Home in Castaway Cove hit
by lightning. P10
Shores mayor
blasts Vero Council. P9
Nature’s best: Kids get into
spirit of National Estuaries Day. P18
For breaking news visit
32963 Investigation
Questions raised about how
Food Bank spent donor dollars
Food Bank CEO Judy Cruz (center) accepting the second of two $50,000 checks; the used truck purchased with new truck money. BY MEG LAUGHLIN documents and information
Staff Writer were provided by eight cur-
Sebastian River hospital not impacted by owner’s woes rent and former Food Bank
Management of the Trea- administrators and staffers as
BY MEG LAUGHLIN Center as well as the Wuesthoff bought from Health Manage- sure Coast Food Bank, a non- well as other donors and gov-
Staff Writer Medical Centers in Melbourne ment Associates in early 2014. profit founded a quarter of a ernment agencies.
and Rockledge, has created century ago to alleviate hun-
A dramatic plunge in the widespread speculation over The speculation began over ger in Indian River County Beyond the Scherpfs’ con-
stock price of Community whether CHS will sell any of a week ago after Bloomberg and three neighboring coun- cerns, the inquiry found a
Health Systems, which owns these hospitals as part of a reported that CHS was ex- ties, has engaged in a variety number of instances where
the Sebastian River Medical larger sell-off of the hospitals it ploring the sale of at least a of questionable dealings that Treasure Coast Food Bank
are jeopardizing the organi- management, under CEO Judy
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8 zation’s mission, according to Cruz, accounted incorrectly
present and former employ- for how donors’ dollars were
Fishermen protest ees as well as donors. spent and misstated the Food
north jetty closure Bank’s own spending.
Vero Beach 32963 began
BY LISA ZAHNER looking into allegations about For example:
Staff Writer financial mismanagement at In November 2015, ac-
the Food Bank at the request cording to press releases and
Nightly closure of the of island donors Cindy and Joe newspaper accounts, Pub-
north Jetty in Sebastian Inlet Scherpf, who feared that thou- lix gave the Treasure Coast
State Park has been delayed sands of dollars they had given Food Bank $120,000 to buy
but is still in the works, ac- to the Food Bank had not gone a new refrigerated truck for
cording to Martin Smithson, for the agreed-upon purpose. food transport. But purchase
records and photographs
CONTINUED ON PAGE 7 In the course of a nine- obtained by 32963 show the
month investigation by 32963,
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Joe says ‘No’ to run MY
for Vero City Council VERO
BY RAY MCNULTY
Staff Writer
An intriguing rumor had
been buzzing through the
community for the past few
weeks, so I felt obligated to
ask the question: Have you
been approached about run-
ning for a seat on the Vero
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
September 29, 2016 Volume 9, Issue 39 Newsstand Price $1.00 Vero actress casts
spell on ‘Witches’
News 1-10 Faith 47 Pets 48 TO ADVERTISE CALL role. Page 24
Arts 21-26 Games 49-51 Real Estate 63-72 772-559-4187
Books 44-45 Health 27-32 St. Ed’s 46
Dining 56 Insight 33-52 Style 53-55 FOR CIRCULATION
Editorial 42 People 11-20 Wine 57 CALL 772-226-7925
© 2016 Vero Beach 32963 Media LLC. All rights reserved.
2 Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
NEWS
Food Bank paid to drivers, totalling thousands of sure Coast Food Bank CEO Judy Cruz place as the region struggles to fully
dollars over what was actually paid. misrepresented how certain dona- recover from the economic downturn.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 tions were spent, exaggerated spend-
The budget for the 2016 Sum- ing to justify where money went and “While performing this role, we
Food Bank spent only $55,000 of the mer Feeding Program, which recently charged for donated goods in viola- have done so in an entirely transpar-
$120,000 on a 2012 truck cab and 2008 concluded, falsely showed thousands tion of contracts, Cruz and Food Bank ent manner. Each and every year, since
trailer with a broken refrigeration unit of dollars in salary paid to a volunteer board chairman Miguel Cody re- 2009, all aspects of our organization,
and over 400,000 miles on it. A Publix who worked for free. sponded with the following written including financials, have been suc-
spokesman said Monday that Publix statement: cessfully audited by multiple, indepen-
was unaware that the $120,000 dona- Charitable organizations distrib- dent entities.”
tion had not been used to purchase a uting diapers received from the Food “Treasure Coast Food Bank staff,
new truck, and was looking into it. Bank were charged about $12,000 in under the leadership and guidance of But while the Food Bank financials
2015 and 2016 by the Food Bank for its board of directors, has significantly have been audited yearly to show the
In the summer of 2015, the Food Huggies diapers that had been donat- expanded its services and program of- overall financial position of the Food
Bank justified the partial spending of ed by The National Diaper Bank Net- ferings since 2009 in order to meet the Bank, which includes its assets, in-
donations and state reimbursement work. The Diaper Bank contract says demand for emergency food and other vestments and liabilities, the audits do
funds for its Summer Feeding Program that charging for the diapers is not al- vital resources that emerged abrupt- not look at whether performance is in
by showing inflated hourly amounts lowed. ly in late 2008 and has remained in compliance with contracts.
In response to allegations that Trea- The audits do not break down and
track individual contributions to
determine how money is spent, or
whether it is spent according to its
stipulated purpose.
Orchid Island residents Cindy and
Joe Scherpf began questioning finan-
cial activities at Treasure Coast Food
Bank after becoming substantial do-
nors. In 2013 and 2014, they joined
with the Grand Harbor Community
Outreach Program, which offered to
match their donations of $25,000 a
year to the Food Bank, for a total con-
tribution of $100,000 for two years –
$50,000 of it from the Scherpfs.
A contract that accompanied the
donation said the money was to pro-
vide “nutritious food to the food inse-
cure children of Indian River County.”
The contract also said that if the use
of the funds was misrepresented, the
money was misappropriated or the re-
cipient did anything inconsistent with
the stated purpose of the grant, the
donation would be returned.
In 2013, Joe Scherpf, a retired CPA
and auditor for Deloitte & Touche
who was on the Food Bank board,
began asking Food Bank CEO Cruz
questions about how money was be-
ing spent; the questions were obvi-
ously unwelcome, and his inquiries
resulted in Scherph being ousted
from the board.
Then Cindy Scherpf started getting
email complaints from elementary
school nutritionists who were charged
with sending nutritious food from the
Food Bank home with hungry school
kids for the weekend, as part of a back-
pack program funded by the Scherpfs
and Grand Harbor.
In April 2014, elementary school nu-
tritionist Susan Brenton wrote Cindy
Scherpf: “We have had to find other
sources to help feed our 46 families
because we have had repeated prob-
lems with the [Treasure Coast Food
Bank], including rodent droppings on
the food. We receive shortages each
month when we do get the food. Other
schools have complained as well.”
Several months after her email
about the rodent droppings and short-
ages, Brenton emailed Cruz at Treasure
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 3
NEWS
Coast Food Bank, copying the Scher- at numbers presented by the Food Services – requested by the Scherpfs – agency wrote the Scherpfs a more
pfs: “The order we placed on October Bank that showed more than $50,000 which concluded that Treasure Coast detailed explanation of why the state
16th was completely different from of the money in question spent on Food Bank had satisfactorily shown had closed the investigation, saying
what we actually received . . . which food, according, they said, to the terms where the Scherpf money had gone. that it was not the job of Agriculture
included canned octopus, anchovy of the grant contract. This finding, they said, explained why and Consumer Services to complete
paste, two glass jars of spaghetti sauce they would not support the Scher- an in-depth investigation, matching
and one gallon of apple juice . . . I don’t Further, Grand Harbor Community pfs in their contention that $18,000 contract stipulations with spending,
understand why we are getting boxes Outreach leaders Doug and Susanne had been misspent and should be re- because “the issue is outside the pur-
of questionable food for children . . . Sweeny pointed to an investigation turned. view of the Department.” If the Scher-
I thought your organization received undertaken by The Florida Depart-
$50,000 dollars for the Backpack Pro- ment of Agriculture and Consumer But the investigator for the state CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
gram from the Scherpfs.”
Exclusively John’s Island
Cruz replied: “As for you continu-
ally needing to copy others who have Nestled along the 2nd fairway of the North Course on a generous .48± acre
absolutely nothing to do with Treasure corner lot is this beautiful 4BR/4BA family retreat. Conveniently located in the
Coast Food Bank, I’m not understand- heart of John’s Island on a quiet, cul-de-sac street, this 4,575± GSF home
ing why. The Scherpfs have never given enjoys spacious main living areas and private pool views. Features include an
Treasure Coast Food Bank $50,000 . . . expansive living room with fireplace adjoining the lanai, wet bar, gracious island
If you have a problem with the Food kitchen, breakfast area, large master suite with sitting room, and a detached
Bank, deal directly with us.” cabana with kitchenette. 380 Llwyd’s Lane : $1,975,000
There is no question the Scherpfs three championship golf courses : 17 har-tru courts : beach club : squash
gave $50,000 over two years to the health & fitness center : pickleball : croquet : vertical equity membership
Food Bank through the Grand Harbor
foundation, which matched the mon- 772.231.0900 : Vero Beach, FL : JohnsIslandRealEstate.com
ey. Canceled checks prove it, as well as
photos of the Scherpfs, Grand Harbor
foundation leaders and a smiling Judy
Cruz accepting the over-sized checks.
In response, Cindy Scherpf emailed
Cruz to express concern over “the dis-
connect which goes on in your orga-
nization.” Scherpf told Cruz that she
was worried that the majority of the
Food Bank’s expenses are “related to
overhead and not to the acquisition
and distribution of food to food inse-
cure children” – a use that was stipu-
lated in the grant agreement.
Then, a few months later, in Febru-
ary 2015, Beachland Elementary nu-
tritionist Cindy Aspromonte emailed
the Food Bank about problems with
the food her school received: “The
Food Bank sent me expired cereal . . .
This needs to be replaced . . . The first
delivery and every delivery since has
expired product. The [children’s] im-
mune system is not fully developed
and this could possibly cause harm to
them . . . This has been a continuous
problem between the Food Bank and
Beachland.”
Meanwhile, the Scherpfs, uncom-
fortable over what the nutritionists
said and Cruz’s disavowal of their con-
tribution, began looking at Food Bank
expenditures and noting growing
evidence that donations from other
sources were being wrongly used to
explain where their money went. They
asked Grand Harbor to get $18,000 of
their grant money for 2014 returned
so that they and Grand Harbor could
use it to make sure that the money
was being used to provide nutritious
food for hungry kids.
In response Grand Harbor founda-
tion directors promised to investigate
and went to Treasure Coast Food Bank
to look at some of the food. What they
saw looked fine, they said. They also
visited several more times and looked
4 Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
NEWS
Food Bank [Cruz] backed into the numbers to could justify spending part of their that the Scherpfs are wrong to accuse
explain how their money was spent, money for food at the local Boys and them of any wrongdoing, Cindy and
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 showing them food from other donors Girls Club, which – while a well-re- Joe Scherpf remain steadfast in their
to justify their spending. She was lying spected organization – is not in the position that the Food Bank has not
pfs wanted that, wrote the investigator, and she knew it.” business of providing nutritious food accounted for $18,000 of their 2014 do-
they needed to “pursue [it] in civil court.” to food-insecure children. nation, violating the terms of the grant
Said another administrator, who contract. And, they continue to ques-
The Scherpfs, however, declined also asked not to be named: “We are In fact, records show that thousands tion whether such dealings were more
to file a lawsuit, calculating that it told to falsify documents and fill in of dollars went to purchase goldfish widespread: “Is what happened to us
would cost a lot more than the missing the gaps. It is a job requirement, along crackers and animal crackers – with happening to other donors and still go-
$18,000, which they still hoped would with ignoring those numbers that you questionable nutritious value – for chil- ing on today?” asked Joe Scherpf.
go to feed hungry children. know are falsified.” dren in the Boys and Girls Club after-
school program, where about 20 per- Certainly, the Food Bank’s violation
Instead, the couple asked 32963 to Paperwork shows the Food Bank cent of the kids are not “food insecure.” of the contract with the diaper net-
look into what was happening at the claimed to have spent a portion of the work in order to make thousands of
Food Bank. Scherpfs donation to purchase food Further, at least five percent of the dollars, the missing $65,000 from the
for the Mobile Pantries program. But food provided to hungry school chil- Publix truck donation and the inflated
Based on numerous Food Bank all of the Mobile Pantries food was do- dren by the Food Bank with the Scher- payroll for the Summer Feeding Pro-
documents obtained by 32963, as well nated by organizations such as Publix pfs’ money had expired and had to be gram point to “yes” as the answer to
as accounts from former and current and Winn Dixie and did not require thrown away. Joe Scherpf’s question.
Food Bank administrators and staffers, spending the Scherpfs’ money.
it appears the Scherpfs are correct in Former and current employees of And there is more:
their allegation that a portion of their In addition, the nonprofits that dis- the Food Bank are quick to say that the When a staffer complained to
money was not spent according to the tributed the donated Mobile Pantries Food Bank does great work, but they Cruz that Food Bank Volunteer Co-
terms of their contract. Further, it ap- food paid $500 each to cover employ- are also quick to say that they detest ordinator Gary Porter should not be
pears that what happened to the Scher- ees’ salaries and gas for distribution, the questionable dealings that have be- working with children because of a
pfs has also happened to other donors, so no aspect of the Mobile Pantries come business as usual with the CEO. 1997 criminal conviction for having
whose contributions were only partial- program required spending the Scher- sex with a 16- or 17-year-old when he
ly spent in the way they were told. pfs’ donation. CEO Cruz’s public relations con- was 29, which made it illegal for him
sultant Angie Francalancia emailed to work with children, Cruz fired the
“How Treasure Coast Food Bank The Food Bank also said that a per- a statement in response: “Unfortu- staffer, and let Porter continue to talk
handles its donations reminds me of a centage of the Scherpfs’ grant money nately, these unfounded allegations to school groups and meet with chil-
shell game or Three-Card Monte,” said went to stock school pantries. But the continue to distract Treasure Coast dren who are volunteers.
Joe Scherpf. great majority of food in the school pan- Food Bank from fulfilling our mission Several charitable agencies dis-
tries also was donated by other sources, and a 27-year commitment to ending tributing food were charged approxi-
A former Food Bank administra- coming to the Food Bank free of charge. hunger in Indian River County and mately $1,000 in total for thermal
tor, who asked not to be named, said throughout the Treasure Coast.”
this: “I was involved when the Scher- The Scherpfs further questioned
pfs asked for their money back. Judy whether Treasure Coast Food Bank Despite the Food Bank’s insistence
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 5
NEWS
blankets that had been donated to the to them. Why she did this is unclear. Many current and former Treasure is run” – or they are fired for asking
Food Bank, according to documents. Was it to hide losses and show a more Coast Food Bank administrators and questions.
balanced budget than the Food Bank staffers say the turnover at the non-
In the recently released annual actually has, or perhaps to attract do- profit is huge because people are Repeatedly, they say, they want to
report, Cruz included the names of nors by showing a longer list of sup- constantly leaving due to what they know what the Scherpfs began asking
people as donors who did not actual- porters? call “the dishonest and sloppy way it three years ago: “Where is the unac-
ly donate the $1,000 or more credited counted-for money going?”
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NEWS
My Vero chapter of his life in what he called the ditional retirement benefits for up to embracing a fiscally conservative phi-
“best place to live in Florida.” five years. losophy that kept tax rates compara-
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 tively low.
