The Vero Beach Community Complex is a win-win project
I attended Tuesday’s Vero Beach City Council meeting and was captivated by Cindy Emerson’s presentation on the Vero Beach Community Complex being developed by the Indian River County School District, where Emerson is the director of instructional innovation
Emerson’s presentation was so good and her smile so compelling. All designs were very creative and all complied with the disabled code. Services include sports, playground, entrepreneurship center, innovation lab, amphitheater and office space for non-profit organizations. A commitment to keeping the complex open 24 hours a day, seven days a week to promote family and community togetherness is a goal that all communities should strive for.
So here is Mayor Robbie Brackett’s recommendation that Vero City Council support the complex with a $1 million donation. The mayor won full support and unsurprisingly. It’s a win-win project for everyone.
I suggested that Cindy submit a proposal for inclusion in Vero’s TEDx 2023, arguing that this design should be used as a nationwide model with ubiquitous services. Cindy is a perfect example of good people working with good people and getting good results. You and your team are to be commended.
I am proud to be part of a community that values their children, families and citizens in this way. We are indeed fortunate to have Cindy Emerson leading this initiative and like her and her colleagues ‘Going Going for GOLD!’
Barbara Ruddy, Vero Beach
I see people who make every effort to look beyond themselves and help others
As I turned into my subdivision, a woman was picking up trash along the narrow side of busy 16th Street, east of 58th Avenue. It turns out she’s a neighbor who said she was just trying to help: “I pick up trash in every subdivision I live in.”
After that I was in the parking lot of Sam’s Club on my way to the entrance. A man in front of me was pushing two carts in the same direction. He said he would bring the carts to the entrance because they were blocking parking spaces in the crowded parking lot.
The day before, a motorist misjudged the clearance he had to enter a median on 66th Avenue. Another motorist stopped to give the car clearance to allow the other driver room to swerve.
For me, all of this is in stark contrast to what I have occasionally noticed in public over the past two years: drivers are pushing the limits of safe driving and pushing through traffic. This included weaving through traffic and running red lights. One didn’t seem to realize he was in a school security zone.
I hope attitudes have changed. I hope that the impending attack will give way to people who struggle to pay attention to more than themselves or their political grievances.
We might see handshakes instead of elbow nudges.
What gives me long-lasting hope is the recent academic achievement awards at Sebastian River High School. The stage was filled with students and teachers. As the older students gained recognition, they recognized teachers who were important in their lives. Discussing how the teachers had pushed beyond the academic, the students became friends and personally encouraged them to do better. The teachers engaged the person as well as the student.
Elliott Jones, Vero Beach
Focusing on superficial attributes rather than qualifications divides the country
When people are labeled by their color, race, religion, gender, we perpetuate the reason our country is so divided into “tribes.”
President Joe Biden’s declaration that he would appoint a black woman to the Supreme Court is just one of so many examples. I am certain that Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is perfectly qualified otherwise she would not have been appointed.
I am a white woman who was well respected in her field – not because I was white, but because I was well qualified to work in my field.
Until we begin to concern ourselves with qualifications and not with surface characteristics, our tribal dissatisfaction will linger. I am anxious.
Mary Oliver, Jensen Beach
The Garden Club’s Secret Garden Tour helps community projects flourish
The officers and members of the Garden Club of Stuart would like to thank our community for their support of our recent 2022 Secret Gardens Tour. We hope those of you who were there enjoyed the gardens.
Funds raised support our local civic commitments, including academic college scholarships, the Blue Star Markers at Memorial Park, Butterfly Sanctuary Certificates, National Garden Week, Possum Long Memory Garden, the gardens at the House of Refuge, Wekiva Camperships for youth, and garden projects for children.
We especially thank those who let us use their gardens for our tour. They were all unique and beautiful.
We appreciate the many local businesses whose willingness to sell tour tickets and buy adverts in our tour book was really helpful. Special thanks to the garden owner who provided refreshments for visitors to the garden. Thanks to the local artists who provided the pictures for the raffle.
We hope you are interested in joining the Garden Club of Stuart. We meet once a month on the second Monday from October to April. Visit our website for more details: www.gardenclubofstuart.org. Thank you for your support.
Donna Berger, Stuart, is Chair of the 2022 Secret Gardens Tour.