7th ANNUAL DOWNTOWN DELRAY BEACH ART FESTIVAL

Free Admission + Free Parking and a chance to walk off holiday calories will draw you to the Juried Outdoor Art Festival being held on Saturday, November 25th and Sunday, November 26th, 10 am – 5 pm. The work of artists from around the US will be featured and will include paintings, jewelry, photography, glass, sculpture, ceramics and more. The Festival being held in downtown Delray Beach will be in Pineapple Grove. Prices will range from $15 to $20,000. You have an opportunity to talk to the artists whose work you admire and may wish to purchase. For more information call 954-472-3755.

STATE OF FLORIDA MANDATES HIGH SCHOOL FRESHMEN MUST CHOOSE A MAJOR

High School was different "in our day"... A new state law mandates that incoming high school freshmen must choose a major. Palm Beach County School Board members recently approved the Florida Department of Education’s high school major areas of interest, including: Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources; Architecture & Construction; Arts; A/V Technology and Communicaions; Business Management and Administration; Education & Training; Finance; Government & Public Administration; Health Science; Hospitality & Tourism; Human Services; information Technology; Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security; Manufacturing; Marketing; Sales & Service; Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics; and Transportation, Distribution and Logistics.

The Superintendent and some board members feel that 8th grade might be early to narrow down interests, despite the state mandate. Students must take 4 of 8 credits in their field of interest in addition to 16 core curriculum credits, to graduate. Majors can be changed during the registration process.

SPANISH RIVER ROAD LIBRARY CONSTRUCTION MAY RESUME IN JANUARY

City Manager Leif Ahnell said at a meeting last week that the city would hire a new contractor, following the firing some months back of the then current contractor over a dispute about cost and timing. Work should begin on the site of the Spanish River Road Library by January 15th, aiming to open the library in September 2007. However, the former contractor, South Florida Construction Services In. of Hallandale says a negotiation was in process that would allow the firm to continue, with a settlement. SFCS contends that they worked for 5 months and received no payment. So far there has been one mediation session, and another is schedule. SFCS has been in business 18 years and constructed 240 projects according to their CFO, Jerry Gillman.

The 2004 and 2005 hurricanes delayed construction and the cost of building materials skyrocketed. SFCS had, according to Ahnell, failed to lock in pricing of materials before the hurricanes and the prices to the City went up. SFCS blames the city for delays in purchasing materials.

A 2003 bond issue funded the new downtown library on Spanish River Road, which is partially built now.

2/2 1/2 CONDO in POLO CLUB FOR SALE - IMMACULATE!

Beautiful, spacious 1st floor condo available, built in 1999. This was a model, and still shows like one! Enjoy being surrounded by nature... 18'x17' family room opens to patio and private garden; wide side yard offers tropical views from all windows. 16'x14' white light and bright kitchen with center island and bay window for eat-in-area opens to family room.

18'x15' living room and 18'x'8 dining room area comprise a wide open great room. 2nd bedroom has foyer leading to it's own bath and big linen closet. Half bath is very pretty. Utility Room has huge storage closet next to it. 16'x14' master bedroom is large and open, with walk-in-closets. Master Bath is spacious, white, very "roomy." Walk to Community Pool, Fitness Area, Clubhouse.

The Polo Club offers a 145,000 sq ft Clubhouse with 5 dining rooms open in season, 29 tennis courts (some lit for night play), 2 championship golf courses, a 50,000 sq ft "world class" spa, many social and cultural activities, weekly movies, lectures, exercise and aerobics classes, spin bikes, a beauty parlor, resort-style pool, singles group, Children's Activity Center. LIFE IS GOOD... C'mon down.

To see this property and get a tour of The Polo Club, call Marilyn Jacobs at 561-988-0070. $540,000.

COUNTY OFFERS FREE AMPLIFIED PHONES FOR PEOPLE WITH HEARING LOSS

All Palm Beach County residents who are deaf or hard-of-hearing are offered specialized telephone equipment, at no charge, provided by the Deaf Service Center in West Palm Beach and Florida Telecommunications Relay.

According to the Deaf Center, there are more than 170,000 residents who are entitled to use this equipment and the proper training to use it. Requirements are proof of Florida residency and hearing loss.

For those with a moderate hearing loss, telephones with volume and tone control are provided, easily operated by both the hard-of-hearing individual and anyone else living in the same household. For those with a severe to profound hearing loss, and who also have intelligible speech the Center can provide a CapTel telephone which uses relay operator assistance to communicate messages. The relay operation captions everything said and it appears on the phone display screen. The telephone also has amplification, so the hard-of-hearing person can both listen to the conversation and read the captions.

A text telephone (“TTY”) is offered to deaf clients. The message is either directly typed to another TTY user, or to a person using a standard telephone through a third party relay service.

Proper training and instructions on how to operate the phones are provided.
Those eligible can call for an appointment at the Delray Beach office at 561-278-6444.