Thursday, Jun. 26, 2008

Turlock forced to remove beloved 'Christmas Tree' after warning about safety

TURLOCK -- An 80-year-old cedar known as the city's "Christmas Tree" was destined for the wood chipper Wednesday, after an arborist diagnosed the tree as a safety hazard.

A crew used a chain saw and a small crane to haul away the remains of the 65-foot trunk and its limbs from Central Park at Golden State Boulevard and Main Street. Handfuls of colorful light bulbs, leftovers from the city's annual tree lighting ceremony in November, were scattered around the stump.

Rick Harden, Turlock's public facilities maintenance manager, said the tree had been losing more large limbs each year. An arborist hired by the city said the tree was nearing the end of its life span.

"We decided we were going to have to bite the bullet, take the tree out and eliminate the hazard," Harden said. "We didn't think it was safe to leave it in any longer."

The tree removal was the first phase of a park makeover, which will include landscaping and a $70,000 life-sized bronze statue of city founder John Mitchell to celebrate the city's incorporation 100 years ago.

Thea Harris, president of the Turlock Historical Society, said the loss of Central Park's Christmas Tree was "unfortunate." It was tradition in Turlock for the tree to be lit the day after Thanksgiving, synchronized with strings of white lights down Main Street, she said.

"It signals the beginning of the holiday season in Turlock," Harris said. "If we'd anticipated the tree was in poor health, we could have done some fund-raising 15 years ago or assisted in some way to get a new one planted and growing so that when the time came ... there would be a new town Christmas Tree."

Harden said the city most likely would use a neighboring cedar in the park for the "Festival of Lights" celebration in November.

Local history buffs also questioned the city's decision to ax a giant sequoia in November, planted in 1972 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Turlock's founding.

The city did not hire an arborist to inspect the centennial tree. Officials said it was 75 percent gone and presented a safety hazard.

Bee staff writer Merrill Balassone can be reached at mbalassone@modbee.com or 578-2337.