make does affect our ability to help
Each of three age groups made a this species recover,” said Cope.

“This fundraiser is extremely im-
portant to us because it helps raise the
funds to keep our programs free. Our
programs are always offered for free
thanks to the generosity of donors or
through fundraisers, and we want to
be able to continue to offer them at no
cost.”

Activities and programs include
turtle digs (evaluating hatched nests),
nighttime turtle walks, coastal clean-
ups, a plastic wrap recycle program
for businesses, and the Vero Goes Zero
initiative which helps transition busi-
nesses away from single-use plastics.

For more information, visit coastal-
connections.org. 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 33

PEOPLE

Celeste McWilliams. PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 34
Cindy Petrovits and Sara Bussert.

Karyn Carter, Vicki Mingin and Nancy Wilson. Mikaela Hall. Laura and Rebecca Hurley.

34 Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33 Lisa Rose, Megan Lynch and Melissa McSulla. Chris Demeter and Florence Howe of LED Capstone.
Carleen Plourde and Barb Grass.

Jerry Diangelo and Anna Valencia Tillery. Tony and Maura Ammendolia. Sue Flak and Chris Consi.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 35

PEOPLE

Celeste McWilliams, Kendra Cope and Wanda Hayden Bolton. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE

Jeff and Emelia Bonner.

36 Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ST. EDWARD’S

Star player Wolfe’s presence is a gift to St. Ed’s lacrosse

BY RON HOLUB The opening game was delayed
Correspondent for over a month as COVID-19 pro-
tocols were sorted out, but when ev-
Topping the list of reasons Bren- was an entertaining game and Brennan Wolfe. erything was finally squared away,
nan Wolfe transferred to from Vero I’m glad we could walk away Brennan tossed three touchdown
Beach High School to St. Edward’s with a good win. field. passes to his younger brother Con-
in the middle of his sophomore year “Bren- nor in a 35-6 rout. The whole family
was the opportunity to be on the var- “As we progress further into will look back fondly on that one for
sity lacrosse team with a bunch of our season, we must dial in nan is the most versatile player on a long while.
guys he knew from the club circuit. and take it one game at a time. our roster,” Bailey said. “He could
If we continue to see success, start at attack, midfield, long stick “It was fun playing with my broth-
Playing your favorite sport with it will have to start in practice. middie or defense. He’s very fast, in- er,” Wolfe told us. “Ever since we
your buddies is always attractive, but Our team has the potential to go credibly quick and smooth. He can were young he played receiver and
this reunion was made even sweeter very far in the playoffs, and I’m be relied on to create matchups we I played quarterback. We just had a
when the Pirates emerged as a state eager to see how this unfolds.” like and take the team on his back if connection. I always knew where he
powerhouse that year. needed. was going before he went there. It
St. Ed’s was 11-3 after the victory was just habit.
The move to St. Ed’s was original- over VBHS. Head coach Doug Bailey “He’s worth four points a game no
ly designed to offer him three full has a well-balanced team with Wolfe matter what side of the field we put “Last year football was challeng-
spring lacrosse seasons, with two an instrumental force all over the him on. And I’m not kidding.” ing but every situation brings its
varsity football seasons to boot. As high and lows. Coach (Mark) Gowin
for academics, Wolfe was already Time still remains for Wolfe to cre- did a remarkable job of just trying
on that fast track with his classroom ate a few more memories on the high to cope with this entire pandemic.
work at Vero High. school lacrosse field. He did exactly I think overall we had a pretty good
that in a big way on the gridiron last year (4-1).”
Injuries and the pandemic limited fall, including with a stand-out per-
Wolfe to nine football games over formance in the opener of the 2020 As the school year winds down,
two years, and his junior year of la- season. coach Bailey, Wolfe and his Pirate
crosse was all but wiped away when teammates will focus on capturing a
everything vanished in the spring fourth consecutive district lacrosse
of 2020. So, he had to be gratified
and relieved when this year’s Senior title. Wolfe knows what must be
Night – denied to seniors a year ago done.
– went off without a hitch on April 7. “I think our success is due
to everyone buying into the
In an exciting game, the home program,” he said. “Over
team erased a 5-1 deficit to defeat the summer and fall
Vero Beach High School, 12-7. Wolfe we are on a club team.
picked up a ground ball, raced up- Having everybody buy-
field with Vero defenders desperately ing into playing sum-
backpedaling, and fired one into the mer, fall, and then our
net essentially uncontested. That spring varsity sea-
made it 5-4 just before halftime and son gives us the team
was key in facilitating the comeback. chemistry that we need.
“We want to get to
Senior Night was also the tradi- the district champion-
tional vantage point to look ahead ship and beat Benjamin
and contemplate the district play- this time. That’s just the
offs. first step, of course. We want

