THE town’s ‘grand old lady’ has been hacked to death… and townspeople are baying for justice. The tree is (or was) much older than Scottburgh itself and is even used in the crest of a local primary school. It is indigenous to the area, protected by law and is on public property.
Various crimen injuria charges have been laid with accusations and counter accusations of ‘racism’ from both sides. Meanwhile, the hacked off limbs of the tree still lie on the pavement outside the house pending further investigation. Residents are ‘livid’ with the homeowner who can not be named at this stage because of threats of court action following angry scenes outside the house on Sunday.
The Mid South Coast Mail received several reports that the homeowner shouted profanities and racial slurs at the crowd. However, the homeowner denied this and said that the racial attacks were, in fact, directed against him and his family.
He insisted that he was given ‘verbal consent’ from the municipal environmental management officer to fell the tree as long as it was at his own expense. In an official statement, the municipality confirmed that a request was made on
February 27 by the homeowner who was concerned that the tree was rotting and endangering his home and family.
He was granted permission to prune the tree, on condition that a municipal official was on site during this process. This did not happen. The homeowner was adamant that the tree was rotten and that it could endanger his two-year-old child who played in the yard. “No amount of money can replace life,” he said.
Local environmentalist Adrienne Edgson, who had been on the scene, said that she could only identify one branch of the huge tree that might have been a danger. Other landscaping professionals agreed.
There were also reports on Sunday that a man ‘threatened the crowd with a gun’. The homeowner confirmed that his brother-in-law was on the property and that he was a police officer. “He didn’t wave it around. If they saw the gun they must have seen it through his shirt.”
A Facebook page has been created to promote a ‘silent vigil’ on Thursday night.
