Lopsided cutting left by SWEPCO looks like ‘Dr. Seuss trees’ B ecky G illette Mary Ellen Sheard, who has lived in Eureka Springs for 37 years, often sits outside at her Crystal Gardens Antiques next to the library on Spring St. enjoying the weather and chatting with people as they walk by. Sheard isn’t one to make much noise complaining about anything. But since the recent work by Asplundh to trim trees away from power lines owned by American Electric Power (AEP)/Southwestern Electric, she has been angry. Trees that were cut weren’t on her property, but the way they have been severely pruned has taken away her shade and left her upset. “The cutting this year was much worse than I’ve ever seen it,” Sheard said. “They cut the top out of a cedar tree across the street that my son planted about 30 years ago. They cut back branches that were not even close to the electrical lines. I’m very, very disappointed.” Sheard tried to talk to the Spanish-speaking Asplundh workers about her concerns, but they said they couldn’t understand her. She called city hall several times and said she was told by the building inspector there was nothing that could be done. Sheard has also looked at the severely trimmed trees on US 62. The trees look nearly like a caricature of a tree because they are so lopsided and unbalanced. “They might as well have killed those trees up
We wuz robbed! – Everything goes according to plan except for the all-important getaway in the annual re-enactment of the 1922 Eureka Springs Bank robbery – and a crook goes down in a hail of bullets and a flurry of bank notes. The event is a favorite part of the Antique Auto Festival and parade sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. Photo by David Frank Dempsey
TREE CUT continued on page 17
This Week’s INDEPENDENT Thinker Tim DeChristopher paid a high price for his civil disobedience when he bid against giant companies that assumed federal land in the red rock country of Utah was for their pleasure alone, sometimes at $2 an acre. Tim had more moxie than money, and was thrown in prison for interfering with a federal oil and gas leasing auction and making false statements. Photo from Facebook.com “Baby boomers who change their light bulbs, drive a Prius and buy organic food shouldn’t pat themselves on the back,” DeChristopher told Yes! magazine, adding that Boomers are an older generation of liberals who put their descendants in peril because they won’t challenge corporate takeover and exploitation of private and public land.
Inside the ESI Smart meters
2
Independent Art
11
City Clerk, not Treasurer
3
Water regulations
12
Old jetters
4
Independent Lens
13
SWEPCO 5
Astrology 14
Tourism Powwow
6
Sycamore 15
Anti-discrimination foiled
6
Indy Soul
18
HDC 7
Writers’ Colony
19
Editorial 9
Dropping A Line
21
Constables on Patrol
Crossword 21
10
Spying on old lovers on Facebook, yes. Friending them, no.