11/04/2021 ISSUE 44

Two aspiring St. Ed’s musicians
release single. P10
Wabasso bridge

solution in sight. P13
Medical examiner seeks
new state-of-the-art facility. P16

For breaking news visit

Grand Harbor golf Vero, county in
course opens after new try to settle
$2 million facelift utility dispute

BY RAY MCNULTY Patricia Gagliano, dean of IRSC College of Nursing, with students at Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital. PHOTOS BY KAILA JONES BY LISA ZAHNER
Staff Writer Staff Writer
Shortage of nurses locally seen getting worse
With the club’s Harbor Course Vero Beach and Indian Riv-
in need of renovation, Grand BY MICHELLE GENZ All are attempts at boost- nursing positions, with one in er County negotiating teams
Harbor members wondered Staff Writer ing the number of nurses here four nurses leaving their jobs will make one more last-ditch
what changes Pete Dye – the amid warnings that the short- in the past year. effort to avoid formal media-
World Golf Hall of Fame archi- Improved pay, signing bo- age locally is about to get worse. tion of a dispute involving the
tect who designed it – would nuses, better benefits, even a And hospitals aren’t the only city’s water-sewer utility ter-
make to the layout to chal- new entry-level job aimed at This spring, the Florida entities with unfilled openings. ritory, but the outcome will
lenge today’s players. luring newcomers to the field. Hospital Association reported likely be a public declaration
an 11 percent vacancy rate in “The staffing shortage is still of impasse.
Now they know.
Though Dye died in January CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 After previous meetings
2020, Grand Harbor brought proved less than fruitful, Vero
in his protégé, Chris Lutzke, to Beach sent the county a let-
oversee the six-month project, ter outlining the terms under
which drew rave reviews from which it would settle. Those
members who celebrated the terms included the continua-
course’s reopening last week tion of a 6 percent transfer of
with a two-day tournament that water-sewer revenue from out-
attracted nearly 200 golfers. of-city customers into Vero’s
“The golfing members were general fund, and south bar-
all smiles,” said Doug Sweeny, rier island residents paying un-
former president of the Grand known rates – yet to be set by
Harbor Members Association the city’s upcoming rate study.
and one of 192 participants in
the 5th Annual Grand Harbor “City will establish rates that
Cup event. are just and equitable that re-
“The most noticeable im- cover the costs associated with

CONTINUED ON PAGE 11 CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

MY Supply-chain backups impact local citrus shipping as well From Wyoming to Vero: Modern-day
VERO cattle rustler living in McAnsh Park?

BY RAY MCNULTY astating blow to our already- BY LISA ZAHNER made it the perfect place for
Staff Writer reeling citrus industry. Staff Writer Scott Eric Smith to reside.

The supply-chain chaos The same bottlenecks that Vero’s historic McAnsh Park On the run from a Wyoming
that has stalled shipments are preventing the docking neighborhood probably isn’t felony warrant for cattle rus-
impacting commerce and and unloading of cargo ships the first place lawmen would tling, forgery and theft, Smith
construction across America at U.S. ports – delaying ship- look for a fugitive cattle rus- now is facing serious charges
has delivered another dev- ment of goods to our stores tler, but maybe that’s what here as well for allegedly sell-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

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2 Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Nurse shortage moving temporarily but that pays far From left, Leona Joseph, Gladys Lopez, Ga- programs like the one at Vero Beach
higher rates. briela Ordonez, Lindsay Sward and Patricia High that awards some students a CNA
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Gagliano, dean of the nursing school, begin certification on completion. Enroll-
That phenomenon – some have called their shift at Cleveland Clinic by reviewing ment at IRSC can drastically speed up
severe,” said Lundy Fields, president it price gouging – has been a major operations and procedures for the day in the the path to an RN, though increasingly
and CEO of the VNA of the Treasure financial strain on hospitals. Advent cardiac step-down unit, where patients go af- hospitals, including Cleveland Clinic
Coast. He said the Vero agency, which Health’s chief clinical officer, Neil Fin- ter they've left the surgical intensive care unit. Indian River, expect a BSN degree –
provides more than 100,000 home vis- kler, told a Florida House committee bachelor of science in nursing – within
its a year, has increased its RN sign-on in September that 79 percent of the Dr. Patricia Gagliano, dean of Indian a certain time frame after hiring.
bonus to $5,000 to help attract appli- health system’s nursing openings were River State College’s school of nursing,
cants. being filled by agencies. His solution: believes a key driver of future nurses is Today, Gagliano oversees a current
expand nursing education. a focus on science in elementary and enrollment of around 900 at the Fort
Nurses are also critical to operations secondary school classrooms. That Pierce campus – plus a dozen at Vero’s
in the county’s six nursing homes and “We need more students, we need notion arose out of Gagliano’s 2014 Mueller campus. And she is looking
two dozen assisted living facilities. more professors, we need more seats,” doctoral dissertation at Barry Univer- forward to expansion.
said Finkler. sity that looked at predictors of nurs-
“Hiring is still difficult but we’re ing school success. “We’ve actually seen an uptick in ap-
holding our own,” said Don Wright, plications,” she said. That increase in
who owns three assisted living facili- She also cited high school nursing applications has been consistent since
ties, including Rosewood Manor in 2019, she said. “At the same time, we
Vero and Pelican Garden in Sebastian. have made some modifications and
He said COVID “is still a concern, I’m increased our capacity by 14 percent.”
sure, but not as much as a year ago.”
Gagliano is already making plans for
The thinning ranks were becoming the school to grow even more, a process
evident even before the pandemic. This that requires approval from a nursing
fall, a study based on pre-COVID-19 education accreditation organization.
data predicted a shortage of 60,000
nurses in Florida by 2035. “We have the support for our program,
and we have the outcomes,” she said.
The study relied on data only through
2019, a year before the pandemic drove Gagliano says the passing rate of
thousands of frontline nurses into burn- IRSC’s registered and practical nurs-
out, in many cases resulting in early re- ing students on the national exam is
tirement or a change of careers. above the national and state average,
and retention rates are also high.
Others sought higher compensa-
tion by becoming travel nurses, an Her nurses-to-be are also resilient;
agency assignment that often involves she saw no increase in withdrawals
from the program during COVID-19.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 3

NEWS

“We were only out of the classroom The Teamsters’ business agent, Steve age in April 2020. The plan allows for Negotiations went forward this fall
a short amount of time, and we were Myers, who negotiated the new con- eight weeks of paid maternity leave despite an effort to decertify the union
back in the clinical facilities by August tract for more than 400 RNs, said the plus four weeks of parental leave for just as negotiations with hospital
of 2020,” she said. top wage for RNs went from $35 an hour one parent, and four weeks of paren- management were getting underway.
in the last contract to $47. Starting pay tal leave to the other parent. The pol- It was the first such effort in two de-
Those clinical facilities, of which went from $25.30 to $27.50 an hour. icy covers same-sex couples, adoptive cades, and the nurses voted two to one
there are around 100, include local hos- parents and surrogate parents. But to keep the union. It is the only Cleve-
pitals, where IRSC nursing students Registered nurses also caught up until now, it did not include RNs, ex- land Clinic Florida hospital to have
train without pay while following the with their non-union coworkers at cluded from the benefit because they unionized nurses.
facilities’ protocols. Indian River who became eligible for were under the union contract.
a generous paid parental leave pack- CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Friday, two student nurses were on
site at dawn ready to train at Cleve-
land Clinic Indian River’s 3 East wing,
starting their shift in the cardiac step-
down unit, the next stop after the sur-
gery ICU.

The students reviewed the day’s
scheduled surgeries and procedures
with Gagliano, who makes regular
on-site visits to partner facilities, and
Leona Joseph, master instructor of
nursing at the college and a former in-
tensive care nurse at Cleveland Clinic
Tradition who has a doctorate in nurs-
ing practice.

Joseph, one of only 22 instructors
on the IRSC nursing faculty, drew
praise last week from one student
nurse training at the hospital. Lind-
say Thornton Sward called Joseph “vi-
tal to my success this semester.” Like
many nursing students, Sward is back
in school after a significant break and
saddled with life responsibilities that
could get in the way were it not for in-
spiring instructors.

Sward already has her AA in pre-
nursing from IRSC, completed in
2005. In the intervening years, work-
ing as a strength training coach and
raising two daughters who are now
teenagers, she “always wanted to go
back and finish my degree,” she said.
“My goal is to work in trauma or ICU
someday.”

“I truly love nursing and caring for
people,” Sward said. “Making my way
through nursing school has its chal-
lenges, but I wouldn’t trade it for any-
thing. It’s been an amazing experience
and the teachers are all amazing and
supportive.”

This is Sward’s first semester train-
ing at Cleveland Clinic Indian River,
and so far, it’s been her favorite clini-
cal experience, she said.

“Nursing school is like a puzzle:
You’re always building and adding to
the finished product. I learn some-
thing new and valuable every day,”
she said.

Indian River is on Sward’s list of pos-
sible future employers, she said. Should
she end up working there after gradu-
ation, she can look forward to higher
wages than last year’s graduates.

Last week, RNs at Indian River over-
whelmingly ratified a new two-year
contract that includes a substantial
pay increase. That should put the hos-
pital in a better position to fill some of
the dozen or more RN positions it lists
on jobs websites.

4 Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Nurse shortage start after only 8 hours of training, tributed. Big cities appear to be headed company’s citrus from Florida to the
though they must directly work under toward having plenty of RNs, who most- ports in Southern California.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 licensed nurses and alongside CNAs. ly work in hospitals, but not enough
LPNs, who tend to work in doctors’ of- Sometimes, however, the company
“Toward the end, we really came to- The program has since been made fices and care facilities. Rural areas will will alert the drivers that the outgoing
gether and hammered out an agree- permanent, and the training hours have the reverse, not enough RNs, but ships are still anchored off the Califor-
ment that’s good for everyone,” said doubled to 16, plus 72 hours of on- plenty of LPNs. nia coast, waiting to dock and unload,
Steve Myers, Vero-based business the-job training. and tell them to park on the side of the
agent for the Teamsters local that rep- The nursing study’s authors believe road and wait.
resents Indian River’s RNs. “The nurses As a lull in the county’s COVID-19 the COVID-19 pandemic will not prove
are extremely happy. And the contract numbers allows once-reeling health- significant to the nursing shortfall in Some ships arrive at the ports 15 to
is going to reward the employer long care providers to regroup, there is the long term; their projections run to 20 days later than expected, leaving
term because it’s going to make them heightened awareness of just how criti- 2035. Instead, the report sees Florida’s drivers with no choice but to deliver
more competitive for recruiting.” cal nurses at all levels are to their efforts. escalating rate of growth as driving the loads to ports’ transfer stations, where
shortages. That growth is expected to they can be stored in refrigerated con-
For those on the lower end of the The pre-COVID study that predicted be highest among retirees, who typi- tainers until they can be loaded for
nursing pay scale, there is still a flood the 60,000-nurse shortfall 13 years from cally have more intensive needs for shipping.
of positions to be filled. Certified nurs- now showed that in 2019, Vero and Se- healthcare.
ing assistants, who must pass a writ- bastian had 1,720 RNs, but needed “It’s a logistical nightmare, the worst
ten and performance exam to work 2,244, a shortfall of 23 percent. That Proving their point: The urban area I’ve ever seen,” Richey said. “Fortu-
in Florida, typically start at just over was a worse shortage than the metro with the greatest gap in nurses current- nately, grapefruit stores pretty well
minimum wage – the lowest rate in areas to the north and south, where de- ly is The Villages, a cluster of retirement and we use refrigerated trucks, so we
the nation, according to ZipRecuiter mand exceeded supply by 16 percent in communities in northern Florida that haven’t lost any loads yet. But we still
– for the emotionally draining, hands- the Melbourne area and by 14 percent in 2019 had only a third of the RNs it have some loads that haven’t found a
on work. Those nursing assistants quit in the Fort Pierce-Port St. Lucie area. needed. boat yet.”
their jobs in droves in the pandemic
when daycare costs from kids shut out As for licensed practical nurses, Se- The average age of residents of the Another option, Richey said, is to
of schools in lockdown made it im- bastian and Vero showed a shortage of Villages in 2019 was 71. The average ship the citrus from ports in Jackson-
practical to work. about 20 percent: 410 LPNs compared age of Vero Beach’s barrier island resi- ville; Savannah, Georgia; or Charles-
to a demand for 506. dents: 68.  ton, South Carolina. From there,
That prompted the state to tempo- though, the trip to Japan and Korea
rarily put in place a new entry level The report, commissioned by the My Vero can take 30 to 45 days.
position – personal care attendant – to Florida Hospital Association and the
ease the strain of COVID-19 on long- Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 “I’ve convinced most of our cus-
term care facilities. A high school di- and released last month, anticipates a tomers to accept the delay,” Richey
ploma isn’t required, and workers can statewide 12 percent shortfall of regis- – are inhibiting the delivery of locally said. “It’ll take longer, but we know it’s
tered nurses and a 30 percent shortfall grown, harvested and packed citrus to going to get there.”
of licensed practical nurses. foreign markets.
There are also backups at East Coast
But the shortages aren’t evenly dis- “While everyone else is waiting for ports, too, but Richey said shipping
their stuff to come in, we’re waiting across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe is
Established 18 Years in Indian River County for our stuff to go out, and it’s impact- “more manageable,” adding that local
ing us in a dramatic way,” said Dan grapefruit producers need the inter-
(772) 562-2288 | www.kitchensvero.com Richey, a longtime and knowledgeable national markets.
3920 US Hwy 1, Vero Beach FL 32960 local citrus ambassador and president
of Riverfront Packing Company on For those who don’t know: Most of
U.S. 1 in Gifford. local orange crop is sold domestically.

