By Gary Curreri

The annual tradition of face painting, hot dogs and various contests, including a home run derby helped kickoff opening day for the Deerfield Beach Little League on Saturday. 

“We’ve been in this fine city for 62 years,” gushed Deerfield Beach Little League President Jason Siracusa. “This is our second season with a new board of directors and we are looking forward to an even better year this season.”

Siracusa said the difference between last year and this year is that they are coming off a championship season. He would know firsthand as last season, Siracusa coached the Junior Division team to the state finals where they finished runner-up.

“Our league has grown since last year and our registrations are up,” said Siracusa, who said there are now 20 teams in the program. “Our sponsorships are up and we have a lot of new families, especially in the younger divisions which is really the future of our league. 

There are approximately 250 players in the league, from ages 4 to 16, Siracusa said opening day was a success. There was a tug of war between coaches and players, a cornhole competition, home run derby, fast pitch and a “triathlon” which consisted of hitting, throwing and running for the younger age groups.

“It was a great day,” Siracusa said. “We had a couple of more events. “The mayor and a couple of city commissioners were here and this was really about bringing everybody together for one time without any baseball, without any games going on. It just gave everybody a chance to get to know each other.

“We had our competitions, a BBQ and then off we go, the season starts,” Siracusa added. “This year was a lot easier than last year. We’ve embraced technology. We built a good foundation last season and we are more streamlined this season, financially and structurally. Building on that, we did a lot of online registrations. We have apps for the managers to help keep track of their teams to communicate with their teams and it makes it a better experience for everybody.”

 Siracusa said the top goals for the program this season is more championships, competitive baseball through both the city’s games and interleague play with neighboring communities in both the junior and 50/70 divisions. The league will consist of T-Ball, Coach-Pitch, Majors, 50/70, Junior and the Seniors, which will begin play in May after the high school season. Siracusa said running the program takes a lot of work and he credited the effort of the volunteers for keeping them on track.

“We didn’t get in all of our uniforms until yesterday,” Siracusa said. “We changed our uniforms this year too. The uniforms are brighter and they seem to be a bit more fun. We have the kid’s names on the back and we have Deerfield Beach in large letters on the front so everywhere we go, we are representing our city. We wanted to make sure we put out a good vibe from our city. 

Angel Davober, 9, of Pompano Beach, a Cresthaven School third grader, said he has played the sport since he was 4.  

“It’s fun and cool because you get to play a lot of different positions,” said Davober, who plays third base, second base and outfield. “I like playing third base the most. Today was awesome because you got to do a lot of different things.”

Deerfield Beach’s Neile Thomas, 14, of Deerfield Beach, has played in the league since he was 6. 

“There is a lot of good stuff to like about the league,” said Thomas, a Pompano Beach High School freshman, “It is very family oriented. The coaches put their players’ safety before winning, but we win too.”

Thomas was a member of the state runner-up Junior Division team a season ago.

“It’s pretty cool to get your name on a banner because you can come back in a couple of years and people you know you can say, ‘I was on that team,’” Thomas said. “On a scale from 1 to 10, that was like an 11. Going to a state tournament was like one of the coolest things I have ever done. Hopefully, this year we will go to states again and win it this year.”

By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Green Book ended up winning Best Picture at The Oscars.  Inspired by a true story about a relevant topic, this film has been met with controversy from members of the Don Shirley family [who is portrayed in the film].  On the other hand, the Vallelonga family endorsed the film, for many of the family members are seen onscreen in Green Book.  Regardless, the film is a fun motion picture and is a worthy addition to the Blues School canon of films.

The film opens in an epic style at the Copacabana Nightclub, circa 1962. While Bobby Rydell sings “That Old Black Magic,” bouncer Tony Vallelonga, alias Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen) is forced to eject an unruly patron, who happens to be a made member of the mafia. To avoid escalating the situation, the Copacabana Club closes for “renovations.”  Tony is forced to seek alternative income until the club reopens.

