I should have said, "Our magnficent trees are safe
for now", because there is probably going to be development happening around here fairly soon. We have learned that there has been no plat submitted regarding that. And the county judge told us that there are no plans before him now for work on our road. So I think we can breathe a little easier.
arboralliance said:
erect some bollards or fences to ensure they do survive and maybe a plaque with a brief of this story, here in Aus' you can write your trees or vegetation into the title of the property so they can never be touched without approval by government (called a "vegetation covenant")
What an interesting idea! Thanks! I wonder if we have anything like that "vegetation covenant" here. Ekka, a countryman of yours, mentioned something about that at the beginning of this thread.
BTW, where
is Mr. Nonburger, anyway?
gladhatter said:
Sara, I am glad you decided to protect what is yours.
treeseer said:
I am proud to see Americans stand up and defend their rights!
I wish you guys could see the video tape from the day we stopped the backhoe in its tracks. I used the camcorder instead of the digital, because the sound and picture quality were better. Boy, was that an exciting day!
Upon my husband's arrival home, we decided to try and force their hand by having no communication with them, other than the yellow
Caution tape and
No Trespassing signs we edged the property with. We staked the signs and tape along the back slope of the ditch line, not wanting to create obstacles too close to, or even in (since we own to the centerline) the road way. The backhoe operator left two messages that week trying to find out "when are we gonna be able get through your yard!" Our answering machine wasn't working, so we didn't get the messages until later.
Sure enough, here they came with their equipment on Monday of the following week, trenching up the ditch line right up against our tape and signs. Daniel was in the front yard, changing the oil in his bike, watching them closely, waiting to see if perchance they were going to cross the road. When the trencher showed no sign of doing this and started closing in on the drip line of the elm, Daniel strolled calmly over (I trailing him with the camcorder) and inquired as to whether they were going to cross the road. The backhoe operator grunted and gave an impatient "No, I ain't crossing no road!", put his head down, and continued his trenching. Daniel told him he was trespassing and asked him to cease. The operator said nothing but motioned him to get away.
That's when Daniel, no longer strolling, marched back to the truck, got in, and pulled it into the path of the oncoming trencher, nose to nose with it. What fun to film the operator throwing his hands up and turning off his equipment!
At that point, Daniel approached him again, politely informing him that he was trespassing and to cease; and, further, to get his equipment off our property or he would have it impounded. The backhoe guy picked up his cell phone, called his office and whined, "He's gone and parked his truck right in my way, so you're gonna have to call the sheriff to get it out of here." At the same time, Daniel picked up his own phone and called the sheriff to report trespassers on our property. Since Daniel didn't have to get any higher ups to do his bidding, his call went through first. I called the local newspaper.
It was a three ring circus from that point on, with the law and the press and water company officials arriving, causing a traffic jam in the road. A beautiful sight!
They just never know when they might be dealing with a former tree hugger and a :monkey: wrencher.
The deputy didn't know what to do when he arrived. His first words were, "I don't think you have the right to tell them to stop." When Daniel mentioned that they were working on an expired permit (from the Health Dept. - have I mentioned that?), the deputy got a funny look on his face. He made some phone calls and was speaking with the trenching crew when the newspaper photographer arrived.
After speaking with me briefly, the photographer walked right over there and starting snapping off shots. It was awesome. You should have seen how nice the deputy became to us at that point. He came on over and started admiring our trees and sharing stories of how wonderful is the shade they provide.
It was the perfect time of day for this to be happening, about 3 p.m.... with the temp edging up over 100... and the shadow of the oak looming over the entire house. Everybody kept moving further and further inside that shadow. Everybody except the trenching crew, that is; who were, sadly, on the wrong side of the elm.
As the water co. officials started arriving, it was interesting to note that they came empty handed. That is, they weren't waving around any paper work that would prove they weren't on the wrong side of the law.
Eventually, after speaking at length with water officials and chatting up the photographer a bit, the deputy came over with a broad smile on his face and said, "The good news is, I can't tell you to move your truck." :biggrinbounce2:
Things calmed down a bit after that, with the departure of the press, then the law, and finally water company officials. There was only us and the trenching crew left. We watched triumphantly from our shady porch as they started up their equipment and backed it off our property, then packed it up and went home. I promise we went weren't gloating as we filmed their retreat.
We felt empowered that day, and it was an incredible feeling, so exhilarating!
That feeling lasted the better part of a week, through the water co. board meeting we attended, up until the general manager called to let us know they had worked up a cost estimate for us.
:yoyo:
I'll tell the story of the board meeting, if anyone wants to hear it.:rockn
