Charles Bender, executive Beach Gardens attorney. Photo courtesy of l Place of Hope Foster care organization receives gift FOR HOMETOWN NEWS children and their families, The faith-based and state- Lane in Palm Beach Gar- but also one that truly licensed Place of Hope pro- dens, Place of Hope will cel- PALM BEACH GARDENS brings hope and healing to vides emergency and long- ,!ebrate its seventh anniver- PLocal attorney RichardEN these children," said Mr. term, family-style foster saryin May. - Local attorney Richard Slawson in a press release. care, family outreach and For more information on Slaw8on recently donated A graduate of the Univer- intervention, transitional Place of Hope, contact $58,000 to Place of Hope in sity of Notre Dame and housing and support servic- Charles Bender at (561) 775- Palm Beach Gardens in sup-Notre Dame Law School n es, adoption and foster care 7195 or visit the Web site port of the family-style child Notre Dame Law School in recruitment, and support or visi welfare organization's corm- Indiana, Mr. Slawson has and hope and healing www.placeofhope.com. mitment to serve the foster represented injured persons opportunities for children For more information on and adoptive communities and their families for the and families who have been the law firm of Slawson, of Palm Beach County. past 35 years with the Palm traumatized by abuse and Cunningham, Whalen, & "I am honored to be able Beach Gardens firm of Slaw- neglect throughout South -Gaspari, call (800) 681-8882 to support an organization son, Cunningham, Whalen, Florida. or visit the Web site t ..... h ,, lng h,,rtnno &R Ganar. Located at 9078 Isaiah wwwslawsonlaw.com. Lake From page Al coast Utility, Palm Beach Gardens' water manage- mentcompany. When the city's demand spikes, Seacoast draws more water from the wells, which causes the water table to drop, especially in areas near the wells. This is common knowl- edge to the city's water managers, but to many res- idents of Bent Tree Drive, the fluctuating pond levels and collapsing banks remain an inexplicable n u i s a n c e "When people move in, they usually .don't investi- gate the regional hydrolo- gy," said Rim Bishop, exec- utive director at Seacoast -Utility. "'They fldesetve' to know that if they dig a lake, the water level fluctuates more in the area (near the well fields). We insisted that the developer advise buyers that water levels might fluctuate because of the proximity (to the wells)." Mr. Calia visited the Palm Beach Gardens City Council last week in an attempt to coax city-owned Seacoast Utilities into engaging in a dialogue to start repairs to the pond. "We've hired a hydrolo- gist as an expert, who've used Seacoast's own mod- els to demonstrate that the damage was, indeed, caused by the excessive draw-down (of well water)," he said. "During a review of Sea- ,coast's application for per- mit renewal, the South Florida Water Management district's staff and council agreed that Seacoast is responsible for the damage and should be responsible for it's mitigation," Mr. Calia added. Mr. Bishop maintains that while he's eager to help, there's little the utility company can do. At Seacoast's insistence, the developers included a statement in ownership documentation that warned residents about the fluctuating water levels, asserting' that Seacoast can't be held responsible for periodic shifts in the water table. In order to restore stabil- ity to the lake, a crew would have to reconstruct the original slope by pulling up the soil and installing a shelf made of underwater plants to reduce the risk of erosion. According to Ron Ferris, vice, chairman at Seacoast, Bent Tree has asked for $160,000 in reparations for these repairs. As a response, the com- pany hired hydrologists at the engineering firm Arcadis. They found that since the damage is on one side of the lake, the well- water draw-down did not cause the erosion. Mr. Calia said he believes the Arcadis report to be "fallacious." "The whole matter is in the attorney's hands. It looks like it's going to end up in litigation," said Mr. Ferris. WEEK IN REVIEW PALM BEACH GARDENS PGA National Resort certified 'green' Management at PGA National Resort is acknowledging the need for environmental conservation. Last week, hotel officials announced they will partici- pate in the Florida Department of Environmental Pro- tection's Green Lodging Program. To meet the criteria for certification, PGA National's hotel installed energy-saving appliances and low-flow plumbing.fixtures to save water. Management also pledged to provide recycling oppor- tunities and purchase hotel supplies made of recycled materials in bulk. "Our entire staff and management team is committed to environmental conservation," said managing director Joel Paige in a press release. The PGA National Resort is the third hotel in Palm Beach County to attain the "green lodging" certification. The program began in 2004, and since has recognized 66 hotels across Florida for their efforts to reduce unnec- essary use of water and electricity. As a reward for the designation, the state recommends the hotel or motel to environmentally-conscious companies seeking lodging in the area. The criteria for certification are fairly basic, aimed at reducing unnecessary expenditure of resources without interfering with customary hotel operations. However, Gov. Charlie Christ signed an executive order that requires state agencies to seek lodging only at "green- certified" hotels when possible. According to the FDEP, this represented a "bold first step" for the industry's conservational efforts. Holiday DUI checkpoint halts drivers On NewYear's Eve, Palm Beach Gardens Police set up a sobriety checkpoint on the southbound lanes of Alter- nate A1A and PGA Boulevard. From 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., unsuspecting partygoers siphoned into the intersection, and those who had a few too many drinks going to or coming from their respec- tive NewYear's bashes were stopped. When asked if officers tend to be more lenient at the checkpoints, attorney and DUI specialist Michael Cohen recounted his experience. "My finding is that (the officers) are 100 percent more strict. The whole point of these checkpoints is to arrest. you. Even if you've had one drink, they subject you to these (sobriety) tests, which are designed for failure," he said. "Most of the arrests are found to be invalid because the drivers are not being stopped for a legitimate rea- son." Mr. Cohen practices law at Essen, Essen, Susaneck, and Cohen in West Palm Beach. According to Florida's 2007 highway safety budget, the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department receives $18,000 in overtime fees for participating ,in.the "sustained enforcement" initiative. Gardens police were unavail- able for comment at press time. Gardens veteran publishes memoir A Palm Beach Gardens resident and seasoned avia- ) See REVIEW, A7 per total sq. ft. on your prepared lot. Guy DiVosta's S T R E N D E X HO0M ?" COR R,., 561.575.HOME (4663) Certified Green Home construction by Guy DiVosta's GMD Construction Co. Lic. #CBC038941 Vestibular Rehabilitation Karen Cascardi, MS, ATC, PTA Karen is an active member of the Federation of State Boards for Physical Therapy. Karen lectures on Balance and Vestibular Rehabilitation nationally to heathcare professionals. She developed the Balance and Vestibular Program at Martin Memorial Health Systems in Stuart, FL in 1997. Karen completed the PTA program from Lynn University, received her Masters of Science in Education with a concentration in Sports Medicine from indiana State University and her BS in Physical Education and Health from Ashland University. Along with her work at Advanced Fitness & Therapy Center, Karen is the Director of Clinical Education for the PTA Program at South University, where she also teaches Kinesiology and Professional Seminar. NOW accepting new patients. To learn more abouttall of ur therapists, please visit www.advancedflinessanditherap)yCco <1 OX %-Taajj. - iatoL iUL Uoullj Jln- LULL