VB32963_ISSUE45_111016_OPT

Vero vs. Sebastian football:
A Rockwellian night. P8
Shores Town Council
has two newcomers. P6

School District officials deny
privatizing janitorial services. P7

Charter High video School District
finalist in $100K backs down on
national contest health insurance

BY MICHELLE GENZ BY KATHLEEN SLOAN
Staff Writer Staff Writer

It would be hard to imagine Kirby Harwell watching as President Obama disembarks from the presidential helicopter, Marine One. Facing a $7 million health
the culturally sophisticated fund deficit and skyrocket-
students at Indian River Char- MY Marine One pilot starts new career inVero ing insurance premiums, the
ter High didn’t get some good VERO Indian River County School
laughs out of John Oliver’s District this fall dropped 300
recent bit on charter schools BY RAY MCNULTY it won’t compare to his pre- in combat missions in Iraq employees from its program.
gone bad on his HBO show Staff Writer vious job – flying Marine and Afghanistan, where his
“Last Week Tonight.” One, the presidential heli- attack helicopter was often But last week, after Vero
No matter how success- copter often seen taking off fired on by al-Qaeda and Beach 32963 reported that art
If they did, it didn’t stop ful Kirby Harwell becomes and landing on the South Taliban fighters, Harwell teacher Lis Bech, who is un-
them from rising to the chal- in his new career as a finan- Lawn of the White House. qualified in 2012 to become dergoing chemotherapy for
lenge when a school choice cial advisor in Vero Beach, stage-four ovarian cancer, was
group offered a $100,000 prize After flying Super Cobras CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 cancelled without warning be-
to the best rebuttal to Oliver’s cause she filled out an online
diss. form incorrectly, the School
District decided to allow 100-
Last week, Charter found plus employees dropped for
out its three-minute video form errors to re-enroll.
placed in the top 10 of 250
entries nationwide and ex- Bech had not completed
pects to find out by the end of the spouse survey at the be-
this week whether it won the ginning of the online appli-
Center for Education Reform’s cation because her husband
“Hey John Oliver! Back Off My had never been covered on

CONTINUED ON PAGE 9 CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

Hospital District Vero Council recaptured by majority favoring electric sale
split over IRMC
Lange Sykes PHOTOS BY DENISE RITCHIE BY LISA ZAHNER in forming a new 3-to-2 pro- Laura Moss
BY MEG LAUGHLIN Staff Writer sale majority.
Staff Writer
A well-financed effort that Sykes and Moss, who al-
Both critics and supporters backed a slate of Vero Beach ready have said they would
of the leadership of tax-sup- City Council candidates com- join with Howle in voting to
ported Indian River Medical mitted to the sale or partial accept a Florida Power & Light
Center won races to become sale of Vero electric scored a $30 million offer to purchase
trustees of the Indian River stunning victory Tuesday as Vero electric’s customers in In-
County Hospital District Tues- voters elected Laura Moss and dian River Shores, will not ac-
day, leaving the two entities Lange Sykes to join holdover tually be seated until Nov. 21.
councilmember Harry Howle
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Retired Army Col. Tony

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

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2 Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Hospital District pital leadership. Since the two hold- peatedly questioned hospital trans- “He was such a strong and con-
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 over District trustees also generally parency and financial management, cerned voice for the taxpayers,” said
back the hospital, IRMC’s strong sup- and his opponent Deigl, a former Hos- Weiss. “It’ll make it harder to bring
still at odds over whether or how the porters continue to be in the majority, pital District administrator and sup- about change with his losing. We need
hospital could do a better job of man- porter of IRMC leadership. more open and honest discussions
aging its finances. That means when issues having to with the hospital, and Zudans was a
do with hospital operations and fi- Deigl defeated Zudans, the most great supporter of that, as am I.”
Three of the five candidates who nances come up, the Hospital District, outspoken of trustees pushing for
won seats Tuesday – Omar Hussamy, which directs millions of property tax change at the hospital, by a surpris- Weiss said he hoped, however, that
Barbara Bodnar and incumbent Mi- dollars for indigent healthcare – most ingly large margin. “my victory along with two other vic-
chael Weiss – want more transparency of it going to the hospital – is likely to tories make it clear to hospital lead-
and better financial management of split four to three in favor of IRMC re- “I hope my opponent has success as ership that many in the community
Indian River Medical Center. quests rather than challenging hospi- a new Hospital District trustee,” said want greater accountability and trans-
tal leadership. Zudans. “I wish her the best of luck.” parency on their part.”
But the other two winners – incum-
bent Ann Marie McCrystal and Karen The highest-profile contest in this But Weiss, an incumbent who de- The two victories to which Weiss re-
Deigl – are staunch supporters of hos- year’s election was the battle between feated Tony Woodruff, the former chair- ferred went to well-known orthopedic
incumbent Val Zudans, who has re- man of the hospital foundation board, surgeon Dr. Omar Hussamy and his
expressed dismay over Zudans‘ defeat. employee Barbara Bodnar, who both
won seats by wide margins despite do-
ing very little campaigning.

Hussamy, who in the past has ques-
tioned how the medical center is run,
defeated Bob Savage, a retired West
Virginia hospital executive.

Bodnar, who beat incumbent Gene
Feinour by a margin that surprised
many, recently told the county taxpayers
association she would like to see Indian
River Medical Center become a strong
and efficient community hospital, rather
than one that focuses on specialties.

Incumbent Ann Marie McCrystal
won by a large margin over opponents
Joe Saul and Brittany Miller, most like-
ly because of her reputation as found-
er of the Visiting Nurse Association
and her decades of volunteer service.

“But you never know how the vote is
going to go,” she said. “So I’m very grate-
ful to the voters for keeping me as a trust-
ee. It’s time for the seven of us as District
Trustees to put the election behind us
and sit down to address the many issues
before us that have to do with making
this a more healthy community.” 

VERO BEACH
CITY COUNCIL
VOTE TOTALS

Laura Moss
3,562 – 18.96%

Tony Young
3,406 – 18.13%

Lange Sykes
3,289 – 17.50%

Randy Old
3,241 – 17.25%
Sharon Gorry
2,840 – 15.12%
Norman Wells
2,451 – 13.04%

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 3

NEWS

Vero Beach City Council "Emotions have run pretty high. A number of Shores residents joined set the rates is to support the candidates
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The residents of Vero Beach want this FPL in making large contributions to they believe in," Sykes said.
thing resolved one way or another. A a political action committee, Clean
Young, who had declared he was little more aggressive approach taken Sweep for a Brighter Tomorrow, that The barrier island realtor, artist and
against selling off the Shores custom- by the City Council and who knows waged a high-powered campaign for environmental activist said he very
ers at any price less than $47 million, what could be accomplished?" Bare- Moss, Sykes and Normal Wells, who much looks forward to getting to work
won the third seat up for grabs and will foot said. finished last. not only on the electric issue but also on
presumably replace Mayor Jay Kram- the Indian River Lagoon and on stop-
er's anti-sale vote on the council. Sykes said he wanted to thank ev- "Too often people forget that the [elec- ping the All Aboard Florida project.
eryone who helped him, including the tric] customers outside the city don't get
But the election – assuming the re- Shores residents who supported his a voice and the only way they can affect One of the first tasks for the new Coun-
sult stands – puts pro-sale forces in candidacy. the city elections and the people who cil will be to elect a mayor to lead them
the Council majority for the first time through the coming year's challenges. 
since 2013, when a “Keep Vero Vero”
movement opposed to giving up the Exclusively John’s Island
millions of dollars harvested by the
electric utility each year from out-of- This spectacular, private 4BR/6.5BA oceanfront retreat enjoys soothing tropical
city customers gained the upper hand breezes and commands endless ocean and sunset views. A lushly landscaped
on the Council. courtyard pool and Jacuzzi greet you upon entering. Enviable features include
a double-height living room with gas fireplace, three levels of indoor/outdoor
The only incumbent on the ballot, living, 9,761± GSF, Venetian plaster walls, limestone floors and custom finishes.
Randy Old, who led the slate pledg- An impressive cabana guest suite, elevator, generous recreation room, study,
ing to hold out for $47 million for Vero exercise room and private beach access add to the allure of this estate.
electric’s Shores customers, finished a 640 Ocean Road : $8,200,000
surprise fourth, 48 votes behind Sykes,
who came in third. three championship golf courses : 17 har-tru courts : beach club : squash
health & fitness center : pickleball : croquet : vertical equity membership
Supervisor of Elections Leslie Swann
said late Tuesday there were 211 pro- 772.231.0900 : Vero Beach, FL : JohnsIslandRealEstate.com
visional ballots countywide left to be
reviewed for validity, but it was not
known how many of them came from
city’s five precincts.

Those ballots were to be reviewed
and possibly counted on Thursday,
and if the margin separating Sykes and
Old was less than half of one percent,
that would trigger an automatic ma-
chine recount unless Old voluntarily
agreed to forego the recount process.

If a recount was needed, it would be
noticed and scheduled for a future date.

While the likelihood of a sale of Vero
electric in its entirety – the original
goal – remains dim, FPL is expected
to move quickly now to renew its of-
fer to purchase the Shores’ customers,
and the new Council seems likely to
quickly accept it.

The current Council rejected the
$30 million offer in August, and the of-
fer expired.

FPL Manager for External Affairs
Amy Brunjes, asked Tuesday night
about a possible purchase of the
Shores customers, said: "I think it's
really up to [the City Council]. If they
want to continue discussing it, then
we would be happy to talk to them."

Brunjes said FPL is still committed
to a solution that would provide lower
rates for all Vero Beach customers.

"At this time, we are not making a
new or revised offer, but are looking
forward to talking to the new Council
about potential options."

Indian River Shores mayor Brian
Barefoot, attending an election watch
party in John's Island, said he was
“quite pleased with the results of the
Vero Beach council election and look-
ing forward to working with the new
[Vero Beach] Council to see if we can
put all of the rancor behind us.

4 Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Pilar Turner’s farewell: The acrimony will continue

BY LISA ZAHNER fighting when we’re seeing such an Councilwoman Pilar Turner “The majority of this council has
Staff Writer economic disparity in the rates.” been unwilling to continue to fight to
Once in office, Kramer often worked look for ways to get this sale complet-
At her final meeting after serving six Tuner spared no scolding of the three behind the scenes against sale efforts. ed. They’ve accepted, ‘Oh well, there
years on the Vero Beach City Council, men to her right – Mayor Jay Kramer, Kramer has said he’s always been for are contracts.’ Contracts are renegoti-
ushered in as part of the 2010 push to Vice Mayor Randy Old, and Council lower rates, and would close the sale ated every day,” she said. “We need ac-
get Vero out of the electric business, member Dick Winger – for their lack today if there was a way to accomplish tion, not just lip service.”
Councilwoman Pilar Turner sharply of backbone and their failure to form a
addressed those who hope to make united front against the FMPA. NEWS ANALYSIS In the past year, Vero lost ground in
the Vero electric controversy go away its battle to make the FMPA account-
without solving the problem. Kramer was elected with Turner as that, but his actions have not matched able. Vice Mayor Old stepped down
part of Operation Clean Sweep, a cam- his words. Winger has straddled all as Vero’s representative on the FMPA
“Clearly my greatest regret in serving paign fueled by anger over soaring possible sides of the electric issue to Board of Directors, saying that it was
on the council has been the failure of electric rates and the then City Coun- serve his political needs. Old did not all too complicated for him and some
the city to respond to the demand to sell cil’s recalcitrant stance against even play a useful role on the electric sale. expert like City Manager Jim O’Connor
Vero electric,” said Turner, who served as considering a sale of the utility. should represent the city instead.
mayor and vice mayor during her tenure.
“Return to the policy of having an
Her six years spanned the initial $100 elected official on FMPA, as funda-
million offer by Florida Power & Light to mental as that,” Turner said. “Having
purchase the electric utility, to the con- served for three years and pushing
tract for sale, to the disintegration of the them to give us transparency and clar-
deal due to pushback from the Florida ity, this council voted to continue to
Municipal Power Agency (FMPA). support FMPA and their wishes.”

“Once again, this (Vero electric) is If the FMPA cannot be changed from
a failed business model. We’re sur- within by the 30-plus member cities
rounded by the lowest-cost producer being punished by high rates, possi-
(in the state). It’s going to continue to bly the organization’s stranglehold can
create acrimony in this community,” be loosened from the outside, by the
she said. “I don’t believe Indian River Florida Legislature, the body that cre-
Shores or the county are going to quit ated the FMPA.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 5

NEWS

Attempts at passing meaningful leg- Florida Municipal Electric Associa- bers who would also benefit from ly those who have toiled away at utili-
islation have met with the full force of tion’s MunicPAC, doled out campaign lower rates.” ties issues and fiscal reforms.
the FMPA’s power-broker lobbyists, cash to influence leaders.
including former House Speaker Dean Turner said it has been “an honor “Although I’m leaving public office,
Cannon, who have wheeled their way Despite those challenges, Turner and a privilege” to serve on the Vero I’m not leaving public service,” Turn-
into legislators’ offices and, with the said, “we need to continue to sup- Beach City Council, and she thanked er said. “Whenever anybody is ready
help of the FMPA’s political wing, the port legislative change. We need to the many committee members who to go up against FMPA and you need
look at engaging other FMPA mem- have volunteered their time, especial- some support and I’ll be there.” 

