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Ashland library plan has man among the leaves Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Rick Harris peers out from his shelter in a tree on the grounds of the Ashland library. Harris vows to remain in the tree until the city relents in its plan to cut down four trees to make way for a new library building. Protester perches in one tree to save another By Chris Bristol ASHLAND � To save an old ginkgo, a protester who opposes the city�s plans to expand the library has pitched a tent in a ... different tree. Peering down from his perch about 25 feet above ground, Rick Harris told reporters Friday that he and others took the action to stop a voter-approved library expansion project, which calls for removal of the 50-foot ginkgo and three evergreens. "As long as it takes!" he shouted down Friday, his voice barely audible over the traffic from nearby Siskiyou Boulevard. Harris, 44, is actually camped in a big cedar that is not slated for removal. But his bivouac is suspended solely from a cable strung high across the library lawn to the ginkgo � meaning he falls if it falls. Removing the trees is one of several criticisms that have been leveled at the project in recent months. Opponents also have raised concerns about parking and fears the 16,000-foot expansion would ruin the library�s historic Carnegie status. Mayor Cathy Shaw accused the protesters Friday of second-guessing voters, who approved the project twice � the second time in May by an overwhelming majority of 80 percent. "While I empathize with being ... on the losing side of this election," she said, "the voters have indicated what they want." The tree-sitting protest was staged in reaction to rumors the city planned to cut down the trees Sunday, but Shaw said bids on the project won�t be opened until Monday. However, she said, removal of the trees would be "scheduled out" as soon as the bid is awarded, and dismissed as ill-timed a proposed initiative that would prohibit removal of the trees. "None of that necessarily means the city has to wait," she said. Meanwhile, the owner of a tree-cutting service in Medford said city officials already told him that he was the low bidder � and that as a result he might have inadvertently alarmed critics of the expansion project. "I was looking it over and got to talking with a neighbor over there," said John Kakouris of John�s Pruning Service. "I didn�t realize he was going to tell everybody in town." Kakouris said a work date has not been set (because he had not been officially awarded the bid) but that he planned to cut on a Sunday when the library is closed. Mayor-elect Alan DeBoer confirmed that he met Friday morning with John Freedom, another candidate for mayor who recently launched the initiative campaign. DeBoer was unaware that a tree-sitter had already launched a pre-emptive strike. "Hopefully we can come to some kind of agreement, instead of everybody bickering back and forth," DeBoer said, advising the city should give opponents of the project five-day notice "so people can relax." DeBoer noted he does not take office until January. His comments, he said, were merely "from an interested private citizen." On Friday, a supporter who identified himself only as Shiva and said he was a "protector of the woods," pledged "ugly resistance" if the city goes forward with the expansion project. "It�s not going to happen without a battle," he said. "That ginkgo�s been here a lot longer than the library." Ashland police said they were aware of the tree-sitter but planned to do nothing about it, for now. Instead, they seemed more curious about whether he had enough supplies and how he plans to relieve himself. Told that supporters were trying to send coffee up to Harris, Sgt. Teresa Evans had this to say: "Be careful where you stand." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.