Report: Professor of Horticulture fears burnt tree at Toomer's Corner will die
The burned Auburn Oak tree at Toomer’s Corner will likely die, Auburn Police Division of Public Safety and Security Chance Corbett told Auburn Plainsman in an email Wednesday.
The tree’s damages will be approximately $15,000 to $20,000, according to Corbett:
“As a result of the fire that was intentionally set to one of the oak trees on university property at the corner of West Magnolia Avenue and South College Street, it is the professional opinion of Dr. Gary Keever, Professor of Horticulture, that the damaged tree will die and must be replaced. It is estimated that the cost to replace the damaged tree will be approximately $15,000 to $20,000.”
This conflicts with an email The Plainsmen received earlier Wednesday from Keever himself. The professor said there were no plans to remove the tree, despite its health declining “significantly.”
“The tree has declined significantly since the morning following the fire, with multiple branches in the canopy now dead,” Keever said. “On the positive side, new leaves are forming on some of the live branches scattered through the canopy. We’ll continue to monitor the condition of the tree through fall and winter, but at this time, there are no plans to remove it.”
The oak tree was set on fire following Auburn’s game against LSU on Sept. 25. Jochen Wiest was charged with felony criminal mischief, public intoxication and desecration of a venerable object for the incident.
Welcome to the circle of life, Auburn.
What a gump thing to say. Too bad that tornado didn’t take that Paul Bryant statue.
It becomes easy to recognize those who never went to college by those who did. But it’s ok. We need people like you, to build our double whoppers and clean up the spill on Isle 5, etc.
” venerable object” ???? Geeeez!
The Aubren fambly desecrates its own objects each time they win a game against an FCS team at home. The only school in the country that has a “tradition” of vandalizing its own property.
Trolls gonna troll, but at least TP is biodegradable.
What happened to the other tree at Toomer’s corner? Did it die? Can’t a group of trees catch a break???? Worst of all, it may have been “desecrated” by an Auburn student. With friends like that…
It was neither an auburn student nor an auburn fan, it was just a German guy that resides in auburn
Another Alabama fan destroying trees?
Maybe we should just put a boulder there….a nice boulder, with character
So this guy is a German, living in Auburn, not affiliated with Auburn and he drunkenly set the tree on fire? Where was he when Kim Kardashian was “robbed”?