“Senior Night was great,” Wolfe to make it to states this year, and
said. “It was cool to play my old that is realistic.”
school and our hometown rivals. It
Whatever happens from here on
Are you buyers or sellers of a home? out, Wolfe has already archived the
highs and lows he mentioned while
We Take Consignments & Buy Estates at St. Ed’s. His graduation and tran-
sition to college looks to be much
Save $$ on Quality Preowned Furnishings & Home Decor more orderly than it was for seniors
just last year.
9,000 sq.ft. Showroom
Voted Best Consignment Store! “I plan to study construction man-
agement at the University of Florida.
kaleidoscopeconsignments.com • (772)226-5719 I took college (prep) classes at VBHS
644 Old Dixie Hwy SW, Blue Heron Plaza, Vero Beach but coming over here the curriculum
took some getting used to. The help I
got made the switch pretty easy.

“I’m probably going to pursue club
lacrosse at UF. And I know I’m going
to be watching the football games.
As long as I can just go out there and
enjoy the environment, that would
be awesome.” 



Adam Goldstein has mixed feelings about Whether the latest crop of companies are
the phrase “flying cars.” truly close to cracking the problem or sim-
ply chasing a pipe dream is yet to be seen
“What I like about it is it drives a lot of ex- – but they certainly have the money for a
citement,” says the young aerospace entre- serious technological effort.
preneur. “The challenge is that it makes the
industry seem a little silly. It’s like a way of Adcock and Goldstein, previously best
poking fun at the industry, almost delegiti- known for founding and selling a marketing
mizing the industry. And it distracts people software firm called Vettery, have recruited
from understanding how close it really is.” expert talent from Wisk, a similar start-up
formed by Boeing and Google co-founder
Goldstein and his business partner Brett Larry Page, and Airbus’s now-discontinued
Adcock are the co-founders of Archer Avia- Vahana project. The poaching spree was so
tion, and if they are silly, then so too are the intense that it is said to have temporarily
team of investors, asset funds, airlines and inflated engineering salaries in the area.
manufacturers who have backed them.
Last week, however, Archer was hit by a
Since last May, their three-year-old firm lawsuit from Wisk alleging that its aircraft
has gone from a mysterious “stealth mode”

skunkworks to a $3.8 billion start-up set to
go public – all before publicly revealing an
actual aircraft.

The Palo Alto-based firm – whose futur-
istic designs do look, to the untrained eye,
like the typical flying car – already has a $1
billion order for its vehicles from United
Airlines, as well as a manufacturing deal
with Stellantis, the Dutch carmaker that
owns Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot.

Firms have been striving to build an air-
borne automobile since at least 1940, when
the idea was backed by none other than car
pioneer Henry Ford. Since then, business
after business has claimed to be close to
success before failing to deliver.

Archer Aviation craft called the Maker.

were based on thousands of files illegally the technology has been worked on over
downloaded by former employees before the past 10 years, and batteries are now
they defected. good enough and power trains are now
good enough to fly economically viable
“We believe it is virtually impossible for missions,” said Goldstein. “There’s a lot of
Archer to have produced an originally-de- companies out there today that are science
signed aircraft in this timeframe,” said Wisk. bets. This is not a science play. It’s at the
stage of execution.”
Archer strongly denied that and vowed to
contest it in court, while disclosing that it Archer and Wisk belong to the nascent
had suspended an employee as part of a US industry of “urban air mobility” (UAM):
government investigation. small vertical take-off and landing (VTOL)
craft with electric or hybrid engines, de-
Speaking to The Telegraph one day before signed for the short city hops that currently
the suit was filed, Adcock and Goldstein fall to helicopters (for the rich) or taxis and
credited their lift-off to an experienced trains (for everyone else).
team and progress made by the industry as
a whole. CONTINUED ON PAGE 40

“We’re at this inflection point where all

40 Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 39 INSIGHT COVER STORY

Archer Aviation co-founders Brett Adcock (left) and Adam Goldstein

Interest from incumbents such as The initial Joby eVTOL will be powered by six es, military applications and, eventu-
United, Lufthansa, Lockheed Martin electric motors and have a projected top speed of 200 mph. ally, autonomous flight.
and the US military have heated the
market to boiling point, with Alaska An illustration obtained from the Lilium website shows a battery-powered Archer’s schedule and financial tar-
Airlines chief Ben Minicucci saying eV- five-seater aircraft prototype, that Lilium hopes to bring into service by 2025. gets appear extremely bold. It predicts
TOLs will be necessary for traditional revenue of $1 billion by 2025, just one
carriers to meet their environmental year after its planned launch, and dou-
targets. According to PitchBook, UAM ble that amount in 2026. On a trip from
firms enjoyed investments of $3.8 bil- Manhattan to New York’s JFK Airport, it
lion in the first three months of 2021 estimates that it will not only undercut
alone, with more than 100 start-ups vy- helicopter flights but shared Uber Pool
ing for control. rides, costing about $50 per seat.

