DEERFIELD BEACH – Most city facilities will be closed on Monday, Jan. 2 in observance of the New Year’s holiday. The International Fishing Pier and Aquatic Center will maintain normal operating hours. All facilities will reopen on Tuesday, Jan. 3. To receive the latest news for Deerfield Beach, sign up for E-subscriptions at www.Deerfield-Beach.com/esubscriptions.

By Gary Curreri

Vernon Shazier got an early Christmas present when he won a $20,000 car in a charity golf tournament.

Shazier, a 41-year-old Pompano Beach reverend, made a last-minute decision to play in the Rod Evans Memorial Golf Tournament, hosted by the Church by the Glades, and it paid off as he won a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze after getting a hole-in-one on the 170-yard, 12th hole at the Palm Aire Country Club’s Cypress Course.

“It was a last minute deal,” said Shazier, who used a 6-iron on the shot. “The guy (Pastor Anthony Burrell) I normally play with on Fridays, I called him on Thursday night to see which course we were playing because he normally makes the tee times. He said, ‘man, I am not going to be able to make it tomorrow, there is a tournament I am playing in.’”

Shazier was asked by Burell if he wanted to play with him in the tournament and, since it was for a church, Shazier agreed. Shazier is the chaplain for the Miami Dolphins and carries a 15 handicap. He will play once a week or once a month.

Shazier believes there might have been a little “divine intervention” during the tourney when it came to the shot.

“The whole thing was kind of comical with both of us being pastors,” Shazier said. “When we walked up to the 12th hole, he said he was going over to lay hands on the car and pray for this car. I said, ‘just leave that car alone and let’s try to make a birdie.’ I said ‘don’t even think about making a hole-in-one or winning a car.’ He was over there praying and clowning around with the car and I hit my shot. I wasn’t thinking about making no hole-in-one or winning the car. The ball took one bounce and went in the hole.”

Shazier said after Burrell hit his shot, they walked to the green and Shazier stopped short, wondering where the ball was. He eventually discovered it was, in fact, at the bottom of the cup. Shazier, who won a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze for his first ever ace, took delivery in late December of the $20,000 car.

“I know there was some divine intervention,” said Vernon, whose family owns a 2002 Ford Explorer and 2002 Chevy Avalanche. “That is a difficult shot to hit with a 6-iron. That ball is moving fast and it took one bounce and, for it to take one hop and dive directly in the hole … It was perfect. It was really kind of numbing. It was hard to focus after that.”

Shawn Shazier said she didn’t believe her husband at first when he called. Then she thought he would never call her during his round of golf.

“He was so excited and said, ‘I got a hole-in-one. I won a car,’” Shawn Shazier recalled. “I was like, ‘you are joking right?’ and he said, “no, I just hit a hole-in-one, I won a car. I’m gonna call you back. I’m gonna call you back.’”

“This is exciting because this is rare and for him to actually do it during a tournament setting,” Shawn added, “This is a blessing. We actually look at it as a blessing.”

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

While the story and characters are as interesting as the first movie, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows does not hold up as well as the original film.  Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and Kelly Reilly reprise their roles with relish. While Noomi Ropace (the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) adds dimension to author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s world, the attention deficit disorder editing distracts from the action sequences.

Still, Director Guy Ritchie deserves credit for providing an interesting film that will satisfy both modern audiences and diehard fans. Like the first film, the organic musical score is a highlight. During a mountain trek, one can hear the theme song from Two Mules for Sister Sarah, which creates a subconscious link between Sherlock Holmes and the American cowboy.

By Emily Rosen

Politics, politics, 24 seven

That’s what it looked like in twenty eleven

Auspicious beginning in terms of locution

On the floor of the house – the U.S. Constitution

Two days after that came a kook with a gun

Causing havoc in Tucson with folks on the run

Congressional Gabby was shot in the head

Some even died leaving blood, shock and dread

At the State of the Union, Ds and Rs sat together

But their bonding was not even strong as a feather

Then a sudden eruption —  an Arab decree

In Tunisia, then Egypt,  folks marched to be free

Mubarak stepped down in a possible sting

And momentum was there for the Arab Spring

While the State of Wisconsin struck out against strikes

 As unions and allies “Facebooked” “unlikes”

In Japan, a disaster that rendered it bleak

With an earthquake that triggered a nuclear leak

‘Twas “the budget” and Libya both in the news

 Gaddafi – Paul Ryan – were singing the blues

There was rapture, of course, midst the angst of the world

When Willie and Katie took vows and then twirled

Tornadoes moved Southward, but still NASA launched

As Birthers held doubts that were ever so staunch

And Lo! and Behold! Out of Af-ghan-is-tan

Came the news that we rubbed out Bin Laden,  “The Man”

A love-child from Arnold, and Weiner showed pix

Ruppert Murdoch in scandal – the world needs a fix!