But local industry leaders insist it’s “We’re packing fruit that goes to
not a knockout punch. U.S. markets, so we don’t have the
same problems as the exporters,” said
“We’ve taken a lot of hits the past 20 Tom Jerkins, president of Premier Cit-
years ... but a few of us are still stand- rus Packers on 66th Avenue, just north
ing and we’re not going away,” Richey of Oslo Road.
said. “We’ll find a way to fight through
this, just like we’ve fought through all But grapefruit is a different story,
the others.” and the impact of the recent shipping
woes raises the question: How much
There’s no good reason to doubt more punishment can local citrus
him, given his vast experience and the growers and packers absorb before
local citrus industry’s ability to survive they go down?
the barrage of bad breaks it has en-
dured the past two decades. They’ve spent the past 20 years
struggling to overcome the relentless
Unlike the crises of yesteryear, how- and devastating damage done to Flor-
ever – particularly the citrus diseases ida’s once-heralded citrus industry by
and hurricanes that destroyed groves canker, hurricanes and greening.
and crippled production – this latest
jolt is manmade. Most of them, in fact, have given up.
Of the 17 commercial packing
Most of the grapefruit produced lo- houses in business in Indian River
cally is shipped to Europe and Asia, County at the turn of the millennium,
but the recent uncertainty at the Cali- only four are still operating: River-
fornia ports in Los Angeles and Long front, Premier, IMG Citrus off Old Di-
Beach has wreaked havoc on schedul- xie Highway in Gifford, and Egan Fruit
ing and delivery of citrus to lucrative Packing in Fellsmere.
markets in Japan and Korea. “The ones that are left, though, are
here for the ride,” said Doug Bour-
According to Richey, it takes two nique, executive director of the Indian
drivers – rotating shifts so they don’t River Citrus League. “I’m pretty sure
need to stop – four days to truck his they’ll stay with it.”
But for how long?
Nobody seems to know when the

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 5

NEWS

current backlog at the ports will clear, the infection of trees with psyllids that the past 15 years, and there are pieces of the county. Now, you won’t see
but economic and trade experts say it originated in China, feed on leaves to the puzzle coming together, but we many east of I-95, and there are even
might be late next year before we see a and stems, and make fruits inedible. haven’t come up with anything earth fewer east of U.S. 1.
return to normal in the supply chain. shattering yet.”
“Canker was bad, but greening is the But Bournique and Richey are opti-
That will seem like an eternity to the big bogeyman now,” Bournique said. During its heyday in the 1980s and mistic there will be a comeback, albeit
local citrus community, which is still “We’ve got to find a disease-resistant ’90s, citrus groves were plentiful and a modest one.
coping with the effects of greening – tree. There’s been a lot of research done productive, visible throughout much
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

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6 Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

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Dan Richey, president and CEO
of Riverfront Packing Company.

My Vero of groves are being replanted, which is a
promising sign. We’re still hopeful we’ll
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 cure greening.”

“It’ll never be what is was in 2000, Richey said the higher prices local
when citrus was an iconic Florida in- growers and packers are getting for
dustry,” Bournique said. “You won’t their fruit allow them to remain profit-
see the same types of numbers – not able, so if they can somehow increase
in production, or profits, or employ- production, “we should be in pretty
ees. We’ll be smaller. good shape.”

“But the citrus industry here thrived The current shipping issues, though,
not only because of hard work,” he need to be resolved.
added. “The climate to grow grape-
fruits and oranges is perfect in Florida, “Those international markets are in-
and especially in the Indian River re- credibly important to us, and we need
gion. This is citrus country. them open and accessible,” Bournique
said. “The domestic market can only
“We grow the best fruit on earth, by far.” take so much. We need to figure this
Let there be no doubt: Indian River out as quickly as possible.”
is still a big name in citrus, which re-
mains a big industry with a big impact Citrus might not be the backbone of
on Florida’s economy. our local economy, as it was 40 years
The industry leaders here take pride ago, but it’s a significant part of the her-
in that legacy – so much so that they’ve itage of this community. So it’s painful
begun re-planting. to see the industry take such a beating,
“Ten years ago, there was none of then get hit again.
that,” Bournique said. “Now, a number
“We’re living what you’re seeing on
the news,” Richey said, “but we haven’t
been knocked out.” 

Utility dispute If Vero and the county cannot come
together on rates for south barrier is-
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 land customers and the transfers into
the general fund, the next step would
providing utility service,” the letter be to hire a mediator to referee the dis-
signed by City Manager Monte Falls pute. County Attorney Dylan Reingold
and Mayor Robbie Brackett said. said he does not expect to bring a list
of mediators to the next meeting with
The county had asked for the South the city’s negotiators – the particulars
Beach customers to be charged county of that meeting are yet to be set.
rates until Indian River Shores’ fran-
chise agreement expires in 2027, then “I am sure, however, that the county
for Vero to charge city rates with in- and the city will be able to agree on a
creases capped at 5 percent until 2032. mediator if we end up going to the me-
The county also wants Vero to end diation stage. There are plenty of good
its practice of skimming 6 percent of local mediators,” Reingold said.
water-sewer revenue off into the city’s
general fund. Indian River Shores is closely watch-
ing the Vero-county negotiations as
The two areas where the city and they may impact the town’s two utility
county agree are that all customers disputes with Vero – a breach of con-
should receive the same quality of ser- tract lawsuit in state circuit court and
vice whether inside or outside the city, an antitrust lawsuit in federal court.
and thatVero would not tack a surcharge
onto outside customers’ utility bills. Upon reading the letter outlining

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8



8 Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Utility dispute should be wary of the city’s invitation ter High School to try to resolve the driver’s license – and also returned an
to agree to an unlawful, permanent al- Shores’ federal lawsuit against Vero out arrest warrant from Wyoming. Smith
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 location of customers.” of court. was placed under arrest for “giving a
false name while detained” and trans-
how far away Vero and the county are As for the city’s 6 percent transfers With regard to the breach of con- ported to the Indian River County jail.
on settlement terms, Shores Mayor into the general fund, Foley said, “The tract lawsuit in state court, things are
Brian Foley said, “The town has a right city’s insistence on transferring utility moving forward toward a civil trial or The Sheriff’s office then verified the
to choose who will provide essential revenues paid by non-resident cus- other court action. On Oct. 11, the City open warrant fromWyoming, and found
water and wastewater services within tomers to the city’s general revenue of Vero Beach petitioned Judge Janet out that Smith had been convicted of a
its boundaries, and the city’s latest of- fund is classic ‘taxation without repre- Croom for a summary judgment in the felony in Pamona, California, in 2013.
fer to the county tries again to avoid sentation.’ The town will continue to case. Then on Oct. 28 the Shores filed a
free and fair competition. seek to protect itself and its residents notice that the town’s attorneys would Smith also had a Mossberg 4X4 rifle
from such conduct.” be deposing Vero Water-Sewer Utilities in the pickup truck. “Mr. Smith advised
“The county’s own legal counsel has Director Rob Bolton on Nov. 9. that he placed the rifle in the truck to
opined on at least two separate occa- The Indian River Shores Town Coun- shoot coyotes,” the deputy reported,
sions that the prior territorial agree- cil and the Vero Beach City Council are Indian River Shores must give Vero but under Florida law possession of a
ment is not permanent. The county scheduled to meet in joint session at notice by October 2023 if the town weapon by a felon is a first-degree fel-
10 a.m. Nov. 19 at Indian River Char- plans to not renew its franchise agree- ony. So Smith was jailed with no bond.
ment with the city. Vero has been serv-
ing south barrier island customers The next day, Smith’s other alleged
without a valid franchise agreement activities here as a modern-day cat-
for several years. tle-rustler – while working as a ranch
manager – began to come to light.
Together, the Shores and south bar-
rier island residents make up roughly The Sheriff’s Office got a call from
one third of Vero’s utility customers. Leo Gibson, general counsel for Bhak-
Vero needs certainty about how many ta Farms, a 600-acre ranch located six
customers it will be serving in the de- miles west of Interstate 95 on State
cades to come because the city has Road 60. Gibson called to say he’d
committed to build a new utility plant found out that Smith had been steal-
at the Vero Beach Regional Airport and ing cattle from the ranch.
to dismantle the sewer plant on the
river.  The Sheriff’s Office made contact
with a detective in Okeechobee Coun-
Cattle rustler ty, who had receipts for five different
sales of cattle through the Okeechobee
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Livestock Market July through Octo-
ber 2020.
ing hundreds of Indian River cattle
he didn’t own at a livestock market On July 26, 26 cattle were sold for
in Okeechobee, and pocketing more $12,625.16, the receipts showed. Then
than a quarter-million dollars in pro- on July 28, 18 cattle were sold for
ceeds. $9,948.29. On Aug. 17, eight bulls were
sold for $10,311.43. On Sept. 8, 15 cattle
The 50-year-old’s troubles here were sold for $9,565.51 and finally on
started with a traffic stop one year ago. Oct. 5, 10 cows were sold for $4,919.10 –
a total of more than $47,000.
On Oct. 27, 2020, an Indian River
County Sheriff’s Deputy pulled Smith Smith’s warrant affidavit says he
over after observing his Dodge pickup hired the same Okeechobee woman,
truck veering from its lane on Route Leeann White, each time to pick up
60. According to police reports, the the cattle from Bhakta Farms and haul
driver – who carried no identification them to the Okeechobee Livestock
– initially gave lawmen a false name. Market. “Mrs. White also stated that
Scott Smith was present on each date
When the deputy ran Smith’s real and advised her to sell the cattle under
identity through an Idaho database, the his business name Smith Livestock
check found that Smith did not have a Services,” the affidavit states.

Bhakta Farms’ Finance Manager

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10



10 Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Cattle rustler “and has absolute authority over the
cattle operation of Bhakta Farms.”
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8
On Oct. 13, the livestock market issued
Toni Leake verified that Bhakta Farms a replacement check for $279,292.00
never received payment for the cattle. payable to Smith Livestock Services
and that same day, Smith presented
On Nov. 5, 2020, Smith was charged the check at Centerstate Bank and ex-
in Indian River County with first-degree changed it for a cashier’s check.
felony larceny of more than $20,000 but
less than $100,000. The original check payable to
Bhakta Farms, however, was not can-
But there’s more. Police reports say celed but was deposited the same
on Aug. 8, 2020, Smith sold $279,327 day to the farm’s JP Morgan Chase ac-
worth of cattle through the Okeechobee count, leaving Okeechobee Livestock
Livestock Market, which issued a Cen- Market – which paid both checks
terstate Bank check for the sale price to – with a loss of more than a quarter-
Bhakta Farms. million dollars.

But two months later, the livestock Smith was subsequently charged in
market noticed that the check had not Okeechobee County with first-degree
cleared the bank, so they contacted felony larceny of $100,000 or more,
Smith, who said “it was probably on and is being held for trial there.
someone’s desk, that the company
had so much money, the check isn’t Two weeks ago, the Okeechobee
that important to them.” Livestock Market petitioned the court
as a victim, for the release of assets be-
Bhakta Farms owns businesses in ing held or frozen by the Indian River
France near Bordeaux where it has an and St. Lucie Sheriff’s offices as evi-
18th century chateau and an Armag- dence in the cases against Smith.
nac spirits distillery, and in Shoreham,
Vermont, where the company distills The market says Smith used the pro-
WhistlePig Rye Whiskey on a 500-plus ceeds of the August 2020 fraudulent
acre farm. sale to purchase a 2016 gray Chevy Cor-
vette on Oct. 13, 2020 for $60,670.05,
Police reports say Smith told Todd and a 2021 Chevy Tahoe the same day
Clemons from the livestock market for $86,682.06.
that the check issued to Bhakta Farms
“has either been lost or misplaced.” Smith, who has pleaded not guilty
to the charges lodged against him, ap-
“Then Scott Smith asked them to plied for indigent status and was ap-
re-issue the check. But this time Scott proved for public defender represen-
Smith asks them to write the check tation in February, but in September
payable to Smith Livestock Services,” he hired a private attorney based in
police reports show. Lantana to represent him in this multi-
jurisdictional case.
Clemons drew up an agreement with
Smith on Oct. 12, 2020, stating that the Court records show that Wyoming
original check would be canceled, and also is interested in extraditing Smith
that Smith represents Bhakta Farms for prosecution there. 

ST. ED’S STUDENTS RELEASE SINGLE,
LEARN MANY FACETS OF MUSIC TRADE

BY GEORGE ANDREASSI wer recalled. “I didn’t even know he
Staff Writer could sing like that. He was very good.”

