Investigation continues on campus tree damage
Six trees were chopped down Homecoming weekend.
Published Oct. 27, 2006
Six trees were chopped down with an ax on different parts of campus between 5 p.m. Oct. 20 and 7:30 a.m. Oct. 21, according to the MU Police Department.
Landscape Services crews that were on campus for the Homecoming parade discovered the damage early Oct. 21. The crews were on campus to clean up after the parade.
The crews reported the damage to MU police, said Campus Facilities spokesman Phil Shocklee.
"When you have activities on the weekend, you're a little more apt to see some vandalism," Shocklee said. "But we have not seen a major act of this type of vandalism on this scale before."
A Silver Linden tree and a Yellowwood tree were chopped down in Peace Park; a Zelkova tree was chopped down on the southwest side of the Arts and Science Building; one maple tree was chopped down east of the Arts and Science Building; and another south of Ellis Library.
A Bradford Pear tree also was chopped down in the Woodland Floral Garden on the east side of the Agriculture Building.
A plaque next to the Silver Linden tree was dated 1991 and dedicated to Brent A. Barton. The dedication plaque quoted Walt Whitman: "I exist as I am, that is enough."
MU spokesman Christian Basi said he hadn't heard about plans to replant the trees because the university is focusing on finding the person who cut them down.
According to the MU Botanic Garden Web site, a memorial tree can be dedicated for $1,500 to $2,000, depending on the tree's location. The person who donates the tree gets to choose what type of tree will be dedicated.
Shocklee said that altogether, the trees would cost approximately $4,500 to replace.
Since the vandalism incident, the remaining tree stumps have been cut to ground level.
MU police Capt. Brian Weimer said as far as he is aware, police have not yet received any information from the public.
In May, three juniper trees and a pear tree were damaged outside the Chemistry Building. The plants were valued at approximately $750 combined.
In September, the trunk of a 25-foot Weeping European beech tree was broken off four feet from the ground on the north side of Townsend Hall. The tree was valued at $1,500.
In an Oct. 24 article in The Maneater, Weimer said his department hadn't found any connections between the crimes, all of which were reported to police.