Watch out where you park

Dear Editor:

There is an empty lot (no house) on SE 7 Street, Deerfield Beach, just off of Ocean Drive. There are several parking spaces, marked by lines. On the right side, covered by grass, next to them is vacant space for at least three more cars (not lined).

The complaint is that people who have parked in this space received a parking ticket. In one instance, a car was parked in the LINED SPOT, but two wheels were on that grassy spot. The owner was also ticketed.

The car to his left was too close to him, so he reparked and then his right wheels ended up on the grass.

I, and all the people I have spoken to, agree that the city should put up a sign “NO PARKING ON THE GRASS,” only in marked spots.

—A Concerned citizen

Hans Paetzold

Deerfield Beach

Remembering Karen

Dear Editor: 

I deeply regret that I am not able to attend the service for my friend Karen Rice.  Poets and noted authors have used descriptive words of endearment throughout history to describe the word “friend.”  I would like to take the liberty of defining the friendship that I found with Karen.

I am first of all grateful that our last phone conversation shared some words of encouragement and ended with the words, “I love you.”  I loved Karen.  Our friendship was not defined by agreeing on everything. Actually, we often had different agendas, but always knew that we could call on one another at any time, day or night, to share our hearts, our fears, our joys, and our commitment to trusting each other with the deepest concerns of our hearts.

I remember when Karen was looking for part-time work, I suggested she check our Observer newspaper for sales.  She had the energy, the smarts, and the commitment to making some extra money.  It was a win-win situation, and, after 20 years, she worked until her little body couldn’t.

I remember when I was teaching aerobics at the church, and Karen again took a leadership role in the classes.  She was a high-energy type of soul, and, even when her babies were born, she toted them to class in their carry-on seats.  As the children grew, they were the first thing she talked about when we got together.  I know she was proud of them, and, more than that, I know how much they were loved.

After I moved to Virginia, I would always try and catch up with the old gang on my return visits to Florida to spend time with my mother and family.  We had all experienced some mountain tops and valleys in our lives. Yet, there was something that kept us together… and that is “friendship.”  It doesn’t define itself by borders, judgment, or time and space.  It is true and can always be counted on.  It means you can trust me with your heart, and I will share my life with you, the good and the bad.  The masks come off, and the soul is revealed.

Perhaps, some of our most intimate conversations were faith-based.  I told her often that I was praying for her, and, in my heart, I believe she felt a sense of peace, knowing that I kept her in prayer.  I know that Karen knew faith is really all we have that is truly meaningful.  Everything else will pass away.  Our bodies will age, sickness can be our enemy, and material things are still just things.  All things shall pass away, but the love of the Lord and that spirit that lives within our souls does endure the test of time.

So my precious Karen, I know you are whole again.  No more pain, no more regrets, no more what-ifs.  You have seen the face of Jesus, and He is now your counselor. Your redeemer. Your prince of peace. Your savior and friend.  You are in His presence, dear one, and I personally rejoice in knowing that.

Perhaps the greatest gift we can give our friends is knowing that we will share eternity with them.  It is “good-bye for now,” but I know we will meet again.  I will always love you.

Your friend for eternity,

Carol Ann Draper

To change [or not change] the date  of next Deerfield election

Dear Editor:

Time is of the essence. Some member of the commission has to step up to schedule a vote in the upcoming city election. Right now, the mayor and the commissioners from Districts 3 and 4 have to run for re-election on March 13, 2013 at a cost of $67,000.

The commission has the authority to make a change in that date. They can call for the election to take place on Nov. 6, 2012. This is the same date on which the voters will be electing a president. This change would cost the city in the neighborhood of $20,000 or less. The city would save almost $50,000 and would also see a greater number of city voters than we have seen in the past.

Although there are 42,000 registered voters in Deerfield Beach, fewer than 6,000 voted in the last city election. This hardly makes for representative government.

I plan to put the proposition of the date change to the commission at the meeting on March 6.

It will be interesting to see whether the commission takes some positive action. I do believe that if they do not take the opportunity to save $50,000 and have a greater proportion of voter participation, their lack of concern will surface at the next election.

Steve Krevoy

Deerfield Beach

Deerfield — part of Boca?

Dear Editor:

I enjoy reading Mr. Eller [the publisher’s] History of Deerfield. My great grandfather, Tom Bennett, purchased a plat of land at auction in Deerfield in 1927.

During a land search, it was discovered that this section of Deerfield was once considered Boca Raton. Will you please share the history of North Deerfield and PLEASE include the history of the bridge that once connected North Deerfield with Boca Raton?