A pair of aspiring musicians from Since then, DeSchouwer and Nor-
St. Edward's Upper School who grew ris have spent dozens of hours in the
up on the barrier island have gained recording studio, researching beats,
an international following on social experimenting with melodies, com-
media thanks to the catchy harmonies posing their own lyrics and producing
and professional sound of their debut a half-dozen songs.
single entitled "All Your Love."
The duo released “All Your Love” in
Senior Louis DeSchouwer and ju- September and danced to the song with
nior Ford Norris were already friends their classmates during the school’s
from their days at Beachland Ele- Homecoming Dance on Oct. 2.
mentary and youth sports when they
teamed up in the recording studio at “Everyone at the school knew the
St. Ed’s shortly after the new school song,” Norris said. “Louis and I got in
year started. the middle of the dance and everyone
was mosh-pitting us. That was like the
“I remember I was recording a song coolest thing.”
and Ford comes in and said, ‘Yo, this is
so cool, let me hop on it,’” DeSchou- Footage of the students dancing
with Norris and DeSchouwer and oth-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 11

NEWS

Grand Harbor tion, along with recent enhancements surgence going on, and you can feel it. plex, and a picturesque marina with
made to Grand Harbor’s beach club “We’ve brought in a lot of new mem- more than 100 slips.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 and improvements made to its food-
and-beverage service, the “first taste bers, and many of the previous mem- On the island, the Grand Harbor
provements were the amazing quality of where we’re going.” bers who left are coming back,” he Beach Club features an Olympic-size
of the greens, which were cut to per- added. “I think a lot of people are swimming pool and oceanfront dining.
fection with none of the incursion of He said the members have respond- surprised that we’ve been able to turn
foreign grass that was there before,” ed favorably to the speed with which things around so quickly, but the club Gibson said Grand Harbor’s mem-
he added. “But the fluffy sand in the the club has rebounded from the toxic is vibrant again. bership is approaching 700, and half
greenside bunkers and the newly de- environment that existed prior to their of the new members don’t live on
signed bunkers and waste areas also purchase of the facilities and takeover “Everyone’s excited about the future.” the premises. Many of them are also
were well received. of the club’s operations on Dec. 1, The 900-acre Grand Harbor develop- members of other local clubs. Some
2020. ment is one of the largest and most pop- were on other club’s wait lists.
“The course was perfect,” Sweeny ular country-club communities in the
said. “We’ve come a long way from where Vero Beach area. Its mainland footprint “We’re back with both golf courses,
we were a year ago, when members were includes extensive lagoon-front prop- and we’re just getting started,” Gibson
Lutzke, who had collaborated with walking around like zombies with their erty, two golf courses, a 32,000-square said. “Nothing is going to stop us from
Dye on more than 30 course designs, heads down,” Gibson said. “There’s a re- foot clubhouse, a 12-court tennis com- taking the club to where we want to
wanted to preserve his mentor’s vision take it.” 
for the traditional Scottish links-style
layout, which was completed in 1988.

But he introduced subtle enhance-
ments, particularly to the greens and
bunkers, that he believed Dye would
have embraced to accommodate to-
day’s game and golfers.

On some holes, Lutzke and his team
moved bunkers closer to greens. On
others, he added multiple smaller bun-
kers.

“We converted the bunkers back to
how Pete would want them – with flat
sand and grass faces,” Lutzke said. “We
kept the bunker faces steep, which en-

PHOTO BY KAILA JONES

hances the shadowing at certain times
of day. Pete always loved the shadows
that his bunkers would cast as the sun
was setting on an afternoon round.”

The most dramatic changes were to
the No. 3 hole, which was designed en-
tirely by an unknown architect hired by
the developer, Icahn Enterprises, after
a land swap altered Dye’s original lay-
out.

Lutzke, with the backing of the
members, relocated bunkers and re-
configured the hole in a way that he
believed Dye would’ve designed it.

“We wanted to bring the course into
2021, and we brought Chris in because
we wanted to answer the question:
What would Pete do?” Gibson said.
“Structurally, it really hasn’t changed
much. We tweaked it.

“It’s essentially the same course, but
with a whole new look.”

The Harbor Course was closed May
1 to allow Lutzke’s crew to embark on
the $2 million facelift. The club’s River
Course also underwent some spruc-
ing up this past summer.

Gibson called the course renova-

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

NEWS

St. Ed’s musicians “He’s very gifted,” Hengen said. “I
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 think he’s going to go far, for sure.

er festivities from Homecoming Week “We’ve always had this music tech
was incorporated into a music video program. When Louis showed up, he
created to accompany the song, said sort of was beyond the scope of the
Monica Jennings, the school’s market- course as a course,” Hengen said.
ing director. “We’re able to manipulate the curricu-
lum; instead of having a course, let’s
“All YourLove”hasabout3,000streams just make it independent study.
worldwide, according to the program
used by DeSchouwer and Norris. “He still has projects he has to do
and he has to turn in as part of the
In addition to Vero Beach, hot spots course,” Hengen said. “He’s actually
include Germany, Belgium and Mexi- creating beyond the requirements.
co as a result of sharing among family
and friends. “I am trying to push him to be more
video-oriented,” Hengen added. “He
Two exchange students from Ger- has a lot of really good songs, but in
many, junior Betty Sander of Bremen, today’s age, you have to have a video
and sophomore Rosa Kurek of Aalen, that goes along with your song in or-
said they shared "All Your Love" with der to get played.”
their friends back home.
DeSchouwer has clearly inspired
“It’s really good. It sounds like they’re Norris, Hengen said.
professional singers,” Sander said. “It’s
a song I put on my playlist. I listen to it “Ford has always had the talent, but
very often.” he’s never had the opportunity,” Hen-
gen said. “Having Louis here as a se-
Kurek added, “It’s really good and it nior has given Ford the opportunity to
has a lot of potential. They should go sort of say: ‘Oh, wait, this is something
to the ‘American Idol’ show.” I’d really like to do too.’”

DeSchouwer said his dad has shared PHOTO BY KAILA JONES
the song with friends and relatives in
Belgium and Mexico. Louis DeSchouwer (left) and Ford Norris,
aspiring singers and music producers.
Both DeSchouwer and Norris got
their start singing in church choirs and While he initially produced rap mu-
Norris still sings with the choir at Trini- sic, DeSchouwer said he softened his
ty Church. DeSchouwer also trained in approach to gain a wider following
classical piano when he was younger. after transferring to St. Ed’s from Vero
Beach High School for his senior year.
While they have enjoyed the fun as-
pects of the music business, DeSchou- “Pretty much everything you do
wer and Norris said they also learned around your community reflects back
it involves a lot of hard work that has on you and your family, so you have
nothing to do with singing or playing to be extra careful about what you say
instruments. and what you do, especially if you’re
trying to be in an industry like this,”
In addition to being artists, they’ve DeSchouwer said.
realized they have to serve as their
own managers, agents, publicists and “When I came to St. Ed’s this year, it
lawyers. opened the door for me to make more
pop music that’s more acceptable for
They’ve negotiated a variety of legal is- little kids and parents to be able to listen
sues involving copyrights and licensing to with their kids,” DeSchouwer said.
in order to release their music on plat-
forms such as Apple Music and Spotify. “I kind of realized, if kids are will-
ing to listen to it and it’s acceptable for
“It’s definitely a much more compli- them to listen to, we’re going to have
cated industry than most people real- way more success than if it’s only high
ize,” DeSchouwer said. “Having a song schoolers listening to our music,” De-
perfect and ready to release is only 30 Schouwer said.
percent of it. You’ve got to have good
cover art. You’ve got to make sure you Norris said he keeps parents and
have all the licensing agreements and children in mind when he sits down
fill out the release. It takes a week at to write lyrics for a song to avoid inap-
least for a song to be approved. propriate material.

“When you want to reach a broader “We get a lot of parents coming up
audience, you have to branch out and to us and congratulating us about the
do little things, which is annoying, but song and saying they like it,” Norris
you’ve got to do what you’ve got to
do,” DeSchouwer said.

In the short term, DeSchouwer and
Norris hope to produce enough music
to create an EP that can be released on
a larger scale.

Pete Hengen, the chairman of the Arts
Department at St. Ed’s and the school’s
band director, said DeSchouwer has the
talent to be a professional musician.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 13

NEWS

said. “So, we try our best not to use pro- at one time, looking back and remi-
fanity in a song.” niscing on something that happened.”

But like a lot of young male pop sing- Both said they were traumatized by
ers, Norris admitted, “Honestly, we do the loss of classmate Bidensky Ter-
sing about girls a lot.” midor, a longtime friend and sports
teammate, who drowned during a cel-
In addition, Norris and DeSchouwer ebration at St. Ed’s on April 30.
said they take inspiration from their
life experiences and the people they “It’s kind of hard to talk about,” De-
have known. Schouwers said. “He was a close friend
of both of ours. It was really hard for
“If I’m making music, I’m trying to both of us when he passed away. If I
talk about real stuff, relatable stuff,” had to say I was doing it for anybody,
DeSchouwer said. “I write about I would definitely say I’m doing it for
things that are going on in my life, or him.” 
maybe how I feel, or maybe how I felt

Wabasso bridge safety solution in sight

BY SAMANTHA BAITA and other island communities, would
Staff Writer be paid for with an estimated $880,000
in funds already available. The origi-
A happy ending looks promising – nal chain-link fencing was slated to
at least in concept – for the Wabasso cost approximately $180,000.
Causeway high span, where work halt-
ed last month on a bike and pedestri- The proposed solution would fea-
an safety project following complaints ture three smooth, galvanized-steel
from north island residents concerned safety railings, treated with a long-
about the aesthetics of the original lasting zinc-rich coating mounted on
chain-link fence design. the back of the existing concrete bar-
rier. Only two railings would be clearly
But it’s unclear who will complete the visible from the bridge, with the bot-
job, as the contractor that had started tom railing hidden behind the existing
the Florida Department of Transporta- barrier. The completed height from
tion project announced this past week the road deck to the top of the railing
that it was going out of business. would be 48 inches.

Vertical posts had already been in- Although the FDOT had hoped to
stalled east and westbound across the complete the project by year’s end,
high span last month, before residents the time frame has become substan-
became aware of the project details tially trickier for a couple of reasons.
and realized the chain-link fence would The current global supply chain issues
significantly obstruct the iconic river could delay the manufacture and de-
views. FDOT received a flood of more livery of the project’s custom-fabricat-
than 150 complaints, mainly from Town ed steel posts and rails.
of Orchid residents, and supported by
other north island communities. Additionally, according to Kris Keh-
res, FDOT Treasure Coast Operations
RENDERING Engineer, the job contractor, DBi Ser-
vices LLC, a multimillion-dollar as-
Orchid Mayor Bob Gibbons and oth- set management and infrastructure
er community leaders held phone and company serving cities and counties
Zoom meetings with state officials to nationwide, informed him at 4 p.m.
discuss their concerns and request that on Oct. 22 that they were immediately
the state re-evaluate the project and seek ceasing operations.
a more aesthetically pleasing solution
to the safety problem the narrow bridge The DBi website confirmed Oct.
poses for bicyclists and pedestrians. 25 that “due to continuing operating
and financial challenges and sudden,
Ordering a pause in work, FDOT unexpected setbacks, particularly the
engineers quickly explored multiple decision of its primary lender to dis-
projects from across the country, hon- continue all funding, the Company
ing in on a crash-tested alternative to determined that a wind-down to sub-
the view-obstructing original plan in stantially all of its business is neces-
a design employed by the California sary at this time.”
Department of Transportation.
While FDOT and north island com-
The California option, which is re- munities are in accord on the Cali-
ceiving strong support from Orchid fornia option, some safety questions
remain from the leadership of the
county’s Bike Walk Indian River Coun-
ty Inc., a proactive all-volunteer non-
profit that promotes safe biking and
walking, which will continue discus-
sions with FDOT. 

14 Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Cherry Stowe appears favorite for Orchid town manager

BY SAMANTHA BAITA gap between managers, and they of- this unique community” better than plete their “ideal candidate” profile. He
Staff Writer ten help in searches and hiring. Stowe, and suggested moving forward has been conducting these commu-
with an evaluation of Stowe by the nications, while not sharing any com-
Since the unexpected September Meanwhile, Stowe has agreed to un- council as a whole. ments with other council members due
resignation of Orchid Town Manag- dertake the duties of town clerk and to Florida’s Sunshine laws. From the
er Noah Powers after more than five interim town manager – both full-time Council member Patti Oertle-Pha- comments he collected, Parker will cre-
years in the position, the tiny north is- positions – for which she will be ap- neuf said she had given Stowe high ate a single profile to be used as a guide.
land municipality’s Town Council has propriately compensated until a per- marks on the questionnaire but said she
been tasked with finding a suitable re- manent new town manager is in place. “just didn’t know enough about Mrs. As of this past week, according to
placement as quickly possible. Stowe to provide a score yet.” Stowe, the council has not formally
Stowe is paid $75,000 per year as sought or received any applications for
Almost immediately, several on the town clerk. Powers was hired on at Council member Mary Jane Bene- the town manager position, and “I have
council spoke in favor of moving the $80,000 per year and was set to earn detto said she finds Stowe very capa- not yet put forth an application, for this
only other full-time employee, Town $128,000 this budget year, according ble of “handling and explaining com- reason. The Council is still finalizing
Clerk Cherry Stowe, into the manager’s to town budget documents. plex matters,” and feels she would be the steps to take in this process.”
position, citing her excellent record an excellent trainer of a town clerk re-
over the past six years, her numerous Prior to attending a special council placement should she be promoted to Stowe took the position of Orchid
strong job skills and work ethic. meeting last month, Parker had pro- town manager. town clerk in December 2015, after
vided council members with a Town working in a corporate senior man-
However, in order to avoid cutting Manager Attributes Questionnaire to Vice-Mayor Paul Knapp also spoke agement position for Houston-based
corners regarding proper procedure, complete. Parker advised the council favorably of Stowe and, to ensure the Pinnacle Financial Strategies.
the council sought input from several that, based upon what he’s seen over hiring process proceeds properly, sug-
other municipal government leaders, the years, qualified potential candi- gested a formal interview and back- Born in the Netherlands, Stowe came
and ultimately solicited the guidance dates often hesitate to apply if there is ground check be conducted. Council to the United States and Vero Beach
of Ken Parker, a senior advisor from a strong in-house candidate because also requested that Stowe provide an in 2007, having completed a master's
the International City-County Man- they are cautious about spending time up-to-date resume. Council member degree with distinction at the Univer-
agement Association. and possibly jeopardizing a current Sims Browning observed the council sity of Dundee in Scotland that same
position when a viable in-house can- appeared in agreement about the di- year. In 2019, she earned the certified
Senior advisors, formerly known as didate seems likely to win the job. rection forward. municipal clerk designation from the
range riders, are retired city and coun- International Institute of Municipal
ty managers who volunteer to support At the meeting, Orchid Mayor Bob Parker suggested, and Council Clerks, the second Orchid town clerk to
governments finding themselves in a Gibbons stated his belief that any agreed, that he contact each council do so. 
outside candidate was unlikely to “fit member individually in order to com-



