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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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TXU Tree-vesty
To the editor: Thank you for your excellent story about the butchering of trees by TXU (“Tree By Chainsaw,” Oct. 4, 2006). I am very surprised that this giant company claims they have not had many complaints. Perhaps everyone who has been affected by their uncaring practice needs to write to both TXU and Asplundh, noting that savaged trees devalue individual property, ruin the aesthetics of a neighborhood, and break people’s spirits and hearts.
TXU claims they will not change the method in their cutting. Now the question arises, who will pay for removing the dead trees they left in their path?
Judye Williams
Fort Worth
To the editor: I had the same experience with tree butchering as described in “Tree By Chainsaw.” Last summer I hired a crew to cut back one large tree so as to let more sunlight into my too-shady yard. They also trimmed some of my other trees that were near power lines and planted large flower beds next to the house and across the back of my yard. There were lots of bushes, small trees, and especially abundant lantana in full bloom.
Then in late August, as I watched, the TXU tree butchers walked through our fenced yard and began to cut. Our one large tree was really butchered; another tree, a sapling, had grown up about even with the wires. They left it a tall stump with one little branch of leaves on the top. Then, to reach trees outside my back fence, they put ladders in my flower bed, walked through it with spiked shoes, chopped the tops out of those trees, and dropped them into my flowerbeds. They then “cleaned up” by dragging those tops through my flowers, taking many of the blooming plants with them.
I now have about half as many flowers and a few poles sporting a couple of small bunches of leaves on twigs at the top of bare trunks. And after all that, they still left one branch touching the wires, while cutting a huge Y out of trees that would have to be bending under gale-force winds in order to touch the wires. I, too, tried to complain and found that the crew spoke only Spanish. They had absolutely no regard for the health of the trees, let alone their beauty or the flowers beneath them.
I felt really sorry for the family that had their 100-year-old tree completely destroyed.
I did not call in to complain further, as every tree I saw in White Settlement had also been butchered, and I didn’t think it would do any good. Obviously I was right.
Verna Rickard
Fort Worth
Water and Ethics
To the editor: Your superb coverage of water shortages (“Water, Water ... Where?” Oct. 4, 2006) was well researched and greatly needed. However, I was disappointed that you used a photo of a child drinking from a hose. Hoses leach toxins and should be avoided as drinking sources. You can find more information about this at www.krcg.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=10450.
Jon Lasser
Martindale
To the editor: Thanks for two excellent articles on the Fort Worth City Council troubles (“Hotseat for Hicks,” Sept. 13, 2006) and the water issues in North Texas.
On the first point: It is too bad more people don’t care when voting (or don’t vote) for city council candidates. When I ran against Becky Haskin in District 4 in 2001, about 5,000 people voted out of an eligible voter roll of over 80,000. More voters, more viewpoints, and more candidates produce better city government. It is a real shame that the city councilors just aren’t up to snuff in Fort Worth. Compounding that mess, we have developers who all seem to have ethics issues. Are there no honest developers in the city? Why should either of these companies be in business (Mallick and Briscoe) — are they the best we can do?
On the water question: Let’s avoid groundwater altogether and push to have the billions of dollars now being devoted to the Trans Texas Corridor reallocated for ocean water desalinization plants off the Gulf with pipelines to the Metroplex. Think out of the box here, and leave the groundwater alone.
Jeffrey B. Sodoma
Fort Worth
Corrections, Clarification
In our Oct. 11, 2006, issue, a story about Taser-related deaths (“The Voltage Toll”) said that Noah Lopez died following a series of events that happened on July 18. The events took place on Aug. 18.
The cover story of that same issue (“Fuming Over the Frogs”) reported that the University of Alabama “ran off” football coach Dennis Franchione, who now coaches at Texas A&M. Franchione left the Alabama job voluntarily.
And in our Sept. 20 “Best Of 2006” issue, one item incorrectly described a mosaic at the 8.0 restaurant and club. It does not depict Martha Stewart.
Fort Worth Weekly regrets the errors.
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