There really aren't too many things that put me out, but this is definitely one of them.

I work quite a bit and am involved in several non-profit activities that take up a lot of my time. Because of this, I have chosen not to have a pet in my home. And I do not hold pet ownership against anyone.

But I am tired of owners that show irresponsibility with their pets, especially dogs.

I enjoy seeing owners walk their dogs past the house each day. For many, their children are with them and it becomes a family activity which is great.

But something happened yesterday that really ticked me off. Usually I don't see it, but it happened just as I drove up to my house. Folks, if you have a dog, and you take said dog for a walk, and said dog poops on my yard, I expect you to clean it up.

Walk around with a plastic bag (which most owners, by far, do) and pick that poop up. You wouldn't like it if someone did this to your yard ... I certainly don't appreciate when your dog does it in mine.

What would happen if someone followed you, picked up all of your dog's "deposits" and then dumped it in your yard? You would probably get more than a little ticked off, I'm guessing.

And now, to make matters worse, someone's dog decorated my back yard for me. My backyard, not theirs. Can't we show some responsibiity here? Some respect for our neighbors?More than that, a little common courtesy?

The next time I see someone without a plastic bag for their dog, I am going and getting one of the thousands of Publix bags I seem to keep forgetting to take back to them for recycling, give it to them and tell to clean up after their pet.

Flame away pet owners, but you bear a little responsibility in this because a few irresponsible people are ruining what people think of you. It's that "guilt-by-association" thing.

I'm fed up with this and I'm not going to take anymore crap about it! BTW, pun intended.

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Last week the Village Council approved the sale of about 5 acres of the proposed K-Park site to Sunrise Senior Living. In the end, this is a good decision for the Village and its residents.

We needed a senior living center for the past few years. We have seen this start and stop a few times and now it seems that things will finally get under way. And this is good.

Finally, families that grew up in Wellington can continue in to live in Wellington. This allows young families to continue to enjoy the love and support of their grandparents and parents.

We will be able to have that close knit family unit that so many of us grew up with before we moved to Florida. I know that having the ability to see my grandparents whenever I wanted was something that I cherished as I grew up and moved on with my life. In my opinion we really need to get back to this ... it really does bring more than we can ever expect and hope for as our parents age.

Now it is up to Sunrise Senior Living and the Village Staff to work out the process and get the process started and moving forward quickly. Not a fast track mind you, but working in combination to get a shovel in the ground by the end of the year and construction finished as reasonably as expected.

Kudos to the Village Council, Village Staff and Sunrise for focusing on getting this accomplished. Let's all make sure we pass on our support to them all.

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What really started me down this track was an event that happened very close to home. One of my neighbors had their car burglarized. And it got me to thinking what crime was really like here in the Village.

I don't know if you do it, but I find myself going to this map posted on the Sun-Sentinel a few times per month.

What I found was very interesting. Look at the number of crimes reported during the last four week period. Take a look at the map. Not very many incidents (just 19) over the past four weeks. Had to scratch my head as it didn't make sense to me.

I stumbled on this site on the internet this week and, well, I just had to make a few comments.

Looking at this link, you will find a chart that lists, from worst to best, the cities in Florida ranked for crime. The best was Marco Island and the worst was Opa-Locka. Where was Wellington?

Hanging in there at number 39. Whoa! The 39th best city in Florida ranked by crime? We can't be that high can we? Who was better than Wellington?

Niceville, right there at number 5 (maybe I could have guessed that one). Parkland at 12. North Palm Beach at 20 with it's neighbor, Palm Beach Gardens at 23. Wait a minute, Pt. Ste. Lucie is in at 19? You gotta be kidding me.

Who is a little worse? Vero Beach at 58; Jupiter at 55; Key West at 96; West Palm Beach at 132 and Orlando at 142.

Do these numbers surprise you? They do me. So I looked into a little further by clicking on the Wellington link.

