02/28/2019 ISSUE 09

St. Helen’s Catholic School
holds ‘Grand Gala.’ P18
Vero Beach clarifies
election ordinance. P7

Sea Oaks Charity Day nets
big bucks for Fish Foundation. P22

For breaking news visit

MY VERO Environmental
Learning Center
BY RAY MCNULTY loses 2nd exec

Why spend $90K on study
of Central Beach parking?

Someone needs to explain BY SAMANTHA ROHLFING BAITA
to me: What, exactly, does Staff Writer
the City Council hope to ac-
complish by spending up to Less than a month after
$90,000 to have a local engi-
neering firm study our beach- the abrupt resignation of En-
side parking situation?
vironmental Learning Cen-
We already know there’s
a problem, especially along ter Executive Director Molly
Ocean Drive in the Central
Beach business district, at Steinwald, the county’s flag-
least for a few hours each day
for a few months each year. ship environmental educa-

We already know the causes tion organization has lost
of the problem, which was
compounded by the negli- another top executive: Chief
gence of city officials, who,
more than a decade ago, ap- Operating Officer Margaret
proved the plans for both the
Vero Beach Hotel & Spa and Kearney.
Costa d’Este Beach Resort &
Spa without first demand- Board Chairman Don Barr
ing these businesses provide
parking for their employees. described Kearney’s depar-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 PHOTOS BY KAILA JONES ture as a surprise, the same

Local governments Future of Gifford Health Center remains unclear thing he said about Stein-
still spraying with wald’s departure in January.
suspected carcinogen He also said Kearney leaving
was “not totally unexpected.”
BY SUE COCKING
Staff Writer BY MICHELLE GENZ The off-and-on-again deci- to be increasingly in jeopardy. In a written statement,
Staff Writer sions by the Health Depart- District trustees appeared Steinwald, who had served
Even though the Florida
Fish and Wildlife Conserva- ment were the latest tense dumbfounded and deeply as executive director since
tion Commission has stopped
spraying herbicides contain- On the afternoon of Friday, chapter in a longtime relation- disappointed by the Health 2014, said she resigned “due
ing the controversial chemi-
cal glyphosate on its man- Feb. 8, the County Health De- ship that recently has seemed CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
aged waters while it evaluates
health risks, neither the city of partment notified the Indian
River Hospital District that
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
New Beach Planet store opens on Ocean Driveafter 15 years, it was pulling

its caregivers out of the Gif-

ford Health Center effective BY RAY MCNULTY
March 1, despite a lease and Staff Writer
funding agreement with the

Hospital District that extends Shortly after noon Sat-

through September. urday, as “GRAND OPEN-

But less than two tense weeks ING” banners flapped in

later, the Health Department the sea breeze, a slow trick-

did a 180: Instead of pulling out le of curious shoppers wan-

of Gifford and consolidating dered into the new Beach

services at its main clinic three Planet store on Ocean

miles away, it agreed to consoli- Drive, across from Bobby’s

date adult and pediatric prima- Restaurant, to see what the

ry care at the Gifford center, for CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

at least the next three months.

February 28, 2019 Volume 12, Issue 9 Newsstand Price $1.00 Fundraising home run
at 2019 Moorings’
News 1-8 Faith 45 Pets 46 TO ADVERTISE CALL ‘Habitat Classic.’ P10
Arts 27-33 Games 47-49 Real Estate 67-80 772-559-4187
Books 44 Health 51-55 St. Ed’s 34
Dining 60 Insight 35-50 Style 56-59 FOR CIRCULATION
Editorial 42 People 9-26 Wine 61 CALL 772-226-7925

© 2019 Vero Beach 32963 Media LLC. All rights reserved.

2 Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Environmental Learning Center A COO is typically considered second- He also acknowledges that “there and I are essentially performing ex-
in-command. But asked whether Kear- were some conflicts on campus ecutive director duties,” Barr said,
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 ney had been in line to take over from among a few staff. We are making ev- explaining that the two men meet
Steinwald, Barr said: “After Molly left, ery effort to address the root causes with all staff weekly, hold regular de-
to differences in governance and un- Margaret did not succeed her so – no.” of any conflict so that we can better partment head meetings and “pro-
derstanding of the immediate needs address the mission of the ELC.” vide direction and support for staff as
of the organization.” Including the two vacant positions, needed.” He calls the remaining staff
the ELC has 14 fulltime staff positions That mission, according to the ELC “outstanding and capable.”
Kearney, who was hired as COO in along with a number of part-time po- website, is “to educate, inspire and
2016, also submitted a letter of resig- sitions and a cadre of volunteers. empower all people to be active stew- An executive director search com-
nation to the ELC Board and the ELC ards of the environment and their mittee has been formed, but because
Foundation Board in which she ex- Barr acknowledged there has been own well-being.” the search process will take up to 6
plained the reasons for her exit, ac- staff turnover in addition to the two months, Barr said the board is “con-
cording to a source, but the letter has high-profile resignations since the Meanwhile, Barr says a major ex- sidering hiring an interim executive
not been made public. shift in organizational focus, but con- pansion effort is on track despite director so that the board chair and
tends that isn’t unusual when an insti- the loss of the organization’s top two vice-chair can go back to governing
One possible bone of contention tution embarks on major reorganiza- leaders. rather than managing.” 
could have been leadership succession. tion.
“Currently, the board vice-chair

Gifford Health Center
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Department’s decision to pull out of
Gifford when they met at the district
chairman’s meeting last Wednesday,
which was their first chance to speak
together about the matter due to Sun-
shine laws.

During the meeting, Health Depart-
ment director Miranda Hawker sat
grim-faced and silent, her raised hand
ignored, while board Chairwoman
Marybeth Cunningham allowed trust-
ees to vent.

Trustees Karen Deigl and Mi-
chael Weiss called the department’s
planned pullout from Gifford a breach
of the lease and wanted to pursue le-
gal remedy.

Trustee Allen Jones, who has spear-
headed efforts to expand the care
available at the Gifford clinic, ques-
tioned future collaboration with the
Health Department, saying it de-
pended on “whether the Health De-
partment feels it can make any kind
of commitment that they can honor.”
Currently, the Hospital District re-
imburses the Health Department for
close to $1 million in indigent care
delivered at Gifford Health Center and
elsewhere.

Then the Hospital District’s attor-
ney, Jennifer Peshke, proposed an
interim solution: Instead of consoli-
dating services at the main Health
Department clinic at the county gov-
ernment center, as the email outlined,
couldn’t adult and pediatric primary
care be consolidated at the Gifford
center instead?,

When Hawker was finally asked to
speak at the meeting last week, she
told trustees, “I do believe there is op-
portunity to look at consolidation at
the Gifford site.”

For nearly a year, district trustees
have shown deep concern for the Gif-
ford community where life expectan-
cy is a decade shorter than in white
neighborhoods a few miles away. Sev-
eral have personally attended Gifford

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 3

NEWS

Health Council meetings, taken tours “Over these last few months, our ac- and there is a possibility of a second cies, along with enhanced Medicaid
of pockets of poverty and spoken at tions more than show as a board that proposal from Whole Family Health and Medicare reimbursement rates.
length with leaders of various health- we are committed as a board to work Centers. Treasure Coast operates as Both agencies can also accept philan-
care agencies about how to remedy to ensure that these services continue a federally qualified health center, thropic dollars.
the dearth of services and reach out to not only for the current funding cycle or FQHC; as such, it receives federal
more patients in need. but into the future and the long-term grants. Whole Family is an FQHC Loo- State Departments of Health receive
plan for a full-service health clinic.” kalike, meaning while it doesn’t re- none of that, even as cuts in Medicaid,
That personal investment of time ceive federal grants, it does have the their main source of revenue, con-
by the volunteer District Board may In the current proposal round, same access as Treasure Coast to dis- tinue; as a result, Hawker said, many
have triggered some of the ire over Treasure Coast Community Health is counted drugs to sell at its pharma- counties were cutting primary care al-
Hawker’s pullout. Consolidating at expected to again submit a proposal, together. 
the Health Department’s main clinic
would mean moving care three miles NEW LISTING
away from Gifford Health Center. The
impediment to care created by that Exclusively John’s Island
distance was exactly what the Hospi-
tal District intended to eliminate in Sited along the N. Course and perfectly suited for casual entertainment, is this
2003 when it spent $2.6 million in tax- beautifully appointed 4BR/4BA residence including 1BR/1BA guest cabana.
payer money to build a health center Revel in the serenity of secluded pool and fairway views from all principal
in the heart of Gifford. bedrooms. Offering 5,730± GSF, features include a generous living room
with double-sided fireplace opening onto a bright and airy family area and
Last year, the Hospital District adjoining island kitchen, handsome paneled library with custom built-ins and
sought proposals from healthcare fireplace, a bonus art studio, wet bar and architectural detailing throughout.
organizations to run an expanded 321 Sea Oak Drive : $2,650,000
Gifford Health Center offering more
services and types of care. The Health three championship golf courses : 17 har-tru courts : beach club : squash
Department, which has run the clinic health & wellness center : pickleball : croquet : vertical equit y memberships
since 2004, and Treasure Coast Com-
munity Health Care both submitted 772.231.0900 : Vero Beach, FL : JohnsIslandRealEstate.com
proposals for the job but seemed to
base their proposals on widely differ-
ing patient volumes.

The Hospital District then sought a
more formal second round of propos-
als, pushing back the date when ex-
panded services will start until next fall.

This time around, the Health De-
partment is not bidding on the job
due to financial concerns, despite
having strong support in the Gifford
Community.

While Gifford leaders were nota-
bly absent from the district meeting,
NAACP president Tony Brown seemed
unsurprised by Hawker’s move, saying
it was to be expected “when you put the
Health Department in a predicament
where they have no other options.

“This was a cause and effect from
Day One, when the district stepped in
and started to initiate what it thought
was the best thing for Gifford,” he
said. “It should have been the Health
Department all along. Just give them
what they needed and bring [the cen-
ter] back to what it used to be.”

In November, Brown took the podi-
um in a televised district meeting with
much the same message, lambasting
the Hospital District board for putting
the management of the Gifford center
out for bid.

“Our community has been deeply
troubled,” he said. “We did not ask for
a divorce. We are very much comfort-
able with the Health Department.”

Attorney Peshke made clear
Wednesday that the talk of legal action
against the Health Department didn’t
mean the Hospital District was waver-
ing in its commitment to Gifford.

“Nothing has changed on the end
of the district with regard to our fund-
ing commitment,” she told the board.

4 Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

My Vero the South County to Sebastian. Have find a convenient place to park? And if that our beachside parking shortage
you thought about how all that growth these businesses are forced out, what is a problem for only a few hours each
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 will impact the Central Beach business will replace them? day, for only a few months each year
district? and, really, only along Ocean Drive.
And we already know the possible The issue needs to be addressed now,
remedies – metered parking along The people who buy those homes probably with some combination of ac- Those few hours and those few
Ocean Drive, shuttle service to and will find their way across the bridges in tions, because there’s no cure-all solu- months, however, mean everything to
from lots at Riverside Park, installing search of dining, entertainment, shop- tion: Ocean Drive merchants, who will strug-
center-street parking along Cardinal ping and the beaches. They’ll want to gle to stay in business if those seasonal
Drive and, ultimately, the construc- enjoy the seaside pleasures offered  While paid on-street parking sales dissipate – even as the number
tion of a municipal parking garage. along Ocean Drive, and they’re sure probably would discourage many of people who move to, live season-
to bring family members and friends hotel and restaurant employees from ally and visit Vero Beach increases each
It’s also possible the city could do who come to visit them. occupying the shop-front spaces year.
nothing, which, other than occasion- needed by Ocean Drive merchants,
ally responding to beachside business They’ll all need a place to park. some shoppers might consider it a And it will.
owners’ complaints by see-sawing The same goes for the increasing nuisance, and the meters or kiosks We don’t need a study to tell us what
between two-hour and three-hour numbers of tourists who flock to the could change the feel of the Central we already know about the beachside
parking time limits, is how Vero Beach island each year, as Vero Beach con- Beach business district, at least until parking situation. We know the prob-
officials have been dealing with the tinues to draw raves on social-media everyone gets used to it. lem, know the cause of the problem
problem for years. sites promoting top places to retire. and know the possible solutions.
Like it or not, the secret is out.  The discontinued Riverside Park What we need is for the City Coun-
A new study isn’t going to change Doing nothing remains an option shuttles proved to be a total failure, cil to tackle a problem that won’t go
anything. for now, but not for long, because even but only because hotel and restaurant away. 
more people driving more cars will management, fearing increased costs
Nothing will change until we have a be looking for parking spaces along and potential liability, refused to make Suspected carcinogen
take-charge City Council that possess- Ocean Drive next year. riding them a condition of employ- CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
es the political courage to tackle the Eventually, in the not-too-distant ment. It’s a concept worth revisiting,
problem head-on – even if it means future, the beachside parking problem though, if management gets on board. Vero Beach, Indian River County, nor
spending more money than anyone could become untenable – to a point the Indian River Farms Water Control
wants to – and the vision to see be- where we lose the charm of Ocean  Installing center-street parking District has any plans to curtail use of
yond the shortsightedness of those Drive, with its wonderful mix of up- along Cardinal Drive would add more weed killers.
who refuse to accept that keeping Vero scale shops, boutiques and eateries, than 30 spaces, but they would have
the Vero of 20 years ago is no longer and our quality of life is diminished. little impact on the business-day park- All three local government bodies
practical. Think about it: How can these mer- ing shortage north of Beachland Bou- acknowledge using herbicides con-
chants turn profits if their custom- levard. Many of the people who shop taining glyphosate for landscaping or
Maybe you’ve noticed all those ers stop coming in because they can’t along Ocean Drive either can’t or won’t weed control in drainage ditches or
new housing developments out west, walk blocks to get to their destination. canals – despite findings of the World
where construction can be found from Health Organization, the state of Cali-
That brings us to the Big Kahuna of fornia, and researchers at the Univer-
beachside parking solutions, a long- sity of Washington that glyphosate,
term fix that will be costly, difficult to the main ingredient of the popular
justify and, again, not help everyone. weed killer Round Up, increases the
cancer risk of people exposed to it.
A parking garage.
Late September, Barbara Thomp- The U.S. Environmental Protection
son offered to sell to the city the .39- Agency found in 2017 that glyphosate
acre parcel now occupied by the Su- is not likely to be carcinogenic in hu-
per Stop convenience store, located mans, but a panel of scientists that
on Cardinal Drive, immediately north advises the agency criticized the study
of Camelia Lane and across the street behind that finding.
from The Tides restaurant.
She wanted $2.4 million. The city City, county and water control dis-
passed, even though City Manager trict officials all say the products they
Jim O’Connor admitted “there are use in or near water are approved by
limited options over there,” especial- the EPA and the Florida Department
ly land-purchase options the city can of Agriculture, are applied carefully
afford or is willing to pay for. and sparingly, and only used when
O’Connor went on to say buying mechanical methods of weed control
the land and building a three-level, are not feasible.
120-space parking garage would’ve
cost roughly $7 million, and that The Indian River Farms Water Con-
didn’t include the long-term mainte- trol District is the agency primarily
nance expense of operating a struc- responsible for drainage and storm-
ture on the beach. water control for about 54,000 acres
Certainly, that would’ve been a siz- in southeastern Indian River County,
able investment, especially for a proj- maintaining 227 canals, dikes and
ect that only partially addressed the ditches. David Gunter, superinten-
problem. dent since 2002, says he relies mainly
As O’Connor pointed out at the on mechanical excavators to keep ca-
time, Cardinal Drive doesn’t have a nals from flooding. But in areas that
parking problem, and the property is machines can’t handle, the district
located at the south end of the busi- hires a licensed contractor to spray
ness district, which might be too far to herbicides from trucks.
walk for people whose destination is
at Sexton Plaza or north of Beachland Gunter says the contractor, Future
Boulevard. Horizons, Inc., is directed to spray
Probably, O’Connor was right, just only target species such as Brazilian
as he was correct to remind everyone