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6 Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Shores welcomes two newcomers to Town Council

BY LISA ZAHNER land, who will be term limited next mittees for Riomar Country Club. qualified for that post, and for chairing
Staff Writer time around. Peniston said the Vero electric issue, the Town’s Finance Committee, and over
the past year has brought a great deal of
It wasn’t exactly a close election – or Of the two newcomers, Peniston is efforts to block the All Aboard Florida finance industry knowledge and critical
even an election at all – but the Shores the lesser known in the local political rail project, and the continuing nego- thinking to both boards.
will have some new personalities on realm, though she’s made her mark tiations to make the town’s cell tower
the dais next week to tackle the old through leadership on several non- wishes come true were three main A retired principal and head of the
business. profit boards and projects. motivators for her to seek a seat on Vanguard Fixed Income Group, Au-
the council. “I believe in making sure waerter specialized in analyzing utility
With just three candidates qualify- Peniston and husband Eric, grandson our funds are prudently managed, and companies for inclusion in Vanguard’s
ing for three seats, Shores voters did of the founder of the Riomar Country I’m very supportive of making sure we mutual fund investments.
not have to vote for town officials Tues- Club, began coming to Vero Beach in spend our money wisely.”
day. By default, Mayor Brian Barefoot the late 1980s, dividing their time be- “I look forward to serving with both
will return for a second two-year term, tween homes in Florida, Connecticut Overall, Peniston said she’s happy Bob and Debbi,” Barefoot said on
joined by newcomers Debbi Peniston and New York City, where Debbi Penis- with the way the Town has been run. Monday. “They both, I think, will be
and Bob Auwaerter. ton worked for 29 years as a Division “I’ve been impressed with Mayor Bare- quite valuable,” he said.
Director for Citibank retail banking and foot, I think he has done a fine job, and
This is the first November Shores supervised hundreds of employees. I’m also impressed with the Town Hall “What Bob has done with the elec-
Town Council changing of the guard personnel,” she said. tric issue and the role that he has
since the term endings were changed Peniston retired from Citibank in played . . . has been as important or
from March to November. Vice Mayor 1997, bought property in Indian River An Ocean Colony resident, Auwaert- more important than many on the
Jerry Weick was term-limited after Shores in 2002 and became a fulltime er joins Ochsner in representing the council on this issue,” Barefoot said.
serving nearly eight years, and Coun- John’s Island resident in 2012. southernpart of the town. Barefoot,
cilman Tom Slater opted not to run for Haverland and Peniston all live in John’s “Debbi is very well-connected and
re-election, leaving two open seats for Her most widely known success Island, thus continuing the typical geo- had a big job in banking. She brings a
Auwaerter and Peniston. in Vero was establishing the Distin- graphic makeup of the council. different perspective and, as a woman,
guished Lecturer Series at Riverside makes us more representative of the
Returning to serve out two more Theatre with co-chair and former Auwaerter has been both visible and whole community,” Barefoot said .
years are Councilman Michael Och- Shores Councilwoman Frannie Atchi- outspoken as vice chairman of the Vero
sner, who is eligible to run again in son. She also serves on Riverside The- Beach Utilities Committee, representing Auwaerter, Peniston and Barefoot
2018, and Councilman Dick Haver- atre’s Board of Trustees and on the the Shores electric, water and sewer cus- will be sworn in at 9 a.m. Nov. 17, with
Strategic Planning and Finance com- tomers on that board. He was uniquely a regular Town Council meeting to fol-
low at 9:30 a.m. 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 7

NEWS

School officials deny de facto privatization of janitorial services

BY KATHLEEN SLOAN nel and students, are a better bet for pu- are middling and one-third are clean. The district began using Manpower,
Staff Writer pil safety than outside contractors. Claudia Jimenez and Dale Simchick an employment agency, about three
years ago to cover absent janitors be-
Most of the Indian River County School Shawn Frost was the only board accepted Fritz’s explanation that “it’s the cause the district couldn’t get in-house
Board accepted recent staff assurances member who maintained the Jessica work crew and the leadership of the work janitors to cover for each other, Fritz
that a de facto privatization of janitorial Lunsford Act – which requires subcon- crew” that are the problem, and that im- said. Later he conceded, “We may also
services is not taking place, but the jani- tractors who work around students proving “accountability” will clear up the call in subcontractors in times of need.”
torial union – and the School District’s to be fingerprinted and screened for problem so that good workers are no lon-
own numbers – suggest otherwise. some felonies – offered sufficient pro- ger blamed for what bad workers neglect. Records show the district went from
tection for students. spending nothing for outside janito-
While the janitorial staff for the Even though Morrison admitted rial services prior to 2014 to budget-
county’s schools totaled 294 five years Despite assurances from Rendell and the district is 38 janitors short of what ing $171,000 last year and the same
ago, according to Assistant Superin- other senior staff members that out- it should have – according to a bare- amount this year for “custodial substi-
tendent of Finance Carter Morrison, sourcing is not taking place, the num- bones Department of Education for- tutes” and “school clean teams.” But
only 101 janitors are currently em- ber of non-employee contract janitors is mula – Morrison, Fritz and Rendell the budget doesn’t match purchase
ployed by the school district. At the increasing and the number of in-house said understaffing and the size of the orders, which show a higher level of
same time, records show the district janitors is decreasing, with attendant area to be cleaned are not the problem, spending for outside janitors.
has upped the amount it pays for out- problems, according to janitors’ union because some large schools are clean.
side janitorial services from nothing in representative Maureen Weisberg. The discrepancy came to light when
2014 to nearly $300,000 per year. Searcy asked for an example, and the school board approved more than
After hearing from Weisberg, the Fritz said Vero Beach High School is $37 million in “recurring vendor” pur-
Despite those figures, Superinten- board organized a workshop where clean. That school, however, used 907 chase orders in July, including $200,000
dent Mark Rendell told the school Assistant Superintendent of Human hours of outside labor last year. Weis- for Manpower, exceeding the budget
board at a recent meeting the district Resources and Risk Management Wil- berg said the schools Fritz says are by $29,000. The district also paid mon-
“is not moving toward privatization.” liam Fritz and Assistant Superinten- clean use the most outside labor. ey to LF Staffing for cleaning services,
dent of Finance Carter Morrison spoke $99,000 so far this year.
Privatization should not be happen- for over an hour. Most board members As for the cuts in School District jani-
ing because the board rejected the idea appeared satisfied with what Fritz and torial staff, Morrison said the central of- Weisberg said EE&G, an “environ-
during July budget talks, mainly for se- Morrison had to say. fice didn’t make the cuts directly. Prin- mental services” company, is often on
curity reasons. The majority said regular cipals were told to cut their budgets 10 school campuses as well. Purchase or-
staff janitors, known by school person- Fritz said about one-third of the 22 percent, he said, and all 22 chose to cut
schools in the district are dirty, one-third their school’s janitorial staff. CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

8 Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

School janitorial services and the need for EE&G’s services, she now Stanley Steamer cleans once a year, But most demoralizing, said Weis-
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 said. she said, while janitors get blamed for berg, is the questioning of janitors’
the deteriorating appearance of carpets. skills and work ethic. “We’re forced to
ders show EE&G was hired for “micro- In addition, Earman reduced main- take classes on how to vacuum or clean
bial cleaning” of “black particulate” or tenance workers from four to one per Although Fritz and Morrison assured a bathroom when some of us have been
“assumed mold,” with the district pay- school, and now janitors clean gutters, board members the $40,000 spent on doing this for 20 years or more.”
ing nearly $117,000 last school year replace ceiling tiles and do other main- cleaning equipment and supplies is
and nearly $51,000 so far this year. tenance work, Weisberg said. Grounds- sufficient for janitors to do their jobs, Morrison told the board there is no
keepers were cut from six to one and Weisberg said they often buy their own way the district could privatize jani-
Physical Plant Director John Ear- janitors now pick up trash and clean up cleaning supplies and that new cleansers tors without them knowing it, because
man, for the last few years, has turned grass and foliage clippings and ready provided by the district are ineffective. the union contract requires the district
off school buildings’ air conditioning grounds for games. Painters were cut Head janitors used to be consulted about to give them a written notice of intent
over the summer and at day’s end, from six to two, pushing still more work which supplies to buy, but not anymore. to privatize by Jan. 1.
Weisberg said. Moisture condenses in on janitors.
the warm buildings and mold grows, “They bought vacuum cleaners that Fritz corrected Morrison. He said
increasing the janitors’ daily mopping An in-house carpet crew used to shut off every 15 minutes [to cool down]. the district does issue notice to the
clean carpets regularly until that staff Now it takes four vacuum cleaners to do union each year “that we have the
was let go and the equipment was sold; the auditorium,” Weisberg said. right to subcontract – it’s routine.” 

Vero vs. Sebastian football
produces Rockwellian night

BY RAY MCNULTY fund group gathered beyond the east
end zone – and hundreds of people
Staff Writer stood and watched from behind the
fence surrounding Billy Livings Field.
There's an old saying in sports: It's
not a rivalry until the other guy wins. As usual, the home stands were a sea
of red. The Sebastian River side was a
But the overflow crowd of 6,500 that river of blue. And most of the visiting
jammed the Citrus Bowl for Friday fans arrived early enough to welcome
night's intra-county, north-against- their team with a standing ovation.
south, red-versus-blue high school
football showdown between Vero "It changes everything, at least for
Beach and Sebastian River probably our program," said Sebastian River as-
would disagree. sistant principal Billy Wilson III, who
starred for Vero Beach's state semifi-
The coaches did – even after Vero nal team in 1980. "This is what we've
Beach defeated Sebastian River 28-6 been waiting for.
to win for the seventh time in seven
meetings since the game began count- "Look at that crowd," he added,
ing on both teams' records. pointing to the visitor's stands.

"I know the saying," Sebastian River "You're not just seeing phenomenal
coach Kevin Pettis said, "but I don't school spirit from the students. You're
think that's the case anymore." seeing the community support you
need to take your program to the next
Nor does Vero Beach coach Lenny level.
Jankowski, who pointed to the teams'
undefeated records entering their "It's been building for a couple of
must-see, regular-season finale and years, and a night like this can go a
the abundance of talent on the field. long way toward getting there."

"It felt like a rivalry to me," Jankows- For his part, Jankowski, who also
ki said after his Fighting Indians im- serves as Vero Beach's athletic director,
proved to 9-0 with their 33rd consec- seemed to welcome the neighborhood
utive regular-season victory, which challenge. In fact, he urged his players
capped the team's third straight per- before the game to enjoy the occasion.
fect regular season. "I'll bet the play-
ers think it's a rivalry. I know they were With the huge crowd, the contrast in
looking forward to playing this game." colors and the excitement in the sta-
dium, the "Friday Night Lights"-type
And, obviously, the fans of both setting was similar to those found in
teams were looking forward to being a Texas, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
part of what was, despite the lopsided
score, a Rockwellian night in Indian "What a great high school football en-
River County. vironment," Jankowski said. "The bands,
the cheerleaders, the fans . . . I don't
Think about it: How often do you know if it gets much better than this.
see more than 6,000 people in the
same place at the same time in our "The big winner tonight is the com-
community? munity," Wilson said. "You can't help
but feel good about being here."
The bleachers on both sides of the
stadium were filled to capacity – in- And here's something else to feel
cluding the extra seating brought in good about: Both teams won district
for visiting fans and the scholarship- championships and will play playoff
games at home Friday night. 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 9

NEWS

Charter contest One laugh line turned on a charter
school operator in Fort Lauderdale
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 who was jailed in July for allegedly
funneling $35,000 in school board
Charter” contest. money to his own bank account,
School officials learned of the news while students at his Ivy Academies
were shuttled around on “daily field
in a video conference call with repre- trips” because they had no permanent
sentatives of Center for Education Re- school buildings.
form, a pro-voucher, pro-charter and
pro-online learning think tank based Oliver then puts forth a low-budget
in Washington, D.C. that is supported field trip concept: returning a $12 belt
largely by conservative family founda- to Marshall’s.
tions.
Indian River Charter seized on that,
On the line last Friday were the and took a group shot in the parking
group’s founder and CEO, Jeanne Al- lot of the discount chain located just
len and Amy McGrath, vice-president down the street from the school.
of public affairs. They labeled Oliver’s
comedic position statement “unfortu- Finalists were required to provide
nate, unfair and generally unhinged.” additional material expressing “why
your kids, your families, your com-
While that last criticism would like- munities are better off at the charter
ly delight the former regular on Jon school than the neighborhood school
Stewart’s “The Daily Show,” Oliver did across town,” according to Allen.
not slam all charters in his segment
last August. On the contrary, he noted “Your stories are authentic,” Mc-
widespread, bipartisan support for the Grath told the contest’s finalists. “It’s
schools but delivered a cautionary tale the whole idea of showing the country
about school privatization. that Oliver was wrong.”

Oliver opens his segment with pro- “We want you to show how charters
charter sound bites from President are truly the most important public ed-
Obama, George W. Bush, Mitt Rom- ucation reform since civil rights,” said
ney and Bernie Sanders. He then goes Allen on the video conference call.
on to point out that in Florida alone,
119 charter schools have closed since A decision will come at the end of
2008, including 14 that didn’t make it this week. Allen said foundation rep-
through their first year. resentatives would present the prize
in person – and urged schools to invite
Oliver as well. 

