A minor league pitcher in the Baltimore Orioles farm system was charged with driving while under the influence Sunday night, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.
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Note to teens facing a potential prison term: don’t use your MySpace page to post photos of police officers and wish “AIDS and genocide to all law enforcement.”

That’s what Stuart resident Jesse Alan Walker, 19, did while awaiting a June trial in which a jury convicted him of robbery with a firearm related to a 2008 home invasion armed robbery. At trial, he was accused of planning the robbery with two then-20-year-old co-defendants, who once played football for Jensen Beach High School.

“I hate the (expletive) police,” Walker posted on MySpace last December, along with photos of Stuart Police officers and derogatory comments.
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VERO BEACH — Spring training is expected to return to the former Dodgertown facility next year, although it won’t involve a major league team.

“In March when people are used to spring training we will hopefully have spring training baseball again in Vero Beach, just at a different level,” said Dave Barnard, owner and president of RussMatt Baseball, who is currently marketing the complex for use by college and high school teams next year.

Barnard’s group has reached an agreement with the Minor League Baseball, which is now operating the facility, to use it from Feb. 20 through April 24 for what is being advertised as the RussMatt Invitational at Dodgertown.

Barnard said the colleges would probably be using the facility from the last part of February to the last week in March, with high school teams coming in from late March to the end of April. (more…)

STUART — The swimming pool at Martin County High will remain open another year, the Martin County Commission and Martin County School Board agreed Tuesday.

The pool is used by hundreds of high school, club and adult swimmers.

The Martin County Commission voted during a joint meeting between the School Board and Stuart Commission Tuesday to pay $113,000 to keep the swimming pool at Martin County High School open to the public for another year while a new $9 million-plus Aquatics Complex is developed.
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JENSEN BEACH — More than 300 lacrosse supporters, some waving sticks and some wearing jerseys, attended Tuesday’s Martin County School Board meeting to ask the School Board to consider adding lacrosse into the school district.

Even though a rule change, which would broaden the number of sports that could become athletic clubs in the county’s high school including lacrosse, was removed from the agenda that didn’t stop hundreds of lacrosse supporters from coming out to the meeting at Jensen Beach High.

“Let these kids play. Let them play lacrosse in the county high schools,” said Chris Anderson, president of the Martin County Pioneer Lacrosse youth league.
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PORT ST. LUCIE — Treasure Coast is seeking a new boys basketball coach.

Titans coach Rob Recknagel resigned for personal reasons, but will remain at the school as a science teacher. In two seasons, Recknagel guided Treasure Coast to two regional appearances and a 32-22 record.

“It was a tough decision for me to make, and I will miss it, but basically I wanted to spend more time with my kids,” said Recknagel, who has two young children, 3-year-old Brady and 4-year-old Ella. “I knew eventually I would get to a point where I would want to spend more time with my kids than someone else’s kids.

“It was a good experience. We were successful, and it’s tough to leave the returning seniors and the kids in the program.”

Recknagel submitted a letter of resignation about a month ago, but athletic director Dan Comeau said he encouraged the coach to “let the dust settle and keep thinking about it.” Recknagel recently informed Comeau of his final decision and the job opening was posted last week through the St. Lucie County School District’s Paperless Applicant Tracking system online. (more…)

Thursday, April 23, 2009

VERO BEACH — Minor League Baseball executives expect to occupy Dodgertown by June 1 if they can get an agreement with county officials approved by then.

“They want to occupy Dodgertown as soon as possible and we want them there,” County Administrator Joe Baird said Thursday.

At this point, the two sides’ attorneys are poring through the proposed agreement.

“And that takes on a life of its own,” MiLB President Pat O’Conner said.

Neither Baird nor O’Conner envisioned anything holding up the deal. And at least the county won’t have to spruce up the grounds before MiLB moves in, Baird said. (more…)

MARTIN COUNTY — Is this the right time to build a $9.7 million swimming pool complex on Willoughby Boulevard?

Martin County commissioners wrestled with the answer on Tuesday after listening to a glowing report from David Weller, a father of a competitive swimmer, on the potential of the complex that would combine a recreational pool area with a competition pool.

They also heard from Jim Sherman, assistant county administrator, who said the county could recoup about 80 percent of the cost of running the pool each year, based on an estimated cost of $756,000 annually, but this figure was questioned as being too optimistic.

Commissioner Edward Ciampi, a champion of the pool that would be built with the ½-cent sales tax money already earmarked for this purpose, said this was the time to move forward with the pool facility because construction firms could come in with competitive bids.

But Commission Chairman Susan L. Valliere stood firm.

“I think this is a wonderful project. I just think the timing is wrong,” said Valliere. “We are looking at pay cuts, we are laying off some of our people, there is 10 percent unemployment and climbing. This pool is luxurious and these are not luxurious times.”

Valliere was the only dissenter when the commission voted to approve the conceptual plan for the aquatic complex, and a design-build proposal. Sherman said that once this proposal was in, it would help solidify the cost of the complex.

However, the The commission also directed Sherman to request that the design-build company reduce its fee up to 25 percent.
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JUPITER ISLAND — Although the Town of Jupiter Island is not enforcing a year-old set of regulations for Hobe Sound Beach, which is owned by Martin County, a surfing organization is considering a legal challenge.

Among the rules not currently enforced that the Surfrider Foundation of the Treasure Coasts wants to see rescinded altogether: closing the beach at night.

“Whether they enforce it or not, in our eyes, we just want it removed so it doesn’t become a problem in the future,” said Kevin Murray, of the Treasure Coast Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation. “It’s important to us to go there with out families. We want to surf at night. The fishermen are going to naturally get involved because they want to fish at night.”

But Chief Ted Gonzales, Jupiter Island’s public safety director, said the town commissioners are happy that increased patrols at the beach have largely put an end to the vandalism and trespassing on nearby properties that prompted the commissioners to pass the beach rules. (more…)

ST. LUCIE COUNTY — Tourism leaders from Grand Bahama Island will meet with local officials this week and get a first-hand feel for St. Lucie County in an effort to build a business and tourism partnership.

Grand Bahamian and St. Lucie County officials hope the visit, which will include tours of Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie, will help solidify a non-binding agreement the two groups entered into in December with the goal of boosting tourism in both locations. One of the main ideas behind the agreement is to work together to market both areas, such as offering vacation packages between the two locations. (more…)