The Bradenton Herald from Bradenton, Florida • 15

eta FLORIDA NEWS The Bradenton Herald, Sunday, November 1, 1987 I Homeless families to get aid, B-9 Plastic guns in development, B-10 Civic Center showcase offers They say the two happiest days in a boat owner's life are the day he buys his boat and the day he sells his boat. In between, there are boat shows. The annual Florida Boat Show washed into the Manatee Civic Center this weekend, showcasing a variety of sea craft and high-tech accessories. But there was no spark of impulse shopping in Don Nipper's Myakka murder unsolved The Aug. 19 slaying has the dubious distinction of being the sole unsolved homicide since Sheriff Charlie Wells took office.

MARTY ROSEN CHRIS DOWNEY Herald Staff Writer solved homicide committed in Manatee County since Sheriff Charlie Wells took office. No arrest is in sight. "What we have is out. We're Herald Staff Writer Todd McAfee's shocked family huddled in a corner of the public safety complex as four TV cameras turned up their bright lights and newspaper photographers clicked their cameras. It was the morning of Aug.

19, less than 36 hours after McAfee, a 27-year-old tomato farm manager, had been killed. But the media frenzy wasn't for him. Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Jeff Young was murdered Aug. 18 in an unrelated shooting. A suspect in that case was in jail and officials had details to release.

The McAfee family passed through the lobby almost unnoticed. Since then, Manatee County sheriff's investigators have said leads in the case have run dry. The gunshot killing of the Myakka City man has the dubious distinction of being the sole un- MURDER To B-3 eye as he surveyed the nautical booty. The 31-year-old Valrico man has been walking the boat show circuit for several years, searching for the elusive flat-bottomed bass boat that he can afford. "You know what the definition of a boat is? It's a hole in the water you throw money into," he said.

Al Carr, 41, of 5820 12th St. already has a boat one that he just finished paying for. Now he wants to trade it in for a better boat. "I like this one," he said running "You know what the definition of a boat is? It's a hole in the water you throw money into." Don Nipper, boat shopper his hand over the sleek, fiberglass hull of a small, flat-bottomed bass boat. "Me and the old lady like to fish." Video-taped promotional spots show the wind-blown faces of happy boat owners as they slice through the water at a tremendous speed.

But one boat salesman said utility, not velocity, was what interested most boat browsers at the show. "The ones I've talked to aren't interested in speed," he said. "Most of the men want a good fishing boat, but when the wives talk 'Devilment' in the night GRANT Herald Hobgoblins, witches and all manner of scary creatures roamed area streets Saturday, with nearly 5,000 turning out for the festivities at the Manatee County Fairgrounds in Palmetto. The night's "devilment," sponsored by the Manatee County Board of Realtors, included a haunted house and trick-or-treating. Halloween candle sets child's costume on fire MARTY ROSEN Herald Staff Writer A 5-year-old Palmetto girl was burned Halloween night when flames from a candle set her costume on fire.

Chelsea Shackelford, of 906 20th Avenue was waiting for candy at a neighbor's house when she brushed against the patio decoration, Palmetto police said. She suffered second- and third-degree burns on the backs of her legs, police said. Chelsea was in stable condition Saturday night at Manatee Memorial Hospital. child was standing with a group of costumed at 2202 Sixth St. W.

when the accident happened. "She got too close to a decorative candle in a vase on the front porch. Her costume caught on fire," said Palmetto Cpl. Dennis Hair. She had been trick-or-treating with her mother, Alice.

Palmetto police did not know how the fire was extin- Policy flip-flops jeopardize roads, sewers The revisions by county decisionmakers have slowed the multimilliondollar program and more delays could threaten federal aid. MARC PERRUSQUIA Herald Staff Writer Flip-flops in policy and inconsistent decision-making have helped to jeopardize a multimillion-dollar program to build new sewer lines and pave roads in Manatee County. County commissioners will hold yet another round of talks on the special-assessment program Tuesday. The plan this time is a "safety-net" designed to pay costly special assessments for low-income families. The proposed safety net is the latest in a series of revisions intended to reduce the expensive special taxes levied in neighborhoods where the county is paving dirt roads and building sewer lines to replace septic tanks.

The revisions have slowed the program and more delays could threaten federal aid and attempts to protect the environment by eliminating septictank waste runoffs. That's why county decision-makers say they must get their act together soon. "I'm really having some second guesses about this or whole special-assessment program," said Ed Chance, chairman of the County Commission. "We need to SEWERS To B-8 SECTION I booty they want something comfortable for the family," said Lau Gutshall, salesman for Helmsman Marina, 7700 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota.

Dale Robbins, general manager of the Florida State Boat Show, said that high technology has given the boating industry new vitality. "Boats have become more sophisticated," he said. "They literally give you all the comforts of home while afloat." Nowhere is this revolution in boating more evident than the display put on by Rotary Marine Air manufacturers of a boat -conditioning system. "You take a day when it is 90 degrees out, it will be 95 or 100 degrees in the cabin of your boat," said Lyman Bower, a salesman for Rotary Marine Air the Sarasota company that can climate control your cabin cruiser for under $2,000. "People who go out on their boat want to be comfortable." And people who fish want results.

