The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page 13

THE PALM BEACH POST WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 2006 3B- Palm Beach to dedicate plaque to fallen officers By TIM O'MEIUA Palm Beach Post Staff Writer PALM BEACH In 1923, Palm Beach police officer Joseph Smith was shot to death trying to stop two men from butchering sea turtles on the beach. Three years later, Capt. John Cash dove into the surf off Royal Palm Way and rescued a little girl from drowning only to collapse of a fatal heart attack as he reached the shore. Smith and Cash, the only two Palm Beach police officers who have died in the line of duty, will be honored and their names inscribed on a plaque at Memorial Fountain Park at 7:30 p.m. today, Police Memorial Day.

Mayor Jack McDonald, Police Chief Michael Reiter and police and fire-rescue color guards will join in dedicating an $18,000 bronze wall that commemorates the officers' sacrifice. The memorial also will honor any other town employees who die while on duty in the future. Reiter discovered the stories of the two police officers about 10 years ago, with the help of the Historical Society of Palm Beach County. "There's real value in learning how they gave up their lives, to realize how dedicated they were," Reiter said recently. The park, just north of town hall, also commemorates town pioneers Henry Flagler and Elisha N.

"Cap" Dimick, the town's first mayor. A plaque matching the one to be installed tonight lists Palm Beach residents who died during World War II. Research is also under way to find any residents who have died in foreign wars since then and any town employees who died in the military during wartime. The names of employee killed in war be added to the two plaques in separate ceremony later. timomeiliapbpostcom Lake Worth seeks proposal on utility study The analysis would answer questions about upgrading the system.

V', Vv UMA SANGHVIStaff Photographer Caught by trappers, the 6-foot alligator that killed Malibu was living in a pond behind the shopping center at Okeechobee Boulevard and State Road 7. Alligator snatches dog in Royal Palm By NICOLE JAN0K Palm Beach Post Staff Writer An independent analysis of the Lake utility upgrade is inching closer to a start date as i representatives from Synergetic Design, a South Carolina-based engineering consultant group, met Tuesday with city officials. The city has asked the consulting group to submit a final proposal, which will include a cost-benefit analysis of the 13-kilovolt system vs. the 26-kilovolt system, as well as an analysis of the substation load data and reliability issues. If the proposal is accepted, "well execute contract and get rolling," City Manager Paul Boyeri said.

A The highly anticipated analysis could answer some of the questions that have plagued the utility, conversion since the commission's approval in, January of upgrading the antiquated system on the city's eastern side to a 26-kilovolt system like the one that serves much of the ern part of the city. Original plans called for to a 13-kilovolt system, which Florida -Power Light Co. uses in surrounding areas. -) Synergetic Design specializes in engineering and design services for investor-owned municipalities, electric cooperatives, and public. and private institutions, its Web site says.

Many of its consultants also have come from" municipal utilities, said Mike Marshall, a consult- -ing manager for Synergetic Design. Before Tuesday's initial meeting with the city Marshall said he was aware that the conversion' i had become a contentious issue. He feels tb.e-.-f analysis should deliver the long-awaited answer's- residents have demanded. "We're not picking sides," Marshall said. "We're going to do an analysis and come up.

with the right answer." But Marshall said he couldn't speculate oir what that right answer may be. "There's not one good solution," he "We've found anything and everything that works' Marshall said he plans to submit a revised! proposal to the city today. Electric Utility Task Force chairman Coakley suggested that the city hire Design at the May 2 commission meeting. "It was kind of miraculous the way it hajh pened," Coakley said. "They definitely made theCj right choice." Rep.

Mary Brandenburg, D-West Palm also met with Marshall Tuesday and expressed! concerns she has heard during the past two years- from her constituents who are served by the Lake By KEVIN DEUTSCH Palm Beach Post Staff Writer ROYAL PALM BEACH An alligator killed a Yorkie-Maltese mix on Tuesday, sneaking up on and snatching the pup when she scurried out of her owner's interior design shop. Michael Rochefort was fixing the back door when Malibu made a beeline past his feet and toward the water. The gator crept up and snapped its teeth around the dog. "I heard a bark, and then I saw her being pulled into the water," said Rochefort, 29, whose Professional Interior Designs store sits within 20 feet of the water's edge. "The gator just came up and grabbed her.

It went across to the other side of the lake with the dog in its mouth." The gator that attacked Malibu was one of at least three found in the retention pond behind the shopping center at Okeechobee Boulevard and State Road 7, said Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman Dani Moschella. I Trappers captured the 6-foot gator they believe killed Malibu. I They planned to trap the other two because of their proximity to the shopping center and reports that people were feeding them by throwing food in the pond, Moschella said. Rochefort and his wife, Yvette, had only recently gotten Malibu. I She was a playmate to their 9-month-old daughter and 2-year-old son.