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 5

NEWS

pepper and hydrilla, using “the most cides and it’s floating into the [Indian “Glyphosate is not coming out of my ed amounts” of herbicides containing
environmentally-friendly chemicals River] Lagoon,” Gunter said. system,” he said. “The components are glyphosate are used for weed control
that we can use.” And he said sub- not active as an herbicide anymore be- in and around facilities such as tanks,
merged vegetation is never sprayed He added that glyphosate is used only cause of the ph of the water.” valve pads, parking areas, buildings
during the rainy season from late a few times a year to control species and landscaping. Burke said work
spring to late fall. like alligator weed and torpedo grass As for Indian River County, utilities crews wear protective equipment, fol-
and claimed that it is buffered so that it director Vincent Burke wrote in an
“It’s not like we’re dumping herbi- doesn’t persist in the environment. email to Vero Beach 32963 that “limit- CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

6 Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Suspected carcinogen tists blame glyphosate runoff from it was not bad. We got a few tourists Among the recognizable name
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 excessive commercial and residen- who came by Friday and Saturday. brands found in the store were Salt
tial applications of Round Up for the Sunday was a little slow. Life, Ray-Ban and Cobian.
low manufacturer guidelines, and drastic reduction in sea grass cover in
refrain from spraying in rainy condi- the Indian River Lagoon over the past “It’ll get better once people know “People will like what they see,”
tions. eight years. we are here and see what we have.” Alon said. “We just need to get more
people to come see it.”
At county-owned and operated A study published in JAMA in 2017 The store is managed by Alon’s
Sandridge Golf Club, Director of Golf found a rapid increase in glyphosate daughter, Shani, who said many of Alon heads a family partnership
Bela Nagy told 32963 in an email that in humans. the people who stopped in told her that owns eight similar stores in Flor-
some products containing glypho- they liked the store and its wide se- ida, including one in downtown Del-
sate are used “in limited applications According to a Time.com article lection of beach merchandise. She ray Beach. The other stores, though,
as needed,” but that vegetative buf- about the study, “Researchers led said only 70 percent of the inventory are considerably larger, ranging in
fers around ponds and lakes act as by Paul Mills, professor of family arrived in time for the opening. size from 7,000 to 12,000 square feet.
natural filters for any runoff from the medicine and public health at the
golf course. University of California San Diego, “In two or three weeks,” she said, “This one is a baby-size store,” he
found that the percentage of people “we should be fully stocked.” said earlier. “It’s only 2,700 square
In Vero Beach, where city crews who tested positive for glyphosate, feet.”
maintain some 12 miles of mostly which is the active ingredient in the This past weekend, shoppers found
dry drainage ditches, public works herbicide Roundup, shot up by 500 displays of beach chairs, umbrellas Alon signed a five-year lease with
director Monte Falls said the pri- percent . . . [between 1993 and 2016]. and children’s toys, as well as skim the property owner, Miami-based
mary method of weed control is the The levels of glyphosate found in boards, in the open-air entryway. Sony Investment Real Estate Inc.,
use of weed-eaters four times a year. people also spiked by 1,208 percent shortly before Christmas. He also has
Falls said an herbicide called Aqua- during that time.”  Indoors, there was an array of an option for 10 additional years, if
Neat, which contains glyphosate, beach towels and blankets, swim- the business is a success.
is sometimes used on swales and Beach Planet opens wear, beach-fashion clothing and
ditches when mechanical equip- CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 footwear, beach jewelry, sunglasses The structure was initially built to
ment can’t keep up with vegetation and sunblock, beach mugs and ther- be a restaurant, but Sony was un-
growth. place had to offer. moses, and beach-décor signs and able to find a tenant willing to meet
“It was OK,” store owner Yair Alon magnets. its price – $12,000 per month in rent,
“We do not do herbicide treatment plus all taxes, insurance costs and
in any standing water,” he said. replied when asked about his open- There were also rows of neatly maintenance expenses.
ing weekend. “It was not good, but stacked souvenir T-shirts, sweat-
Besides being a suspected cancer shirts, hats and visors – most of them Alon said he explored the possibil-
hazard, some environmental scien- with the words “Vero Beach” em- ity of putting a store on Ocean Drive
blazoned on them – throughout the after visiting Vero Beach last year and
store, which projected a light, airy, seeing the building was available for
casual feel. lease. 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 7

NEWS

Vero Beach (sort of) clarifies council election ordinance

BY LISA ZAHNER code, not state statute, applies to city if the clerk fails to identify a missing nance states that when the city accepts
Staff Writer elections, and that in city code, the re- or incomplete document,” Acting City and deposits a check for qualifying
sponsibility clearly falls on the candi- Attorney Kira Honse advised the coun- fees, that does not automatically mean
Vero Beach voters had a special date alone. cil of the proposed changes before the a candidate is duly qualified. It also
election this week because of a dis- vote. states that the city clerk can make eligi-
pute over whose responsibility it was Circuit Judge Paul Kanarek never got bility decisions on his or her own, with-
to make sure Linda Hillman signed all to rule on this fine point of law. Before Councilwoman Laura Moss protest- out review by the canvassing board.
her paperwork. the trial date, the city agreed to hold a ed the changes, saying that the code
special election with Hillman on the was clear as is and the responsibility The changes also shortened the
Part of the argument used in court by ballot. falls squarely on the candidate and no period during which the city clerk is
Hillman’s attorney, before the case was one else and that the changes make allowed to accept most qualifying pa-
settled, was that Florida Statute should In the wake of the botched election, the code contradict itself – making the perwork. In the case last fall, Hillman
be applied to the local Vero election. the Vero Beach City Council last week question whether or not the clerk no- had turned in her entire candidate
The portion of state law Hillman’s Tal- voted to change the city code to be a tices or admits to noticing incomplete packet in July for a November election,
lahassee lawyer liked was the part that bit more in line with state law – but documents. That is a fuzzy matter that instead of waiting for the qualifying
appears to require state elections offi- one council member said the changes just invites further problems, Moss period. City Hall held onto the docu-
cials to notify candidates if something, may have made the legal water even said. ments for months before the missing
such as a signature or a document, is muddier. signature was discovered.
missing and to give the candidate a Mayor Harry Howle, seeing no need
chance to fix the paperwork. The updated Vero ordinance says to re-open the whole messy case, On the last day of qualifying, paper-
the city clerk, as chief municipal elec- thanked Honse for her work on the or- work will be due no later than noon,
That application of state statute over tions official, should notify a candidate dinance and said he was grateful the five hours prior to pulling candidate
a municipal election, as Hillman’s at- if the clerk notices something not right matter was over. As part of the settle- names out of a hat for ballot order at
torney pushed for, would have shifted with the paperwork. If the clerk does ment, neither party was supposed to 5 p.m.
the responsibility for making sure the not notice, the ultimate responsibility air grievances about the other, or sec-
submitted documents were complete still rests on the candidate submitting ond guess the outcome. “This will provide the clerk time to
from candidate Hillman to City Clerk the paperwork. review any last minute submissions
Tammy Bursick. Some changes to the code do seem prior to providing names to the su-
“This makes the city's code similar to clarify and simplify the election pervisor of elections,” Honse told the
Vero’s attorneys argued that city to the (state) statute, but also clarifies qualification process. The new ordi- council. 
that the candidate is responsible even

8 Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Judge asked to not loosen bond conditions in DUI death case

BY FEDERICO MARTINEZ Edward Ray Wheeler, 65, of Sebas- financial hardship” for his family. deny Wheeler’s requests.
Staff Writer tian sought permission at the Feb. 20 “This man is in so much pain, shock According to the Sebastian Police
hearing to have his alcohol and GPS
Family members and friends of a monitoring bracelets removed and and remorse,” said Wheeler’s attorney Department, Wheeler had a blood-
man and woman killed in a collision his house arrest lifted so that he can Robert Stone. level alcohol level of .29, more than
with an SUV driven by a man charged undergo knee surgery and take up to three times over the legal limit, when
with DUI manslaughter packed the 12 medications, most of which con- Stone also referred to the fatal in- he crashed his sports utility vehicle
courtroom and reacted emotionally tain alcohol. cident last Sept. 13 as an “unfortu- into a motorcycle carrying 67-year-
last week when the man asked Circuit nate accident,” which prompted a old motorcycle driver Lawrence C.
Court Judge Daniel Vaughn to loosen Wheeler told the judge he is quick rebuke from family members Rubino and 69-year-old passenger
his bond conditions. charged $250 per month for the al- and friends of the deceased, who had Teresa G. Calhoun, both of Sebas-
cohol monitor, which is “causing a squeezed into the courtroom and tian.
took turns pleading with the judge to
“This wasn’t an ‘accident,’” said Ru-
bino’s wife Carmen. “Edward Wheeler
made a selfish, senseless decision to
get inside his car and drive.”

Lawrence’s father, Bruce Rubino,
trembled and sobbed as he addressed
the judge.

“The impact tossed my son 50
feet into the air,” Bruce Rubino said.
“Ms. Calhoun was thrown 70 feet and
landed in a swamp with half of her
face missing.

“[Wheeler] is a drunk who killed
two people who were living comfort-
ably and had their lives taken away.
He has spent months on Facebook
complaining that he is the victim.
Now he’s asking for a reduction in his
bond conditions. If approved, that
would be a disgrace.”

The judge initially said he would
try to make a decision about Wheel-
er’s request the day of the hearing,
but had not done so as of Monday’s
press time.

Two days after the hearing, on Feb.
22, Wheeler’s attorney filed a motion
asking for an order of no contact that
would prohibit Rubino’s and Cal-
houn’s family and friends from com-
ing within 500 feet of Wheeler or his
residence – which would bar them
from attending future hearings.

Stone’s motion alleges that Bruce
Rubino verbally threatened Wheeler
while both families waited in the hall-
way outside the courtroom prior to
the Feb. 20 hearing, saying he would
kill him.

“The animosity of the alleged
victims’ family and friends is over-
whelming,” Stone wrote in his mo-
tion.

“They have yelled obscenities at
Mr. Wheeler and the undersigned
while attending court appearances.”

The alleged threats were not men-
tioned at the hearing but the judge
did order Wheeler and his attorney to
leave the courthouse first, before al-
lowing family and friends of Rubino
and Calhoun to leave.

The judge has not yet ruled on
Stone’s request. Rubino’s family did
not respond to calls or text messages
seeking comment. 

Anna Romer.

SEA OAKS CHARITY DAY NETS
FUNDS FOR FISH FOUNDATION P. 22

10 Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Fundraising home run at Moorings’ ‘Habitat Classic’

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF Tricia Bloom and Ann Marie Suglia. PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 that that check helped to fund – and
meet the people that will live in it – be-
Staff Writer PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE AND KAILA JONES cause they’re working there with you.
Getting to know them and seeing the
Members of the Moorings com- Cheryl Johns and Kay Keyser. Eleanor Renuart. difference it makes in their lives and in
munity closed out their 16th annual the community is very powerful.”
Habitat Classic Weekend of activi- committee chairman, said that their Habitat’s ReStore.
ties to benefit Habitat for Humanity fundraising and volunteer support of “It’s become the thing that the Moor- Event chairs Jean Hyde and Pat Al-
with a rousing Habi-Cocktail Party Habitat’s mission has grown over the lex thanked everyone for their over-
last Monday evening at the Moorings years. In addition to more than half ings does. It’s a Moorings’ tradition,” whelming generosity and the Moor-
Yacht & Country Club. of the residents participating in the says Sommers. “People like the Habi- ings staff for all of their hard work,
Presidents Day weekend festivities, tat model, which is not just to write a before passing the reins over to next
The party celebrated the culmina- roughly 40 residents regularly volun- check and then hope the charity did year’s event chairs, Karen and Randy
tion of three days of fun, fundrais- teer to help build houses and work at something good with it. But to write a Sones.
ing and fitness with a Hab-A-Heart check and then go work on the house
Shopping Day, bridge, croquet, golf In a letter to participants, Hyde and
and tennis tournaments, as well as a Allex noted that the Moorings com-
putting contest, Mah-jongg, 5K run/ munity epitomizes the concept of a
walk/bike event and, new this year, grassroots approach to bring about
pickleball. positive change.

