Blanche Ely coach Rodney Gray said he may move on from coaching the Tigers at the end of the season. Photo by Gary Curreri

By Gary Curreri

Blanche Ely football coach Rodney Gray said he is likely leaving the school at the end of the season.

He recently handed in his letter of resignation at the school where he has gone 20-6 during the past two seasons and winning two district titles. In 2009, when he took over on an interim basis, Gray was named the Broward NIKE Coach of the Year after going 11-2 and reaching the regional finals, before falling to St. Thomas Aquinas 28-16.

“After working with other administrations around the county, I am losing the bug to coach,” said Gray, whose team dropped a 14-6 decision to host Boyd Anderson in a District 14-7A contest on Tuesday night. He has coached 18 years in the county. “My biggest quest is to find an administration that is going to support the athletic program and not try to run it like you are Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys.

“I am saying that if the situation stays the way it is, I am not looking to return there,” Gray continued. “I do not want to leave Ely. If something changed there, I would be glad to go back there. I am looking for something that is conducive to winning from the athletic administration, school administration to community involvement as well.”

Deerfield Beach stays in hunt

Deerfield Beach kicker Oscar Rosales connected Tuesday night on a 26-yard field goal in the second overtime to give Deerfield Beach a 10-7 victory over Coral Springs in a game that was postponed twice on Oct. 28 and Oct. 31 because of weather.

The game was originally scheduled for Deerfield Beach; however, it was moved to Coral Springs because of scheduling conflicts.

Deerfield Beach (3-4, 3-1) took a 7-0 lead with five seconds remaining in the first half on a 13-yard scoring pass from Kevin Bush to Tyrell McCall.

Coral Springs (6-2, 2-2) forced overtime with 9:46 remaining in the fourth quarter when Brandon Rodgers hauled in a 41-yard scoring pass from Evan Lassiter that tied the contest at 7-7. Both teams had field goals blocked in the first overtime.

Highlands wins two HGH scoring affairs

Highlands Christian Academy may be out of the playoffs. However, it is still making a statement on the field after blanking Berean Christian, 71-0, and Zion Lutheran, 35-0.

“We have evened up our record at 4-4 now, with our two final games being against Summit Christian and Somerset,” said Highlands coach Jordan Adair. “We’re disappointed to be out of the playoffs, but we’re working extremely hard to finish strong and close with a 6-4 record.”

Against Berean Christian, seven different players scored TDs, and nine different players carried the ball for a total of 284 yards rushing. Leading the way was Arelious Burns with 10 carries for 110 yards, 3 TDs. Quarterback Jay Mentecky was 4-4 for 79 yards and one TD. The 71 points was ninth all-time for points scored in Broward County and was a school record.

The game against Zion Lutheran was called at halftime due to lightning. Senior wideout Gabe Hantsbarger caught a scoring toss, despite breaking his hand earlier in the week and wearing a cast up to his elbow. Junior linebacker Rylee Hage had seven solo tackles, six assists, one tackle for loss, one forced Fumble and a pass breakup.

Ranse Classic II slated

The second annual $6,500 Ranse Classic Beach Volleyball/Footvolley Fundraiser Tournament will be held in Deerfield Beach on N. Ocean Boulevard from Nov. 11-13. Registration closes on Nov. 9 and spots are limited.

The Ranse Classic is an annual charity tournament to celebrate the life of local volleyball player and firefighter Ranse Jones, who passed away on Nov. 8, 2010. He suffered a brain aneurysm during the semifinal of the Panama City AVP Young Guns tournament in April 2010 and passed away six months later, the day after last year’s charity tournament concluded.

For more information and sponsorship opportunities you can e-mail RanseClassicCommittee@gmail.com. You can also call Andre Melo, 954-649-4667; John Esposito, 954-415-4678 or Marcelo Ramos, 954-608-7908.

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

France has dominated the foreign motion picture world his year. The heralded release of The Artist opening the 26th Annual Fort Lauderdale Film Festival shows an emphasis on visual art, making films like these pure cinema protein.

While Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life is a biography, it is also influenced by the surrealistic motion pictures from the 1960s, most notably Blow Up and La Dolce Vita. (Given the egotistical nature of the title character, the protagonist may have thought that he invented those acclaimed motion pictures). Not for all tastes, but this film is visually arresting.

Born to Jewish parents in Nazi-occupied France, the precocious Serge Ginsberg fantasizes about the world around him through music and art. After changing his name to Serge Gainsbourg (Eric Elmosnino), the musician becomes an international pop sensation. Gainsbourg romances the sex symbols of the 1960s (Bridget Bardot, Jane Birkin) and releases controversial music that becomes disguised as elevator music. While physically he grows into an adult, emotionally Serge remains a man-child.

