The city of Pineville held its third annual Arbor Day celebration on April 4 at the community center. Mayor Gregg Sweeten welcomed the audience, noting that Pineville has been a Tree City USA for two years.
He said Arbor Day was first proposed by J. Sterling Morton of Nebraska as a tree-planting holiday on Jan. 4, 1872. Arbor Day was first celebrated on April 10, 1874, and it was named a legal holiday in Nebraska in 1885 and April 22 was selected as the permanent day of celebration. This day was selected because it was J. Sterling Morton's birthday. It was estimated that more than a million trees were planted in Nebraska on the first Arbor Day.
Fourth graders from Pineville Elementary School were given short-leaf pine trees to take home and plant for the holiday.
Sweeten had members of the tree board introduce themselves. They were Angela Cawood, Barbara Simpson, Claudine Doherty and Dawayne Lasiter.
Sweeten said, "It's an honor to be able to appoint these people because they really do care."
He then read and signed an Arbor Day proclamation declaring the holiday in the city.
Jon Skinner of the Missouri Department of Conservation said Tree City USA is an award that it takes a whole year to earn. The city has to create an ordinance, form a tree board that cares for trees, hold an Arbor Day celebration and spend $2 per capita per year on trees. He was presenting the 2018 award.
"I want to congratulate the city and the tree board for earning Tree City USA for another year," he said.
Skinner also noted Liberty Utilities "is enrolled in a program where it does the right thing when it has to prune trees."
Jason Grossman, manager of T&D Vegetation with Liberty Utilities, said the program is a certification process for utilities that use best management practices in dealing with trees around power lines.
Skinner told the fourth graders not to plant their short-leaf pines anywhere near a power line, as they can grow to more than 100 feet tall.
Next, Angela Cawood with the tree board presented the Arbor Day Citizen Award to "a person who has been instrumental in helping the tree board," City Clerk Melissa Ziemianin.
The ceremony ended with the planting of a sugar maple.
General News on 04/11/2019