More than 450 sun-kissed members Sommers said the event was on
gathered in the Governor’s Lounge to track to raise more than $350,000.
peruse more than 100 silent-auction When paired with an additional
items and chat about their collective $150,000 from the club itself through
experiences, while enjoying cocktails a sales tax incentive program target-
and a beautiful sunset. ing affordable housing organizations,
the committee hopes to fund three
Guests then adjourned to the din- houses, 20 rehabs and 20 scholar-
ing room to feast on a bountiful buffet ships.
prepared by Chef Ben Tench and his
staff, and later to bid on live-auction The foundation of the Moorings’
items. Habitat relationship was laid 20 years
ago by two Moorings members. It was
“One of the things that Habitat for the first private country club to col-
Humanity seeks to do with all of our lectively recruit volunteers and raise
hearts is to break the generational funds to support Indian River Habi-
cycle of poverty for families in need tat for Humanity programs. To date,
of an affordable house here in Indian Moorings residents have provided
River County,” said Sheryl Vittitoe, the funding and volunteers to build
Habitat president/CEO. “Thank you 68 Habitat homes and 45 home re-
for your generosity; thank you for all vitalization projects, and have also
of your participation this weekend. I funded 58 scholarships to Habitat
have been overwhelmed.” families. 

David Sommers, Moorings Habitat



12 Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 Mike Fifer, Robin Bessin, Ellen Fifer and Steve Bessin. Ann Hill, David Sommers and Jane Beattie.
Sheryl Vittitoe and Jeanne Fore-Moran.

Kevin Grant and Eleanor Renuart with Pat and Harry Allex. Dale Keyser and Chris Johns. Justin DiMaio and Sheryl Vittitoe.

Beatrice Querel.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 13

PEOPLE

David Sommers, Sheryl Vittitoe and Heidi Sommers. Randy and Karen Sones with Pat Allex and Jean Hyde. Gene and Susan Billero with Rene Donars.

Bradley Halberstam and Joan McLaughlin. Kevin Hughes and Aramis Casiano. PHOTOS: STEPHANIE LABAFF Belinda and David Becker with Marlie.

Bob Gruber with Jan and Peter McLachlan.

Perry Jeffords, Robin Bessin and Debbie Meeker.

14 Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Tony winner Benanti wows Riverside’s Supper Club

Ted and Debbie Berghorst. Dick and Nancy Shoemate with Marianne and Lon Chaikin. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE Doug and Dhuanne Tansil.

BY MARY SCHENKEL Orchid Lobby before filtering into the
Staff Writer Waxlax Theatre, transformed into a
swanky Skyline Room, to dine on a
Laura Benanti, the multi-talented lovely dinner by Elizabeth D. Kennedy
star of stage, screen and television, & Co.
delighted another sold-out audience
at last Monday evening’s Riverside Friends Committee chairs Rose-
Theatre Supper Club. mary Haverland and Anna Bain Slater
thanked sponsors and underwrit-
Guests gathered for cocktails in the ers before introducing Allen Cornell,

Rosemary Haverland and Mary Harnett. Alan and Sue Jackson.

producing artistic director/CEO, who performing her “dream role” as Eliza
noted the vital importance of fund- Doolittle in the Broadway version
raisers such as the Supper Club, say- of “My Fair Lady,” Benanti charmed
ing, “You make the magic on this stage with “I Could Have Danced All Night,”
happen.” before taking a completely different
tack, bringing down the house with
Benanti, who won a Tony Award a humorous medley of trending, rap
for her portrayal of Louise in the 2008 and show tunes that ended with “RE-
Broadway revival of “Gypsy,” capti- SPECT.”
vated her Vero Beach audience, begin-
ning with snippets from the musical Throughout her performance,
“She Loves Me” – calling the selection Benanti, whose parents were also
the “show in a nutshell of 15 minutes Broadway performers, shared snip-
or less.” pets of her life, including her first
role as the Maria understudy in “The
Relating that her 2-year-old daugh- Sound of Music,” where, when the star
ter is an “old soul” who wanted a jazz- went on vacation, she played opposite
themed birthday party, she and Todd Richard Chamberlin. She described
Almond, her music director and ac- and mimicked that fright as she sang
companist, sang Harry Chapin’s “Re- the first notes of “The Sound of Music”
member When the Music,” before she before finishing the piece in profes-
beguiled guests with several medleys sional splendor.
sung by Rosemary Clooney, and Joni
Mitchell. Benanti concluded with a stun-
ningly beautiful a cappella rendition
She turned the stage over to Al- of “A Quiet Thing,” from the short-
mond, who had the audience rocking lived musical “Flora the Red Menace.”
with laughter with a piece combining But, judging from the overwhelmingly
the works of two completely dissimi- positive reaction of the audience last
lar artists – Dolly Parton and Bach – Monday, the memory of Benanti’s
singing “He’s Gonna Marry Me” and Vero Beach performance will live on
“Jolene” as if composed by Bach. for many years to come. 

Sharing that she recently finished

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 15

PEOPLE

John Layng with Anna Bain and Tom Slater, and Amanda Layng. Barbara Baldwin, Teresa Winslow and Ann Strupp. Emily and Ned Sherwood with Liz and Tommy Farnsworth.

Roger and Nancy Lynch with Wheatie and Bob Gibb. Heidi Waxlax, Jeff Lynner and Sallie Gibson. Wayne Hockmeyer and Sue Scully with Marlynn and Bill Scully.

Betsy Biggs, Lyn Kennedy and Susan Pyles.

Tom and Nancy Zeuthen. Mark and Barbara Leigh.

16 Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Haiti Partners’ benefit embraces ‘hope for the future’

Carolyn White and Dave Johnson. Boo Spaulding with Joe and Marie Catapano. PHOTOS: MARY SCHENKEL AND KAILA JONES Maria Caldarone and Jane Standsfield.

BY MARY SCHENKEL the efforts of the Vero Beach-based donated silent- and live-auction including food and water.
Staff Writer nonprofit to provide a better life for items as well as a Haitian Market- “We know that in the long run,
Haitian residents through an in- place featuring a large assortment
The current turmoil in Haiti was novative education and leadership of hand-crafted Haitian artwork, we’ve got to work on education,”
on people’s minds at the Educate paradigm. including lustrous wooden bowls, said Engle.
and Celebrate fundraiser to benefit vibrantly colored artwork and ham-
Haiti Partners last Thursday eve- As the gentle Caribbean sound mered metalwork pieces. Because there is a lack of jobs in
ning at the Grand Harbor Golf Club. of Bjarne Jannik Kjaer’s steel drum Haiti, he said their educational ap-
Proceeds from the event support playing washed over them during In addition to educating 1,200 proach is to prepare students and
the cocktail hour, guests perused children through its Children’s parents to become entrepreneurs,
Academy and Learning Center and creating work for themselves to
Established 18 Years in Indian River County partner schools, Haiti Partners has make a living. “And so when you’re
launched various entrepreneur in there buying these things –
(772) 562-2288 | www.kitchensvero.com programs for the parents to earn whether it’s the art, whether it’s the
3920 US Hwy 1, Vero Beach FL 32960 an income, and some of those ef- hot sauce, whether it’s the hand-
forts were available as well – such made cards – you are helping Hai-
as notecards and paintings made tians to live a more dignified life
using paper hand-crafted from Hai- and put food on the table.”
tian plant fibers, and Merline’s Hot
Sauce, made in the U.S. from Carib- He introduced Rev. Dave John-
bean Scotch Bonnet peppers grown son, minister of mission and educa-
in the center’s gardens. tion at the Community Church of
Vero Beach, who spoke of his visit
“It’s an emotional time; it’s a very to Haiti. He shared that while their
tough time,” said John Engle after a poverty is real and needs are great,
Caribbean-style dinner. Engle co- Haiti is much more than poverty,
founded Haiti Partners in 2009 with corruption and endless needs.
Kent Annan, and the Children’s
Academy in 2012 with wife Merline. “Stereotypical views don’t take
into account the amazing beauty
“And in the midst of that emo- of the country and the people; they
tional roller coaster, you also find don’t account for the pride and the
extraordinary humanity, both in determination and the drive for a
Haiti and also here.” better life,” said Johnson.

Engle stressed that the situa- Sharing three realities that im-
tion will remain unstable until pressed him, he mentioned the
the country’s dramatic inequality beauty and hospitality of the people;
is addressed. “Haiti is one of five the feelings of joy and enthusiasm
countries on the planet that has the permeating the Children’s Academy;
worst inequality,” he said, noting and the inspiring scope of the Haiti
the other four are similarly volatile. Partners vision, one that is educat-
ing and preparing students, parents
“The vast majority has a terribly, and teachers for a better future.
terribly difficult life, and a very, very
small percentage lives in unbeliev- “In so many ways, Haiti Partners is
able luxury. And they’re also will- giving a whole community, not just
ing to do things to keep that luxury the children, hope for the future,”
coming. It’s a tough situation,” said said Johnson. “The world needs
Engle, adding that a corrupt gov- these models that you’re putting to-
ernment has enabled a hyperinfla- gether … not just Haiti.”
tion of prices for basic necessities,
For more information, visit haiti-
partners.org. 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 17

PEOPLE

Chris and Marc Richard. Samantha Kelly and Conner Kempe. Stephanie and John Smith.

Lee Moore, Toni Robinson and John Moore. Jill and Scott Herbst with Ingrid Biessart and John McIntosh. Dale and Betty Jacobs with Al DeRenzo.

Jeff Reynolds and Beth Livers. Tania Deary with Roz Allen. Jean and Gene Cravens. Al and Betty Sammartino.

18 Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

St. Helen’s ‘Grand Gala’: Cherishing school and its mission

BY KERRY FIRTH
Correspondent

Although it may have been a dress Bob and Carmen Stork with April and Tim Dooley. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE Anthony and Melanie Guettler.
up night for parents, the St. Helen’s
Centennial Grand Gala last Saturday kindergarten through eighth grade, ple acts of respect seem to be lost in students and the faculty, said Sandi
night at the Bent Pine Golf Club was so many of its graduates are bilin- today’s society and they are far more Harping, communications director
truly all about the children. More gual. And, while nearly 90 percent of valuable as life lessons than some of for the school.
than 200 supporters gathered togeth- the student population is Catholic, the book knowledge.”
er at the elegant dinner to raise oper- all denominations are welcome. “Our home association holds this
ational funds for St. Helen’s Catholic St. Helen’s newest principal, Lisa gala every year to raise funds, be-
School. This year’s gala was particu- “Perhaps what differentiates us Bell, began working there last spring cause tuition simply doesn’t cover all
larly special, celebrating the 100th most from the other schools is that we and was thoroughly enjoying the the costs,” said Harpring. “Roughly
anniversary of the Catholic parish. start each day with prayer. You can’t gala. 45 percent of our students receive
do that in public schools anymore some sort of financial aid. This gala
Guests enjoyed cocktails, dinner and it makes a difference,” said for- “We moved here from Palm gives us the opportunity to come
and dancing to the sounds of Jordan mer principal Howard Avril. “We also Springs, Calif., last June and we are together as a community of faith to
Thomas Odyssey Group and bid on teach manners and respect. Early totally in love with St. Helen’s and celebrate our parish and continue
a number of unique silent-auction childhood behavior carries through Vero Beach,” said Bell. “The parental our commitment to the mission of
items, including something hand- to adulthood. Our students address support in the St. Helen’s community our Catholic school. In the past we’ve
made and donated from each class. their elders as Mr. and Mrs. and learn is unsurpassed, as evidenced tonight. raised nearly $80,000 earmarked ex-
to stand and say good morning when This is just so much fun.” clusively for the school. Each year
“The building which now houses someone enters the room. These sim- gets better and better.” 
the school library was built a hun- Proceeds from the event have an
dred years ago,” explained Jeff Phil- immediate positive impact on the
lips, event co-chair with wife Lisa.
“The school itself is now 78 years old.
Tonight’s event helps support the on-
going operations and expenses of the
school, serving about 275 children in
grades K to eight.”

St. Helen’s, the only Catholic faith-
based school in Indian River County,
is the northernmost of the West Palm
Beach diocese, and prides itself on
its fundamental biblical values and
small-town atmosphere. Students
still study cursive, math, diagraming
sentences and language arts, but also
work on individual iPads, blending
the basics with the latest technology.
Spanish is taught all the way from

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 19

PEOPLE

Lisa and Will Bell with Dr. Michaela Scott. Dr. William and Lisa McGarry with John Moore. Howard and Judy Avril with Jacob Avril.

Graves and Sue Ellen Fromang with Leslie and Ben Guettler. Michael and Miriam Burns with Michael Burns and Mitchell Burns. Will and Ali Schlitt with Heather and Kevin Askin.

Jeff and Lisa Phillips. Nikolett and M.J. Connelly. Joel and Melissa Shine. Abi and Wes Harbin.