Imagine, says Archer, “a world not While Goldstein and Bristow do not
constrained by traffic” in which pas- disclose their modelling, they say it is
sengers could fly from Silicon Valley founded on a perfect storm of factors al-
to the vineyards of Napa as cheaply as lowing Archer to squeeze every possible
taking a taxi, and far more quickly. The penny from each seat on each craft.
company promises a craft called the
Maker, with a range of 60 miles, a top First is speed: an air taxi can flit back
speed of 150 mph and seats for four, and forth along one route before a car
carried by six pivoting rotors on the has got its tires on. Speed depends on
leading edge of a wing. Or, as Goldstein rapid battery recharging, comparable
would have it, an “air taxi.” to a Tesla supercharger (about 45 to 50
minutes), and low maintenance needs,
Stage one, explains Adcock, is to get enabled by the Maker’s multiple redun-
certified by the U.S. Federal Aviation Ad- dant engines and wing (in place of a he-
ministration by 2024 and then launch licopter’s single highly-strung rotor).
immediately in Los Angeles and Miami,
two cities with brutal road traffic. Archer’s estimates also assume it
can persuade cities to build the infra-
Other U.S. cities would come next, structure to land eVTOLs directly in
followed by approvals from foreign built-up areas, charging them in place
regulators and international expan- between trips. If that sounds dubious –
sion over the next few decades. Archer what would Uber and Airbnb’s battles
plans to both sell aircraft to other car- with local officials have been like if
riers and run its own Uber-like taxi their products could fall out of the sky?
service; then cargo, emergency servic- – Bristow notes that eVTOLS are qui-
eter than choppers, and that a rooftop

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 41

INSIGHT COVER STORY

charger is an easier sell than a rooftop “This is a Zoom background,” said asks:“If a vehicle had the logo of a major Goldstein is energized as he builds
kerosene pump. Adcock, “but very soon you’ll be able US carrier on the side of it, why would on Merkle’s case. “The FAA is saying,
to see it in action.” you feel different flying in that vehicle ‘Everybody! This is happening!’ The ve-
While aviation giants’ investments versus any other? If you see a plane at hicles are ready, they’re going through
suggest that air taxis are viable in the Have either of them flown in their the airport, do you ask yourself ‘is that certification now.
long term, PitchBook’s report was high- own creation? Not yet; the first flights an A320? Is that a 787?’ You don’t really...
ly sceptical of schedules like Archer’s. are scheduled for the end of 2021. How you say ‘oh! That’s a United plane.’” “I just want people to understand
about after that? “We will be doing how close this industry is to coming to
“We believe mass eVTOL deploy- thousands of flight tests with pilots,” At one point he shares his screen and market, and that when these vehicles
ments in the early-to-mid 2020s are says Adcock carefully. “Prior to getting pulls up a video of Jay Merkle, head of do get certified, then you will see them
unlikely given large technological, full certification in 2024, we won’t be the FAA’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems flying around. And it will make sense
regulatory, and infrastructure-relat- doing passenger trips, even internally.” Integration Office. “Probably the big- to everybody. They’re just lower cost,
ed hurdles,” says senior analyst Asad He says that FAA rules preclude any gest question I get on this, ‘Is this real? lower noise, safer vehicles.”
Hussein, citing stiff competition for such flight both for Archer and its com- Are they really happening?’” intones
battery supplies from the boom- petitors. Merkle into a conference microphone. Whether he uses the name or not,
ing electric car industry as well as a “Yes, this is more than just hype; this is the entrepreneur clearly believes fly-
shortage of certified pilots. Goldstein acknowledges that eV- more than just promotional videos.” ing cars are an idea whose time has
TOLS need to prove their safety, but finally come. 
Against Archer’s ambition to make
$1 billion in 2025, Hussein thinks the
entire industry will only make $1.5
billion that year, and says comparable
costs per mile are unfeasible until bat-
teries and autonomous tech improve.

Despite this, Hussein still named
Archer as one of only three compa-
nies, alongside Joby and Bavaria-based
Lilium, to have raised enough money
to get through the minefield between
here and mass adoption. Adcock is
forthright about the huge up-front
costs of the industry, arguing that the
$1.1 billion raised in Archer’s Spac deal
is an important vote of confidence.

