Home Care In Loxahatchee, FL

By Bryan Boggiano

Starting from October 30, the Loxahatchee Road improvement projects will result in road closures that are anticipated to last until at least February 2024.

During this period, the section of Loxahatchee Road between University Drive and Parkside Drive will be closed for a minimum of four months and potentially longer.

The news comes ahead of an October 23 Florida Department of Transportation virtual meeting scheduled between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Registration is open.

According to the city, road closures are a part of a larger-scale project to improve safety, increase accessibility to Arthur R. Marshall National Wildlife Refuge, and make ADA-related improvements.

The project is a collaboration between multiple agencies, including FDOT, the county, the Broward County Metropolitan Planning Organization, and the city. Parkland’s cost for the project is less than $2 million out of the $37 million total cost. The city’s portion of the project is about one out of roughly six miles of the total project.

Project components include widening travel lanes, installing bike lanes in both directions, installing a sidewalk on the road’s southern end, inserting a new guardrail on the road’s northern end, and placing medians as a means to calm traffic.

There will also be three roundabouts at Parkside Drive, University Drive, and Nob Hill Road. Project components do not include adding any lanes.

Loxahatchee Road’s construction is set to begin before year’s end and continue through at least 2027. Through that period, partial and complete road closures are expected, with most full road closures occurring through mid-2025.

At that time, night work is expected between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. except for places east of Parkside Drive. Loxahatchee Road will remain open for local traffic and for neighborhoods where the roadway serves as the only access route.

At an October 18 city commission meeting, Mayor Rich Walker echoed these points, warning that further road closures are likely and recommending only local traffic use Loxahatchee Road.

Walker said he acknowledges it will be a long three years for residents, but he said residents and commuters have to adapt.

“I know that’s a tough pill to swallow, but that’s the one we have to take,” Walker said.

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MIAMI — Four South Florida residents — two from Loxahatchee and two from Miami — have been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with their submission of false and fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan applications worth $1.3 million.

Raisha Kelly, 43, and Widny Thibaud, 44, of Loxahatche, and Cortira Gray, 33, and Ann Gilchrist, 55, of Miami, made initial court appearances this week in Miami.

They conspired with themselves and others to submit PPP loan applications, and submitted and caused the submission of fraudulent PPP and Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications, according to allegations in the indictment and statements made in open court,

They did it on behalf of themselves and corporate entities that they controlled.

Kelly, in return for the payment of kickbacks, submitted false and fraudulent PPP loan applications for Gilchrist, Gray and others, according to the indictment.

The four people falsified IRS forms, among other things that falsely and fraudulently represented the annual gross receipts and tentative profits of the sole proprietorships and corporate entities they controlled, DOJ says.

Gray was an employee of the U.S. Postal Service and Gilchrist was an employee of the Miami-Dade Transit Department.

Thibaud is also charged with a separate wire fraud scheme for his submission of a false and fraudulent mortgage loan application to a mortgage lender that caused Thibaud to receive a $700,000 mortgage for which he was not qualified.

The U.S. Postal Service, U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General investigated.

In March 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act was enacted to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

On May 17, 2021, the attorney general established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across the government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form [justice.gov]

Copyright 2024 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

"Explored on canoe or kayak, the wild and scenic waters can easily transport an open mind back in time to the good old days of Trapper Nelson."

Loxahatchee River-Lake Worth Creek Aquatic Preserve includes the Northwest Fork of the Loxahatchee River that was designated as the first of two Wild and Scenic Rivers in Florida. Loxahatchee River translates to "The Creek of the Turtle." Designated as the Loxahatchee River-Lake Worth Creek Aquatic Preserve in 1970, the aquatic preserve includes the remains of Trapper Nelson's Wildlife Zoo. Trapper Nelson's, aka Tarzan of the Loxahatchee, homestead and zoological park was built along the narrow, scenic Northwest Fork of the Loxahatchee River in the 1950s.

