Trees stand tall again

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From left, Tori, Gage and Raven plant a crape myrtle tree along the playground fence Tuesday to replace the three sweet gums cut down in January. .Jim Craven

CENTRAL POINT — Billy Bob Thornton Jr. stood along Second Avenue Tuesday afternoon in a thin ray of sunshine, surrounded by swarms of students donning oversized orange safety vests, ear and eye protection and hard hats stamped "City of Central Point."

Joining forces with city parks, streets and water crews for the afternoon, the students were replacing a trio of sweet gum trees that had been cut down in an apparent act of vandalism late last month.

The trees dubbed Billy Bob Thornton and "twins" Cocoa and Crystal were three of 10 planted in January to help shade the otherwise sun-scorched playground. Students "adopted" the trees and made them birth certificates to hang in the school.

But within days, Billy Bob Thornton and the twins were missing, chopped at ground level in the middle of the night, and teachers and school administrators scrambled to find the culprit. A neighbor with a history of bizarre behavior was eventually cited by police.

The incident spawned an outpouring from the region and a note to the students from actor Billy Bob Thornton himself.

On Tuesday, somber faces from weeks earlier were replaced with smiles and noisy chattering.

"That one is Billy Bob Thornton Junior, because the first one got cut down by someone so we're planting him again," said fifth-grader Griffin Alner.

Griffin said it was a "really nice thing the grownups are thinking about us and paying attention instead of just saying, 'Oh well, some trees got cut down.'"

In selecting the trees planted Tuesday, student representatives took a trip to City Hall to meet with Public Works Director Bob Pierce and other city officials to "negotiate" planting of four crape myrtles where Billy Bob Thornton and the twins used to be.

Perhaps most exciting for students, actor Billy Bob Thornton offered to donate a tree and directed his staff to post a message Feb. 3 on teacher Mack Lewis' fifth-grade class Web site, dubbed "The Daily Platypus."

"Don't let anyone kill your dreams. Just keep planting. If they cut them down again just plant more. They'll eventually get tired of fighting your strong spirits"¦ special thanks to Gage for naming a tree after me"¦ All The Best, Billy Bob Thornton."

Awaiting her turn to help plant, third-grader Sierra Szabo said it was "pretty cool" to get a response from the actor.

"I think it's nice all the people and the city are helping plant these for us because it was a lot of work to begin with so it's kind of cool they are helping us get more trees."

Shooting Star Nursery owner Christie Mackison said she was inspired "just to see children planting trees." Mackison donated sweet gum trees for a later planting outside the playground and gave the city an at-cost discount on the four crape myrtles.

"We wanted to help right away. We thought it was so sad someone would take a tree, especially one that kids were involved with," Mackison said.

Third-grader Logan Berry noted the ease with which the new trees were planted, thanks to help from some adult men and machinery.

"We got to put in the dirt but we didn't actually really get to dig the hole this time so these trees were easier to plant," he said.

"Now we just have to decide what to call them. The new twins should have different names because they are different trees."

The fourth tree, dubbed Nemo, rounded out the lane along the school's unshaded playground as doting teachers and news crews snapped photos of the occasion.

Lewis said the students learned valuable lessons from the tree planting.

"I was just going to plant the trees for shade and my wife suggested I get the kids involved so they would care about the trees," Lewis said.

"Now they care about them immensely and they've learned some really great lessons in civics, letter-writing, history. "¦ It's really been great."

Ben Baldridge, a fifth-grader, recognized "all the good stuff" that came from the sad act of losing the first three trees as well.

"It was kind of sad that someone cut down the trees," Ben said.

"But it seems like it worked out good after all because we planted more trees "¦ and it kind of brought the city together."

Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at buffypollock@juno.com.

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