“The reality is, these businesses are
going to need a lot of capital,” he says.
“The reason behind that is the people,
manufacturing, capital expenditure,
R&D investments; certification time-
lines are long. So many aerospace
companies go bankrupt just from the
cash needs.

“It’s going to take a little bit of a lon-
ger-term investor, someone like the
folks that invested in SpaceX and Tesla
and Amazon in the early days. There’s
a big industry to be built here. It will
take some time.”

The Wisk lawsuit remains a potential
spoiler, with echoes of Google’s 2017
complaint against Uber on behalf of
its self-driving car subsidiary Waymo,
which ended in a $225 million settle-
ment. Archer’s response was pugna-
cious, calling it “deflection” from Wisk’s
“business issues” and saying it had no
reason to believe any proprietary Wisk
technology ever made its way to Archer.

Even so, the case comes at a sensi-
tive stage for Archer, which has yet to
even release a photograph of its air-
craft before a planned debut this sum-
mer. FAA records list one aircraft of
“unknown” type, with 16 engines, ap-
parently built by an unmanned aircraft
workshop at the University of Florida,
Adcock and Goldstein’s alma mater.
Archer confirmed the craft’s existence
but declined to comment further.

In their interview with The Telegraph,
the two founders briefly appeared to be
dialing in from an Archer hangar con-
taining a gleaming black Maker, yet a
computerized white fuzz around their
heads indicated the reality.

42 Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT OPINION

Two weeks ago, this paper ran a story in the In- people to complete a pre-arrival questionnaire that aim for herd immunity on their ships and campuses.
sight section with the headline “The Vaccine Pass- screens for symptoms of COVID-19. Some venues Not only could they return to full operation, but also
port.” It described how certificates providing proof check temperatures or even administer a rapid coro- they could probably give their customers and stu-
of vaccination against COVID-19 are becoming a key navirus test before entry. dents something close to the pre-pandemic experi-
to reviving travel in the post-pandemic era. ence, with full interaction and possibly without the
Requesting proof of vaccination would be another need for masks.
It was a good story, but with what we now view as such health screen. If questionnaires or tests aren’t
one major problem. Everyone needs to stop using seen as constraints on individual liberties, showing In these examples, vaccination isn’t a government-
the phrase “vaccine passport.” The term is inflamma- vaccine status should not be, either. imposed requirement but a voluntary action facili-
tory and divisive, and runs the real risk of triggering a tated by the private sector.
lasting backlash against vaccinations. In addition, individuals are increasingly asking
one another whether they’ve gotten their shots. Any outcry over government overreach shouldn’t
It’s also inaccurate. A passport is generally under- Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and focus on proof of vaccination, but rather on attempts
stood as a government-issued document that provides Prevention state that fully vaccinated people can be to ban businesses from asking for it. It’s the height
proof of the carrier’s identity and citizenship. Israel’s with one another in private settings, including in- of hypocrisy for politicians who normally tout their
“Green Pass” is in fact a version of a vaccine passport; doors, without masks or distancing. After a year of support for free markets to now bar the private sec-
it is required for entry into gyms, theaters and other being isolated, many are enjoying the company of tor from covid-safety innovations.
designated areas, and forgery of a pass is a crime. friends and family again — something they couldn’t
do without the reassurance of mutual vaccination. Why can’t businesses offer customers the peace
Almost no one is proposing this kind of national of mind that comes with much-reduced risk from a
ID for coronavirus vaccination in the United States. In this way, vaccination enables activities that oth- potentially deadly disease?
erwise couldn’t occur safely. Instead of being an im-
Yet even the suggestion that Americans could be pediment to freedom, vaccination certificates allow Some have made the equity argument: How could
restricted from everyday activities is deeply upset- Americans to return to pre-pandemic life sooner. vaccination policies be fair as long as some aren’t able
ting to many. Rational counterarguments won’t work to get shots? Parents of young children know their kids
(for example, saying some countries already require It’s time for us to extend the newfound normalcy probably won’t be able to get shots until 2022; but until
vaccinations upon entry and Americans are already from social settings to business operations. While then, why not be happy for others to have privileges.
limited in many activities because of COVID-19). the CDC guidance currently discourages vaccinated
The prospect of a national tracking system smacks people from gathering in public places, this could be This isn’t so different from, say, adult-only resorts:
of Big Brother at best and fuels conspiracy theories overridden if businesses can verify vaccination status. Just because some people can’t enjoy them doesn’t
at worst. mean that no one should. In fact, the more incen-
Imagine that you own a gym that used to have tives the better, because the more people vaccinat-
Instead of stoking culture wars with an imprecise high-intensity exercise classes but had to stop be- ed, the better we all are protected.
term, we should describe how proof of vaccination cause it’s high risk to have lots of people breathing
can be used to help us to emerge faster from the pan- heavily in crowded indoor spaces. You could reopen Throughout the pandemic, there have been polar-
demic. these classes if everyone attending is guaranteed to izing terms that trigger fierce opposition. Just as we
be vaccinated. should never have invoked “lockdowns,” we need
At the most basic level, asking for vaccination sta- to stop debating “vaccine passports.” Instead, we
tus (or whether you’ve had COVID-19) is a kind of Or imagine that you run a restaurant that has had should define what it is that we need to move toward
health screen to identify those at low risk for infecting to operate at limited capacity to keep distancing normalcy: a COVID-19 health screen that enables
others. There is growing evidence that getting vac- between tables. You could establish certain nights people to associate with one another free from pan-
cinated doesn’t only protect you from becoming ill where you serve at 100 percent capacity, if all patrons demic restrictions.
yourself; it also substantially reduces your risk of be- and servers are reliably known to be vaccinated.
ing an asymptomatic carrier who could sicken those That’s a concept most Americans should be able
you come in contact with. Some entities are already exploring such possi- to get behind. 
bilities, including cruise operators and a handful of
Many public and private institutions already ask colleges. By requiring proof of vaccination, they will A version of this column by Leana Wen first ap-
peared in The Washington Post.