Here's our crime rating:

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A 2.7? Worse than average? Why?

Let's look at this (from the website):

Wellington, Florida has a violent crime rate of 309 incidents per 100,000 people. This compares with a rate of 858 in Florida and a rate of 596 nationally. Lower numbers are better, indicating that fewer crimes happen per person in the population.

And,

Wellington, Florida has a property crime rate of 3415.3 incidents per 100,000 people. This compares with an average rate of 5098.0 in Florida and an average rate of 4296 incidents per 100,000 nationally. Lower numbers are better, indicating that fewer crimes happen per person in the population.

These two factors (for 2004) gave us our crime rating of 2.7.

Take a look at those numbers for a second. Using my math, there are 3,724 incidents per 100,000 people. Let's say there are 60,000 people in Wellington, doing the math, hmmmm, that computes out to 2,234 incidents. Divide that by 12 (that would be months in the year, a month being what the chart in the link points to) and you get 186 incidents.

Now I know that there has to be editing on that story, but why the huge difference in numbers? They show just 19 incidents in a month. Where are the rest? What are they? I don't know but it made me wonder about those numbers above and if they were accurate as reported for 2004.

So, what's next?

I have a call in to the Community Affairs office of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. I want to speak to one of crime statisticians about Wellington.

I have a few questions.

Such as, what percent of crime in Wellington is committed by Wellington residents? Do you track arrest records by address? If so, can you tell me the neighborhoods in which the perps live? Are there 50 addresses responsible for the bulk of the crime? Are there 25 addresses? Less than 10? Less than 5?

After all, the crime seems to be clustered into small groups. Why wouldn't the people responsible for the crimes have the same behavior?

I'm sort of curious. Aren't you?

I trust they will call back. If not, I'll call again. And we can find out what's going on with crime in the Village of Wellington.

Stay tuned ...

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Here is my original post for your review.

I think the Village Council made the right decision on this. I personally do not feel that we can find a better manager anywhere else.

Think about it this way for a second. Why would we get a manager from the outside?

Certainly fresh eyes in any situation are a great addition. But in times of budgetary issues taking front and center, those fresh eyes may go dull within a few months. Especially if there is no background in the issues facing Wellington.

We have unique needs in our community. Although many people outside of Wellington see us as a sleepy bedroom community, we are from that. We have a wide and diverse population that ranges from young families to seniors to empty nesters to our seasonal visitors. We have a variety of economic engines driving our community from the 441 corridor to shopping centers on Wellington Trace to the equestrian community. I really don't know how someone without experience in these areas could possibly step in and not be overwhelmed.

The Village of Wellington, probably just like any other town, has its share of groups trying to exert influence to have projects or plans move along a certain path. Without a clear understanding of where we have been and where we want to go, an outside manager would have a steep learning curve in these difficult tranisitional times.

With the selection of Mr. Schofield, we have none of these issues with which to deal. In fact, Mr. Schofield has a deep and thorough background in all of the issues the Village will be dealing with over the next several years.

This was, in my opinion, an excellent decision by the Council and one all of us will come to appreciate as the weeks, months and years go by.

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The Cultural Trust has presented half of its season and I want to give them their mid-term grade. I know you may think I’m biased, but I’m not. Read on to find out what I really think about the season so far.

Christian Hoff was the kick-off act this year and as I said earlier this year, the Trust gets a “B” for this performance. Although I thought he had a fair performance, the venue itself pulled the overall grade up to the “B”.

Next up was “The Musical of Musicals, the Musical”. This show, one that took great courage to present in my opinion, was wonderful. It helped if you had some understanding of musicals (which I definitely do not have) but the show was pretty good. I enjoyed it as did my daughter. This show definitely gets an “A”.

Then Second City came to town and I was very disappointed. The show was supposed to be political in nature, due to the fact it was election week in Florida. What was presented had nothing political in it at all. I was very disappointed. The humor was ok, but all in all, I have to give the show a “C”.