16 Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Medical examiner seeking new state-of-the-art facility

BY RAY MCNULTY iner for the 19th Judicial District, said Not only does the facility lack the In addition, she said the building
Staff Writer the existing facility – located on Indian space needed to store bodies in a dig- is sorely in need of upgrades and re-
River State College’s main campus in nified way, she said, but there’s also pairs to provide a safe, healthy work
The medical examiner for the four- Fort Pierce – is too small, ill-equipped not enough room for new employees, environment for staffers, who are
county region that includes 32963 is and outdated to accommodate the an ever-increasing number of files, or currently enduring roof leaks, cool-
seeking a new, state-of-the-art facility agency’s needs. separate areas to conduct autopsies. ers that spray aluminum oxide and
to meet the growing demands on her chiller-fan shutdowns.
office as a result of the steady influx of Aronica was hired in May 2020 and “The bottom line is we have outgrown
new residents flocking to the commu- moved from Baltimore to take the job this building,” Aronica told members Rather than spend money restoring
nities she serves. upon the retirement of Dr. Roger Mittle- of the Indian River, St. Lucie and Mar- and expanding a building built in the
man, who served as the Treasure Coast’s tin county commissions during a joint 1970s, Aronica asked the commission-
Dr. Patricia Aronica, medical exam- medical examiner for nearly 20 years. meeting at the college last week. ers – along with their counterparts in
Okeechobee County – to help fund the
Sailfish CRISTELLE CAY construction of a new building, pref-
erably on the college’s campus.
One must not wait until dusk to see how splendid life can be
College President Timothy Moore
Oceanfront Cristelle Cay is entirely surrounded by preserves in perpetuity endorsed Aronica’s request, saying the
Find matchless quality and value in a wide pristine beach setting building that currently houses the Med-
Each condominium has a 32’ x 8’ direct oceanfront patio balcony ical Examiner’s Office on his campus is
“at the end of its service life.”
All windows and sliding glass doors exceed the Florida Building Code
Custom design ceilings~Marble Bathrooms~Engineered wood floors~Painting He said the college’s Board of Trust-
ees wants to keep the facility on cam-
Custom Gourmet Kitchen pus – there’s available land adjacent to
9-unit SAILFISH has four 3-bedroom & 3-bathroom condos remaining the Treasure Coast Public Safety Train-
5-unit MAHI-MAHI has six 2-bedroom & 3-bathroom condos remaining ing Complex – and would embrace any
Garage parking - AC storage units - Gym - Gated Entry - Dog Walk - Barbecue efforts to seek state grants and other
funding for the project.
Design-Developed by Cardinal Ocean Development LLC
52-years Florida oceanfront condominium development “The college is here to support,”
Moore told the commissioners. “I’ll
Peer-reviewed engineering integrity bring my team together to ensure that
this remains a viable asset to our law
Now Under Construction enforcement and medical community.”

4804 Atlantic Beach Boulevard (A1A) North Hutchinson Island, Florida Moore estimated the cost of build-
Fifteen minutes south of Vero Beach 17th Street Bridge ing a new facility at $800 per square
Email: [email protected] Tel: 772.321.9590 foot, which would push the total price
from $1,025,000 into the $15 million range. But he sug-
gested the commissioners “start small”
Mahi Mahi and begin the process by providing
Aronica’s office with the funds to hire
a firm to produce a conceptual design.

“Financing a new facility isn’t easy,”
Aronica said, adding that she has been
searching for grants and communi-
cating with the governor’s office, but
has come up empty.

Indian River County Commission
Chairman Joe Flescher, who presided
over the annual Tri-County Meeting,
said the individual commissions must
approve any funding for the project,
including that needed for the initial
planning expenses.

He also recommended the counties
enlist the help of the Treasure Coast’s
state legislators and make a joint pitch
for any available state funds to build a
new facility, which he said was “very
necessary.”

Aronica said a new building would
allow her to provide proper storage
facilities for decedents’ bodies and
enough autopsy rooms to handle an
increasing case load.

She said her office this year had
handled 130 cases more than it had
at this time last year, and she expects
that trend to continue as the region’s
population increases. 

Heather Cathcart,
Bethany Baker
and Esther Baker.

A-MAIZE-ING CORNHOLE EVENT
LOOKS TO ‘TOSS OUT CHILD ABUSE’ P. 24

18 Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

‘Bird & Nature Art Show’ fete celebrates critter-sphere

Sandy Johnson and Colleen Stellmach. PHOTOS: STEPHANIE LaBAFF Andrea Levinson. Ginny Beeby and Pam Webb.
Cathy and Tuck Ferrell.
BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF David Mumpower, Susan Lissberger and John Wooldridge. Sue Dinenno and Debra Louis.
Staff Writer
SHOW WINNERS:
A squadron of bird, nature and art BEST OF SHOW:
lovers alighted at the Environmental Cathy Ferrell,
Learning Center recently for an Art-
ists’ Reception of the annual Indian “Fishing the Flats” 3D sculpture
River Bird and Nature Art Show to FIRST PLACE AWARDS:
benefit the Pelican Island Preserva- Photography:
tion Society.
Toni Wooldridge, “Turtle Trax”
The month-long show is held each 2-Dimensional:
October to celebrate National Wildlife Quentin Walter,
Refuge week and to promote aware-
ness, conservation, stewardship and “Escape Into the Clouds”
use. In particular, the event highlights 3-Dimensional:
our two local conservation areas – Pel- Cathy Ferrell,
ican Island National Wildlife Refuge,
which was designated as the nation’s “Skimming the Tree Tops”
first by President Theodore Roosevelt Mixed Media:
in 1903, and Archie Carr National
Wildlife Refuge, a prolific sea turtle Grace Cormier, “Nature”
nesting area that spans from Wabasso Watercolor:
Beach to Melbourne Beach.
Beverly Tyson, “After Heade”
In addition to the art show, there Oil: Judy Burgarella,
were various activities all month “An Artist’s Palette”
long, including a flock of bird-centric
tours, sunset wine cruises, a shorebird Acrylic: Judy Burgarella,
beach tour, migratory bird talks, be- “Blue Heron & Orchids”
ginning birding for kids, an owl walk, Plein Air at ELC: Lee G. Smith
photo lecture led by Juanita Baker,
and, following the Artists’ Reception,
a slideshow showcasing the birds of
the refuge.

Judges Dan Kroger and Warren
Obluck waded through more than 100
bird- and nature-related entries to se-
lect the 2021 winners. Artists had de-
picted native flora and fauna in a va-
riety of mediums, from sculpture and
mixed media to photography, oils, wa-
tercolor and acrylics. Earlier, several
artists had visited the ELC to paint en
plein air, hoping to capture the beauty
of the campus and its critters in their
natural setting.

For more information, visit first
refuge.org. 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 19

PEOPLE

Mark San Souci and Mary Cunningham. Tim Glover and Debbie Avery. Lee G. Smith and Mary Ann Hall.

Huey Zaplin and Quentin Walter.
Peter and Carole Coe.

Andre Spedaliere and Toni Somma.

20 Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

At Clay Shoot, ready … aim … fired-up to help vets!

BY SAMANTHA ROHLFING BAITA
Staff Writer

The second annual Clay Shoot host- Jimmy Medlock, David Morgan, Charles Searcy and Sheriff Eric Flowers. PHOTOS: SAMANTHA ROHLFING BAITA
ed and to benefit the Veterans Council
of Indian River County had everything
going for it – a sunny Saturday morn-
ing with just enough breeze, a great
turnout, terrific raffle prizes, delicious
breakfast and lunch spreads and, best
of all, it raised roughly $45,000 for pro-
grams that assist our local veterans.

The event took place recently at Vero
Beach Clay Shooting Sports, tucked
away down a couple of dirt roads in
the quietly beautiful area known for its
scrub pine and cattle. Some 15 miles
west of the Atlantic shoreline, it is well
known by clay shooting enthusiasts
from across the state.

Jim Romanek, Veterans Council ex-
ecutive director, said they decided to go
ahead with their inaugural shoot last
year, despite the pandemic, because
attendees “could gather outdoors, re-
main socially distant, have fun and still
support the veterans’ causes. Through
the success of that event and the gener-

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 21

PEOPLE

Nick DeMarco and Dave Newhart. Marty Zickert, Dave Newhart and Jim Romanek.

Pat Schwartz and Rich Harrison. Drs. James Betancourt and Barry Garcia (front) Standing, Dee Orr, Steve Jastermsky, seated, Sylvia Godbehere
with Drs. Jason Stack and Aaron Howell (back). and Paula Jastermsky.

Dee Orr. A grinning Romanek gave a shout-out
to “Nick ‘The Animal’ DeMarco,” for his
osity of our community, we continued efforts in rounding up the raffle items.
to serve all veterans in need without in- In addition to the regular raffle, a pre-
terruption.” mium limited-participation drawing
of just 20 tickets had been sold prior to
This year’s attendance was even bet- the event day for a chance to win a PS90
ter, requiring 17 ranges to accommo- semi-automatic rifle; Carroll Oates won
date the 31 four-shooter teams, many of the coveted gun.
whom were current or retired military
or were military family members. The event’s top marksman was Jack
Martinelli, who scored 98 out of 100.
Throughout the morning, the pop- The first-team consisted of Jack Marti-
pop-pop of shotguns, and shouts of nelli, John Martinelli, Rooster Cham-
“pull” filled the air. The remains of clay bers and Kaleb Baker, with a team score
“pigeons” – black or orange discs flung of 358.
out by traps and blasted to smither-
eens by shooters from wooden stations The mission of the Veterans Coun-
– littered the down range field. A few, cil is to support the more than 25,000
though, escaped unscathed. veterans and family members living
in Indian River County. Through their
The day began with a safety brief- Upward American Veterans program,
ing and a robust buffet breakfast spon- veterans in need are provided with
sored by Chick-fil-A, and after an in- emergency basic living financial sup-
tense morning on the range, the teams port – a demand that was exacerbated
headed out of the noonday sun to dig during the pandemic – such as assist-
into a buffet lunch by Wild Thyme Ca- ing with food insecurity, utilities and
tering. All morning long, a Natalie’s Or- rent.
chid Island Juice Company representa-
tive zipped from station to station in a The Veterans Helping Veterans
golf cart, ensuring the shooters stayed program assists with basic home im-
well hydrated. provements for those veterans who are
unable financially or physically to com-
plete them. The Veterans Council also
offers non-emergency transportation
to the VA Hospital in West Palm Beach
and to some local medical appoint-
ments.

For more information, visit veteran-
scirc.com. 

22 Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Mann SEALs, delivers as inspirational Navy League speaker

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF symbolize the passing of knowledge military discovered they needed spe- among those attributes are honor,
Staff Writer and celebrate the 246th Birthday An- cially trained soldiers to handle chang- courage and commitment. He not-
niversary of the U.S. Navy. es in military warfare tactics during ed that during the most recent ‘Hell
Retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. Grant World War II. Week,’ only 33 students graduated out
Mann, who serves as executive direc- League president Jay Rinchack of a class of 139.
tor of the National Navy UDT-SEAL shared details of Mann’s distin- “They started training in Fort Pierce
Museum, was the guest speaker at the guished 34-year career as a Navy to get ready for Normandy. They lived “Each student ran over 2,000 miles
first of the Navy League Treasure Coast SEAL, which included two tours on on the south side of Fort Pierce Inlet and swam 128 miles,” said Mann, lik-
Council’s 2021-2022 Speaker Series, board DD 986 as a Boatswain Mate, and trained on the north side of the in- ening it to swimming from Cuba to
held at the Quail Valley River Club. two deployments at SEAL Team 5, and let,” said Mann. The area is now home the southern tip of Florida and run-
seven years at SEAL Team 6, including to the National Navy UDT-SEAL Mu- ning to New York City.
The St. Lucie West High School as a Commanding Training Officer seum, which opened in 1985.
NJROTC color guard, one of sev- and Mobility Squadron Commander. The mission of the Navy League is
eral ROTC groups supported by the “Our main job is preserving the his- to support members of the sea ser-
league, presented the colors, before Mann said the irony of ending up tory and heritage of the Navy SEALs vices and their families, educate oth-
guests took a moment to honor past back in Vero Beach wasn’t lost on and, more importantly, our (UDT) ers about the importance of sea power
council president Don Wickstrand, him. Born in Toronto, Canada, he was predecessors. More than the muse- for economic prosperity and national
U.S. Navy Capt. Ret., who recently raised in Vero Beach and didn’t enroll um, we need to give back to the com- security, and to build America’s future
passed away. in the Navy until he turned 25. munity,” said Mann. through youth programs. The coun-
cil awards scholarships, supports the
“He was a man of principle, integ- “I was having too much fun in Vero He explained that through their Coast Guard Station in Fort Pierce,
rity and strength. A patriot, passion- Beach, working at the Ocean Grill and Trident House Charities, they support has sent more than 21,000 paperback
ate about the Navy and about our vet- Bobby’s, drinking, chasing girls and military veterans and their families books to service members, and partic-
erans. He was a mentor, advisor and sailing my Hobie Cat.” with scholarships, K-9 support dogs ipates in various veteran ceremonies.
valuable member of the board,” said and the Trident House, a place of ref-
John Beckert. In essence, his link to the Navy uge. For information about the Navy
SEALs began, and continues to- League Speaker Series, visit treasu-
In addition to a delightful lun- day, where the original “frogmen” He added that Basic Underwater recoastnavyleague.org. For more in-
cheon, there was the ceremonial cut- first gained their sea legs, along the Demolition/SEAL training was de- formation about the National Navy
ting of a cake with a sword by the old- shores of the Treasure Coast. Mann signed to tease out the qualities need- UDT-SEAL Museum, visit navyseal-
est and youngest sailors present, to expounded on the evolution of the ed to perform in various terrains, museum.org. 
SEALs, beginning in 1943 when the often under hostile conditions. Chief

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 23

PEOPLE

Rob Medina, Lt. Victor Aponte and Peter Petrelis. PHOTOS: KAILA JONES Doug and Weasy Carmack with Mike and Joan DiScipio. Al and Ursula Hunt with Lou Ferrari.

