Imagine my surprise to hear chainsaws this morning, and finding the work crew from the town cutting down all the trees on the south end of Peanut Lake.
Apparently they received a complaint from a resident who had been vexed by having to rake leaves from their neighbouring property.
Since when does the town care so little for foliage and the beauty of trees?
The trees in question were a welcome addition to the area and will be missed by neighbours and passersby.
I noted a number of cars stopping to question the chainsaw crew, as shocked as I was to see this wanton destruction.
This disregard for the aesthetics of trees proved once again that municipalities place no value on the presence of trees.
They beautify our surroundings, purify our air, act as sound barriers, manufacture precious oxygen and help us save energy through their cooling shade in summer and their wind reduction in winter.
They also prevent erosion, which should be a concern on the sharp incline from the lake to 89 Street. But some remain wilfully blind to their benefits.
I invite readers to add your voices to mine – and remind the town that it’s not right to ignore the soft values of trees, even those labelled as “weed trees” as the foreman called them.
It’s not as if this was an environmentally-sensitive area like Haynes Point.
It’s shocking to me that the town would act so brutally on the basis of a complaint, when the overwhelming majority of local residents will mourn the loss of this welcome greenery.
How difficult would it be to poll the neighbours before destroying the assets of a neighbourhood?
But perhaps this incident and others like it (recalling the banishment from Peanut Lake of the lovely white domestic snow goose resulting from one local’s silly complaint) begs a more serious question as to how to balance a citizen’s right to complain with a solid majority of neighbours who disagree.
And how to prevent the town’s kneejerk reaction to a minor complaint made by one when many surrounding citizens strongly disagree.
Solving this ongoing dilemma would make Osoyoos a more livable and pleasant town in my opinion.
David Yanor
Osoyoos, B.C.