The upper reaches are composed of freshwater and tidal marsh riverine communities. Near and within the estuary, mangrove communities line the shoreline and submerged resources include tidal flats, seagrass beds and oyster bars.

Kitching Creek is a major tributary to the Loxahatchee River that traverses Jonathan Dickinson State Park and empties into the federally designated Wild and Scenic Northwest Fork of the Loxahatchee River. Kitching Creek has been impacted and redirected by land development activities that ultimately resulted in lower groundwater levels and degradation of natural wetlands. Tidal effects at Jupiter Inlet combined with reduced freshwater flows to the Northwest Fork have resulted in saltwater progression upstream.

The Kitching Creek restoration project redirects flows to Kitching Creek, increases the flow to the Loxahatchee for habitat restoration, raises groundwater levels, restores degraded wetlands, and reduces nutrient loads reaching the North and Northwest Forks of the Loxahatchee.

Partners with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection include Martin County and the South Florida Water Management District. Staff involvement in biological and water quality monitoring conducted by Loxahatchee River Control District and the water management district maintains an ongoing and improved awareness of the health of the waters of the aquatic preserve.

The Indian River Lagoon Aquatic Preserves are a proud partner of the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics and were selected as a 2017 and 2018 Leave No Trace Hot Spot. To learn more about Leave No Trace in the Indian River Lagoon, contact Matthew Anderson, 772-429-2995.

Volunteering at Indian River Lagoon Aquatic Preserves

The Indian River Lagoon Aquatic Preserves provide a variety of volunteer opportunities including ecosystem science projects, restoration and spoil island activities. Volunteers help with activities such as wildlife monitoring, annual seagrass monitoring or microplastic sampling. The Shoreline Restoration Project enables volunteers to get involved in shoreline stabilization through native plantings. On spoil islands, volunteers take a hand in improving visitor access through activities such as invasive plant removal or installing picnic tables, fire rings or human waste bag dispensers.

For more information, please contact our office at: [email protected] or call 772-429-2995.

For other opportunities to help preserve the Indian River Lagoon and surrounding aquatic preserves, consider joining the Friends of the Spoil Islands.

Counties:

Martin

Palm Beach

Location:

Managed Location Contact:

Matthew Anderson

Email:

[email protected]

Phone:

772-429-2995

Publication References:

Loxahatchee River-Lake Worth Creek Aquatic Preserve Management Plan

Total Acreage:

1800.00

Managed-Regulated:

Managed

Receives State Funding:

Yes

State Owned:

Yes

Public Access:

Boating (especially kayaking and canoeing), waterskiing, recreational and commercial fishing, wildlife observation and photography are a few of the most popular activities in the aquatic preserve.

Archaeological Resources:

The Florida Department of State’s Division of Historical Resources Master Site File indicates there are archaeological and historical sites within and adjacent to Loxahatchee River-Lake Worth Creek Aquatic Preserve. The archaeological sites include prehistoric middens dating from 1000 B.C. while the historic sites include military sites from the Civil War era and a fort and campsite from the second and third Seminole Wars.

Wildlife Habitat Description:

The upper reaches are composed of freshwater and tidal marsh riverine communities, which is important habitat for various fish and invertebrate species such as the blue crab, striped mullet, snook and tarpon.

The aquatic preserve is home to many rare wading birds such as the wood stork, little blue heron, tricolored heron, reddish egret and roseate spoonbill.

The Palm Beach Orthopedic Institute wants to build an outpatient surgery center in Loxahatchee Groves.

The town’s Planning & Zoning Board approved the site plan for the project Dec. 15, and the measure will go to the full Town Council in February, said Brian Cheguis, of West Palm Beach-based planning firm iPlan & Design, which represents the developer. Property data firm Vizzda also confirmed the information.

North Palm Beach-based Prestige Construction & Development has the 1.96-acre site in western Palm Beach County under contract from Buffalo, New York-based Loxahatchee Equestrian Partners and Solar Sportsystems. The vacant land is located on the north side of the Aldi grocery store at 15439 Southern Blvd.