With plans to tour in the midwest and the deep south, Jazz pianist Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) hires Tony Lip as a driver, who has a reputation for fast talking people out of trouble. These skills will be needed as the “Don Shirley Trio” drive through the segregated south, where white members of the band are forced to sleep in separate hotels.  The star of the show, Don Shirley, is forced to stay in grubby hotels only listed in the “Green Book.”

Racism, bigotry and prejudice are the major themes of this film. Fortunately, humor is used to diffuse potentially explosive situations, which is much in the style of Tony Lip. The first half of the story deals with the behavior differences between these two strong individuals, between a dreamer and a pragmatist. Despite these cultural differences, trust is earned and the two men forge a bond that leads to a satisfying conclusion.

One would think that with credits like Dumb and Dumber, There’s Something About Mary and The Three Stooges, a director like Peter Farrelly would not have the sensitivity to create a film like Green Book.  However, good comedy is based on truth and that is what makes Green Book a success.  When you review Peter Farrelly’s movies (sometimes co-directed & co-written by his brother Bobby), you can see sensitivity even within some comic gross-out scenes. (There are no comic gross-out scenes in Green Book).

One perfect scene stands out for its story progress, character development and sensitive humor. Having never departed the state of New York, Tony is awestruck by an actual Kentucky Fried Chicken in Kentucky. Don is not impressed, but Tony coaxes his boss to eat fried chicken.  After getting over the crudity of eating without a knife and fork, Don gingerly bites into this American delicacy with new rapture. After the climax of this scene, one knows that Tony Vallelonga and Don Shirley will be friends for life.

With an outstanding movie soundtrack, the details of Green Book feel authentic.  This will be a film that will be in regular rotation on the television screen for many years.  It is a fun road trip for people who are looking to be entertained.

Rainbows are beautiful displays of nature that always seem to attract attention whenever and wherever they show up in the sky. Wikipedia defines a rainbow as “a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky.” They most often appear in the form of a multi-colored arc and are usually displayed in an area to the opposite of the position of the sun. Their color is attributed to the fact that water droplets break white sunlight into the seven colors of the spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.

In Genesis 9:13 God tells Noah, “I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.” Rainbows serve as beautiful reminders of the presence, power, and promise of God.

Like the rainbow, we are God’s handiwork in nature, creating beauty in our unity and reflecting His purpose and glory. From the beginning, God’s intention was for His diverse creation to exist in harmony and collaboration. Each aspect of the created world had a purpose and function that was to complement the others. Though different and distinct, the earth, sky, sun, stars, moon, animals, fish, vegetation and mankind were expected to coexist in peace.

Sin, birthed through Adam’s disobedience, ruined God’s original intent for man’s relationships with Himself and others, but does not exempt us from the need to fulfill His purpose. The Bible consistently urges us to brotherhood and oneness.

In the Genesis 9 account which details events after the Flood, verse 19 relates that from Noah’s three sons “the whole earth was populated.” In Acts 17:26, Paul proclaims that God “Has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth.” Psalm 133:1 exclaims, “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” In John 17:21, Jesus prayed for those who would believe in Him “that they may be one.” All these statements indicate that despite our undeniable differences we can and should live in unity and accord. We are related in our common humanity and connected by our need for the same things. We are family!

Too often we spotlight our differences and become exclusive because of our distinctions. History has revealed that this can lead to tensions, disagreements, injustice, brutality, racism and war. Instead, we should appreciate our uniqueness, collaborate on our common interests, and celebrate our collective achievements. Our differing perspectives, abilities and contributions can be synergized to accomplish collectively what none of us could do on our own. The reality of our undeniable diversity should never be allowed to prevent the results of our indisputable unity. As Dr. King famously remarked, in his “I Have A Dream” speech, “With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.”