At least, that's the message BOATS To B-3 'Sandpile' optimism tempered The initial plans were big. Now, three years later, some of the construction has panned out, while other projects died. STACEY FRANK Herald Staff Writer Three years ago, the "Sandpile" heralded as the next yuppie playground on Florida's southwest coast was the talk of the town. Today, people still are talking, and it's not all good. Officials now are finding they must temper their initial enthusiasm for grand development because of the economic realities of the Bradenton market.

And that, according to one expert, should not be all that surprising. Carol Taylor, a research economist at the University of Florida in Gainesville, said developers and city officials may have overestimated the population of young professionals in Bradenton. "I'm not sure how big of a yuppie market there is in Bradenton," Taylor said. "That was not my general impression, and that could be a problem with that type of waterfront development." But others disagree with Taylor's assessment, saying the "Sandpile" still has the potential for big development. "I think the city waterfront can definitely take off, with a festival mall, with attractions that bring people into the area." said John Sumner, developer of the Plaza del Rio office tower.

"But the reality is that it cannot be done any faster than the market is ready." Local developers, dollar signs running through their heads, originally proposed several large projects. Bradenton officials, with dollar signs also in mind, began adding up lease fees and taxes that could be generated from that strip of city-owned land. Between the Green and DeSoto bridges, the 52-acre stretch of land known as the "Sandpile" was formed when the city filled the area with dredge material from the Manatee River in the late 1960s to increase downtown waterfront property. The initial plans were big. A new hotel.

Ritzy shops and restaurants. Swanky condos. And a 1 modern, sixstory office tower. And when construction on the first projects began in the early 1980s, it signaled a new beginning in downtown ed development or so everyone believed. From the time the city created the "Sandpile" two decades ago, the land had been vacant.

Now, three years later, some of the construction has panned out, while other projects died. The rest of the proposals have shifted to a more conservative scale. The Holiday Inn is relatively successful, said city guished, or what type of costume the child was wearing. That was the only incident for a quiet Halloween night. Across Manatee County, police and hospital workers said they were treated to few tricks.

At Manatee Memorial Hospital, radiologist Paula Jones turned the X-ray machine on bags of Halloween candy, as some parents took the hospital up on its free offer to check for tampered treats. "They didn't find anything. Just a JENNIFER Herald Joanne Douthett is participating in a national heart study. couple of staples and that was in the plastic bags surrounding food. It turned out to be a real nice experience 1 for everybody," said a hospital employee.

At Blake Hospital, more than 30 youngsters lugged bags of candy to the X-ray room. None of the goodies had been tampered with, said technician Pat More. He said the children were pleased to learn their candy was safe, but not grateful enough to share with him. 'SANDPILE' To B-3 Heart attack on vacation becomes a federal study ALISON DAVIS when she had a heart attack the first day of Herald Staff Writer the trip. She had eaten a salad for lunch.

When Joanne Douthett and her husband She had grown bored after hours of riding in Harry planned their fall vacation, they the car, smoking cigarette after cigarette to mapped a route that would take them from pass the time. their Zipperer Road home on an autumn When the pain in her throat started, drive through the Appalachian Mountains. Douthett thought the combination of raw For their final destination, they chose vegetables and Tareytons had made her ill. Pennsylvania, where they would visit rela- "In about an hour, it was so bad it was tives. like I was getting gas in my stomach," she Joanne Douthett never considered a stop said.

in Georgia to become part of a federally "It was squeezing my chest so bad funded study on treatment for heart dis- between my throat and my chest." ease. The pain continued to worsen. She hadn't considered heart disease at all. When they stopped for gasoline in AthNo one in her family had it, and Douthett, ens, Douthett told her husband that 52, felt fine. She thought something else was wrong HEART To B-7 Reach out and touch county's public records? NICK MASON Herald Staff Writer You press a few keys on your computer at home or work.

Seconds later, a court document flashes on your screen or rolls off your computer printer. That sounds visionary, but Manatee County's official records should be at your fingertips within five years. The $800,000 computer expansion charted by Clerk of the Circuit Court R. B. "Chips" Shore will make it easy for lawyers, businesses and citizens with tone push-button telephone lines to get their hands on public information.

"Once we're (finished) in three to five years, you'd never have to stop at our office," Shore said. "You'll be able to get identical copies of official documents transmitted to you. The ramifications are far reaching." Real estate brokers and houseers will examine property deeds, mortgages and foreclosure records. Company personnel directors will have instant access to criminal records of employees and job applicants. Lenders will look for civil judgments to learn if borrowers are good credit risks.

"Car dealers should be interested in this," Shore said. "They'll be able to check and see if a judgment exists against a customer's trade-in when he walks in to buy a new Optical discs and laser printers will team to transmit records so precisely that the copy contains human finger RECORDS To B-2.