American Heritage School Is Committed To Scientific Excellence

The American Heritage School-Delray Beach, the number-one private school in Palm Beach County for the highest number of National Merit Scholars, is expanding its academic footprint and looking to improve its already high-level commitment to scientific learning.

On April 10, the school hosted the grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new $8 million STEM-based building and science program that will promote science research, engineering and robotics.

To add to the prestige of the grand opening, Bill Nye, “The Science Guy,” was invited to attend, and he accepted the invitation. The presence of this TV star and noted science expert added some star-power and notoriety to the occasion. In addition to participating in the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Nye delivered the keynote address.

The student body at American Heritage School rolled out the red carpet for “The Science Guy,” whose arrival was marked by hundreds of hand-waving students, many with “Welcome Bill Nye” signs, and a spirited ovation from all those in attendance. In honor of Nye’s trademark bowtie wardrobe, many of the young students were wearing their own Bill Nye-like bowties, which generated a smile and nod of approval from the special guest.

Nye was joined at the grand opening of the new Scientific Research, Engineering, Robotics and Prototyping building by other scientists, industry leaders and dignitaries, including representatives from Florida Atlantic University, the Scripps Research Institute, the City of Boca Raton, the City of Delray Beach, the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County and the office of U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch.

The new 12,000-square-foot facility is a scientific utopia that will house an electron microscope, university-level science research labs, robotics and prototyping labs, engineering classrooms, physics classrooms and a pre-engineering program with classes taught daily by top engineers.

This new facility will directly impact the academic lives of the school’s 1,500-plus students.

“Our school strives for excellence and helping students find their passion,” American Heritage School President Dr. Douglas Laurie said. “This new building will be home for generations to the thinkers, creators and dreamers of the future, and may one day provide the spark, inspiration or thought that will change the world for the better.”

It’s fair to say that the American Heritage School is committed to dramatically improving the “knowledge” part of the school’s three-word motto: “Knowledge, Integrity, Compassion.”

“Our goal is to continually innovate and create the best academic facilities in the country in all areas of academics and the arts,” Laurie said. “This is a big step forward in our STEM-based curriculum, and with our new science and prototyping labs comparable to what you would find on college campuses, we look forward to watching our nationally recognized students reach their highest potential as the next generation of scientists and engineers.”

Nye was delighted to attend this event and was impressed by the commitment to scientific excellence by the leadership of American Heritage School. He presided over a unique toast to recognize the groundbreaking moment.

“Normally, we would never drink from a test tube, but we will today,” Nye said. “Here’s to the future. Congratulations everyone. It’s a beautiful day and a beautiful building.”

Nye said that American Heritage School is now poised to be a national cradle of creativity. “Everybody who is going to be the next innovator has to get excited about it in high school,” said Nye, who is also the CEO of the Planetary Society. “That’s why this building is part of the big picture.”

Laurie agreed with Nye’s assessment. “Anything that we can do to spark creativity and imagination and combine that with academics is one of our goals here at American Heritage,” he said.

Right now, American Heritage has nationally ranked programs in robotics, science research and mathematics. At American Heritage, you will also see six banners hanging from the rafters of the Robotic Practice Field that recognize the school’s past achievements in robotics. According to Tai Donovan, American Heritage’s head of robotics, there’s no reason why the school won’t continue the trend of robotics excellence in the immediate and long-term future.

Laurie stressed that the new facility is “giving students a chance to use both sides of their brains.”

“In the words of our esteemed guest, Bill Nye, science is the key to our future, and if you don’t believe that, you are holding everyone back,” Laurie said.

During Nye’s remarks, he emphasized that when students attend a school like American Heritage, they will now be able to pursue their dreams and change the world.

Aside from a host of academic success areas, the American Heritage School-Delray Beach has also established itself as a statewide powerhouse in high school athletics, from touchdown-making football players, slam-dunking basketball players, goal-scoring soccer players, and grand-slam hitting baseball and softball players.

The campus at 6200 Linton Blvd. is affiliated with its sister school in Plantation. While the Broward campus dates back to 1965, the Delray Beach campus was established in 1999 with a mission “to graduate students who are prepared in mind, body and spirit to meet the requirements of the colleges of their choice.” To this end, the private school offers a challenging college preparatory curriculum, integrated technology, exceptional guidance, leadership opportunities, and superior programs in the arts and athletics.

In the Lower School, advanced courses are offered in all subjects. In the Upper School, a selection of more than 200 different courses are offered, including 95 honors courses, 22 Advanced Placement courses and 60 fine arts courses.

The 40-acre Delray Beach campus resembles a small college in size and design, from state-of-the-art labs and classrooms to fine arts facilities, an Olympic-sized pool, sports fields and quiet courtyard areas. The school is known in the Wellington area for its strong program catering to equestrian students.

