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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Mix saw thousands of dollars go down the drain when water didn't ... Fake grass offers real water savings ... Hosler Dam siren test due Monday ... Mix saw thousands of dollars go down the drain when water didn't ... Fake grass offers real water savings ... Hosler Dam siren test due Monday ... 'ROUTINE MAINTENANCE' Resident vows fight after TID cuts back bushes Comment By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Mar. 6, 2015 at 6:59 PM By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Mar. 6, 2015 at 6:59 PM What do you think? --> Have an opinion on this story? Send a letter to the editor at www.dailytidings.com/sendletter » Read more X What do you think? Have an opinion on this story? Send a letter to the editor at www.dailytidings.com/sendletter » Social News An Ashland woman living next to the Talent Irrigation District canal at the top of Park Street is irate that TID mowed back a large portion of her photinia bushes, which she says provided her protection from bears and strollers on the popular ditch pathway. “They came without warning, fast and random, before I had a chance to get up and start screaming at them, cut most of my hedges and left behind huge piles of debris,” said Sheya Rondeau, a resident of Crestview Street, as she displayed her diminished bush. Jim Pendleton, manager of TID, responded that it’s just routine maintenance to mow brush alongside the canal, as it has big holes along its embankments that are not readily visible. In addition, mowing makes it easier to control muskrats and squirrels that tunnel into embankments, he said, causing leaks in the canal. The dispute, running since the trimming Jan. 21, brought out TID claims that, while adjacent landowners may own the land abutting the canal, TID’s easements, varying between 15 and 30 feet on either side, take precedence. Pendleton emphasized that TID does not use chemicals to control brush along the canal, so that leaves them with machines to do the job. Invasive blackberry bushes grow large along the canal and are not native plants. Rondeau expressed displeasure at the piles of dead brush left alongside the canal, which, she claimed, could be tinder for fire and homes for rodents. But mostly it was the thinning of her 15-foot tall photinia hedge, which, she says gave her privacy from walkers. “They compromised my privacy and security, from people and from bears. The hedge has been there 27 years,” says Rondeau. “I’m asking TID to build me a fence. I’m not done with this whole thing. I’m fighting back because they ruined my property.” Her friend Jim Sims, a lawyer, joined her in a stroll around the canal, noting, “This exceeds the scope of an easement. It is indifferent to landowners, who own the land under their easement ... They say they cut it to fight rodents, but now it’s a nest for them.” In an email to Pendleton, Rondeau said, “The butchering of my photinia has lowered my property values, compromised my safety, exposed my home to higher fire risks, opened my property to people and animals including bears, deer, and dogs.” While Rondeau said the cutting opens her house to view of strollers, Pendleton pointed out that the entire west part of her home is exposed to the canal and accessed by a much-used trail. Rondeau said she was “threatened” by a TID worker that they would resolve the problem by fencing off the hiking path, but Pendleton said they have no plans to do that. He added that the walking path is first and foremost for access of TID workers, not for recreation — and they’ve put up a sign at Park Street noting that TID does not condone walking there. As for notifying neighbors of cutting and maintenance, Pendleton says TID has never done that. “We’re going to keep going like we are,” said Pendleton. “We’re sensitive to chemicals, not using them. We’re going to do our regular maintenance. The Bureau of Reclamation in Bend (which oversees TID) has given her a process to follow (for redress). She’s trying to stir up a lot of stuff that doesn’t need to be stirred up. We’re not interested in getting in a letter-writing campaign.” In an email to Rondeau, Pendleton said TID has no problem with her building a fence at her own expense, but it can’t be within the TID easement. “The canal and right of way maintenance procedures are a necessity to keep the water flowing,” Pendleton stated in the email, “and to be sure that the water stays in the canal and is delivered to its proper destination.” Reach Ashland freelance writer John Darling at [email protected].   By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Mar. 6, 2015 at 6:59 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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