The Work To Save Our Trees

[LegalEagle 22]

Hopefully we can keep this thread updated with any new information on the work to save the trees and the results of that effort. Work has begun:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/02/22/alabama.auburn.trees/index.html?hpt=C2

Task force working to save poisoned Auburn University landmark trees

From Vivian Kuo, CNN

February 23, 2011 6:29 a.m. EST

Agronomists say the two 130-year-old trees on Toomer's Corner have little to no chance of survival.

Agronomists say the two 130-year-old trees on Toomer's Corner have little to no chance of survival.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

* Specialists are working to remove poisoned soil around the 130-year-old trees

* Agronomists say the poison is so potent the trees have little to no chance of surviving

* Auburn official: "Even if we're holding on to a 1% hope, we will do all we can"

* Auburn police have charged a man in the poisoning

(CNN) -- Work to replace heavily poisoned soil choking the life from two beloved oak trees at Auburn University continued for a second day Tuesday, according to Mike Clardy, the school's director of communications.

"We've taken out as much of the poisoned soil as we can at this point," he said. "We're using high-pressure air and high-pressure water to remove it."

Once the poisoned soil is removed, the university's task force -- made up of horticulturists, agronomists and engineers -- will then put in clean soil mixed with activated charcoal. "The charcoal will hopefully pull away any herbicide remaining in the soil," Clardy said.

Auburn police arrested Harvey Updyke Jr., 62, on Thursday for allegedly dousing the landmark trees with herbicide so potent that agronomists said the two 130-year-old trees on Toomer's Corner have little to no chance of survival.

Updyke has been charged with one count of criminal mischief and has been released on $50,000 bond. "We are continuing to wrap up our investigation and tie up some loose ends," Auburn Police Chief Tommy Dawson said. "There is nothing to indicate that he had a partner."

Revenge in Alabama?

Auburn fan: Tree poisoning 'ridiculous'

Heartbreak over Auburn University oaks

RELATED TOPICS

* Auburn University

* Trees

Updyke has cycled through two court-appointed lawyers and is likely to move through a third. Jerry M. Blevins said Tuesday he was retained on the matter last week but has now filed a motion to withdraw from the case.

Blevins declined to elaborate on why he wanted to be released, saying only there were "some conflicts between me and Mr. Updyke."

Updyke's two previous court-appointed attorneys were allowed to withdraw because of their affiliations with Auburn University.

Authorities first learned of the herbicide after a caller who identified himself as "Al from Dadeville" phoned into a Birmingham, Alabama, radio talk show, saying he had poisoned the renowned oaks after Auburn won a contentious November football game against the University of Alabama. "Al" ended the call with "Roll Damn Tide," a battle cry for the University of Alabama.

Fans typically gather around the trees after victories, draping them with toilet paper. Clardy said it's not just Auburn supporters who have rallied around the tree, however. "We've had hundreds of calls of encouragement and suggestions from other schools in the SEC, including from the University of Alabama," he said, referring to the Southeastern Conference, which includes Auburn and the University of Alabama.

Tuesday, a Facebook page called "Tide for Toomer's" said $39,000 had been raised in support of the historic trees. "It's been really nice to see fans from the University of Alabama stepping out," Clardy said. "We're certainly very appreciative of all the support."

The next step, Clardy said, is to keep an eye out for a change of weather. "Live oaks put out leaves in the spring. It could be as early as April that we would see some of the effects."

"We still believe that the level of herbicide that we found in the soil is more than sufficient to kill these trees. But even if we're holding on to a 1% hope, we will do all we can to keep them alive."

[AURaptor 1,137]

If nothing else, this is a show of the AU spirit, and a sign to pretty much the rest of the world of just what an impact this alabama fan's actions have had on the environment.

bama = bad for the planet.

[Roll Tide Rev 63]

If nothing else, this is a show of the AU spirit, and a sign to pretty much the rest of the world of just what an impact this alabama fan's actions have had on the environment.

bama = bad for the planet.

Your post are so funny.......

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

If nothing else, this is a show of the AU spirit, and a sign to pretty much the rest of the world of just what an impact this alabama fan's actions have had on the environment.

bama = bad for the planet.

Your post are so funny.......

Did you find it funny when your comrades chanted "hey Auburn, we just beat the hell out of you" last night after ya'll beat a rag tag team,with four starters fouled out, the worst referreeing I've seen in awhile, on a last minute tip in....at home no less. Considering the events of the last week, I think it showed tha lack of class and soprtsmansship we've become accustomed to from the Harvey nation.

[Roll Tide Rev 63]

I actually didn't watch the game. I just said that his post were funny. sheesh...lol

[AURaptor 1,137]

If nothing else, this is a show of the AU spirit, and a sign to pretty much the rest of the world of just what an impact this alabama fan's actions have had on the environment.

bama = bad for the planet.

Your post are so funny.......

Did you find it funny when your comrades chanted "hey Auburn, we just beat the hell out of you" last night after ya'll beat a rag tag team,with four starters fouled out, the worst referreeing I've seen in awhile, on a last minute tip in....at home no less. Considering the events of the last week, I think it showed tha lack of class and soprtsmansship we've become accustomed to from the Harvey nation.