Musical notes are each distinct and unique for the sound that they make. On their own that uniqueness, though unequaled and spectacular, can become monotonous and uninspiring. The significance of the diversity of each note is not fully appreciated until they are combined in a melody that is sweet to the ear, sensible to the mind and soothing to the soul. The keys on any piano or organ are designed and intended to function in an intentionally harmonious collaboration of music and song. No one key can create a satisfying melody. So too our diversity is best appropriated when we recognize our connectedness and learn to live in purposeful unity.

Bishop Patrick L. Kelly is the pastor of Cathedral Church of God, 365 S. Dixie Hwy., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441. 954-427-0302.

By Gary Curreri

Deerfield Beach regrouped from a sluggish start to top visiting Coral Springs, 44-35, in the Class 9A regional girls basketball semifinal on Tuesday night.

After scoring just one point in the first quarter, the Bucks outscored Coral Springs, 18-8, in the second quarter to open up a 6-point halftime lead. The Bucks cut the lead in half heading into the final quarter before Deerfield held on for the win and avoided the upset bid. It was the team’s fourth straight win over Coral Springs this season and 25th straight against no defeats dating back all the way to 2006 and this is the first-ever postseason meeting between the two schools.

 Deerfield Beach defeated Coral Springs, 70-27, and 55-39 during the season and 47-35 for the district title.

“Our next game we are going to have to come out and do a better job in practice on Wednesday and Thursday getting ready for (Boca Raton),” said Deerfield Beach coach Tami Vaughn, whose team will host the Bobcats on Friday at 7 p.m. 

“We just have to watch film and go back to the drawing board and see what we need to do, if we have to change up the lineup,” Vaughn added. “We have to go back to the drawing board to see what we need to do to finish out.”

Deerfield Beach senior DenAsia Mitchell scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Bucks (18-9).

The Bucks won the District 11-9A title for the fourth time in five years and second year in a row. The lone year they didn’t win it was in 2017 when star guard Mitchell tore her ACL and was lost for the postseason. The Bucks are on a four-game winning streak since a 68-64 overtime loss to St. Thomas Aquinas in the quarterfinals of the Big 8 tournament.

 Deerfield Beach won state titles in 2003 and 2004 and was runner-up in 2002 and 2005. They lost to Miami, 48-31, in last year’s Class 9A state semifinals. 

Ely falls to St. Thomas Aquinas

St. Thomas Aquinas (21-6) outscored visiting Blanche Ely, 37-21, in the second half en route to a 72-52 victory in the Class 8A girls basketball regional semifinal in Ft. Lauderdale.

Blanche Ely, which finished the year at 21-9, lost to the Raiders, 66-61, 70-64, and 58-46 in the district championship before Tuesday night’s loss.

Raiders’ junior guard Bella LaChance, a Vanderbilt commit, led four Raiders in double figures with 20 points, while Tigers sophomore guard Ja’Leah Williams kept her team in the contest as she scored 27 points and hauled down 11 rebounds.

“We had a real rough third quarter,” Ely coach James Polk said. St. Thomas outscored the Tigers, 17-10, in the period.

Pompano

golf results

The Pompano Beach Women’s Golf Association held a Low Net (with a twist) tournament on Jan. 29.

 The results are as follows: A Flight: 1. Kathy Stewart, 67; 2. Abby Ages, 72; B Flight: 1. Janet Stuart, 69; 2. Kathy Dunn, 78; C Flight: 1. Lynn Goodman, 74; 2. Sue Bardhi, 75; D Flight: 1. Polly Rutnik, 77; 2. Roseanna Nixon 78. 

In the Pompano Beach Women’s Golf Association tournament on Jan. 22, Mimi Denoma shot an 84 to take the A Flight. Marianne Weber was second with a 91, while Sandra Gore was third with a 93. 

 Other results included B Flight: 1. Janet Stuart, 88; 2. Abby Ages, 97 (won tiebreaker); C Flight: 1. Patt Sessa, 98; 2. Ann Symonds, 101; 3. Lynn Goodman, 104 (won tiebreaker); D Flight: 1. Roseanna Nixon, 107 (won tiebreaker); 2. Verna Smith, 107.