Joseph and Carol Palowich.

Ron and Peg Kindy with Doug Cameron.

Jay Rinchack and Grant Mann.
Ted and Mary Ellen Rippert.

24 Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

A-maize-ing cornhole event looks to ‘Toss Out Child Abuse’

BY KERRY FIRTH
Correspondent

A lively group of cornhole competi- Dawn Hass, Marni Howder, Jennifer Frederick and Gwen Lamothe. PHOTOS: KAILA JONES Bob Schlitt.
tors gathered at Walking Tree Brew-
ery recently for a chance to win cash first round. They all agreed that it re- buckets, hoping to win their chosen abuse,” said Barbara Parent, an ex-
prizes and bragging rights as corn- ally didn’t matter whether they won prize from among donated items such change club member. “That is our na-
hole champions during the fifth an- or lost, because they were having fun as gift baskets from local restaurants, tional project, and this is a local fun
nual Toss Out Child Abuse event. As and supporting a worthy cause. spas and retailers, and a custom tie- fundraiser.”
fun as it was to try to toss little bags dyed cornhole game board set.
into the game board holes, all while Raffle tickets were selling quickly The information they provided
sharing craft beers with friends, and, after guests perused the selec- “All the proceeds from this event indicates that more than 4 million
participants agreed that it was even tion, they deposited their tickets into goes toward the prevention of child children are reported as abused and
more rewarding to support child
abuse prevention programs.

Sixty-six competitors had signed
up in teams of two to test their skills.
Qualifying rounds separated players
into A and B teams, with eliminations
after two rounds, zero wins. With 12
cornhole boards set up throughout
the brewery, the competition was fast
and furious, eliciting rounds of ap-
plause and cheers from the specta-
tors.

A jovial team from iThink Financial
jokingly referred to themselves as “an
A-minus team,” having just lost the

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 25

PEOPLE

Dustin Haynes, Makayla Griffith and Susan Griffith.

Angela Cletzer and Sue Dempsey. Kathryn Curvino.

Nicole Williams and Colleen Dinardi. PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 26
Larry Schlitt.

neglected each year. Tragically, more which supports about a dozen differ-
than five children die every day as ent local agencies with child abuse
a result of child abuse and neglect – focus through our grant programs.
in 2019 the number was 1,840 – and Events like this help us raise aware-
about 70 percent were under the age ness about the prevalence of child
of 3. abuse as well.”

Those abused children who do sur- The Exchange Club of IRC, which
vive carry their scars into their adult has provided the community with
lives, with 80 percent of those young programs in youth activities, service
adults meeting the diagnostic criteria and Americanism since 1973, is af-
for at least one psychiatric disorder filiated with the National Exchange
by age 21. Club. Members meet weekly to dis-
cuss business, government, charity,
“This is the fifth year we’ve held personal and professional topics, and
this event and it was our best year sponsor fundraisers for local child
ever,” said Jennifer Frederick, presi- abuse prevention projects.
dent of the Exchange Club of IRC.
For more information, visit
“One-hundred percent of the pro- exchangeclubofindianriver.org. 
ceeds will go to our foundation,

26 Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Kimberly Taylor.

PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25 Bill Martinelli, Nathan Martinelli and Mason Smith. Jody Kisler.
Krissie Berni.



28 Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT COVER STORY

Over the next three decades, the was meant to stimulate the economy drama between humans and nature – test bed for the elaborate policies and
U.S. will spend at least $1.5 billion to in the early depths of the COVID-19 storm destruction and restoration, lob- defensive measures needed in vulner-
help shore up about 80 miles of Long pandemic. bying and lawsuits – that’s creating one able beach communities around the
Island waterfront as part of the ongo- of the most ambitious running battles world, even those that aren’t home to
ing Fire Island to Montauk Point proj- What’s happening on beaches in the against climate change in U.S. history. millionaires and billionaires.
ect, or FIMP. Hamptons and nearby is no last-min-
ute maneuver. The spending is mere- Of all places, it’s the Hamptons and That makes the Hamptons both a
Under the direction of the U.S. Army ly the latest turn in an eight-decade nearby beaches that will be the biggest climate laboratory and the face of an
Corps of Engineers, hundreds of mil- existential question: How long can, and
lions of dollars will be invested in A home seen at sunset should, governments deploy a moun-
dredges that pump offshore sand back along Dune Road in the tain of cash against the implacable rise
onto beaches – much more efficient of warming seas?
than trucks, at hundreds of times the Hamptons.
scale. Thousands of residences, many Home values in the Hamptons,
of them beachfront homes, will be where many properties are only used
lifted off their foundations onto stilts. for three months out of the year, regu-
larly exceed $1 million. Coastal homes
As the program gets going, state and with higher risk from floods and, even-
local governments will foot a portion tually, sea-level rise sell at an extraor-
of the bill for ongoing costs. Some dinary premium.
wealthy homeowners on the beach
will join in the effort to thwart rising Waterfront homes face severe flood-
seas, paying small fortunes to install ing risks, according to predictions by
private sea walls. First Street Foundation. In West Hamp-
ton Dunes, for example, about 78% of
After years of delays, the project homes fall into this category. The Army
was authorized to begin construction Corps will deposit thousands of cubic
thanks to last year’s Cares Act, which yards of sand in both areas.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

Hurricanes add a seasonal threat to
the constant risk of groundwater flood-
ing and rising sea levels. The Hamptons
has not seen a “hundred year storm”
– a Category 5 hurricane – in about 80
years. If, or when, such a storm hits the
area, coastal inundation will be severe.

“Are we going to take this oppor-
tunity to reenvision the way we live
with water, or are we just going to fight
against it until we lose?” asks Alison
Branco, coastal director for the Na-
ture Conservancy in New York. “You
can continue to pour sand and build
beaches if your money is infinite and
your sand is infinite. Of course, neither
of those is true.”

The population of Long Island – le-
gally it’s considered a peninsula, jut-
ting eastward into the Atlantic from
New York City – is wealthier and bet-
ter resourced than ¬people in most
places in the U.S. But it’s far from the
only coastline where federal money is
being spent on beach welfare.

Over the past century, New York has
received 120 million cubic yards of
sand, or 8% of the national total, for re-
plenishment, ranking fifth behind Cali-
fornia, Florida, New Jersey, and North
Carolina.

When government spending is not
pumping sand onto imperiled beaches,
it’s sucking water out or reconstructing
coasts. The town of Palm Beach in Flor-
ida pays for the pumps along its water-
front streets to keep multimillion-dol-
lar homes dry, preserving real-estate
prices that generate rich municipal
taxes. In Louisiana a master plan of 124
projects has been designed to leave 800
square miles of land intact for 50 years,
at a cost of about $50 billion.

The ocean doesn’t distinguish be-
tween moneyed beaches and harder-
scrabble coasts, but glamorous wa-
terfronts have greater visibility. The
travel-guidebook sands of Copaca-
bana and Ipanema in Rio de Janeiro,
St-Tropez in France, Fiji’s Qalito Island,
and Thailand’s Phuket are imperiled
by climate change, as are the iconic
waterfront metropolises of Hong Kong
and Singapore. On the Caribbean is-
land of St. Lucia, a resort destination,
the World Bank helped restore an
eroded beach.

Yet there’s a concentration of ef-
forts in the Hamptons, federal and
otherwise, that make it the most vivid
place to watch the process of mus-
cular coastal defense unfold. It’s also
one of the best places to glimpse early
climate retreat.

Southampton and East Hampton are
among the towns using public funds
to buy up low-lying homes, letting the
sea reclaim the land. Along Dune Road,
a narrow strip where million-dollar
homes sit atop dunes, there have al-
ready been buyouts.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 30

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29

In managing the immense flow of according to Climate Central, a non-
federal funds into the region, the Corps profit research organization.
says it’s acting to forestall the most eco-
nomic damage. “We are spending the In deciding where to focus its ener-
money where we get the biggest bang gies, the Corps has followed guidelines
for our buck,” says James D’Ambrosio, since the 1980s calling for projects
a spokesman for the Army Corps in that boost economic development
New York. “It may sound hardhearted, while protecting the environment.
but to be fiscally responsible and to be The Corps must perform a cost-bene-
stewards of taxpayer money, we have fit analysis on potential jobs: For every
dollar spent, officials must anticipate
preventing at least that amount in re-
pairs for future damage.

For FIMP, spread across an area with
some of the world’s most expensive
waterfront real estate, that calculation
shows a dollar of defensive spending
saves $2.20 over the expected losses if
no action is taken.

The Biden administration has pro-
posed a greater commitment to poor
areas in Corps projects. “It’s not clear
how benefits for disadvantaged com-
munities are going to be considered
and which projects actually get fund-
ed,” says Lowry Crook, an Army Corps
official during the Obama adminis-

Above: West Hampton Dunes
mayor Gary Vegliante seen
in his office.

Sand piles up upon a staircase
on Dune Road in the Hamptons.

to abide by the greater benefit of the A flood area warning sign seen on Dune Road.
public good.”
tration. “There should be a way to do
Coastlines have always been unruly. it fairly and not just help high-value
Currents carry massive amounts of property areas. But it’s not easy.”
sand in and out, leaving beaches un-
stable. Storms drive water across san- In Mastic Beach, a seaside area be-
dy reaches and open new inlets in their tween Fire Island and Southampton
wake. Rising temperatures heighten where prices average $310,000, federal
the potential for storms to reshape the funds will be spent to acquire and de-
land. Glaciers melting far from New stroy 14 flood-prone houses.
York’s coastlines are lifting sea levels.

Climate change has been increasing
cleanup costs from extreme weather
for at least a decade. More than $8
billion of the $60 billion in damage
caused by Superstorm Sandy in 2012
is attributable to sea-level rise, accord-
ing to a recent Nature Climate Change
study.

The Army Corps of Engineers won’t
be done with its main work around the
Hamptons until the 2050s, by which
time the ocean at Montauk could be
as much as 2 feet above 1992 levels,

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 31

INSIGHT COVER STORY

As real estate gets more expensive, D’Ambrosio says. “It’s very expensive. In Montauk there’s been talk among not enough. “It feels like a ridiculous
it’s usually cheaper to lift a house off It’s very time-consuming.” And even local officials of trying to persuade amount of sand,” Branco says. “But it
its foundation than to buy it outright. when the home is elevated, there’s property owners to retreat. But so doesn’t go that far. The second you put
“So then what you wind up doing is still the neighborhood to worry about. far no one has packed up for higher it down, it starts moving around.” A
offering buyouts in certain less afflu- Roads aren’t being elevated as part of ground. Instead the hamlet is eagerly sudden storm in a single day can undo
ent neighborhoods,” says the Nature FIMP, though the Corps considered it. awaiting 2023, which will bring a de- the hard work of a multimillion-dollar
Conservancy’s Branco, who lives on Nor are lawns or utilities. livery of 450,000 cubic yards of sand, dredging job.
Long Island’s southern coast. “Essen- hundreds of times the quantity de-
tially the poor people are being asked Before it settled on dumping thou- ployed this summer at Ditch Plains. Gary Vegliante, the West Hampton
to move, and the rich people are being sands of cubic yards of sand onto Dunes mayor, has little patience for
helped to stay.” beaches and picking up private prop- The sand isn’t cheap. The Corps will those who see his narrow strip and the
erty onto stilts, the Corps also weighed spend an estimated $500 million up- people on it as expendable. “You can’t
Fred Thiele, a 68-year-old Hamp- a buyout program in the Hamptons. It front on renourishment and then split let it wash away just because you don’t
tons-born politician who’s served in abandoned the idea, finding it “gener- the cost of maintenance with the local like the people that live out there,”
the state assembly since 1995, says he ally cost-prohibitive due to high prop- government for the next 30 years. he says. “Without the resort residents
expects the warming world to eventu- erty values,” according to its own re- in this community, they’d be potato
ally upend formulas that help keep rich port. How much sand can a half-billion farms.” 
homeowners in place. Federal funds dollars dredge up? Almost certainly
might defend beaches and homes for
a few more decades, but at some point
the wealthy, too, will probably have to
pick up and move inland.

“Putting sand on the beach contin-
uously – is that a long-term strategy
with sea-level rise and the changing
climate?” Thiele asks. “Strategies such
as retreat from the coast are going to
have to happen.”

As climate risks increase, so will the
mitigation experiments conducted by
the federal government and local com-
munities. The Army Corps will soon
begin putting into practice its theories
of coastal defense with a billion-dollar
experiment: home elevation in the
Hamptons.

