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GLOUCESTER, Mass. (AP) — A historic Massachusetts fishing city's popular Christmas tree made of lobster traps has been vandalized.
The Gloucester (GLAH'-stur) Daily Times reports (http://bit.ly/1mPd4YS) vandals tore off a number of the tree's decorative, hand-painted buoys and ripped off a portion of the lights over Christmas weekend.
The artificial tree has been set up on Gloucester's Main Street for 16 years running. It's assembled from more than 300 lobster traps and decorated with 700 buoys hand-painted by local schoolchildren, artists and adults.
The damage included vandalism to decorations by a nearby building and has mostly been cleaned up. The tree has been re-lit.
Police Chief Leonard Campanello calls the vandalism "an assault on what Gloucester is all about." He says the police department is treating it as a crime against the community.
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Information from: Gloucester (Mass.) Daily Times, http://www.gloucestertimes.com
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