The American Heritage School is located at 6200 Linton Blvd., just east of Jog Road, in Delray Beach. For more information, call (561) 495-7272 or visit www.ahschool.com.

Wellington Rotary Club’s Kevlar For K9s Raffle Supports Heroic Dogs

Heroes come in many different shapes and sizes. Our heroes may be short, tall, fast, strong or possibly even covered in fur. It is those animal heroes that the Wellington Rotary Club’s Kevlar for K9s fundraiser aims to protect.

Heroic moments can and do occur at any given time at any given place, often when they are least expected. Heroes and their heroic moments are not predestined. They just happen, such as the sacrifice made by Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office K9 Cigo last Christmas Eve.

While Wellington residents were celebrating the holiday, perhaps in church, singing Christmas carols, finishing up holiday shopping or enjoying time at home with friends and family, a heroic incident occurred in a most unlikely location by a most unlikely hero. While helping subdue a violent criminal in the parking lot near the Mall at Wellington Green, Cigo was shot and later died from his injuries.

Not only did Cigo become a hero that night, but the three-year-old dog gave his life in the process of doing what he was trained to do — protect the public.

Since then, Wellington locals have sprung into action, and fundraising efforts are now underway with help from two local organizations to raise enough money to buy protective bulletproof Kevlar vests for as many PBSO K9s as possible.

Kevlar for K9s is a raffle fundraiser being run by the Wellington Rotary Club, which is selling raffle tickets for $100 apiece between now and May 16. This raffle is being sponsored by local law firm Lesser, Lesser, Landy, & Smith. The winning raffle ticket will be drawn on May 16, and you don’t have to be present to win. The holder of the winning ticket will receive one-third of the raffle funds, while the remaining two-thirds of the total collected will go to Kevlar for K9s and other Rotary charities.

“When we heard about K9 Cigo losing his life, organizing a fundraiser to buy Kevlar vests for the dogs seemed like the right thing to do,” Wellington Rotary Club President Tom Carreras said. “The club likes to help the local community where there’s a need. Plus, a fundraiser like this fits well with our motto at Rotary, which is ‘Service Above Self.’”

The club also has close ties to the PBSO, which makes the fundraising effort that much more rewarding.

Rotarian Mickey Smith, a partner at Lesser, Lesser, Landy & Smith, is proud that his firm stepped up to sponsor this important fundraiser.

“Lesser, Lesser, Landy & Smith is proud to partner with Rotary’s efforts,” Smith said. “Our law firm has represented many Wellington residents through the years, and we have an office in Wellington. As a firm, we believe that we have an obligation to give back to the communities we serve — the communities where we live and work. It’s in our DNA. Throughout our 91-year history in Palm Beach County, the firm has partnered with many initiatives to make a positive difference in the community. Here, we are thrilled to be involved in the Rotary Club of Wellington’s efforts to protect these amazing, four-legged sheriff’s deputies.”

Lesser, Lesser, Landy & Smith is a third-generation law firm that has been representing injured clients and their families across Florida for more than 91 years. In that time, the firm has grown to four offices located in West Palm Beach, Stuart, Wellington and Boca Raton primarily representing clients and their families who have suffered serious injury or the loss of a loved one due to the negligence of another.

Smith said he was heartbroken when he heard about the incident involving Cigo on Christmas Eve.

“As a member of the Rotary and a resident of Wellington for more than 25 years, I was devastated when K9 Cigo was shot by a cowardly thug,” Smith said. “Cigo epitomized Rotary’s motto of ‘Service Above Self.’ He literally gave his life in service of our community. While a bad person wrote the beginning of this horrible story, I was confident that the community, working together, could salvage some good from this tragedy. The Rotary’s initiative both honors K9 Cigo and helps protect other brave sheriff’s dogs by providing them Kevlar bulletproof vests. The response from the Wellington community has been incredible. Every ticket purchaser will have the satisfaction of helping make a positive difference here in our community.”

Officials from the PBSO are thankful for the club’s efforts.

“We are greatly appreciative of the fact that the Wellington Rotary is holding this fundraiser for the bulletproof vests for the K9s,” PBSO Chief Deputy Michael Gauger said. “The dogs do what they are trained to do, and they do what they love. They are tremendous athletes who work in a very stressful environment. They are chasing and dealing with some of the worst criminals out there in the county.”

Gauger noted that the K9s have saved the lives of law enforcement officers on multiple occasions.

“It just goes to show the importance of giving that extra protection for those dogs,” Gauger explained. “I am personally contributing to the Kevlar for K9s fund.”