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

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 43

INSIGHT WORLD NEWS AND OPINION

Tessa Tan orders a sweatshirt from because of COVID-19. I needed to wait Giorgio Armani, should have sent you But here's the thing: The Armani Ex-
Armani Exchange, but it doesn't fit. until the warehouse reopened to ask a sweatshirt that fit. Since that didn't change refund and exchange policy is
Why won't the company exchange it for the exchange. A representative told happen, the company should have only valid for 20 days after your pur-
for her? me I could return the item even though exchanged the sweatshirt for one that chase. Although it looks as if you sent a
we were almost at the end of the 30- did – pandemic or not. return request within 12 days of receiv-
QUESTION: day window for returns. ing your order, Armani Exchange may
I've reviewed the extensive email cor- not have received it until weeks later,
I'm trying to get an item exchanged I sent an email to the company, ask- respondence with Armani Exchange. presumably because of the pandemic.
that I bought through Armani Exchange ing when the warehouse would open, By the way, nice work keeping all the
online. Last year, I bought several items but no one responded. I waited patient- emails. They are always helpful for This is a difficult case because we
including a crew-neck sweatshirt that ly. Eventually, Armani responded that it a resolution. It looks like you placed don't have Armani's side of the story. If
was too big for me. had "escalated" my case but couldn't your order at the start of the pandemic. you were within Armani's 20-day win-
process a return because I was 60 days Then the Armani Exchange warehouse dow, you should be able to get a new
I called Armani and a representa- past my order. But no one had told me closed. You asked for an exchange with- shirt. But there was no way to get a full
tive told me the warehouse was closed about the 60-day limit, and I had tried in 30 days, but a representative told you picture without Armani Exchange's
to return it sooner. to wait. So you did. help. So I reached out to the company.
It didn't answer (perhaps because of
Can you help me get my exchange Things get a little murky after that. the pandemic?).
from Armani Exchange? It's not clear when the warehouse re-
opened, but by the time Armani Ex- So I tried one more time. Silence, again.
ANSWER: change began responding to you, it ap- Unfortunately, without Armani's co-
pears that more than two months had operation, I can't mediate a resolution.
Armani Exchange, the youth-ori- elapsed. My advice? Talk to your credit card
ented brand of the Italian designer company about initiating a dispute on
the charge. It certainly looks as if you
did everything you could to do a time-
ly exchange. You deserve either a new
sweatshirt or a full refund. 
Get help with any consumer prob-
lem by contacting Christopher Elliott
at http://www.elliott.org/help