20 Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Iberian delicacies delight at ‘Wine and Dine’ for Hibiscus

BY MARY SCHENKEL
Staff Writer

A sold-out crowd of more than 200 Mackie Duch, Angel Andrade and Carole Casey. PHOTOS: MARY SCHENKEL Marie and Armund Ek.
guests enjoyed a delicioso culinary
journey at last Saturday evening’s Karen Loeffler and Ed Cortez. Robin and Brenda Lloyd. counselors at the Village, she has
Wine and Dine benefit at the Grand turned her life around. After obtain-
Harbor Golf Club, which this year fea- Hibiscus CEO/President Matt Mar- shared the story of one young wom- ing her GED with assistance from
tured a Taste of Spain and Portugal. kley, who started last June follow- an’s remarkable transition. their educational liaison, who works
Co-chaired by Mackie Duch and Car- ing the retirement of Paul Sexton, directly with the school district, she
ole Casey, the annual fundraiser to thanked sponsors, Guild members Once a self-harmer with suicidal entered their Career Pathways to In-
benefit the Hibiscus Children’s Cen- and guests for their support and, tendencies due to years of abuse by dependence program and now works
ter raised funds to help provide a bet- stressing that he wanted to coun- her father, she entered the Hibiscus part-time in a Vero Beach restaurant
ter future for the neglected, abused ter any possible thought that their Village in a state of depression and and is attending classes at Indian
and abandoned teens residing at the dollars aren’t making a difference, uninterested in school. Through the River State College.
Hibiscus Village in Vero Beach. supportive guidance of the staff and
“She has come full circle,” said
A classical guitar played by the Markley, noting that what he has seen
talented Ed Cortez greeted arriving over the eight months has been “just
guests, who were handed glasses of amazing.” “These kids aren’t bad; but
a Spanish Cava by a charming young the situations they come from are.”
matador, Angel Andrade. Cortez was
joined later in the dining room by Proceeds from Wine & Dine sup-
fellow members of the Third Dimen- port the Village’s long-term home
sion, Meg Hickey and Chuck Hollis, to environments for teens, providing
entertain over dinner and dancing. them with “nurturing, love and en-
couragement along with education-
The two hallways leading to the al services and career preparation
dining rooms were each lined with training.”
numerous silent-auction items do-
nated by Hibiscus Guild and board For more information, visit hibis-
members, including quite a few cuschildrenscenter.org. 
wine-centric baskets. Guests could
also purchase raffle tickets for some
enviable items, and a wine toss game
gave everyone a chance to stock up
their own reserves.

Grand Harbor’s culinary staff and
servers were kept busy replenish-
ing a tempting array of Spanish- and
Portuguese-styled dishes, as well as
the wines they were paired with, at
six food stations throughout the club.
Dishes included huevos endiablos,
wine-poached white asparagus, Man-
chego and focaccia, a Spanish char-
cuterie selection, seafood paella, veal
osso bucco, and for dessert, churros
with dulce de leche ice cream.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 21

PEOPLE

Bonnie Wilson and Caroline Taylor. Elke and George Fetterolf with Maya Peterson. Pam Huber with Mike and Jan Harrell.

George and Sue Sharpe with Michael Murray. Henriette Churney and Petra King. Robi and Sandy Robinson with Gail and Tom Prauss.

22 Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Sea Oaks Charity Day nets funds for Fish Foundation

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF
Staff Writer

Sea Oaks residents put on their game Brad Leu, Paul Delaney, Deb Benjamin, and Bela Nagy. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE AND STEPHANIE LABAFF Judith and Peter Saidel.
faces last Saturday for the annual Sea
Oaks Charity Day to benefit the Mardy Back: Louise Macy, Bonnie Bennett, Bonnie Markey, Linda Abert. Front: Joan Patota and Joanne Huot. Tom and Sally Fish.
Fish Children’s Foundation.
An added benefit, she said, is that once again for dedicating your fund- ticipate in the programs we support.”
For the past 15 years, active mem- community members learn about area raising event to benefit the Mardy Fish The Sea Oaks and MFCF “love”
bers of the barrier island community nonprofits and, if they don’t have the Children’s Foundation. You guys have
have hosted the Dick Knoll Tourna- time or ability to volunteer, they can raised so much money for the kids in match isn’t over yet. The club will host
ment in memory of one of its former still give back by participating in Char- this community,” said Fish. the MFCF Qualifying Wild Card Tour-
residents, with proceeds supporting ity Day. nament, which runs Feb. 27 to March 1.
area nonprofits that have included In- “During the last winter and spring The winner will earn a wild card entry
dian River Habitat for Humanity, the Tom Fish, MFCF board chairman grant cycle the foundation gave over into the Mardy Fish Children’s Foun-
Hope for Families Center and the We and Windsor tennis pro, was on hand $160,000 to local youth through our dation Tennis Championships, which
Care Foundation. to share in the post-activity celebra- health, fitness and nutrition-based runs April 29 to May 5 at the Boulevard
tion. programs. We really are making a dif- Tennis Club.
Paul Delaney, event organizer and ference in a lot of kids’ lives that with-
MFCF board member, saw this newer “On behalf of the MFCF I want to out your help wouldn’t be able to par- For more information, visit mardy-
partnership as a natural fit for the thank you, the Sea Oaks community, fishchildrensfoundation.org. 
community’s charity benefit.

“We’re a tennis club with 16 courts,”
he said. “All the people here love tennis
and want to be good citizens.”

After spending the morning taking
part in various activities – teeing up
on the greens at Sandridge Golf Club,
playing their hands at duplicate bridge,
taking a swing on the tennis courts, or
lacing up their shoes for the commu-
nity walk – more than 100 Sea Oaks
residents gathered on the porch of the
Tennis Center for an awards luncheon.

A few lucky winners even walked
away with raffle prizes, including a golf
bag and gift certificates.

“To understand why we do this, you
just have to drive across the causeway
and take a look around,” said Deb Ben-
jamin, of the motivation behind the
annual charity day.

“Whoever steps up to run the event
gets to choose the beneficiary. Paul
is really passionate about tennis and
the MFCF. We also wanted to do it for
an organization where the amount
of money we raise will make a differ-
ence.”

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24 Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

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St. Baldrick’s Cure Kids Cancer Gala: ‘Knight’ to remember

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF Mannino, event co-chair with Missy
Staff Writer Elward. “It’s the Year of the Knight.”

Guests at the annual St. Baldrick’s Explaining that the nonprofit honors
Cure Kids Cancer Gala last Saturday its ‘shavees’ for three, seven, 10 and 15
gathered to celebrate the Year of the years of participation, he noted that a
Knight at the Quail Valley River Club, number of Indian River supporters will
joining together to support childhood be honored for ‘braving the shave’ for
cancer research in hopes of conquer- seven years.
ing the devastating disease.
“During our March 30 Brave the
“This year is special,” said Frank Shave, shavees will be dubbed Knights
of the Bald Table,” said Mannino.

Cara Pettit with daughters Nadia and Nina. PHOTOS: STEPHANIE LABAFF

Frank Mannino and Missy Elward. Pam Weixler and Debbie Lovell.

This local arm of the national or- raised through St. Baldrick’s events
ganization has raised more than are crucial to finding a cure.
$750,000 over the past six years, and
it is their hope that in this Year of the “We’re hoping that doing more of
Knight, they will reach a cumulative these events will bring more aware-
$1 million toward childhood cancer ness about what St. Baldrick’s Foun-
research. dation does, so we can collect more
funds for kids,” said Elward.
“Until no child has to suffer, until
no parent has to feel the pain, the fight Spirits were high at the prospect
goes on,” said Mannino, citing his ta- of making a difference in these chil-
gline. “We’re not going to give up until dren’s lives. Guests enjoyed passed
we conquer kids cancer and these kids hors d’oeuvres and carving stations
and their parents don’t have to suffer. on the back porch while DJ Garrett
We do this so that more families don’t kept things lively inside.
have to face the possibility of losing a
child.” Among the more than 100 silent-
auction items were several giraffe
Statistics show that cancer claims paintings donated by Debbie Lovell
the lives of more children in the Unit- to honor the memory of her daugh-
ed States each year than any other ter, Chelsey. The 18-year-old lost her
disease, and that worldwide, a child is battle with cancer in 2012.
diagnosed every two minutes.
Lovell has been a big supporter of
Since its founding in 2005, the St. St. Baldrick’s mission in the hopes
Baldrick’s Foundation nationwide that other families won’t have to en-
has provided $258 million in research dure the pain of losing a child.
grant funding, making it the largest
private childhood cancer research On March 30, St. Baldrick’s partici-
funder. With only four percent of pants will Brave the Shave at the seventh
U.S. federal funding directed toward annual St. Baldrick’s Big Shave fund-
childhood cancer research, monies raiser from noon to 5 p.m. at Capt. Hi-
ram’s Resort in Sebastian. For more in-
formation, visit stbaldricks.org. 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 25

PEOPLE

Jimmy Dupuis, John O’Connor and Will Willmot. Beth Petrone and Croce Giambanco with Riley and Dr. Curtis Dalili. PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 26
Kelly Huber, Lisa Ferguson-Sanford and Ann Wald.

Val and Jayme Bryan with son Princeton.
Amanda Hannan, Teresa Rodgers and Lori Simmons.
Shawn Venazio, Kimberly Taylor and Marni Howder.

26 Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25 Marianne and Frank Mannino with Lee and Arla Suekoff. Brooke Huttig, George and Rita Allen and Joe Huttig.
Mike and Shawn Venazio with Kit and Lundy Fields.

Joe and Linda Triolo with Bob Van Dyk.

Regina and Eric Hunter.

Denise and Bob Laino with Jenna Mazziotta.
Kevin and Susan Janssen.

STREET ARTIST CREATES AN INSPIRING
CLASSROOM DYNAMIC

28 Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

Street artist creates an inspiring classroom dynamic

BY KELLY FIRTH Christopher Sweeney at ting at the table and drawing with my
Correspondent Beachland Elementary School.
kids,” says Sweeney.
Christopher Sweeney, a 29-year- PHOTOS BY KAILA JONES
old Beachland Elementary School “My classes are always interactive. I’ll
art teacher, is like a modern-day pied and eventually became an elementary
piper, charming students with his car- school art teacher in Fort Pierce. Swee- have them draw an image on a sheet of
toon characters and hands-on teach- ney next worked for a couple of years at
ing skills, while leading them into a life Pelican Island Elementary School in Se- paper and then I’ll draw my version of
filled with wonder and imagination. bastian, before landing his dream job at
Beachland Elementary School last year. the same image with enhancements.
“The younger the child, the more
impressible he is,” Sweeney explains. “I’ve always had a passion for art and They enjoy seeing a simple drawing
“Exposing children to art is opening up I’ve always been good with kids,” says
a whole new world beyond the video Sweeney, adding that while in college, he morph into a unique character with
games and electronics.”
personality. My entire classroom is wall-
Sweeney says he enjoys seeing the
excitement in their eyes as he chal- papered with their drawings.”
lenges them to use cartoon drawings to
convey emotional messages and bring He is particularly pleased when see-
the characters to life. He gets even more
satisfaction when his young charges ing his students doo-
show an interest in his work outside the
classroom; occasionally inviting their dling on placemats
families along to watch him paint mu-
rals on the sides of buildings. in a restaurant rather

After studying art, education and so- than playing on their
ciology at Jacksonville University, the
New Jersey native taught middle school phones.
grades six to eight in north Florida,
“Often I see they

are drawing my sig-

nature robot and

that warms my

worked in a day care heart.”

center and volun- He explains that

teered at a Boys and his robot – now

Girls Club. Taylor Stutzman with Christopher Sweeney. visible on murals

“My mom was a around town – came

second-grade teacher, so I was always to life during his second year of teach-

around younger children. Teaching ing, when his class lesson was to create

art to young children was the perfect a comic book character.

blend of my two passions. I enjoy sit- “We started with simple shapes;

Museum & Gallery THE DELICIOUS

TRADITION RETURNS!

Advance Tickets: $20 Adults,
$10 Children under 10

Online: www.BackusMuseum.com
Phone: 772-465-0630

Don’t miss your chance to win this
Original Backus Painting!

A.E. Backus Museum & Gallery

500 North Indian River Drive Historic Downtown Fort Pierce
(772) 465-0630

www.BackusMuseum.com

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 29

ARTS & THEATRE

a circle for the body, a square for the included in the Ultimate Street Color- popular street art, and just about every- sponsors who are underwriting the sup-
head, then a heart like the tin man and ing Book, produced by the Miami Arts one wants to position themselves for a plies, and the building owners who are
gloved hands like Mickey Mouse. The District, featuring the top 100 artists photo as a butterfly, or angel or bird.” allowing us to create designs on their
eyes are XO’s for hugs and kisses be- in the country. walls,” says Annabel Robertson, UP ex-
cause he runs on love.” “The driving force behind this cam- ecutive director.
“I was featured with artists I had been paign is a collaborative of local artists
Before he knew it, the robot was admiring and looking up to for years,” who are donating their time and talent, Despite his success as a street artist,
dancing and surfing and the kids were he says with excitement. “I realized that Sweeney says he has no intentions of
hooked. the XO robot and stretched heart had leaving the classroom.
universal appeal. Everyday I’m drawing
“The most important thing a teacher him doing something new.” “Teaching is fun and so rewarding.
can do is engage the student,” he ex- Exposing them to art at an early age will
plains. “I stumbled on a cartoon char- Sweeney says his goal is to create impact the rest of their life. My murals
acter that grabbed their attention.” his own interactive coloring books may be painted over in the future, my
for children and adults featuring his canvases may be damaged or discard-
Piggybacking on the reception characters. ed, but the impression I’ve made on my
to his XO robot, Sweeney created a students is lasting. That’s what really
stretched-heart drawing that now of- “I want some of my murals to be matters.” 
ten accompanies XO. pages out of the coloring books, so that
children can visit the pages in larger- HOT GLASS
“We all have challenges in life that than-life renditions. They can scope
stretch our hearts. They get pulled and out their locations on my website and The Treasure Coast’s largest collection of
twisted and wrapped around obstacles, photograph their families in a page contemporary glass and one of America’s
but if you open your heart up to love they from their book. You might say it’s a Coolest Stores, right here in Vero Beach.
will never break,” he says. “My message live ‘Where’s XO?’ hunt.”
is all about sharing love; we need more
positivity in this world.” Running on an endless amount of
creativity and energy, Sweeney recently
While living in Jacksonville, Sweeney teamed up with fellow artists as part of
took his art to the streets in a big way – a United Against Poverty Uplifting Vero
using blank walls on the sides of build- campaign, which ties in with the non-
ings as his canvas. His whimsically profit’s message of inspiring people to
comical murals now enhance buildings lift themselves out of poverty and into
in several cities throughout Florida, in- economic sufficiency.
cluding Fort Pierce and Vero Beach.
The campaign will feature inspira-
“I call myself a contemporary street tional wings of various shapes, sizes
artist. My style is more Pop Art with car- and mediums that will be incorporated
toon characters. When I paint on canvas into interactive art spaces all over Vero,
it’s for the enjoyment of the one person spreading the message that everyone
who bought it; when I paint on build- can lift themselves up from whatever
ings it’s for public enjoyment. It gives obstacle they are facing.
me the opportunity to have a fan base
for people who maybe can’t afford my “I just finished the first wing painting
artwork. And I love to see my students on the United Against Poverty building,
with their families taking photos.” featuring my stretched heart twisting
itself around the wings,” says Sweeney,
It generally takes two to three days referencing the New UP Center, sched-
to complete a mural, depending on the uled to open this summer. “Wings are
size of the wall. Sweeney first sketches
out his vision with a sharpie and then
fills it in with a can of acrylic spray paint.