This is what bammer's refuse to admit, that the incivility of our rivalry originates primarily w/ the UAT hierarchy, and like raw sewage, it runs down hill. The bama fan base has been encouraged to hate Auburn, not just as a rival, but as lesser people who are part of a lesser program. And because of this top down attitude, any claims by bama that they deeply respect Auburn, it's traditions, or of being sooo upset at the killing of the Toomer's trees, should be uniformly ignored. Bama wants nothing less than than to quell the animosity from the latest wickedness done by them before they get even more bad press. Instead of " doing Auburn a favor " by trying to kill our trees and keep us from rolling Toomer's any more, as bama fans believe, the rest of the nation / world now sees what Auburn people have known for generations.

[Roll Tide Rev 63]

Bro no joke I am not from that school of thought and as God as my witness I have NEVER NEVER even thought anything so ridiculous. AU is the one on top at this point so that would be some lame thinking. Don't know what else to say but you are going to believe what you want to about me. God and myself know the truth.

[Bama My Heart 5]

If nothing else, this is a show of the AU spirit, and a sign to pretty much the rest of the world of just what an impact this alabama fan's actions have had on the environment.

bama = bad for the planet.

Your post are so funny.......

Did you find it funny when your comrades chanted "hey Auburn, we just beat the hell out of you" last night after ya'll beat a rag tag team,with four starters fouled out, the worst referreeing I've seen in awhile, on a last minute tip in....at home no less. Considering the events of the last week, I think it showed tha lack of class and soprtsmansship we've become accustomed to from the Harvey nation.

Ok, I've got to ask. If something had happened to Denny Chimes the week before the Iron Bowl game, and Auburn won, would you not have rolled Toomers? I've read some of the post on here that Bama fans have always thought we were superior(nothing to do with team)and looked on Auburn as a lessor school and people. That must have been my time, and there is nothing that I can do about that, but it's just hard to wrap your mind around. Now, with that being said, I know that with some of my Auburn friends we have always teased each other that "we're better fans", but not in the way that was mentioned on here.

I remember going to a game in Auburn before(not the Iron Bowl) and when we went to tailgate, one of the guys dad said " I guess in Tuscaloosa ya'll use linen tablecloths and stuff huh". I thought at the time he was teasing and said "sure", but have reading some posts here, I think that may be an old perception that some of you think we have.

Maybe it's a new generation, some good and some bad. I'm one of those that doesn't believe in paying for the sins of the fathers. I can only speak and act for myself. To be honest, I am one of those Bammers that wants to always beat Auburn, and I want everyone else to also, and I don't deny that, but I don't look down on someone because he's an Auburn fan. I may joke around with them about it. We got a new guy in the office and he told me that he is an Auburn fan, and I teased his boss about not checking the references closely, but we were just teasing each other. He knows how seriously I take it, so he didn't give me a hard time this year, and I didn't him last year. I love my team,and I admit I am obnoxious, but I have never set out to intentionally hurt someone's feelings over it, unless they have been in my face, and then it's fair game.

It's never going to get better until we as fans act better. We should act like the players do.....beat up on each other for 60 minutes and then shake hands or hug afterwards.

[Mike4AU 1,755]

Bama My Heart, with all sincerity, why do you take pride in being obnoxious (your words, not mine)? Seriously, I am not trying to start anything here, but I would like to understand what goes on in someone's mind who thinks that is a good trait to have. Help me understand.

[Bama My Heart 5]

Bama My Heart, with all sincerity, why do you take pride in being obnoxious (your words, not mine)? Seriously, I am not trying to start anything here, but I would like to understand what goes on in someone's mind who thinks that is a good trait to have. Help me understand.

Hey, I don't take pride in being obnoxious. I'm just honest enough to admit the fault. I didn't say that I consider it a good trait to have, but I do think that there are degrees of being obnoxious. I may have over stressed mine. I always say that when someone comes into my office and notices the many Bama prints(gifts after the championship)and says "oh you're a Bama fan", I always say obnoxiously(is that even a word) so. I may think that I'm obnoxious because I wear the Bama stuff, have the Bama prints and stuff, but I don't get in an Auburn fans face if we win or if they lose to someone else, unless they start it. I'm happy enough for my team to win. That doesn't mean that I don't want ya'll to lose, I do, but I don't rub your face in it, because I know how the loss feels. I've never said ugly things to a fan of another school at a game unless they got in my face, and I let small children who are Auburn fans say pretty much what they want, because hey they're kids and I'm not going to hurt their feelings. To me that is the true meaning of being obnoxious, so I guess I'm really not. Does that make you feel better about this fan?

[Mike4AU 1,755]

Does that make you feel better about this fan?

Yes. I would suggest, based on your response, that you should say that you are a proud fan, not an obnoxious fan. Nothing wrong with that.