“You can put sand in front of it, or
not, but if your house is at sea level
in 2050, you’re going to have flooding
problems,” says Branco, the Nature
Conservancy official. “It’ll come from
a different direction than the beach.
It’ll come from up around and ¬un-
derneath. You can’t sand your way
out of that.”

To address that concern, the Corps
will spend an estimated $1 billion on
what it terms nonstructural solutions.
The plan calls for floodproofing and
elevating as many as 4,432 structures.
That means the U.S. government will
essentially pay to put properties on
stilts, allowing floodwaters to pass un-
derneath.

Stilting homes was widely discussed
after Superstorm Sandy, when local
governments embarked on ill-fated
attempts in the Rockaways section
of New York City and along the Jersey
Shore. When the government seeks to
raise a home, it allots funding and hires
private contractors to do the work.

Homeowners have to find another
place to live while their home is stilted,
typically on their own dime. In both
states the stilting attempt was fairly
disastrous, leading to homeowner law-
suits and the conviction of one con-
tractor, who blew the elevation funds
on diamonds and gambling.

The Corps has never embarked on
a nonstructural project as ambitious
as FIMP. “It’s a very intensive thing,”

32 Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT OPINION

The surge in costs for everything from fuel to com- theory centers on an imbalance between supply life savings barely covered a weekly grocery bill.
puter chips, to houses and even spinach, has some and demand. Too little supply of goods or services More precisely, the term is often used when con-
people fretting over the specter of “hyperinflation” combined with too much demand from consum-
– the phenomenon in which runaway prices destroy ers is supposed to send prices spiking. And too few sumer prices rise by 50% a month or more.That’s a long
the value of a nation’s banknotes and coins. workers to meet the demand for their services drives way above the current situation in major economies.
up wages, aka the cost of labor, also prompting com-
Google searches for the term have rocketed in re- panies to jack up their prices. One of the reasons for the current concern is that
cent days, after Twitter Inc. Chief Executive Jack Dors- most episodes of hyperinflation over the last few centu-
ey set the social-media platform alight with a com- This is what seems to be happening today as the ries took off after governments or central banks printed
ment that hyperinflation is “happening.” world opens up from the pandemic lockdowns. massive amounts of money, either to finance wars, pay
large indemnities after losing one, or as a result of pro-
It’s a term that conjures sepia images of cash-filled Another popular theory centers on money supply, ductive capacity being destroyed in the fighting.
wheelbarrows and breadlines, yet rampant price gains and the idea that too many banknotes in circulation
remain an issue today for countries such asVenezuela. eventually mean higher prices for the finite supply of While tackling Covid-19 isn’t a conventional battle,
Less so for the U.S. and the world’s other major econo- goods and services. it has meant a huge increase for government spend-
mies, where talk of hyperinflation risks overshadowing ing. And central banks ran their (virtual) printing
a far more tangible concern: Run-of-the-mill inflation. The problem is that money can end up being presses at breakneck speed to back those outlays. The
saved, or inflation may mostly affect financial assets central banks of the U.S., Japan and Europe boosted
While gradual price increases reflect a healthy, grow- rather than costs in the real economy. Inflation has their combined balance sheets by more than $10 tril-
ing economy, the abrupt uptick as the world reopens eluded Japan for years, for example, despite the na- lion since the pandemic started to exceed $24 trillion.
from pandemic-induced lockdowns has prompted tion’s monetary base more than quadrupling since
political angst, a dilemma for central banks, and a re- the start of 2013. So how worried should we be? Thus far the an-
pricing of financial markets. swer seems to be that inflation is perhaps a concern,
Hyperinflation is different. It occurs when infla- hyperinflation not so much.
Here’s why you should worry about inflation – but tion becomes so rapid that ordinary households find
not hyperinflation. it impossible to cope without their lives becoming The rapid growth in money supply is already slow-
substantially worse. Weimar Germany is a classic ex- ing and the rate at which that cash moves around the
How much inflation is there? Annual changes in ample, where a wheelbarrow of cash was needed to economy has sagged to multi-year lows. That’s impor-
the cost of living are climbing the most in a decade, buy a loaf of bread. Or, think of post-Soviet Russia, tant because excess money will only drive up prices if
with a measure of global inflation compiled by the when the removal of price controls meant families’ it is being deployed to buy goods or services. Govern-
International Monetary Fund forecasting 2021 price ments like the U.K. and U.S. are also cutting, or pre-
rises to be the the steepest in a decade. paring to cut, the amount of debt they sell to fund the
pandemic recovery, further reducing excess liquidity.
With nobody hitting the mall to buy goods in 2020,
prices slumped or flat-lined, so the recent increases ver- And even the strongest sell-off for government bonds
sus a year ago appear larger and feel doubly painful for in more than a decade is coming with a silver lining
consumers. A U.S. gauge is up more than 5% this year for anyone fearful that inflation will get out of control.
for the first time since 2008, Brazil’s inflation has topped Pushed by spiking short-term yields, central bankers
10%.Turkey may report a 20% annual pace in November. are considering boosting interest rates in an attempt
to curb inflation by reducing demand, even if doing so
Still, we are a long way from the highs seen last means a slower economic recovery. That’s why longer-
century. American consumers saw inflation peak at term bonds are remaining relatively calm, with bench-
just under 15% in 1980, while the IMF’s global gauge mark 10-year yields sitting way under 2%. 
topped out near 40% in 1993 amid fallout from the
collapse of the Soviet bloc. This column by Garfield Clinton Reynolds first ap-
peared on Bloomberg. It does not necessarily reflect
The thorny question of what causes inflation has the views of Vero Beach 32963.
tormented economists for decades. One favored

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

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 33

INSIGHT OPINION

When TAP Air Portugal cancels San- my two daughters, my mother and my I am exhausted from having to go directly for a refund, so it closed your
dra Einhorn's flights during the pan- two cousins. back and forth between the two. Any- case. And, as is so often the case, no
demic, she waits a while before re- thing you can do to help me would be one was willing to take responsibility
questing a refund. Now, the money In March of 2020, a week or so be- so much appreciated. for your missing refund.
appears to be gone. Is there a way to fore our scheduled departure, TAP Air
get it back? Portugal canceled our flight because ANSWER: You might have asked for your
of COVID-19. I waited a few months money back a little sooner. It looks as
QUESTION: before doing anything, since I got an TAP Air Portugal should have re- if you waited several months to start
automated email about flight credit. funded your flights promptly since it the process. The longer you wait, the
In the summer of 2019, I booked sev- And who knew when the world would canceled them. But like several air- harder it becomes to get your money
en roundtrip tickets from Miami to open up again? lines during the pandemic, it didn't. back. That's just a general rule when
Budapest on TAP Air Portugal through Instead, it offered a ticket credit, it comes to my consumer advocacy.
Expedia. I planned to fly to Europe the Eventually, time passed, life circum- which EU regulators eventually said Waiting only benefits the company
following spring with my husband, stances changed, and I knew that the was not allowed. Under existing EU that already has your money.
seven of us would not be able to take rules, an airline must either offer a
that trip to Budapest anytime in the full refund or a credit for a canceled You could have also reached out to
near future. So I began the process of flight, no matter the reason for the executives at both companies. I list
trying to get a refund. cancellation. the names, numbers and email ad-
dresses of the customer service man-
It's been a year since I asked for a re- The correspondence between you, agers at Expedia on my consumer
fund, and there's still no refund from TAP Air Portugal and Expedia is pretty advocacy site, Elliott.org. I also pub-
either Expedia or TAP Air Portugal. confusing. It looks like Expedia be- lish the executive contacts for TAP Air
When I try to check my refund process, lieved TAP had resolved your case be- Portugal.
it either doesn’t have anything in the cause you had asked TAP Air Portugal
system or still shows a credit. I contacted Expedia on your be-
half. It reached out to TAP Air Portu-
gal, which refunded your ticket. Ex-
pedia also sent you a $50 certificate
by way of apology. 

Get help with any consumer prob-
lem by contacting Christopher Elliott at
http://www.elliott.org/help

34 Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT BOOKS

Who doesn’t love national parks and pub- of the virgin valley. Public pursuit of happiness, he National Park while camping beside geysers in 1870.
lic lands? Well, as Dennis Drabelle reveals in his new proposes, ought to include access to nature and the Drabelle scoffs at the “campfire myth” that the national
book, “The Power of Scenery,” the very notion of na- salubrity derived therefrom. This was Olmsted’s (and park idea sprouted like an eruption of Old Faithful.
tional parks met with naysayers early on, and, but for partner Calvert Vaux’s) aim with Central Park, but by
the persistence of a relay team – a Pony Express of necessity its paths and ponds and meadows, howev- Pride of authorship aside, Yellowstone became the
high-minded, under-sung visionaries – the people’s er Arcadian in effect, were architected. For Yosemite, country’s first national park in 1872, and Drabelle lets
gardens might have been denuded by squatters, van- Olmsted favors (in Drabelle’s words) a “hands-off ap- it and its proponents – geologist-surveyor Ferdinand
dals and money changers before they had a chance proach.” Hayden, painter Thomas Moran, photographer Wil-
to take root. liam H. Jackson, railroad tycoon Jay Cooke – dominate
“The first point to be kept in mind,” the plan the middle chapters of this trim book. By contrast, John
The first leg of that relay, Drabelle avers, was run preaches, “is the preservation and maintenance as Muir hikes through a mere half-dozen pages of Yosem-
by Frederick Law Olmsted – the same Olmsted who exactly it is possible of the natural scenery; the re- ite. Theodore Roosevelt, who normally hogs conversa-
“magicked” the makeover of Central Park and other striction … of all artificial constructions and the pre- tions on conservation, doesn’t even make the index.
urban oases. Drabelle does not freight his peppily vention of all constructions markedly inharmonious
paced narrative with a full portrait of Olmsted; for with the scenery.” Drabelle, a former Washington Olmsted finally returns to the stage and spends his
that see Witold Rybczynski’s “A Clearing in the Dis- Post editor who has written books on landscape ar- remaining years keeping Central Park from “going to
tance” (2000). chitecture and railroad and mining booms (he also the devil”; pulling Niagara Falls back from the brink of
reviewed one of my books), parses the difference be- spoliation; landscaping the Chicago World’s Fair; and
We first meet Olmsted in California, November tween the man-made and the sublime thusly: “[T]here master-planning parks and campuses from Boston to
1865. He has taken leave from the Civil War and Cen- is a landscape architectural feature called a ‘ha-ha’; Berkeley. He dies in 1903 at age 81. His original Yosem-
tral Park and accepted a position managing, of all there is not one called a ‘whoa.’” ite recommendations would not be rediscovered until
things, mines in the Sierras. Gov. Frederick Low seats the 1950s. Yet the organic act establishing Yellowstone
him on the commission overseeing the Yosemite Val- The cautionary example of what not to do is Niagara was its direct descendant. Yellowstone was “set apart
ley and the Mariposa Grove of sequoias that the feds Falls, which, as Henry James kvetched, had become as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit
have recently ceded to the state. (The term park was “choked in the horribly vulgar shops and booths and and enjoyment of the people.” Likewise, four decades
not invoked at this point; and even if it had been, Yo- catchpenny artifices.” later, the act establishing the National Park Service
semite was not a national park until 1890.) Olmsted pledged to “conserve the scenery and the natural and
takes it upon himself to draft guidelines for curation For all the good will and sense of Olmsted’s report, historic objects and the wild life therein and to pro-
Gov. Low tossed it. Olmsted returned to New York, and vide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner
“his splendid Yosemite analysis went into his files.” … as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of
Buried but still alive. future generations.”

Here Drabelle leaves Olmsted. Skeptics might ques- Drabelle’s prose throughout is sure-footed, spirited
tion the conceit that a lost memo is the wellspring for and droll in its anachronisms. An early Yellowstone
what Wallace Stegner would call “the best idea we ever wanderer is a “proto-Mr. Magoo.” Hot Springs, Ark.
had,” and indeed the thread is thin at first. Olmsted is “our national hot tub.” He could easily have ended
himself would later acknowledge that national parks the book on a bummer, leaving us with snapshots of
were mostly a matter of right-time-right-place. “They RVs circling the Old Faithful parking lot, Lululemoned
would seem,” he wrote in 1880, “to have been a com- lemmings switchbacking toward Angels Landing in
mon spontaneous movement.” Zion – or the low-hanging irony of the concessions,
restrooms and other hardscape required to accom-
Yet this is where Drabelle’s tale becomes most engag- modate the many millions of gapers who each year
ing. Come to “The Power of Scenery” for Olmsted; stay swarm our pleasuring-grounds. Olmsted’s ideal be-
for the cast of characters who lead us – and the park deviled. Instead, he lifts his lamp to a more Rushmore-
idea – first backward to Charles Dickens and Frances esque vantage: “At times, Olmsted … can seem almost
Trollope, whose Eurocentric travelogues expose Amer- too good for the rest of us mere mortals.” Whoa. 
ica’s coarseness and provoke a nationalist desire to
tout crown jewels of our own. On to Henry David Tho- THE POWER OF SCENERY:
reau and artist George Catlin, who dreamed of national FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED AND
parks in the abstract. Then forward to Samuel Bowles, THE ORIGIN OF NATIONAL PARKS
now-forgotten editor of Massachusetts’s Springfield
Republican, whom Drabelle credits with salvaging, BY DENNIS DRABELLE | BISON BOOKS. 272 PP. $29.95
then ballyhooing Olmsted’s lost recommendations. REVIEW BY JOHN TALIAFERRO, THE WASHINGTON POST
Drabelle wishes us to believe that Bowles’s promotion
found its way to three “self-appointed Montanans”
who claimed to have hatched the idea of Yellowstone