At age 59, Baird said he feels health- He was succeeded as county admin-
Beach City Council? ier – he walks for 90 minutes every istrator by Jason Brown, a Vero Beach He said he enjoyed the challenges the
“I was,” Joe Baird replied, “but I de- morning, often along Ocean Drive, native who has worked for the county job presented, but he doesn’t miss them.
and goes to the gym for workouts four since 1998 and spent the past 12 years
cided to pass.” days each week – and happier than he serving as county budget director and His greatest challenge now? Getting
For a couple of reasons. has been in years. Baird’s right-hand man. a cellphone signal strong enough to
First, the longtime county admin- avoid dropped calls at his Indian River
“I didn’t know the stress I was under “We had a good succession plan, Shores condo.
istrator recently bought a condo- until it wasn’t there anymore,” Baird which we worked on for five years,”
minium on Sea Watch Lane in Indian said. “Being a county administrator is Baird said. “I left the county in very ca- But he has no regrets there, either.
River Shores and, as he put it, “I didn’t a stressful job for anyone, but I also pable hands. Jason is extremely bright Baird said the condo needs to be
want to move back into the city just so worried a lot. It’s just the way I am. and a really good guy who cares about renovated, which will remain a prior-
I could run.” this community.” ity for the coming weeks and months
“When I retired, it felt like the – so much so that he will put off his
Second, after working for the county weight of the world was taken off my Baird said he has so much confi- plans to travel.
for 35 years – the last 12 in the top job shoulders. Now, there’s no stress. After dence in Brown’s ability that he doesn’t “I really do want to travel, and I
as administrator – Baird retired in June all those years in a very structured job, bother to monitor his job performance probably will once I get settled,” he
and, for now at least, has no desire to there’s no structure to my day. as county administrator. said, adding that possible destina-
return to public life. tions include Italy, Spain, the South
“I get up in the morning and do “I don’t keep track of those things Pacific, Asia and South America, as
“I’ve had enough of it, at least for what I want.” because I know that, if something well as Canada and states in the west-
a while,” Baird said. “I can’t say what comes up, Jason will take care of it,” ern U.S. “I’ve got a lot of travel plans,
might happen in the future, as far as And Baird usually does it wearing a Baird said. “I don’t read the local news but I want to get the condo in shape
politics goes, but I have no appetite for golf shirt and shorts. at all. I don’t want to be involved.” first.
it right now. “I’m not very handy, so I’ll have to
“No more suits,” he said. “I’ve worn And when a friend – or a local resi- bring in people to do the work, but I
“Besides, I’ve made the Shores my long pants twice since I’ve retired, and dent who recognizes him – asks about can help,” he added. “I certainly have
home,” he added, “so I didn’t feel this both times I felt like I was going to die.” a county government issue or problem? the time.”
was a good fit.” That doesn’t mean Baird is bored,
Baird, whose employment with the “I just put up my hand and say, ‘I’m however.
Baird would not say who ap- county began when he was hired as a out of the business,’” he said. “Then I tell “Not at all,” he said. “Not yet, any-
proached him, but it’s a moot point, staff accountant in 1981, announced them to call the county administrator.” way. ... But I think that could happen,
anyway: He’s enjoying his retirement, his retirement in 2014 – but he actually eventually.”
which has allowed him to commit to began the process three years earlier, In case you were wondering: Baird
an exercise regimen, read more, pur- when he entered the state’s Deferred said he has “no regrets” about his
sue hobbies and embrace this new Retirement Option Program, which stint as county administrator and he’s
allows employees to accumulate ad- “proud of what we got done” while
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 7
NEWS
So he hasn’t ruled out returning to Night closure of north jetty ocean-to-lagoon boat-way open and Wildlife rangers, who have police pow-
work – some type of work, possibly CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 in good repair, owns the jetty. er, have stepped up patrols. But more
as a consultant, though probably not needs to be done.
anything full-time. administrator of the Sebastian Inlet Dis- “It is strictly a navigational struc-
trict. ture,” Smithson said of the jetty, which “The district is concerned about li-
“It would have to be the right situ- helps control water flow and sand drift ability,” he said. “If we had to, we could
ation,” Baird said. “I’m very fortunate After voting on Aug. 31 to install a to keep the inlet navigable. “Fishing close it to all fishing, night and day,
to be able to retire at 59, because gate to close the popular fishing spot out there is a [secondary usage and re- permanently, but we don’t want to do
I’m still young enough to enjoy a lot at night because of increasing reports vocable] privilege. When we made the that.”
of things I was too busy to do when of rowdy and sometimes dangerous agreement to allow fishing, the chief
I was working full-time. But I might behavior, the district had trouble find- park ranger carried a gun and was a Meanwhile, some fishermen have
want to work again, at least on a part- ing a company to fabricate and install sworn officer. That is no longer the launched a petition drive to avert the
time basis. a barrier. case.” closure, while others continue to en-
joy night fishing unaware a locked gate
“I’ll keep my options open and see “The company in Melbourne we are Smithson said the district hopes the will soon bar them from the jetty.
what comes along.” working with now is the fifth one we closure is temporary. “We have met
contacted,” Smithson said. “I guess it with Florida Fish and Wildlife, the state Tom Silverado of St. Lucie County
Heck, he might even start playing says something good about the econ- park people and Brevard Sheriff De- said the petition drive is being led by
golf. He’s already a social member at omy that they are all so busy with such partment” to begin formulating a plan his friend Dennis Hamilton of Palm
Quail Valley. big order backlogs they couldn’t get for nighttime security. Bay and that more than 600 people
this project done quickly.” have signed so far to show support for
Whatever Baird chooses to do with He said there have been reports for keeping the jetty open at night.
the rest of his retirement, he said he’ll Smithson said the gate is now be- years of conflict between boaters pass-
do it from here. ing fabricated and will be installed in ing through the inlet and fishermen, “If they shut the north jetty down
about 10 days. It will be locked at night who feel the boats interfere with their they will lose a lot of income,” said
“This county has been very good to and trespassers will be cited if they fishing, but that the number of inci- Silverado, who has been hauling his
me, and this community will always be climb over or go around it. dents has escalated and the incidents impressive fishing contraption out to
my home base,” Baird said. “I’ve met a have become more serious in the past the jetty to night-fish for a dozen years.
lot of wonderful people here over the He said problems at the jetty are not year. “There are hardcore guys who come
years. Some of my biggest critics have surprising, considering that 900,000 out here – they travel all the way from
become my best friends.” people visited the park last year and Reportedly, some fishermen have New York to fish this jetty. It’s the best
there is no regular security patrol at cast hooked lines onto boats while oth- fishery that you can access from shore
And if some of those friends ap- night. ers have thrown objects at boats and in the U.S.”
proach him again – a year or two from engaged in shouting matches.
now – about running for public office, Although the Jetty is inside Sebas- This past weekend, the snook were
I won’t be at all surprised if he consid- tian Inlet State Park, the Inlet District, The district posted signs detailing running in the inlet and about 80 an-
ers it. which is responsible for keeping the rules for behavior on the jetty in July glers were out on the jetty, hoping for
and Smithson said Florida Fish and
For now, though, he’s enjoying his CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
morning walks.
8 Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
NEWS
Night closure of north jetty Inlet, drawn by the serenity and the ad- Sebastian River hospital Monday night, the CEO of Sebastian
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 venture of night fishing on the north CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 River, Kelly Enriquez, said in an email to
jetty. Reyes has been escaping city life 32963: “Sebastian River Medical Center
tight lines and a good fight from a big and the tourist trap of Orlando just dozen of its 61 HMA hospitals – it has is committed to meeting the needs of our
fish. about every weekend since 1999, and already sold 10 – after most lost mon- community and continues to invest in re-
for the past three years has been pass- ey in the past two and a half years. A sources to enhance the care we provide.
Howard Yelen had no idea that his ing down his love of night fishing to his year ago CHS stock hovered at around
family’s favorite fishing spot would soon sons, Jason age 10 and Brian age 9. $60 a share; it has now dropped to be- “Our August 29 groundbreaking
be closed at night. An immigration at- tween $10 and $11 a share. ceremony marked the beginning of a
torney from Weston in Broward County, Attorney Howard Yelen $64 million expansion project that will
Yelen said he visits the inlet at least 10 catches up on casework while his A major reason for the downturn, provide new operating suites and pri-
times a year with his two sons, ages 11 sons fish from the north jetty of the inlet. says CHS leadership, is difficulty turn- vate patient rooms. Physician recruit-
and 14. Sometimes they just drive up ing around the HMA hospitals that are ment has been very successful too as
and back, but other times, as for a birth- “They will be very disappointed,” struggling financially. within the last year we have added
day celebration this past weekend, they Victor Reyes said. “Instead of closing it, over a dozen physicians to our medi-
stay longer and get a hotel room. why don’t they put lights up?” Fortunately, however, Sebastian River cal group and we are recruiting others
Medical Center and Wuesthoff appear to complement our medical services.
“We come here because it’s some of There are no lights on the jetty, ex- to be operating solidly in the black, Making high quality health care local-
the best fishing in Florida and there are cept for the glow of the occasional making it very unlikely that these hos- ly available for residents is our focus.”
so many different types of fishing and flashlight or smart phone or other pitals will go on the chopping block.
different places for the boys to fish,” electronic device. Jason Reyes said the In January 2014, when Franklin,
Yelen said. darkness adds a lot to the experience Tomi Galin, spokesperson for CHS, did Tenn.-based Community Health Sys-
for him. not respond to a questions about wheth- tems bought the 71 hospitals that
He said he’s never witnessed a dis- er any of these local hospitals are for sale. made up the Health Management As-
turbance or any troubling behavior out “I like it that there aren’t as many sociates chain, Steve Salyer, the then-
on the North Jetty at night. In fact, he people here as during the day, so the But a hospital consultant, who works CEO of the Sebastian hospital, praised
said it’s quiet enough that he cranks up lines won’t get all stuck together,” the closely with the Sebastian hospital, the purchase for putting Sebastian
his laptop and catches up on casework 10-year-old Orlando boy said. “It’s nice. called its sale “very unlikely,” explain- River Medical Center “in a stronger
from the office while his sons enjoy It’s cool, and it feels fresh.” ing that “the profitability of SRMC and position to succeed in an ever-chang-
the length of the jetty, scoping out the the large CHS capital investment in the ing healthcare landscape.”
best spots to snag fish. “I’ve never had hospital are both reasons why it would
any problems out here personally, but not make sense to sell it.” But, at the same time Salyer was
I could see where there could be,” he publicly supporting the CHS pur-
said. The consultant further said that the chase as chief of Sebastian, he was
Wuesthoff Medical Centers in Mel- secretly negotiating to work as COO
Victor Reyes and his family are even bourne and Rockledge also are not of Indian River Medical Center and
more frequent visitors to the Sebastian among the hospitals that are candi- privately questioning whether the
dates to be sold.
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 9
NEWS
HMA hospitals purchased by CHS $3.9 billion for the HMA hospitals – 23 pursue clinical excellence and to de- of the HMA hospitals purchased by
would exist down the road. (His con- of them in Florida – Wayne Smith, CEO liver quality care for patients.” Community Health Systems. In the
cerns appear in sworn depositions in of Community Health Systems, said past six months, CHS has made $1.2
a court case.) the purchase would further advance While this prediction appears to billion selling off hospitals, but its
the commitment HMA had made “to have been true for Sebastian River stock continues to struggle.
In January 2014, when CHS paid Medical Center, it is not true for many
Shores mayor blasts Vero City Council on electric
BY LISA ZAHNER proved, ending the years’ long legal fundamental say over whether anoth- Agency has the ear of the PSC staff,”
Staff Writer battles between the city and the town. er municipality is allowed to do busi- Mayfield said.
ness within town borders.
Indian River Shores Mayor Brian He said Vero residents and officials The FMPA has a vested interest in
Barefoot last week called Vero Beach just need to be convinced of the good He said Shores residents are dis- keeping every outside customer un-
Mayor Jay Kramer, Councilman Dick an influx of $30 million – $27 million enfranchised because they cannot der the grips of the mother utility, as
Winger and Councilman Randy Old from FPL and $3 million over three vote for Vero officials who set the high roughly one-third of the FMPA mem-
“the committee of no” for failing to ac- years’ time from Shores residents in electric rates they must pay and in ef- ber cities’ ratepayers statewide live
cept Florida Power & Light’s $30 mil- the form of a surcharge – could do for fect tax them without representation, outside the city limits of the utility that
lion offer to buy the Shores part of a city drowning in pension debt. transferring electric service payments sells them power. Vero is just the big-
Vero’s electric system. into Vero’s general fund. gest offender with nearly two-thirds
“It’s all politics, it’s not economics,” of its revenue stream flowing in from
During a town hall meeting focused Barefoot said. “If it was economics, this NEWS ANALYSIS beyond the city limits.
on Indian River Shores’ efforts to es- would have been done a while ago.”
cape the Vero electric service territory, Rep. Debbie Mayfield, who will like- Mayfield has enlisted the help of
Barefoot urged residents to support Moss, Sykes and Wells were pres- ly return to Tallahassee as a member of Sen. Jack Latvala, a powerful lawmaker
Laura Moss, Lange Sykes and Norman ent, listening to Barefoot in the Shores the Florida Senate, says the cards are from Clearwater who chairs some key
Wells in the November election for Community Center with 35 other peo- stacked against the outside custom- appropriations committees and has
Vero Beach City Council. ple gathered to hear Shores’ attorney ers and have been as long as she and vowed to act as a friend of the Shores
Bruce May summarize the Town’s legal her late husband Stan before her have when these utility and home rule is-
With a more amenable Vero Beach arguments and lay out some possibili- been working to rectify the inequity. sues come up.
City Council, Barefoot said, the FPL ties for it to pursue.
deal could be resuscitated, put to “The Florida Municipal Power The Town’s 30-year electric fran-
a straight up or down vote and ap- May reiterated the arguments he’s chise agreement with Vero is set to ex-
made in venues from Vero all the way
to Tallahassee – that the Town has a CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
10 Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
NEWS
Shores mayor annexed after the original agreement The Shores Town Council last Lightning causes
with Vero Electric – is already on the Thursday voted 5-0 to authorize its at- heavy damage to
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 FPL system. May alleges this schism torneys to review the PSC’s ruling and Castaway Cove home
of the Town, once the franchise agree- take whatever next steps are warrant-
pire two days prior to the Nov. 8 elec- ment expires, constitutes “changed ed in state court. Should the Shores BY LISA ZAHNER
tion, but the PSC has already denied circumstances,” which Florida case decide an antitrust suit is the way to
the Shores’ request to carve the Town law establishes as grounds for the PSC go, the balance of Vero’s 61 percent Staff Writer
out of Vero’s service territory and allow to amend Vero’s territory. outside customers in the unincor-
the Town’s 3,000 electric customers porated county and the Indian River A thunderstorm turned bizarre
now served by Vero to join their neigh- If Vero, which May describes as an Board of County Commissioners who and destructive last Wednesday
bors who pay the lowest electric rates unchecked monopoly, is permitted to represents them would presumably be afternoon when an apparent light-
in the state of Florida. take actions that in the Shores’ view encouraged to join the fight and give ning strike took out the chimney
break the law, then the only remedy the case strength in numbers. of a home on Olde Galleon Lane in
Currently, Vero’s rates are more than might be in federal court with an an- Castaway Cove, scattering mason-
30 percent higher than those charged titrust lawsuit. The Town can also ap- Outside of court remedies, the ry blocks all over a bedroom, dam-
by FPL for the same power. peal the PSC’s decision from last week, Shores best hope is a new Vero City aging a luxury car in the garage and
when it becomes final on or about Oct. Council that will take FPL’s $30 million giving two teenagers a serious jolt.
