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City crushes boy's dream of restoring sailboat
By LATISHA R. GRAY

SARASOTA -- David Newton bought the old sailboat for $1,500 for his son
William about a year ago as a birthday present. The Newtons knew the
22-foot, 1971 Venture needed work, but planned on fixing it up in time
to adorn it with Christmas lights, dock it in the water and watch
tonight's boat parade on it.

Those plans hit a snag when David Newton was hospitalized twice for
complications with his diabetes, limiting the time he and William, 15,
had to work on the boat.

Then last week the Newtons found out they not only lost their chance to
watch today's parade from the boat, but lost the boat itself, which was
destroyed by police after they determined it to be a derelict vessel.

The boat was tagged with a bright orange sticker on Nov. 20 because it
had no engine, sail or means of working, a police report states. It was
destroyed on Nov. 29.

According to city code, the owner of any boat considered derelict has
five days to contact the police after it has been tagged and, if they
don't, the boat is crushed and the remains are taken to the city
landfill.

Police spokesman Jay Frank said officers tried to contact the family
about the boat, but never heard anything back.

"We go above and beyond the statute by sending a certified letter,"
Frank said. "We work with people who call and say they are going to fix
up the boat. We called them several times but we didn't get a
response."

David Newton said he and his son tried to contact the police at least
seven times, but they never got a call back. The last time they saw the
boat was on Nov. 24. David Newton said he didn't recall seeing an
orange tag on the boat.

"I enjoyed it," William Newton said Friday. "I'm upset it got taken. I
didn't understand it."

The Newtons said they got the certified letter the day after the boat
was destroyed. William said an officer called him on Tuesday, but it
was already too late.

"We were in the process of doing what they think we should have been
doing," David Newton said. "That boat didn't look that bad. By the time
we got the letter, they were tearing the boat up."

Frank said the department tagged 16 boats during the sweep of the
bayfront and crushed seven of them.

Officers look for derelict boats about two or three times a year, he
added.

"People complained about the boat before we even did anything about
it," Frank said. "There were a number of complaints from people living
out there."

David Newton said they did get one complaint last spring, but hadn't
heard anything since then.

They say the boat actually brought the neighborhood together because
people looked out for it.

"His grandfather, my dad, wanted to get a boat before he died," David
Newton said. "So, I thought it would be nice to get William a boat.
They have the same name. We put a lot of time into that boat, and it's
a shame it had to end this way."

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