Health insurance cancellations no longer covered only when she went
in for a chemotherapy treatment and
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 was told her insurance had lapsed.

her policy, and she was in the midst of Shocked and scared, Bech called
a divorce. That’s why her application the district’s benefits department, but
was rejected. no one would take her call. She was
allowed to email, however, and got a
Now it turns out hers was not an iso- response. “They told me in an email
lated case. Teachers union President that I was no longer on the district in-
Liz Cannon said the School District last surance, and it was my fault because
week sent out 111 emails to employees I filled out the form incorrectly," Bech
who failed to fill out the spouse survey, said.
telling them they were out of the pro-
gram but could re-enroll by Nov. 10. “I felt like a beggar. I had to sign all
these forms [at the doctor’s office] so
This came after the teachers union they could apply for funds to pay for
researched the Affordable Care Act my treatment. I felt horrible about it.
and notified the district of two infrac- I’ve always paid my bills. I think it was
tions in its treatment of people kicked very unfair to be treated so horribly by
out of the health insurance program. the district.

First, the district violated ACA rules “I think they thought they would
by dropping Bech and others for filling get away with it. It’s poor manage-
out the online form wrong. The only ment of the health fund and the buck
allowable reasons for canceling cov- stops with [Assistant Superintendent
erage are non-payment of premiums, William] Fritz. He’s supposed to know
fraud or deliberately giving false infor- how to run the fund. That’s why he got
mation, and even then 30-days’ notice the job,” Bech said.
is required.
Lis Bech has since filled out the
Second, the district, which is self- spouse survey form and her health in-
insured, is required to put an inter- surance has been reinstated, and the
nal and external appeals process in district is now allowing the 100-plus
place, and notify those who have been other employees dropped for form er-
dropped of their appeals options. The rors to re-enroll.
district did not inform Bech she had
been dropped, nor that she could ap- Fritz, however, told Cannon the
peal that action. She learned she was union’s legal research had nothing to
do with the re-enrollment decision. 

10 Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

My Vero NEWS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Kirby Harwell PHOTO BY DENISE RITCHIE came the first U.S. president to visit
Hiroshima.
one of the elite pilots in HMX-1 – the Not only has Harwell met Presi-
prestigious Marine Helicopter Squad- dent Barack Obama – “Every time he  Flew to the Treasure Coast to play
ron One. comes aboard, he shakes our hand, golf at the Floridian in Palm City in
says hello and asks how we’re doing,” 2013.
“It’s the best job in the Marine Corps he said – he was the Marine One pilot
for a helicopter pilot,” said the 37-year- when Obama visited the prehistoric “We operate mostly in and around
old Harwell, who left active duty Sept. Stonehenge monument in England Washington, D.C., but we’ll travel any-
30 and moved to Vero Beach, where he after a NATO summit in Wales in Sep- where in the world that the president
now lives in Castaway Cove, plays golf tember 2014. goes,” Harwell said. “Everywhere he
at Quail Valley and has joined Mike goes, we’re there with a helicopter.”
Williams’ Raymond James Financial Harwell also was on site when
Services office in Pelican Plaza. Obama: The helicopters are loaded into the
back of an Air Force transport plane
“Really, it’s the best job I’ve ever had,  Visited South Africa in 2013 in and flown to the president’s destina-
or will ever have,” he added. “It was the hopes of what would’ve been an his- tion, “so we’re there when the presi-
pinnacle of my Marine aviation career. toric meeting with Nelson Mandela, dent shows up,” he said.
I loved flying Cobras, but flying the only to abandon his attempts be-
president’s helicopter was the coolest cause Mandela was hospitalized and During his active-duty stint with the
job I could ever imagine doing.” fighting for his life. squadron, Harwell also was involved
in transporting Vice President Joe
In fact, he’s still doing it as a member  Jetted to Japan in May and be- Biden, the Obama and Biden families,
of the Marine Corps Reserve, which cabinet members and foreign digni-
requires him to fly to Quantico, Va., taries, including Pope Francis.
where HMX-1 is based, to serve one
three-day weekend each month. The squadron uses two models Har-
well described as “presidential but not
As a reservist, Harwell can continue royal.” The iconic, VH-3D “Sea King”
serving in the presidential squadron, is an updated and upgraded version
which, for those on active duty, has a of the helicopters that have carried
four-year term limit. He gets paid for American presidents since John Ken-
his time, which counts toward his pen- nedy. There’s also the smaller, VH-60N
sion, and keeps his military health- “Whitehawk.”
care benefits.
Those aircraft are far different from
And he still gets to fly Marine One. the AH-1W Super Cobra attack heli-
copters Harwell flew in combat in Iraq
in 2007-08, in Iraq and Afghanistan in
2009, and in Afghanistan in 2011-12.

During each of those seven-month
deployments, Harwell’s two-a-day
missions provided air support for Ma-
rines on the ground – escorting con-
voys, supplying overhead surveillance
and, when necessary, firing on enemy
targets. Sometimes, the enemy would
shoot back.

“It gets your attention pretty quick
when you know they’re shooting at
you,” Harwell said. “We tried to miti-
gate the threats with where and how
we flew the helicopters. We weren’t
predictable.”

Harwell said pilots would change
altitude depending on the threats,
which included AK-47 assault rifles,
rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) or
shoulder-fired, heat-seeking missiles.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 11

NEWS

“There were some successful shoot- was among several Marines in his family. Corps recruiter and, after performing ters, but I joined the Marines because
downs, so, for sure, it was always a Not until he graduated from college well on a written test, was guaranteed they’re the tip of the spear,” he said.
concern,” he said. “But if you’re getting an aviation contract. “If I was going to be a Marine pilot, I
shot at, you’re most likely in an en- in 2002, in fact, did he give military wanted to go support Marines in com-
gagement with bad guys who are also service any serious thought. Soon after that, he was on his way to bat. That’s why I chose Cobras.”
shooting at Marines on the ground, the Marine Corps’ Officer Candidate
and those Marines are getting shot at “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do,” School in Quantico, where he under- Six years and four deployments
from very close range. We’re going to Harwell said, “but I knew the entry- went 13 weeks of basic training before later, after rising in rank and proving
stay and help those Marines get out of level, business-job options available being commissioned a second lieu- himself to be one of America’s best
a tough situation.” to me didn’t get me going.” tenant in 2003. Less than a year later, attack helicopter pilots, Harwell ap-
after taking a required infantry course, plied for assignment to the HMX-1
Besides, Harwell said, Super Cobras What got him going was flying – he went to the U.S. Naval Aviation squadron.
are built for battle, armed with plenty something he did with friends who School in Pensacola.
of firepower and piloted by hard-core had pilot’s licenses – so he broached Armed with an impressive resume
Marines trained to use it. the subject with his uncle, a former Harwell earned his wings in 2006 and getting help from squadron mem-
Marine jet pilot. His uncle explained and immediately opted to fly Cobras, bers who lobbied on his behalf, Har-
“The bad guys we were facing didn’t that private flight schools were expen- which he did for the next six years. well was selected to join the best-of-
want to get shot, either,” he said. sive and suggested the military.
“They usually relied on sneak attacks “I could’ve flown transport helicop- CONTINUED ON PAGE 12
or ambushes. When they saw us, they Harwell talked to a local Marine
weren’t going to have it out, face to
face, in the middle of the street. They
knew we were going to win that game
pretty quick.”

Harwell still vividly remembers ev-
ery deployment, especially his first
one as a new lieutenant with limited
experience flying Cobras and, as he
put it, “a lot to learn.”

He recalled feeling “excited but ner-
vous” – excited about the opportunity
to do the job he was trained for, but
nervous about not knowing what was
going to happen when he got to Iraq.
Eventually, he adapted to the desert
climate, daily missions and drudgery
of a monotonous routine.

He also became hardened to the re-
alities of war.

“You just get used to it,” Harwell said.
“You say, ‘We got shot at today,’ or ‘A
Marine got killed today,’ or even ‘I killed
people today,’ and it’s just part of being
there. It’s always a big deal, but after a
while, it becomes the norm.”

Then the deployment ends.
The transition isn’t always easy, he
said, particularly making the adjust-
ment from a rigid daily schedule in a
high-stress, combat environment to
life at home with family and civilian
friends.
“I was able to make the adjust-
ment,” Harwell said, “but you need a
couple of weeks to decompress when
you first get home.”
Nearly five years have passed since
Harwell returned from his last deploy-
ment to Afghanistan, but he said he
still thinks about his time in Iraq and
Afghanistan every day. He’s proud of
his service and feels blessed to have
made it home without injury.
“There are things that happened
during those deployments I’ll never
forget – and don’t want to forget,” Har-
well said. “Those were important peri-
ods in my life.”
It’s a life that began in Franklin,
N.C., and took him to the University
of Georgia, where he earned a bach-
elor’s degree in business administra-
tion. He didn’t grow up wanting to be
a Marine, even though his stepfather

12 Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

My Vero “One of the coolest parts of the by “experienced military pilots who or work for a large corporation when
squadron is the amount of responsi- know how to handle them.” he left the Marine Corps. He was in-
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11 bility you get as a captain or a major terested in finance but lacked experi-
that doesn’t happen anywhere else HMX-1 pilots also coordinate the ence in that field. He also preferred to
the-best, 50-pilot unit. He then began in the Marine Corps,” Harwell said. logistics of every trip with the Secret live in a small town.
training to fly the presidential helicop- “You’re given a multimillion-dollar Service, White House staff and local
ters, which are noticeably different – national asset and 40 Marines and law-enforcement agencies. In ad- Harwell and his wife, Heidi, both
mechanically, structurally and in the all the equipment needed to take this dition, the job puts the squadron’s grew up in small towns and wanted
cockpit – from the Cobras he flew in helicopter anywhere in the world, pilots in contact with various other to raise their daughters – Kennedy,
combat. and you’re in charge.” government agencies and corpora- 3, and Elizabeth, 4 months – in the
tions that do business with them. same type of setting. So when he left
He started as an HMX-1 co-pilot Harwell, who has a top-secret na- active duty as a major six weeks ago,
and progressed step-by-step through tional security clearance, couldn’t Many of them, Harwell said, would they came to Vero Beach.
a long-established training regimen discuss specifics of the HMX-1 air- welcome the opportunity to hire a
before being approved by the White craft’s counter-terrorism options. Marine officer with his security clear- Harwell’s wife has family in Vero –
House to pilot the presidential heli- He said only that the helicopters are ance. her father, Bob Proechel, lives here
copters, including Marine One. “extremely capable” and are flown with his wife, local realtor Marta My-
Harwell, though, didn’t want to stay tych Proechel – and the Harwells al-
in the government defense industry ways enjoyed their visits to the area;
so much, in fact, that Harwell and
his wife bought a house in Castaway
Cove three years ago, anticipating his
eventual exit from active duty.

“We liked the area and the timing
was right to look at real estate, so we
bought it as an investment property
and had renters,” Harwell said. “We
knew it could be not only a great in-
vestment but, looking at the long
term, it was a place we could move
into when I got out of the Marine
Corps.

“Being married with two young
daughters, it was time for me to get
out, and now we’re living in that
house.”

As for a job, Harwell said he looked
first for a spot in the aerospace in-
dustry, but he didn’t want to com-
mute to West Palm Beach, Jupiter or
Melbourne. He also considered be-
coming a realtor. Then, one night at
the Quail Valley River Club’s tiki bar,
he was introduced to Williams, who
was looking to take on a junior part-
ner he could groom to take over his
Raymond James office.

After a couple of discussions, Har-
well had a job. He now spends his
days studying for the tests he needs
to pass to become a financial advisor.
He’s also completing his online work
toward a master’s degree from Mar-
shall University.

“He’s new to town, but he’s a ter-
rific young man who makes you
proud to be an American,” Williams
said. “The more people meet him
and hear his story, they’re going to
be impressed.”

Given his exemplary record as
a Marine, Harwell should have no
trouble gaining the trust of local in-
vestors.

“It’s fun to talk about what I’ve
done, and people like to hear about
it,” Harwell said. “And, sure, I’ve been
entrusted with national assets, flying
the president of the United States and
supporting Marines in combat in Iraq
and Afghanistan. But this is a new ca-
reer for me.

“I know I have to go out there and
prove myself every day.” 



14 Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

14

2 35

MCKEE CAPTIONS

1. Will Viitanen with Connie and Bob Wood.
2. Kay, Ginny and Bun Blossom. 3. Matt and Olivia
McManus. 4. Christine Hobart with Tom Tierney
and Lisa Kahle. 5. Sue Scully with Nancy and Don
Buebendorf. 6. Bob and Gail Malin, Jeff and Donna
Lockhart with Alma Lee Loy. 7. Nancy Grimes,
George Marshall, Karen Meyer and Sheila Marshall.