The Wellington Rotary Club has been working to promote the Kevlar for K9s raffle at community events in the area, such as the animal rescue and adoption event Paws at the Mall held Friday, April 5 at the Mall at Wellington Green and annual Wellington Egg Hunt held Saturday, April 20 at Village Park.

For the fundraiser to make a real difference, many tickets must be sold, since each K9 vest will cost more than $1,000. According to Carreras, the current goal is to sell at least 500 raffle tickets, which means the winning raffle ticket would be worth more than $16,000. As of mid-April, more than 350 tickets had been sold.

“Our initial goal was to raise enough money to buy Kevlar vests for one of the two K9s in Wellington,” Carreras said. “Now, we know that we will surpass our initial goal.”

Both Smith and Carreras have acknowledged that the strong purchasing response from the general public confirms that Kevlar for K9s is a great cause worth supporting.

Also, all 50 members of the club are selling tickets and collecting the proceeds for the big drawing on May 16. To buy a ticket, visit www.wellingtonrotary.org or call Carreras at (561) 798-4565.

Law & Justice  Avery Chapman Horse Trainers Beware: Training Fees Not Included Under Stablekeeper’s Lien Law In Florida

Many horse trainers not only provide training to the equine athletes in their charge but also provide feed and care for those horses. This is commonly billed to the owner as “training board.” However, and contrary to common belief, if the owner of a horse on training board does not pay the trainer for the entire bill, in most states, a trainer cannot claim a lien against the horse for unpaid amounts attributable to training fees. To make such a claim is to make an improper lien.

In this article, I discuss the proper scope of a lien. That is, what amounts can be claimed?

Florida, like most states, does not permit liens against horses for training services. Most states do not have specific lien statutes specifically designating non-payment of “training fees” as a legal basis to claim a lien against a horse and sell the horse to satisfy the lien.

The general principal of interpretation of law is that if something is not specifically included, then the statute should be read to omit it. Therefore, under Florida law, and in many other states, because training services are not specifically mentioned in the stablekeeper’s lien law, unpaid training fees do not properly subject the horse to a lien. In contrast, exceptions to this general rule are the stablekeeper’s liens laws of Maryland and West Virginia, which specifically state that training services are properly subject to a lien.

In other states, such as Florida, which do not specifically list or include “training” or “training fees” along with “care and feeding” of a horse, a trainer should be wary of claiming too large a lien upon a horse when providing multiple services to a horse. For example, Florida’s stablekeeper’s lien law (F.S. § 713.65), otherwise known as an agister’s lien, does not include a right to lien for unpaid training fees associated with a horse. The law is very specific in that it provides for a possessory lien in favor of the stablekeeper for “the caring and feeding” of a horse. The language of the statute does not include “training” in the categories of services provided.

The logical and proper interpretation of the law, using the common meaning of the words “care and feeding,” leads to the reasonable conclusion that Florida’s statute does not allow a trainer to impose a claim of lien against a horse pursuant to F.S. § 713.65 for unpaid training fees.

Reading other Florida statutes on the topic leads to the reasonable conclusion that the Florida Legislature specifically declined to include training expenses into a second lien statute on the subject. Specifically, F.S. § 713.66, which applies to racehorses, polo ponies and dogs, allows a non-possessory lien only to those who “furnish corn, oats, hay, grain or other feed or feedstuffs or straw or bedding material” for the cost thereof. As well, the legislature has provided an express remedy in F.S. § 713.655 to veterinary professionals for the professional services veterinarians supply to horses.

The point is that while providing feed providers and veterinarians specific lien rights against horses for their materials and services, a lawmaking body, such as the Florida Legislature, may have not specifically provided equine trainers a right of lien against horses for training services. In that case, a trainer and his or her attorneys should resist the temptation to include all overdue charges in a claim of lien when some of those overdue charges include training fees.

In contrast, Florida’s stablekeeper’s lien law does not specifically enumerate “training” or “trainers” as being a lienable charge and a party entitled to impress a lien for training services. “Feeding or caring for” and “feeding and taking care of” are not the same words and do not have the same meaning as “training,” and the statute does not ever mention “trainers” as a professional service provider entitled to impress a lien for training services. Accordingly, the amount of a proper stablekeeper’s lien on horses in Florida is, therefore, limited to the care and feeding costs and no more.

Finally, be aware that a party exercising self-help under Florida law does so at his or her peril. Therefore, a stablekeeper who imposes an improper lien for a too-large amount, and later causes a sale of the horse, is not free from responsibility of the improper lien. Florida courts have held that when a sale of a horse pursuant to a stablekeeper’s lien passes ownership of the horse, it does not establish the legitimacy of the underlying debt or of the lienor’s conduct. In other words, if a trainer imposes a lien for charges that are not properly included under F.S. § 713.65 and then forecloses the lien by selling the horse or horses under F.S. § 85.031 (non-judicial, public sale), the sale does not legitimize the actions of the trainer and the trainer is not immune to an action by the horse owner for foreclosing on a lien based on an inflated amount that should not have included training charges.