44 Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT BOOKS

Even before a global pandemic crippled gree. But still, looks were key. via, nights at the Phoenicia InterContinental
the airline industry last year, whatever sheen “Dumpy – head small for body” … “Theatrical, too hotel in Beirut, holidays in the Philippines,
of romance international air travel once held much eyebrow,” critical supervisors scrawled on ap- shopping in Paris. A Pan Am stewardess might
had long worn off. Blame the shrinking seats, plicants’ files. find herself evading the KGB in Moscow and
the expanding fees (for services from baggage Training included lessons in grooming – how to se- trading recipe cards for piroshki with her
to food to in-flight entertainment), the never- lect the most flattering shade of eye shadow, for ex- Aeroflot counterparts. Or calming a cabin
ending security lines. As swift and accessible – ample – as well as instruction in aviation history and
and frankly, miraculous – as flying had become emergency procedures. Would-be stewardesses were full of passengers as Ghanaian gunmen ab-
in the 21st century, it was entirely uncontrover- taught about the workings of brake spoilers, vortex ducted Guinean ministers from a flight in
sial to find it miserable, too. generators and ailerons; shown how to prepare Ma- Accra. “Anyone could get married,” their
layan chicken curry; and quizzed on cocktail recipes. thinking went, according to Cooke, but
But after a year of severe restrictions on travel, They were offered philosophical tips, too: “To enjoy a “not everyone could smuggle a newsreel
it’s easy to miss those small miseries. So a new ‘traveling job’ like yours, do not spend all your energy from the war in Pakistan to Hong Kong for
book looking back at the height of the jet age of- on non-essentials,” a training manual advised. “Con- a journalist acquaintance or keep a cabin
fers more than one delicious flavor of escapism. centrate on people, places and ideas; don’t spend
Focusing largely on the mid-1960s, “Come Fly your time dressing, changing and repacking.” cool while coming under unexpected fire
the World: The Jet-Age Story of the Women of Pan Once installed in a full-time job as a Pan Am stew- on a flight into Da Nang.”
Am” remembers a time when air travel was syn- ardess, a woman suddenly had access to an endless
onymous with luxury and glamour – not just for parade of new experiences: dinner parties in Monro- This intoxicating lifestyle had a price.
passengers but also for the women hired to wait Pan Am conducted monthly weigh-ins
on them. of its staff and required a woman to seek
her manager’s approval if she wanted to
Julia Cooke, the daughter of a Pan Am executive, change her hairstyle. Marriage or preg-
builds “Come Fly the World” around interviews nancy were nonnegotiable, career-end-
with five women: Clare, Karen, Lynne, Hazel and
Tori; four white, one Black; four American, one Nor- ing conditions – women who embarked
wegian. For some, working as a Pan Am stewardess on either often hid them for as long as
was always the dream; for others, it was the backup possible. As the ’60s turned into the ’70s,
plan that kicked in when their visions of a career in stewardesses began bringing grievances
biology or the Foreign Service faded. For all of them, to the Equal Employment Opportunity
working for Pan Am was transformative. Commission and, eventually, winning

In the earliest days of commercial air travel, cabin their cases. But these victories came
attendants were exclusively male, but by the 1950s, slowly.
growing competition among carriers changed that:
“Each airline tried to convince customers that it It would be a mistake, however, to see
had the highest level of luxury and service, and the the story of the women of Pan Am as
women who served a predominantly male clientele simply a tale of ’60s female empower-
became a particular selling point,” Cooke writes. Pan ment. The most startling chapters of
Am – at the time, the only American airline to fly ex- “Come Fly the World” center on Pan Am’s role
clusively international routes – had a particular rep- during the Vietnam War, when the airline offered to
utation for sophistication to maintain. “We must add ferry troops from Saigon across Asia for relaxation at a
to [our excellence] ‘a new dimension’ – that is, em- deep discount to the government. Stewardesses became
phasis on what pleases people. And I know of noth- nurses and counselors to injured and traumatized sol-
ing that pleases people more,” chief executive Najeeb diers, witnesses to events at direct odds with the U.S.
Halaby would later explain, “than female people.” government’s narrative about Vietnam. At the war’s end,
it was these slim, unflappable, worldly women who were
Pan Am’s recruiting strategy focused on entic- responsible for ferrying hundreds of young children out
ing restless, ambitious women into its ranks. “How of the country during the controversial Operation Baby-
can you change a world you’ve never seen?” (was lift. Theirs was far more than a front-row view of history.
it a taunt or an invitation?) read one job ad. What “The world is waiting,” Pan Am’s want ads had promised.
Pan Am promised was a kind of education, and, in “See things, do things, learn things.” And so they did. It
Cooke’s telling, it attracted women who valued the was, after all, what they signed up for. 
same. Throughout the 1960s, a full 10 percent of Pan
Am stewardesses had attended graduate school — a COME FLY THE WORLD
stunning figure at a time when only 6 percent to 8
percent of American women even held a college de- THE JET-AGE STORY OF THE WOMEN OF PAN AM

BY JULIA COOKE | HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT. 266 PP. $28
REVIEW BY MYTHILI G. RAO, THE WASHINGTON POST

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 45

INSIGHT BRIDGE

NORTH

DO NOT PUT ALL EGGS INTO ONE BASKET 10 4

By Phillip Alder - Bridge Columnist 92

Isaac Bashevis Singer said, “The waste basket is the writer’s best friend.” KQJ63