Twenty percent of the Town north 24, to the Florida Supreme Court. offer and run.
of Old Winter Beach Road – which was When fire crews responded to
the home of Vero Beach veteri-
narian Dr. Kattis Stengard at 4:45
p.m., they found what they esti-
mated to be more than $110,000
in damage to the home and to a
black BMW parked in the garage.
“Two children of the owner, a
15- and 18-year-old, had been in
rooms not affected by the collapse
at the time of the event and report-
ed a very loud explosion sound,”
the Indian River County Fire Res-
cue report stated.
The strike was so powerful
that firefighters reported con-
crete blocks and debris scattered
on the ground. The investigation
revealed extensive damage with
“debris and block . . . on the bed in
the room containing the fireplace,
up to approximately 18 feet from
the fireplace,” according to the
report. “The entire ceiling has col-
lapsed in the room and hall.”
The South barrier island was ex-
periencing a downpour at the time
the time of the explosive lightning
strike and, “water was entering the
structure from the multiple roof
breaches and flowing into several
rooms,” the report states.
The debris field spanned a sur-
prisingly wide area, with concrete
blocks landing “near the east and
south property lines and in the
yard as well. The copula from the
chimney was reported to be in
the neighbor’s yard to the east.”
Since “a smoky smell was noted
in the area of the collapse,” fire-
fighters checked the whole home
and attic but found no evidence
of smoke or fire.
They turned off the breakers as
a precaution and advised Dr. Sten-
gard and her family to sleep else-
where that night. Two pet gerbils
were recovered and reported to be
OK, but a cat that had been inside
the home during the lightning strike
could not be immediately located.
12 Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
PEOPLE
Bravo! Bravo! Celebrate the Arts fest delights all
14
2 35
ARTS FEST CAPTIONS
1. Larry Strauss and Mark Wygonik. 2. VBHS
Sinfonia. 3. Saylor Vorkapich. 4. Tina Rahman,
Myles St. Peter, Jane Kreizman and Doris Kwek.
5. Cindy Roden, Ashley Alarcon, Margaret
Armitage. 6. Mariah and Julia Ryan with artist
Debra Terrio. 7. Ashley Holcombe and Charlotte
Taylor. 8. Jerry Weiss, principle 2nd violin of the
Atlantic Classical Orchestra. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE
678
BY CHRISTINA TASCON offered activities in air-conditioned enthusiasts alike. who came to listen to a friend’s son
Correspondent comfort throughout the day. Tantalizing aromas from the vari- perform.
The hot sun blazed down from a Riverside Theatre gave visitors ous food offerings filled the air, and “New this year is a wonderful tent
clear blue sky last Saturday morning, backstage tours, affording a fasci- parched adults imbibed cold beers reserved for artists, authors, poets and
offering barely a breeze as performers nating peek behind the curtain on introduced by the new Walking Tree speakers, with a program scheduled
gave it their all, performing on stage at the ways its productions are profes- Brewery. Sitting in the shade to enjoy every 20 minutes for a demonstra-
the fourth annual Celebrate the Arts sionally planned and executed. Tour their repast, all eyes were on the cen- tion or talk,” said Barbara Hoffman,
Festival at Riverside Park, hosted by guides revealed sets currently being ter stage, as visitors watched music Cultural Council executive director.
the Cultural Council of Indian River developed and gave a glimpse into the and theater performances through- “This is a wonderful opportunity for
County. Cultural arts and music lov- famous Green Room, practice spaces out the day by our many talented stu- people to hear some of our locals and
ers wandered the park, stopping at a and brightly lit dressing rooms. dents and residents. see the scope of our membership.”
wide variety of booths filled with art-
ists selling their creations, authors RCT presented short stage shows “I am not really nervous but it is Highwayman Hall of Fame induct-
promoting books and a slew of non- staged by many of the young students a little scary to know you are repre- ee Willie C. Reagan spoke about the
profit organizations, civic groups and who studied and performed at ses- senting the whole and representing history of the Highwaymen, their rise
restaurants offering informational sions during the summer and fall, and yourself in an art community,” said to fame and the resurgence of art in
materials and goodies. the museum offered a free day of exhi- cellist Evan Rovinet, a member of the Indian River County.
bitions as well as a Kids Art Shop. Vero Beach High School Sinfonia in-
A soft wind by noon helped a little, strumentalists. “Celebrate the Arts “I am retired now 21 years from
as did visits to Riverside Theatre, Riv- Back in the park, the day of free gets the community out here so we the school system,” said Reagan, who
erside Children’s Theatre and the Vero family-friendly fun ranged from col- can show them what we are able to worked as an artist, teacher and car-
Beach Museum of Art, which each oring book contests for youngsters to do.” penter. “Now I look at the young peo-
antique car displays of gleaming ve- ple and want to help spur them along
hicles that delighted young and old “It’s very inspiring,” said Jo Zaza, by sharing my talents with them.”
14 Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
PEOPLE
Sea here! Cori shares passion for protecting turtles
BY MARY SCHENKEL Cori McWilliams. PHOTO: DENISE RITCHIE
Staff Writer
For more than half her young life,
12-year-old Cori McWilliams has
been passionate about sea turtles,
devoting countless girl-power hours
toward protecting these magnificent
creatures of the sea through her ma-
rine conservation efforts. In 2014, she
founded the nonprofit organization
Kids for the Sea in an effort to spark
that same environmental enthusiasm
in other young people.
Her introduction to sea turtles be-
gan at the Barrier Island Sanctuary
Management and Education Center
(aka the Barrier Island Center, or BIC),
located at the Archie Carr National
Wildlife Refuge, north of the Sebas-
tian Inlet in south Melbourne Beach.
“My mom [Celeste McWilliams]
took me here and I met Donna Lee
Crawford,” says McWilliams, refer-
encing the Sea Turtle Conservancy’s
community stewardship coordinator.
“She is like the sea turtle guru of
this place. She taught me all about sea
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Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 15
PEOPLE
turtles and I was just completely fas- all the conservation work that people belt. “It’s really neat to actually go in then I can just log back in and finish
cinated by them. They’re very unique have done is working.” the water and really experience their my school work for the day.”
creatures. They’re in danger now, so world first-hand,” she says.
they may not be here for my children Once hatchlings begin leaving the Her advice to other young people is
and their children. They’ve been here nests, McWilliams volunteers with Now in seventh grade, she has en- to follow their passions and try new
so long, and I was like, ‘I should do Kendra Cope, Indian River County sea joyed the freedom of being enrolled things.
something to make them stay here.’ turtle coordinator. in the online Florida Virtual School,
We don’t want the sea turtles to be like a fully-accredited, tuition-free K-12 “The people that you’ll meet will
the dinosaurs; learning about them, “If they see that a nest is completely public school, which she started as a affect you some way or another in
but not having that first-hand experi- erupted, they wait three days, just so sixth grader. ways that you never ever would have
ence.” any stragglers can get out,” says Mc- believed. If I hadn’t been talking to
Williams, explaining that volunteers “It’s a set curriculum; unlike home Donna Lee Crawford when I came
Eschewing the notion that she was then count how many hatched and schooling, it’s all laid out for you. You here, who knows? I might have been
too young to get involved, McWil- didn’t hatch, occasionally even dis- don’t have to buy any books or any- one of those kids playing video games
liams started with simple tasks such covering and releasing a live strag- thing. It’s very unique and it’s also thinking, I want to do that but I can’t
as beach cleanups, before progressing gler. really flexible,” says McWilliams. “So do that. And it’s not true. You never
to more advanced projects. She has if something came up and I had to go know where life will take you.”
since been recognized with numer- McWilliams has obtained an open- somewhere, I can just log off for a few
ous awards for her efforts, but that’s water scuba certification and has hours, do whatever I need to do, and To learn more, visit Kids for the Sea
not what motivates her. more than two dozen dives under her on Facebook.
“Ever since I came here, sea turtles
have been my passion because I love
them. If you like something, then you
should go and protect it. I find that ev-
eryone will protect what they love and
they love what they understand.”
McWilliams has tied Kids for the
Sea into the Stow It Don’t Throw It
conservation effort founded by Sean
Russell, in conjunction with the Mote
Marine Laboratory in Sarasota.
“I met the guy who runs the project;
he’s absolutely wonderful. It’s actu-
ally recycled tennis ball cans, and we
refurbish them so that they’re trash
holders. They can be dumped out and
reused if you wash them. They’re great
for the little micro plastics and fishing
lines you find.”
Kids for the Sea volunteers have dis-
tributed roughly 600 of them at beach
cleanups and to places such as the
BIC, Environmental Learning Center
and Keep Indian River Beautiful.
McWilliams volunteers with the BIC
Sea Turtle Academy, teaching young
elementary students about conserva-
tion, and helps out at the annual Tour
de Turtles fundraiser. Every Friday
from the beginning of June through
the end of July, the height of the sea
turtle nesting season, she scouted for
guided sea turtle walks at the refuge,
looking for loggerheads lumbering
from the sea to lay their nests by the
dune line.
Numbers have been impressive this
year at Archie Carr, one of the most
important sea turtle nesting grounds
in the world. As of the end of August
there were 20,376 loggerhead nests,
1,295 green sea turtle nests, 72 leath-
erback nests and one rare Kemp’s rid-
ley nest.
McWilliams says green sea turtle
nesting is cyclical, so they expected
this year to be slow, but she remem-
bers 2013, the record-breaking year
which saw roughly 13,000 green sea
turtle nests.
“For every one loggerhead, we’d get
like 20 or 30 greens. That year was
completely crazy. It really shows that
16 Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
PEOPLE
Tee party! Golf-loving
couple feted at Moorings
2
13
4
BY MARY SCHENKEL they belong to the Moorings, Hawks
Staff Writer Nest and Pointe West clubs in Vero
Beach, and the Oak Hill Country Club
Friends and family celebrated the in Fitchburg, Mass., where they have a
marriage of Carrie Ludicke and James second home.
“Jim” Adams at an elegant brunch
reception last Saturday at The Moor- When the logistics of coordinating
ings Yacht and Country Club. The a single date that would accommo-
bride is employed as marketing direc- date both their families proved diffi-
tor at New Vision Eye Center and is cult, the couple enjoyed two intimate
president of Spinnaker Marketing and wedding ceremonies for immediate
Technology, and the groom is a real family and close friends prior to this
estate developer and vice president at reception for Vero Beach friends.
Passage Island Construction.
“He proposed on Oct. 26, 2015, at
The pair met as friends 20 years a golf tournament at Grand Cypress
ago and later dated briefly before re- and we originally had a big wedding
kindling their romance in October planned for Nov. 19, 2016,” explains
2011. Both avid golfers, Jim Adams the new Mrs. Adams. “But we decid-
competes in tournaments through ed we’re not spring chickens, and he
the Golf Channel Amateur Tour and made the comment, ‘Hey, what are
we waiting for?’ Jim didn’t want a big
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 17
5 PEOPLE
7
WEDDING CAPTIONS wedding but knew it was important to
9 me. All I really wanted was for it to be
1. Carrie and Jim Adams. 2. Lori Taylor, Colleen special.”
The first ceremony was held April
VanderSchie and Joanne Vacca. 3. Michael
30 at a magnificent house at Reunion,
and Cynthia Thompson with Gwenn and Lane a golfing community near the Orange
County National Golf Center where
Hudson. 4. Dawn Ludicke with Ava, Adam, Adams was competing in a tourna-
ment.
Addison and Gretchen Bradberry. 5. Denise and
“We had a priest come in to perform
Dr. Paul Minotty. 6. Dr. Hal and Kendra Brown. the ceremony and we had a catered
dinner; we did the whole nine yards. It
7. Dr. David O’Brien and Dr. Julie Vargo O’Brien. was really lovely,” said Carrie Ludicke
Adams.
8. Brian and Liz Adams with Dianna, Daniel and
The second ceremony, July 2, was at-
Irena Adams. 9. Mary Jo and Dr. Roger Meyer tended by his children and grandchil-
dren, in keeping with their traditional
with Lindy MacDonald. 10. Cheryl and Chris Johns Independence Day get-togethers. At
the Vero Beach reception, 100 well-
with Sandy and Ralph Cirone. 11. Dr. Philip and wishers enjoyed a gourmet brunch
while wishing the happy couple a life-
Margaret Martowski, Valerie and RJ MacMillan time of happiness.
6 and Peter Buza. 12. Christie and Brent Niblo.
13. Karen and Chuck Mechling. 14. Paul
VanderSchie, Rich Vacca and Paul Drake.
15. Jan Pagano and Karen Deigl. 16. Allison
McNeal, Fred Hanson and Amanda Robinson. 17.
Jill VanHouten and Ron Turlington with Cindy and
Jack Niederhofer. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE
8
16 17
10
11 12
13 15
14
18 Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
PEOPLE
Nature’s best: Kids get into spirit of Estuaries Day
Students see how much can fit in the jaws of a whale. Grace Waters, 5, of Sebastian searches for marine life during a session of dipnetting . PHOTOS: MITCH KLOORFAIN Kaley and Ryley Meal examine the sea life/
BY MARY SCHENKEL The event highlights the signifi- Children dip-netting in the pond others enjoyed taking 20-minute ca-
Staff Writer cance of the Indian River Lagoon, had a chance to get a close-up view noe rides through dense mangrove
recognizing its ecological standing of the numerous juvenile marine forests teeming with life.
Children flitted about like butter- as one of the most biologically di- life just beginning to develop in the
flies last Saturday morning, wanting verse estuaries in North America. In sheltered “sea nursery.” Youngsters And it’s not just the little ones.
to make sure they didn’t miss even 1990, the Environmental Protection who didn’t want to get their feet wet Adults are equally in awe of the beau-
one aspect of the Environmental Agency designated the lagoon an “Es- connected with sea life at the ELC’s ty of the lagoon and its diverse eco-
Learning Center’s National Estuaries tuary of National Significance,” one 145-gallon Touch Tank in the Discov- systems.
Day celebration. of only 28 in the nation. ery Station Interactive Museum. Still
“I lived in the Keys 19 years and I
thought I knew a lot about Florida’s
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 19
PEOPLE
environment,” said Linda McNeal, Visitors learned about the area’s ed for future propagation. gules in mason jars along window sills
who became an ELC volunteer in June. varied flora and fauna while strolling Nance Hatch, ELC director of mar- in the whole house. My parents were
“But the Indian River Lagoon is differ- along the 64-acre campus’ boardwalk very patient,” she adds with a laugh.
ent, because this is brackish water. nature trails, stopping periodically keting communications, was raised in
I’ve learn a lot about the differences in to pick up red mangrove propagules Vero Beach and remembers doing just Next up, “Nature Nightmares” will
the environment and the plants and from the ground and take them to the that as a member of the ecology club at take center stage at their Oct. 28 Half-
animals here. I’m so excited; I love it!” native plant greenhouse to be plant- Vero Beach High School. “My parents Haunted Halloween event. For more
had to put up with me having propa- information, visit discoverelc.com.
