South Florida Sun Sentinel from Fort Lauderdale, Florida • 9

V. South Florida Sun-Sentinel LOCAL PN MONIUY. NoVLMiil.R 28, 2003 3B Digest STAFF REPORTS BELLE GLADE HOA coalition plans for storms West Boca Community Council considers special needs during hurricanes 1 our own individual property lines," Ko-' zlowsaid. County Public Safety Director Paul MiMli said the councils plan would en-'. hance the ability of county emergency workers to get help quickly here its-, needed most.

"If we don't know where there's person in need, there's not much we cart do for them. But if people are reporting -to a local coordinator within a commu-i nity, then we'd be going to that one per-" son for information about where is. We wouldn't lose time knocking on every door," he said. "You don't1 need emergency training to look out for -your neighbors." BYTALABBADY STAFF WR11 F.R In the aftermath of a hurricane-strained year, self-governed residential communities are solidifying their role in a new area: emergency management The West Boca Community Council, which includes more than 1 1 5 homeowner's associations, will devise a plan for its communities to have in the event of a hurricane. The plan would include identifying elderly residents, residents with small children and anyone with special health care needs, council president Sheri Scarborough said.

In the event of a storm, designated block captains would check up on residents in their assigned areas, especially the vulnerable, and coordinate relief work. That would include making sure people have food, ice, water, medication would otherwise be cut off. Boca Landings is reviewing options from companies to set up generator-powered wireless communications for residents to use for sharing vital information during a hurricane. "Obviously, in lieu of what happened in Century Village, we really need to do something," said Kozlow, referring to reports that frail Century Village residents were stranded in dark apartments. "In our own community we had seniors on the fourth floor who couldn't get down and had no way of getting medical attention or couldn't run their respirators.

Instituting something is absolutely the way to go." Scarborough said the plan also would include mobilizing volunteers to help the elderly outside their communities. "Sometimes we don't look outside and receive help with stairwells when the power is out. Homeowner's association leaders would establish a regular line of contact with county emergency officials to relay who needs help, where they are and what the power situation is. The council's homeowner's association presidents are to meet in February to begin ironing out the details. "Homeowner's associations are taking on more responsibility as far as emergency management and they want to," Scarborough said.

"We want to be better prepared next year." The council will consult with county officials and FEMA as the plan takes shape. Howard Kozlow, a board member at Boca Landings, said such a plan was needed to provide help and information to large enclaves or residents who TalAbbudycan be reached al tul)baity((i or 561-243-6624. B1 DAMAGE ESTIMATES Wilma whacked many South Florida colleges and universities. Some estimates, which may include repairs, prepaiatiuns, staff overtime and other storm expenses: Florida Atlantic University: $8 million Florida international University; $7 million University of Miami: $3 7 million Broward Community College $-8 million Palm Beach Community College: $900,000 Palm Beach Atlantic University: $600,000 Northwood University: $100,000 Same vehide suspected of striking two children Belle Glade police Sunday were investigating two hit-and-run incidents involving children. In one, a young girl was flown to St.

Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach after a driver struck her about 10:41 a.m. in the 500 block of Southwest Seventh Street. Moments later, a driver struck a boy in the 200 block of Southwest Sixth Street, a block away from the first incident. Officials were on the lookout for a maroon Ford Expedition carrying a man and a woman. Witness reports that the same driver struck both children were under investigation, said police spokesman Sgt.

Shatara Shatara. Police were interrogating a suspect Sunday afternoon. PALM BEACH COUNTY Man charged with abuse of two 10-year-old girls 'A 55-year-old man allegedly sexually abused two 10-year-old girls at his home after a Thanksgiving Day meal, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office. Robert Workman, who lives west of West Palm Beach, was arrested Saturday. He faces capital sexual battery and lewd and lascivious behavior charges, Sheriffs Office spokesman Paul Miller said.

After the meal on Thursday, Workman took the girls to his home for a sleepover featuring movies and popcorn, Miller said. Workman asked the girls to take off their clothing, and he engaged in sexual activities with both girls, Miller said. When the girls went home Friday, their mothers reported the abuse. Workman denied the allegations, Miller said. He is in the Palm Beach County Jail without bail.