Bibi in congress – Obama feels stalked

But gays can get married, at last, in New York

The Anthony trial was an endless distraction

‘Til they called her “not guilty”  for an O.J. reaction

Terror in Oslo, riots in London

While the S & P here found its credit was undone

Over 600 points as the market got clobbered.

When folks checked their statements, they probably slobbered

Gaddafi got ousted. It just took so long

And, in D.C., an earthquake, though not very strong

Only days before blustering winds brought “Irene”

And destruction that lingered for days at the scene

Finally got rid of Don’t ask, Don’t tell

Banishing fears that we’ll all go to hell

Trump, Christie, Palin all out of the race

While a whole crowd of others took up in that space

Like the “Lock Box” of yore for which none of us pine

Instead, we were subject to “nine, nine and nine”

Never immune from crass degradation

Came Penn State and Syracuse sex allegations

Occupy Wall Street folks spread out their cause

As dollars for Bankers flowed in without pause

The Super Committee broke up with folks pissed

With blame on the pledge made to Grover Norquist

Cain down in flames as more women “alleged”

And when Trump made an offer, most candidates hedged

Corzine is clueless how billions got lost

Dr. Conrad “killed” Michael – in jail he was tossed

The e-world and iWorld invaded by mobs

Despite that, we’ve suffered the loss of Steve Jobs

The iphone, the ipad, much more is predicted

To tweeting and texting we’re getting addicted

As I write this – there’s 20 days more I must shelve

‘til we greet the unknowable year 2012

Which surely by all we can fathom from here

Will be a real blockbuster type of a year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

DEERFIELD BEACH

Dec. 21 A man was arrested and charged with burglary and theft of the Deli and Market at 111 SE 2 Ave. He allegedly worked with another man to burglarize the business and deprive it of $48,000.

Dec. 22 A man was arrested and charged with grand theft.  He stole five steel drums and one travel chain from BK Marine, his former employer, and attempted to sell the items to a scrap yard. The incident was reported at 3500 SW 14 St.

Dec. 22 A man was arrested and charged with stealing batteries, a shift and a cable from Home Depot at 60 SW 12 Ave.

Dec. 22 A man reported that his residence at 340 SW 1 Terr. was broken into and ransacked, but said nothing was stolen.

Dec. 22 A woman reported a mountain bike valued at $800 stolen from the backyard of her home at 940 SE 4 Court.

Dec. 23 A home at 761 Crystal Lake Dr. was broken into, and a digital camera and watch were stolen.

Dec. 23 A report was made that an individual or individuals smashed the windows of four cars and stole miscellaneous items. The report was made at 941 Crystal Lake Dr.

Dec. 23 A report was made that an individual or individuals smashed the windows of seven cars and stole miscellaneous items. The report was made at 551 NW 42 Court.

Dec. 23 A woman was arrested and charged with stealing $351.78 worth of items from Target at 3599 W. Hillsboro Blvd.

Dec. 23 A man approached a woman while she was placing groceries in her car in the parking lot of Winn Dixie at 1021 S. Federal Hwy. He stole her purse and escaped into a waiting car.

RE: The Cove neighborhood

Dear Editor:

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the men and women of the Deerfield Beach, Broward Sheriff’s Office, for their service and professionalism. This year has been a very eye-opening experience in learning what is happening to the city I grew up in.

My husband, Phil, and I were very excited to purchase a home in The Cove neighborhood, a few years ago, because, back when we were growing up, it was the premier place to live in Deerfield Beach. Sadly, now, it is mostly known as the neighborhood that leads the city in the most burglaries and thefts.