The two-story surgery center would total 20,200 square feet, and have 95 parking spaces. The application stated it would operate up to 23 hours a day and up to six days a week. Though surgeries would be performed there, there would not be overnight stays.

This would be the Palm Beach Orthopedic Institute's fifth location.

“This location will serve their current client base in the west end of the county, bringing their services closer to their current patients and future patients from the west end,” Cheguis said.

Jessamine Design Building in Orlando is the project's architect.

Western Palm Beach County is one of the fasted-growing areas of South Florida, with thousands of homes under construction in nearby communities such as Avenir, Westlake and Arden. That has created the need for medical services, as well.

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The last stronghold of the northern Everglades – a sprawling scruff of emerald in western Palm Beach County – had its first reported invasive python sightings this fall as the parasite slithers north.

Biologists had long suspected the destructive snake was in the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge after python DNA was detected in the preserve’s veins of freshwater.

But as recently as late October, invasive plant control contractors for the South Florida Water Management District put eyes on one of the voracious eaters, adding to two other unverified but “credible” sightings.

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“We have finally, unhappily, sighted a Burmese python in the interior of the refuge,” said University of Florida wildlife professor Frank Mazzotti who leads the Croc Docs research team out of Fort Lauderdale.

Mike Kirkland, an invasive animal biologist with the water management district, said he is meeting with refuge officials this week to discuss how they should best counter the nascent visible python assault.

Besides attempting to capture the python, the best thing to do includes reporting a sighting immediately so a python rapid response unit can be dispatched.

“We know they are in the refuge but haven’t been seeing them and once you start seeing them that is an indication that the population is expanding,” Kirkland said. “The fact that we’ve had a few sightings recently leads me to believe there are more there.”

The district contracts with UF for emergency help with invasive species, including the most recent python sighting in the refuge.

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“We responded within hours but it was gone,” Mazzotti said. “If you see a python basking and if you are not there quickly, you’ll miss it.”

The refuge is 144,000 acres of tree islands and sawgrass ridges and cattail mires and cypress swamp and sloughs that run like fluid seams through it all. Most of the refuge is accessible only by airboat or helicopter making a quick response almost impossible.

In other areas of South Florida, pythons are often caught while they sun themselves on levees that run through wetland areas or when they are spotted by hunters driving along the levees at night. But there are no levees running through the gut of the Lox Refuge.

“It’s like finding a needle in a haystack,” Kirkland said about nabbing a python in the refuge.

A U.S. Geological Survey study published online in March 2019 said it found evidence of a "resident python population" in the refuge.

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USGS scientist Margaret Hunter tested water throughout the refuge for python DNA between 2014 and 2016, finding the amount of positive samples "consistent with the pattern expected for a resident python population as opposed to sporadic, transient individuals or alternative vectors."

Hunter, who worked with several other USGS researchers on the project, said most of the water that tested positive for python DNA was near the center of the refuge where people would be less likely to spot a snake.

A 10-foot-long python was found on a levee near the southeast side of the refuge in 2016, and there have been sightings in parking lots adjacent to the refuge, but it’s been unclear how established the snake has become.

In September 2019, the water management district announced a new element in its python hunting program that nearly doubled the pay for contractors willing to patrol the refuge.

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Hunters can earn $15 an hour in the refuge as opposed to $10 in other areas of South Florida. Hunters are also paid based an incentive of $50 for each python measuring 4 feet or longer and an extra $25 for each foot measured above 4 feet.

About 5,250 pythons have been removed by district hunters since the program began in March 2017. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission hunters caught an additional 3,385 pythons.

“We don’t expect them to capture a lot of pythons because the populations are very low in the refuge compared to other project areas,” Kirkland said about why the district upped the pay in the refuge. “We want to keep it that way and that’s why we give the extra incentive for contractors to service that area.”

Kimberly Miller is a veteran journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers weather, climate and the environment and has a certificate in Weather Forecasting from Penn State. Contact Kim at [email protected]