Although a bit long, this film is fascinating. The ensemble cast is European and actresses cast as Bardot and Birkin look like twins. Contortionist Doug (Pan’s Labyrinth) Jones mimes the part of Gainsbourg’s alter ego with dark and humorous results.

As we reach the center point of FLIFF 26, actor Dennis Farina takes center stage in The Last Rites of Joe May (www.
FLIFF.com for showtimes). Introduced to the American Public in the 1980s television series Crime Story, Farina has portrayed John Travolta’s arch rival in Get Shorty, Jennifer Lopez’s dad in Out of Sight and Robert DeNiro’s nemesis in Midnight Run.  In The Last Rites of Joe May, Farina is top-billed and portrays a composite character that sums up the actor’s previous two decades in the public eye.

Also in the fest is Troupers. In his book Born Standing Up, Steve Martin wrote about The Amazing Ballantine’s influence upon his comic persona. We lost Carl Ballantine two years ago, but his final words of wisdom can be heard in the documentary Troupers. Directed by his daughter Saratoga Ballantine, Troupers interviews 12 familiar faces from the acting profession, among the most recognizable: Kaye Ballard, Betty Garrett, Pat Carroll and Harold Gould. While the fame of Steve Martin may have eluded these individuals, these performers seemed to enjoy their work and lives.

By Emily Rosen

ERosen424@aol.com

www.emilyrosen424.com

In a recent column in The New York Times, David Brooks exhorted his readers over 70 to write a brief  report of their life, an evaluation of what they did well, and not so well, and what they have learned. His purpose: young people are given little help in understanding how life develops, how careers and families evolve, and what are the common mistakes and blessings of adulthood. He asked that readers send their “Life Reports” to him at dabrooks@nytimes.com. Here’s mine.

With a solid set of middle class American-born parents, I graduated from college with a double degree in Journalism and Marketing, determined to save the world. I believed that we could persuade the Soviet Union to engage with us in such a Utopia and I became enmeshed with the gurus of the United World Federalists. Subsequently, I marched with all the flavor-of-the-month “rights” protesters and attended “rah-rah” meetings that validated the righteousness of the causes.

Youth is like that … often, all passion and rage and righteousness … and if not then – when?

I worked as an editorial assistant at several magazines, fell in love with my married bosses, became a Madison Avenue huckster, touting stockings and corn flakes and came to a dead career stop when I saw the inanity of my life.

With a new degree, in education, I would save the world by educating the young Puerto Rican immigrants flooding into the Upper West Side of Manhattan. My first year, I cried every day on the bus ride home. I couldn’t understand why Hector refused to read “Dick and Jane,” while insisting on creating clay images of male anatomy. I suspect that today he is one of the world’s great sculptors.

Married with two children, I worked in the original Head Start program. The government threw tons of money at us – much of which we didn’t need. My job was replaced by two PhDs and a plethora of useless inventory.

Again, back to school for degrees in Special Ed, and then Mental Health Counseling and some brief work counseling alcohol-addicted teenagers.

In a complete turnaround, I retreated to “Stepford Wifery,” country club dinner dances, golf, tennis, PTA. My husband’s career took off. We had money to burn, a second home in Florida, we traveled the world.

I became a columnist for a local newspaper and was once assigned to interview the wife of an upcoming politico who was in town fundraising for her husband. I refused the assignment because I had a tennis game and figured she was a nobody. Alas, Hillary Clinton never met me, and I never hit the glass ceiling.

With an entrepreneurial friend, we formed a singing telegram business, the rage gift for the folks who “had everything.” Success to the max, and, after about 10 years, I sold it, and turned it into Personalized Poetry for all occasions… “We write ‘em, you recite ‘em.”

In 1994, in our late 60s, we moved to Florida, “retired.” What do I do now?

Here is where I found my true calling, volunteering in a mental health facility and in a non-partisan political organization, writing this column and book reviews, reading prodigiously, teaching  a writing workshop with emphasis on personal insight into feelings and behaviors, publishing two anthologies of work of my students, riding my bike, walking the beach, enjoying my family and griping about what’s wrong with the world.

I’ve had disappointments, loss and sickness, and suffered significant economic downturn. But I never stop being grateful. The most important thing I learned is to recognize the difference between reasonable expectations and realistic ones. I’ve trained myself to have realistic expectations – the reasonable ones are mostly disappointing, and rarely come through. I’ve been married 57 years, and what I learned from that is for a big fat book.

In any one week, I can feel extremes of high and lows, I can love and hate the same person, I can feel good and bad about myself (No, I’m not schizophrenic.) It all balances out, and a good laugh fans all flames. And I accept that, in the end, everyone dies.

DEERFIELD BEACH

Oct. 28 A man reported his car stolen from 570 NW 43 St.