“The painting evolves in the process,”
he explains. “I get entrenched in the de-
sign and go to town with the spray can.
Then I step back, look at it, and make
modifications. Everything, including
the words, is done with a spray can. I
only use a brush to fine tune and blend.”

Sweeney says he was honored to be

ATLANTIC CLASSICAL ORCHESTRA

F Bizet
Symphony in C
El amor brujo: Ballet Suite

Tara Curtis, mezzo - soprano Rossini

Eva Conti, flamenco Overture to L’Italiana in Algeri

Thursday, March 14 Community Church
7:30 p.m. Vero Beach

CLASSICAL ORCHESTRA 772.460.0850 2910 CARDINAL DRIVE, VERO BEACH • 772-234-6711 • THELAUGHINGDOGGALLERY.COM

DAVID AMADO

Music Director & Conductor www. AtlanticClassicalOrch estra.com

30 Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

Robe trip: When kimonos were ‘Designed to Mobilize’

BY ELLEN FISCHER display and researching the symbolism PHOTOS BY BENJAMIN THACKER tended to appeal to the imagination of
they hold, to designing the layout of the an adult male. In the case of a little boy’s
Columnist gallery, installing the objects, and creat- is displayed inside out, as are other gar- garments, war-themes proudly decorat-
ing the didactic signage and labels that ments in the exhibition, so that you can ed the outside of the kimono.
An exhibition at Florida Institute of enhance visitors’ understanding of what see the decoration on its lining. On the
Technology’s Ruth Funk Center for Tex- they are viewing. An impressive exhibi- outside, this jacket is a plain, brown gar- The beginning of the 20th century was
tile Arts is a landmark for the museum. tion of international importance, this ment. But its lining tells a story of mili- a time of momentous change in Japa-
Thanks to a 2014 gift from a California exhibition does FIT proud. tary might. Its back lining has a hand- nese society. Military conquests, includ-
collector, the exhibition was curated al- painted depiction of Japanese biplanes ing the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95,
most exclusively from the museum’s col- Take for example, one of the haori (a soaring and diving over a fleet of war- the Japanese invasion of Taiwan in 1895,
lection of Japanese propaganda textiles. hip- or thigh-length jacket) on view. It ships: the bombs dropped by the planes the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 and
are depicted as sprays of water in the pic- the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in
Continuing through May 4, “Designed ture’s immediate foreground. 1931-32, fueled Japan’s economic devel-
to Mobilize: Propaganda Kimono 1920- opment and imperialist drive. Its aim of
1945” features 75 historic textiles – kimo- The lining of the jacket’s left front leading Asia in world policy encouraged
nos, haori (jackets), juban (a thin under- bears a painted and embroidered depic- the Japanese public to bank on continu-
garment worn between the kimono and tion of Admiral Tgō ō Heihachir,ō a Russo- ing military success and the captured
the skin), and framed textile fragments. Japanese War hero who died in 1934. territories that came with it.
Made for men and boys, the textiles Japan left the League of Nations in 1933;
showcase printed, stenciled, painted the following years saw the escalation of Lest you think that the show is a paean
and embroidered depictions of soldiers, Japan’s military ambitions. Wearing the to Japan’s history as a mighty conqueror
tanks, ships and planes that extolled Ja- admiral’s image above the heart not only with a quirky fashion sense, Navaroli is
pan’s military might in the years leading honored the hero’s contributions to his clear about the exhibition’s purpose.
up to and during World War II. country, it also reminded the wearer of
his own patriotic duty. “First and foremost, this is an exhibi-
According to Keidra Navaroli, assistant tion about World War II,” she says.
director and curator of the Funk Center, Such pictures and printed textiles
“this exhibition was an all-hands-on would never, ever be worn on the visible It can be touchy to put this kind of ma-
deck sort of job” that museum staff “built part of a man’s garment, says Navaroli. terial on display. Navaroli notes that in
from the ground up.” addition to the number of U.S. military
On another kimono lining, the repeat- veterans who make Melbourne their
All aspects of the exhibition were done ing image of a man on a machine gun- home, the FIT campus has a “diverse
in-house, from selecting the objects for mounted motorcycle seems the stuff of student body, with a lot of international
a preteen boy’s daydream, but it was in- students from Southeast Asia, Korea and
China.”

Those countries have painful memo-
ries of Japanese imperialism.

For that reason, the gallery’s staff held
a number of focus groups in 2018, with
constituent members of the Funk Cen-
ter’s audience. They included the center’s
docent corps – some of whom were chil-
dren during World War II – a veteran’s
group from the Brevard Veteran’s Memo-
rial Center and FIT student groups.

The goal of the groups was to inspire
a meeting of the minds on the topic of
Japanese war propaganda. Rather than
dilute the content of the exhibition, the
Funk Center staff wanted to expand on
the subject to engage every visitor who
views it.

WILLIAM MCCARTHY

ATMOSPHERIC LANDSCAPE
Feb 26th - March 30th 2019

Opening Special Reception
Thursday Feb 28th, 5-8 pm

First Friday Gallery Stroll
March 1st 5-8pm

Reception sponsored by Artfully Managed

1911 14th Ave • Vero Beach FL 32960
772.562.5525 • gallery14verobeach.com

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 31

ARTS & THEATRE

One of the most valuable recommen- of Asian art at Florida State University’s these textiles’ creation. Future.” That last one features textile de-
dations generated by the focus groups John and Mabel Ringling Museum of Art The Funk’s L-shaped gallery is divided signs for boys’ garments that mix images
was for a display of comparable Ameri- in Sarasota. of toy-colored military machines, pup-
can material alongside the Japanese ob- for this show into themed sections, titled pies and boys holding miniature rifles.
jects on display. The subject groups’ wish Navaroli stresses the importance, according to the aims of the textile de-
was the Funk Center’s command. from gallery signage to docent training, signs grouped within them, including: Just inside the gallery and to your right,
of providing the visitor to “Designed to “A Modern Society,” “Military Might,” a timeline stretches across the wall. It be-
An adjunct to the show includes a dis- Mobilize” with perspective concerning “Expanding an Empire” and “Raising the gins not in the year 1853, when Commo-
play of 1940s-era textiles made in the dore Matthew Perry of the United States
U.S. The American equivalent of Japan’s Navy forcibly opened Japan to trade, but
populist wartime designs, these scarves, in 1868. That is when Japan transitioned
fabric fragments, a promotional fan, a from a collection of feudal shogunates to
button and even a pair of panties are var- a centralized state under the rule of the
iously emblazoned with the phrases “V Emperor, whose previous role in Japan
for Victory” and “Remember Pearl Har- was primarily a religious one. It ends
bor,” as well as some unattractive carica- with the surrenders of Germany and Ja-
tures of “bad eggs”: Hitler, Mussolini and pan in 1945.
a Japanese soldier.
As usual, in-gallery educational expe-
The latter are offset by portraits of riences are offered to visitors. In the gal-
Allied heroes, including MacArthur, lery’s final section, you can fold a paper
Churchill and Roosevelt. The American crane – a symbol of peace – with provid-
material came from the personal col- ed origami paper, or you can write your
lection of one of the consulting curators thoughts about the exhibition in note-
for the exhibition, Jacqueline M. Atkins, books provided for the purpose.
who was formerly curator of textiles at
Pennsylvania’s Allentown Art Museum. “It’s good to be able to present ‘De-
signed to Mobilize’ with objects from
According to Navaroli, Atkins is re- our own collection, not only for the pub-
sponsible for recommending the Ruth lic’s sake, but also to show the donor that
Funk Center to Erik Jacobsen – a Cali- these objects are in good hands,” says
fornia collector with whom she has Navaroli.
long had a friendly rivalry at auctions of
propaganda textiles – as a home for his The Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts at
collection. The other consultant for the FIT is located at 150 W. University Blvd.,
exhibition was Rhiannon Paget, curator Melbourne. For more information, visit
textiles.fit.edu. 

32 Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

Coming Up: ‘Howl at Moon’ will be ragin’ Cajun for Mardi Gras

BY SAMANTHA ROHLFING BAITA seats, $12; table seating, $16-$22; 3 Don’t go away because Sunday, 4 Victoria’s Secrets: a fascinat-
Staff Writer Live on the Loop, free. 772-231-6990. March 3, the Treasure Coast ing afternoon at the Vero

Chorale celebrates with a live concert, Beach Museum of Art. This Monday,

1 Summon your inner Cajun: 2 You’ll find myriad celebratory “Goin’ Home,” at First Baptist Church March 4, Anglophiles will want to
You’re definitely going to lais- music and event choices all
(which, by the way, had its own 100th attend the Museum’s Lecture Se-

sez les bon temps rouler at Riverside through 2019, Vero Beach’s Centen- birthday in 2016). The 65-voice-strong ries Simulcast presentation, “Vic-

Theatre’s Howl at the Moon Mardi nial year. (The fire marshal nixed Chorale will present a joyful pro- toria’s Secrets,” by Daisy Goodwin,

Gras Nights, this Friday and Satur- the cake.) This Saturday, March 2, gram, including Irving Berlin’s mov- novelist, TV producer and creator

day, March 1 and 2. Here’s the deal: area musicians will skillfully stuff ing rendition of “God Bless America”; of the popular PBS eight-part Mas-

It’s a live music request show with into only 90 minutes the best “Popu- the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s ver- terpiece Theatre series “Victoria.”

not two, but three hot, party-ready lar Music of Vero Beach over the last sion of “This Is My Country”; a med- Britain’s beloved queen is most of-

pianists facing off, with you, the au- 100 years,” at Community Church of ley with Dvorak’s “Going Home” and ten pictured as a stern, black-clad

dience, in charge of the music. Keep- Vero Beach. You’ll enjoy the popular the Shaker hymn “Simple Gifts”; as matriarch, but Goodwin reveals

ing the bon temps rollin’ right along, IRCHS Jazz Ensemble; the “Dolls” well as some clap-your-hands gospel her many sides – “monarch, moth-

the servers and bartenders will part of the Vero Bagpipe and Drum tunes. Music Director Dr. Michael er, matriarch, minx.” The novelist

have beads for you to collect. And, Corps (certain to be a real delight); Carter adds that, in appreciation of read through Victoria’s diaries – “all

of course, there’s always free music and “others.” Look forward, says the “our beautiful current home near the 62 million or so words” – and now,

Live on the Loop, and plenty of food show promo, to an “entertaining ocean in Vero Beach,” the Chorale will through her, we’ll learn how Victo-

(Cajun this week) and beverages to afternoon of music from 1920s to perform a little Beach Boys music, and ria grew from giddy teen to working

purchase outside on the Loop, or today and everything in between,” there will be “soundbites from long- mother, then into the “grandmother

inside, with your server, at the Howl all “pop” tunes, and all enjoyed by time Floridians and newer residents.” of Europe”; how, at only 42, she was

show. The Rowdy Roosters Mardi young and old in our community, Other performers will be Chorale pals affected by the loss of her beloved

Gras Dixieland Jazz Band will be no matter when you counted your- “The Dolls” trio – drummer Richie Albert; and the nature of her rela-

playing the Loop both nights. These self in the “young” group. If you’d Mola, pianist Judy Carter and a brass tionship with her Highland servant

tres popular events can sell out, so like, make a donation at the door. All quartet. All in all, a terrific “Happy John Brown. “Victoria’s Secrets” will

act accordingly. Times: Howl show, the musicians are performing gratis Birthday to Vero Beach” afternoon. be shown in the Leonhardt Audito-

non-stop 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.; in honor of Vero’s 100th birthday. Time: 4 p.m. Doors open, 3 p.m. Ad- rium. Time: 4:30 p.m. Tickets: $70,

Live on the Loop, 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Time: 2 p.m. Admission: free. 772- mission: free. Donations always ap- members; $80, non-members. 772-

Tickets: Mardi Gras Howl show, side 226-2505 (weekdays). preciated. 772-231-3498. 231-0707, ext. 136. 



