SEBASTIAN, GRANT VALKARIA, MICCO FELLSMERE @HometownNewsIndianRiver @hometownnewsirc @HometownNewsIRC $1.00 Vol. 15, No. 49 www.HometownNewsIRC.com Friday, Aug. 24, 2018 MEET THUNDER MISSING A GOT AN EVENT? Early voting runs through Aug. 25; the primary election is Would you like to meet an FAVORITE FEATURE? Our In Season calendars have Aug. 28. For early voting sites space for your festivals, or where to go on Aug. 28, affectionate, playful cat Want to catch up on a concerts, art shows, and more visit www.voteindianriver. favorite columnist or see that's independent? Visit from late Sept. to next April com. Due to deadlines, we more pictures and more — you just need to send in the will have results in the Sept. 7 the Humane Society community news? info by Sept. 1. Learn how! paper. LOOKING FOR A HOME 4 VISIT US ONLINE IN SEASON 11 ELECTION REMINDER Community Cleaning up Sebastian Captain Hiram’s held Calendar their second annual SATURDAY, AUG. 25 Riverfront Cleanup on receives Sunday morning, Aug. • Shell Bagging for Breakwater Construction: 19 on Indian River Drive 8-10 a.m., hosted by Ocean in Sebastian. Volunteers grant for Research & Conservation departed on foot from Association at 17 17th Street, Vero Beach. Volunteers will the resort and traveled airport help ORCA bag fossilized north and south collect- shells for the construction of ing bottles, trash and living shoreline breakwaters along impaired areas of the cigarette butts in prepa- upgrade Indian River Lagoon owned ration for Captain By Mike Winikoff by the Indian River Land Hiram’s sixth annual [email protected] Trust. Wear tennis shoes and River Challenge Triatha- bring sunscreen and a SEBASTIAN — The U.S. Dept. of reusable water bottle. Water, lon in November. Transportation, Federal Aviation snacks and work gloves will Here, Sebastian local Administration has agreed to grant the be provided. RSVP to Andrea — call (772) 467-1600 or Kathy Burns collects city of Sebastian more than $2 million in [email protected]. trash with help from federal funds to construct taxiway C at • Gymnastics Griffin and Cameron the Sebastian Municipal Airport. Registration: City of Vero The design of taxiway C indicates Beach Rec. Dept., Leisure Burns. dimensions of 4,000 feet by 35 feet. Square, 3705 16th Street, Funding for the construction is to be beginning at 8 a.m. For more Anthony Inswasty shared between the FAA, the Florida information call (772) 567- staff photographer Dept. of Transportation, and the city/ 2144 or visit www.covb.org or airport. The total projected cost of the Facebook @ taxiway construction is $2,462,169. Of COVBRecreationDepartment. this, the FAA is picking up 90 percent, or $2,215,952. TUESDAY, AUG. 28 Fellsmere bans spreading FDOT and the city/airport match are each five percent, or $123,108. • Society of American The grant was made under the Feder- Magicians, Local Assembly of biosolids for six months al Aviation Act of 1958 and the Airport 172, meeting: Fourth and Airway Improvement Act of 1982. Tuesday every month at 7 By Mike Winikoff stuff that is flushed down the toilet and treated to The grant agreement notes that some of p.m., St. Lucie Lanes, 6759 [email protected] some extent at a wastewater treatment facility.” the funds may come from the federal US 1, Port St. Lucie. Such sludge contains phosphorus and nitrogen, Small Airport Fund. FELLSMERE — The Fellsmere City Council Members include hobbyists, which scientists say promote algae blooms in sur- The city is required to report its has approved a six month ban on the spread of amateurs, part time and rounding estuaries and watersheds. acceptance of the grant by Aug. 31. If the professional magicians who “Class B biosolids” within the city. The ban, Class B biosolids have been tentatively linked adopted at the Aug. 16 City Council meeting, is offer is not accepted by Aug. 31, the all love and enjoy the art of to water problems in Blue Cypress Lake. The St. offer expires. magic. Public is welcome to consistent with a similar ban approved by Indian Johns Water Management District, which has The agreement states that Sebastian River County in July. been testing the Blue Cypress Lake water for See CALENDAR, page 5 has four years from the date of accep- Class B biosolids are solid, semi-solid, or liquid years, recently said phosphorous has reached the tance of the grant to complete the proj- materials resulting from the treatment of domes- highest concentration in 39 years. INDEX ect. The city is expected to complete the tic sewage sludge from sewage treatment facili- Fellsmere City Manager Jason Nunemaker said project “without undue delays” and Classified 13 Out & About 9 ties. Described in simpler terms by County Com- that in the time since the first reading of Ordi- Crossword 11 Police Report 5 missioner Bob Solari, Class B biosolids are “the See AIRPORT, page 4 Horoscopes 9 Viewpoint 6 See BANS, page 4 REINER FAMILY DENTISTRY Caring Dentistry for the Entire Family DENTAL SERVICES INCLUDE $50 OFF Invisalign • Root Canals • Children 2 years & up Comprehensive Exam & Full Mouth Series of X-rays. Crown & Bridge • Nitrous Oxide to Reduce Anxiety New Patients Only. 