Pamela Johnson

Deerfield Beach

Publishers note: Thanks Pamela for your letter. As you mention, Deerfield used to be part of Palm Beach County before Broward County existed. To get the complete story, go to www.broward.org/library/history and click on “A short history of Broward County.”

Extra “Thank you” from Founders’ Days

Dear Editor:

Last week, the Observer printed a “thank you” letter from the Deerfield Beach Founders’ Days Committee that listed the festival’s 2012 sponsors. We did wish to thank JM Lexus, which provided vehicles for our parade.

Yet in error, we left out a very important sponsor, JM Family, which not only contributed to the 2012 festival, but also supports many worthy causes throughout our community.

So, at this time, we wish to thank JM Family for their generous sponsorship and financial support.

Thank you,

Founders’ Days Committee

Deerfield Beach

Save our view;  Keep dune vegetation off beach

Dear Editor:

I heard a disturbing thing at the commission meeting [two weeks ago]. It seems the city is trying to win a grant of $30,000 to which they will have to add their own matching amount to total $60,000.

What’s so disturbing about that — you might wonder? That’s better than Publix’s ketchup 2 for 1 sale.

Well, it’s what the assistant city manager said he wanted to do with the money that is disturbing. He wants to put plantings on our main beach grassy area. In patches, he said. Not everywhere.

This was tried before, and the public uproar put an end to it.

This would be a disaster for our lovely beach view.

If you doubt that, go to the south end of the beach and look at the dunes there. The sea oats and other plantings are growing, spreading, vigorously and TALL. Sit on a bench there or walk on the sidewalk and you see grass, not ocean.

If patches were placed on our main beach it would eliminate places to sit, but worse, the patches will spread to the rest of the beach. After all, sea oats and other plantings of the kind are basically hardy weeds. We know how well plants grow in our climate. I stuck a pencil in the ground and it grew. And, according to regulations, once you put plants on the beach, you will not be allowed to remove them.

Our main beach is what Deerfield Beach is all about. It is our bragging right, our main attraction, the reason we say proudly, “I live in Deerfield Beach, yes, the one with the beautiful beach … Right, Deerfield Beach, the place where you can sit in the shade of a Palm tree on a grassy hill and not get all sandy.”

These plantings, as anyone with half a brain would see, will not help with the erosion of the beach. The beach is not eroding up along the grass line, it is eroding at the water line.

These plantings will not prevent the sand, on stormy or hurricane days, from blowing across the grass and road. The wind is much higher and stronger than the grass so these plantings will not eliminate the need to string the black fabric sand fences.

AND, the damage to the view of our beach would be so devastating to the enjoyment of our beach and our view that it wouldn’t, under any circumstances, be worth the loss. The clean-up costs are just the price we pay for the beautiful view.

Use the money to put the required plantings around the new pier restoration. We have to put plants in along there, add some plants to the south beach dunes, they are an eyesore anyway. Add plantings along the back of JBs and Ocean’s 234.

Bett Willett

Deerfield Beach

Reasons to change date of next election

Dear Editor:

On Feb. 8, I celebrated my 80th birthday. I tell you this to emphasize the fact that I have been in Deerfield for 54 years, and I have seen the municipal elections change from time to time. So it is not as though there is not history in making changes.

I do believe that this [city] commission has been sincere in attempting to save the taxpayers money. I am sure that the Supervisor of Elections can ascertain the differences in costs.

The proposal I am making would not only be a cost saver, but it would also have more voter participation as a goal.

That is why I think you should consider moving the next municipal election from March [2013] to November 2012, to coincide with the next presidential election.

We have 42,000 registered voters in the city of Deerfield Beach.  When we attempted our Rescind the Unfair Taxes, we collected over 7,000 signatures from registered voters. That number was more than voted in the last municipal election. Hopefully, if we change to coincide with the presidential election, we will see an increase in local participation.

This change could be formulated to have those who are incumbents but are not re-elected hold their seats until the installation date in March. The president is elected in November but is not installed into office until January, so this is not an unusual concept.

It has been suggested that those not re-elected would be lame ducks and could do a great deal of damage in the interim. It still takes three votes to do anything, so let’s hope that there are at least three who really want what is best for the city and that they would prevail.

According to 6.01 in the Deerfield city charter, the city commission, by ordinance and subject to the provisions of the Constitution and laws of Florida, Broward County, and this charter, shall have the power to call for regular and special elections as may be required for the city and to make all necessary regulations for the conduct thereof.

