4/26/11 SPRING WAS HERE, THE TREE BOARD, AND "THE DONALD"

A COLD NORTHEAST WIND

TREE BOARD AT WORK

NEW ROOF FOR THE REC CENTER

Tuesday, 8:00 AM.  39 degrees, wind NE, moderate with stronger gusts, and whitecaps are kicking up on the channel.  The sky is overcast and the barometer predicts rain.  Yesterday we drove to the IGA with the top down late afternoon.  I think that was our spring.
    We had a good Tree Board turnout yesterday and got most of the city trees I have ordered staked out.  We consider the wishes of the property owner, location of city street signs and intersection sightlines, and of course utilities; gas, water, cable, electric, and telephone.  I will call Digger’s Hotline for each address, and within three working days they mark all utilities, and we then move our tree locations before planting if necessary.  We have a nice selection of shade and ornamental trees this year, chosen for hardiness, size at maturity, shape, bloom if an ornamental, disease and insect resistance, and diversity.  I think we have a successful tree board mainly because we keep activities varied, useful and fun.
    The Recreation Center is getting a badly needed new roof.
    Initially I cringed at the thought of Donald Trump being a presidential candidate, but he tells me much of what I want to hear; stimulating private sector job creation by encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit of the country, shrinking an overbearing and bloated government, lowering taxes so citizens can make their own economic decisions while making big corporate tax dodgers pay, promoting a sane monetary and fiscal policy, developing our own vast energy resources, and maintaining the strongest military while using it with clarity of purpose.  The more he pushes these issues the more all candidates, including the President, will have to address them. His presence is certainly helping to shape the debate.