WEST PALM BEACH 1.1 Officer hears gunshots, helps to catch suspect A 22-year-old man who allegedly shot another man in the leg after a dispute Saturday night was arrested shortly afterward when an officer heard the gunshots in the 1 100 block of 13th Street, police said. Jonathan Wilkerson, of West Palm Beach, faces attempted homicide and weapon possession charges. Police did not release the injured man's name. His injuries are not considered life threatening. The officer who heard the shots about 11:15 helped police track Wilkerson down.

Wilkerson was at Palm Beach County Jail on Sunday without bail. DELRAY BEACH Death of man found in car investigated Police are investigating what they consider to be the suspicious death of a man found about 4 p.m. Sunday slumped in the driver's seat of a sport utility vehicle on Northeast Fourth Street next to Florida East Coast railroad tracks. The man died either on the way to the hospital or in the hospital, police said. His passenger, who has heavily I intoxicated, was hospitalized after 1 r'i rV'r SHELVES CLOSED: Brian Kelley, director of the Harold Manor Library on the main campus of Palm Beach Community College near Lake Worth, inspects the section that was damaged by Hurricane Wilma.

The storm blew out several windows, scattering shards of glass into the stacks of books. The lost books and cleanup costs are estimated to total 1 1 5,000. Staff photoScott Fisher Library at PBCC faces Wilma repairs But the glass is a pricklier problem. The larger pieces are gravel-sized, the smaller ones nearly invisible. To make sure the glass gets swept up, rather than spread, the college is turning to outside cleanup specialists.

They'll delicately pull out and dust each volume in the affected area, Kelley said. The process is expected to take several weeks and cost roughly $60,000, he said. The college hopes insurance will cover it. Beyond that, there's the matter of the remaining windows, some of which had their rubber seals sti ipped away by Wilma. The college temporarily has waterproofed them, with duct tape and plastic sheeting, but Kelley is aiming for more durable repairs or replacements.

"Hopefully, by this time ru xt year, we'll have a whole other solut ion in place to protect the library," he said. borrowing books from the college's other campuses, as well as public and other academic libraries. "It hasn't been easy, but so far we've been able to do all right for everyone," said Library Director Brian Kelley. The estimated $115,000 in lost books and cleanup costs is among $900,000 in Wilma-related damage to PBCC's four campuses, according to spokeswoman Grace Truman. South Florida colleges and universities say they face more than $15 million in repairs.

At PBCC, Wilma took out four windows on the west side of the 1964 library, even though the windows are sheltered by covered outdoor walkways. Kelley said the windows were coated with a protective film, but blew apart anyway. Thanks to the library's own bank of dehumidifiers and a standing agreement with a cleanup company, the college quickly limited what could have been $1.2 million in destroyed books to about $55,000, Kelley said. Storm broke windows, dusted books with glass By Jennifer Peltz STAFF WRITER If your term paper calls for Future Shock, the 1970 blockbuster about the sociological consequences of a fast-changing world, you won't get it at Palm Beach Community College's main library this semester. Nor can you check out Cassell's Italian Dictionary, Nationalism Education Since 1 789: A Social and Political History of Modern Education or The World of the First Australians.

They and about 30,000 other books are roped off by yellow caution tape, off-limits even to librarians. Blame Hurricane Wilma. The storm pulverized several windows in the college's main library near Lake Worth, dusting almost a fifth of its collection with tiny shards of glass. Fearing the particles could drift into people's eyes, the library has cordoned off shelves of books on hot-button social issues, educational theory and business and legal topics. Most will be recovered through a painstaking cleanup that could start this week.