We all know the expression about not putting all of our eggs into one basket. How Q 10 9 8
does that apply in this deal?
WEST EAST
South opened and closed the auction with four spades. West led the club ace. What 2
should have happened after that? K 10 5 4 8
A 10 9 7 5 2
Especially opposite a passed hand, South’s four-spade opening was sensible. A5 A8763
It was unlikely his side had a slam, and the bid rated either to silence or greatly
inconvenience the opponents. West wanted to bid, but decided the risk didn’t justify 84
entering the auction. If he had doubled, East would have advanced with four no-trump,
showing two places to play; West would have bid five diamonds; and East would have K7632
converted to five hearts. Here, that contract would have been a lucky make when the
trumps split 2-2. SOUTH

Now back to four spades. At trick one, East signaled with his club seven. If West had AKQJ97653
a second club and treated this as encouraging, that was fine. Or, if West had led a
singleton and read it as a suit-preference signal for hearts, that worked also. However, QJ
after West led his second club, what did East do?
—
Note that if East had led another club, hoping for a trump promotion, South would
have ruffed high, drawn two rounds of trumps ending on the board and discarded a J4
heart on the club queen.
Dealer: North; Vulnerable: Both
Instead, East carefully cashed the heart ace. West, knowing this meant that South was
also out of clubs, encouraged enthusiastically with his 10. Then a heart continuation The Bidding:
defeated the contract.
SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST OPENING
4 Spades Pass Pass Pass
Pass Pass LEAD:
A Clubs

SMART AND
WICKEDLY
FUNNY, VENI,
VIDI, VERO
is a ribald,
rollicking

mid-life
coming-of-
age story
about trans-
formation
and triumph.

Available for purchase at the
Vero Beach Book Center





48 Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT GAMES

SOLUTIONS TO PREVIOUS ISSUE (APRIL 8) ON PAGE 76

ACROSS DOWN
1 Confection or a plant (11) 1 Back lane (5)
9 Body of cyclists in a 3 School bag (7)
4 Capital of Bavaria (6)
race(7) 5 Pilsener (5)
10 Visitor (5) 6 Herb related to marjoram(7)
11 Graphic symbol (5) 7 Bunghole plug (6)
12 Window cover (7) 8 Astonish (4)
13 Fall (6) 14 Banal (7)
15 Types of cutlery (6) 16 Quandary (7)
19 Middle (7) 17 Brislings, fishes (6)
21 Materialise (5) 18 Wafer (6)
23 Comprehend (5) 19 Young cow (4)
24 Courageous (7) 20 Teams of curlers (5)
25 Dimension (11) 22 Sequence (5)

The Telegraph

How to do Sudoku:

Fill in the grid so the
numbers one through
nine appear just once
in every column, row
and three-by-three
square.

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Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 49