[AURaptor 1,137]

Landscape Services replaced soil in the beds excavated the previous day. Clean top soil was acquired from a local source. The process to replace the soil included adding additional activated charcoal in between layers of soil hand shoveled into place. Hand shoveling allowed us to place soil more accurately and insure the fines were agitated into the open spaces not necessarily visible. Holes were cut into the protective plastic tents for access, but we kept the basic structure in place to reduce the amount of charcoal dust that would carry in the air and be deposited on the plaza and elsewhere. Once the soil was placed, raked and settled by means of agitation, we watered the site to further settle the new soil into any remaining voids. As expected, soaking did settle the grade line and additional soil was brought in.

The final step was the addition of clean pine bark to the beds. This serves multiple purposes, key ones being to retain the moisture, to add weight to aide in the settling and to dress the beds so the final appearance looks professional. The beds were then enclosed with protective barricades to lessen compaction of the soil in the beds.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

[ We should act like the players do.....beat up on each other for 60 minutes and then shake hands or hug afterwards.

Maybe you can start by eliminating the provoking cheer hundreds of bama fans do when they win. Last night was a classic example. bama won the basketball game on a last second tip in againt a rag tag Auburn team playing with four starters fouled out. Then the crowd (not just a few but the crown in unison) chanted with great enthusiam "hey Auburn, we just beat the hell out of you." That's never classy or a show of sportsmanship but in light of the events of the last week it was a classic in being obnoxious.

Maybe if you were there you could have led them in shering "nice game Auburn." Yeah right. Elephants will fly in Jordan-Hare West before that happens.

[AURaptor 1,137]

Maybe you can start by eliminating the provoking cheer hundreds of bama fans do when they win. Last night was a classic example. bama won the basketball game on a last second tip in againt a rag tag Auburn team playing with four starters fouled out.

Then the crowd (not just a few but the crown in unison) chanted with great enthusiam "hey Auburn, we just beat the hell out of you." That's never classy or a show of sportsmanship but in light of the events of the last week it was a classic in being obnoxious.

Maybe if you were there you could have led them in shering "nice game Auburn." Yeah right. Elephants will fly in Jordan-Hare West before that happens.

And this is why bammer's will NEVER get it. The inane " that's just not how we see it " excuse w/ regards to that cheer is as about as phony and disingenuous a claim as you'll ever find. At UAT, it's a culture of carrying things too far, a complete and total disrespect for anyone NOT from T'loserville, and an arrogance which is unparalleled in all of sport.

[nanatiger 3]

Maybe you can start by eliminating the provoking cheer hundreds of bama fans do when they win. Last night was a classic example. bama won the basketball game on a last second tip in againt a rag tag Auburn team playing with four starters fouled out.

Then the crowd (not just a few but the crown in unison) chanted with great enthusiam "hey Auburn, we just beat the hell out of you." That's never classy or a show of sportsmanship but in light of the events of the last week it was a classic in being obnoxious.

Maybe if you were there you could have led them in shering "nice game Auburn." Yeah right. Elephants will fly in Jordan-Hare West before that happens.

And this is why bammer's will NEVER get it. The inane " that's just not how we see it " excuse w/ regards to that cheer is as about as phony and disingenuous a claim as you'll ever find. At UAT, it's a culture of carrying things too far, a complete and total disrespect for anyone NOT from T'loserville, and an arrogance which is unparalleled in all of sport.

An AU grad (whom I dearly love and respect) told me recently he wished he had a reason to be as arrogant as an Alabama fan. After I picked my chin up off the floor, I said, "You still don't get it." In all fairness, he did not grow up in the state of Ala. as I did and did not live with the arrogance his whole life. He experienced it for the first time last year when they won the NC. I told him I never wanted to be compared to an Alabama fan in any way and that I still hold out hope that he will understand someday.

[AURaptor 1,137]

nana,

As one not native to AL, I've come to my own conlusion of the mindset for the Updyke nation. They view bama football as one of a few things which " The South" can still claim pride over the rest of the country. To badmouth the Bahr, or anything Gump related , is simply blasphemy. To hear them say it, college football is what makes the South better than everyone else, and Tahd football is what makes the South great. They actually believe that crap about Bahr & bama are due respect by ALL Southerners.

They can go Updyke themselves!

[Mike4AU 1,755]

The Rammer Jammer cheer is bad behavior and acts as an accelerant for further bad behavior. Acts like RJ encourage other bad acts, and, thus, it is no surprise when someone like Harvey does what he did. Moreover, it is also very bad behavior when a head coach for a major college football program screams at his players on the sidelines, during a nationally televised game, for all to hear, "don't you know how much I hate those f#$kers." It is also very bad behavior to fabricate (translation = lie) the number of national championships that a team has.

Guys, I know lots of fine UA folks. No doubt there are lots of them. That said, there is simply no question that some of the UA fan base and some of the UA Admin are culpable in the Updyke affair. One bad act leads to another bad act, which leads to another bad act, ad nauseam. And rather than their fan base taking a proactive role in making a genuine effort to correct their misdeads, many of them are simply pledging piss-ant dollars to the Save The Tree fund. Their conscience is cleared for a $10 pledge? How nice. But have you heard one UA fan take a stand against what I described in the first paragraph of this post? Nah, didn't think so.