For these reasons, a stablekeeper, and his or her attorneys, should be wary of asserting a lien amount on a horse that covers amounts that are not covered by Florida’s stablekeeper’s lien law.

Confused yet? The process of impressing and foreclosing on the lien, as well as holding the public sale or pursuing judicial sale, are equally complex. I recommend the assistance of legal counsel when these issues arise.

Attorney Avery S. Chapman is the founding and inaugural chair of the Equine Law Committee of the Animal Law Section of the Florida Bar. He practices in Wellington, where he counsels members of the equine industry and athletes on a wide range of matters. Chapman may be reached at asc@chapmanlawgroup.net or through www.equinelawgroup.com.

Local Attorney Marcelo Montesinos Is Committed To His Community And His Clients

Moving to Palm Beach County when he was less than a year old, Marcelo Montesinos spent the first 15 years of his life in West Palm Beach before his family moved to Wellington. He loves the area, where he practices family life and law today.

“There was no great epiphany that made me want to be a lawyer,” Montesinos recalled. “I was drawn into it because I always wanted to fight for the underdog and people who have the odds against them. I became a lawyer because I wanted to be given an opportunity to help people who sometimes need help.”

Married since 2005, with a five-year-old daughter and a four-year-old son, Montesinos, 46, is a noted personal injury attorney and family man.

A graduate of Florida Atlantic University and Seton Hall Law School in New Jersey, he has been practicing law since 1997. Working in Washington, D.C., after college, then joining the Palm Beach County Public Defender’s Office after law school, he went into private practice in 2001.

“Wellington has grown in the past decade quite a bit, and what I love about it is that there’s still a very tight-knit kind of community setting,” Montesinos said. “I enjoy being part of the community and seeing it grow and seeing all the leaders, some of whom I know personally, move us in the right direction.”

Montesinos also likes the community vibe here in Wellington.

“There’s still a small-town feel,” he said. “I guess that’s every small city’s challenge, to try and maintain the small-town feel, and Wellington does that.”

His is an intimately sized firm that specializes in personal injury law.

“There is just me and a couple of attorneys and a couple of paralegals and staff. So, we feel like a family practice, and clients can easily speak directly to me,” Montesinos said. “We are not a family practice, of course. We do personal injury and wrongful death cases.”

Montesinos said he gauges the success of his firm by the positive impact it has on clients and those clients’ willingness to refer him to their friends and family. “We handle things such as car accidents, trucking accidents and accidents caused by the negligence of someone else,” he explained.

While some gauge success by money won for clients, Montesinos said that for him, it’s more about helping those in need.

“It’s so hard to be specific, but we’ve handled thousands of personal injury accident cases, and they number very high in terms of the compensation. I’ve never really made a tally, although that seems to be the trend,” Montesinos said. “I realize that the best way I can tell that I’m doing well is by the referrals from clients, so I know that we are doing something right.”

Montesinos is fluent in English, Spanish and Italian, which has helped him communicate and maintain many relationships throughout the South Florida community.

What he feels sets his practice apart from others in any language is the entire team’s attitude toward their clients.

“We have a deep, deep commitment to our clients that goes way beyond a phone call to the office,” he said. “My clients have my cell phone and can contact me almost at any time. They can bypass the office when they feel the need. We have our team there, and they can help with a lot of the procedural paperwork, but sometimes clients talk to or text me directly, also. Since I’m a smaller office, I have an obligation to provide personal service, and I call them back, and our team does our best to make sure clients feel they can call us at any time.”

Nothing gets in the way of Montesinos’ commitment to clients.

“We satisfy our goal of devoting all of our energy and passion to every case,” said Montesinos, who explained that he is committed to excellence in the practice of law while maintaining the highest ethical standards in the pursuit of justice. “My dedication is surely to my clients and what they are going through, because when someone is involved in an accident, it really changes their world. Sometimes it really turns everything upside down. We work to set things right again.”

Things sitting right brings Montesinos back to his hometown and what he feels is great about Wellington.

“It is a great place to raise a family. I believe that this is a great community that is growing in a controlled manner, so we still maintain the small-town flavor. We have plenty of great restaurants and places to go with the kids,” Montesinos said. “I love Wellington, and I hope to continue living and working in the area for the rest of my life.”

For more information about Marcelo Montesinos and his law firm, call (561) 721-1600 or visit www.montesinoslaw.com.