The Pompano Beach Men’s Golf Association held a Two Best Ball of Foursome tournament on Jan. 30. The net score results are 1. James Greeley, Dave Hall, Jeffrey Raymond, Bert Welage, 112; 2. Oscar Aleman, Robert Blau, Roe Messner, Don Worrell, 115; 3. Tom Harrington, George Lyons, Paul Murphy, Carlo Spirito, 116; 4. Paul Berning, Andy Burt, Brian Nixon, Neil Wilson, 118 (won match of cards); 5. Jim King, Jim Muschany, Robert Raser, Roy Wilhoite, 118 (won match of cards).

 The closest to the pin winner at hole No. 15 was Terry Denoma.

 The Pompano Beach Men’s Golf Association also held a One Best Ball of Foursome tournament on Feb. 6. Net Score: 1. Tom Breur, Dave Dowling, Tom Pawelczyk, Robert Raser, 52; 2. Jim DiCamillo, Mike Grimaldi, Roe Messner, Jim Muschany, 53 (won tiebreaker); 3. Terry Denoma, Jim Dunn, Scott Feinman, Bart Valerio, 53 (won tiebreaker); 4. Lee Hammer, Tom Joyce, Dick Steffen, Bob VanZandt, 55 (won tiebreaker); 5. Andy Burt, Dave Danielian, Dave Hall, Gene Stoller, 55 (won tiebreaker); 6. Chuck Brown, John Feeley, Bob Mascatello, Tim O’Brien, 56.

 The closest to the pin winner at hole No. 17 was Frank Cutrone.

By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Artic opens this weekend. While this movie is only 97 minutes long, it will feel longer, like a good Sir David Lean epic, such as Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago. It is a simple story about man in conflict with nature, but the wide screen cinematography creates an intimate relationship between the ticket buyer and the big screen.

The film opens with Overgard (Mads Mikkelsen) shoveling snow.  When the task is finished, the camera pans back and reveals the distress words “SOS.”  Overgard walks back to his crashed airplane, checks his equipment and then catches some fish for dinner. After some bed rest, it is the return to his routine of checking his equipment and catching fish.   

When the rescue helicopter crashes, Overgard is burdened with the extra responsibility of saving a comatose survivor.  Should Overgard maintain the comforts of his survivor camp or venture forward and rescue himself and the survivor with a wound infection?

The results are painful, stressful and ultimately life affirming. There are tantalizing moments of suspense that could lead to either despair or triumph. It is only in the last second of this film that the climax is reached.  Don’t blink.

Essentially giving a one man performance like Tom Hanks in Cast Away, or Robert Redford in All is Lost, Mikkelsen gives an earnest and endearing portrayal. Best known for portraying the arch enemy of James Bond and Doctor Strange, this Danish actor speaks few words in Artic. Mikkelsen gives a physical performance that draws echoes from the silent cinema of Buster Keaton. 

On Friday, March 1, The Samuel Project returns to the big screen for an encore. This sweet comedy about generational unification stars Hal Linden and Ryan Ochoa.  Teenagers between the ages of 10 – 14 can see the movie for free, providing they bring their grandparents with them. 

This Sunday, Feb. 24, is the Oscars and the Ft, Lauderdale International Film Festival’s Steve Savor is hosting a special gala at his Villa de Palma starting at 7 p.m. If you feel the need to wear a tuxedo or a gown, this black tie mandatory event is for you. There will be great food, an open bar and live music for those who want to celebrate like a movie star. Parking can be difficult. Limited valet will be available. It is best to carpool or use a service like Uber. Tickets in advance only. $100 FLIFF members, $150 non-members. Visit www.fliff.com for details.

“You must love your neighbor as yourself.”

Leviticus 19:18

“Who is my neighbor?”