20 Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
PEOPLE
Go, West: Veteran honors heroes with bike trip
BY SAMANTHA ROHLFING BAITA Folds of Honor, a non-profit that offers it, “Sebastian is one of the most patri-
Staff Writer scholarships to children with a parent otic cities in the entire country.”
who was killed or disabled while on
A man’s golden years often involve active duty. His goal is to raise $60,000 Andrea Coy, a Sebastian City Coun-
relaxing, hobbies or maybe a little during the 60-day, 15-state journey cil member and retired master ser-
fishing. Retired Air Force fighter that will culminate in Key West on his geant, learned of West’s journey less
pilot Col. Gary West chose travelling, 60th birthday, Oct. 1. than week before he was scheduled
deciding on a 2,500-mile trip from to reach the city and, with help from
Maine to Key West via bicycle. As West and his six-member team the City of Sebastian and the Se-
arrived in Sebastian last Thursday, bastian Chamber of Commerce, the
West, a 27-year military veteran, is they received a welcome that illustrat- whole community was soon involved.
making the journey to raise funds for ed why, as Mayor Bob McPartland put Coy, hoping to raise $1,000 for West,
Colette and Gary West. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE
praised the citizens of Sebastian for
donating in excess of $3,500.
As flag-waving groups lined the
route and cheered West on, members
of the Sebastian police and the
Freedom Riders provided an escort
from the county line to the Veteran’s
Memorial at Riverview Park. Despite
the threat of rain, the crowd stood
undeterred as the American Legion/
VFW Honor Guard presented the flag
and the ceremony began.
West carries an American flag for the
family of a fallen or disabled parent/
spouse from each state on his journey.
At each stop, the flag is raised and will
be ultimately presented to the family
along with a journal of the locations
and signatures of participants in a
flag-folding ceremony using the 15
state flags, folded again and again
at each event. West has raised these
flags at such memorable sites as
Independence Hall and Ground Zero.
“It’s not about some old man riding
a bike,” said West. “It’s to honor the
fallen, the families of the fallen, the
first responders. It’s up to us to make
sure they’re not forgotten. They’ve
given us the greatest gift – to breathe
free, to live free.”
As taps sounded there was a low
rumble of thunder, befitting the
somber occasion.
22 Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
ARTS & THEATRE
Charter High drama club gets into sewing of things
BY ELLEN FISCHER
Correspondent
Drama teacher Michael Naffziger Michael Naffziger with members of the Indian River Charter High School Theatre Troupe. PHOTOS BY DENISE RITCHIE
had just wrapped up a student pro-
duction at Indian River Charter High
School when a big brawny dad ap-
proached him.
“Are you the man who taught my son
to sew?” he asked.
Yes, Naffziger told him, resisting the
urge to cower.
“Well, I want to shake your hand,”
said the dad. “I think that’s a great
thing to know.”
Today, Naffziger beams before a
gleaming row of $10,000 worth of new
sewing machines, just donated to the
drama department by the manufactur-
er, Baby Lock, through a Port St. Lucie
sewing shop.
The effort began a year ago when
three Vero Beach women involved in
the local chapter of a statewide sew-
ing club, The Florida Sewing Sew-ciety,
volunteered to help students in the the-
ater department with costume making.
The idea came from a chance meeting
at a Burger King of Susan Humanes, an
avid seamstress, and Gary Miller, the
choral director at Charter. Humanes, a
retired branch manager for the beach-
side branch of Bank of America, was
looking for ways for the club to get in-
volved in the community and Miller
directed her to Naffziger.
Within days, Humanes, Mary Ann
Gentzler and Marie Knick were train-
ing 25 students on five used machines
in Charter’s arsenal of donations,
each a different brand requiring sepa-
rate training to use. With the volun-
teers’ help, the students whipped up
a scene’s worth of 16th century prison
garb – tattered capes and wrap skirts
with Velcro closures, stained with
tea and dirt – for “Man of La Man-
cha.” But time was short; the hour-
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 23
ARTS & THEATRE
Kat Glasner models a mask created says. “I’m so glad to see a school start boys – whirring away at costumes for
for the Wizard of Oz production. something like this. I think this can be the Charter’s February production of
a great program. What would be great “The Wizard of Oz,” another group of
is if there could be a dedicated room students are nailing two-by-fours into
so the sewing machines could just stay tiered seating for the Black Box stag-
there.” ing of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s
Nest,” which opens next Friday, Oct. 5.
Barring another major donor
stepping up – or increased funding That production, whose cast includes
by the county school board, which Naffziger’s most advanced acting stu-
has opted to allocate less to charter dents, will go on to compete at the state
schools – Naffziger must rely on an- level in Tampa.
other source of income: ticket sales.
He and his students are maximizing “When I came here the competi-
that resource by producing one sell- tive acting team had seven kids,” says
out show after another. Naffziger. “Now, there’s 40. The musi-
cal theater program didn’t exist. Today
While the 20 students – including there are over 100 in the program.”
"I’m so glad to see a school start something like
this. I think this can be a great program."
– Susan Humanes
long classes, three days a week, were osity. When Gentzler and Humanes
largely taken up by physically moving saw Baby Lock regional manager Rose
the machines to whatever space was Smith at an embroidery conference
available – the art room, the black box in May, they approached her about
theater, even a hallway. Sometimes Charter’s drama department. Smith
they hauled them outside to work un- suggested they work through Laura
der the large canopied space known and Dave Jordan, owners of the Lau-
as the Dome, Humanes says. ra’s Sewing stores in Port St. Lucie and
Palm Beach Gardens. With their help,
And progress was hampered by the they were able to sew up the deal: an
machines’ incessant breakdowns. astounding gift of 10 top-notch digital
sewing machines, valued at $800 to
“They were forever jamming up,” $1,000 each.
says Humanes. “When you don’t know
that much about sewing, it can be re- “We asked for 10, and we got 10,” says
ally frustrating.” Humanes. “We are just thrilled.”
Enter Baby Lock, a respected manu- The credit goes also to Charter, she
facturer with a reputation for gener-
24 Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
ARTS & THEATRE
Vero Beach actress casts her spell on ‘Witches’ role
BY MICHELLE GENZ the movie version – is Beth McKenzie- for organization, she juggles not only
Staff Writer Shestak, a former South Beach model family but rehearsal schedules that so
and New York actress who grew up on far have dovetailed neatly between the
As the curtain prepares to rise on a the Treasure Coast and trained at the two distant stages.
regional premiere of the musical “The Burt Reynolds Institute.
Witches of Eastwick,” the formerly Then again, that kind of jiggering has
all-volunteer theater at Melbourne’s Today, McKenzie-Shestak, married been drilled into her since childhood.
Henegar Center has attracted anoth- with two small children and living in
er local talent to its growing roster of Vero Beach, performs in and choreo- The daughter of theater veterans
paid professional actors. Playing the graphs the long-running dinner the- Faye and Neil McKenzie, who once
role of Alex – the role Cher played in ater shows of Jon Putzke’s Theatre-Go- owned a theater in Orlando called
Round. With near-fanatical concern Stage 75, Beth and her parents were
living in Stuart when she got her first
Beth McKenzie-Shestak.
PHOTOS BY DENISE RITCHIE
paying role at age 7, as Baby June in
Riverside Theatre’s “Gypsy!”
She continued to perform at River-
side until middle school. Then, in high
school, she got a job at the Burt Reyn-
olds Institute for Film and Theatre, now
the Maltz Jupiter.
A member of the Youth Actors Guild
there, she “basically lived down there,”
she says, understudying shows, run-
ning the sound and light boards, and
helping with costume changes during
performances.
Through those connections, at 15 she
signed with a Miami modeling agency,
landing a two-day, $2,000 shoot for
Nivea that had her face on billboards
across Belgium. Graduating a year
early from high school, she earned an
associate’s degree at Indian River State
College, then headed to Philadelphia to
finish a BFA in musical theater at the
University of the Arts.
Then came the stint in New York. “I
was terrified,” she said of living alone in
New Jersey. She worked as a bartender
two nights a week to pay the rent while
she auditioned. In her three years in
New York she won roles as Agnes in “Ag-
nes of God” at Chelsea’s Meisner The-
ater, and had the title role in the world
premiere of “Agrippina” at Studio 54, in
its brief incarnation as a theater. Before
that, she played in “The Lion, the Witch
and the Wardrobe” at the Prince The-
atre in Philadelphia.
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 25
Actors Shane Frampton and
ARTS & THEATRERob Landers work with the
Witches of Eastwick director
Hank Rion.
While in New York, she met her hus- Henegar’s artistic director, Hank Rion. And for his very first show with Hen- McKenzie-Shestak predicts there
band Tim Shestak, then a stand-up Frampton began appearing in a num- egar in 2013, he staged “Spring Awak- will be a number of changes made dur-
comic, and now a restaurant general ber of Henegar shows, then got hired by ening,” a rock musical about the sex ing the rehearsal period, with the play
manager. Together they came back to Putzke for Theatre-Go-Round. lives of 19th century school boys. Ev- essentially still in development.
Florida, settling first in Stuart, where ery show sold out.
Beth became resident choreographer Rion had the lead in “Nice Work,” a She’s made a point of sectioning off
at a startup theater group called Shi- rare stage appearance that showed off “Witches” follows September’s her script and learning her lines as she
lo Productions; it staged shows like his considerable talent as, among other “Hand of God,” a darkly sexual comedy learns blocking and music. That way, if
“Aida” and “High School Musical” at things, a tapper. involving hand puppets; it opened on there are changes, she can layer them
the Lyric Theatre. Ten years ago, they Broadway just last year. “Venus in Fur” onto what has already become “muscle
moved to Vero, following her parents’ Written by Joe DiPietro and filled played in February in the Henegar’s memory,” as she puts it.
move. She began teaching children with Gershwin tunes, the 1920s-style upstairs theater. The year before that,
dance at Riverside, and soon joined comedy was hardly an example of Rion staged the “The Color Purple,” One song she sings has just been add-
Putzke’s dinner theater. the kind edginess that Henegar dis- and in 2014, “Vagina Monologues.” ed to the show – it has never been sung
played with “Cry-baby the Musical” before, a prospect that excites her.
In all of that travel, McKenzie- the year before. “The Witches of Eastwick: The Mu-
Shestak had never been to a production sical,” like the non-musical movie, is “Every witch has a solo, and my
at Melbourne’s Henegar Center, a half- That production was a U.S. premier based on the novel by John Updike. It’s song is brand new. I love that. There
hour drive away. for a community theater and Rion about three women friends with a pow- are very few times especially in live
worked for more than a year to get erful and mysterious bond that allows theater that you really get to originate
Then, last March, she saw “Nice the rights to it. The stage version of them to dispatch with the devil when something. Typically, you’re doing
Work if You Can Get It,” a musical com- John Waters’ 1990 movie “Cry-Baby he comes to town. shows that have been done for years.
edy directed by Vero’s Ben Earman. It the Musical” was a huge hit for the To have the opportunity to be a part
featured Shane Frampton, a longtime theater and another bead in a string “You root for the witches in this of something that is brand new is re-
professional actor and close friend of of flashy shows. The year before that, show,” says McKenzie-Shestak. “We’re ally exciting.”
Rion served up a saucy “Spamalot.” not the toil and trouble type.”
Typically, actors in musicals learn
Originally produced by Cameron their parts from cast albums. But there
Mackintosh in 2000 in London, the mu- is none for “Witches,” at least not of this
sical didn’t premiere in the U.S. until version. Instead, McKenzie-Shestak
2007 and ran only a few weeks in a the- has had to record her lines and songs
ater in Arlington, Virginia. The Wash- on her smartphone. “A lot of the cast is
ington Post review praised it as deliver- doing the same thing,” she says.
ing “more of a kick than the wispy 1987
film.” Some predicted a Broadway run “There’s a small part of me that
but the closest it came was a northeast thinks if this is recorded the next per-
U.S. premier at the Ogunquit Play- son doing research might see what I did
house in Maine two years ago. and try to recreate it. That’s really excit-
ing. And it doesn’t come often.”
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26 Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
ARTS & THEATRE
Coming up: Riverside play ‘Flat Stanley’ for youngsters
BY MICHELLE GENZ Jeff Brown’s “Flat Stanley” books were gigs “campaign stops.” the first in the theater’s new Backstage
Staff Writer adapted by Timothy Allen McDonald, Access series that will precede each
who also turned the works of Roald Dahl Main Stage production. Part lecture,
1 The phenomenally popular chil- into the musicals “James and the Giant 3 Speaking of campaigns, the new part discussion group, the class will
dren’s book series “Flat Stanley” Peach” and “Willy Wonka.” super-group Prophets of Rage has take a look at examples of past pro-
Performances are Friday, Saturday and ductions, the script, and in this case
Sunday this weekend and next, with a different vision for our nation: Make the cultural impact of Cash and his
three shows daily: 1:30 p.m., 4 p.m. and music. Having watched Riverside’s
could be a metaphor for using too much 7:30 p.m. America Rage Again. At least that’s what education director Jim VanValen in
action, on stage in the one-man show
social media: A boy who suddenly be- As they did with “Poodleful,” the Riv- they’re calling their tour, headed for Per- “Underneath the Lintel” a couple of
erside apprentices will travel to Stuart years ago, and rehearsing the River-
comes two-dimensional gets stamped in late December to stage the play at the fect Vodka Arena Saturday. The group side apprentices this summer, I can
Lyric Theatre. tell you his years as a college professor
and mailed around the world in a search consists of three members of Rage on top of his long career as an actor
promise to make his classes deserving
to recover his well-rounded, three-di- Against the Machine, plus Chuck-D of of standing room only enrollment.
mensional self again. the hip-hop group Public Enemy and B-
“The Musical Adventures of Flat Real of Cypress Hill, the L.A.-based La-
Stanley,” which opens this weekend, tino hip-hop group. Hard to believe the
is Riverside’s theater for young audi- groups got their start in the early 1990s.
ences production this year, the recent 2 Entertaining as some might find Rage’s lead vocalist Zack de la Rocha is
the presidential campaign, only
initiative that was launched with last not part of the group; he just released his
year’s “Poodleful,” an original musi- one candidate has made a stand-up first solo cut in a decade this month, part
cal by Riverside’s musical director routine out of it: Blue Collar Comedy of an upcoming solo album.
Ken Clifton and DJ Salisbury, who fre- Tour comic Ron White, whose shtick 5 A folksy roots rock group with
broad appeal is at Kilted Mermaid
quently directs. now includes a 2008 Vero Beach arrest 4 We’re just weeks away from the
reawakening of Riverside’s Main
This time, the play is targeted at a for pot, just enough for a “little skinny Saturday night: Damion Suomi heads
slightly older audience: 5 to 13. Like last twisted-up joint,” as he told a Las Vegas Stage with what will no doubt be a south from his home in Cocoa Beach.
year, the production puts the talents of reporter afterwards. smokin’ production of “Ring of Fire,” Suomi segued from Bible College to bar
Riverside’s performance apprentices on While White did not earn a spot at the story and music of Johnny Cash. music and hasn’t looked back. A year-
display for the public. Graduates from the podium at Monday’s debate, he Jason Edwards, who played in the and-a-half-long stay in Ireland suffused
theater programs around the country, did book the stage at Melbourne’s show in Broadway, will direct and star his songbook with Irish drinking songs
the apprentices mostly show off their King Center for Friday. With the motto in the show, which opens Oct. 25. As a and he and his group the Minor Proph-
talents by staging short plays in the “Vote Smart! Because You Can’t Fix warm-up, Riverside is offering for the ets, since disbanded, produced an al-
county’s schools. Stupid,” White has taken to calling his first time an adult seminar on the play, bum “Go, and Sell All Your Things.”
28 Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
HEALTH
Knee-replacement technology can preserve ACLs
BY TOM LLOYD Dr. Ken Sands. PHOTO: DENISE RITCHIE over 120 NFL players had their ca-
Staff Writer reers ended or put on ice due to torn
ACLs.