Oct. 29 A woman reported her home at 3022 Lake Shore Dr. was broken into and a flat-screen television stolen.

Oct. 29 A woman reported her home at 1010 SW 11 Court broken into. She reported that three flat-screen televisions, two laptop computers, 20 purses and jewelry were stolen.

Oct. 29 A man staying at the Hampton Inn at 600 W. Hillsboro Blvd. reported that his vehicle was stolen from the hotel parking lot.

Oct. 29 A man was arrested and charged with grand theft and dealing in stolen property at 300 NE 2 St. The man stole a bicycle valued at $500 and sold it to a pawn shop for $60.

Oct. 30 The compound at Maxim Crane Works at 3800 N. Powerline Rd. was broken into. It was reported that items in a truck were tampered with.

Oct. 30 A woman reported that her home at 4511 NW 6 Ave. was broken into and a flat-screen television was stolen.

Oct. 30 A vehicle was stolen from a parking garage at 961 S. Ocean Dr.

DEERFIELD — District 4

Oct. 20  Grand theft was reported at 1761 W. Hillsboro Blvd. Victim stated that unknown suspect(s) removed the catalytic converter from underneath her 1996 Toyota 4-Runner.

Oct. 20  Grand theft occured at the Tri-Rail station, 1300 W. Hillsboro Blvd.Victim states that unknown person(s) removed his catalytic converter from his 2008 Honda CRV.

Oct. 20  Grand theft took place at Deer Creek,  3001 Country Club Blvd.Victim states that unknown person(s) removed muffler and catalytic converter from her 1997 red Toyota Forerunner.

Oct. 20  Burglary was reported to a residence in Deer Run, 130 SW 32 Ave. BSO responded to an alarm and discovered that a burglary had been committed. Point of entry was by prying open the front door. Taken from the residence was a laptop, and jewelry. Scene was processed for latent prints and the area was canvassed.

Oct. 20  Conveyance burglary occured at Quiet Waters Park, S. Powerline Rd. Victim stated that unknown person(s) entered 2003 Honda Element by smashing out a window. While inside, a bag containing shoes was taken.

LIGHTHOUSE POINT

Oct. 23 Two men were observed running from a home that had been burglarized. One of the men was arrested and charged with loitering and prowling. The other man was arrested and charged with dealing in stolen property. He was found in possession of a stolen cell phone. The arrest took place at 2425 NE 22 Ave.

The Cove

Dear Editor:

To all the residents who have, like myself, stayed clear of “The Cove Plaza” all summer due to the constant construction, I encourage everyone to put it back on their list of places in Deerfield to do business. The city has done a wonderful job on the re-planning effort. The local businesses have suffered, so we all need to go out of our way and try to shop or eat there and support our local businesses.

Hillsboro Boulevard is also looking good with all the new trees and flowers planted. It’s good to see our tax dollars at work. GOOD JOB!

J. Huffman

Deerfield Beach

Hillsboro Lighthouse

Dear Editor:

My family visited the Hillsboro Lighthouse on Saturday, and it was the best! Our group consisted of two adults and four small children — three boys: 5, 3 1/2, almost 3, and a girl, 2. We swam in the small inlet area first and played in the beautiful Intracoastal waters for about an hour. Then, we climbed all the way to the top, even the little ones. Once there, they looked out, enjoying the sights and posed for some photos. The climb down was a bit slow, and extremely hot, but we made it without an incident.

The tour director explained my daughter was really too small, but I was so grateful for the opportunity to reach the top. Otherwise, our party probably wouldn’t have got to enjoy the very best part of the day — the lighthouse.

It was by sheer accident that we stumbled upon the tour day, when I was searching for activities in Coral Springs (where we were staying) the day before the event. The boys found it so entertaining, they asked to go back the following day! But we’ll wait until the next tour date, Nov. 19. We did struggle a bit to find where to get on the boat, but I see now that it really was all there on the site. Next time, we will get to tour grounds, as our little ones were exhausted after the climb (in desperate need of a nap).

Thanks again for the wonderful day,

Leigh Tahirovic

Naples

Christmas Emporium

Friday, Nov. 4, 5  to 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov, 5, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 6, 8 a.m. to noon

St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, 100 NE Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton, FL 33432

Features 160 fabulous gift baskets, magnificent Christmas decor, Attic Treasures, Toyland and Dollar Table. Lunch on Saturday 11 to 1. Profits benefit charity.

East Village Uncorked

2700 Block of E. Atlantic Blvd.

Friday, Nov. 4, 6 to 9 p.m.

2600-2700 block of E. Atlantic Blvd., Pompano Beach, FL 33062

Free art, wine, strolling, featured specialty merchants, restaurants and planned improvements. Free parking available. 954-786-7824.