Now, we get to the next two shows: “The Secret Life of Bees” and Christine Ebersole. Only one word serves to describe these two performances – WOW!

I believe these two shows will be the highlight of the season, right up there with the Jazz Festival. If you missed these two shows, you really missed something special. They both deserve an “A+”. Let me share my thoughts with you on why.

First and foremost, the really big difference was the sound system … an all new set-up that is really top-of-the-line. The sound was crystal clear and filled the venue with terrific sound. Kudos to the Trust for upgrading the sound system. It really made all the difference in the world for the events.

On to the shows.

“The Secret Life of Bees”

This was absolutely a phenomenal show. Before the show started, the producer’s representative came out and explained how and why this particular show came about. This whole presentation gave each audience member an insight to the show that was truly unique.
Then came the performance. A one-woman show with one prop – a stool. Man, oh man, was it ever powerful! Denise Wilbanks, after performing two shows in our local schools, gave a drop dead performance. You really could feel being transported back to 1964 and identify with the issues people faced in the Deep South.

She was completely believable in each and every role – the 14 year-old main character, her father, the black woman that was her friend and care giver, the male protagonists and the rescuer of them all. I could just close my eyes and feel myself transported to that time and place.

After the show was over, the performer came down into the audience and held an hour-long question and answer session. It’s not everyday that we, as the audience, has this opportunity. It really was the capstone to the night. A truly unforgettable evening. I can’t wait to see what comes next year.

If you haven’t read the book, you should. A wonderful read and it was part of “Wellington Reads” in January. Schools received the book and it was something that was encouraged as a family reading project.

A great community project with a fantastic show. What could have better? Grade: definitely an “A+”.

Christine Ebersole

On Valentine’s Day, no less. This was a great “date night” event for everyone. Wish I had one instead of working the event.

When was the last time we had the opportunity to see a two-time Tony Award winner here in Wellington? None that I can remember.

The show was great … a cabaret act with wonderful songs and great stories, all capped with a tremendous sense of humor from the performers. The house was packed … I don’t think there was an empty seat in the place. The standing ovation at the end really said it all.

Speaking to people there before and after the show, all seemed to have a really great time. I really enjoyed it as well. Although I was volunteering at the event, it was great to see folks walking out hand-in-hand. I really can’t say enough about the show. More of these types of shows will only serve to enhance the view that quality entertainment has a place in Wellington.
This show also gets an “A+” and deservedly so.

Overall I believe the Trust deserves a solid “A” for its efforts so far. It’s true … programming is what makes a cultural center a success, not necessarily a drop dead gorgeous building. Yes, the building will help, but it is only one key to the puzzle that is the success of a cultural campus.

Again, the Cultural Trust is doing what it said it would do … bring quality performances to the western communities. So far it has delivered.

By the way, tickets are still available. Make sure you get yours for Artie Lang, the Comedy Festival, Jason Graae, John Tartaglia, the Jazz Festival and the story of all of us growing up, “The Wonder Bread Years”.

I’ll see you there!

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Green Stamps at Publix? Man, I used to love getting those things.

Doctors that spend more than five minutes with you? At your scheduled time.

Common courtesy? A "please" or "thank you" every now and then would be nice.

Men opening the car door for the woman accompanying him?

And women patient enough to wait until we get to that side of the car?

Pixie Stix? You know, diabetes in a straw.

Putting sugar on your cereal and getting to that glucose quicksand at the bottom of the bowl.

Those little candy cigarettes we all seemed to have when we were kids?

Just 3 channels on TV (4 if you were lucky) and no need for a remote control.

Oh wait, we kids were the remote control ... trying to get the antenna positioned just right to get that channel

Shoe shine stands ... I'd love to find a good one. Well, I'll settle for just finding one.

Those weeknight poker games where we were all shushed off to our rooms so the dads could play?

How about adding your ideas to the "Whatever happened to ..." list?

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