INSIGHT GAMES

ACROSS 81 Class action grp.? 35 Raison ___ The Washington Post
83 Anti-tobacco org. 37 Industrial arts class
1 Catchy comment on the 6 84 Taxing job? 39 Missing THE WORLDWIDE WEB By Merl Reagle
o’clock news 86 Beethoven pieces 40 Technically speaking
89 Ruckus 41 Freeway rumblers
10 Hard-to-see-through 90 Peter Jackson’s Lord of the 42 Desirable quality
conditions 44 Elevation
Rings trilogy, e.g. 46 “Do ___ others ...”
15 Razor sharpener 92 Media mogul Murdoch 47 Humbert’s obsession
20 Numskull 93 Break new ground? 49 Novelist Morrison
21 Michael J. on 94 White sale items 51 Lobby plant
95 French filmmaker Jacques 55 Of an English math genius
Family Ties 97 Jefferson in Paris star 58 Choice word?
22 “Voila” 98 Kentucky Derby drinks 60 eBay minimum
23 Like a free-soil state 99 Hiking-the-ball cue, perhaps 62 Dickens era prisoner
24 Impulsive 101 Surveyor’s map 64 Some votes
25 Steinbeck family 102 Walked assertively 65 Room darkeners
26 Slangy gumshoe 105 Swab again 67 Tears
27 Watered down 108 Fishhook part 68 The book that the ghostly
28 Last words of “Over 110 Infant’s addition?
111 Tremble captain writes for Mrs. Muir,
the Rainbow” 112 Bogged down “Blood and ___”
29 Clever comeback 113 Pulls apart 69 Must
30 Design on metal 115 Ghosts writer 70 Davis of Do the Right Thing
32 1983 Indy 500 winner Tom 116 Behaved 72 Commodore Perry battle site
34 Dressed like a queen? 117 Choose early 75 Orbiters
36 Big birds 118 Approaches 76 Wiseacre
38 Comment by the 119 Pulls one’s leg 77 Commercial comparisons
120 Indications to look down 79 Lorna ___
work-weary 80 Computer type
39 Turkey-Greece DOWN 82 Faulkner’s Requiem for ___
85 Photo taker’s word
separator, with “the” 1 Club, female-style 87 Some magazine issues
40 Free TV spot 2 Georgia’s founder 88 Each
43 Japan’s largest island 3 Like some syllables 91 Loose ads in Sunday papers
45 Famous last words 4 Election time: abbr. 94 Cough drop maker
47 Majors and Marvin 5 Came (to a close) 96 Peeved
48 Scientific name for crickets 6 Field bundles 98 Wild one?
7 “My intention was” 100 Wipe out
and grasshoppers 8 School founded by 102 Area meas.
50 April sheets 103 Art store paint container
52 Unlock, in verse Booker T. Washington 104 Tabula ___
53 Gaza grp. 9 Host add-on 106 Shake hands with
54 Heated 10 Derisive comeback 107 Chances
56 Noted spokescow 11 Freed of radio lore 109 Uncle Remus term
57 Film editor Allen 12 More piquant 112 Capt.’s superior
13 Fire stopper 113 Tub-sharing place
(The Hustler, Bonnie and 14 Bug someone, e.g. 114 Ring great
Clyde, and many others) 15 ___ of Arc
59 Cosmetic box worn by 16 Bare-minimum bathing suit
Japanese (anagram of 17 Stationery unit
NOIR) 18 Latin word on a dollar bill
61 Hard-lead rating, 19 Pain in the neck
in pencils 28 Lounging robe
62 Least moist 29 Scottish hillsides
63 Pitcher’s area 31 Beanery fare
66 “___ none o’ my affair” 33 Sharp and bitter
68 Fired on
71 Royal address
73 Paper name, for short
74 ___ D.A.
78 Pale
79 Lily Munster portrayer

The Telegraph

50 Vero Beach 32963 / April 15, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT BACK PAGE

Her heart isn’t hurtful, but her voice can sound like it is

BY CAROLYN HAX catch them before they happen.
Washington Post You can also teach him how and
when to speak up in the moment.
Dear Carolyn: I have a way,
sometimes, of speaking too quickly This isn’t to say you can’t talk
or being impatient that can sound to your friends about it generally,
so rude. It just comes shooting out. too – to say, “I know I can sound
I am afraid I will lose all my friends short and impatient sometimes,
and I know it hurts my husband. I and I’m sorry about that – I know
hate myself when it happens, and even though I vow, it’s not OK and I’m working on it.”
time and again, to be patient, to be kind – and I am It’s just that it’s required for your
a kind person, I do not at all have a hurtful heart – it spouse, vs. merely thoughtful and
happens again. recommended with others.
It just happened last night when a friend was over. I
am not personally insulting in these moments; it’s just By the way, if you went into
a tone that I hear and feel ashamed of. monastic silence, then you’d
I wonder if you’ve come across this and have any probably be the exact same way,
thoughts, or if I should just move to a monastery and
be silent for the rest of my life. friends, of course – but you have precious aware- just by glaring.
ness of your tendency. Even better, you hear the tone,
– Sharp Tongue which means you’re aware as it’s happening, yes? Dear Carolyn: Thank you. The thought of figuring
out what precedes it is extremely helpful – I think it is
Sharp Tongue: Do I have any thoughts. That means you can take a breath before you speak. often when I am tired or frustrated. It doesn’t happen
Do I? Have any thoughts? Slow down. at other times.
If you’re reading this and you know me in real life,
enjoy. And if it’s too late and you already snapped, you I have thought of having the conversation, but I am
By way of explanation: An old friend of mine mar- can say you’re really sorry your evil twin just took over. afraid to. I am afraid if I point it out, then I will get
vels at how fast I can get someone off the phone. Like, Even it dawns on you an hour later, you can still say, pummeled and will lose everyone anyway. This makes
he feels the breeze from my hanging up on him (I did “I just realized I was an impatient jerk to you over the me teary. But I know it’s a good suggestion.
say old) the millisecond the necessary information [whatever]. I’m sorry about that.”
has been exchanged. – Sharp Tongue again
It’s up to your friends whether you lose all your Your husband deserves the larger conversation – if
you haven’t had it already – about your being aware Sharp Tongue again: Please don’t be afraid. Vul-
of this terse persona, and you don’t mean it person- nerability is the most precious gift you can give the
ally and don’t mean to hurt him. If he can help you people who love you. And lovable ones won’t pummel
figure out what precedes these episodes – fatigue? you for it. 
hunger? frustration? – then you can train yourself to