Hopefully the vandals responsible for cutting down 150-200 trees along Thatcher Drive are caught and dealt with properly through the courts.
The trees were planted and nurtured at great cost to the citizens of Moose Jaw. Officials estimate it has cost about $400 per tree to bring them to the stage they were at before vandals felled them earlier this week.
The financial cost is one thing, but the esthetic loss is priceless.
Treed areas and green spaces are what make cities attractive, not just to visitors but to residents as well.
It takes some planning to take out 150-200 trees. And time. And equipment. And people.
Someone, somewhere knows who did this. Someone might have helped supply equipment, was privy to the planning or maybe participated in the vandalism and now has a guilty conscience. That person (or persons) needs to speak up.
It might have been done as a joke (although one has to wonder about the sense of humour it takes to do this). But what 's next? Crescent Park? Wakamow? Private property?
Once those involved are caught, they should be made to replant the trees and monitor their care - at no cost to the taxpayers. Whether they are working full time, part time or attending school, this should consume their spare time until the trees reach the stage of maturity they were at when destroyed. And trees that don't survive their care should either be paid for by them or replanted and they start again.
The key to righting this ridiculous wrong is finding those responsible. Anyone with information should contact police, or Crime Stoppers if he or she wishes to pass along information anonymously.
Regardless of their age, someday those involved and those who know who is involved will grow up and realize such acts of vandalism are far from funny and have a lasting impact on the environment.
Time to finger tree vandals
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Published on
July 17, 2009
- Published on September 9, 2009
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Staff ~ The Moose Jaw Times Herald
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Comments
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- jim
- - September 18, 2009 at 14:22:48
I don't think threatening to make someone do a bunch of work or pay costs will convince anyone to turn themselves in. We need a justice system that will reward criminals for admitting to their crimes, the bigger the crime , the more money. 5 trees $25 150 trees $1000...confess & recieve your reward.
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- Cindy
- - September 18, 2009 at 14:19:15
I have never read such dribble in my whole life!!When do you think these idiots are going to admit their crime? Who is going to punish these same idiots? We don't even give criminals life for murder in this country. What do most get...out in five years? And excuses...they can plead a headache and some limp judge will let them off and spring for a tylenol. You must be an optimist to think the comments in this post. We can grow trees but not responsible kids or adults. Those responsible for cutting the trees down are a waste of the air they breathe.
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- June
- - September 18, 2009 at 13:21:07
Someone out there is very angry about something. Be thankful it was only trees cut down.
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- Steven
- - September 18, 2009 at 13:06:20
This headline just cracks me up.