I "She was a new addition to the family, but we loved her very much," said Yvette Rochefort "She was one of my kids." I Moschella said pet owners should keep them away from waterways. During the past week, three Florida women were killed by alligators. Despite the weeklong surge in the number of fatal encoun- i w. -ITT i1 f' vv orui uuiuy. "In my unexpert opinion, I think there are problems with the system itself and also problems Family photo Malibu, a Yorkie-Maltese mix, was killed after getting loose Tuesday.

ters, alligators are attacking with no greater frequency, experts say. kevindeutschpbpost.com with the faith the customers have with the system, Brandenburg said. nicoleJanokpbpostcom Boynton to help neighborhood associations buy generators The equipment can only be used in a clubhouse or accessible meeting facility. may help some associations, but he didn't expect a long list of applicants. The most we are giving them is $5,000," Taylor said.

"I think there are very few neighborhoods that are going to afford these." City officials said they probably could find more money if interest was high. Assistant City Manager Wilfred Hawkins said the initial program will have a deadline in June, fol lowed by a 15-day review to decide who will receive money. "This an emergency management planning tool," he said. "We do not want to help get a generator out there and it just sits there." Commissioners decided any clubhouse or assembly area using equipment purchased in part by the grant will not be forced to open its doors to all city residents. willvashpbpostcom approved a matching grant program to help neighborhood and homeowner associations purchase emergency generators and large ice machines.

The city could pay up to $5,000 for the equipment based on the size of the community and with the guarantee the equipment would be only used in a clubhouse or other meeting facility open to residents. Commissioner Bob Ensler said the program was needed. "We do not have time to delay Ensler said. "The hurricanes are coming." Commissioners allocated $50,000 for the program, enough for 10 neighborhood associations. Ensler said he was worried that may not be enough.

Mayor Jerry Taylor said built-in generators for clubhouses start at about $37,000. He said the program ByWILLVASH Palm Beach Post Staff Writer BOYNTON BEACH With hurricane season about two weeks away, city commissioners unanimously Doctor cleared of leaving fatal crash scene I 'Responsible for the accident? Maybe yes. Criminally responsible. RICHARD LUBIN One of Dr. R.

Scott Rosenblum's attorneys, addressing the jury, which returned a verdict of not guilty UMA SANGHVIStaff Photograpffer I By SUSAN SPENCER-WENDEL Palm Beach Post Staff Writer WEST PALM BEACH A doctor charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving a death is not guilty, a jury ruled late Tuesday, Dr. R. Scott Rosenblum of Tequesta faced the one charge and possible prison for a February 2004 accident after which a Wellington grandfather ended up dead, Rosenblum took the Stand Tuesday and told jurors he was unaware of the accident, which occurred behind him on Florida's Turnpike. Witnesses had testified that they saw a Porsche cross lanes abruptly, causing a tractor-trailer cab to brake suddenly and careen into Alfred Barrionuevo standing on the side of the road. 1 Investigators tracked the Porsche to Rosenblum and charged him with the crime.

Tequesta radiologist and osteopath Dr. R. Scott Rosenblum testified in 5 court Tuesday that he was unaware of the accident in an accident that killed a Wellington grandfather in February 2004. Witnesses had said He checked his rearview mirrors. A civil lawsuit is under way in the incident.

1 Just more than two hours later, they returned a verdict of not guilty. Barrionuevo's family members would not comment except to say they were "extremely disappointed." Rosenblum is a radiologist and osteopath who has lived in Tequesta but has practiced in Miami. He took a huge gamble and passed on a plea deal with prosecutors that would have put him on probation and forbid him from driving for five years. Instead, he walked out of the courtroom Tuesday evening exonerated. A civil lawsuit is now under way, though.

behind him. "This is not just a fender-bender. This is a huge crash of a vehicle half the size of this courtroom," said Lewis, after pacing off a dimension of the tractor-trailer cab. Rosenblum's defender, Richard Lubin, conceded to jurors in closing arguments that evidence may show Rosenblum played a part in the crash, and that is something he will have to live with for the rest of his life. Rosenblum bowed his head and cried.

"Responsible for the accident? Maybe yes. Criminally responsible. No," Lubin argued before jurors. His only comment after the not-guilty verdict was to thank jurors and say his heart goes out to Barrionuevo's family. Two distinctly different accounts emerged at his two-day trial.

Prosecutors presented witnesses who testified that the sports car braked and its driver looked back in rear-view mirrors at the wreckage behind him. Assistant State Attorney Jason Lewis called it a case about Rosenblum's taking responsibility for his actions, questioning how the doctor could have not noticed a squealing, smoking crash proved their case and that hp believed Rosenblum's test- mony. "How many of us can go I into the head of another manj and know exactly what heJ "Can I drive?" Rosenblum asked aloud before getting on the elevator. "You better go ask," his wife answered. An alternate juror, Michael Thompson of Palm Beach Gardens, said he thought prosecutors had not inompson said.

susanspencerwendel pbpostcom.