6 7 PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE

Garden party: ‘Gatekeepers’ help make McKee magical

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF Children’s Garden,” said Executive es and slides, Pirate Shipwreck, $250,000 to cover half the cost of the
Staff Writer Director Christine Hobart. Faery House and Forest. Pirate Shipwreck in the Grand Dis-
covery Tree.
Gatekeepers of the Garden, a This past summer Didier Design Each area is being designed to
group whose contributions to McK- Studio, a landscape architectural provide an environment where “I think it’s the most exciting thing
ee Botanical Garden enable the firm based in Colorado, worked children can develop and nurture a that’s happened to McKee since we
gates to the living community trea- closely with McKee staff and board powerful bond with nature through opened,” said Alma Lee Loy, one of
sure to remain open for all to enjoy, members to design an enchanted play and discovery. The idea is to McKee’s biggest proponents. “To
were feted last Wednesday evening world for the youngest among us. create a fun and whimsical outdoor think that we have the possibility to
at the annual Gatekeepers of the Although unable to attend, Emman- destination that will inspire their do something like this that will be
Garden Celebration to thank them uel Didier implored Gatekeepers for imagination and curiosity through for the generations to come.”
for their generosity and continued their support of the project through interaction, education and explora-
support. a letter that was read to them. tion. In the meantime, there are plenty
of exhibits and activities to enjoy,
Roughly 100 guests were treated “Less screen time, more inspired “I hope this has given you all a beginning with the newly opened
to an outdoor cocktail reception in outdoor physical activity and en- taste of what’s in store for our Chil- Nature Connects: Art with LEGO
the picturesque Spanish Kitchen gagement with nature will enable dren’s Garden when we open it in Bricks exhibition, featuring artist
and a unique dining experience in children to develop a deeper un- 2018 and the images will inspire you Sean Kenney’s 13 nature-inspired
the historic Hall of Giants, and were derstanding of the transformative to support our campaign to frui- sculptural masterpieces, as well as
also given a sneak peek at designs power of the natural world and to tion,” said Hobart, officially kick- a LEGO Brick Build Station, on dis-
for a new Children’s Garden sched- balance the virtual with the real,” ing off the Children’s Garden Cam- play through May 7, 2017. Future
uled to open in 2018. he wrote. paign. events include Holidays at McKee,
Nights of Lights, Motor Car Exhibi-
“We welcome this opportunity Project Manager Will Viitanen To complete the project, McKee tion, Fairy and Pirate Festival and
annually to thank our Gatekeepers walked guests through the design needs to raise $7.5 million, half of Waterlily Celebration. For details,
of the Garden for their continued process and explained plans for which is required before the spring visit McKeeGarden.org. 
support and are delighted to give each area of engagement, including 2017 groundbreaking. So strong is
them a preview of the plans for the a Lily Pad Water Walk, Karst Hide- their belief in the project, one do- MCKEE PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 16
out, Splash Fountain, canopy bridg- nor has already generously pledged



16 Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

MCKEE PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14 Bill and Alice Bahrenburg. Toni Robinson with Bill and Nancy Curtis.
Hap and Liz Schroeder with Susan S. Smith.

Ron and Sandra Rennick. 14

Bob and Becky Allen.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 17

PEOPLE

Robin and Barry MacTaggart. Logan Geeslin, John and Mary Kurtz and Nick Geeslin.

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18 Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Scholarship Foundation scores with Football Classic

BY MARY SCHENKEL mately benefit many of those in the
Staff Writer stands.

The Scholarship Foundation of “Football is a community event
Indian River County hit the trifecta in Vero and people are passionate
Friday night at its 11th annual Foot- about education. This year both
ball Classic – a perfectly gorgeous teams are undefeated. It will be a
night, a sold-out crowd of fans true rival game,” said SFIRC Ex-
cheering on well-matched teams ecutive Director Camilla Wainright
and a great cause that would ulti- of the matchup between the Vero
Beach High School and Sebastian

Joan Cook, Leslie and Tim Miller and Gaye Ludwig. Patricia and Mark Ashdown with Robin Williams.

John and Mary Ellen Replogle. Barbara Rice and Mary Rice Johnston.

River High School football teams that’s why everyone supports
at Vero’s Citrus Bowl. it. My dad used to do all the
uniforms for the football team
The Scholarship Founda- a long time ago; Rice Brothers
tion, founded in 1964 by the Laundry Cleaners.”
late Dan K. Richardson and She noted that their sold-out
members of the local Rotary golf tournament a few weeks ago
Club, has awarded $10.4 mil- at Grand Harbor did equally
lion in need-based scholar- well.
ships to 2,812 local students
over the years, including “It’s nice because so much is
$695,000 in scholarships underwritten by sponsors so
to 52 students this past we can put it all into scholar-
May. ships for the kids. And that’s
what it’s all about,” added Johnston.
Not only was it standing-room- “My mom was the drum major in
only in the stands, with the foun- ’46, ’47 and ’48,” said a red-clad Frank
dation receiving $2 per ticket, the Schlitt, another lifelong Vero resi-
VIP Pre-Game BBQ to benefit the dent, attending the BBQ with wife
foundation was also sold out, with Karen and mother Mary Schlitt. “At
supporters gathering under a tent half time we’re getting a picture of
located in the shadow of the east her with drum majors Colin Rhodes
end goal post. and Caitlyn Monaghan.”
Foundation President Joan Cook
After a finger-licking-good 14 took a diplomatic approach, wearing
Bones dinner of ribs, chicken and a dress with the blue and red colors
fixings, a few of the braver guests of both teams, saying with a smile,
lined up their chairs along the end “I’m Switzerland in this game. This
zone to immerse themselves in the should be so exciting.”
experience, enjoying the game, the Another who was looking forward
roar of the crowd and some of the to the experience was German-born
best entertainment in town from Kate Hoffman, who had read up on
two amazingly good bands. information about the teams and the
marching bands before attending.
Despite the DFS tent being of- “I’m at my first football game in my
ficially neutral territory, with the life,” she said. “I’m excited; it’s such a
event being held in Vero there was big thing in this town.”
a preponderance of VBHS enthusi- In the end Vero Beach emerged
asts. victorious, besting Sebastian by
a score of 28-6, with fans already
“I was born and raised here,” looking forward to the matchup
said Scholarship Foundation board again next year. 
member Mary Rice Johnston, wear-
ing a bright red dress in support
of the Vero team. “I think it’s just
a great community endeavor and

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 19

PEOPLE

Margaret McGrail and John Vidal. Dede Ashby and Brian Connelly. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE Eugene O’Neill and Marilyn Avila.

14

Ildiko Kovacs, Reida Lewis, Sandy and Bob Brackett, Andrea Livingston and Gary Phillips. Mary Schlitt and Frank Schlitt. Cheyenne, Blake Jr. Blake Sr. and Darlayna Campbell.





22 Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Philanthropy suits ladies of the Circle to a Tea

BY MARY SCHENKEL Maureen Baus, Cindy Binder, Nancy Edmiston, Lynne Ellison, Pat Chartrand. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE you,” said Gedeon, thanking the mem-
Staff Writer bers for their generous support of the
accomplishment,” said Edmiston. ing, “She really leaves the Museum in various outreach programs that have
The philanthropic ladies of the Cir- “Word of mouth is what keeps our wonderful shape going forward.” enabled the Museum to make ever
cle, an all-volunteer group who pro- circle expanding; that’s what it’s all greater impacts on the community. She
vide support to the Vero Beach Muse- about.” In appreciation, Edmiston present- added that she planned to continue her
um of Art’s Community Engagement ed Gedeon with a stunning floral ar- involvement even after retirement, by
Programs, enjoyed an afternoon tea Edmiston also commented on the rangement in an Orrefors crystal vase becoming a member of the Circle.
at the lovely Marsh Island Clubhouse upcoming retirement of Lucinda etched with the logo of the Circle.
to kick off its eighth season. Gedeon as CEO of the Museum, not- Robyn Orzel, VBMA director of
“It has been just a joy to work with development, echoed Gedeon’s ap-
Similar to other giving circles, preciation, adding, “Most important,
members annually contribute $250 your support has allowed us to deter-
or more to supplement the cost of mine how we can be more successful
the Museum’s outreach programs. and reach more people.”
Members volunteer to conduct site
visits and report their findings at Orzel related that Museum staff
informational meetings to narrow research what other museums and
down choices, with finalists chosen art institutions are doing in terms of
by members at a Cocktail Reception outreach, and try to think creatively
in the spring. about the types of programs they
could offer if they had the extra fund-
Nancy Edmiston, who is taking on ing. She gave a broad overview of the
double duty as chair of both the Cir- existing programs underway in the
cle and the Friends committee, spoke areas of Youth and Family Programs,
to the women about some of the mile- School and Community Impact Pro-
stones since its founding in 2009. grams, and Art for Health Sake that
they have had success with, and also
“With renewals this year, total spoke about some exciting new po-
funds raised just plowed through tential initiatives. 
$200,000. That’s a really impressive

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Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 23

PEOPLE

12 3
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KICK OFF TEA CAPTIONS

1. Robyn Orzel, Sue Sharpe, Diane Wilhelm, Julie Otto, Marilyn Bosland. 2. Susan Smith, Lucinda Gedeon, Suzanne Bertman and Susan
Hale. 3. Cathy Walker, Maya Peterson and Diane Hughes. 4. Margaret Goembel, Holly Lentini and Susan Von Hagen. 5. Laura Moss,
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24 Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Runners all ‘fired up’ for 5K in Margo’s memory

DONADIO CAPTIONS

1. Julian and Bill Jennings, Tony Donadio,

Lori Anne Schroeder, Maria Davis, Anna and

Briana Jennings. Tim Girard, Tony and Anthony

Donadio. 2. Tim Girard, Tony and Anthony

Donadio. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE

12

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF in Indian River County. Funds raised
Staff Writer last year provided 38 wellness exams
and 20 mammograms.
More than 100 runners and walk-
ers put their pink foot forward for “We are hoping we can reach more
the 5th annual Margo Donadio Me- people and prevent cancer through
morial – Fire Girls 5K Run/Walk at prevention, education and awareness.
South Beach Park early Saturday Women, make sure you get your exams
morning. on a regular basis. Don’t take anything
for granted,” said Donadio to race par-
Tony Donadio and his sons start- ticipants.
ed the run in wife Margo’s memory
with help from the Fire Girls, fire- “Margo Donadio touched many lives
fighter wives and members of Indian and helped those who had been diag-
River Fire Rescue, to fund the Pink- nosed with cancer,” said race chair Me-
4-Life Mammogram Assistance Pro- linda Johnson. “Her courage, strength
gram, which provides vouchers for and positive attitude to stay strong for
free mammograms to women living others while battling her fight was
amazing until the very end.” 

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Grand Re-opening Open House

November 20th, 2016 Noon - 4 PM - Join the Museum and experience
an afternoon of talks and presentations on life in the Real Cuba by the
photographers and noted art collectors. Free Admission and refreshments.

Cuba: It’s Not All
Black and White
November 20th – January 6

Photographs and sculpture from an
internationally acclaimed collection.
Pull back the iron curtain and catch a
glimpse of life in Cuba. These images,
some created at significant risk to the
artist, explore life in a country long
hidden from us. After struggling for
decades to freely express themselves,
these artists have jumped the borders

of their island nation and find
themselves on the international stage.

CALL THE MUSEUM TO JOIN OR
RENEW YOUR MEMBERS AND
ORDER TICKETS.

500 N. Indian River Drive,
Fort Pierce, FL 34950
772– 465-0630
BackusMuseum.com

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 25

PEOPLE

6 789

10

11

12
DONADIO CAPTIONS

6. Overall winner Joe Granberg. 7 Danielle
Babcock Sapienza, Lindsay Naffziger, Sherrie
Coleman and Cindy Goetz. 8. Cari, Darla
and Sheryl Braun. 9. John and Angela King.
10. Keith, Jack and Keith Filewich with Amy
Ference. 11. Jennifer and Gred Budde with
Robbie and Anthony Farruggio. 12. Kathy Duerr,
Isaac Duerr and Wanda Welch.

26 Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Plan Bee: Inaugural Taste of Honey was buzz-worthy

BY SAMANTHA ROHLFING BAITA Audubon House last Friday for an in- the bees collect their pollen, and the
Staff Writer augural Taste of Honey from Around samples here came from such diverse
the World event. climes as Canada and Tasmania and
In our fundraiser-rich community Indian River County.
it can be challenging for an event From honeyed wines at a tasting
planner to come up with a fresh idea, table manned by Audubon President Halleran and her husband have
but Pelican Island Audubon Society Dick Baker, to Halleran’s beeswax been beekeepers and honey aficiona-
board member Donna Halleran was soaps displayed as perfect-for-hol- dos for years, even planning vacation
up to the challenge, drawing sev- iday gifts, the unique evening was according to “where the bee hives
eral dozen curious supporters to the buzzing with all things bee, includ- are.” She led her novice honey tast-
ing cupcakes topped with smiley ers on a fascinating journey through
Bee 101, punctuated with humor, an-
Andrea Mears and Gail Shepherd. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE ecdotes and a hive-full of great infor-
mation, including fun facts such as
plastic bees, beehive-shaped cakes that bees make honey by regurgitat-
and jars of honey. Even sweeter, the ing the nectar.
honey tasting was as interesting and
informative as a formal wine tasting, Halleran explained that bees sur-
without the need for a designated vive in cold weather by snuggling
driver. into a very tight bee-ball inside the
hive; the center of which gets to
Two rows of long cafeteria tables about 90 degrees. When the bees on
placed down the center of the large the outside layer get too cold, the oth-
main room had been dressed with ers switch places to keep everyone
black and yellow bee-pattern table- warm. Who knew? And, whatever you
cloths and candles made of (wait for it) do, don’t put honey in the microwave!
beeswax. Places were precisely set for The crystals that form are absolutely
the honey tasting, with bee-pattern OK.
plates and napkins, two raspberries,
a slice of pear, three different cheese Audubon Society member Jean
cubes, a slice of cranberry bread and McGovern called the event “very in-
a ginger cookie, alongside six small formative,” and especially enjoyed
cups of honey ranging in shades from trying honey from different parts of
water clear to deep amber to creamy the world. Emily McDonough agreed,
white. Tasters used bee-pattern pens and shared that the bee people she
to record their descriptions and ob- called when a rogue swarm refused
servations of the various selections. to vacate the back of her summer
kitchen, were very gentle and knowl-
Very much like assessing wines, the edgeable in dealing with the little in-
tasters considered color, aroma, ini- sects.
tial impression, predominant flavors
and its terroir; the characteristic taste Craig Holtermann was especially
and flavor imparted by the environ- interested, having been a beekeeper
ment in which it is produced. Honey and a fireman in Staten Island, where
tastes vary depending upon where he kept his bees at the fire station.
No surprise, his firefighter buddies
called him Buzzfire.