Vero's Largest Book & Specialty Toy Store

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 35

PETS

Bonz says newly adopted Coalie is now wholly happy

Hi Dog Buddies! uddy with a buncha other dogs, me after her Dad, who worked in
the West Virginia coal mines: big
If you looked up “ex-ZOO-ber-unt also some cats and ra-butts, dark, scary underground holes
puppy” in the Dog-shun-ary, I wouldn’t where humans dig for Coal, which
be surprised if there was a pickshur of a frenly place where humans is black like me, an they burn it an
Coalie Nemeth. No Woof! Coalie’s a get nice an warm.”
black lab mixture, but he’s obviously come to DOPT us. They have
mostly lab. About a year old. All bouncy “I like it! Whaddya like to eat?
and slurpy and happy. (I often wish you this Very Big Trailer which they Where do you sleep?”
could stuff all that into a spray bottle an
spray it on Grumps: human an pooch. got with a grant from the In- “My favrite meal is Mom’s spe-
But I digress.) shull chiggen stew with rice. I also
dian River Community Fund, get sammon or tuh-LOPPY-uh with
Coalie was right at the door to greet rice.
me an my assistant. He was wearing a Mom says. Last week they
bright green leash, trailin’ behind him, “At night I have liddle rugs to sleep
along with a nice lady. He bounded up loaded some of us in it an drove on, or I curl up at the end of Mom’s
for the Wag-an-Sniff. bed. In the morning, I wake Mom up
to a place called DYER, with so I can go chase bluejays. (I LOVE
“Oh, boy! Oh, boy! You’re Mr. Bozo, runnin’!) I’m just tall enuf to plop my
the fame-us COLL-uh-must! I’m Coalie shiny cars all over the place. A paws on Mom’s bed and give her some
Nemeth. Umm, lemme see, I’m spose morning nuzzles. My favorite breakfast
to say, oh, right, ‘WELCOME!’ This is bunch of grow-up humans an is French Toast with budder an maple
my Very Own Mom Carolynn. I Just Got syrup.”
DOPP-dud a coupla days ago. Isn’t that liddle kids came to meet the Coalie.PHOTO: KAILA JONES “Made any pooch pals, yet?”
So Cool Kibbles? I couldn’t buh-leeve it! pooches, an leash walk ’em. “Well, there’s an over-the-fence
I was in this big tray-ler with a buncha Lots of ’em got DOPP-dud, so neighbor, Nola, a bee-gull. She’s a res-
other pooches an NOW I have my Very cue like me, one of the pooches saved
Own MOM, an my Very Own YARD, an the Hew-MANE Suh-si-uddy after that hurricane a while back. Nola
my Very Own Home! An SIS-ters, even.” runs up an down the fence, but just
humans went back for a re- for short spurts, cuz she’s Gettin’ Up
“Woof! Coalie! I’m so happy to meet There.”
you, also. It’s BON-zo, ackshully. I can’t fill. That was my group. “I totally do,” I replied. “How long Headin’ home, I was smiling, think-
wait to hear your story!” ing of sweet, loving Coalie, an his ea-
“I was sittin’ in my nice liddle cage, did it take to get use to your Furever gerness for whatever’s next; and about
“Come on, Mr. Bono, let’s go sit over how he found his Forever Mom because
HERE.” He ran to a couch, where we all waitin’, I wasn’t sure what for, but it Home?” a lotta things happened at Just The
got comf-tubble. My assistant rooted Right Time.
around in The Satchel an produced a was fun an excitin’. Meantime, Mom “I gotta admit, that first night I was
coupla turkey-an-sweet-puh-tay-do Till next time,
treats. His Mom said he already knew was driving by an spotted this sign that a liddle app-ree-HEN-sive. I had to
how to Sit, so my assistant said ‘Sit.’ The Bonz
An he DID. While Coalie was happily said ‘No Fee Adoption.’ So she stopped stay right with Mom the whole night.
munching, I opened my notebook. “It’s Don’t Be Shy
BON-zo, ackshully. But either way’s to look around. Then she left, probly I didn’t ree-lize there are lotsa other
fine. So, how’d you an your Mom find We are always looking for pets
each other?” cuz it was so crowded. A couple hours kinds of animals than just dogs and with interesting stories.

“Theebes are vebby yubby treeds! later, she came back, Thank Lassie, an cats. In our yard there’s squirrels, pos- To set up an interview, email
You should habb wud, too,” he said, [email protected].
swallowing. everybody’d been dopp-dud ’cept me. I sums, raccoons, bluejays, woodpeck-

“I was livin’ at the hew-MANE suh-si- was the last one. Soon as I saw Mom, I ers, go-furr tur-dells, moles! At first I

ree-lized what I’d been waitin’ for. My stayed up all night with my nose to the

Very Own Mom. Mom told the Hew- glass slidin’ doors woofing pretty much

MANE Suh-si-uddy humans I was Her non-stop. Mom hadda sleep on the sofa

Dog, an soon as they made sure we to make sure I was OK. When I first saw

were RFEO, Mom took me home. Isn’t the deck, there was hole where a liddle

that SO Cool Kibbles, Mr. Bogo?” piece was missing an it scared me. It

“Totally, Coalie! What a great story. was real dark under there. I’m preddy

It’s Bon … oh, never mind. You men- sure there’s GOB-lins under the deck,

tioned sisters?” an they can get out through that liddle

“Oh, right. They’re not dogs. They’re hole.

called ‘cats.’ Have you heard of cats?” “I didn’t wanna walk on it at first.

“Yes,” I replied. “I ackshully have sev- But now I’m not that worried cuz the

eral cat frens.” goblins are scared of Oreo an Silky’s

“Well, there’s Oreo, she prefurrs bein’ claws. Plus, as long as I’m with Mom,

out in the fenced yard. Then there’s I’m Crispy Biscuits. Me an Mom are still

Silky, she’s an Inside Cat. They’re kinda sorta trainin’ each other.”

bossy but that’s OK with me. I hang out I smiled to myself. “How did you get

with Mom anyway. We both like hugs, an that cool name?”

snuggles an cuddlin’ and we Understand “Ackshully, my shelter name was

Each Other, if you know what I mean.” Neptune. But Mom decided to name



Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 37

INSIGHT BRIDGE

ANOTHER DEAL FOR A TIMELY LOSS WEST NORTH EAST
865 432 97
By Phillip Alder - Bridge Columnist K Q 10 6432 J9875
J965 432 Q 10
Jean de La Fontaine, a 17th-century French poet, wrote, “To win a race, the swiftness J87 432 10 9 6 5
of a dart / Availeth not without a timely start.”
SOUTH
To make a contract, the swiftness of a line of play availeth not without careful A K Q J 10
forethought. A
AK87
In this strange deal, South has one of the strongest hands you will ever see, and North AKQ
has almost the weakest hand possible. South understandably drove into six spades.
What should he have done after West led the heart king? Dealer: South; Vulnerable: Both

North’s three-club rebid was a double negative, warning of a very weak hand, typically The Bidding:
0-3 points. South tried to find a minor-suit fit before jumping to six spades. North put
down his hand with a feeling of foreboding and an “I tried to warn you” comment. SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST OPENING
2 Clubs Pass 2 Diamonds Pass
Declarer had only 11 winners: five spades, one heart, two diamonds and three clubs. 2 Spades Pass 3 Clubs Pass LEAD:
His first thought was that he needed diamonds to split 3-3; but then he realized that 3 Diamonds Pass 3 Spades Pass K Hearts
he had a second chance if he played the cards in a timely fashion. 4 Clubs Pass 4 Spades Pass
6 Spades Pass Pass Pass
South won with his heart ace, drew one round of trumps, then made the key play of
leading a low diamond from his hand.

East took the trick and returned a heart, but South ruffed, cashed one more trump,
then played off his diamond ace-king. If the suit had divided 3-3, declarer would
have drawn the missing trump and claimed. Here, though, when East could not ruff,
declarer trumped his last diamond on the board, ruffed a club in his hand, removed
West’s final trump and claimed.

38 Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT GAMES

SOLUTIONS TO PREVIOUS ISSUE (OCTOBER 28) ON PAGE 58

ACROSS DOWN
1 Distinguishing feature(5) 1 Study of place names(8)
4 Characters (7) 2 Fragrance (5)
8 Postpone (13) 3 Strands (7)
9 African antelope (5) 4 Decrease (6)
10 Oblong cream cake (6) 5 Experiment (5)
12 Unassuming (6) 6 Inspect (7)
14 Nimble (6) 7 Stop (4)
17 Salvage (6) 11 Summary (8)
19 Proportion (5) 13 Sideboard (7)
22 Assorted (13) 15 Associate (7)
23 Goals (7) 16 Kingdoms (6)
24 Steps of a ladder (5) 18 French pancake (5)
20 Prickle (5)
21 Exude (4)

The Telegraph

How to do Sudoku:

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

The Telegraph

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 39

INSIGHT GAMES

ACROSS 98 Something to project on: 48 Puzzling The Washington Post
1 Hit the road abbr. 50 Ms. Redgrave
5 Tutu’s home: abbr. 51 Largest island in Japan’s PRESIDENTIAL STEW By Merl Reagle
9 Stinging bug 99 Author of The Late Shift (the
13 Muhammad Ali’s faith Leno-Letterman story) inland sea THE Art & Science
18 Friend 52 “57 Varieties” company
19 Pointless 102 He played John-Boy on The 53 ___ La Douce of Cosmetic Surgery
20 Sweet, to Gina Waltons 54 Clan
21 1/20th of a ream 56 With 117 Down, typical SPECIALTIES INCLUDE:
22 1970s sitcom character 107 Poet Teasdale • Minimal Incision Lift for the
25 Appears 108 Notion punny name for a seaside
26 Slanders 109 Certain vote tavern Face, Body, Neck & Brow
27 “___ you ...?” (recognizer’s 110 Florida State players, for 57 Diamond stat • Breast Augmentations
62 The Bridge ___
words) short Luis Rey & Reductions
28 Battleship letters 112 Innies and outies 64 Inline roller • Post Cancer Reconstructions
30 A long time 116 Coconut Grove locale 66 Pleasant, as weather • Chemical Peels • Botox
31 Staff symbol 118 Columnist (okay, so I lied a 67 “So long!” • Laser Surgery • Tummy Tucks
33 Some Came Running Oscar 68 School course • Obagi Products • Liposculpture
little) 70 Pirate’s drink • Skin Cancer Treatments
nominee 121 Red dye used in staining 71 44 Down offering
36 Protestant reformer 72 A hard rain?
40 They, in French microscope slides 75 Get ___ (find work)
41 Awful long time 122 Japanese noodles 77 Nightwear, briefly
42 “___-doke!” 123 Mr. Saarinen 78 Iraq neighbor
43 Nighttime, to a Scot 124 Indian princess 80 Tennyson’s Arden
44 Wager 125 Like some warnings 82 Latin abbr.
45 Hydrocarbon ending 126 Celebrity 83 Is popular with customers
46 Baby’s word 127 Peeve 84 Booty
49 Hearst case “army”: abbr. 128 Quickly, quickly 85 A single time
50 Planet reporter 86 Parking place, often
52 Hollywood leading man DOWN 88 Kramer’s neighbor
55 “42nd Street” composer 1 Drops behind 89 Having more oomph
58 Oils and such 2 Type of sch. 95 Singer MacKenzie and
59 Old 3 Ice chunk others
60 Spanish queen 4 Despotism 96 Brilliant, as a performance
5 “Noon swoon” 97 Ex-premier of Israel Yitzhak
(or 45 Across spelled 6 Short description? 98 Latin hymn, ___ Mater
backwards) 7 Dog bug 99 Vacation isle
61 Cry Freedom subject Steve 8 Hold back 100 “I ___ tell a lie”
63 Prefix to “behavin’” 9 More deserving 101 Part of U.A.E.
65 Dairy sound 10 Roker and Gore 102 Frosts
66 With 69 Across, a famous 11 Uses soap pads 103 Dostoevski novel (with The)
Philadelphian 12 Belarus city 104 Stop
69 See 66 Across 13 Brain ratings 105 Sweeties
72 Falstaff’s prince 14 Betty White on The Mary 106 Unwilling-to-get-up-yet
73 Ms. Lupino sound
74 Ms. Pitts Tyler Moore Show 111 Cinematographer Nykvist
76 Online service, familiarly 15 Feudal lord 113 Historic times
77 Turns white 16 With a gun 114 Singer Horne or Russian
79 Resident suffix 17 Complicated river
81 “Fire and Rain” singer 20 Mar, as a car 115 Salon sound
87 NFL coach turned sports 23 Food store: abbr. 117 See 56 Down
analyst 24 Lobby plant 119 “___ little teapot ...”
90 Miss ___ USA 29 Mia Farrow thriller, ___ Evil 120 Shapiro of NPR
91 An example 32 Ms. Verdugo
92 Underhanded 34 Extremely
93 Home: abbr. 35 Incessantly
94 Erstwhile wagering sign in 36 “The Black Babe Ruth,” ___
N.Y.C.
95 Country colleen Gibson
96 ___ Raton 37 Ark. neighbor
97 Knight’s title 38 Pick up sound
39 Swerve
44 Safe place
45 Actor John who wed Patty

Duke
46 Boarded
47 Popular cookie

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42 Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT BACK PAGE

Caregiver-spouse struggles with feelings of emptiness

BY CAROLYN HAX In-Law: Hold your ground when
Washington Post
they get defensive. “We appreci-
Dear Carolyn: You once advised
to treat an unwelcome attraction ate X and Y. We do not appreciate
“as a cue to seek more pleasure,
just non-adulterously. Something it when you make changes to our
tactile, maybe – a pet, a craft – or
physical, like dance or yoga.” Well, home without asking first.” That’s
I have a spouse who is incapable of having any phys-
ical intimacy, and dogs, and yoga classes. And all I a boundary, and crossing it means
have left is emptiness and resentment and a goal of
not dumping care for my spouse on the kids. I have any resulting hard feelings are not
absolutely nothing to look forward to in my life.
Dogs and yoga. Right. your fault, they’re the crossers’

– Missing Affection fault for crossing the boundary.
Missing Affection: OK, so you need something
different. It’s still wise to start small, and non-dis- They can howl all they want
ruptive, to find out whether that’s enough.
When you learn it isn’t, then you try a bigger next about how ungrateful you are; you
step, to see if that works. Therapy, say. Or open ar-
rangement, or separation agreement. With each will know you said thank you for X
step you calculate how much disruption you’re
ready to assume responsibility for in seeking what and Y and objected only to Z, no
you need.
So you’ve started with your “goal of not dumping matter how much they twist it to
care for my spouse on the kids.” What other options
do you have for that care, besides the kids? Can you serve their own emotional ends.
hire it out? Can your kids contribute some without
having to bear it all? Do you have to remain married That is the solution: believing
to be the primary caregiver? Those are just examples
of questions to ask in exploring what is possible. this is true and letting the rest of the consequences
That’s what “emptiness and resentment” tell us
follow from there, without trying to prevent them
to do: Figure out what other choices we’ve got. And
recognize it’s time to get some official help. by backing down.