34 Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ST. EDWARD’S

Sports stalwart Kenney enjoyed ‘fun ride’ at St. Ed’s

BY RON HOLUB during practice, or do very well com- said. “Coach (Bill) Motta football around without padding up.
pared to those kids. So I backed off la- had us go through strenu- He had some parting thoughts on
Correspondent crosse and started to focus on football ous workouts in the sum- sports as he leaves the only school he
and basketball. mer. We were running in has known since he was 4 years old.
St. Edward’s senior TJ Kenney might the sand at South Beach
have been completely discouraged “I actually transitioned to varsity and he pushed us to our “The players in the future should be
from the start after he made the com- football at the end of my eighth-grade limits. That showed me grateful for what they have here. Some
mitment to pursue three varsity sports season. It was a huge change when I the aspects of what it takes people don’t have the opportunities
in high school, but he was able to started practicing with high school- to accomplish something that we do. The kids that are able to
overcome the self-doubt any eighth- ers. I was in drills with people a lot that is really hard to do.” play basketball or football here might
grader or freshman might confront in bigger than me and that was difficult. not be able to experience that at a larg-
that situation to become one of those While they were not actually picking We know Motta appre- er high school. All of the students here
team-oriented players coaches dream on me, I was getting pushed around ciates that type of invest- have the opportunity to play whatever
about. every day on the field. ment, and he saw it pay off sport they want. They should realize
for Kenney. how important that is now, and will
Well, that occurred in two of those “Basketball is also my favorite sport; be down the road.
three sports anyway. Self-awareness it’s 50-50 between basketball and “TJ played varsity foot-
made his foray into lacrosse short football. At the beginning of my var- ball for four full years,” “St. Edward’s is very special in that
lived, while basketball and football sity basketball career I wasn’t playing Motta said. “His athleti- way.” 
endured through high school and that much because other people were cism and aggressive play
proved instrumental in steering him much better than me. Once the years made him a dominant
toward an athletic oriented curricu- progressed and those guys graduated, football player in all three
lum in college. I had to stand up. This past season I phases of the game. TJ led
tried to be a team leader with the oth- our team in several of-
“I’ve been at St. Edward’s since pre- er two seniors, Anand Chundi and JP fensive and defense cat-
kindergarten, so it’s been a long run,” Scott.” egories – and that on-field
Kenney told us. “My dad played col- production got him recognition at the
lege basketball at Tufts University Wins and losses in high school district and state levels.”
and he introduced me to the sport at a seemed secondary to Kenney, al-
very young age. I played for him in rec though there was that SSAC state Varsity basketball head coach Greg
leagues and then I joined the middle- championship game as a sophomore. Zugrave said “TJ became a key leader
school team in sixth grade.” He described it as a “fun ride, espe- on our team by example. As an upper-
cially to bond with a bunch of kids classman he took particular interest
Kenney also started playing for who were playing so well.” in aiding the younger players. He is a
the middle-school football team as hard-working young man who accom-
a sixth-grader. When it was time to The Pirates lost that game in 2017, plished quite a bit in his time at St. Ed-
move up to the varsity teams a few and this season the football team took ward’s. His achievements should be
years later, he decided to go year- it on the chin to the tune of a 2-8 re- measured by the determination and
round and chose lacrosse as a poten- cord. Nevertheless, Kenney described will to win he showed throughout his
tial spring sport. But it wasn’t a good his senior year as his most memo- career.”
fit. rable, leading us to believe that there
was more to this picture than meets Kenney will attend the University
“I played one year of lacrosse my the eye. of Tampa and study Athletic Science.
freshman year and I was playing with His basketball life will continue on a
some pretty advanced players. I was “Football made me realize what recreational basis, and he may toss a
unable to get into the drills very much hard work was actually like,” Kenney



36 Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT COVER STORY

Both human and machine have 10 “The labor force keeps shrinking,” steel robots scooping up strawberries time, picking five strawberries every
seconds per plant. They must find the said Gary Wishnatzki, a third-gener- with spinning, claw-like fingers, guid- second and covering eight acres a day.
ripe strawberries in the leaves, gen- ation strawberry farmer. “If we don’t ed by camera eyes and flashing lights.
tly twist them off the stems and tuck solve this with automation, fresh fruits That potential is increasingly attrac-
them into a plastic clamshell. Repeat, and veggies won’t be affordable or Growers say it is getting harder to tive to growers, who say the Trump
repeat, repeat, before the fruit spoils. even available to the average person.” hire enough people to harvest crops administration’s tighter immigration
before they rot. policies are squeezing off the supply of
One February afternoon, they work The problem is so pressing that com- seasonal workers, as well as undocu-
about an acre apart on a farm the size petitors are banding together to fund Fewer seasonal laborers are com- mented labor.
of 454 football fields: dozens of pick- Harv, which has raised approximately ing from Mexico, the biggest supplier
ers collecting produce the way people $9 million from corporate behemoths of U.S. farmworkers. Fewer Americans Approximately half of the coun-
have for centuries – and a robot that like Driscoll’s and Naturipe Farms, as want to bend over all day in a field, try’s 850,000 farmworkers are not in
engineers say could replace most of well as local farmers. farmers say, even when offered higher the United States legally, according to
them as soon as next year. wages, free housing and recruitment 2016 data from the Department of La-
Wishnatzki, who created Harv with bonuses. bor, the most recent available.
The future of agricultural work has former Intel engineer Bob Pitzer, one
arrived here in Duette, Florida, prom- of the minds behind the television hit The number of agricultural employees Agricultural analysts say the labor
ising to ease labor shortages and re- “BattleBots,” has invested $3 million of in the United States is expected to stay shortage is already forcing up wages.
duce the cost of food, or so says the his own money. flat over the next seven years, according
team behind Harv, a nickname for the to the latest projections from the Bu- From 2014 to 2018, the average pay
latest model from automation com- The electronic picker is still pretty reau of Labor Statistics. As “productivity- for farmworkers rose faster than em-
pany Harvest CROO Robotics. clumsy. enhancing technologies” mature in the ployees in the broader economy, jump-
realm of mechanization, farms will re- ing from $11.29 to $13.25, according to
Harv is on the leading edge of a na- During a test run last year, Harv quire fewer people, even as demand for numbers from the Department of Ag-
tional push to automate the way we gathered just 20 percent of strawber- crops grow, the government researchers riculture.
gather goods that bruise and squish, ries on every plant without mishap. wrote.
a challenge that has long flummoxed This year’s goal: Harvest half of the Agriculture economists at Arizona
engineers. fruit without crushing or dropping Manufacturing underwent a simi- State University last year estimated
any. The human success rate is closer lar evolution. U.S. factories have in- that if farmers lost their undocument-
Designing a robot with a gentle touch to 80 percent, making Harv the under- creased output over the past two de- ed workforce entirely, wages would
is among the biggest technical obsta- dog in this competition. cades with a smaller workforce, thanks have to rise by 50 percent to replace
cles to automating the American farm. to machines that improve efficiency. them – and that would crank up pro-
Reasonably priced fruits and vegeta- But Harv doesn’t need a visa or sleep duce prices by another 40 percent.
bles are at risk without it, growers say, or sick days. The machine looks like a One Harv is programmed to do the
because of a dwindling pool of workers. horizontally rolling semi-truck. work of 30 people. The machine hovers Then there are other rising costs.
over a dozen rows of plants at the same Starting in 2025, all farms in Cali-
Peek underneath and see 16 smaller fornia – the nation’s largest fresh-food

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 37

INSIGHT COVER STORY

A flurry of robotic arms work tireless The Harvest
below the chassis of the Berry-4 auto- Croo Robotics team
mated strawberry harvesting robot as oversees the Berry-4’s
it picks through rows of strawberry plant. performance during a
demonstration earlier
this month.

Robotic claws used for The Berry-4 automated
picking berries at G&D strawberry harvesting
robot.
Farms in Duette, Fla.
Designing a robot with
a gentle touch is among

the biggest technical
obstacles to automating

the U.S. farm.

producer – must pay their employees They all make good money, he said. Antonio Vengas, 48, is role in helping people earn more mon-
overtime after eight hours a day in- They’re motivated. one of the about 600 ey,” he said.
stead of 10. employees on the
“People can pick strawberries with- farm with Harv. Out West, engineers at Washington
“Automation is the long-term solu- out hurting them,” he said. “They know State University are working with local
tion, given the reluctance of domes- which ones are too little or rotten. Ma- presentation demanded by consum- farmers to test an apple-picking ma-
tic workers to do these jobs,” said Tim chines can’t do that.” ers and the retail food industry,” said chine with 12 mechanical arms.
Richards, the Morrison chair of agri- Giev Kashkooli, political and legis-
business in the W.P. Carey School of Labor groups also doubt robots are lative director for the United Farm It drives down orchard rows, snap-
Business at ASU. prepared for the job. Workers of America, which represents ping pictures of trees. A computer
about 20,000 farmworkers across the brain scans the images and finds the
Wishnatzki said he lost around $1 “A machine cannot harvest deli- country. fruit. The arms grab and lower apples
million due to spoilage last year. He cate table grapes, strawberries or tree onto a conveyor belt.
said he pays experienced pickers about fruit without destroying the perfect Unions don’t oppose technological
$25 an hour. advances though, Kashkooli added. Expect to see this technology on the
market in the next three years, said
Harv would diminish the need for “Robotics can play a role in making Manoj Karkee, associate professor at
field labor, Wishnatzki said, but it would the job less backbreaking and play a the school’s Center for Precision & Au-
create new jobs, too. Wish Farms, his tomated Agricultural Systems.
family business, would train pickers to
become technicians. Farmers who struggle to make hires
wanted it “yesterday,” he said.
“We need people to clean, sanitize
and repair the machines,” he said. “We all know we need to go in this di-
rection,” Karkee said. “The last advance-
Some workers view that plan with ment in apple picking was the invention
anxiety and skepticism. of the ladder.”

“I see the robot and think, ‘Maybe The robot rarely hurts the produce.
we’re not going to have jobs anymore,’ ” But as of today, one robotic apple-pick-
said AntonioVengas, 48, one of the about er costs at least $300,000 – too much for
600 employees on the farm with Harv. most budgets.

Vengas moved to Florida 15 years On the day Harv is put to the test,
ago from the Mexican state of Oaxaca farmers and researchers arrive in three
and makes about $25 an hour. About buses to Wishnatzki’s farm. They’ve
75 percent of his co-workers are Mexi- come from Canada, Australia, Germa-
cans on seasonal work visas.
STORY CONTINUED ON PAGE 38

38 Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 37 INSIGHT COVER STORY

ny, Switzerland and across the United Below: Tire tracks from an auto- smoothly. Nobody’s stress-eating the
States. Curiosity hangs in the air like the mated strawberry-harvesting robot oatmeal raisin cookies they ordered
hawks circling overhead. from Panera Bread.
cut through rows of strawberry
Blaine Staples, a strawberry grower plants at G&D Farms in Duette, Fla. “No errors!” Figueroa pleads aloud.
from Alberta, steps through the dirt to- “Knock on wood,” another engineer
ward the machine, which hisses as it The Berry-4 hopes to exceed the replies.
claws up fruit. Dozens of people around efficiency of people to keep down In another section of the field, far
him crouch to the ground.The machine’s from the commotion, the pickers work
arms go to work amid exclamations of the cost of food. like they have always worked.
awe and disbelief from onlookers. It’s 80 degrees outside, but they wear
long sleeves, pants and scarves below
“This is pretty much the new indus- their eyes to block the sun. They bend
trial revolution,” Staples said. over, pluck the strawberries and slip
them into plastic cases.
His Canadian farm is tiny compared
to Wishnatzki’s 600 acres. But he could Fruit pickers work quickly
see himself renting Harv for a season – through rows of strawberry plants.
as long as it’s comparable to his current
labor costs. without sacrificing quality, “that’s a
win,” he said.
Under Harv’s proposed business
model, farmers would pay only for the Behind the crowd of farmers, a team
fruit the machine picks at the same of engineers watch the spectacle on
rate they pay seasonal work crews. a flat-screen TV inside a white trailer,
their makeshift command center. Cam-
A few strawberry rows over, Doug eras inside Harv give them a close-up.
Carrigan, a North Carolina farmer,
stands in the group with his eyes Lights flash.The 16 smaller robots spin,
locked on Harv. clawing up strawberries. Engineers com-
pare them to duck feet, paddling furiously.
“It doesn’t care if it’s a Sunday or a
holiday,” Carrigan said. “The machine “The best view in the house,” said Alex
will work regardless.” Figueroa, 24, director of machine vision.

He pays his workers between $10 and Everything looks to be running
$14 hourly. They’re mostly local folks.

“A lot of Americans have become
lazy,” Carrigan said. “They want a pay-
check. They don’t want a job.”

Any time you can automate work

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 39

INSIGHT COVER STORY

Then they sprint through the plant Most of the pickers live in housing “I don’t think it’ll work because the A bunch tumbled from Harv’s claws –
rows to a supervisor, who scans in Wishnatzki provides. people know how to pick,” he said, “and red and juicy and now gone.
each package. They are paid by the they go faster.”
package. Slowing down means losing Santiago Velasco, 65, has worked here Engineers aren’t sure how many –
money. for 35 years and has done practically ev- His prediction held up on demo day. they’ve got to review hours of video.
ery job: picking, digging, irrigating. The robot found more than half the They can’t be sure Harv hit this year’s
Parked nearby is an old school bus, strawberries on each plant, but the fruit target. But they’re confident the ma-
which shuttles them free to work. Harv is a newcomer that doesn’t con- this season was bigger than anticipated. chine can get it right next year. 
cern him.