There are more than 30,000 or-
thopedic surgeons in the U. S., but Yet, in the vast majority of total
Dr. Ken Sands is the only one in the knee-replacement procedures done
state of Florida trained and certified today, one of the first things that
to employ a new total knee replace- happens is that the ACL is cut away.
ment technology that preserves
healthy anterior cruciate ligaments Sands, who spent more than a doz-
– or ACLs – resulting in a post-oper- en years as a U.S. Army orthopedic
ative joint that feels and functions physician and director of the Army’s
more like a natural knee. Adult Joint Reconstruction program
at the William Beaumont Army Med-
Sands, who practices at Sebas- ical Center in El Paso, Texas, thinks
tian River Medical Center, is part of that summarily removing a healthy
a select group of 30 orthopedic sur- ACL during a knee-replacement pro-
geons nationwide who are using a cedure can be a big mistake.
new generation of prosthetic knee
joint called the “Journey II XR” from “The ACL,” explains Sands, “works
global medical device manufacturer in conjunction with the other liga-
Smith and Nephew and their prima- ments inside the knee. There are
ry goal is to save healthy ACLs. four ligaments in the knee. The ACL,
PCL or posterior cruciate ligament,
ACL injuries – and the importance the medial collateral ligament and
of these ligaments to proper knee lateral collateral ligament. When
function – is a common topic in they all work together that is what
sports medicine, especially among stabilizes your knee.”
doctors who treat players in the Na-
tional Football League. Just last year Sands continues by saying, “The
ACL stabilizes the knee from front
to back. People who receive [tradi-
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Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 29
HEALTH
tional] total knee replacements of- “When you preserve new knee as potential advantages placement joints with modern im-
ten experience something called in allowing patients to move more aging techniques.
paradoxical motion which means the ACL,” Sands says, quickly on to complex activities in-
that their knee moves abnormally cluding, “tennis, skiing, dancing, According to Sands, “What we use
forward before it moves backwards. “the knee is being golfing and hiking.” a lot on these implants is something
That’s because they have had their called MRI-based patient-specific
ACL removed. When we preserve driven by the natural Moreover, substantially less of a cutting blocks. The patient will un-
the ACL, the [replacement] knee patient’s natural bone (from the fe- dergo an MRI, plus an X-ray from
functions as a more natural knee. It ligaments and it feels mur and the tibia) needs to be cut their hip to their ankle. Then that
allows people to bend their knees in away in order to implant the Jour- information is sent to the engineers
a more natural way.” more natural.” ney II XR replacement joint. back at Smith and Nephew. They
will come up with a cutting block
The U.S. National Library of Med- Sands is quick to point out that Following recent trends, London- that will only fit on that particular
icine at the National Institutes of the actual ACL-sparing procedure is based Smith and Nephew – which patient.”
Health backs up Sands’ contention not new. The technique dates back was founded in 1856 – has adopted
by unequivocally stating that knee to the 1960s and ’70s but has not the concept of customizing their re- “All we really are doing,” as far
replacement procedures “which re- been widely used. as bone-cutting is concerned says
tain the ACL provide relatively nor- Sands, “is trimming. We only trim
mal knee kinematics and favorable “I believe that as many as 70 per- about 8 millimeters of bone away
knee function compared with con- cent of all my patients requiring from the thigh bone and shin bone.
ventional knee replacement surger- total knee replacements will ben- We are basically trimming away
ies which sacrifice the ACL.” efit from this exciting, new surgical only the arthritic sections. When
treatment that preserves as much you do a traditional total knee re-
“When you preserve the ACL,” of the natural knee as possible,” ex- placement, you try and make the
Sands says, “the knee is being driv- claims Sands. bones fit the implant. Here, we are
en by the natural ligaments and it leaving the natural anatomy as pris-
feels more natural.” Sands also points to faster recov- tine as we can,” by making the im-
eries and greater stability in the plant fit the patients’ bones.
Since the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention projects The Melbourne-based Sands per-
that by 2020, some 3 million knee forms his orthopedic procedures at the
replacements will be performed Sebastian River Medical Center. He
annually in this country, surgeons plans to open an office in the Sebas-
and manufacturers worldwide are tian-Vero area this fall. In the mean-
scrambling to find the best possible time he can be reached at 709 S. Har-
combination of procedures and re- bor City Blvd., Suite 100 in Melbourne.
placement joints. The phone is 321-725-2225.
30 Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
HEALTH
Put your foot down! How to lessen gout flare-ups
BY MARIA CANFIELD Dr Beatrice Mehmet. PHOTO: DENISE RITCHIE
Correspondent
Researchers from Johns Hopkins
University recently looked at how what
we eat influences gout, and found that
a diet designed to lower blood pressure
and cholesterol can minimize flare-
ups.
In any given year, over 8 million
Americans will have an attack of gout.
Descriptions of this painful joint dis-
ease – which often afflicts the big toe
– date back nearly 4,700 years, to an-
cient Egypt, making it one of the first
diseases ever recognized. Sufferers
knew it could be agonizing, but didn’t
understand its cause, which we now
know to be an accumulation of uric
acid crystals in the affected joint.
The Johns Hopkins team analyzed
the results from a landmark clinical
trial called DASH (Dietary Approach-
es to Stop Hypertension). That study
demonstrated that blood pressure
and cholesterol were significantly im-
proved by what came to be known as
the DASH diet, which includes reduc-
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Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 31
HEALTH
ing red meat, saturated fat and high-fat there 4 male gout patients for every 1 For acute attacks, doctors also may els. Memet says doctors need to be very
dairy products, along with an increase woman. The gap narrows a bit with recommend a type of pain reliever careful when prescribing a corticoste-
in whole grains, fruits and vegetables. age; after age 65 the male/female ratio called colchicine, although many peo- roid, because diabetes is common in
is 3:1. Memet says, “Gout is very rare in ple experience severe side effects such people with gout. “The dose needs to
Study leader Dr. Stephen P. Jura- pre-menopausal women, because es- as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, be small, maybe 10 milligrams,” she
schek and his colleagues concluded trogen helps in the elimination of uric which make it difficult to tolerate. says. “These types of drugs can also be
that the DASH diet was beneficial for acid from the body.” Memet says that controlling the dose injected directly into the joint, which
gout as well: For the study participants of colchicine – not giving more than avoids the side effects of taking it in
who had the highest uric acid levels Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory is needed – can increase the tolerabil- pill form.”
at the start of the trial, the DASH diet drugs (NSAIDs) are the most com- ity and make it an effective treatment
had effects comparable to that of gout monly used medications to treat acute choice. Dr. Beatrice Memet is on staff at the
medication. attacks (flare-ups) and to prevent fu- Indian River Medical Center. To con-
ture attacks. NSAIDs include over- Even more rarely, a corticosteroid tact her for treatment of gout or any
Dr. Beatrice Memet recently joined the-counter options such as ibuprofen such as prednisone may be prescribed; rheumatology-related health con-
the Indian River Medical Center; she (Advil, Motrin IB) and naproxen so- corticosteroids are the drug of last re- cern, please call IRMC’s main num-
is board-certified in rheumatology dium (Aleve) as well as more-powerful sort because they can elevate blood ber: 772 567 4311.
and internal medicine. Memet has prescription NSAIDs. pressure and increase blood sugar lev-
read the study from Johns Hopkins
and says that, while the DASH diet is
an advisable approach to eating, “a
change in diet by itself is not enough
to treat the [underlying chronic] con-
dition.”
In addition to dietary changes, she
says, “There are drugs that lower the
levels of uric acid, which should be
taken every day. It’s the same as any
chronic condition, like diabetes or
coronary artery disease. The medica-
tion is taken every day, not just when
the person is feeling symptoms.”
Gout is a form of arthritis; during
the Great Depression, it was known
as the “rich man’s disease,” because
of the belief that it was caused by an
expensive, meat-heavy diet. That per-
ception still lingers, in part because
there’s some truth to it – as borne out
by the Johns Hopkins research, a diet
rich in red meat is indeed a risk factor
for gout.
The exact mechanisms within the
body that lead to gout are not com-
pletely understood, but “purine” – a
compound found in alcohol and foods
such as red meat, veal, liver, scallops,
mussels, sardines and gravies – is be-
lieved to be a culprit. Our bodies pro-
duce uric acid during the breakdown
of purine; normally, the uric acid
is dissolved into the blood, filtered
through the kidneys, and eliminated
in urine. But eating too many foods
high in purine can interfere with this
process, causing a condition called hy-
peruricemia, which can lead to gout.
Gout usually attacks in the base joint
of the big toe, and flare-ups can last for
days or even weeks. The pain is often
described as the worst imaginable;
worse even than that of childbirth.
While it’s not possible to objectively
determine if that’s true, sufferers will
tell you that even the weight of a bed-
sheet on the affected area is unendur-
able. Other commonly affected joints
include ankles, knees, wrists, elbows,
heels, insteps and fingers.
In addition to a high-purine diet,
risk factors for gout include obesity,
diabetes, hypertension and renal fail-
ure. A family history of gout also in-
creases risk. And men are at higher
risk than women – under the age of 65,
32 Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
HEALTH
Starting to run in your 40s and 50s? Know your limits
BY MIKE PLUNKETT Now 52 years old, Cartwright has find a balance. “When I started, I had
Washington Post become a long-distance runner in no idea what I was doing, so I went
large part because of Meg’s Miles, a out as hard as I could. I was trying to
When Keith Cartwright played group that came together after the be faster than the day prior,” he said.
football in high school, he never ran passing of Meg Menzies. Menzies
more than 200 yards at one time. died after being hit by a car while With the help of Reichmann and
He was a running back, so he didn’t training for the Boston Marathon. Sapper, Hudson created a training
have to do more than a sprint. Cartwright is friends with Meg’s hus- plan to prepare for the 2016 Marine
band, Scott, and because of her life Corps Marathon. His coaches said
“My buddies know me as an anti- and example, he took up running his dedication to his training is
distance runner,” Cartwright said. paying off.
and now is training for the Rich- It’s true that the aches and pains
mond, Virginia Marathon. of daily living start to catch up
with people in middle age. What
“In the past two to three months, you ignored in your 20s cannot be
I’ve been training, and I use training ignored in your 40s, and when it
loosely,” Cartwright said. “I’m not comes to running, it means knowing
a fast guy. I’m just committed to your limits.
getting it done so I can say I ran a full
marathon.” Manny Romero, who lives in New
York City, took up running at age 42
Starting long-distance running to get over a romantic breakup and
during middle age may seem like deal with the stresses of moving to
an exercise in futility, yet getting a the Big Apple. After quickly ramping
late start has certain advantages. up to five miles a day every day, he
Running coaches Lisa Reichmann suffered a stress fracture. Romero
and Julie Sapper said running ran a half-marathon and made
longevity relates to how old you were the fracture worse. He spent eight
when you started. months in a support boot and on
crutches.
“Whether you start running at
age 40 or 45, or in some cases 50, He wrote via email that “my doctor
you’ve got about 10 to 15 really told me (and I agree) that my injury
good [running] years,” Sapper said. was due to excessive running.”
“If someone is running their first
marathon in their 40s and 50s but “My muscles needed more time
have been running since their 20s, to recover, and I also needed to in-
they’re not going to have as much crease my intake of protein. I have
‘shelf life’ as compared to someone since been able to make adjustments
who completely started from to my running workouts so I run
scratch.” smarter. Before, I was just running
to get the miles in without thinking
Marathon training doesn’t get about time to recover.”
easier with age, and the coaches say
it can be more of a challenge because Running success during middle
it’s added on top of the stresses of age comes down to perspective and
work and family. Consistency of understanding of what it takes to
training sessions and efficiency complete a marathon. Romero fin-
in each session become critical to ished the New York City Marathon in
success. 2014, his first, and now at age 45 has
already qualified for the 2017 Boston
After his mother’s passing in 2014, Marathon. He said an advantage to
Adam Hudson, now 42, knew it was running in his 40s is a greater enjoy-
time to get fit. “I was going to do ment of running as an end in and of
everything I could to be around as itself.
long as I could,” he said. He lost close
to 100 pounds and took up running. “I think if I had started running
Hudson discovered that he was fast competitively at a younger age, I
and excelled at 5K and 10K races. But would find myself getting disap-
for longer distances, he struggled to pointed because I would constantly
be comparing my results/perfor-
mance to my younger days,” Romero
wrote.
Hudson finds himself visualizing
the Marine Corps Marathon as he
trains. He expects the completion of
the race to be emotional for him and
his family.
“At the very end, when crossing
the finish line, I’ll be saying, ‘Mom,
we did it.’ Because that’s something
that does drive me,” Hudson said.
34 Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
INSIGHT COVER STORY
BY DEVIN LEONARD | BLOOMBERG
Last fall, when he was running for Amazon had also negotiated an op- For UPS and FedEx, Union neighborhood, and it’s building
mayor of Wilmington, Ohio, John Stan- tion to buy nearly 20 percent of the com- Amazon’s been great three tree-filled biospheres in the city
forth heard a rumor. A big company pany. “We’re excited to supplement our for business. Now it’s that will allow workers to take con-
was testing an airfreight operation at existing delivery network with a great taking business away templative breaks, like so many Ralph
the local airport, Wilmington Air Park. new provider, ATSG, by adding 20 planes from them. Waldo Emersons in Jetsonian luxury.
to ensure air cargo capacity to support The company is the fifth-most valu-
Whoever it was wanted to keep the one- and two-day delivery,” Dave Clark, container ships traveling between Asia able in the world: Its market capital-
project quiet. People who frequent- Amazon’s senior vice president for world- and the U.S. and Europe. In short, Ama- ization is about $366 billion, which is
ed the airport said the company was wide operations, said in a statement at zon is becoming a kind of e-commerce roughly equal to the combined worth
wrapping its packages in black plastic the time. Amazon denies wrapping its Walmart with a FedEx attached. of Walmart, FedEx, and Boeing.
to obscure any lettering and referred boxes in black during the trial period.
to its experiment as Project Amelia. With any other company, an expan- For years, Amazon lost money as
He wasn’t sure which company it was, Two weeks after Amazon’s an- sion like this would be preposterous. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos
though some people were whispering nouncement, I meet with Stanforth in But Amazon’s growth has been pre- ignored Wall Street’s concerns and
it was Amazon.com. a conference room outside his office at posterous. In 2010 its annual revenue poured billions into such initiatives as
the municipal building. He’s joined by was $34 billion; last year, $107 billion. e-readers, robot-enhanced warehous-
Stanforth, 71, owns a storage busi- Marian Miller, his lively executive as- In 2010 the company employed 33,700 es, smartphones, tablets, and televi-
ness and looks a bit like the actor sistant, and Bret Dixon, Clinton Coun- workers. By this June, it had 268,900. sion shows. Yet in July, the company
Jeffrey Tambor. In November he eas- ty’s economic development director. posted its fifth straight quarterly profit.
ily won the mayoral election. But even Amazon still hasn’t said much about its To have enough office space for its Amazon Web Services, its cloud com-
then he didn’t ask too many questions plans for the air park, but Stanforth is swelling headquarters staff, Amazon puting division, alone had sales of $7.9
about what was going on at the airport. hopeful there will be some jobs soon. has swallowed Seattle’s South Lake billion last year. “We could have stuck
He didn’t want to jeopardize anything to the knitting,” Bezos wrote in Ama-
by being too nosy. “Guys, just bring me “We don’t know what it’s going to do zon’s most recent annual report. “I’m
the jobs,” he recalls thinking. yet,” Miller says, “but we’re crossing our glad we didn’t. Or did we?”
fingers. We have people that like sling-
Wilmington is about 35 miles south- ing packages.”
east of Dayton and has a population of
about 12,000. Jobs used to be plentiful. It’s hard to tell who’s more pro-Ama-
The air park was a hub for Airborne Ex- zon, Miller or Dixon. “They’re changing
press and then DHL, the German ship- the face of e-commerce,” Dixon says.
ping company, which bought Airborne
Express in 2003. Thousands of people “They are a feel-good company,”
toiled at the airport, sorting packages says Miller. “Who wouldn’t want a feel-
that arrived and loading them onto good company like Amazon? Look at
outbound planes. the way they treat their customers and
their employees!”