Dear Carolyn: My in-laws are lovely, helpful people Say no to whatever you need to say no to, and
who do LOADS of wonderful things for us. But – of
course there’s a “but” – they have a massive problem ride out the emotional storm. As unpleasantries go
with boundaries. Things in our home have been al-
tered without asking, some permanently, for example. – and it will be unpleasant – it’s still better than let-
When my husband or I bring up a grievance, they be-
come defensive and suggest we don’t appreciate any of ting people walk all over you emotionally and wreck
the things they do. My husband agrees this is an issue,
but stalls at a solution.What can we do? your house and blame you for it.

– In-Law Unless you actually do see their intrusiveness

as the lesser evil than their defensiveness – we all

make our deals, and you get to decide which trade-

off to choose.

Re: In-Laws: Sometimes, it can be useful to agree.

“You’re right, we don’t appreciate it. Better stop alter-

ing our home!” – Anonymous 

PASSIONATE PELOQUIN POURS
‘LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING’

INTO HER ART

44 Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

Passionate Peloquin pours ‘little bit of everything’ into her art

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF | STAFF WRITER artist Anita Prentice as a guest artist
throughout November at Gallery 14 in
Two-dimensional mixed media art- downtown Vero Beach.
ist Christine Peloquin was just a child
when she declared that she was going Peloquin’s exhibition, Facing Truth,
to be an artist, an ambition she has and Prentice’s Visions of a Song ex-
successfully realized. hibit will open with a reception from 5
p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday Nov. 5 during
“Art is my therapy. If I didn’t have the First Friday Gallery Stroll.
art, yoga practice and my family, I
would not be the person that I am,” “I was drawing at 3 years old,” recalls
says Peloquin, who will join mosaic Peloquin. Throughout her childhood in
Rhode Island, and later in high school
after her family relocated to Orlando,

Christine Peloquin.

PHOTOS BY KAILA JONES

she enrolled in every art class possible to Peloquin worked for several theme
further her desire. After graduation, she parks as a scenic artist in Orlando, before
headed off to Rollins College in Winter starting her own company, initially trav-
Park, Fla., where she majored in art with eling around the U.S. painting commer-
a minor in business. cial murals and faux finishing. Over the

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 45

ARTS & THEATRE

THE LAUGHING DOG GALLERY | CELEBRATING

CHRISTMAS
COUNTDOWN

This advent calendar comes filled with 24
individually boxed mini jigsaw puzzles— one for

every day until Christmas.
A great gift for the puzzlers on your list, and one

that can be enjoyed year after year.

past 30 years, her artwork has garnered Although her subjects are typically 2910 CARDINAL DRIVE, VERO BEACH • 772-234-6711 • THELAUGHINGDOGGALLERY.COM
national attention, and can now be seen the faces and figures of women and
in private collections and art galleries children, she also enjoys working on
across the country. She currently lives in landscapes and abstracts.
Sorrento, Fla., with fiancée Heather and
sons Nate and Nick. “I love drawing, love painting, love
collage. I came up with this style over
Peloquin says she was greatly in- the last couple of decades, incorporating
fluenced by her mother, grandmother all those things that I love into one piece,
and aunts, who exposed her at an early because I wanted a little bit of every-
age to the fiber arts and encouraged thing in there,” says Peloquin.
the pursuit of her talents. She quickly
learned that she was only limited by Her process, she explains, has
her own imagination and would later evolved over the years through experi-
branch out to cultivate a palate of as- mentation, and she has since created a
sorted forms of media. stockpile of collages.

“My mom said I drew a floorplan of “That way, I have an inventory of dif-
our house when I was 4. I was design- ferent panels so that when I do get an im-
ing dresses as a kid, and my cousin told age in my head or my heart, then I pick
me I was the only sixth-grader she ever the panel that works with it the best.”
knew who was designing wallpaper,”
Peloquin recalls. To create a collage, she arranges
fabric and paper in patterns akin to
Today, while she continues to dabble a quilt, before adhering the pieces to
in watercolors and oils, Peloquin’s pre- wood panels. Peloquin uses a myriad
ferred medium is drawing and painting of materials for the collage – what she
on fabric and paper collage. calls the understory of the final piece.

“I grew up sewing, but I’d much rather Materials have included antique tex-
glue things down. I love color and pat- tiles, contemporary fabrics, tablecloths,
tern and design,” says Peloquin, who vintage dictionary pages and sheets
first sketches with charcoal, which she from old children’s schoolbooks, atlases,
says can be easily altered if she makes a architectural plans and wallpaper. You
mistake. might also spot napkins, lace, buttons,

CONTINUED ON PAGE 46

46 Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE she sees her collages as the collective
story and personality of the images she
superimposes on her canvases.

“The collage coming through a face
is symbolic of all the layers of person-
ality and experience and thought. My
faces and figures are not about portrai-
ture in the sense of capturing a like-
ness, but about capturing an essence,”
Peloquin explains.

“I do some portraiture, but they’re not
really specific people. They are autobio-
graphical, because instead of capturing
a likeness, I’m trying to capture emotion
and a feeling with the piece; to capture
a moment in time with an expression.”

Two years ago, Peloquin branched out

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 45 into publishing with her first children’s
book, “If You Could Tell Time, What
flowers and leaves, along with myriad Would You Tell It?” featuring mixed me-
other papers and 2D found objects. dia and watercolor illustrations.

When inspired to do so, she can also Through a special collaboration be-
print and design her own fabric and tween Gallery 14 and the Vero Beach
paper, the choices all driven by what Art Club, Peloquin will offer a three-day
she feels at the time. workshop at the nearby VBAC Annex.
Entitled Drawing and Painting on Mixed
“I’m constantly buying and mak- Media Collage, the workshop will take
ing papers and fabrics. I just let them place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 12-14.
speak to me. Then I just start cutting
and ripping and shredding and placing “A lot of people who take my work-
things, letting them organically grow shops have never done mixed me-
from there.” dia. They do watercolor, or they do
oil painting. I like introducing other
After applying a translucent matte techniques to them. I want people to
or polymer medium atop the collage, it add new techniques to what they do
needs to cure for about 24 hours. Once already, to be able to find their own
dry, Peloquin draws her figures using voice, their own palette and their own
charcoal, before employing acrylics way of doing things,” says Peloquin.
and other media to fill in the details. A
final acrylic glaze ensures that the paint For more information about the class,
will adhere to the canvas without over- visit verobeachartclub.org/workshops.
whelming the collage underneath. For show details, visit gallery14vero-
beach.com. 
Although her collages and paintings
could easily stand on their own, she says

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 47

ARTS & THEATRE

COMING UP! Five area concerts will be music to your ears

BY PAM HARBAUGH munity Center. Last year’s concert was
Correspondent a virtual one, so Saturday’s concert
should be a pretty joyful event cel-
No better way to kick off the holiday ebrating the students of the GYO pro-
season than with music. And for Vero gram. Sponsored by five Indian River
Beach residents, you have quite the County Rotary Clubs, the special part
range of opportunities this weekend. of the concert is dedicated to the Peace
Initiative, which has its own special

CONTINUED ON PAGE 48

1 First, it’s the Vero Beach High
School Jazz Band which will per-

form in concert 7 p.m. tonight, Thurs-

day, Nov. 4., in the Vero Beach High

School Performing Arts Center, 1707

16th St. Tickets are $12 and $12. There

will also be a livestream concert which

costs $5. Call 772-564-5537 or visit Ver-

oBeachPerformingArts.com.

2 Next it’s the Navy SEAL Mu-
seum’s 36th Annual Muster and

Music Festival. The entire two-day

event runs 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday,

Nov. 5 and 8 a.m. to evening, Saturday,

Nov. 6. Friday’s schedule includes a 5K

muster and challenge, a Chad Wilkin-

son workout, which raises awareness

and funds for veterans struggling with

PTSD, traumatic brain injury and blast

wave injuries. There will also be a spe-

cial membership dinner on Friday. Sat-

urday’s schedule includes a 5K Beach

Challenge, discounted admission to

the museum, special guest speakers,

an official 11 a.m. muster with Frog-X

Parachute jump-in, a K-9 tactical dis-

play, a rifle raffle and a book signing.

The music happens 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Saturday with the American Rogues

and the Outta Hand Band. The live

music will be staged on top of the mu-

seum’s MK-V Assault Craft. There will

be food trucks on site all day Saturday.

The National Navy UDT-SEAL Muse-

um is at 3300 North Highway A1A, Fort

Pierce. Call 772-595-5845 or visit Navy-

SealMuseum.org.

3 The Gifford Youth Orchestra will
perform its 18th annual concert

Saturday, Nov. 6 at the Gifford Com-

48 Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 47 “Come Together.” The concert is un- St. John’s Brass ensemble. The concert previously in group shows at the Bir-
der the direction of Frank Wosar. Tick- benefits the Veterans Council of Indian mingham Museum of Art. Most recent-
composition written by musician Jeryl ets are $30 general and free to 18 and River County. The concert is free, but ly, McMiller lived in New York, where
Thompson. The GYO’s founder, Dr. younger. There are also discounted donations are gladly accepted. St. John the artist paid the bills by working as a
Crystal Bujol, says the board, staff and tickets provided through the organiza- of the Cross Catholic Church is at 7550 model for the storied Ford Agency. He
teachers are excited about the concert. tion’s Symphony for Everyone initia- 26th St., Vero Beach. Call 772-563-0057 appeared in magazines like GB, Vogue
“We are passionate about delivering tive. The Emerson Center is at 1590 27th or visit StJohnsVero.org. and Cosmopolitan. Now, having moved
our trademark brand of music educa- Ave., Vero Beach. Call 855-252-7276 or to Vero Beach, he paints full time, cre-
tion to enrich and empower the lives of visit SpaceCoastSymphony.org. ating vibrant, intense floral and sea-
more and more children,” she says. The scapes not contained by the frame.
GYO is music directed by Joan Haar and Indeed, the paintings pour beyond the
has piano instruction by Sue Lorimier “box.” The Center for Spiritual Care is
and vocal instruction by Lynn DiMen- at 1550 24th St., Vero Beach. For more
na. The GYO has enriched the lives of information, call 772-567-1233 or visit
more than 250 young people who have CenterForSpiritualCare.org. 
gone through their program. This 18th
Annual Concert begins 2 p.m. at the
Gifford Community Center, 4855 43rd
Ave., Vero Beach. Admission is free, but
donations are accepted and will help
support student tuition scholarships.
Masks are not required, but recom-
mended. For more information, call
772-213-3007 or visit GYOTigers.org.

4 The Space Coast Symphony Jazz
Orchestra performs “Basie on The

Beatles” beginning 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov.

7, at the Emerson Center. The idea here 6 Artist Josh McMiller makes his
grand entrance into Vero’s art
is what would the British music “inva-

sion” sound like if American big band 5 Organist Ryan Kasten will per- scene with “Revelations of Nature,” an
form in a Patriotic Concert 7
jazz great Count Basie would have used exhibition of his work running Nov.

his swing aesthetic to perform songs p.m. Nov. 9 at the St. John of the Cross 5-30 at the Center for Spiritual Care.

like “Hey Jude,” “Can’t Buy Me Love,” Catholic Church. Joining Kasten will be McMiller, who studied at the Univer-

“Norwegian Wood,” “Yesterday” and the Paradise Women’s Chorale and the sity of Alabama, has had work featured

HIGH-TECH AORTIC
STENOSIS PROCEDURE CAN

HELP PROLONG LIVES

50 Vero Beach 32963 / November 4, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

HEALTH

High-tech aortic stenosis procedure can help prolong lives

BY KERRY FIRTH the population over the age of 80. Up Dr. Mariano Brizzio.
Correspondent until a decade ago, lifesaving valve re-
placement could be done only through PHOTOS: KAILA JONES
As we age, not only our joints get open heart surgery, but the operation
stiff – so does the aortic valve, in can now be done with a minimally
many cases. This condition, known invasive procedure known as trans-
as aortic stenosis, affects 20 percent of catheter aortic valve replacement. The