Luke 19:29

What does ecumenical dialogue look like? I think of two images. The first image is the more formal. Learned scholars and theologians from one religious denomination sit down across the table with learned scholars and theologians from another denomination. One scholar shares her or his thoughts, usually with a vocabulary that comes from years and years of schooling. Another scholar shares her or his thoughts, again, with an impressive vocabulary. Differences are recognized yet common ground is reached. And then, two or more theologians get together and write a document that comes from their dialogue, and, of course, the language is lofty and academic. Everybody shakes hands and goes home feeling that something great was accomplished, and, indeed, something great was accomplished. There is just one problem. Only a few people are really aware of the dialogue. A few people get a copy of the document that is derived from the dialogue, and, of the few people who read it, only those with advanced degrees understand it. It is important stuff, to be sure, but it is “jargon” and only those who know the jargon benefit.

Here is another image. Two neighbors of different faiths get together and have a cup of coffee or tea. They sit across the table and share their faith with each other. They do not judge. They do not proselytize. They simply talk and listen. They love and respect each other and, when their meeting is over, they both leave informed of each other’s faith and become closer friends.

There is no jargon, or documents that come with language that doesn’t translate well into everyday language. It’s just two friends building a bond and sharing each other’s faith.

So I ask you, of these two images of ecumenical dialogue, which one is going to impact your community more?

The word ecumenical comes from the Greek “Oukumene,” which simply means, “community.” Ecumenical people are community-minded people. Put simply — ecumenical people are good neighbors looking out for the neighborhood, both local and global.

When Jesus quoted Leviticus 19:18 “Love your neighbor as yourself,” a lawyer asked him “who is my neighbor?” The answer was the parable of the Good Samaritan. I don’t know if that was the answer that the lawyer was looking for, but the people of Judea and Galilee had no time for the people of Samaria. The fact that the Samaritan was the hero of the story would have made many listeners uncomfortable, perhaps even angry.

I would venture to say that the same question could be asked today and a similar answer would make some people uncomfortable, maybe even angry? If we look throughout our neighborhood and beyond our community, you will discover that many of the people with whom we coexist do not believe what we believe, vote the way we vote, look alike, dress alike or like the same kind of foods. It is no news that we live in the midst of diversity, especially in south Florida, and, if we want our community to be stronger, than we must heed the call to be better neighbors. Loving our neighbor as ourselves requires us to get uncomfortable and challenges our limits. Yet, good neighbors, this is crucial.

Who is going to lead the charge? The answer is you. Theologians can only do so much. Community leaders can only do so much. But if you invite your neighbor out for coffee and engage in friendly conversation, you just may move a mountain or two.

Pastor Gross is a pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, located at 959 SE 6 Ave., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441. For more information, call 954-421-3146 or visit www.zion-lutheran.org.

By Gary Curreri

Even though the Deerfield Beach High School girls basketball team lost three of four games during the Jerry Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas during the holiday break, Bucks coach Tamala Vaughn called the trip a victory.

Deerfield opened the Las Vegas trip with a 55-22 win over Modesta Christian (CA) before dropping four straight games to Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, NV), 46-36; Lynwood (Lynwood, CA), 67-50; and Desert Oasis (Las Vegas, NV), 56-26.

The Bucks won the District 11-9A title for the fourth time in five years and second year in a row. The lone year they didn’t win was in 2017 when star guard DenAsia Mitchell tore her ACL and was lost for the post season.

“This year’s team is a different team,” Vaughn said. “They are young and really inconsistent. The positive thought is that they are growing and the future is bright. They have great attitudes and I love coaching this group of girls. I don’t know what team is going to show up, the team that I think can win state or the team that gives me butterflies when they step on the court.”

Deerfield Beach (16-9) will host Cypress Bay (7-10) on Thursday night in a regional quarterfinal game. Of the Bucks’ 16 wins this season, 13 have been by 30 or more points. Of the nine losses, two have been by four points or less, one has been by eight points and the others have been in double digits.