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42 Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT OPINION

ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ: AN ECONOMIC ILLITERATE

At least for the moment, Alexandria generating tens of billions in new tax whether New York should have offered ic pile of $21 trillion in cash sitting in a
Ocasio-Cortez seems to be driving the revenue. Amazon $3 billion in tax incentives – or vault somewhere.
agenda of today’s Democratic Party – anything at all – to build its headquar-
and her economic illiteracy is dangerous. As New York Mayor Bill de Blasio ex- ters in the city. But that is different from Her economic illiteracy matters be-
plained, the Amazon deal would have not understanding that New York is not cause she is the principal author of the
Case in point: Two weeks ago, Oca- produced “$27 billion in new tax rev- writing a $3 billion check to Amazon. Green New Deal, which has been en-
sio-Cortez celebrated the tanking of a enue to fuel priorities from transit to dorsed by most of the leading Demo-
deal negotiated by her fellow Demo- affordable housing – a nine-fold return Sadly, Ocasio-Cortez doesn’t learn cratic candidates for president. From
crats in which Amazon promised to on the taxes the city and state were pre- from her mistakes. She made the same this unschooled mind has sprung the
build a new headquarters in Long Is- pared to forgo to win the headquarters.” kind of error in December when she most ambitious plan for government
land City, New York, right next to her tweeted, “$21 TRILLION of Pentagon intervention in the economy since
congressional district. Unlike Ocasio-Cortez’s imaginary $3 financial transactions ‘could not be Vladimir Ilyich Lenin’s train pulled
billion slush fund, that is real money traced, documented, or explained.’ $21T into Petrograd’s Finland Station.
Amazon’s departure cost the city that actually could have been used in Pentagon accounting errors. Medi-
between 25,000 and 40,000 new jobs. to hire teachers, fix subways and put care for All costs ~$32T. That means If Ocasio-Cortez doesn’t understand
Forget the tech workers whom Ama- people to work. With Amazon leaving 66% of Medicare for All could have been how tax subsidies work, how can she
zon would have employed. New York, that $27 billion leaves with funded already by the Pentagon.” be trusted to plan the federal takeover
it. Genius. of the health-care, energy and trans-
Gone are all the unionized construc- But, as Pentagon spokesman Chris- portation sectors of our economy?
tion jobs to build the headquarters, as Ocasio-Cortez does not seem to un- topher Sherwood told The Post, “DoD
well as thousands of jobs created by derstand that by helping to drive Ama- hasn’t received $21 trillion in (nomi- Think she and her allies have any
all the small businesses – restaurants, zon away, she did not save New York $3 nal) appropriated funding across the idea how to, as her now infamous
bodegas, dry cleaners and food carts – billion; she cost New York $27 billion. entirety of American history.” Once talking points put it, upgrade or re-
that were preparing to open or expand again, Ocasio-Cortez did not grasp place “every building in America” . . .
to serve Amazon employees. They are There is a difference between having that the Pentagon did not have a mag- or replace “every combustible-engine
devastated by Amazon’s withdrawal. bad ideas and not grasping basic facts. vehicle” . . . or connect every corner
Reasonable people can disagree about of America with high-speed rail . . .
Ocasio-Cortez was not disturbed at or replace all fossil-fuel energy with
all. “We were subsidizing those jobs,” she alternative energy sources – all in 10
said. “Frankly, if we were willing to give years’ time?
away $3 billion for this deal, we could in-
vest those $3 billion in our district, our- Apparently, she thinks we just have
selves, if we wanted to. We could hire out to find all the magic pots of cash the
more teachers. We can fix our subways. government is hiding.
We can put a lot of people to work for
that amount of money if we wanted to.” When this kind of ignorance is
driving policymaking in Washington,
No, you can’t. America is in profound danger. Ama-
Ocasio-Cortez does not seem to re- zon left New York because Ocasio-Cor-
alize that New York does not have $3 tez and her fellow democratic social-
billion in cash sitting around waiting to ists created a hostile environment in
be spent on her socialist dreams. the city. And if Ocasio-Cortez has her
The subsidies to Amazon were tax way, what do you suppose the future
incentives, not cash payouts. It is Ama- holds for the rest of America. 
zon’s money, which New York agreed
to make tax-exempt, so the company This column by Mark A. Thiessen
would invest it in building its new first appeared in The Washington Post.
headquarters, hiring new workers and It does not necessarily reflect the views
of Vero Beach 32963.

ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION  High blood pressure o Drinking too much alcohol © 2019 VERO BEACH 32963 MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
 Injury to the penis, spinal cord, prostate, o Not being physically active
Part I bladder or pelvis o Smoking
 Multiple sclerosis o Using illegal drugs
Although it may be embarrassing and difficult to talk  Peyronie’s disease
about, erectile dysfunction (ED) is very common, af-  Surgery for bladder cancer DIAGNOSING ED
fecting about 30 million men in the United States. It  Treatment for prostate cancer, including
can occur for a short time or become a long-term radiation therapy and prostate surgery  Medical and sexual history
condition. Although it is common, ED is not a nor-  Type 2 diabetes (men who have diabetes Your primary care physician and/or urologist
mal part of aging and is treatable at any age. are two to three time more likely to develop will take a medical and sexual history to
ED than men who do not have diabetes) help diagnose ED. Your medical history can
WHAT IS ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION (ED)? reveal diseases and treatments that lead to
CAUSES OF ED ED. Reviewing your sexual activity can help
According to the National Institutes of Health, ED, him or her diagnose problems with sexual
also known as impotence, is a condition in which  Physical desire, erection, climax or ejaculation.
a man is unable to get or keep an erection firm Problems with a man’s endocrine system,  Lab tests
enough for satisfactory sexual intercourse. nervous system or vascular system may Blood tests can help reveal if you have ath-
cause or contribute to ED. Side effects erosclerosis, chronic kidney disease, diabetes
SYMPTOMS from medicines such as blood pressure and/or hormonal problems which can be con-
pills; antiandrogens, which are sometimes tributing factors to ED.
You have ED if you: used as part of prostate cancer therapy;  Imaging tests
 Can get an erection at times, but not every antidepressants, such as tranquilizers or A Doppler ultrasound can be used to detect
time you want to have sex prescription sedatives; appetite suppres- poor blood flow through the penis. Usually
 Can get an erection, but it doesn’t last long sants, medicines that make you less hungry; performed in a doctor’s office or in an out-
enough for satisfactory sex and ulcer medicines can also cause ED. patient center, the ultrasound will record
 Cannot get an erection at any time  Emotional the speed and direction blood flows through
ED can be a sign or symptom of another, some- Psychological and/or emotional problems the blood vessel.
times serious, health problem. can make ED worse. Men who suffer with
anxiety, depression, fear about sexual per- Next time we will continue with other tests used
DISEASES AND CONDITIONS formance, low self-esteem and/or stress are to diagnose ED. Future articles will cover treatment
THAT CAN LEAD TO ED more likely to experience ED problems. options. 
 Behavioral
 Atherosclerosis o Being overweight Your comments and suggestions for future topics are al-
 Chronic kidney disease ways welcome. Email us at [email protected].
 Heart and blood vessel disease

44 Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT BOOKS

Early in the filming of “The shooting there and cast-
ing actual Mexicans
Wild Bunch” in the spring of – some of them profes-
sional actors, others not
1968, its star,William Holden – – as his Mexican charac-
ters. The role of principal
winner of the best actor Oscar villain, Mapache, went to
Emilio Fernandez, one of
for “Stalag 17” in 1954 – had a Mexico’s leading movie
directors.
day off. Holden spent part of
Although Peckinpah
the time watching his direc- did well by the Mexi-
cans in giving them work
tor, Sam Peckinpah, badger and incorporating their
music, including a haunting lament called “Las Golon-
two character actors into giving drinas” (“The Swallows”), he can be accused of disre-
specting them by staging one of those battles in which
him more for a minor scene. a handful of white men take out dozens upon dozens
of darker-skinned foes. And yet Alfonso Arau – brilliant
“Is that the way you’re going in the role of Mapache’s envoy to the Bunch – learned
much from watching Peckinpah. He went on to direct
to shoot the rest of the picture?” films himself and stayed friends with his mentor until
Peckinpah’s death in 1984.
Holden asked. Peckinpah said it Although “The Wild Bunch” did well at the box office,
its violence outraged some critics. Peckinpah himself
was. In that case, Holden replied, came to have reservations. “I made ‘The Wild Bunch’
because I still believed in the Greek theory of catharsis,”
“I’m going home and studying.” After doing some act- he said, looking for the film to have a violence-purging
ing, the young Peckin- effect on viewers. “I was wrong,” he added. So, yes, a
As W.K. Stratton comments in pah had worked as a great many men and a few women are shot dead in
dialogue director and Peckinpah’s masterpiece, but for me the repeated face-
his admiring and informative ac- screenwriter. In the punching and rib-kicking simulated in such TV fare as
early 1960s, he directed “The Sopranos” is more visceral, and thus harder to take,
count of the making of “The Wild three Westerns, one than the blood spurting in “The Wild Bunch” (courtesy
of them a critical and of squibs strapped to actors’ bodies and set off by remote
Bunch,” Holden had realized that control).
box-office hit (“Ride the Be that as it may, reading W.K. Stratton’s fine book
“this was not going to be just an- High Country”) and after watching “The Wild Bunch” can make for a rich
another a fiasco (the aesthetic feast. 
other cowboy picture.” much-tampered-with “Major
Dundee”). The flop might have finished Peckinpah as THE WILD BUNCH
The effort lavished on “The a movie director if he hadn’t landed an assignment to
bring Katherine Anne Porter’s novella “Noon Wine” to SAM PECKINPAH, A REVOLUTION IN HOLLYWOOD,
Wild Bunch” pays off in every television. So impressive was the result that, amid the
creative upheaval of late-’60s Hollywood, Peckinpah AND THE MAKING OF A LEGENDARY FILM
frame – and that’s saying a lot be- managed to get the green light – and a big budget – for a
project he had been obsessing over for years. BY W.K. STRATTON | 352 PP. $28.
cause few if any Westerns have “The Wild Bunch” rides up late in the annals of West- REVIEW BY DENNIS DRABELLE, THE WASHINGTON POST
ern lore. It’s 1916, the Mexican Revolution is underway,
ever run so long. (The director’s and Pike is leading his gang of aging outlaws, the Bunch
itself, on what they hope will be their last heist. If their
cut I recently watched on DVD lasts two hours robbery of a railroad office comes off as planned, they’ll
be able to hang up their guns for good. Another contin-
and 42 minutes.) Nor had any previous movie depicted gent, led by Pike’s old partner Deke Thornton (played by
Robert Ryan), is working against the Wild ones and on
gunfights so graphically. And Peckinpah’s use of slow behalf of the railroad. Before it’s all over, various Mexican
factions will have weighed in, but despite all the con-
motion, notably in a shot of a bridge full of horsemen tenders and double-crosses Peckinpah tells his story so
well that the viewer is unlikely to lose the trail.
collapsing into a river, has often been imitated but rarely Long enamored of Mexico, Peckinpah insisted on

to such balletic effect. Not only did “The Wild Bunch”

immediately become one of the greatest Westerns ever

made; it also rejuvenated a cinematic genre that Stratton

calls “the hoariest of them all.”

Peckinpah was no stranger to the region or the genre.

Born in 1925 to a ranching family in Fresno, he studied

drama at the University of Southern California and de-

veloped an affinity for the plays of Tennessee Williams.

The connection can be felt, I think, in the poetry of

certain lines in “The Wild Bunch,” whose script Peckin-

pah co-authored with Walon Green. Here, for example,

is Holden’s character, Pike Bishop, lecturing his fellow

crooks: “We’re going to stick together just like it used to

be. When you side with a man, you stay with him, and if

you can’t do that, you’re like some animal.”

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Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 45

ON FAITH

Remember: When we seek Jesus, we shall find

BY REV. DRS. CASEY AND BOB BAGGOTT looking and still trying to help one an- We think the attention to this matter breathless with awe, and as determined
Columnists other spot him yet today. Perhaps that is is justifiable. After all, we of the church as his followers of old. Like them, “we
why the book and movie “The Da Vinci gather each week in the spirit of the one wish to see Jesus.”
We’re told there is a little plaque at- Code,” by Dan Brown, generated such who described himself in such mysteri-
tached to the top of the pulpit in the massive and varied responses a few ous images as the bread of life, the light We shouldn’t be content until we’ve
Chapel of Columbia Theological Semi- years ago when it first appeared. of the world, the good shepherd and the found him.
nary in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s located right true vine.
where the preacher’s notes would sit. Actually, Brown simply highlighted a Anything that encourages Christians
question that has existed for many hun- All those descriptions help us to see Je- to sort out fact from fiction in the seek-
The plaque says, “We wish to see Je- dreds of years … namely, is the portrait sus in more than human terms. They are ing of Jesus is a help to us. And, as we re-
sus.” of Jesus we see in our Bible the fullest im- images that leave us expectant, hopeful, member Jesus’ words … when we seek,
age we can hope for – or are there other we shall find. 
That line actually comes from John’s writings which could shed even more
Gospel, where it is spoken by foreigners light on his life and character?
who have traveled some distance, we as-
sume, to look Jesus up. “We wish to see The so-called Gnostic Gospels (writ-
Jesus,” they say to the disciples, hoping ten 200 to 400 years after Christ, but
for an audience. But we’re not told if they rejected from the Bible) claim to have
ever get their audience. secret knowledge about Jesus, and they
therefore raise the question of whether
Of course, in Columbia’s chapel, the we really know all there is to know about
plaque holding this verse is a reminder just who Jesus was.
to the preacher that it is his or her job to
be certain that whoever comes seeking Is the way we have seen Jesus across
Jesus in that place and on that day won’t the years a distortion of reality? Scholars
go away disappointed. have weighed in on various aspects of
this question, some angry at the chal-
It’s an age old quest, isn’t it – this de- lenge to more orthodox teachings of the
sire to see Jesus? Apparently we’re still church, some seemingly pleased that a
“teachable moment” is occurring, when
evidence for and against the truthful-
ness of various writings about Jesus can
be discussed.