The commission has the power to make this change. Call City Hall at 954-480-4262 and voice your opinion.

Jean Robb                                                                                                                                            

Deerfield Beach

Editor’s note: According to Mary Cooney from Brenda Snipes office, based on a cost estimate for another city with the same number of precincts [38] as Deerfield:

Projected cost for the regularly-scheduled election on March 13, 2013 is just under $67,000.

There were no comparables for a Nov. 6, 2012 election with a city with the same number of precincts. However, for a city with 32 precincts, estimated cost of a Nov. 6, 2012 election would be just under $20,000.

Reader’s faith rewarded

Dear Editor:

I had one of those warm experiences where my faith and hope in people was rewarded. A young mother and two lovely little girls appeared at my door with my wallet. They had found it where I was sitting at a local mall. The mom took it upon herself to find my address by Googling on her smart phone and made her way to our gated community, at some kind of inconvenience to her, and presented me with the wallet. She is a good person. Her lovely children were schooled beyond mere words on doing the right thing. She is society’s hero. Her daughter noticed my Korean War discharge and demonstrated what they have learned in her school about Veterans and service to country. God bless that family.

Donald J. Butler

16 Keswick A, Deerfield Beach

Support for Cub Scouts

Dear Editor:

As the new Cub Scout Master of Deerfield Pack 119, I am trying my hardest to revive this pack. We have a solid core of good kids and parents, but, because we are new, we basically have no funds. We wanted to use the pavilion in the Villages of Hillsboro Park to do a fun day on the basics of camping. We put in a request to city commissioners to have the $116 fee waived. This request was denied.

Upon hearing this, Chad [Brocato], the Fire Chief, who is also President of the Kiwanis Club, stepped up, without even being asked, and paid the fee for the Pack. Representatives from Keith and Associates were also at the meeting and were dismayed as well that the request was denied.

They, in turn, then wrote a check to the Kiwanis to reimburse them!

There is no way I can adequately express how thankful I am to both of these associations. It is so nice to hear of support and endorsement of the Scouts. It is a wonderful organization that truly teaches life skills that will benefit both the boys and the communities they live in.

I just wanted to publicly thank both of these groups for their extreme kindness and generosity.

Sal Biviano

Deerfield Beach

If any boys, 6-17, would like to get involved in Scouts, they can call me at 954-675-5683. Thank you!

Festival of the Arts

Dear Editor:

Thank you to the citizens of Deerfield Beach for coming out to the 32nd Annual Festival of the Arts last weekend. Your attendance makes all the hours of effort worthwhile. Our goal has always been to bring quality, affordable, family-oriented events to the city, and, by you coming to the Festival, it proves that we have done it right.

Thank you, also, to every single volunteer who helped to make this event a reality. The Festival of the Arts is completely orchestrated by volunteers, along with a small but dedicated group of Deerfield Beach city employees who supply their particular technical expertise. Unless you live it, you cannot imagine the hours of work, time and effort it takes to bring an event to reality, not to mention the bumps in the road and frustrations potentially at every turn. You also cannot realize the satisfaction at the end of the event ,when we know we have done a great service for enhancing the reputation of Deerfield Beach and bringing pleasure to the citizens of Deerfield Beach.

Care to volunteer and feel that warm and fuzzy feeling? Phone the Parks and Recreation Dept. at 954-480-4429.

Judi Stanich

Cultural Committee Chair

Deerfield Beach

Nuisance property demolition

Dear Editor:

Thank you [Keven Klopp] for all you have done to help us!  The balconies across the water are holding spectators. One of our daughters’ fiance texted me a photo that was sent to him by a friend who lives on the Boca side … not knowing that I was home to watch.

There have been sightseers from around Deerfield Beach and Boca. Our neighbors have gotten together to organize a BBQ in our driveway at 5:30 p.m. and another neighbor brought a bottle of champagne.

We truly appreciate all that you and Andy have done to help end these last 12 years of aggravation. We can feel our property values rise hour-by-hour!

Lynne Newberry

Deerfield Beach

Is CVE becoming a police state?

Dear Editor:

I have been banned from the CVE clubhouse for a month because I videoed my wife in a dance class.  I was escorted to the office by two big guys.  My ID was taken.  A week later, I went to the office of Lea Kennedy, the new boss, for a hearing. ”You broke the rules, so no club house.” What rules?