Model Railroad Flea Market and Swap Meet

Saturday, Nov. 5, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Westside Park Recreation Center, 445 SW 2 St., Deerfield Beach, Fl 33441

Trains, track, books, scenery, RR memorabilia. Donation: $2 adults/$1 Children. 954-448-8935.

Volunteer Work Day

Saturday, Nov. 5, 9 a.m.

Deerfield Beach Arboretum, Constitution Park, 2841 W. Hillsboro Blvd., Deerfield Beach, FL 33442

Bring your own work gloves. Water and lunch provided. 954-480-4494 or Jerry@ treezoo.com.

Holiday Bazaar

Saturday Nov. 5, 8 a.m. to noon

First Presbyterian Church’s Fall Festival, 2331 NE 26 Ave., Pompano Beach, FL 33062

Held by The MOMS Club of Lighthouse Point. Highlights moms with home-based businesses.

Wild Card Wine Night

Saturday, Nov. 5, 6:30 to 10:30 p.m.

Wyndham DB Resort, 2096 NE 2 St., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

Food, wine, raffles & fun! $65 (includes $25 chips in free play). Classic games like craps, roulette, blackjack and poker – all purely for entertainment. Prizes for best dressed high rollers. Fundraiser to help with scholarships for local students through Rotary Club!

Community Health Fair

Saturday, Nov. 5, 9 a.m. to noon

Lighthouse Point Fire Station, 3740 NE 22nd Ave., Lighthouse Point, FL 33064

Hosted by Broward Health North Broward Medical Center. Free health screenings. www.browardhealth.org. for more info.

Florida Humane Society

Sunday, Nov. 6, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

3870 N. Powerline Rd., Pompano Beach, FL 33073

Also, Dec. 10 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Learn Pet CPR & First Aid for cats and dogs. Includes ABC’s of pet First Aid, restraining/muzzling an injured pet, CPR & rescue breathing, choking management, and excessive heat, drowning, snakes and Bufo Toads. 561-809-2313.

Boca/Deerfield Beach Christian Women’s Connection Country Fair Luncheon

Monday, Nov. 7, 11:30 a.m.

Deer Creek Golf Club, 2801 Deer Creek Country Club Blvd., Deerfield Beach, FL 33442

Speaker: Jill Jackson – “Can Cinderella Marry & Live Happily Ever After with Prince Charming?” $21. Reservations a must. 954-427-8434.

GFWC Woman’s Club of Deerfield Beach

Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 1 p.m.

Deerfield Beach Woman’s Club, 910 E. Hillsboro Blvd., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

Speaker: Dr. Ann Mody Lewis, Ph.D, author. Topic: “Women face a new and final frontier.” Book signing. Guests are welcome. 954-596-2992.

Pompano-LHP Rotary Club meeting

Tuesday, Nov. 8, 7:30 a.m.

Galuppi’s, 1103 N. Federal Hwy., Pompano Beach, FL 33062

Speaker: Brian Fleming, purple heart recipient, author of five books. Fleming was attacked by a suicide bomber, who exploded 3 feet from him in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and endured 14 months reconstructive surgery.

3rd Annual America’s Moms for Soldiers Concert

Wednesday, Nov. 9, 7:30 p.m.

Century Village, Le Club, 3501 West Dr., Deerfield, FL 33442

Free. Florida 9th District American Legion Symphonic Band plays patriotic music honoring America’s troops, past and present. Fans can write notes of thanks and encouragement to active men and women in service. 954-358-9358 or www.americasmomsforsoldiers.com.

Save the Date: Friends of the Arboretum meeting

Saturday, Nov. 10, 7 p.m.

Constitution Park, 2841 W. Hillsboro Blvd., Deerfield Beach, FL  33442

Guest speaker: Bonnie Seibert. Topic: vegetable gardening and composting. Everyone welcome. Refreshments served, door prize. 954-480-4494 or email Jerry@ treezoo.com.

Job Fair

Saturday, Nov. 19, noon to 4 p.m.

Hilton Hotel, Hibiscus Ballroom, 100 Fairway Dr., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

Sponsored by Toyota of Deerfield Beach. Free, except table and sign charge.  Car Show on Nov. 20! Contact Ted Smith: 561-310-0109.

At 8:29 am this morning a bus driver after dropping off his load at Deerfield Elementary was leaving the school turning onto N.E. 7 ave and with the bus pointed toward a business that has a iron gate the driver accidentally depressed the accelerator  and broke through the gate and somehow made a 90° turn from that parking lot into a house.

The bus came to a stop when it wedged into the overhang of the house. The driver was not injured and the transportation department is investigating. The tow driver at the scene said it will require 2 tow trucks to pull the bus out. The driver Vincent Adolph Robinson, 64, of Tamarac told BSO he had no brakes and panicked.