46 Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PETS

Bonz: Emmett’s amazing tale is the stuff of dreams

Hi Dog Buddies! there was a scruffy liddle mop says, ‘I’m going out. You stay here.
Be a good boy. Guard the house.
Innerviewing you poocheroos is dog out there somewhere wait- I’LL BE BACK! Here’s your treat.’
never, ever boring. EVRY pooch has She always tells me how long she’ll
an innersting story. Wait till you hear ing for her. So she went online be gone, so I know it won’t be for-
this. Emmett Roche-Woolnough lives ever.”
by the ocean. (I got to ride in my an came across a pickshur of
first elly-vader, which gave me tingly He lowered his voice. “Don’t tell
paws!) Emmett’s an almost-8-year-old Her Dream Dog, inna big field, Miss but, whenever I visit Nana,
rescue border terrier/Jack Russell mix. she has a secret bag of treats for me.
He’s on the small side, but with a Big at a place in L.A. called the I love visitin’ Nana.”
Personality. AN he’s Very, Very Verbal.
Dexter Foundation. You can “My lips are sealed,” I promised.
Emmett bounced, barked and I’d also noticed that Emmett had
wagged his way through the Wag-and probly guess who it was.” been dragging a soft, floppy mat
Sniff an the innerductions. around, so I asked about it.
I nodded. “When I hadda have a tooth
“Hi!” (Bounce! Bounce!) “Come IN!” pulled, I chewed on this (he gave
(Wag! Wag!) “You’re Bonzo, right? I’m “Yup. My name was Angus, the well-munched mat a liddle nose
Emmett!” (Barkedity-bark-bark!) This bump) to make my mouth feel better.
is my Mom, Claudette. I call her Miss! if you can buhleeve it. Dexter An I sorta got in the habit.
(Bounce! Wag! Bark!) “My Dad’s Jeff. I “Before you go, I wanna show you
call him Sir!” (Bark! Bark! Bark!) had rescued me from a high- this,” Emmett said. His Mom was
holdin’ a watercolor painting: a row of
He zoomed into the dining room. kill shelter, where I knew my Emmett.PHOTO: KAILA JONES colorful houses along a rocky shore-
His Mom said, “Sit, Emmett!” number was almost up. But, line and one happy liddle pooch with
deep down, I felt My Forever wirey, every-which-way hair. “It’s ME
“Sit!” on the beach near our house in Ire-
“Sit!” Famly would find me some- land. One of our neighbors painted it
“Sit!” special for me. Our house is the pink
“Sit!” how. An they DID. I gotta one.”
I sat. My assistant sat. Emmett’s Emmett was so happy an fun, I wish
Mom sat. Finally – Emmett sat. new name, too – Emmett - cuzza Miss; an fellow pooches. Miss’ an Sir’s frens I coulda stayed longer.
“Are you ready?” he asked. “I can’t Heading home I was thinkin’ how
wait to tell you my story. It’s uh-MAZE- dream. I like it better, anyway.” like me, too: Gail offered to dog-sit me some things are just s’pose to be: like,
ing!” because of a dream, a scruffy liddle
“Go for it!” I replied, pencil poised. “Looks like your life is Totally Cool when Miss an Sir hafta be away. Then rescue pooch went from Dire Circum-
“OK, so, one night Miss had this stances to a Forever Famly, with fun, an
dream. In it she hadda dog. But not Kibbles, now,” I ventured. Andrea an Valerie volunteered, too. So travel, an chiggen-with-vegetubbles. 
her kinda dog. She’d only ever had Big
Dogs. She didn’t even LIKE liddle mop “You bet your Dog Biscuits! My first I have a dog sitter Waiting List. I think The Bonz
dogs. But the dog in the dream was lid-
dle, an scruffy, with sticky-uppy ears couple years with Miss an Sir, we lived I must have cuh-RIZZ-muh, don’t Don’t Be Shy
an whiskers, and wirey, every-which-
way hair. AN its name was Emmett. in Cali. Then we moved to Ireland. (Sir you?” We are always looking for pets
“’What the woof?’ she probly with interesting stories.
thought. ‘Why would I dream about directs movies an TV, so we go to lotsa “Posi-woofin’-tively!” I responded.
such a silly liddle dog?’ Then Sir, who To set up an interview, email
was travelin,’ sent her a pickshur of a innersting places.) I loved Ireland. I “When we got back from Ireland, [email protected].
guy he’d met, with a dog just like in her
dream. She reelized it was A Sign that even got my own passport! After Ire- I went to this Really Great Trainer in

land, we spent six months in Spain. Toronto. Miss says when I got back, I

That was fun, too. In Winnipeg, Sir let was un-buh-LEE-vibly well trained –

me visit his set an watch. I was Very Best. Dog. EVER!!”

Well Behaved.” “Woof, Emmett, that’s Crunchy Dog

“Cool Kibbles!” I exclaimed. Biscuits!”

“When we got back to the States, “Yeah, well, it was. But Miss isn’t

we sorta accidently found Vero Beach, what I’d call Super Strict. So now I’m

which we all agree is perfect for us. basically back to pre-trainer behav-

Then Miss sent a pickshure of me to ior. (When Miss is really, really, really

the lady at the high-kill shelter who Serious, she shakes a can of pebbles,

was nice to me, to show her how my which drives me nuts, so I know I have

life had changed. Miss says the lady No Choice.) But, mostly, I’m puh-lite

was so happy for me she cried. It’s a an stuff, but I consider commands,

human thing, I think. like ‘Sit!’ for example, more like, you

“Here I get a daily leash walk. An I know, suggestions.”

LOVE the dog park. I always announce I had kinda noticed that. I changed

myself with a buncha hello barks, then the subject. “Um, what’s you favrite

off we go, running. But I don’t care for food?”

the Ocean. It’s always sneakin’ up on “Miss’ homemade chiggen an rice

me. I bark at it, an it runs away, but it with vegetubbles. I also get ONE kib-

always comes back. I do love humans, ble treat when Miss has to go out. She

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 47

INSIGHT BRIDGE

THE SINGLE PIECE OF GOOD NEWS WEST NORTH EAST
J 10 9 8653 72
By Phillip Alder - Bridge Columnist 732 AKJ9 Q 10 8 4
863 A K J 10 Q95
George S. Kaufman, who, inter alia, wrote some musicals for the Marx Brothers, said, “I QJ84 5 K 10 6 3
understand your new play is full of single entendre.”
SOUTH
In this week’s deal, North should sing loudly about a single feature of his hand. After he AKQ4
opens one diamond and South responds one spade, what should North rebid? 65
742
North is just worth game, but there is a better bid than four spades. He should jump to four A972
clubs. This is a splinter bid showing four-card spade support, game-going values and a
singleton (or void) in clubs — nearperfect! Dealer: North; Vulnerable: East-West

Suddenly South sees that he has no club losers. He might jump straight to six spades, The Bidding:
but perhaps should content himself with five spades, which North ought to raise with such
good red suits — South must have excellent trumps to be slamming without all of those red SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST OPENING
honors. 1 Spades Pass 1 Diamonds Pass
?? LEAD:
How did declarer plan the play after West led the spade jack? South saw that he needed J Spades
trumps to be 3-2 and to have some luck in the red suits. However, there were transportation
difficulties, and he didmnot want to rely on a red-suit finesse.

Declarer spotted an unusually good line. He won the first trick with the spade ace, cashed
the club ace and ruffed a club. The next card he called for surprised everyone at the table,
particularly East: dummy’s diamond 10. East took this with his queen and returned a
second trump, but declarer won in his hand, ruffed another club, cashed the top hearts,
ruffed a heart, drew West’s last trump and claimed. He took four spades, two hearts, three
diamonds, one club and two club ruffs.

48 Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT GAMES SOLUTIONS TO PREVIOUS ISSUE (FEBRUARY 21) ON PAGE 66

ACROSS DOWN
1 If (7) 1 Put the phone down (4,2)
8 Mrs --, cookbook writer (6) 3 Go on a trip (6)
9 Necessitates (7) 4 Conger --; jellied -- (4)
11 Sieve (8) 5 Punishment (7)
12 Circuit breakers (5) 6 Nevertheless (2,3,4)
14 Gemstone (4) 7 Overdue (2,7)
15 Bordeaux white wine (8) 10 Plan (9)
17 Aerosol (3,5) 12 To begin with (3,1,5)
18 Celebrity (4) 13 Blasphemous behaviour (9)
20 Consecrate; be thankful for (5) 16 Dog (7)
21 Able (8) 18 Small in extent (6)
23 Crossbreed (7) 19 Evaluate (6)
24 Scaffolder (6) 22 Extinct bird (4)
25 Type of lock; moister (anag.) (7)

The Telegraph

How to do Sudoku:

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

The Telegraph

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 49

INSIGHT GAMES

ACROSS 110 They may be 56 Piercing tools The Washington Post
Broadway-bound 58 Clinic name
1 Pisa possessive THIS BUD’S FOR YOU By Merl Reagle
4 Physicist or electrical unit 111 Australian bounder 62 Bit
7 Playing field 112 Burns or RLS 63 Alexander and Addams TofhCe Aosrmte&ticSScuierngecrey
14 Long-running show? 64 ___ a time (individually)
18 Invited a lady to the Flower 113 Gold fabric 65 A tide SPECIALTIES INCLUDE:
117 Trojan War suicide • Minimal Incision Lift for the
Ball? 118 Response to someone who 66 Zone Face, Body, Neck & Brow
21 Daughter of Minos 67 Poland’s second largest city • Breast Augmentations & Reductions
22 Peaches and pecans sent you flowers? • Post Cancer Reconstructions
23 What people with Flower 123 Curtain material 68 Ante up? • Chemical Peels • Botox
124 Still waters do it 70 ___ bat an eye • Obagi Medical Products • Laser Surgery
Power exhibit? 125 Parachuting florist’s cry as he 71 The Brookings, • Liposculpture • Tummy Tucks
25 Shore birds • Skin Cancer Treatments
26 Flower part leaves the plane? e.g.: abbr.
27 Poi need 126 Aphrodite’s kid 75 Lock giant
127 Scorpio’s brightest star 76 Hurtful
28 Day of the wk. 128 Small amount 77 Prefix meaning 41 Across
29 Seascape dramatist 129 Joes who got the Bill? 78 Literary king or literary
30 What the FTD Sweepstakes
DOWN Edward
offers? 1 Dallas players, briefly 81 Anchor’s transition
36 Dough mach. 82 Mt. St. Helens spew
39 Not tied down 2 “What ___ now?” 83 Pastiche
3 Winnebago nation 84 First zookeeper
40 Stuff your face 85 Desires
41 Horton’s responsibility member, once 87 Convention-center shows
42 Convenience-store buy 4 Dig this 88 Weigh ___
43 Calm down, in the ’hood 5 More intense 89 Ann or May
45 Fleischer-cartoon femme 6 Change your genes 90 Baby or Babe
46 Giraffe relatives 7 Kirk, to Michael 94 OPEC units
49 Much-heralded Morrison 8 Steaming state 95 Femme ___
50 Flowery adventure film? 9 “___ the truth” 96 How to “carry moonbeams
57 Flowery courtroom remark? 10 ___ Picchu
59 Sacred snake 11 Loathsomeness home”
60 All over again 12 Tulsa to K.C. 97 Gas station brand
61 Cable 13 Start of a state capital 99 Furnace worker
62 With 74 Across, parent’s 14 Period of time 100 First name of 4 Across
15 Passive restraint 101 Hit in a heist
flowery warning about comic 16 Taxonomic groups 102 Wingless crawlies
books? 17 Size up 105 Trail, cake, and daiquiri
66 Bristol bottleful 19 Fiery saint 106 Praying figure
69 “___-hoo!” 20 ___ Haute 107 Bridget of A Simple Plan
70 Type of memoir 24 In first place, in brief 108 Before, in combos
72 Fuel finish 29 Pain-related suffix 109 Flair
73 Jackson and Hopkins 31 It has a big game in Feb.
74 See 62 Across 32 Philippine gulf of WWII fame 114 Make ___ of oneself
77 Big name in basketball 33 Composer Schifrin 115 Surfers’ mecca
79 So Big author’s first name 34 Like Townshend’s Tommy
80 Ralph’s pal et al. 35 KGB predecessor 116 Slippery trees
81 What a Southern 36 Play start 118 La intro
flower-grower can 37 God with iron gloves 119 Horde member
hardly do nowadays? 38 Very small 120 Visualize
86 Flower-shop come-on? 44 Daffy’s impediment 121 FDR had three of them
91 Lotion base 45 Green-lights 122 Capture
92 Around 46 “By the way ...”
93 Dissatisfied reaction 47 Held
94 Ex-Canadian P.M. Mulroney 48 See 77 Across
95 Clothes buying concern 50 “How’s ___?”
98 Palindromic drink 51 Burt or Hurt, e.g.
99 Name or alphabet chunk 52 Cleveland player, briefly
100 Power ___ 53 Himalayan goat (anagram of
103 Satisfied reactions
104 Ibsen’s most florid play? HART)
54 Cold shoulder
55 “Farm, E” follow-up

Celebrating Over 26
Years in Vero Beach

3790 7th Terrace
Suite 101

Vero Beach, Florida

The Telegraph 772.562.5859

www.rosatoplasticsurgery.com

Ralph M. Rosato
MD, FACS

50 Vero Beach 32963 / February 28, 2019 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT BACK PAGE

Doggone impasse puts brakes on family get-togethers

BY CAROLYN HAX age you. They could offer you kennel money, for
Washington Post example, or to pay for a hotel for visits both ways.
They could just trust you to do your best to come
Hello, Carolyn: My kids have see them. They could be such pleasant company
that you stretch yourselves financially to travel
been asking for a dog for several whenever you can.

years, and we finally got a fam- Apparently, instead, they skipped the first
page in the Unwritten Manual of Hospitality,
ily puppy. We love this dog more which notes in 72-point type that if you want to
see people, then don’t complain about them, to
than we ever expected! them, with any frequency that can be described
as “often.”
Unfortunately, we live about
Seriously, parents. This is not a Zodiac cipher.
600 miles from my parents, who want nothing My advice to you is as follows:
1. Stop arguing with people about things that
to do with dogs. They do, however, want to spend aren’t their business. Any and all people, but start
with your parents.
time with us and often complain that we don’t visit 2. Actually that’s it. See No. 1.
But there are a few other things to consider that
enough. They don’t want to house our dog, which I can make it all easier. First, develop a canine net-
work of care. People you meet through your dog
understand, but we can’t afford a hotel room or a who love dogs can be an excellent resource when
you want to travel. You dog-sit theirs, they dog-
kennel for all the trips they want us to make. sit yours, opportunities multiply like bald spots
in your backyard.
We can’t seem to come to an agreement. I say they Second, if this is but the tip of the guiltberg,
then please run your family dynamic by a good
shouldn’t try to guilt us for having a life outside of therapist. Boundaries work.
Third, enjoy that puppy. Except for the face
them. They feel we should have never gotten a dog they give you when they want a walk, they don’t
do guilt. No wonder you’re a convert. 
knowing they live so far away and can’t stand dogs.

What do you think?

– A Dog Convert

A Dog Convert: I think what’s truly unfortu- run your own household. None. Zero.
nate is that your parents think your household is They also don’t have any say in how often you
about them. Wow.
travel to see them, except to let you know wheth-
It’s also unfortunate they somehow have you er and for how long you are welcome. And to limit
thinking theirs is a normal set of expectations guests to human-only, which is totally their pre-
that, to some degree, you’re obliged to find ways rogative.
to address.
If they really do want to see you, and if they’re
There is no “agreement” here to “come to,” be- unwilling or unable to do the bulk of the travel-
cause your parents don’t have any say in how you ing themselves, then they have incentives avail-
able to them that aren’t attempts to microman-