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--> --> Honor ginkgo at public library The ginkgo did have to make way. Ashland voted for an expanded, better library. In approving the library proposal, the voters implicitly agreed that detailed authority to carry out the project would be given as the city government decided. The foe of the ginkgo loyalists was not Boise-Cascade, Weyerhauser, or the Mount Ashland Ski Association but the city and people of Ashland. There appears to be a consensus, judging from the Tidings letters, that Mayor DeBoer behaved treacherously in ordering the felling of the tree before the loyalists could hold a final protest. Another case of a good end and terrible means. There is consolation for the critical loyalists in the thought that an improved library will or should serve humanity's purposes. At the Wednesday parade, a sign read, "One tree is worth a thousand books"; but also, the ideas that people develop in books are what gives value - any value - to trees. The ginkgo lived a respected, well tended life in Ashland; while, for instance, many of the workers who earned less than a living wage serving parade spectators on July 4 can't afford Ashland rents. The ginkgo was executed, the loyalists might say; but at this moment, nearly 4,000 people are "planted", "raised", even "growing" on death row U.S. A. There are wrongs more cruel and pitiable than the abbreviated life of a tree sacrificed for a good social end. Let Mayor DeBoer apologize and drop charges against those who wished to pay final respects to the fallen ginkgo and were arrested for the observance. And Ashland should place a memorial in the library-to-be remembering the ginkgo and honoring those who bravely protested, hoping to preserve it. Hal Jamison Ashland Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing