Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 10, 1993 TAG: 9306100125
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The other two will fall before the month ends, a victim of old age and poor care in their younger years.
Adele Schirmer, public works director for the town, said town crews will cut down the two remaining silver maple trees this month to prevent them from falling on the Thomas-Conner house during future storms.
Schirmer said she consulted with five tree experts - including town horticulturist Susan Garrison and Tech forestry Professor David Smith - before deciding to remove the trees.
"We would have very much liked to save them, but they were just unsafe," she said.
The three silver maples will be replaced during a ceremony later this summer.
Smith, a big advocate of tree preservation, said the silver maples were completely rotted inside.
"If they were in my yard then they would not have lasted a minute," he said.
Smith said the trees were trimmed improperly years ago.
"People tried to take care of the trees, but they really didn't do it right," he said.
The town purchased the Thomas-Conner house from Don Irons.
Irons touched off a public clamor in 1990 when he submitted plans for two 12-unit apartment buildings sandwiching the century-old house. He subsequently filed a $1 million suit against the town and its officials for rejecting his plan.
Tech's Center for Public Service and Policy and lawyer Warren S. Neily have shared the building for years, but Town Council passed an ordinance Tuesday to lease the entire building to Tech.
Schirmer said Neily, a former partner of Irons and partial owner of the house, will leave the house at the end of the month. The change is part of the town's plan to restore the historic downtown site to its original condition.
by CNB