It wasn’t the most spiritually reward-
ing work, but it paid well, enabling Two months after the Ohio announce-
package handlers to patronize the ment, Amazon leased 20 more jets from
shops on Wilmington’s Main Street, Atlas Air, an air cargo company based
to get haircuts in the barbershop and in Purchase, N.Y. Amazon has also pur-
body illustrations at the tattoo par- chased 4,000 truck trailers. Meanwhile,
lor. Even the local bookstore did great a company subsidiary in China has ob-
business, especially when Harry Potter tained a freight-forwarding license that
novels came out. “They shut down the analysts say enables it to sell space on
main street,” Stanforth says wistfully,
about the release party the store threw
in 2007 for the seventh book in the Pot-
ter series. “There were people every-
where. Our Rotary Club made $1,000
selling shaved ice. A thousand bucks!”
In 2008, DHL shuttered its Wilming-
ton operation, and almost everybody
at the air park lost their jobs. “It was
devastating,” Stanforth says. “You can’t
lose that kind of an industry in a small
community and not be hurt.”
The following year, the city was fea-
tured on a 60 Minutes segment as a
symbol of recessionary America. “When
President Obama spoke of ‘the winter of
our hardship’ in his inaugural address,
no one in America understood that bet-
ter than the folks we met inWilmington,
Ohio,” correspondent Scott Pelley said.
Starting in September 2015, people
in the city noticed more planes flying
in and out of the airport, loading and
unloading those black-wrapped boxes.
This March, Amazon announced that
it was leasing 20 Boeing 767s from Air
Transport Services Group, a cargo com-
pany that operates out of the air park.
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 35
Amazon’s ambitions depend on the INSIGHT COVER STORY
continued success of its Prime service.
For $99 a year, Amazon Prime cus- ONE OF MANY CORPORATE MAN- now get free two-hour delivery on more
tomers get two-day delivery at no ex- TRAS ON DISPLAY FOR WORKERS than 25,000 items they might otherwise
tra charge. Those who sign up tend to AT A SEATTLE PRIME NOW HUB. have bought at Walgreens or 7-Eleven.
spend almost three times as much as AMAZON UNVEILS ITS FIRST For an additional $7.99, orders arrive
their non-Prime peers. PRIME AIR BOEING 767 IN within an hour. Some company execu-
SEATTLE. tives joked that the service should be
The company zealously guards its called Amazon Magic; they went with
numbers, but Consumer Intelligence “This year Prime Now.
Research Partners estimates that Ama- we estimate
zon had 63 million Prime members as Amazon is Providing near-instant gratification
of late June –19 million more than the going to sell on Amazon’s scale isn’t cheap. Last year
year before. 7.2 billion the company spent $11.5 billion on
shipping – nearly twice what it did two
Amazon keeps subscribers in the fold items” years ago.
by lavishing them with perks such as
free access to Amazon Video, the Kin- Along with leasing jets and buying
dle Owners’ Lending Library, and trial trailers, Amazon has opened more than
subscriptions to the Washington Post, 28 sorting centers, 59 delivery stations
which Bezos, a billionaire many times that feed packages to local couriers,
over, purchased for $250 million in cash and more than 65 Prime Now hubs
three years ago. But more than anything, stocked with best-selling items that
Prime members sign up for that fast can be rushed to customers around the
shipping, which keeps getting faster. world, according to MWPVL Interna-
tional, a Montreal-based supply chain
In many large cities, subscribers can consultant.
“This year we estimate Amazon is go-
ing to sell 7.2 billion items,” says Gene
Munster, an internet industry analyst at
Piper Jaffray. “In 2020, which is only four
years away, we expect them to sell 12.6
billion items.”
In June, Deutsche Bank released a
report predicting that Amazon will
eventually have a global shipping op-
eration capable of moving goods di-
rectly from factories in China to cus-
tomers in the U.S. and Europe, using
not just 767s and container ships, but
also self-driving trucks and drones.
The report also said Amazon has a
patent for “anticipatory package ship-
ping” technology, which is just what
it sounds like: When some Prime sub-
scriber buys more deodorant, Amazon
already has the box standing by, ready
to label and ship. “It’s just one giant
math exercise,” Deutsche Bank wrote,
adding that Amazon has “hundreds
of Ph.D. mathematicians” who spend
their days optimizing logistics.
Others believe that Amazon will
make a business out of its delivery net-
work, as it did with Amazon Web Ser-
vices, thereby challenging the world’s
leading shipping companies. “I fully
expect Amazon to build out a logistics
supply chain that others can use,” says
John Rossman, a former Amazon exec-
utive who’s now a managing director at
the restructuring firm Alvarez & Mar-
sal. “Over the next five years? I doubt it.
Over 10 or 15 years? Oh yeah.”
Amazon cooperated with this article,
but barely. I had a friendly conversation
in Seattle with Clark, the guy in charge
of delivery. It lasted for 12 minutes. Am-
azon said Bezos wasn’t available.
Bezos did, however, briefly discuss
his plans for delivery in June, onstage
at Recode’s third annual Code Confer-
ence in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. He
took a seat in a red leather chair beside
Recode co-founder Walt Mossberg,
CONTINUED ON PAGE 38
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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35 INSIGHT COVER STORY
who would be his amiable inquisitor. ed his thought: “We will take all the ca- such as China and India, it used bike Amazon started delivering many of its
Bezos fielded questions about ev- pacity that the U.S. Postal Service can messengers to provide Kozmo-style de- own boxes, the Royal Mail’s package
give us and that UPS can give us and livery. Amazon also hired former execu- volume in the U.K. all but flatlined.
erything from Blue Origin, his space we still need to supplement it. So we’re tives from Webvan to launch Amazon-
exploration venture, to the Washing- not cutting back. We’re growing our Fresh, a grocery delivery service that “That growth has now completely
ton Post, to Amazon’s own physical business with UPS. We’re growing our began in 2007. But what really pushed disappeared because of Amazon,” says
bookstores, which are opening in cit- business with the U.S. Postal Service.” the company into building a much larg- David Kerstens, a European transpor-
ies such as Chicago, Seattle, and Port- er-scale delivery operation was Prime. tation analyst at Jefferies International
land, Ore. But before Mossberg got to Bezos has been consumed with de- in London. The Royal Mail disputes
all that, he brought up the white trucks livery since he founded Amazon in Following its 2005 introduction, Bezos’s contention that it couldn’t
with Amazon’s logo that he’d been see- 1994. After all, if he couldn’t get orders Prime attracted around 8 million mem- handle all of Amazon’s packages. It de-
ing around his neighborhood. to people fast enough, they’d just buy bers in five years, according to Deutsche clined to comment further.
stuff in stores. Rossman, the former Bank. To fulfill the promise of free two-
“Personally, I’m utterly astonished Amazon executive, says Bezos and day delivery, Amazon had to rush many At home, Amazon cozied up to the
sometimes that this box shows up on his team also saw delivery as a way to of their orders using pricey expedited U.S. Postal Service in an attempt to
Sunday, and I only bought it on Satur- fend off competitors who might have services at FedEx and UPS. By 2011, reduce its dependence on UPS and
day at 7 o’clock,” Mossberg said. wanted to get into e-commerce – in a former Amazon executive says, the FedEx. In November 2013 the Postal
particular Google, and later Facebook. company realized it would soon over- Service announced it would deliver
Like a lot of other people, he wanted “They’ve always thought one of their whelm FedEx and UPS during the holi- Amazon packages on Sunday. Amazon
to know what was going on. “Are you best defenses against Google and Face- days: “We were just going to blow them also began building a chain of sorting
aiming to take over that last mile?” book was that they don’t understand out of the water.” So, he says, Amazon centers that used machine learning to
Mossberg asked. logistics,” Rossman says. decided to create an alternative. separate boxes by ZIP code and hurry
them directly to the proper post offices
Bezos shook his head. He said Ama- In 1999, Amazon invested $60 mil- The company tried the United King- for home delivery.
zon was creating a delivery network lion in Kozmo.com, a startup whose or- dom first. “We’ve created our own fast,
that added to – and didn’t replace – ange-suited bike messengers provided last-mile delivery network in the U.K., None of these efforts were enough
those of FedEx, UPS, and the U.S. Post- one-hour delivery of sundries in New where commercial carriers couldn’t to avert the Great Failure of 2013. That
al Service. “It’s not that we are trying to York, San Francisco, and a few other support our peak volumes,” Bezos said November, I happened to be at the UPS
take over,” he said. cities. When Kozmo imploded in 2001, in his 2013 annual letter to sharehold- Global Operations Center in Louisville,
alongside many other companies from ers. “There’s more innovation to come.” working on a piece about an executive
“You’re not trying to put FedEx out the first dot-com boom, it was widely named Scott Abell, who was known at
of business?” Mossberg prodded him. ridiculed as one of the more misguided The timing couldn’t have been the company as Mr. Peak because he
endeavors of the era, along with failed worse for the Royal Mail, which had spent his entire year planning for the
“No,” Bezos said. online supermarket Webvan. gone public that same year. The ser- Christmas rush.
“Or get better prices from them?” vice had seen its letter volume decline,
“No, in fact what we want …” Then Amazon learned a different lesson. but predicted that package delivery Abell was cordial, but his mind was
Bezos paused for a moment and When it entered developing countries would make up the difference. After clearly elsewhere as he chatted in his
smiled. “Well, we’d always like better division’s cubicle farm. He was frus-
prices,” he said. “Yeah, feel free.” The
audience laughed, and Bezos complet-
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 39
INSIGHT COVER STORY
trated by what he described as a large plan that called for more planes, extra workers, later told me it was Amazon. orders to delivery carriers in time for
customer’s decision to radically in- package handlers, and double shifts at Even so, in December, UPS was holiday delivery,” an Amazon spokes-
crease the number of packages it want- UPS’s gargantuan Worldport sorting woman said at the time.
ed UPS to process on the weekend be- center in Louisville. Abell wouldn’t name swamped with Amazon packages and
fore Christmas. the vexing customer. But Jay Dennis, struggled to meet its deadlines. So was “People blamed UPS,” says Rob-
communications director for Teamsters FedEx. Amazon made no secret of its ert Lieb, a professor of supply chain
Because of this surge, Abell said, he’d Local 89, which represents Worldport displeasure. “Amazon fulfillment cen- management at Northeastern Univer-
just spent five days coming up with a ters processed and tendered customer
CONTINUED ON PAGE 40
40 Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 39
sity. “But the reality of the situation was company also recently said it had de- In June, Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Par- The fear has spread to Wall Street,
Amazon dumped significantly more livered 300,000 condoms since Prime is, protested the arrival of Prime Now in where analysts say investors worry
volume on UPS on Dec. 23 than they Now’s debut. Try calling FedEx next her city, warning that it would foul the about what Amazon’s strategy means
had agreed to give them. I mean, you time your bedside drawer is empty. air, snarl traffic, and damage local busi- for the shipping industry. “The natural
can’t go out and lease more planes the nesses. “This operation may seriously inclination among any observers of the
day before Christmas, and you can’t Last September, Amazon intro- destabilize the Parisian trade balanc- market when they see Amazon is to be
put additional workers on.” duced an on-demand delivery pro- es,” Hidalgo said. “This large American scared,” says David Vernon, a Sanford
gram called Amazon Flex. With Flex, company did not see fit to inform Paris C. Bernstein analyst who tracks the
Amazon and UPS prefer not to dis- people with transportation and some until a few days before the launch.” shipping market. “Amazon is the epito-
cuss the incident, but Steve Gaut, a UPS time on their hands log in to an app, in- me of a zero-sum game.”
spokesman, says his company worked dicate their availability, and then pick UPS and FedEx have shrugged off Am-
out a system so that it has more “visibil- up and deliver Prime Now packages, azon’s threat to their business, in public It’s a fine Thursday morning in Se-
ity” into its customers’ holiday loads. much as Uber drivers do with people. anyway. On a conference call in February, attle. Amazon has shepherded more
UPS CEO David Abney was diplomatic: than a dozen journalists in a white bus
Either way, Amazon accelerated its Amazon Flex deliveries come in handy “Amazon’s a good customer of ours. We to the private unveiling of its first Prime
effort to avoid any more holiday sna- when there’s an unexpected surge in have a mutually beneficial relationship.” Air plane at a Boeing hangar on the city’s
fus. By the end of 2014, it had 23 sorting Prime Now orders, such as before a bliz- In an investor call the following month, south side. A Boeing 767 is positioned to
centers in the U.S. “A blitz is the way to zard on the East Coast when the entire FedEx CEO Fred Smith scoffed at the no- show off the Prime Air logo, painted in a
describe it,” says Ben Conwell, a former island of Manhattan is stocking up on tion that Amazon might challenge his friendly shade of light blue on the white
Amazon real estate executive involved canned soup. In the early hours of July company, calling it “fantastical.” fuselage. The tail is adorned with Ama-
in the construction spree. “Those build- 31, it was Flex couriers who transported zon’s familiar swish –“the Amazon smile,”
ings couldn’t open fast enough.” copies of Harry Potter and the Cursed Lieb, the Northeastern professor, as a press handler helpfully points out.
Child to Prime Now customers. who’s been talking to CEOs in the ship-
The same year, Amazon launched ping industry for 23 years, says they’re The next day the plane, which is
Prime Now in New York, with couri- There’s a downside to all of this, of less confident in private. “When Ama- called Amazon One, will make its pub-
ers who drove cars, rode bikes, and course. Wherever Amazon directs its zon was talking about same-day deliv- lic debut at the summer Seafair festi-
took public transportation. “They accelerating river of cardboard boxes, ery, people said, ‘Who cares? We don’t val, flying over Seattle before a perfor-
have people riding the subway in New there’s a good chance that local resis- want that business anyway,’ ” Lieb mance by the famous Blue Angels.
York with carts loaded up with Amazon tance will arise. City officials in Ham- says. But once Amazon began leasing
boxes,” says Marc Wulfraat, founder of burg say Amazon withdrew its plan to planes, they started to worry. Clark, Amazon’s worldwide opera-
MWPVL, the supply chain consultant. put a distribution center near a senior tions chief, walks up to a podium flanked
“They use students, hustlers, people center and a kindergarten after resi- “Amazon’s market entry strategy has by stacks of shipping boxes. With his
who are just trying to make a buck.” dents, politicians, and even local police pretty much been ‘I’m going to come plaid sport coat, blue shirt, boot-cut
objected. “Amazon didn’t feel the need in and I’m going to beat you to death jeans, and slight paunch, Clark doesn’t
Amazon has since extended Prime to get in touch with us, even after local with low prices,’ ” he says. “If Amazon look like an executive at a company that
Now to more than 40 cities. The ser- media picked up on it,” says Michael follows that tactic, they would destabi- terrifies whole industries. He looks more
vice’s most popular items are bottled Osterburg, a local Green Party leader. lize this industry rather quickly.” like a junior high school band director,
water and toilet paper, though the
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 41
which he was before getting his MBA in I’ve actually seen the plane in person.” how to use it. “Our China team is a very working closely there to make sure ev-
supply chain management at the Uni- Clark spends the next half-hour creative group,” he says. erybody is happy.”
versity of Tennessee at Knoxville and
joining Amazon 17 years ago. chatting amiably to reporters about What about the mayor of Paris, who Then Clark is done. He needs to leave
what he calls “the beautiful plane.” doesn’t relish Amazon’s delivery peo- to prepare for another “surreal” day
“It’s really kind of a surreal day,” he He’s cagey about the ocean freight-for- ple racing through her city’s streets tomorrow at Seafair. “I have two little
says. “I have to tell you, it’s hard to not warding license, but he confirms that carrying toilet paper and condoms? boys,” he says. “At least for this weekend,
be a little bit giddy. This is the first time Amazon has one, and that it’s mulling Clark smiles and says, “The team is I get to be a very, very cool dad.”
