South Florida Sun Sentinel from Fort Lauderdale, Florida • 4

Sun-Sentinel Saturday, June 7, 2008 PN www.sun-sentinel.compalm 1 QI.IWDUP 3 Wfr A a VI yliTOilimfWSIIIJStllia Nawsfomto Hometown it I 11 nittl ft -nitr, INSIDE, 5B KAMTW TmMttdtoptrftm OfcM'KMl i L.i School can be a kick BULLETIN BOARD 2 DIGEST 3 OBITUARIES 7 SECTION EDITOR ARNIE ROSENBERG, 561-243-6651 fPlPf fFSffhRi fl Teadiefswin no smew wot mm mm i Top essay in coffee company's contest sends couple off to the Hamptons mentary School in Boynton Beach, won a $50,000 wedding at a multimillion-dollar estate in the Hamptons in New York, thanks to a national contest sponsored by Eight O'clock Coffee. The wedding will be held Aug. 8: "lesson plan" essay centered on the number eight and a photo of the students holding signs that said: "Our teachers deserve a gr8 wedding d8." "Their entry definitely brought tears to my eyes," said Alisa Jacoby, senior brand manager for Eight O'Clock Coffee and a contest judge. More than 900 couples entered the New Jersey-based coffee company's TEACHERS CONTINUES ON 4B "You all did awesome onthe FCAT," Bonick told his students in a room filled with white balloons and flowers. "You believed in yourself, so I believed in myself." Bonick, known for always toting his guitar around, led the students on camera in singing You Are My Sunshine, the song he sang on the school's news system in September when he proposed.

The couple's winning entry was a BY LIA LEHRER STAFF WRITER boynton beach They planned to have a simple wedding. There would be 60 guests on the beach with a reception at her mother's house. Nothing special. On two kindergarten teachers' salaries, it was all they could afford. But when Vikki Capparelli entered a contest, the modest affair turned into a fairy tale.

Capparelli, 28, and Michael Bon-ick, 38, teachers at Poinciana Ele i The couple announced their win Friday morning on the Poinciana News Network, the School's daily video announcement system, in front of about 30 of their cheering students. LAST DAY OF SCHOOL 1 I Permit lapse adds to pile of concerns about mines Company owner insists environment not harmed. BY ANDY REID STAFF WRITER Question Ron Bergeron about whether rock mining damages the environment and he answers that his 19-year track record of digging shows he can be trusted with the land. His company representatives repeated that clean-record refrain to Palm Beach County commissioners on May 22, and the commission approved Bergeron's expansion to 553 acres of farmland that used to be the Everglades. But just three months earlier, the property where Bergeron's Broward County-based company mined for almost two decades was cited for mining with an expired permit.

And for much of those 19 years of digging, the property owned by Star Ranch Enterprises and mined by Bergeron's company had no state water permit needed to take out rock used for road building and construction materials. Bergeron, appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist last year to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, contends the expired permit was just a mix-up that has been addressed. He said it is not an indication of any environmental problems with his operations. The state Department of Environmental Protection said the permit violation will not affect Bergeron's push for state approval for his new mine because it is considered a separate operation.

For mining opponents, this reinforces concerns that the state's permit process is not enough of a safety net to address the environmental questions that come with mining. A coalition of environmental groups filed suit May 30 to try to stop two mines proposed for 1 1 ,000 acres in the Everglades Agricultural Area. They say the new Bergeron mine could be next. MINES CONTINUES ON 4B UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN: Fifth-grader Armaghan Mehrsa hugs classmate Martinez, both 1 1, after class Friday at Hagen Ranch Elementary west of Boynton Beach. It was the last day of school in Palm Beach County and the last day for Hagen Ranch, which will close its old campus after 42 years and move to new digs next school year.