“I know they all want to go to state,” she added. “We all have that goal in common.

They have grown since the beginning of the season and the light bulb is finally going on with some of the younger players. I don’t think they have been pushed as much. It was hard in the beginning for them to understand the system and the work ethic of the program.”

“We had kids that wanted to quit and kids that said, ‘coach, I can’t do this,’” Vaughn continued, “but now, since I pushed them beyond their limits, they are coming into their own.”

Vaughn said the trip to Las Vegas was vital to the team’s success. She said the players and coaches bonded both on and off the court.

“I have no regrets about the trip,” Vaughn said. “They were mentally weak before the trip and now they are becoming mentally tougher. I saw that in the St. Thomas Aquinas game (a 68-64 overtime loss). I was proud of the way they played and I think we are where we should be at this time of the season. They have gotten over that hump.

“The players became closer (in Las Vegas),” she added. “The players want to be the best teammates for each other. We bonded as a team. It was like a family atmosphere.”

In addition to DenAsia Mitchell, the Bucks have been getting strong play this season from freshman center Fatima Diakhate, who Vaughn says will be an All-American. Also playing well is senior forward Chakoi Mitchell (Indian River College commit); sophomore wing Aaliyah Reid; junior shooting guard Jasmin Worsley and junior combo guard Natalie Hessing, a transfer from Archbishop McCarthy.

“The girls have become more serious and they are working hard in practice to get better,” Vaughn said. “They just have to bear down, play hard and be consistent.”

By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

The Last Resort opens this weekend.  This documentary presents the Miami culture that I witnessed when my parents and I moved to South Florida over 45 years ago.  While Miami today looks like any theme park in Orlando or Las Vegas, The Last Resort features a bygone people and culture. 

When World War II ended, my dad was Honorably Discharged from the U.S. Army Air Corp. He and his brother Paul celebrated by taking a trip to South Florida. While attending the Tropics Nightclub featuring the Tony Pastor orchestra, my dad met my mom and the rest is history. 

The Last Resort begins its history discussing the advent of air conditioning and how it led to the real estate boom during the post World War II years. Many of the urban dwellers were European Jews who were transplanting from New York, some retirees from garment districts. There was a vivid night life which featured Big Band dances that led comedian Jackie Gleason to relocate his Saturday Night variety show from New York to Miami Beach. By the 1970s, many retirees moved into the hotels and became known as the “porch sitting generation.”

The buildings aged as the population aged. Once glamorous hotels became hovels of smelly incontinence. In 1980, the community became known for the Mariel boatlift and the McDuffie riots, which changed the character of Miami; it was no longer “Mollie Goldberg.” It was now Scarface. 

The visuals of this narrative are provided by the photography of Gary Monroe and Andy Sweet, who tragically become a symbol of the rise and fall of Miami Beach. Andy Sweet captured the glamour of The Last Resort culture, yet saw the seeds of corruption infiltrate his beloved community. On Oct. 6, 1982, Sweet was brutally murdered in an unsolved mystery.

While lacking tact in 1982, Gary Monroe and Florida historians eventually resurrected the photographs to create The Last Resort.  By waiting to tell this story, The Last Resort is a better cinematic experience and the story is more solid. This film works as a piece of nostalgia for an older generation, but an important social studies lesson for young people, who can witness how much a culture changes in a short period of time.

As the Oscar nominees quickly make their way to home video market, it has been announced that this year’s Oscar ceremony will have no host and now will present television commercials instead of the technical achievement awards like art direction and cinematography. Beyond a good story and interesting characters, it is the visual technical component that draws ticket buyers to the big cave known as Cinema. When a creative organization loses sight of its own technical details, how much longer will it be for the consumer to lose interest in a creative organization’s product?   

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Have you ever heard of the term “tough love?” People will say, “I think that person needs some tough love.” There is a new saying that is true that I heard the other day, and I think it’s the opposite of that term “tough love” because “love is tough.”