42 Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
INSIGHT EDITORIAL
Driverless cars: Ready or not, robots are taking the wheel
BY BLOOMBERG tems. GM is investing in Lyft and is de- Consumers got their first taste of to regulate self-driving cars. There are
veloping a fleet of robot taxis. autopilot in the 1990s when Toyota, few laws on the books requiring driv-
The auto industry seems to be hur- Mitsubishi and Mercedes began of- ers to keep their hands on the wheel
tling headlong into an era when cars GM also invested $1 billion in self- fering adaptive cruise control, which because no one imagined that would
drive themselves. It may sound futur- driving startup Cruise Automation and uses radar to automatically adjust ve- be an issue.
istic, but parts of it are already here. Ford put $182 million into cloud com- hicle speed to keep a set distance from
The robots are easing us out of the puting startup Pivotal Software, which cars ahead. As the cost and size of the More broadly, there’s the ethical di-
driver’s seat bit by bit. helped it develop a mobility app. sensors and chips have plunged, au- lemma of turning over decision-making
tonomous features have proliferated power to a robot in a life-or-death situ-
Cars on the road today can brake for Ford promises to put 100,000 robot and can now be found in everyday ation. The question of liability also re-
you or steer you back into your lane, taxis on the road by 2021 and says it is Hondas and Fords. mains unanswered.When a car on auto-
while others coming in the next two developing driverless technology that pilot causes an accident, who is at fault?
years will change lanes automatically will be affordable for the masses. Google accelerated the pace of de- Automakers also have yet to design a
and allow you to drive hands-free. velopment by logging more than 2 connected car that cannot be hacked,
That makes plenty of people nervous, The dream of a self-driving car first million miles testing its driverless cars raising security concerns and dystopian
and there’s no end to the ethical and appeared in the pages of science fic- on Silicon Valley roads. In initial road scenarios of robot cars run amok.
legal questions yet to be settled. But tion and then in the General Motors tests, driverless cars actually have
there’s little doubt that the robot driv- Futurama display at the 1939 New had an accident rate twice as high as Yet to U.S. regulators and others,
er’s day is coming – and fast. York World’s Fair. human-driven models – though re- driverless cars could save thousands
searchers says it’s the humans in other of lives, since driver error is blamed
The U.S. in January proposed spend- Computing power didn’t catch up cars who are generally to blame. in 94 percent of crashes. The ben-
ing $4 billion over 10 years on research with our imaginations until the 1980s, efit could be even higher in develop-
and infrastructure to promote driv- when Carnegie Mellon University The accelerated pace of invention ing nations, where accident rates are
erless cars and this month laid out a came up with a robot Chevy van and is outstripping government’s ability high, and the cars could be a boon for
regulatory path for automakers to win Bundeswehr University Munich devel- the disabled or the elderly.
approval for putting them on the road. oped an autonomous Mercedes van.
The millions of truck drivers and
Many more billions are being spent others who could be put out of work
not only by car companies but by a by robot cars might not like the change
range of technology companies on as much, however.
developing autonomous vehicles that
use sensors, cameras and high-speed But carmakers see a future in which
computing power to read and react to autonomous “transport pods,” often
traffic, pedestrians, stoplights and in- provided by ridesharing services like
frastructure. Uber or Lyft, supplant the tradition of
two owner-operated cars in every garage.
Luxury lines have taken the lead in
adding features like hands-free high- We’re no longer swarming toward
way driving or self-parking cars. These suburbia, the defining demographic
so-called semi-autonomous vehicles trend of the 20th century. Instead,
came under scrutiny after a fatal ac- Americans are heading toward cities
cident involving a Tesla sedan driving by the millions. So we have a choice be-
on autopilot. tween mega-gridlocked mega-metrop-
olises, and driverless cars that move in
But Google and Fiat Chrysler Au- harmony like schools of fish.
tomobiles are teaming up to develop
about 100 self-driving Chrysler mini- Like it or not, ready or not, the era
vans, while BMW is collaborating with of robots taking the wheel is coming –
Intel and Mobileye, an Israeli maker and a lot faster than you may think.
of components for autonomous sys-
NUTRITION, PART I SERVING SIZE (CHANGED) Low levels of Vitamin D and potassium are asso-
ciated with an increased risk of chronic disease.
New Nutrition Labels Will Help Us The FDA has changed serving size to better re- Vitamin D plays an important role in bone health;
Make Better Food Choices flect what people really consume. For example, potassium helps lower blood pressure.
the original ½ cup of ice cream is now 2/3 cup. A
Since 1993, we’ve become accustomed to finding serving of soda has increased from 8 to 12 ounc- � Calciuim and iron (Stay)
nutrition labels on boxes, cans, bottles and other es. And a serving of yogurt is decreasing from 8 Calcium and iron will continue to be on the label.
containers of food and drinks at the grocery store. to 6 ounces.
� Vitamins A and C (Eliminated)
In May 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administra- ADDED SUGARS (NEW) Vitamins A and C will no longer be required but
tion (FDA) officially revised nutrition label require- can be included on a voluntary basis. When nutri-
ments. The government has given most manufac- Added sugar is a new category that will be added tion labels were initiated, American diets lacked
turers until July 26, 2018 to start using the new to nutrition labels. Vitamins A and C. Today, Vitamin A and C deficien-
format. Those with less than $10-million in annual cies are rare.
food sales have an additional year to comply. This is sugar that’s added during the processing
and/or packaging of food to improve flavor, col- TRANS FATS (STAY)
Changes are intended to help consumers make or or texture of food; keep jellies and jams from
better informed food choices. spoiling; help fermentation in breads and alcohol; Artificial trans fats/partially hydrogenated oils
and keep baked goods fresh longer. It provides (PHOs) were deemed unsafe by the FDA in 2015.
Percentages of nutrients listed are based on a little to no nutritional value.
diet of 2,000 calories a day, the average number Although manufacturers are no longer allowed
of calories most people need. Some people need Most Americans consume about 13 percent of to use artificial trans fats, naturally occurring
more; some less. Ask your doctor how many calo- their total calories from added sugar; the goal is 10 trans fats found in some animals, and some oils
ries you need per day and adjust recommenda- percent. If you drink a lot of soft drinks and eat an used as food additives, are still in the food sup-
tions accordingly. overabundance of candy, cakes, cookies, and ice ply. Therefore, trans fats will remain on nutrition
cream, you’re getting too much added sugar. labels.
WHAT’S NEW?
VITAMINS AND MINERALS (CHANGED) Your comments and suggestions for future topics are
In addition to a refreshed design, the most signifi- always welcome. Email us at [email protected].
cant changes include: � Vitamin D and potassium (New)
New to the label will be listings for Vitamin D and © 2016 Vero Beach 32963 Media, all rights reserved
potassium.
44 Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
INSIGHT BOOK REVIEW
Certain times seem made for certain thing. The first sip is bliss; the second column collection. All of us pub- Maureen Dowd
people, and the now seems to belong glass makes you feel so adorable you lic musers have heard from
to Maureen Dowd. With a resurgence can’t imagine depriving anyone of editors and agents that col- real time and interpreted by Modo, as
of the Clintons, upon whose deceits your next thought; the third glass – or umn books don’t sell. Add she’s nicknamed.
and conceits Dowd gnawed her way to yet another impossibly cute phrase – a couple of extra Dowds,
the 1999 Pulitzer Prize – and the add- begins to wear you down. One begins a Twitter feed and an Her frequent literary and pop-cul-
ed bounty of the fathomless Donald to yearn for a Diet Coke or a simple interview or two, and ture references and her jazzy word-
Trump – the New York Times colum- declarative sentence. voila, the book be- play coalesced with her Catholic up-
nist hasn’t had to wonder for a while: comes something bringing and reporter’s eye to create
Hmm, what shall I write about today? Some of the interludes are more in- else. Not that Dowd the perfect voice for the moment. And
trusive than enhancing. One standout needed the filler. Her now, she may get Trump as no one else
True, in “The Year of Voting Danger- exception, however, was an email ex- book is trenchant, has. It helps to have studied him for
ously,” Dowd’s relentless wit is every- change between Huma Abedin and entertaining politi- years, as Dowd has, beginning with a
where in evidence and undulled by Hillary Clinton in which Huma tries to cal history that ought trip with him on his art-filled plane in
the almost quarter-century since she help the then-secretary of state with to be a textbook. Was 1999, when the showman first “dipped
began skewering the Clintons to the the fax machine. there something else it his toe in the presidential pool.”
delight of nearly everyone. Along with needed to be?
some of her previously published col- Dowd purists of course want Dowd In an April column included in
umns spanning the past few decades only. But she is generous in allowing Her brother Kevin the book, she writes: “Watching him
and administrations, the book contains others – among them, her siblings – to Dowd’s interlude offer- morph into a pol in real time and wrig-
new material she labels “interludes” – occupy space in the interludes. The ing explains why he’ll gle away from the junior-varsity GOP
palate cleansers to break up the steady Washington native has often said she’s vote for the Repub- chuckleheads trying to tackle him is
stream of haute hilarity. The columns the only liberal in her conservative, lican. And sister hypnotic. He’s like the blond alien in
are certainly worthy of re-reading. Catholic family, so perhaps this is her Peggy Dowd, who the 1995 movie ‘Species,’ who mutates
way of showing that she doesn’t exist had a passing, profes- from ova to adult in months, regener-
Yet I was reminded of how exhaust- entirely in a bubble of like-minded folk. sional acquaintance- ating and reconfiguring at warp speed
ing Dowd’s compulsion for cleverness ship with Trump, explains why she to escape the establishment, kill ev-
can be. Reading her prose is like drink- More likely, these external observa- could never vote for Clinton. Neither eryone in sight and eliminate the hu-
ing wine, about which I know some- tions and other quirky add-ins consti- do harm to their sister’s reputation man race.”
tute the “freshness” required to sell a and offer perspectives less clever
but refreshingly straightforward. But Nor has she lost her touch with Hill-
wouldn’t we rather have had them ary, whom Dowd covered from 1992
write about their sister? What’s she re- to 1995 as a news reporter before be-
ally like? What kind of child was she? coming a columnist. In a July column,
To her credit, Dowd fails to realize that Dowd wrote: “It says a lot about our
she is the interesting material here. relationship with Hillary Clinton that
she seems well on her way to becom-
Dowd uses an interlude to deliver ing Madam President because she’s
some quicky quotes she gathered from not getting indicted. … And that’s
a phone conversation and lunch with the corkscrew way things go with the
Trump about a variety of personali- Clintons, who are staying true to their
ties, including his former Republican reputation as the Tom and Daisy Bu-
foes, Elizabeth Warren, Bill Clinton chanan of American politics. Their
and political consultant Roger Stone. vast carelessness drags down every-
She provides these, she explains, be- one around them, but they persevere,
cause her 1,300-word column doesn’t and even thrive.”
offer enough space “to contain the Ve-
suvial Donald Trump.” We’ve all heard THE YEAR OF VOTING DANGEROUSLY
better and worse stuff directly from THE DERANGEMENT OF AMERICAN POLITICS
the man’s mouth than what’s included
here. We learn that Warren “caught BY MAUREEN DOWD
a little wave. Perhaps it’s her Indian Twelve. 432 pp. $30.
upbringing”; that Bill Clinton is “too Review by Kathleen Parker, The Washington Post
thin”; and that Stone has been saying
nice things about Trump ever since
he fired him. “I should have fired him
sooner.” And these were just too good
to leave out?
For older readers, Dowd’s book will
feel like a Big Chill weekend. For oth-
ers relatively recent to Dowdology, her
Clinton years may serve as a primer
on what the Bernie Sanders genera-
tion missed and might help younger
readers understand why so many
Americans have a problem with the
Clinton twofer. It is one thing to read
about the stained dress, the snapping
thong and the cigar that wasn’t just a
cigar, especially for a generation that
hasn’t needed a president to introduce
them to the term “oral sex.” It was
quite another 20 years ago to absorb
these details as they were revealed in
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 45
INSIGHT BOOK REVIEW
There are some things that are so wo- alchemy,” to how new ideas about estimates costs more than 3 percent of Kenneth Rogoff
ven into the fabric of our existence that currency helped enable Alexander gross domestic product in the United
we never pause to think about them. the Great’s empire, to the inflation States and probably much more in Eu- It’s true that some might see negative
Cash is one of those things. But in “The that has destroyed empires when rope. And if wages couldn’t be paid in rates as “unholy,” but Rogoff argues
Curse of Cash,” economist Kenneth governments have debased their cash, well, that would help address the that giving central banks the flexibility
Rogoff argues that we’d be better off currencies. issue of illegal immigration. to take rates into negative territory is
without it. In fact, he writes that “the like giving a golfer the powerful swing
massive quantities of cash circulat- And we all know that money is All of this helps explain why Rog- required to get out of a sand trap. There
ing today . . . are a huge public policy changing today, from the prolif- off argues that the costs of cash aren’t are certainly risks. But he thinks a short
problem that needs to be urgently dis- eration of debit cards to options worth the benefits, despite the fact that burst of negative rates is probably less
cussed, not taken as an immutable fact such as PayPal and Google Wallet. the benefits are considerable. Prob- dangerous than a decade stuck at the
of life.” The great accomplishment of So it might be logical to surmise ably the biggest is “seigniorage”: the zero bound.
his book is that his arguments are con- that the use of cash is declining. government’s ability to print money
vincing. One of the many surprising facts that costs nothing but can be spent at Rogoff is an academic, and the book
in Rogoff’s book is that it is not. face value. In the United States, Rogoff is not easy, breezy reading, particularly
Of course, the history of cash reveals Cash transactions account for only says, seigniorage profits have averaged for lay people. But it’s clear and coher-
that it isn’t immutable at all. Rogoff about 14 percent of the total by 0.4 percent of GDP annually in recent ent, and even if you disagree with him
does a quick romp through it, from value, and yet, Rogoff writes, “de- years. But he says that getting rid of in the end, chances are you’ll think a
Marco Polo’s discovery of paper cur- mand for most advanced-country cash still makes sense, economically little bit differently about something
rency when he traveled to Asia, which paper currency notes has been ris- speaking, because the loss of that rev- to which most of us give no thought
“stunned Europeans as some form of ing steadily for more than two de- enue is “likely cancelled out by indirect whatsoever.
cades.” As of the end of 2015, there benefits due to higher tax revenues
was “$4,200 floating around for from the underground economy, not THE CURSE OF CASH
every man, woman, and child in to mention all the ancillary benefits in BY KENNETH S. ROGOFF
the United States.” The vast bulk of terms of crime reduction.” Princeton. 283 pp. $29.95.
that was in $100 bills. Review by Bethany McLean,
That said, in Rogoff’s view, all of this
Here’s another strange thing is something of a sideshow. The real The Washington Post
about cash: No one knows where all of reason to end the era of cash is that it
it is. Rogoff cites estimates that some would enable central banks to cut inter-
60 percent of U.S. dollars are held est rates all the way into negative ter-
abroad. Another way of thinking about ritory, as some, such as the European
it is that on a global basis, at least half Central Bank and the Bank of Japan,
of the outstanding cash is in the under- are already trying to do. The existence
ground economy. “Cash plays a star- of cash makes it difficult to take rates
ring role in a broad range of criminal far into negative territory because, of
activities including drug trafficking, course, savers would hoard cash rath-
racketeering, extortion, corruption of er than accept a negative rate. Rogoff
public officials, human trafficking, and, writes that “paving the way for unfet-
of course, money laundering,” as Rog- tered and fully effective negative inter-
off writes. Not to mention terrorism. est rate policy ought to be thought of
(This is why Rogoff, only half-jokingly, as a major collateral benefit of phasing
argues that what central banks do by out paper currency,” because “it would
creating money can be thought of as certainly put countries in a much better
reverse money laundering: Sending position to deal with the next financial
clean money into the world that can crisis and it would be very helpful for
then be used for dirty purposes.) Cash freeing up monetary policy in ordinary
also enables tax evasion, which Rogoff recessions in a low interest rate world.”