All were hopeful that the Pelican
Island Audubon Society will bring
the fun, informative and yummy
event back next season. 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 27

PEOPLE

Triscia Perri-King, Richard Baker, Lori McGowan.

Toni Robinson, Tina Marchese, Bill Halliday. Darlene Halliday and Donna Halleran.

Emily McDonough and Patty Gundy
Diane Human, Jean Tease and Pat Boone.



Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 29

PEOPLE

‘Soup Bowl’ benefit warms stomachs and hearts

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF chaired the Indian River Shores site “The Samaritan Center is an for the homeless during Samaritan
for the past five years. “It’s a great lo- amazing facility because it doesn’t Center’s annual Soup Bowl,” said Re-
Staff Writer cation, and a lot of people come out just house homeless families; it also nee Bireley, Samaritan Center pro-
to enjoy the soup and help out.” helps to create a life,” she said. “The gram administrator. “For 24 years
Indian River County was over- families are able to buy a vehicle and the community has been breaking
run with considerably more than Over the cacophony of soup get jobs and training that gives last- bread together, sharing their time,
a soupçon of soup chefs at the 24th spoons clattering at the bottom of ing results.” talent and treasure. The event is tru-
annual Samaritan Center Soup Bowl the bowls, Linda Schlitt Gonzalez ly a labor of love.” 
to benefit the Samaritan Center added that Coldwell Banker Para- “Nothing makes me prouder of
for Homeless Families. Volunteers dise has participated in the Soup Indian River County than to wit- SOUP BOWL PHOTOS ON PAGE 30
from around the community dished Bowl since it began. ness the outpouring of compassion
up bowl after bowl of liquid lunch,
warming stomachs and plenty of Photo (left to right): Rick Reed, Jose Medina, John Harwell (back row), Alex Silveira, Bill Stoddard (back row), Engineer; Joe Foglia, Developer - President, Foglia Custom
hearts as well, knowing that they Homes; Jodah Bittle (back row), Engineer; Jeff Ray, Architect; Page Franzel, Interior Designer; Reggie Sessions, Commissioner; Clay Lindstrom, FPUA Director of Utilities;
were helping families stay together Michael Thorpe, Broker Owner, Treasure Coast Sotheby’s International Realty; and Rebecca Grohall, City of Fort Pierce Planning & FPRA Director.
while getting back on their feet.
Construction is beginning at Inlet Palms, a riverfront enclave of seven luxury villas on Hutchinson Island, situated on
The Samaritan Center provides the south side of the Ft. Pierce Inlet.
transitional housing for homeless
families with dependent children A Groundbreaking event was held Wednesday, November 2nd and was attended by members of the Fort Pierce city
in Indian River County; nearly one- commission, planning department, utilities authority, marketing department of Treasure Coast Sotheby’s International
quarter of the county’s 800 homeless Realty, as well as many others involved in the project.
are children. Proceeds from the an-
nual event provide 75 percent of the “This is a cutting edge project reminiscent of the Florida Keys in a unique location,” said Joe Foglia, President and
cost of its programs and services, in- Owner of Foglia Contracting Corp. DBA Foglia Custom Homes. Joe and his team, along with architect Jeff Ray and
cluding housing, meals, transporta- engineers at Schulke, Bittle and Stoddard, are providing top quality design and construction on these ultra-luxury
tion, mental health and counseling. residences. In addition to fine finishes by Page2 Design, the villas will be amenitized with all of the most desired features
available.
Roughly 80 local restaurants and
a contingent of business owners and Each villa offers three stories of living space, a private elevator, and balconies having direct frontage and panoramic
individuals supplied hundreds of views of the inlet, state park, and Atlantic Ocean. Two car garages are standard on all units. Pool packages are available.
gallons of delicious soup that was
served at more than 40 locations “Prices start at $975,000, a true value for such a great location and quality product,” said Michael Thorpe, Broker
around the county. On Soup Bowl Co-Owner of Treasure Coast Sotheby’s International Realty. “Two of the seven villas are already under contract,” added
Thursday, the saying “everything Kimberly Thorpe, Broker Co-Owner. Michael & Kimberly Thorpe are the listing brokers for all 7 of the Inlet Palms
from soup to nuts” takes on a whole villas.
new meaning. There was a soup for
every connoisseur’s palate, with With ocean access only minutes away, the seven slip marina offered by Inlet Palms is ideal. Each residence includes
offerings that ranged from chow- a deep water slip for boats up to 55 feet long and over 18 feet wide, with the seventh slip able to accept a vessel up to 80’
ders and chili to broth-based and long by over 23’ wide for the true ocean voyager.
bisques.
Located within walking distance of Inlet Palms are multiple bars & restaurants (including the newly opened Square
Many treated the event as a pro- Grouper), entertainment venues, and Jetty Park, which offers beautiful white sand beaches.
gressive soup bar, traveling from
one location to the next to try out the For more information on Inlet Palms, contact Michael & Kimberly Thorpe at 772.532.0449 or [email protected]. To
various selections, eliciting good- view floor plans, a 3D visual tour, and other detailed information, visit InletPalmsTownhomes.com.
natured arguments over which soup
was best and what the chefs’ secret
ingredients might be.

“The community has done so
much for us we just want to give
back,” said Jane Schwiering, broker
associate at Berkshire Hathaway
HomeServices Florida Realty, while
serving up her version of a gluten-
free chicken gumbo.

Additionally, local pottery art-
ists had begun working in August
at workshops held at the Vero Beach
Museum of Art to create more than
1,200 bowls, which were snapped
up quickly by patrons to add to their
Soup Bowl collections. Diners could
also purchase raffle tickets to win
one of several hand-crafted soup tu-
reens that were works of art in their
own right.

“We have about 30 kinds of soup
every year,” said Dustin Haynes of
Coldwell Banker Paradise, who has

30 Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

SOUP BOWL PHOTOS. STORY ON PAGE 29 Stephen Burke, Robyn Altshuler and Jim Johnson. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE Carol Prezioso, Jane Schwiering and Maria Caldarone.
Stephen Schlitt, Dee Giannotti and Linda Schlitt Gonzalez.

Carol Smoyer, Marie O’Brien and Robin Anders. Sandy Thiel, Gene Horton and Jonathan Miller. Dustin Haynes and Toni Abraham.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 31

PEOPLE

Kristen Dobson, Deena Dick, Claudia Johnson, Mark Seeberg.

Front: Laurie Tyler, Mary Hope, Carol Bond and Lauri Stevens. Back: Kathy Ashcroft, Joy Strickland, Lt. Mark Shaw, Chief Rich Rosell and Sgt. Kip Benham.
Julie Gerber, Jolene Southwick, Donna Williford, Peggy Covington

32 Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Fellsmere opens Trailhead
Preserve & Welcome Center

Front: Tim Ford, president of the Indian River Lagoon National Byway Coalition; Susan Adams, Indian River
County Commissioner-elect; Joel Tyson, Fellsmere mayor; and Jessica Salgado, Fellsmere city councilwoman;
Back: Sara Savage, Fellsmere city councilwoman; Gerry Piper, Fellsmere city councilman.

BY SAMANTHA ROHLFING BAITA good example of tax money at work”
and credited Fellsmere City Manager
Staff Writer Jason Nunemaker, Fellsmere Com-
munity Development Director Mark
“It’s been a long time coming,” said Mathes and former Fellsmere mayor
Fellsmere Mayor Joel Tyson, who was (and Indian River County Commis-
joined by other officials and residents sioner-elect) Susan Adams for their ef-
last Thursday for the Grand Open- forts in obtaining the grant funding.
ing and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony of
the Fellsmere Trailhead Preserve & Indian River Lagoon National Scenic
Welcome Center, hosted by the City of Byway President Tim Ford said the new
Fellsmere and the Sebastian River Area center “helps further the coalition mis-
Chamber of Commerce. sion to educate visitors and residents
about the area’s ecology, history and
Located northwest of the I-95/Coun- culture.”
ty Road 512 interchange in Fellsmere,
the site was acquired in 2008 in part- Long-time Fellsmere resident and
nership with the Florida Communities photographer Korky Korker, who has
Trust and Indian River County. With been responsible for restoring old
a $316,000 grant to Fellsmere through photographs and other items of sig-
the Federal Highway Administration nificance to Fellsmere’s historic pres-
and additional funding from the city, ervation, sees the Preserve & Welcome
the Welcome Center project was com- Center as “a great asset to Fellsmere.”
pleted. It is the newest of three along the Korker looks to the future, when a pe-
designated stretch of the Indian River destrian walkway over I-95 will con-
Lagoon National Scenic Byway, joined nect the byway from Sebastian and ul-
by the Ted Moorhead Lagoon House timately extend it west to Blue Cypress.
in Micco and the Sebastian River Area
Chamber of Commerce Pelican Porch. Nunemaker too spoke of the “Rail
Trail,” so-called because it follows the
The official opening of the 86-acre old Fellsmere Railroad bed. With the
preserve and 1,200-square-foot Wel- connection from Fellsmere to Sebas-
come Center was the successful result tian, Nunemaker sees its potential as “a
of a partnership that began in April huge economic incubator.”
1999, when 36 active community sup-
porters representing Brevard and Indi- The preserve, open sunrise to sun-
an River counties, eight municipalities, set, offers walking and interpretative
the St John’s River Water Management trails, picnic facilities, a playground,
District, the Florida Inland Navigation equestrian trails, primitive camping
District and a number of community and a ROPES/Challenge Course. The
organizations came together to form Welcome Center provides information
the Indian River Lagoon National Sce- about the history of Fellsmere as well as
nic Byway Coalition. interesting things to see and do in the
area.
Among ribbon-cutting attendees
were Sebastian Chamber Executive Di- Tyson said that initially the Wel-
rector Beth Mitchell and Indian River come Center area will not be fenced or
County Historian Ruth Stanbridge, a locked, so the public can enjoy it fully.
tireless advocate for historic preserva- He expressed hope that people will use
tion who relentlessly sought the Florida it with respect so it can remain unre-
Scenic Highway designation despite stricted.
some early resistance.
For more information: www.sebas-
Mitchell termed the project “a very tianchamber.com or www.indianriver-
lagoonbyway.com 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 33

PEOPLE

Sebastian shells out the fun at popular Clambake

BY CHRISTINA TASCON Barbara Marks and Julia Dechants. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE kitchen improvements; the Sebastian a handmade Superman ornament that
Correspondent Elk’s Club, for an outdoor pavilion we are going to have to go buy.”
Stringer as a way to bring the commu- project; Kashi Ashram, to improve food
The Sebastian Clambake Lagoon nity together and raise the city’s vis- storage for their feeding program; and Many of the vendors were pleased
Festival filled Riverview Park to ca- ibility. The 10-member organization the United Church of Sebastian, for a with the turnout, saying sales were
pacity last weekend with an estimated decides by vote what projects will ben- Buddy Break playground for special way up this year and that the cooler
crowd of more than 50,000 attend- efit from money raised through food needs children. temperatures might have put people
ing the three-day Take Me Out to the sales and vendor fees. The foundation into the holiday gift-buying spirit.
Clambake-themed event. has granted more than $600,000 to lo- “We broke our record this year by a
cal nonprofits since its inception. lot,” said Sebastian Clambake Foun- “I love the smiles,” said Jackie Mey-
Ideal 80-degree temperatures and dation President Anjani Cirillo, who ers of JM Ceramics, whose comical ga-
a swift breeze kept attendees cool as This year’s beneficiaries are Sebas- hoped to raise $180,000 to cover ex- tors on a shelf had shoppers laughing.
they enjoyed a variety of prepared sea- tian United Methodist Church, for penses and fund projects. “We have “People are awesome here. They are all
food dishes including various clam 650 volunteers and none are getting having fun, our sales are great and ev-
specialties, shrimp, fried fish and this anything out of this other than helping eryone is smiling.”
year’s new menu item, crab cakes. raise money for other organizations.”
In addition to vendor tents, many
The food is always the main draw, Cirillo said she believes the event nonprofit agencies also supported the
but there was also plenty of live musi- shines a light on Sebastian and its festival including the #LiveLikeCole
cal entertainment, Kid’s Zone activi- sense of community, while showcasing Foundation, established in memory of
ties and vendor tents that kept crowds a special kind of spirit she has rarely Cole Coppola, the high school student
strolling. The Sebastian Police K-9 Unit seen elsewhere. struck and killed by a motorist on the
demonstration, Castaways’ Survivors Alma Lee Loy Bridge.
Camp bonfire lighting, Sebastian River One little guy, 3-year-old Ryan, was
High School Drumline and a Brevard entranced by the drumline that was “Not only did Cole love Indian River
Equestrian Center demo added to the pounding out a beat by the stage and County but he also loved the live music
fun. danced happily as the music grew and steamed clams at the Clambake,
louder. especially when he was enjoying them
The Clambake was established in with his family and friends,” said Cole’s
2002 by John King of ReMax Realty and “Apparently, he loves those drums,” sister, Melanie Coppola. 
the late City of Sebastian attorney Rich said his amused mother, Jenna Taylor.
“Plus he loves superheroes and there is CLAMBAKE PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

34 Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

CLAMBAKE PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33 Dom Pallone, Cole Jenkins and John Megill. Jim Mitchell and Donna Roberts Mitchell.
Sissy Stowe and Marci Mills.

Toni and Ava Walker.
Jonathan and Erica Frost.
Chris Fletcher and Janice McDuffie.
Mary Oakley and Suzanne Mills.