Valentine’s Day is just a few days away, and it is easy to love on special occasions like this. However, there are still many days left out of the year where some days are easy to show love, and some days we have to work hard at showing love to others. How about showing someone love who does not love you back or even someone that may not treat you the way you believe you deserve to be treated. Love should be a big part of our lives. Love is something meant to be expressed, not something to be kept a secret. It seems like people even have a hard time saying “I love you” when we should say it all the time, and we should also show it all the time. It is tough sometimes, but it is not impossible. Why is it that we can say that we love our car, job, dog or even our favorite restaurant, but we cannot say it to each other. We have a hard time saying I love you to the ones that really mean the most to us.

We have to understand that we need God’s help to love others in the same way that He loves us. We always want to put conditions on love, but God does not do that to us. We speak with our actions and say I will love you if you do this for me, treat me this way or buy me this, etc. God does not work on the point system and neither should we. God tells us to love others, period. There are no conditions on that love. God does not say love someone if they do something for you or make you feel a certain way. God says love each other, and, if God tells us to love, then we must be able to do it.

Love is so many things, but it is not conditional. Let’s look at what love is.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud.

5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.

6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.

7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

NLT

Love gives us the ability to be sensitive to the needs, hurts and desires of others and also to feel with them, and experience the world from their perspective. Love gives us the ability to give with no conditions or expectations. Love builds up and encourages; it is determining what is best for someone and doing it. Pray and ask God to help you love the way He loves and He will help you. Have a Happy Valentine’s Day. I LOVE YOU!

Pastor Tony Guadagnino is the pastor at Christian Love Fellowship church, located at 801 SE 10 St., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441. For more information, visit www.clfministries.org.

A Conversation with Deerfield Beach Mayor Bill Ganz

By Karen Lustgarten

Mayor Bill Ganz has been an enthusiastic Deerfield Beach resident in the same neighborhood for 20 years. For nearly half that time, he’s served as city commissioner and now mayor for the past two years. “I know where we’ve been and how hard it was to get to where we are,” he says about the city. He elaborated during our conversation this month.   

 

Repave, repair, remodel 

End of life structures, crumbling roads, antiquated utility technology, a shuttered water supply plant, old storm drains — Deerfield Beach has aging infrastructure going back to the 1960s. The capital improvements bond that passed a few years ago allows for upgrading and modernizing facilities and utilities as they reach maturity to meet the needs of the city’s growing population. Repaving Deerfield Beach is one of the aging priorities.      

Working with FDOT, along with repaving comes aesthetics such as beautifying gateways into the city, entrance ways into neighborhoods, improving curb appeal. MLK Boulevard from 10 Street to Hillsboro Boulevard is slated for improvements next year. The stretch from Federal Highway to Dixie Highway is part of the Complete Street project. These are streets designed for mixed use — pedestrian crossings, walking paths, bike lanes, vehicles — rather than traditional streets designed for vehicles. 

“Residents want to be able to cross the street safely. They want to see improvements to roadways, safety on foot, by bike or in a vehicle,” said Mayor Ganz.  

For example, pedestrian crossings and LED lights were added along the S-curve at the beach and decorative fencing will be added around the FEC railroad track for safe crossing.

Mayor Ganz and city officials recently completed a walking audit along Dixie Highway with a planning organization, taking note of sidewalks, trees, landscaping, old crosswalk boxes, bus benches. The audit walk was to find opportunities and ideas to make some simple functional and aesthetic improvements along the route. There’s no overall beautification plan along that corridor he says. They are taking these walking audits in other areas of the city as well to feel them up close and get ideas on how aging infrastructure, antiquated technology and decades-old designs can be improved.

“As those are improved, neighborhoods start to pick up,” he said. 

Other capital improvement bond projects are The Center for Active Aging, remodeling the Johnnie Tigner Community Center and City Hall renovations.   