But Wilma's rain outright destroyed as many as 1 ,000 volumes, which are to be replaced. In the meantime, with papers to be written and exams to be crammed for, the college's librarians are striving to keep academic wheels turning. When instructor Sheila Hendlin asked last week for books that might have classroom exercises about communication, one of the prospects was quarantined behind the caution tape. But research librarian Robert Krull hunted up several other possibilities on shelves that still are open and pointed a grateful Hendlin to a book the library has in electronic form. "You've got to be flexible and switch gears," said Hendlin, who teaches study techniques and academic skills.

Harold C. Manor Library also is Jennifer Peltz can be reached at jpeltz( or 561-213-6636. Museum seeks home for lifestyle, fashion collection ne goi out 01 ine suv, leu on uie railroad tracks and hit his head. Neither of their names was released. 1-95 update The Florida Department of Transportation reports the following on Interstate 95: Two northbound lanes from Gateway Boulevard to Lantana Road will be closed from 8 p.m.

to 5:30 a.m. The southbound exit ramp to Hypoluxo Road is closed for reconstruction through Friday. Two northbound lanes from Sixth Avenue South to 10th Avenue North will be closed from 9 D.m.-5:30 a.m. through Thursday; the building might interfere with the, building's redevelopment. "It's really unfortunate that they.

couldn't find a space. They do provide value to the city," said Rosalind Mur- ray, the West Atlantic program man-v agerfortheCRA Museum staffers are working on fund-raisers forthe museum, such asl-a personal appearance by Jay Strong water at Saks Fifth Avenue in Boca" Raton on Dec. 7-8 and a Young Professionals Event at The Rectory in Delray Beach on Jan. 12. 1 In addition, the narrated bus tours of historic Delray Beach are still run-.

ning on third Saturdays. "The only programs right now artv the ones we could do without four walls," Durante said. AM Davis Mercantile. It is not an option to search outside the city, Durante said, because its history is entwined with the museum, such as its monthly bus tour of historic Delray sites. Ideally, the space would be historical, and bigger than its predecessor, Durante said.

Their budget doesn't allow them the freedom to afford rent, but they would be able to purchase a facility because there are opportunities for grants and other donations that go along with buying, she said. "We're hopeful and determined, but we're not naive about the struggle for this effort to find a permanent home," Durante said. Museum staffers tried negotiating with the Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency to use the old library, at 29 SE Fourth as a rent-free, temporary location. The CRA board turned down the request because members thought that leasing They're searching for a space in Del-ray Beach at least equal to or larger than their original building, where it was housed since 2003. A popular fixture in Delray, fans are eager to find a new home for the museum.

"I think Delray Beach is not old anymore. It's young, it's vibrant, it's mixed, it's got culture," said Nancy Boyle, who moved to Delray a year ago from New York City and is a fan of the museum. "I was looking for a town that had that, and a fashion museum? How unusual. And I thought this is it, I'm not going anywhere else." Boyle was so taken by the museum she became a board member in September. They've searched for a new location, but it is difficult to find a suitable, affordable space.

Their previous agreement was a rent-free, in-kind donation from the owner of the plaza, BYERIKASLIFE STAFF WRITER delray beach Once on proud display, dressing an expressionless mannequin, the 1960s Bill Blass coat-dress with the real mink trim is packed away in a wardrobe, hidden. So are the unique home accessories, antique shoes and hats, and the rest of the Museum of Lifestyle and Fashion History, which is boxed up and in storage after it closed in July. The building's owner decided to sell Pineapple Grove shopping plaza, where the museum was housed. "We're alive but homeless," said Lo-ri Durante, the executive director. "Sadly, it's in storage." Museum staffers are on the hunt for a new space to host their motley collection of the quirky and everyday, from exhibits of glossy magazine covers depicting U.S.

flags after the attack on Pearl Harbor to an exhibit featuring the history of lunch boxes. two southbound lanes will be closed from 9 p.m. Tuesday through 5:30 a.m. Wednesday. Two outside lanes at 17th Avenue will be closed from 9 p.m.-5:30 a.m.

Wednesday through Friday. Two northbound and southbound lanes will be closed between 45th Street and Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. through Friday. Call 561-64 1-6440 weekdays during business hours for more information.

Erika Slife can be reached at or 561-243-6690..