During the last week of April, Sawyer Landscaping of Saskatoon was hired by the town to remove what had to have been one of the oldest trees in the community. Nobody decided to count the rings, but it was assumed that the tree was about as old as the town, said David Wasyliw, the town works foreman. The tree, which was located on the town property along Norway Road, next to the Susan Michl house which is on a corner lot with Canora Avenue. Parts of the tree were rotten and when there was a high wind, pieces of the tree came down. Because the tree exceeded a 100 feet in height, it was necessary to hire a company with the appropriate equipment. Traffic was diverted around a large area when the tree was being cut apart and eventually, cut down. The town has access to equipment to take down most trees, but every so often it is necessary to hire an outfit like Sawyer, Wasyliw said. There are two large spruce trees in the cemetery that will have to be taken down this summer and it’s likely that Sawyer will have to be hired, he said. The removal of the big tree from beside the Michl house will mean that a lot more sunshine will reach the mural which Michl painted on the fence along the west side of the property.