The Center for Active Aging provides supportive services and activities to seniors to help improve their quality of life, promote independence and encourage involvement with the community.

“Looking to the future, you have an active aging population and, if we build a more state-of-the-art facility, people will want to use it,” said Mayor Ganz. 

“The Tigner Community Center is in desperate need of remodeling, not just as a community center but for all types of programming that can be hosted there. We do not have enough community facilities to meet the needs of our growing population,” said the Mayor. “It will be a huge boost to the city and our residents to have a nice facility.” 

The capital improvements bond will make that possible. It will also give Deerfield Beach City Hall a remodeling boost with structural improvements, such as repairing the leaky roof (e.g. buckets come out when it rains to prevent indoor puddles). 

Pioneer Grove: developing downtown

Future redevelopment is in the Pioneer Grove area where City Hall resides. 

“We are trying to get more focus back to the central area of our city,” said the Mayor.  The goal with Pioneer Grove and for the improvements in the central area is to bring back downtown Deerfield Beach.”

“We want to inject energy into the central area of the city that includes the Dixie Highway corridor and create a more vibrant downtown. It’s been a long time since that’s been a focus in the city.  It’s perfect timing now to improve facilities in need with the ability to make those changes for the long term, decades ahead,” he said.

New development in the downtown zone is encouraged and nurtured but within certain guidelines that add value to the city overall. 

“There’s a great deal of undeveloped land in the central area of the city so there’s a great opportunity to have an overall vision rather than a hodge-podge of fitting in different projects that don’t come under an overall master plan or vision for what we want to see here,” said the Mayor.

The city’s award-winning Sullivan Park is an example of creative redevelopment without overdoing it.  

“We have a lot of people very interested in the downtown area and new projects coming forward,” he said. “When you work with developers with projects that don’t dissolve a neighborhood but enhance and improve it, and it becomes an anchor in the area, then you get a few anchors in the area and you build on that energy. Then people are going to start coming.”

Slow and steady growth

A recent study found that 20 percent of the privately-owned undeveloped land in Broward County is located in Deerfield.  

“That gives us some opportunity to grow but we don’t want to overbuild… we want to grow responsibly,” said Mayor Ganz.

It’s been a slow and steady growth that has picked up over the past several years.  

“We’re no longer in the position that we’re desperate for development,” he said.  “We can be selective about what we want to do in the city — what works for us and the residents as opposed to more exploitive projects offered.”

 “We have a wonderful village-type atmosphere that we love about Deerfield. With that comes its challenges that are a lot different than other cities,” he says.  “It’s difficult to maintain that atmosphere and not overdevelop and kill the surfside community with a village feeling. That’s why we’re unique in the approach we’ve taken.  No skyscrapers. We’ve been able to hold back overdevelopment and irresponsible development in the beach areas.”

Deerfield’s S-curved beach is ranked No. 13 by Fodor (travel and tourism guides) as “coolest beach in Florida with a hip vibe.”

 “Our residents deserve to have the city invest and reinvest in itself, in these improvement projects each with a dire need, as a way of showing our residents that their tax dollars are going to something they use. And when other businesses and developers see that we’re willing to invest in ourselves, then they’re willing to come and invest in us as well,” he said.

With a growing tax base, Deerfield Beach is experiencing a resurgence focused on enhancements.

“We’re looked at as a city on the rise,” says the Mayor. “New projects are improving our tax base as people are deciding there’s a great opportunity in Deerfield Beach. Other cities and investors are approaching me asking how we do this, we want to create the feel that you have. It’s been slowly building up.  I can’t tell you what is the one single thing that created the spark but we can certainly feel it.”

Karen Lustgarten is president of Multi-Media Works, a multiple award-winning media company specializing in video, PR, print and social media with offices in Broward and Palm Beach Counties. She founded a newspaper in Washington, DC, was a syndicated columnist and a bestselling author.  www.multi-mediaworks.com