UP-AND-COMING
ARTIST KYLE BAKER
DRAWN TO PAINTING

PAGE 36

36 Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

Up-and-coming artist Baker drawn to painting

BY ELLEN FISCHER Drawing Biennial, Baker traveled from the founder of Stouthouse and search- mains Walter’s reason for being – she
Columnist Nashville to Ocala for the show’s July ing for a new resident artist. is artistic director of the program. The
11 reception. An unassuming sort, he space is also her own studio; a visual
The application process for an art- reluctantly pinned on a nametag be- “Quentin comes up and starts talk- and performance artist known not
ist’s residency at Sebastian’s recently fore entering the packed gallery. ing to me, as you know she does very only for her outsider-style paintings,
created nonprofit Stouthouse is sim- well. Next thing I know, she invited me collages, and mixed media works, but
ple, according to Kyle Baker: Be at the In no time, he had been discovered down here,” says Baker in a matter-of- also for her public appearances, often
right place at the right time. by – who else? – Quentin Walter, a mul- fact way. in imaginative costumes, at art events
tiple award-winning Vero-based artist from Miami to New York.
When one of his pieces was ac- who has a habit of zeroing in on inter- Later this month, on Nov. 26, Baker’s
cepted the Appleton Museum of Art’s esting people at gatherings. She is also paintings will be on display at a fund- The residency came as a relief to
raiser for Stouthouse at Walking Tree Baker, who was working a 60-hour
Brewery in Vero. week as a photographer with Life-
touch, a company that creates school
The 23-year-old artist graduated in photos. That did not leave much time
May with a BFA from Middle Tennes- to make art, though he tried to sketch
see State University in Murfreesboro. from a life model once or twice a week.
Already, his works have been shown
in more than a dozen exhibitions in “I’m trying to keep the ball rolling,
museums and galleries, and featured which is something that I’ve heard
in three publications, including Nash- is hard to do,” he says of life after art
ville Arts magazine. Last year, his eerie school.
drawing of two drifters, “Powell Street
Lurkers,” was a finalist for the Wil- That’s why his stay at Stouthouse
liams Prize in Drawing for Emerging has been important to him.
Artists, awarded by a Simsbury, Conn.,
advocacy group known as McWilliams “I didn’t really paint in college,”
Francisco. The judge was an instructor Baker says. At Stouthouse he has done
at the Art Students League and New nothing but painting. Midway through
York University’s Tisch School of the his stay he has all but completed one
Arts. portrait and is working on two others,
including a 4-by-6-foot double por-
Baker draws people in graphite on trait. He’s also done a whimsical still
paper, and has very recently begun to life.
paint them in oil on canvas.
While still an art student, Baker
Stouthouse is located in the former gained local notice for his drawings,
home of the late Sebastian artist Wel- all portraits of friends and acquain-
don Stout, who near the end of his life tances. Done in graphite, he set the
became Walter’s husband, and pro- figures against the paper’s white void
vides his room and board and a studio to focus on the human drama in each
space to work in for two months, as subject.
well as a small stipend. He began his
residency in late September and will One that drew considerable praise
continue it through the first week of was a life-size depiction of a street
December depending, he says, on how preacher named Johnny. An elderly
much art work he has to finish up. man with the beard of an Old Testa-
ment prophet, Johnny is shown seated
Walter, meanwhile, has crowded on an invisible curb with his stubby
into a small office in the airy home, legs out stretched. Squinting into the
tucked on the side of a heavily wood- sun, he holds his open Bible before
ed cul de sac near the Indian River him and gestures with his free hand
Lagoon. Governed by a six-member toward God’s word.
board of directors, Stouthouse re-
In a 2015 interview at his college’s TV

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 37

“Is” graphite on paper of men and barbeque grill, by Kyle Baker ARTS & THEATRE

looking man seated on a rocker in a gun person.” He can’t even remem-
cut-off black T-shirt and cuffed jeans, ber if it was his idea or Ratcliff’s to in-
his muddy boots exposed. On his clude the gun.
crossed leg rests a scoped rifle.
“I don’t think of painting as a way to
The model was a friend of Baker’s facilitate political ideas,” says Baker.
from childhood named Parker Ratliff. “If I get an idea for a painting, that’s
okay. But I try not to paint based on
“He’s from Tennessee, and he’s ideas.”
kind of a backwoods guy. He’s a coun-
try boy,” says Baker. Ratliff’s predi- Baker says his works are typically
lection for taking on tough jobs (like abstract arrangements devoid of sub-
salmon fishing in Alaska) made Bak- jective meaning.
er want to “immortalize” him.
“So you can kind of almost play
Baker says that there is no particu- with people’s judgments,” he says.
lar reason his friend is posed with a
gun. Ratliff, he says, doesn’t hunt, Tickets for the Walking Tree Brew-
and the artist himself is not “a big ery event can be purchased online or
at the door on Nov. 26. 

station, Baker said his goal in choosing says Baker. “I saw ‘Meagre Company’
down-at-the-heel subjects like Johnny by Frans Hals – it’s got like 14 figures
was to “find a way to give the down- in it.”
trodden some celebrity for five min-
utes.” He later recreated the drawing That vast painting of a company of
as an oil on canvas. be-ruffed 17th century Dutch militia-
men and their haughty commander
In re-envisioning his themes in oil, was painted using a fluid paste of
Baker has taken to lightly sketching paint applied over a white ground.
his figures onto canvas. He uses pho- The colors in the faces and some parts
tographs and a digital projector and of the clothing were then heightened
then colors them in, using layer after with applications of glaze.
layer of translucent colors in a tech-
nique known as “glazing.” Returning to the states, Baker de-
veloped his own version of Hals’
“I used to not like glazing until I went technique. His recently completed
to the Rijksmuseum (in Amsterdam),” “Holding Court” depicts a louche-

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38 Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

Coming Up: Vero stage trio’s a winner for music lovers

BY MICHELLE GENZ Glimmerglass Festival in August. ATOS Piano Trio website at $35; $10 for
Staff Writer “An Evening with David Pitts- students.

1 Three obvious choices for mu- inger” is directed by Allen Cornell 4 At the Kravis
sic lovers in Vero theaters these with musical direction by Ken Center in West
Clifton; tickets are $50.
days. Riverside’s “Ring of Fire” is a Palm Beach, Miami
And across the bridge on Vero’s
jukebox musical of Johnny Cash’s mainland, the Vero Beach The- City Ballet opens the
atre Guild’s volunteer troupers
hits, delivered by a cast of excellent opened the challenging musi- season with “Giselle,”
cal “Evita!” this week. Directed
musicians. The four lead vocalists by Mark Wygonik with musical the classic story bal-
direction by Ryan Kasten and Ja-
all play guitar and trade off playing cob Craig, the cast of 32 includes let. Among the bal-
three chops-laden leads: Kaitlin
– not impersonating – the roles of Ruby as Eva Perón; Rob Kenna as lerinas dancing the
Juan Perón; and Derrick Paul as Ché
Johnny Cash and June Carter. Back- Guevara. The show runs through celebrated title role
Nov. 27.
ing them up are a half-dozen musi- is Lauren Fadeley, an

cians on everything from fiddle to Orlando native who

accordion, nearly all of them South- was just hired this

erners who seem to have Cash and 3 Friday night, the Melbourne season as a soloist. She danced the
Chamber Music Society hosts
Carter in their DNA. “Ring of Fire” same role in 2012 in her first role as a

runs through Sunday’s matinee. a piano trio concert from Germa- principal with Pennsylvania Ballet.

Then, next Tuesday and Thurs- ny at St. Mark’s United Methodist Fadeley left home to train with the

day, Broadway and opera star David 2 Nashville-based country-radio Church in Indialantic. Recognized School of American Ballet, known
personality Bobby Bones and
Pittsinger returns to Riverside for by the BBC as New Generation Art- for its Balanchine style, then got a

concerts each night at 7:30 p.m. The his on-air band the Raging Idiots ists, the ATOS Piano Trio was de- job with the New York City Ballet.

renowned bass-baritone will also be play the Sunrise Theatre Friday clared by the Washington Post to be She took a huge professional gam-

performing for Riverside’s Friends night. The return of the whacky “one of the elite piano trios playing ble to drop out and get her college

fall fundraiser luncheon Tuesday. musical comedy group to Fort before the public today.” Now in its

He played in Riverside’s 2014 pro- Pierce includes his morning-show 13th year, the trio includes Thomas

duction of “South Pacific” as Emile sidekick Producer Eddie; the Emory Hoppe on piano, Annette von Hehn

de Becque, the same role he sang in University-educated singer-song- on violin and Stefan Heinemeyer on

the show’s Lincoln Center revival writer Kristian Bush of Sugarland; cello. The group has played in the

in 2008. Since then, he debuted in and Jamie Lynn Spears, Britney’s world’s top venues and at major mu-

the role of Robert E. Lee in Philip little sister and a growing presence sic festivals. Friday night’s program

Glass’s “Appomattox” at Washing- on the country music scene. Bones’ includes Mozart’s Trio in B-flat Ma-

ton National Opera. In February, expanding brand within the iHeart- jor and Mendelssohn’s Trio No. 2 in

he performed in “Kiss Me Kate” in Media machine includes 5 million C-minor. The concert starts at 7:30

Paris and in “The Crucible” at the listeners a week in 100 markets. p.m. Tickets are on the society’s

‘Giselle’

degree – at Indiana University. As
she recently told Miami New Times,
it was there that she met Violette
Verdy, the famous director of the
Paris Opera Ballet who wrote the
book on Giselle – literally. “Giselle:
A Role of a Lifetime” became Fade-
ley’s bible. Fadeley will be dancing
the role of Giselle Saturday at 2 p.m.
In addition, there are performances
Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and
Sunday at 1 p.m.

5 If you missed the fan-craze over
Benedict Cumberbatch play-

ing “Hamlet” last year, now’s your

chance to catch up. The National The-

atre production is being re-broadcast

Tuesday at Vero’s Majestic 11 through

the NTLive series. Cumberbatch won

an Olivier Award for his role – the

English equivalent of a Tony. Direct-

ed by Lyndsey Turner, the production

was captured live last year at Lon-

don’s Barbican Theatre. Since then

it has been viewed by half a million

people. The screening starts at 7 p.m.

Tickets are only $12.50. 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 39

ARTS & THEATRE

Plot thickens: Viets holds
mystery-writing workshop

BY MICHELLE GENZ mystery, “Brain Storm,” the first in a
Staff Writer new series based on a stroke survivor.
Viets, who normally does a great deal
Text The elegant woman talking on of research before she writes, had first-
her cellphone in front of a desolate Fort hand experience to go on with this one:
Lauderdale warehouse strip last week Nine years ago, she suffered six strokes
was there for a reason: She was getting that left her in a coma for a week and
the turn signals fixed on her vintage in rehab for four months. And that was
Jaguar. The fact that she was discuss- just part of her preparation. She also
ing murder, arson and such gruesome took a world-renowned college-credit
details as how long the foam remains training course at St. Louis University’s
on an overdose victim’s mouth might School of Medicine, in a relatively new
have been startling, had anyone heard. discipline: medicolegal death investi-
At 8 a.m., though, no one was listening. gator, the profession of her new hero-
ine, Angela Richman.
That will not be the case Saturday
morning at the Indian River Shores “They crammed a full semester into
Community Center, when Elaine Viets, six days,” she recalls. “It was really for
newspaper journalist turned mystery professionals – there was a police chief
writer, will lead a workshop in mys- on one side and a woman who worked
tery writing. To a gathering of aspiring with tracker dogs on the other. There
authors organized by the Laura Rid- were so many good plots right in front
ing Jackson Foundation, she will offer of me.”
counsel on character development,
plot line and other essentials of the Viets, a director-at-large of Mystery
genre. Writers of America, and winner of three
mystery writing awards – the Lefty, the
In August, Viets published her 30th
CONTINUED ON PAGE 40

40 Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 39 column for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch dered, and the key suspect is the sur-
that was eventually syndicated in 100 geon who saved her life.
Agatha and the Anthony – will then papers. She became a south Floridian
cross the bridge to a 3 p.m. book-sign- in the mid-1990s. In real life, Viets’ venous strokes
ing at the Vero Beach Book Center. It is came in the form of blinding mi-
one of several she has given here over It was about a decade later that Viets’ graine headaches over the course of
the years. “It’s always a party,” she says. husband, Sun-Sentinel reporter Don four days. At one point, she was so in-
Crinklaw, discovered he had Stage 3 capacitated she held up a fork to her
Viets was raised in St. Louis, and cancer; he has since recovered. At the husband and asked, “How does this
from 1980 until 1997 she wrote a humor work?”

