22
Wednesday, August 30, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
TREE REMOVAL: Less
aggressive approach
through compromise
Continued from page 20
deer/child interaction could
lead to injuries. He also
wanted a large number of the
junipers removed to improve
sight lines, as there have been
reports of non-school-related
people frequenting that area.
Galecki and the UFB dis-
agreed with the aggressive
removal of the juniper and
suggested possibly fencing
the area to separate it from
the playground. That would
leave more screening mate-
rial between the school prop-
erty and the adjacent neigh-
borhood as well as protect
important wildlife habitat.
Everyone agreed to the
necessary removal of five
large ponderosas located in
the bus parking lot east of
the elementary school. They
have “co-dominant leads”
(two tops) which give rise
to splitting and subsequent
bug infestation/disease and
falling hazard. One of the
trees is perilously leaning,
causing stem pressure, heav-
ing, and danger of falling
on a school portable or the
area where children play
basketball.
Several of the trees are
directly adjacent to the fuel
storage tanks and the pro-
pane tank, creating the dan-
ger of falling limbs, explo-
sion, and fire hazard. That
area is also the only place
at the elementary school for
storing snow that is removed
from the parking lot and
sidewalks.
Following the tour, all
parties met at City Hall and
reached agreement on how
to proceed. Rather than con-
sidering each individual tree
as situations arise, Galecki
encouraged “general meth-
ods and protocols” that will
“guide decisions, taking
into consideration esthetics,
health and condition of the
tree, proximity, and general
safety.”
Wildlife trees and thickets
will be left when possible,
depending on risk and liabil-
ity. For now, Bear Mountain
Fire will proceed with a light
thinning, particularly at the
middle school, and a reas-
sessment will be made when
it is completed.
Factors affecting removal
include: sidewalk heaving;
diseased and damaged trees,
crowding, and split tops.
Vitelle indicated that cur-
rent work will address safety
hazards first and will be con-
ducted on the weekends over
the next several months, until
completed.
Does with fawns can be aggressive
Sisters’ urban deer popu-
lation provides some ador-
able scenes — mothers
with their fawns crossing
the street in a crosswalk; a
young buck lounging in the
shade.
But it’s best to keep in
mind that deer — especially
a doe with fawns — can be
aggressive, and their sharp
hooves can be deadly.
Sisters resident Gabby
Rodriquez learned this in a
very sad fashion earlier this
month. Her eight-year-old
Chihuahua BabyGirl was in a
small yard outside her apart-
ment when a doe apparently
attacked her.
Rodriguez did not see
the incident unfold, but
she found her dog mortally
injured with a doe standing
nearby.
“She was only three feet
away from my sliding glass
door, rolling around like she
was having a seizure and
was covered in blood when
I found her,” Rodriguez said.
She took the dog to an
emergency veterinarian, but
she had a skull fracture and
a severe brain injury and was
beyond help.
Rodriguez said that she
has seen the doe with fawns
in nearby Clemens Park
on a regular basis. Though
BabyGirl was not interested
in the fawns, the doe was
protective of her young.
Deer regularly wander
through people’s yards in the
city and Rodriguez is con-
cerned that other incidents
could occur.
“It’s not fair for her to
not be able to hang out right
outside her home, causing no
harm, without being killed
by one of these over-popu-
lated deer roaming around
people’s yards and around
the city,” she said. “I do think
it’s important to let others be
aware of these things so they
can prevent this from hap-
pening to their beloved pets.
It could have been some-
body’s child playing in their
backyard.”
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“I was just going in
for 10 minutes.”
But then the check-out line was so long.
Even with the windows partly
down, the heat can rise from
80º outside to 102º inside
the car in a short time.*
Parked cars are deathtraps for dogs: On a 78-degree day,
the temperature inside a parked car can soar to between
100 and 120 degrees in just minutes, and on a 90-degree
day, the interior temperature can reach as high as 160
degrees in less than 10 minutes. Animals can sustain brain
damage or even die from heatstroke in just 15 minutes.*
FURRY FRIEND S
501 ( c )( 3 )
FOUNDATION
www.furryfriendsfoundation.org
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Fri friends in
leave ked cars!
par
*www.peta.org
Sisters