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Reiner, DMD 3975 20th Street Suite 2th Vero Beach 772-564-0724 • View Lanap Video @ www.yourcosmeticdentist.com Hagen Hastings, DMD 2 Hometown News – SEBASTIAN – www.HometownNewsIRC.com Friday, Aug. 24, 2018 Election supervisor trusts county's security system By Mike Winikoff weren’t supposed to [email protected] be by the methods designated by the Florida statutes, like INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — With elec- if they pass away, or tion security on everybody’s mind, U.S. Sen- they’re convicted of ator Bill Nelson of Florida set off a firestorm a felony, that kind of on Aug. 7 when he said that Intelligence thing.” Committee leaders had asked him and Sen- We also discussed ator Marco Rubio to “let supervisors of elec- recent reports from tions in Florida know that Russians are a hacker conven- inside our records.” Sen. Nelson said Rus- tion, where two sian hackers “have already penetrated cer- 11-year old children tain counties in the state and they now have were allegedly able free rein to move about.” Swan to hack into a repli- Hometown News contacted Indian River ca of the Florida County Supervisor of Elections Leslie Ross- Division of Election’s voting computer and way Swan for her response and to find out if change results in less than 15 minutes. Indian River was one of the counties Sen. “I did hear of the story but I don’t know of Nelson was talking about. anything about it,” Ms. Swan said. When “I wish I knew what he was talking about,” asked if she was confident that hackers Ms. Swan said. Asked if Sen. Nelson or any could not change vote tabulations, that the state or federal officials had contacted her system was impenetrable, she declined to with any indication that Indian River Coun- give an absolute assurance. ty was one of the penetrated systems, Ms. “Nothing is foolproof. You do the best Swan said “I haven’t heard a word. I can tell that you can to secure the voter registration you I haven’t been contacted.” system and the voting system itself. Nothing “I know people are very skeptical about is impenetrable. You see these major corpo- everything,” Ms. Swan added. “We’re doing rations like Equifax, Target, Uber – they’ve everything that we possibly can.” gotten hacked. We are doing all that we can Given that Florida was one of 21 states do with the resources that we have. And we notified by the Department of Homeland are taking this very seriously. But nothing is Security that it had been targeted by hackers impenetrable.” in the 2016 election, Ms. Swan understood Ms. Swan was confident that the system that voter concerns are high. She referred used in Florida has many safeguards. Hometown News to a letter written Aug. 9 “The entire state is all paper ballots, by Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner to except Palm Beach County is the only coun Senator Richard Burr, Chairman, U.S. Sen- - ate Select Committee on Intelligence. ty that hasn’t upgraded their system. For “I am very concerned by comments made everyone else except for voters with disabili- yesterday by Senator Bill Nelson saying that ties, they are all paper. Before we got our the ‘Russians are in Florida’s elections new system, for voters with disabilities we records’ and that they have ‘already pene- did have a touch screen machine, which was trated certain counties in the state and they a digital recording device and there was no now have free rein to move about’ without paper, but now since we upgraded our sys- any evidence or details to support such a tem we can do a total recount of the election claim,” Secretary Detzner wrote. “I am also on paper.” concerned that when questioned by mem- “We do a recount by law if it’s less than .05 bers of the media on the validity of this percent difference between the two candi- claim, Senator Nelson refused to elaborate dates, and if it’s .025 percent we go in and do other than claim that the information was a hand count.” classified.’” “Our voting system is not connected to “With Florida’s Primary Election only the internet.