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46 Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
INSIGHT ST. EDWARD’S
St Ed’s volleyball sees a spike in enthusiasm
BY RON HOLUB St Edwards’s Emily Hudson beats a Morningside began and noted that the results have
Lady Eagle at the net. PHOTOS BY DENISE RITCHIE been positive in terms of improved
Correspondent strength and jumping ability. The most
tiful both for and against. Statistics ford,” Parker told us. “She gets to al- experienced players have taken notice.
St. Ed’s varsity volleyball team have not always painted a clear picture. most every ball. Catherine Campione
closed last week with a 2-6 record, but and Maya Jenkins are power hitters “I started doing camps at St. Ed’s in
the final numbers logged in the school “We’ve had more kills, more hits, in the middle. Outside hitters Angela third grade and I’ve been on a school
yearbook are secondary at best. After more passes and more digs than the Schwerer and Sophia Oriaku (both se- team since sixth grade,” senior Emily
this high school sport ends for five se- other teams in some of our losses. But niors) can really crush the ball. Hudson said. “I was on the JV team in
niors, the friendships and memories we’ve also had a few more errors. What eighth grade and this is my third year
will endure. we have to do is limit those errors and “Sophia is new to the team and An- on the varsity.
continue to play aggressively. gela has been playing longer. They
That is the underpinning of St. Ed’s both swing hard and play aggressively. “It has usually been only two or three
athletic philosophy. There will likely be “The strength of any team is mea- Those are the things we really look for. of us playing in my grade, but this year
no deep run through the postseason sured by efficient passing, and you al- And don’t forget that Emily Hudson is a we were able to get two more seniors
for the girls on this team. Nevertheless, ways have to be proficient on defense. great setter.” (Sophia Oriaku and Caitlin Carrick).
first-year head coach Sid Parker and his But you also have to put the ball away I like this team a lot. We’ve just been
11 volleyball players are pouring heart when the time comes.” Parker is a physical trainer by trade. having a good time. We are all really
and soul into every competitive match. He offered his players some intensive good friends.
The pieces are in place. “We’ve got physical training before the season
“I started coaching about three years an outstanding libero in Victoria Brad- “Our coach has taught us a lot of new
ago because my daughter’s club team things. He has really been good for
needed a coach,” Parker explained. us. We have played against some very
“Then St. Ed’s needed a coach for this good teams and we are doing our best.
year and my name happened to pop We have been steadily improving. We
up because I was already coaching a are a lot more confident and playing
couple of girls from the middle school. much better since the summer.
They asked me if I was willing to take
the varsity position.” “I’m excited for the rest of the volley-
ball season. We’ll see what happens.”
Thus the parade of coaches contin-
ued for this program, but that mattered Victoria Bradford and Hudson are
very little. Everyone knew what needed senior classmates and have been team-
to be done. mates on the varsity for three years.
“I see lots of talent,” Parker said after “I’ve been playing volleyball on a
the team started 0-3. “We’ve just got to school team since fifth grade and on a
get it all together and make sure it all club team since seventh grade,” Brad-
shows up on the court at the same time. ford said. “I specialize in the back row.
We try to teach the game of volleyball The hard balls in the back come to me
from beginning to end. We emphasize and that means there is a lot of run-
hitting, passing, setting, blocking and ning. It’s difficult, but when you get a
understanding their roles on offense great hit back up in the air, you know
and defense. the team really appreciates you. It’s
just awesome, I love being the libero.
“Every player has a skill set and we
try to play within their strengths. Prac- “This team has a special bond and
tices are structured to be as game-like closeness like no other team that I’ve
as possible so we can function better been on. We don’t just hang out when
during real-game situations. The kids we play volleyball. We hang out in
seem to be responding really well.” school, outside of school, and we know
each other like the back of our hands.
The Pirates recovered temporarily
with consecutive wins before dropping “We have some great seniors and
three more. Close sets have been plen- strong leadership. I see good things
happening if we just dig in.”
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 47
INSIGHT ON FAITH
We all should honor one another as God’s children
BY REV. DRS. CASEY AND BOB BAGGOTT
Columnists
Do you remember Billy Carter, Presi- left the reviewing stand to walk down later, the contrast between the two uses in its assessments of value.
dent Jimmy Carter’s brother? In Jimmy Pennsylvania Avenue to the White sons was very clear to everyone and We dare to hope that God loves like
Carter’s book, “An Hour Before Day- House, a reporter approached Miss Lil- made great news copy everywhere.
light,” Carter says that when his cam- lian and asked: “Miss Lillian, aren’t you Jimmy was bright, focused, proper, an that. We cling to the belief that there
paign for president began in 1976, Billy proud of your son?” She tartly replied, Annapolis graduate, nuclear subma- is such an amazing grace in the great
seemed to enjoy entering the spotlight “Which one?” rine officer, successful farmer, gover- heart of God that it overlooks those
as a somewhat shocking character nor, and now president of the United marks of distinction the world is all too
whose deliberately outrageous state- Sometime later, when Billy’s new States. Brother Billy, on the other quick to see.
ments were frequently quoted as seri- beer business had planned its ribbon- hand, was hard drinking, irreverent,
ous comments. Once during the cam- cutting ceremony, Lillian was asked if seemingly unfocused, not-so-proper Of course, if we were to love as God
paign when a reporter remarked that she intended to attend. She quickly re- and rather eccentric. loved, the world might look different
Billy was a little odd, he replied that sponded, “I attended Jimmy’s inaugura- to us. There would be no young or old,
his mama, Miss Lillian, had been a tion didn’t I?” But those sorts of distinctions, which no rich or poor, no male or female,
70-year-old Peace Corps volunteer in the world is quick to note, and which we would simply honor one another
India, one of his sisters went around Isn’t there something marvelous are frequently accompanied by some- equally as God’s children. We would
the world as a holy-roller preacher, and about Miss Lillian’s almost fierce defense times harsh judgments of worth, have love indiscriminately without credit-
his brother thought he was going to be of all her children? She refused to admit no meaning at all to a mother who cares ing the external distinguishing char-
president of the United States. “Which to any distinctions between her sons for each son equally and deeply, and acteristics that currently divide us.
one of our family do you think is nor- that would elevate one’s significance to whose hearts beats with love for both. We could be asked if we were proud of
mal?” he quipped. her. She loved them both – equally. Her love does not take into account any someone supposed to be nearest and
of the criteria and categories the world dearest to us, and reply with perfect
Of course, despite having a some- Of course, as John Buchanan not- sincerity, “Which one?”
what unconventional family, Jimmy ed, when he commented on this years
Carter won the presidency in that elec-
tion cycle, and he later enjoyed shar-
ing a story about his inauguration day.
It seems that as the formal inaugural
ceremony concluded and his family
48 Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
INSIGHT PETS
Bonz has blast with Bella & Max, a coupla cuties
Hi Dog Buddies! up heaps of sand, sorta like beds, and knows us Cotons have a
plopped down. I did the same thing,
Wait’ll you hear about my interview then got ready to write. “Can’t wait to her water heritage. We’re no
this week. I had the BEST time! I got to your story,” I said.
play on the BEACH! I was working, but fluff-muffin pooches. WE
it didn’t feel like it. Me and my assistant “It’s kinda sad at first,” said Bella.
met Bella and Max Buckley at their house “Mom got me and my sister, Cleo (for are sturdy and fearless. One
and, when we got there, they already had Cleopatra), when we were puppies. We
their leashes on. were her first dogs ever. I’m 9 now. One story says our ancestors
day Cleo escaped and ran onto the
They’re Coton de Tulears. Bella is dark road and got hit by a car and went to were on a ship that sunk
and light gray, and Max is all white. They Dog Heaven.”
were both wearing short summer hair- off the coast of a big island,
cuts on accounta their hair can get down “Oh, woof!” I sympathized.
to the ground almost. Which isn’t all that “It was awful. I wanted Mom to hold MadaGAScar, and they
far, but still… me for days. She knew I was sad and
lonely, so she took me up to Jackson- hadda swim to shore and
“Good afterNOON, Mr. Bonzo. I am ville to meet some Puppy Prospects.
Bella, I’m the Spokespooch. My full Max came up to us Right Away. And ended up being the Royal
name is Isabella, like the Queen. (But he’s been my Wonderful, Annoying Lit-
you don’t have to call me Your Majesty.) tle Brother ever since. He’s 8 now. Our Dogs of MadaGAScar. So,
This is my little brother, Max, short for human sister Erin calls him Jailbreak
Maximilian. And our Mom, Scanlan, cuz he use’ta sneak out. of COURSE we’re fabulous
and our father, Tom, we call him Deeds. “When Mom owned Chelsea’s res-
taurant, we dined on filet, poached in the water.”
Their Mom began singing a little salmon, grilled chicken, ribs. It was
song, “Who wants to go for a walk with WONDERful. I guess we were a teeny “I had no IDEA,” I said,
me?” and Bella and Max began wiggling bit spoiled. But she sold it and NOW
and jumping. we’re reduced to canned dogfood. But,” wishing I had Googled.
(she sighed) “we manage.”
“Mom’s song always means we’re go- I inconspicuously wiped some drool “That’s OK. Lotsa hu-
ing for a WALK, which we totally love! So from my mouth and tried not to think
we thought it’d be lovely if we conducted about poached salmon. Changing the mans don’t know that,
our interview on the beach. It’s our favor- subject, I asked, “What are your sleeping
ite place in the world. We have an um- arrangements?” ‘specially because we’re
brella for shade and chairs for Mom and “We sleep with Mom and Deeds, of
your Assistant. So, come ON!” course. I used to sleep on Deeds’ head, so fluffy and delicate
which I liked cuz his hair’s the same
And off we went. Their Mom had color as mine. I thought it was comfy, looking.”
Max’s leash, but Bella ran ahead, drag- but he kinda didn’t. Now I sleep on the
ging hers. Suddenly there were a lotta other side by Mom and Max is down at Suddenly she took
barks coming from a house across the the end.”
street. Max and Bella barked back. Their Mom walked them down to the off, red leash flying. She
“That’s our friend Costa, she’s a Golden water. They weren’t scared at all, even
Retriever!” said Bella. though the waves were taller than them. sniffed around in the
I was impressed. When they shook off
The wood boardwalk to the beach was and trotted back up, I said, “Woof! You sand, then started furi- Max and Bella. PHOTO BY DENISE RITCHIE
shaded by the biggest sea grape trees I’ve pooches really love the water!” ously digging. I mean
EVER seen. Really pretty. “Duh!” said Bella. “EVERYbody
FURIOUSLY! Sand was
After Bella and Max checked out the
water and the teeny sandpipers, we set- flying and pretty soon her head disap- have. We play cat-and-mouse and sneak
tled in under the umbrella. They piled
peared into the hole ’til you couldn’t even up on each other and pounce, but we
see it. When she came up for air, her face never fight, and we always share.”
was covered with sand. Heading home, I was thinking about
“Almost had ‘em,” she said. what my chances were my Grandma
Max said, “Crabs! She loves to hunt (she’s sorta a foodie) would whip up
crabs. Usually catches ‘em, too, and some poached salmon for me. Can’t
flings ‘em up in the air. I think they’ve got hurt to ask, right?
it figured out, cuz they dig deeper now.”
Bella trotted back to the umbrella, her Till next time,
nose still covered with sand. “Humph! I’ll The Bonz
get ‘em later!” She turned to me. “I chase
crabs, lizards and bugs, like any normal
dog. But goofy Max loves to chew pa- Don’t Be Shy
per. Deeds says Max is the only dog he
knows who grabs a napkin off the table We are always looking for pets
and leaves the steak. He’s a silly whipper- with interesting stories.
snapper, always got his nose in some-
thing. I have to accompany him to the To set up an interview, email
vet and day care so he stays calm. But [email protected].
he’s the best little brother a girl could
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 49
INSIGHT GAMES BRIDGE
THE OPENING LEAD HELPED DECLARER WEST NORTH EAST
865 A K 10 9 4 72
By Phillip Alder - Bridge Columnist QJ32 95 874
10 9 8 AK6 Q7432
Michael Morpurgo, the author of “War Horse,” said, “Don’t worry about writing a book Q 10 9 J87 K42
or getting famous or making money. Just lead an interesting life.”
SOUTH
At the bridge table, one tries to find successful opening leads, but it is impossible to QJ3
do it on every deal. In this example from Steve Conrad of Manhasset, New York, West A K 10 6
found the worst possible start. True, if declarer could see all 52 cards, West did not J5
have a winning lead. But if he had selected a card from any suit but hearts, surely the A653
contract would have failed.
Dealer: South; Vulnerable: Both
How did South get home in six spades after West led the heart queen? What do you
think of the bidding? The Bidding:
In the auction, North did a double-cross, giving his partner the choice of playing in SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST OPENING
three no-trump or at least five spades. North should have rebid four no-trump, which 1NT Pass 2 Hearts Pass
ought to be quantitative, not ace-asking. (To use Blackwood, North starts with a Texas 2 Spades Pass 3NT Pass LEAD:
transfer at the four-level, responding four hearts, then bids four no-trump.) Here, 4 Spades Pass 4NT Pass Queen Hearts
though, South would probably have rebid five spades. 5 Spades Pass 6 Spades All Pass
In the given auction, four no-trump was Roman Key Card Blackwood, South’s reply
indicating two aces and the spade queen.
South realized that he needed to take these 12 tricks: five spades, three hearts, two
diamonds, one club, and a diamond ruff in the short-trump hand. He won the first trick,
cashed his spade queen, played off dummy’s top diamonds, ruffed the diamond six
high in his hand, drew trumps, ran the heart nine to West’s jack, and claimed..
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50 Vero Beach 32963 / September 29, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
INSIGHT GAMES & CO.
SOLUTIONS TO PREVIOUS ISSUE (SEPTEMBER 22) ON PAGE 62
ACROSS DOWN
5 Student (7) 1 Brogue, for example (4)
6 Frozen water (3) 2 Shine (7)
8 Large grotto (4) 3 Wide (5)
9 Ignoble, shocking (8) 4 Resemblance (8)
10 Glass for whisky (7) 5 Height (7)
12 Logic (5) 7 A flightless bird (3)
15 Combine (5) 11 French loaf (8)
16 Type of root veg (7) 13 Axis (7)
18 Demote (8) 14 Small dish (7)
20 Edge (4) 17 Keen (5)
21 Relevant (3) 19 Age (3)
22 Incident (7) 20 Unhurried (4)
The Telegraph
How to do Sudoku:
Fill in the grid so the
numbers one through
nine appear just once
in every column, row
and three-by-three
square.
The Telegraph
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