The good news is that we have a chief of police who wants to help us make our neighborhood safer. Chief Sudler and his team have committed to partner with us to reverse this trend.

On Thursday, Jan. 5 at 7 p.m., Phil and I will host a Neighborhood Watch Meeting at our house — 529 SE 13 Ave., Deerfield Beach, so we can meet and hear from Chief Sudler and the police officers who take care of our neighborhood on what we can do to stop the burglaries and thefts. We have also set up an e-mail address to distribute important information and happenings that occur in The Cove. If you would like to get on this distribution list, please e-mail me at DFBCove@gmail.com and we will put you on the list.

As the year ends, I ask you, my fellow neighbors, to join us on Jan. 5 to get informed on what is going on in the neighborhood and help us restore The Cove to the great place to live that it used to be.

Michelle Lane

Deerfield Beach

(This is just a sampling of events. For dinner, make sure you RSVP. They are booking fast!)

2 George’s

1754 SE 3 Court, Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

New Year’s Eve specials, LIVE entertainment, champagne toast and party favors. 954-421-9272.

Barracuda

1965 NE 2 St., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

New Year’s Eve 4-course dinner with complimentary champagne. 954-531-1290.

City Pub

956 S. Federal Hwy., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

LIVE entertainment, complimentary champagne, party favors, hors d’oeuvres, dessert. 954-427-8213.

Cucina Orecchio

1825 E. Sample Rd., Pompano Beach, FL 33064

Prix fix New Year’s Eve menu. 954-946-7585.

First Night 2012

4 p.m. to midnight

600 Block, Atlantic Avenue East, Delray Beach, FL

www.downtowndelraybeach.com/first-night.
First Night Buttons: $10 in advance/$15 Dec. 31.

Hot Tomatoe

626 S. Federal Hwy., Deerfield Beach. FL 33441

New Year’s Eve menu. Toast with bubbly. Party favors, LIVE entertainment by Robert Price. 954-480-6464.

JB’s

3000 N. Ocean Blvd., Deerfield Beach, FL 33432

954-571-5220

Free Admission. Big screen ball drop, party favors, champagne toast. After 7 p.m., first 100 people to DJ booth get $10 JB’s gift cert. 1/1 Aftermath Party. 954-571-5220.

On TV, there was a show called Taxi and a character called Simka (a take on the Hebrew word, Simcha … meaning joy). When Simka got married, she  became Simka Gravas. The name Gravas reminds me of Gribenas and I couldn’t help but think of another ethnic delicacy that gave me even more joy … latkes. (Oddly enough, Simka’s husband name was Latka.)

My brother (Rabbi Sheldon Ezring) recently wrote a piece about how our mother used to stand in the kitchen, peeling potatoes and then take out a hand grater as she prepared them along with a batch of onions and eggs. Meanwhile, she would have oil heating in the pan. As I write this, I can hear the sizzling sound and smell the aroma that filled the entire house.

When my father got home from work, we would gather to light the candles on the Chanukiah along with proper blessings and singing of “Rock of Ages.” Then, dinner was served … more latkes.

After dinner, we would play Spin the Dreidel for a penny a spin. Growing up in the midwest, it was usually freezing outside, but as we celebrated Chanukah with the latkes, candles and singing, we felt the warm glow of being together, wrapped up in traditions of our faith.

The last lines of my brother’s writing taught me a valuable lesson I had missed all these years. My brother wrote, “Notice, I did not mention gifts. Gifts were rarely exchanged and of little importance.”

That has sadly changed. Gifts have taken away much sacred meaning of Chanukah and Christmas. Remember, we are not just lighting candles or decorating trees, eating latkes or drinking egg nog. We are creating memories …

Shalom My Friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is a Hospice Chaplain and Member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains. He also provides Professional Pastoral Care Services to a number of health centers in Broward County.

Emily Chen (Below in zebra swimsuit), 10, and her younger sister, Ava (above in blue), 6, help the Deerfield Beach Dolphins to the girls team championship with 675 points and 1,160.50 points overall in the South Florida Recreational Swim League Winter Championships. Submitted photos

By Gary Curreri

Two local Deerfield Beach Dolphins Swim Team members showed a little sisterly love and turned in solid performances in the South Florida Recreational Swim League Winter Championship swim meet at Palm Beach Gardens on Dec. 10.

