Grand Opening of Sunset Cove Amphitheater

> Posted by Mort Mazor at 11:11 AM

Under a bright, hot sun around 6 P.M. Saturday March 29, 2008 with a crowd of nearly 1,000, the grand opening ceremony of the Sunset Cove Amphitheater in West Boca Raton was conducted by Palm Beach County Commissioner Burt Aaronson.

The invocation was given by Paul Murray, Deacon, Saint John the Evangelist Church. Presentation of colors was made by Honor Guard and Aviation Unit of Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. Student Michael Dobrin led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by the singing of the National Anthem by students Shannon Martin, Meridith Mox, Michael Natoli and Matthew Vo Pelt.

Among the speakers were State Representive Richard Machek, Tom Kruse, West Boca Chamber of Commerce, Dennis Eshleman, (left) Director, Parks and Recreation Department and Troy McLellan, President of Boca Raton chamber of Commerce. Machek praised Aaronson and Eshleman for their efforts to bring this new West Boca public facility to completion.

In his closing remarks Commissioner Aaronson said: "This is your facility--for all the families throughout the county. We hope you will use it for the enjoyment of you and your children for many generations to come." The ribbon cutting ceremony then followed and the entertainment began, provided by Spanish River H. S. Symphonic band under the direction of Craig White and the Olympic Heights H. S. Soundsation under direction of Brad Lister. The West Boca Raton H. S. Choral Group, directed by Jason Locker, was the final entertainment group of the evening. A sensational fireworks display lit the night sky at the conclusion of the evening.

Future programs include: April 11 Movie Night, 9 PM. Sound of Music.
April 22 Boca Raton High School will perform an evening of music. 7-9 PM.
April 25 Movie Night 9 PM Eddie Murphy as Dr. Doolittle.

The 9,930 square foot amphitheater has a 1,700 square foot stage with rear screen projection capability, a state of the art sound and light system, four dressing rooms with private attached restrooms and a production office, all air conditioned.

The outdoor grass festival seating area will seat up to 3,000 spectators (bring your own chairs or blankets.) There is a covered vending area where grilling and cooking takes place with an electric hook-up and potable water. Additional facilities for the public adjacent to the amphitheater include a large group picnic pavilion, restroom building, single table picnic shelters and ample parking, plus a 4-acre dog park scheduled to open this July.

It is a facility that will truly be enjoyed by adults and children for generations.

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I have been on a crusade to have cameras installed at intersections to help prevent red-light running since 1999 when I received some alarming statistics. In 1997 and 1998, accidents resulting from drivers disregarding traffic signals totaled 2,624. There were 37 fatalities. I began to research the use of surveillance cameras at intersections throughout the country. In 1999, there were 1,319 accidents resulting from drivers disregarding traffic signals. There were 11 fatalities including the six residents from the Whisper Walk community. I became convinced that the County had to take action.

I took my case to the County Commission and the Board approved a two-month pilot project. The project consisted of using surveillance cameras at an intersection in the County to monitor how many vehicles ran a red light. I was dismayed at the results. During the first month, an average of fifty cars a day ran the light. The number dropped to twenty the second month following heavy publicity. One fifth of those who ran a red light did so two seconds after the light had changed. This certainly demonstrated that the use of cameras would help cut down on the red-light running and have a major impact on reducing preventable accidents, injuries and deaths. There would be fewer calls to the County’s Fire Rescue Department and to the Sheriff’s Office and less demand on our overcrowded hospital emergency rooms.

I went back to the County Commission and advocated for a law that would catch and fine red-light runners. As a result, the County made “Traffic Safety Photo Enforcement” a priority issue in 2001 and urged our Legislators to amend the statutes to permit traffic tickets to be issued using photographic evidence produced by surveillance cameras. Other states have successfully implemented programs and proved that cameras at intersections do make a difference. Bills were introduced in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 but no action was taken by the Legislature.

Bills have been filed for the 2008 Legislative Session. I have just returned from Tallahassee where I met with many legislators urging that the bills be considered and passed this year. The County has received encouraging news that we may be successful this time. I am optimistic but not convinced and so I continue the battle. At my urging, the County Commission approved placing an item on this month’s agenda to advertise for a public hearing this May. A proposed ordinance will come before the County Commission that, if adopted, will authorize the use of unmanned camera/monitoring systems to promote compliance with red light directives and adopt a civil enforcement system with penalties and an appeal process for red light violations.

We have waited long enough. If the Legislature does not pass the bills this year, we will be ready to act on a county level. It is time to win this battle. It is time for my eight-year crusade to come to an end.

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South County Regional Park is about to launch construction on a new dog park, which will be located at 11200 Park Access Road between the Glades entrance and the South County Park’s new amphitheater.

Extensive research was done both locally and nationally before deciding on the park design. The dog park will be sectioned into three enclosed areas – one for large dogs, one for smaller dogs and a third which will function when one of the other sites is shut down for cleaning or maintenance.

Practical features for the new facility will include a stainless steel dog drinking fountain, bags for pet waste, a shaded area to cool off and a central dog washing area to rinse off Fido before he climbs back into your car. A welcome aesthetic feature will be the dog romping area, which will overlook the lake and provide bench seating for pet owners. Formerly if you wanted to find a place for your dog to play near the water the closest dog-friendly beach was located in Jupiter. The hours of operation for the dog park will be sun up to sun down.

Since the dog park will be located adjacent to the amphitheatre, many opportunities will be available for expanding activities for dog owners such as dog washing fund raisers, etc. The combined facility can accommodate up to 5,000 people and 2,500 parked cars.

A tentative completion date for the dog park is late spring or early summer. If you would like to check out the site ahead of time, a grand opening ceremony is slated for the new amphitheatre on March 29th at 6:00 pm, according to PBC Parks Superintendent Bill Wilsher. The dog park’s official opening ceremony will follow on July 4th and the festivities will include fireworks.

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Whether you are truly of Irish descent or just like to get with the spirit of Eire every mid-March, Packy’s is the place to go in 2008.

Self-described as “almost a landmark” of West Boca, Packy’s opened its doors nearly 20 years ago in the Shops of Loggers Run on Palmetto Park Road, a few miles west of 441. It’s the closest thing in our area to Cheers, a neighborhood sort of place where many patrons know each other as well as the long-time servers who look after them.

St. Patrick’s Day has been a fixture of this cozy but sprawling restaurant and pub from the get-go. But this year it aims to take the celebration of shamrock and green to a new level.

On Saturday, March 15, Packy’s will hold a “Pre St. Packy’s Day Party” starting at 11 am and lasting deep into the night. It will feature live Irish music throughout the day and night, a clown for kids, and a character lady whose signature is funny faces. A continuous barbecue will be fired up in front of the store. The kitchen will serve corned beef & cabbage among other Irish dishes. And the bar will offer up a range of favorite Irish drinks from green beer to Irish car bombs.

For the date-observant purists, most of the above will be repeated on Monday, March 17 – but not the curbside barbecue.

So who was this guy that tens of millions of Americans pay homage to every March 17?

As a young pagan teenager in 4th century Ireland, the boy who would much later be known was Patrick was seized and enslaved for six years, during which time he found Christianity. After escaping from his captors at the age of 22, he made his way to a monastery in France where he studied for 12 years. Upon his return to Ireland in the early 5th century, he enjoyed tremendous success converting the pagan Irish to Christianity, for which he was ultimately named the bishop of Ireland. His legendary life spanned nearly eight decades – a great feat of longevity for those days. He finally died in 461 AD – on March 17, of course.

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