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« CVS confirms talks about buying Albertson's drugstores | Today | Updated: Community turns out for former Journal publisher's memorial service / Photo » December 22, 2005New Christmas tree on its way to State HousePROVIDENCE - The Rhode Island Farm Bureau plans to deliver another Christmas tree to the State House today after an 18-foot Colorado blue spruce was taken down when its needles fell off apparently because of a fire retardant sprayed on the tree. Al Bettencourt, executive director of the bureau, said Governor Carcieri's office called him this morning to request another tree, and that tree grower John Leyden has agreed to donate another tree. Bettencourt said the bureau hoped to deliver the 12- to 18-foot tree by this afternoon.
Erected in all its grand and leafy glory in the rotunda on Tuesday, November 29, the 18-foot tall Colorado Blue Spruce, donated by Big John Leyden's Tree Farm in West Greenwich was taken down for safety and aesthetic reasons - at the urging of the building superintendent Sam DeVincenzo - after it started to turn brown and lost most of its lower-tier pine needles. Mike Maynard, a spokesman for Carcieri, said "the tree-growers' association warned us'' that spraying a tree with (No-Burn) fire retardant dries it out more quickly,'' but the decision was made to spray the tree anyway because it was going up in "a place of public access.'' A possible contributing factor: the tree was blow-dried when it was first brought in from the rain. "The fire retardant dried it right out," Bettencourt said. - Journal staff writer Katherine Gregg Posted by Jack Perry |
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