Emily Chen, 10, and her younger sister, Ava, 6, helped the Dolphins to the girls team championship with 675 points and 1,160.50 points overall. The boys team scored 485.50 points.

Emily Chen, who swam a time of 33.57 seconds, on her backstroke leg in the 50-yard medley relay for 9- and 10-year-old girls, broke a four-year-old record of 34.29 seconds when she broke the record in the individual 50-yard backstroke competition for 9- and 10-year-old girls with a time of 33.48 seconds.

This 5th grader at Park Trails Elementary School in Parkland also won first places in the 50-yard freestyle, 50-yard breaststroke, individual medley and freestyle relay contests. In 2011, she was undefeated in all swim competitions she entered, and, in both 2009 and 2010, Chen was voted the Most Valuable Swimmer of the Year for her age group by Dolphins’ coaches.

Not to be outdone, Chen’s 6-year-old sister, Ava, a 1st grader at Park Trails, took first places in 25-yard breaststroke, 25-yard butterfly and fourth place in 25-yard freestyle for 5- to 6-year-old girls in the same competition.

The two sisters practiced swimming four times a week at the Deerfield Beach Aquatic Center under the direction of Coach Rafael deSilva.

Deerfield Beach’s Rachael Ryan captured three events as she won the Girls 11-12 100-yard IM, 50 butterfly and 50-yard freestyle events, while Michelle Bachert, Ata Aktarma, Bruna Pavan and Max Maurente each won two events. Other individual winners for the Dolphins included Sean Ragonese, Drew Novak, Adian Vinograd, Hayley Johnson, Caitlin VanDyke, Emma Leonard, James Anderson III, Larissa Anthony, Teaghan Skulszki, Gabriella Castillo, Bonnie Kohner  and Otavio Metzker.

Johnson selected

Blanche Ely wide receiver Avery Johnson has been selected to the fifth annual Under Armour All-America Game set for Jan. 5, 2012  at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. Johnson was one of four South Florida football players picked to play in the event. Johnson had six touchdowns this season, helping the Tigers advance to the Class 7A playoffs.

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

Alice Cooper looked me in the eye and asked, “So what’s worth seeing at the movies?”

“For pure entertainment, The Muppets, I responded.

“Oh, that’s a good movie!” Alice responded.

As Christmas week wraps up, many family movies like The Muppets and Arthur Christmas will be in their final big screen performances, before being delegated onto the small screen at home. Local theaters will begin receiving their Oscar buzz movies like The Iron Lady and Albert Nobbs, while fulfilling escapist desire with films like Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and The Adventures of Tintin.

Young Goethe in Love opens this weekend. A philosopher best known for his existential pessimism, Young Goethe (Alexander Fehling) is an energetic young man full of passion. He meets and courts Lotte Buff (Miriam Stein) and lands a municipal job as a bureaucrat.

Most of Young Goethe in Love is appropriate Christmas entertainment featuring a German countryside, family picnics and sing-alongs. Of course, the romance sours and the audience sees Young Goethe become a philosophical curmudgeon.  While there is an opportunity for the film to grow dark and sinister (the final credits present a very disturbing aspect of the film), Young Goethe in Love is about youth dancing a polka.

Seducing Charlie Barker opens this weekend at the The Living Room Theater on the Florida Atlantic University campus. Miami native Amy Glazer (who also directs) will be in attendance Friday, Dec. 23. She will introduce and host a “Q & A” after the screening of her movie.

Charlie Barker (Stephen Barker Turner) is a struggling actor who does not want to compromise his artistic integrity. His mate, Stella (Daphne Zuniga) supports him.  While attending an elitist ritzy party in Manhattan, Charlie is seduced by Clea (Heather Gordon), a siren in a red dress. Much like the fate of an Alice Cooper protagonist, Charlie Barker’s situation goes from bad to worse … or so it seems.

Thanks to Heather Gordon’s energetic performance and excellent line delivery, Seducing Charlie Barker works as sophisticated entertainment. The film gets dark, yet there are many plot twists that take a routine downfall movie into a different philosophical plane. Then again, for those seeking simple escapist entertainment, The Muppets will make a fine Christmas outing this weekend.  Merry Christmas!