I have been taking video in CVE for years. She opened a drawer and removed a 2- in. thick stack of papers, each with an ID. “These are the people banned from the  clubhouse.” Hundreds. Unbelievable. What bad thing could 70-, 80-, 90-year-olds have done? Every day, I hear the ambulance. A heart attack? A death? We are old  people. Wake up CVE!  Before they turn this place into an “Auschwitz”!

William Garofalo

Cambridge G, Deerfield Beach

Repair of All My Children entranceway

Dear Editor:

When the group that was working on Rescinding the 10% utility tax was looking for a place where they could have their meetings after hours, the owners of All My Children Academy at 377 NW 3 Court offered the use of their facility. When the meetings took place, it was obvious that the driveway for the school’s entranceway was badly in need of repair.

Being a firm believer in Charity begins at Home, the following good Samaritans opened up their checkbooks to make the transformation a reality. They were Dr. Leo J. Robb III, Mike Robb, Tommy Hostetler, and Cove Bagel and Deli.

The muscle needed to do the manual labor was provided by Michael Hunter and Cliff Strowbridge, who earned every penny paid them.

What amazed us was those who like to stand in the spotlight and claim credit for the monies they raise chose not to donate one dime to this project. It’s time that Deerfield Beach support those pleas for money that benefit the residents of Deerfield Beach.

Jean M.Robb

Deerfield Beach

Dear Editor:

Where is the outrage?

Citizen’s Windstorm “requested” an inspection of my home in The Cove, so well-built in 1955 and maintained that there never was a claim for damages in all these years.

Their 26-page report basically said that my house was not up to the 2004 code and they could no longer allow me the discounts. Therefore, they would increase my $2,200 annual premium to $3,761!

Total insurance on my home, including flood and homeowners insurance, will increase to over $5,200 a year.

Now, I read in the paper that our Florida legislators want Citizens to increase their premiums by 10 percent and Gov. Scott is in agreement.

How can a widowed retiree on a fixed income continue to live here? This way, Citizens is chasing me out of my home with the help of the Florida legislature and governor.

Instead of fighting this injustice, several of my neighbors are dropping their insurance, taking their chances with the next hurricane or tornado.

Is this what our Florida government wants? Do we need to have our elderly citizens “occupy” Tallahassee, as the folks occupied Wall Street, in order to be heard?

Mrs. Cunera Voute

Deerfield Beach

Editor’s note: Citizens Insurance, or Citizens, is the popular name for government-established, not-for-profit insurers in Florida and Louisiana. In Florida, the insurer is Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. In Louisiana, the insurer is the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. Both were established in their respective states as insurers of last resort.

Help the Salvation Army. Allow the Bins.

Dear Editor:

Jim and I are fans of the Salvation Army. We support them with donations and volunteering, and have taken their disaster response, first aid and CPR classes. Over Christmas, Jim and I uncrated, sorted and stacked hundreds of boxes of toys at the Salvation Army facility in Ft. Lauderdale. The Salvation Army is one of the few charities that uses most of their money for their clients, not administrative uses, advertising or begging letters. They do good work and a lot of it.

So, when one of the hard working volunteers showed up at the Deerfield Beach commission meeting and asked permission to place bins for clothing donations, I was all for it. I was shocked to hear the commission turn them down, citing a regulation against outdoor storage.

Look around the city. Not only will you find clothing donation bins, but many other instances of outside storage. Restaurants are allowed to have outside seating, but the regulations do not say they can have outside storage.

In fact, it is NOT allowed, but many have carts and bins for storing service items. I believe some have fully-stocked bars. What is a dumpster if not an outside storage container? How about vending machines, they certainly qualify as storage.

Once again we have Deerfield Beach using selective enforcement. I hear that the owners of the clothing storage bins that are in violation can’t be contacted to remove them. Well, DUH! Gather them up for scrap if they are such egregious violations. Want to know where they are? Ask the Salvation Army guy, he had pictures of them.

What’s the excuse for not allowing the bins? They might overflow and be unsightly. Really? Well, that would be the time to sanction them, not before it happens. I think regulations similar to those about garbage cans and dumpsters should do it.

Guess what I found while reading our codes; outside storage is allowed as a conditional use in some of our districts, nobody bothered to tell the Salvation Army man about that.

I think an ordinance allowing a legitimate charity to have donation bins on public property and, with permission, on private property should be enacted. Have a heart. These are very hard times and charities are suffering from reduced donations. Charity starts at home. Let’s give it a home in Deerfield Beach.

Bett Willet

Deerfield Beach