Elaine Viets. PHOTO BY CRISTIANA PECHEANU She was 57, a non-smoker, non-
drinker and fitness buff. The on-du-
same time, they were under an IRS ty neurologist at the hospital told her
tax audit. Soon after, she found herself she was too young and fit to have a
working as a clerk in a chain book store stroke. Instead, suspecting a tumor,
after Bantam Dell, acquired by Ran- he scheduled a PET scan and sent her
dom House, killed off her five-book home. Two days later, another head-
contract. “It was a stellar year,” she says ache sent her to bed. This time, her
wryly. husband couldn’t wake her up. This
time, the ER doctor warned her hus-
That’s when she began writing the band she would not live through the
books she calls the Dead-End Job Mys- night. She did, thanks to the efforts of
teries. The last of those stories, “The a different neurologist who removed
Art of Murder,” was published in May a third of her frontal lobe. When she
of this year. It is set in the real-world came out of her induced coma, her en-
Fort Lauderdale mansion-turned-mu- tire world had changed, she says. “You
seum Bonnet House and involves the are not the same person.”
murder of an artist. While the surgery didn’t affect her
speech, she had to have intensive occu-
Her new, darker books in the Death pational rehab. “They taught you how
Investigator series take place in Chou- to walk, how to shower, how to boil wa-
teau Forest, an imaginary enclave of ter – which I wasn’t good at before the
“the one-percent and those who care stroke,” she says. “They had an actual
for them” outside of St. Louis. There car frame in there. I had to practice get-
Angela Richman is investigating a vio- ting in and out of the passenger seat.”
lent traffic accident when the strokes Today, she is back to driving her own
suddenly hit. She is left nearly inca- car, a black 1986 Jaguar XJS. She’s had it
pacitated – talking to imaginary peo- “only” 10 years, she says; her husband
ple, something Viets herself did. In the had a model from the same year that he
book, while Angela in the hospital, the bought new and drove until last year.
doctor who misdiagnosed her is mur- “Writing a Killer Mystery: The Basics”
takes place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sat-
urday at the Indian River Shores Com-
munity Center. It is one in a series of four
adult writers’ workshops this season.
The cost is $45. Call 772-569-6718 to
register. 



42 Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT COVER STORY

Kristoffer Von Hassel could open “Somebody could steal an Xbox and ing braces, that just might help save breaches of highly sensitive or highly
smartphone apps before he could use your bug to get on to it,” Davies, a tomorrow’s internet. Idealistic and personal networks have become com-
walk. By age 2, a time when most kids computer engineer, recalls telling him. computer savvy, they are mastering monplace. Stolen celebrity photos are
are still in diapers, he had bypassed the “He said, ‘Oh no, we can’t have that. the mysterious numerical codes that the new tabloid staple. The insecurity
“toddler lock” on his parents’ Android We’ve got to tell Microsoft.’ ” underpin the digital world in the hope of the internet injected itself into presi-
phone. Then, at 5, young Kristoffer of making the web a more secure place. dential politics ahead of the November
discovered how to outwit the paren- Microsoft fixed the flaw within a election. In the not too distant future,
tal controls on his father’s Xbox One, week. And Kristoffer became known Today, everything in kids’ lives is digital attacks may even set off the next
which were meant to keep him from as the world’s youngest hacker when captured in silicon chips and chron- war.
playing violent video games such as he made the company’s list of security icled on Facebook. As tweens and
Call of Duty. researchers who had found dangerous teens, they effortlessly swap selfies on Adults, who laid the internet’s in-
vulnerabilities in Microsoft’s products. Snapchat and Instagram. Most would secure foundation, have so far been
It wasn’t a trivial discovery. He’d un- rather text than talk. unable to patch the security holes or
covered a serious security loophole “When I jammed the buttons, I stem the tide of cybercrime. “There
in the game’s software. When his dad, probably saved Microsoft’s b-u-t-t,” Yet the massive digital ecosystem are smart, serious people thinking long
Robert Davies, found out, he laid out says Kristoffer, now 8, from his bed- they inherited is fragile, broken, and and hard about these problems – and
two options: They could expose the room, which is filled with space post- unsafe. Built without security in mind, we don’t have the solutions we need,”
flaw on YouTube to alert everyone else ers and coding books, in the family’s it’s constructed on vulnerable code. As says Stephen Cobb, a senior researcher
to the secret way in, or they could reveal San Diego apartment. “Thank good- a result, malicious hackers are taking at the cybersecurity firm ESET, who
it to Microsoft, which makes the Xbox. ness I found it, because it could have advantage. helps organize a cybersecurity boot
went into the wrong hands.” camp for kids each summer in San Di-
Kristoffer thought about it and From Yahoo to the US.. government, ego.
asked what bad guys would do if Kristoffer is part of a new generation
they learned about the workaround. of wunderkinds, many of them lug- “I personally have to place a lot of
ging school backpacks and still wear-

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 43

INSIGHT COVER STORY

hope and faith into the next genera- Kristoffer Von Hassel of San Diego made “You know how superheroes go by
tion. They are more willing to chal- Microsoft’s vaunted list of cyber- their superhero names, like Superman
lenge assumptions in technology than security researchers at age 5. and stuff? It’s good to have a hacker
older people, who may feel things are name,” CyFi says, “so the villains don’t
established or difficult to change. It’s ‘CyFi,’ a teen hacker from California, is know how to get you.”
the idealism of youth which may in- the cofounder of an annual conference
spire alternative approaches to design that provides cybersecurity workshops R00tz has become so big that it’s
and deployment of digital technology.” for kids. She attends a special technol- drawing corporate sponsors such as
ogy school in Silicon Valley and often AT&T, Adobe, and Facebook. Volun-
While Kristoffer’s discovery may can be found with her pet snake, a rosy teers from well-known tech companies
have been the result of a bit of seren- boa named Calcifer. speak and teach at the sessions.
dipity – and youthful mischievousness
– there’s a whole community of bril- At right, Chloe Heidemann and Dan To ensure the kids only hack for
liant young tinkerers intent on hack- Poirier visited hacking stations at r00tz good, there’s a strict honor code, which
ing the internet with the same exuber- Asylum this summer at the 2016 DEF includes the admonitions: “Only hack
ance. Only they aren’t trying to break CON hacker convention in Las Vegas. things you own. Do not hack anything
the web. They’re trying to put it back you rely on. Respect the rights of oth-
together. the “junkyard” to learn how the devices developing a culture – with hacker ers. Know the law, the possible risk,
work. Sparks fly as the young hackers names and sunglasses – to help pro- and the consequences for breaking it.”
‘CyFi’ is a soft-spoken solder hardware. Some of them march tect themselves against the vast land- The warnings are paired with encour-
15-year-old who is up on stage and, standing near the po- scape of digital threats they face today, agement. “R00tz is about creating a
an avid skier and dium because they are too short to see from internet thieves who want to steal better world. You have the power and
sailor and likes ripped jeans. She car- over it, give speeches on hacking the their identity to data brokers who buy responsibility to do so. Now go do it!”
ries a two-foot-long pet snake named video game Minecraft and other tricks. and sell their personal information, the code says. “We are here to help.”
Calcifer almost everywhere she goes. to companies that might want to sue
By day, she totes a backpack to her All around, they learn cryptography them for exposing mistakes they made In many ways, hacking has
experimental high school focused on and simulate how they would thwart in their code. now become mainstream.
technology in Silicon Valley. But she a real-world cyberattack. They’re also Major tech companies such
also has a secret identity: She’s one of as Apple and Facebook are crowdsourc-
the most prominent young hackers in ing their security, encouraging people
the country. to search for bugs in their products and
report them so they can be fixed. Seri-
“Our generation has a responsibil- ous discoveries bring major rewards in
ity to make the internet safer and bet- the form of bounties. Some professional
ter,” says CyFi (who wants to keep her hackers earn as much as $100,000 a year
name anonymous and only go by her just hunting for security flaws in tech
online moniker) in an interview at her products.
high school, where the hallways bustle Kids are benefiting from this new
with kids in Converse sneakers. “As the security ethos, too. At r00tz, research-
internet gets even more connected to ers set up devices for the kids to infil-
our homes and our schools and our trate.
education and everything, there’s go- CyFi says hacking into one of Sam-
ing to be a ton more vulnerabilities.” sung’s newest smart TVs, as part of a
bounty program set up by the com-
CyFi first gained prominence in the pany, was a “really important moment
tech press at age 10 when she hacked for me.” She was 12 at the time.
a kids’ game on her iPad. That year, PC She entered a string of code that
Magazine called her “a Girl Scout by turned on the television’s camera. This
day and a hacker by night.” With the exposed the possibility of someone re-
encouragement of her mother (who motely hacking into a TV and being able
also works in the cybersecurity indus- to watch people while they sat on the
try), CyFi took her talents to the vaunt- couch viewing “Game of Thrones” or
ed DEF CON hacker conference in Las “Madame Secretary.” Samsung award-
Vegas, where she cofounded what’s ed her $1,000 for exposing the flaw.
now known as r00tz Asylum, a hub for “I think bug bounty programs are
ethical hacking workshops for kids. really important,” she says, “because
it eliminates that worry of wondering,
As adults at DEF CON electroni- ‘Oh, is this company going to be really
cally infiltrate everything from ATMs mad about me poking around in their
to surveillance drones, r00tz is a “safe system?’ ”
playground where [kids] can learn Bug bounties are a great incentive
the basics of hacking without getting for kids around the world. A 10-year-
themselves into trouble,” says CyFi. old from Finland, for instance, made
When launched in 2011, it drew about headlines for winning $10,000 this May
100 kids. With CyFi as teacher and lead for finding a big security problem with
digital sleuth, the group uncovered the photo-sharing app Instagram.
40 vulnerabilities in mobile apps. The Companies haven’t always wel-
next year, they found 180. comed this kind of intrusiveness, of
course. Consider the experience of Cris
Now, r00tz Asylum has grown into Thomas, a noted hacker who goes by
a veritable security conference itself, the name “Space Rogue.” When he first
drawing roughly 600 young people ages started tinkering with computers back
8 to 16. This year at DEF CON, parents in the 1980s and ’90s, there were no
lined up all three mornings waiting
to drop off their kids. In the sessions, CONTINUED ON PAGE 46
youngsters rip apart smartphones, lap-
tops, and other gadgets at what’s called

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 43 INSIGHT COVER STORY

safe spaces for hackers or bug-bounty Reuben Paul of Pflugerville, Texas, has combined two of his passions – hacking and kung fu, Programs like CyberPatriot are
programs. in which he is a black belt – in a nonprofit that provides games and tutorials on cybersecurity. helping to turn hacking from a fringe
hobby into a cool team sport – and
There weren’t even many comput- do “white hat” – or ethical – hacking. 2009, more than 85,000 students have drawing some of the nation’s best and
ers. The machines were so expensive In fact, a flood of corporate money is participated in the competition. brightest young people.
and rare, Thomas says, that he would going into training programs for young
ride his bicycle around Boston, diving people with the hope of filling a cyber- The Northrop Grumman Founda- “Even though I may look like a ‘nerd’
into dumpsters near the Massachu- security workforce shortage already es- tion – the philanthropic arm of the on the outside,” says Andrew Wang, 14,
setts Institute of Technology (MIT) to timated at 1 million jobs. defense contractor – is the primary laughing as he makes quotation marks
look for spare parts with which to as- sponsor, and organizations such as with his fingers, “people will at least
semble his own. One of the biggest efforts is Cyber- Cisco, Facebook, Microsoft, and the acknowledge that I have that competi-
Patriot, a cyberdefense competition Department of Homeland Security all tive spirit.” A freshman at Del Norte
Now, according to one recent study, organized by the Air Force Associa- contribute to the roughly $3 million a High School in a residential commu-
three-quarters of children in the Unit- tion to test the technical skills of high- year it costs to run the competition, an nity just north of downtown San Diego,
ed States have their own mobile device schoolers and middle-schoolers and elementary school education initia- Andrew is among 70 students in his
by age 4. The internet has also made inspire them to go into cybersecu- tive, and dozens of cybersecurity sum- district’s program. “Everyone wants to
it easier to learn about how all these rity or related technology fields. Since mer camps. win,” he says.
devices work and about hacking into
them. At last year’s CyberPatriot finals
in Baltimore, Andrew captained the
When Thomas was in his early 20s, middle school team that beat out 468
he had to teach himself. Today’s young others to win the national competi-
hackers can find unlimited informa- tion. The contest, in which students
tion at the tap of a key. “Today, you’re take on the role of IT professionals
trying to investigate something; you at a fake company and try to keep its
can just find a YouTube video about services running as attackers infiltrate
it online,” he says. “Want to learn to the system, is great real-world training.
code? There are classes for free at MIT.” “There’s an actual red team attacking
you,” Andrew says. Winning “really de-
Early hackers were also usually pends on your ability to fix things on
viewed with suspicion. Authorities the fly.”
thought they were either trying to steal
data or destroy systems. “I was always To Andrew, though, his victory
looking over my shoulder, wondering if meant more than a free trip to the East
I was going to get raided by the govern- Coast and missing school. He person-
ment, or the FBI, even though I wasn’t ally feels a responsibility to protect
doing anything bad,” says Thomas. his friends and family. “When I was 8,

Now, kids are actively encouraged to

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 47

INSIGHT COVER STORY

I thought it would be a great idea to So Andrew taught himself how to Some gifted children are working tial arts, and, of course, is a computer
click a link from a random, unidenti- use security tools to eliminate the vi- to pass on their technical knowhow whiz. He’s also a chief executive officer,
fied sender,” he recalls. That one click rus from the computer. “When I fixed to other children. Take Reuben Paul of at age 10.
allowed a hacker to sabotage the family it, all that doubt and worry went away. Pflugerville, Texas, a suburb of Austin.
computer. “I thought I had completely And I thought, ‘Maybe computers Lean and brown-eyed, he is a veritable Reuben has been learning about
broken the system,” he says, “and my aren’t as hard as I thought initially,” he Renaissance kid. He does gymnastics, cybersecurity since he was 6 from his
parents were really mad at me, too.” says. plays drums and piano, takes mar- father, who has an interesting résumé