Staff photoRobert Mayer ONE BITTERSWEET FAREWELL 13 acres just the old campus for the replacement school, and use of 1 acre for the new school's drainage. Principal Richard Hughes said his staff is set to move into its new offices on July 1 0, providing plenty of time to prepare for students' first day of school Aug. 18. The front office will welcome visitors with a neat design feature a slanted wall that "just jumps out at you," Hughes said. On Friday, guests arriving at the old campus' main entrance encountered a straight, portable marker board with the handwritten message, "See you at our NEW SCHOOL." The sign also wished good luck to two retiring teachers who won't be making the switch, fifth-grade teacher Rich Ritch and first-grade teacher Everlena Seymore.

Collectively, they've spent 52 years there. CAMPUS CONTINUES ON 2B $30.3 million facility next to a new housing development. "We do have a nostalgic feel to this school," said Melissa Mancuso, whose daughter will be entering the fourth grade in August. "It's been wonderful. But I'm very excited about the new Hagen Road Elementary, on 16 acres west of Boynton Beach, was not due for a modern upgrade until 2016.

But in 2005, school district officials got an offer from developer GL Homes that was too good to pass up. I The School Board agreed to give the developer 40 acres between Hagen Ranch Road and Florida's Turnpike, south of Boynton Beach Boulevard. That property includes the existing school tract and a 24-acre abandoned tree nursery. i In exchange, GL Homes agreed to pay the district $5.2 million for 26 aires, or $200,000 an acre. The district also received Nostalgia strikes: Hagen Ranch bids goodbye to campus BY MARC FREEMAN STAFF WRITER west boynton Freedom! With another school year over Friday, summer vacations are finally here for thousands of students across Palm Beach County.

It's even more momentous for Hagen Road Elementary School's 672 students, their parents, faculty members and administrators. The campus that opened in 1966 mostly for migrant families in once-rural Palm Beach County is closing, and the school is relocating just south to a new tmmmmmmmmmmmmimmmmffimmmm Speak up if you suspect a child is a crime victim If a big deal: Blackjack starts June 22 Hard Rock also will offer 5 other games TV v-2r. "-o- BY MACOLLVIE JEAN-FRANCOIS STAFF WRITER Neighbors and acquaintances say they felt uneasy about Matthew Kent Sheley, but they didn't have proof that he'd done anything wrong. Sheley, 36, frequently had teenage girls in his Hallandale Beach apartment and there was usually some sort of commotion, neighbors said. A short order cook and musician who went by the name "Neptune," Sheley often entertained during the months he lived there, they said.

"I didn't know what he was up to. I just knew he was up to no good," said Sheley's neighbor Wayne William Brady. "I did know something goofy was going on." Then, in April, a Realtor cleaning out Sheley's old apartment found sexually explicit videos and called authorities, police said. Sheley was arrested immediately, and has been charged with sexual battery on a child and more than 100 counts of possessing child pornography. He is in the Broward County Main Jail, facing more charges.

CHILDREN CONTINUES ON 4B WARNING If you suspect someone is engaged in illegal activity involving a child, contact cybertipline or 800-843-5678. CEO James Allen announced the start date for blackjack and five other card games. The first cards will fly at 6 p.m. June 22. The casirfb will place 68 tables in six pods in the main slots area and the high-limit gaming area.

A few days later, three more tables will be set up in the Seminole Paradise restaurant-and-bararea. A 2006 survey by Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. showed 65 percent of players call blackjack their favorite table game. They like it because it's easy to follow and they have some control because they decide whether to take another card or not. TABLE GAMES CONTINUES ON 2B 4 AH BY NICK C.

SORTAL STAFF WRITER Hollywood The "Blackjack coming soon" signs have been replaced at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino with a June 22 date, stirring Mark Salazar and others who love the game. "I'll be here playing, without a doubt," said Salazar, of Tama-rac. "I'm not a high roller, but until now, all I've been able to do is play video blackjack." On Friday, Seminole Gaming GETTING READY: Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino workers move a blackjack table. The first legal games of blackjack and other table games in Florida will be played on June 22 at the Hollywood casino. Staff photoMichael Laughlln MORE ACTION: Want additional gambling coverage? Go to or check out Showtime each Friday, WW.