8/9/2019 November 19, 2009 p.1

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/november-19-2009-p1 1/1

Observerwww.observernewspaperonline.com Deerfield Publishing, Inc. © 2009

VOLUME 47 • NO. 47

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

DELIVERED TO:

HOMES

& BUSINESSES IN• DEERFIELD BEACH

• LIGHTHOUSE POINT

• HILLSBORO BEACH

• POMPANO BEACH

• BOCA R ATON

OF INTEREST

St. Elizabeth B-ball

 page 13

ALSO INSIDE

Opinion ............................. 6

Business ........................... 8

Schools ........................... 12

Sports ............................. 13

Dining & Entertainment .. 15

Happenings..................... 18

Religion........................... 20

Classified ........................ 22

DBES Art Fair 

 page 12 

Opening in December 

 page 9

New Broward Mayor 

 page 7 

“A good man obtains

  favor from the Lord,

but the Lord condemns

a crafty man.” 

Proverbs 12:2

When it comes to purchasing fresh vegetables

at this time of season, there are a cornucopia of 

options. For example, The Green Market in

Pompano’s historical district, opened its seventh

season on Oct. 31 and will continue every Satur-

day morning until Apr. 24. The market is spon-

sored by Pompano Beach Historical Society.

J&J Farms in Deerfield, which re-opened Oct. 31for the season, is in its 27th year.

Besides fresh off the farm foodstuffs, some

 places have specialty items like artisan breads.

When looking to go green, buying is the

 perfect option.

A bountiful harvestPompano Beach Green Market

Flagler Avenue and NE 1 Street

8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

J&J Farms

2777 W. Hillsboro Blvd.,

Deerfield Beach, FL 33442

9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mon.-Sat.,

10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun.Boca Raton Green Market

Royal Palm Place

(S. Federal Highway and

S. Mizner Boulevard)

8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

By David Volz

The 2009 Broward County

Fair begins tomorrow, Nov.

20 and runs through Sunday,

 Nov. 29.

The fair will be held at Pom-

 pano Citi Centre, at the corner 

of Federal Highway and Co-

 pans Road. It will include per-

formances from students and

local groups on the Community

Stage at the mall’s center court-yard, student horticultural ex-

hibits at Lowe’s Garden Center 

and two storefronts full of stu-

dent art, science and essay con-

test entries. Contests, such as

the Baby Beautiful contest, the

Miss Broward County Fair pag-

eant, High School Drum Line

competition, Step Team com-

 petition and a Talent Show are

another feature. Critter Crown-

ing is for people to enter their 

 pets. Look for livestock com-

  petitions the second weekend

of the fair.

“We do not have a site loca-

tion this year that can accom-

modate a midway,” said Elaine

Fitzgerald, spokesperson for the

fair. “We are working on trying

to find a permanent site for next

year and years to come.”

Asked the reason for the

move from near Ft. Lauder-

dale’s Lockhart Stadium,

Fitzgerald said the previous

site was not conducive to

holding a fair. “The site itself 

was too narrow and long,

which did not make a good

fair layout. There were park-

ing conflicts whenever a high

school football game was

held at Lockhart Stadium.”

Fitzgerald said that Pom-

  pano Citi Centre was com-

munity-spirited enough to

donate its space at no charge.

 Next year, fair organizers will 

  seek a location suitable to

include a midway and rides.

Admission is FREE. For a

full schedule of events, go to

www.browardcountyfair

.com.

By Corinne Tillman

In recent weeks, Broward

County has had what appears

to be an outbreak of youth

violence. From the sad case

of Michael Brewer, the boy

set on fire by other teens, to

the Coral Springs boy who

stabbed his own brother to

death, residents have been

shown that the times, they

are a-changing .

Statistics from the Florida

Department of Law Enforce-

ment (FDLE) show an in-crease from 2007 to 2008 in

violent crimes by juveniles.

Until the 2009 statistics are

released, it will be hard to

say whether this is a growing

trend or an anomaly. In

Broward in 2007, there was

one criminal homicide com-

mitted by a juvenile. In that

same year, there were 23 forc-

ible rapes and 481 aggravated

assaults committed by the

same demographic.

  Nationally, 2007 brought

other disturbing statistics.

Youth Violence:By the numbers

According to the Center for 

Disease Control (CDC), 18

 percent of youths in grades

9-12 reported carrying a

weapon in the 30 days before

the survey. According to the

Federal Bureau of Investi-

gation’s (FBI) 2007 Crime

in the U.S., 2007 also saw

1,011 juveniles arrested for 

murder, 2,633 for forcible

rape and 43,459 for aggra-

vated assault.

The Uniform Crime report

from FDLE for January-De-cember 2008 was disheart-

ening, with Broward County

reporting increases in the

three previously mentioned

categories. There were five

criminal homicides attributed

to juveniles, 32 forcible rapes

and 496 aggravated assaults.

Miami-Dade saw an increase

in criminal homicides and

forcible rape. Palm Beach

County saw an increase in

criminal homicides, but a

See Youth Violence, pg 7

County Fair opens Friday

By Diane Emeott

As of press time Wednes-

day afternoon, the city had

signed a letter of impasse to

go to Non-Uniform Employ-

ees Local 1010 IUPAT DC78.

“It’s on my radar screen for 

later today,” Assistant City

Manager Macon Sammons

said the morning of Nov. 18.

Asked if he would be calling

or extending a letter to the

union, he said “both.” Asked

if it would be a declaration of 

impasse, he said “Yes.”

This marks the first time in

 Deerfield Beach history the

city has been at impasse with

  BOTH its firefighters and 

blue collar workers at the

 same time . Union Steward Joe

Metts said “I don’t believeit’s happened … at least in the

time I’ve been here. Normally,

they resolve with one union

or the other.” Metts worked

for the city for 34 years. He

has been a Deerfield Beach

resident for 54 years.

40-year Deerfield resident

Willie Butler said,” I don’t

remember a time.” “Never 

 both [unions],” said 20-year 

City and blue collar union: 

IMPASSEDeerfield resident Bob

Patterson.

The slow, tedious, Round 5

of talks on Tuesday, Nov. 17

  produced only one new ar-

ticle of Tentative Agreement(T.A.). Article No. 24, Dis-

ability Leave, was signed off 

on by the union.

This means a total of 4 ar-

ticles T.A.’d , according to

Business Representative for 

the union Steve Hall.

Before a city-called break 

to caucus, Assistant City Man-

ager Macon Sammons said:

“I see so little progress, we’re

wondering if it’s even worth

the time to meet anymore.”

Under the threat of impasse

  proceedings at the close of 

negotiations, the city and Lo-

cal 1010 finally set Friday,Dec. 11 at 10 a.m. as the next

negotiating session.

The city and the union both

 began the session saying they

were looking for answers

from the other party. “The

union hasn’t received any new

 proposals from the city …”

See Union, pg 16

This year, there will be no rides or vendors.