CONTINUED ON PAGE 50

48 Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT EDITORIAL

A refrigerant that keeps cars cool is about to be banned

BY THE ECONOMIST Secretary of State John Kerry, who par- all new cars sold in EU countries have as Freon, a CFC introduced by General
ticipated in the Kigali talks, claimed tri- been required to use a more climate Motors and DuPont in the 1930s.
After seven years of frustrated effort, umphantly that replacing today’s HFCs friendly refrigerant in their air-condi-
climate negotiators from the 197 coun- with less harmful chemicals could re- tioning systems. The key to carbon dioxide’s revival as
tries that signed the 1987 Montreal Pro- duce that increase by as much as 0.5°C. a refrigerant is the “economized screw
tocol – an international treaty designed If so, that would be a big deal. In America, the Environmental Pro- compressor,” a rotary pump that gets
to end the use of chemicals that deplete tection Agency (EPA) ruled in 2015 that a sharp increase in performance from
the ozone layer – have agreed to phase If all signatories to the Kigali agree- R-134a would be banned from use in passing its compressed gas through an
out the global-warming chemicals ment lived up to their part of the bargain, cars and light trucks from model year additional stage, where the tempera-
known as hydrofluorocarbons. HFC emissions could be reduced by over 2021 onwards. For once, Detroit beat ture drops rapidly. With further refine-
80% by 2050. That would be equivalent the EPA to the punch. Back in 2010, ment, economized screw compressors
HFCs are the fastest-growing sector to removing 70 billion tons of carbon di- General Motors announced it would could make carbon dioxide an effective
of greenhouse gases. Their use around oxide from the atmosphere – two-years' start switching to a less potent refriger- alternative to R-1234yf.
the world is increasing by 10%-15% a worth of emissions of carbon dioxide ant from 2013 onwards. The automak-
year, as household goods that use them from burning fossil fuel at current rates. er is on track to complete its transition With American fuel-economy stan-
as refrigerants (eg, fridges and air con- No other single measure to slow the rise by 2018. Fiat-Chrysler is not far behind. dards set to double over the next de-
ditioners equipment) or propellants in global warming comes close. cade or so, the motor industry is having
(eg, aerosol sprays) spread to even the The replacement of choice is a hy- to think carefully about the amount of
remotest parts of the planet. That said, the Kigali agreement is drofluoroolefin (HFO) known as R- power absorbed by a car’s air-condi-
riddled with compromises. While richer 1234yf. Its virtue is that, with a GWP of tioning system – the largest auxiliary
Though HFCs do not deplete Earth’s countries will start cutting their HFC use just four times that of carbon dioxide, it drain, by far, on the engine.
ozone layer in the way the chlorofluo- in 2019, China, the world’s largest emit- traps two orders of magnitude less heat
rocarbons (CFCs) they replaced back ter of HFCs, will not start actually cutting than R-134a. It also hangs around in The National Renewable Energy Lab-
in the mid-1990s did, they contribute back until 2029. India will make its first the atmosphere for a far shorter time. oratory reckons the average U.S. motor-
disproportionately to global warming, 10% cut in 2032. ist uses 30 to 40 gallons of fuel a year to
being far more potent at trapping heat Though R-1234yf needs a higher stay cool while driving. In a family car,
than carbon dioxide is. A bigger issue still is whether the his- pressure to operate and is currently the air-conditioning compressor can
toric accord achieved in Paris in 2015, ten times more expensive than R-134a, easily absorb a fifth of the engine’s out-
One of the most widely used HFCs, which bound all participating countries carmakers consider it a “near-drop- put. So the hunt is on to find a way to
R-134a, a refrigerant used in the air- to reduce their greenhouse-gas emis- in” replacement. With no big changes dispense with the compressor while still
conditioning equipment of cars, has sions, can deliver on its promise. Where needed to production lines for manu- keeping the car's occupants cool.
a global warming potential (GWP) of all previous efforts by the UN conven- facturing air-conditioning systems, the
1,430—ie, weight for weight, it is 1,430 tion on climate change failed, the Paris motor industry reckons R-1234yf has If solid-state Peltier devices – which
worse than carbon dioxide. All told, R- Agreement – which went into effect last the lowest overall switching cost of all transfer heat from one side of a semi-
134a is the most abundant HFC in the Friday – has been hailed as a success. the alternatives considered. conductor junction to the other – can
atmosphere, accounting for a quarter be scaled up, refrigerants like R-1234yf
of the total the annual output. It is easy to understand why. The par- German carmakers, however, have or even carbon dioxide could become
ticipating countries were allowed to de- hedged their bets by investing in car- things of the past.
That has made HFCs in general, and fine their own targets for reduction, and bon dioxide as a refrigerant.
R-134a in particular, public enemy num- no enforceable penalties were set for Peltier devices, used widely in chill
ber one for the global-warming police. failing to achieve them. Meanwhile, both Actually, carbon dioxide has a long cabinets for keeping wine cool, are
the United States and China, the world’s history of being used as a refrigerant – simple and rugged, with no moving
If fully implemented, the new agree- two largest emitters of greenhouse gas- both in solid form (“dry ice”) and as a parts, no circulating fluid, and only a
ment, reached at a meeting three ses, face intractable political opposition gas under high pressure. It was widely modest drain on the battery. One day,
weeks ago in Kigali, Rwanda, would go to delivering on their commitments. used in marine and industrial cooling it might be feasible to have a pollution-
a long way towards achieving the UN’s systems as a safer alternative to ammo- free Peltier air-conditioning system
target of limiting the rise in global tem- But a start has been made, at least as nia as far back as the 1860s, but lost out powered exclusively by solar panels on
perature to no more than 2°C by 2050. far as HFCs are concerned. Since 2011, to a more efficient refrigerant known the vehicle’s roof. 

VACCINATION VS. DISEASES FOR WHICH VACCINES ARE AVAILABLE if you are going out of the country, depending upon
IMMUNIZATION, PART I The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that vac- where in the world you will be traveling, your physician
cines are available to fight the following 25 diseases: may recommend you receive the yellow fever vaccine.
Although the terms vaccination and immunization are  Anthrax
often used interchangeably, their meanings are not ex-  Cholera HOW DO VACCINES WORK?
actly synonymous.  Diptheria Vaccines work to prime your immune system against
 Hepatitis A future “attacks” by a particular disease. When a
VACCINATION  Hepatitis B pathogen enters your body, the immune system gen-
Vaccination is when a vaccine is administered to you,  Hepatitis E erates antibodies to try to fight it off. If your immune
usually by injection. The vaccine stimulates your im-  Haemophilus influenzae Type B system is strong, you may be able to fight off the
mune system so it recognizes a specific disease and  Human papiloma-virus pathogen and you may or may not get sick.
protects you from future infection, i.e., you become  Japenese encephalitis
immune to the infection. Vaccines are powerful medi-  Influenza If you do become ill, however, some of the antibodies
cine. Unlike most medicines, which treat or cure dis-  Meningococcal disease that were created will remain in your body after you’re
ease, vaccines prevent them.  Measles no longer sick. In this case, you have become immu-
 Mumps nized. If you’re exposed to the same pathogen in the
IMMUNIZATION  Pertussis future, the antibodies will “recognize” it and fight it off.
Immunization is what happens in your body after you  Pneumoccocal disease
have the vaccination. Immunization is the process by  Poliomyelitis When you get a vaccine, the specific type of pathogen
which an individual’s immune system becomes forti-  Rabies it contains isn’t strong enough or plentiful enough to
fied against an agent, known as the immunogen.  Rotavirus gastroenteritis make you sick, but is enough for your immune system
 Rubella to generate antibodies. As a result, you gain future
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC),  Tetanus immunity against the disease without having gotten
the use of vaccinations to protect against devastating  Tick-borne encephalitis sick. If you are exposed to the pathogen again, your
infectious diseases was one of the 10 greatest achieve-  Tuberculosis immune system recognizes it and is able to fight it off.
ments in the United States in the 20th century.  Typhoid fever
 Varicella and herpes zoster (shingles) —To be continued—
Thanks to vaccination, many infections and diseases  Yellow fever
have almost completely been eradicated throughout Your comments and suggestions for future topics are
the United States and the world. Not everyone needs to get every vaccination. For exam- always welcome. Email us at [email protected].
ple, yellow fever is not a threat to most Americans. But,
© 2016 Vero Beach 32963 Media, all rights reserved

50 Vero Beach 32963 / November 10, 2016 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 47 INSIGHT COVER STORY

himself: He’s a former shark research- Paul Vann, a speaker at cybersecurity conferences across the country, Vann Tech. Next to his bed in Freder-
er-turned-computer security special- uses his lab in his bedroom in Virginia to work on hacking tools. icksburg, Va., is a laboratory packed
ist. with devices designed to break into
Mira Modi is an entrepreneur people’s Wi-Fi networks, data analysis
Reuben was gaining international working to make the world software, a computer loaded with ad-
recognition as CEO of his own for- vanced hacking tools, and a 3-D printer.
profit company, Prudent Games – safer one password at a time.
which creates fun cybersecurity, sci- The 12-year-old New Yorker Paul’s latest venture: a start-up that
ence, and math games to sell in online learned about Diceware – a pushes the boundaries of how to test
app stores – when he had an epiphany: a company’s security. “Once I have the
“I thought, ‘I’m learning about cyber- technique used to create truly funding, I think we need a building,
security, but what about the kids that random passwords by rolling and we definitely need more employ-
aren’t – the ones that are getting hurt ees,” says Paul, who talks – and thinks –
in the cyberworld, and aren’t safe and dice – when her mother, a at fiber-optic speed. “I can’t be the only
secure?’ ” journalist who writes about one developing projects.”
surveillance and privacy at
So he formed the nonprofit Cyber- ProPublica, did research for On the side, Paul attends college
Shaolin, which makes educational her book “Dragnet Nation.” courses in theoretical physics – but
videos and games to help kids learn he’s too young to get credit – and takes
about complex cybersecurity topics. Mollee McDuff, 13, kicked off this sum- free math courses online through MIT.
The name derives from two of Reu- mer’s r00tz Asylum with her popular He is also trying to build an “invisibility
ben’s passions: computers and martial talk about ways to hack the Minecraft cloak” like the one in the “Harry Potter”
arts (at age 7, he became the country’s video game. books using theories rooted in acous-
youngest black belt in his style of kung to-optics.
fu). “Without dissing teachers at all, I Some of the most ad-
think a lot of teachers are not very tech- vanced kids are Yet he has faced one recurring prob-
Like kung fu, cybersecurity is made nology-centered. So I feel when they’re already becom- lem in his foray into adult capitalism:
up of attacks and defenses. So just like teaching technology, they’re just repeat- ing cybersecurity professionals, moving getting grown-ups to take him seri-
martial artists, beginners in his Cyber- ing what’s on a slide deck or materials a step beyond taking computers apart ously. “They don’t respect you as much
Shaolin “digital black belt program” given to them,” he says. “My advantage in their basements and bedrooms like as they would an adult,” he says.
start with a white belt. “You’ll learn with the students is that I’m of their their predecessors.
simple things: What is the internet, generation and understand the prob- The upstairs bedroom of 14-year- Paul, who has spoken at three dif-
what is security, what is a computer, lems they face in cybersecurity, and that old Paul Vann doubles as the world- ferent cybersecurity conferences, got
basically,” he says. helps me connect with them better.” wide headquarters of his company, into hacking after reading a book by
self-described “break-in artist” Kevin
Then, as the kids advance, they earn Mitnick called “Ghost in the Wires.” It
more belts as they learn about basic chronicles Mitnick’s escapades in two
attacks – such as phishing or wireless decades of hacking, which famously
intrusions. There are both blocks and included stealing proprietary code
defenses, “or how to defend yourself from companies and snooping on the
using encryption and other types of National Security Agency’s phone calls
things,” he says. By the time you are a in the 1980s and ’90s.
black belt, Reuben says, “you should
know everything about security. You But, Paul complains, “They never
should be a security pro.” talked about how he did it.” So he
downloaded online hacking tools and
Reuben’s family is talking with the started teaching himself through You-
local Texas school district to see about Tube videos. “My first thing I wanted
using some of the videos in the cur- to learn was Wi-Fi [hacking] – that’s the
riculum. And the well-known Russian- easiest way you can hack someone if
based cybersecurity company Kasper- you’re not with them.”
sky Lab is the nonprofit’s first sponsor.
The tutorials were successful. Paul
“We were first thinking we would saw how he could break into Wi-Fi
make [kids] pay for it, but then I said, networks within a three-mile radius of
‘No, cybersecurity education should be his home. But Paul, who is close to be-
free for all kids to learn,’ ” says Reuben. coming an Eagle Scout, also wanted to
make sure he didn’t do anything wrong.
Akul Arora is helping his local So he asked his neighbors, when they
school district in California deal with came over for dinner, for permission to
electronic intruders as well. After Akul, hack into their home internet. “They
15, went through the CyberPatriot said, ‘Sure, as long as you don’t do any
program at Del Norte High School, he damage.’ ”
started to notice hackers were getting
into the school’s computers. “Some As his parents and friends ate down-
member of the network doesn’t know stairs, Paul went to his bedroom labo-
what they’re doing and they let some- ratory. “I was finally able to break into
thing in,” he says. “Sometimes in the something without getting into trou-
morning announcements, [school of- ble,” he says.
ficials] say, ‘Everybody change your
passwords.’” Paul understands the morality of
hacking. “It’s really important you
So Akul volunteered to help the dis- consider ethics before you try to
trict develop a training program to break into another system – and you
teach the students and teachers about want to make sure whatever you’re
the dangers of phishing emails and doing is not going to harm that sys-
viruses. He’s also teaching kids at his tem,” he says. “And whatever you do,
former elementary school the basics, tell the person.”
such as how to differentiate between
secure and unsecured websites. In other words, don’t wear an invis-
ibility cloak. 