Controversy Surrounds Waterfront Donation

Lindsey Griffin, owner of L.R. Griffin & Associates, Inc., a commercial landscaping company in Greenville, donated eight Crape Myrtles to the city of Washington to be planted between the former Maola Plant and the N.C. Estuarium. The planting of the shrubs at the specified location had been approved by the Washington City Council, but there were disagreements about whether Crape Myrtles are shrubs or trees.

“The idea was brought to the council as planting shrubs,” Washington City Manager Jim Smith said Wednesday. “It said shrubs in the minutes.”

The primary concern with the Crape Myrtles was their size.

“I started getting calls about trees being planted, not shrubs,” Smith said. “The things being planted, Crape Myrtles, are technically shrubs, but they grow to 30 feet. The ones we had delivered are already eight feet.”

One of those concerned was Washington Mayor Judy Meier Jennette. From the motion that the council approved, Jennette said she assumed that the shrubs would be much smaller.

“I just wanted to make sure that whatever was going down there was what we agreed on … in keeping with what we actually voted on,” Jennette said.

The planting of the shrubs, which was scheduled for Wednesday morning, was put on hold so that the Washington City Council could deliberate on the situation.

“I pulled the council together this afternoon,” Smith said.

There was some disagreement between council members during the deliberation.

“There was great debate between the council over whether they were trees or bushes,” Jennette said.

The issue was eventually resolved, according to Smith.

“The majority were fine with the shrubs,” Smith said.

The planting of the shrubs was approved, in part, because they were a “very generous donation,” according to Jennette.

“We decided that it was a great idea to accept them whether they were trees or bushes,” Jennette said. “I’m not looking a gift horse in the mouth. I’m glad to accept the gift.”

Development between the former Maola Plant and the N.C. Estuarium has been a hot topic in Washington.

“Everyone’s always suspicious when the site gets touched,” Smith said.

Jennette reaffirmed Smith’s statement.

“I know it’s a very touchy situation down there,” Jennette said. “There’s a group of people that are very intense about getting certain things in place.”

Jennette was pleased with the new shrubs, but said she wants to make sure that any future work done to the area has the City Council’s approval.

“It’s just that I want to make sure we follow some rationale as we prepare the park area over there,” Jennette said.

The planting of the shrubs between the former Maola factory and the N.C. Estuarium was the second phase of a proposal that Griffin brought before the City Council. Griffin, who owns a commercial landscaping company, approached Jennette about making a significant donation to the waterfront.

“He approached me several months ago about donating some trees to the waterfront,” Jennette said. “He said that he would donate four trees if the city bought four.”

Griffin, a resident of Greenville and owner of “Lrg Time,” a houseboat permanently docked on the Washington Waterfront, said he was unimpressed by the small trees that lined the promenade.

“He really wanted to do something on the waterfront,” Jennette said. “He said ‘You really don’t notice the trees because they are so small’.”

After meeting with Jennette, Griffin spoke with Smith regarding his idea.

“He went to the city manager to make arrangements with Parks and Recreation,” Jennette said.

Plans were set in place for the waterfront trees after the Washington City Council approved their planting.

“The city bought four at $2,000 a piece, including transplanting and everything,” Jennette said.

Jennette was happy with the work done by Griffin on the waterfront.

“The trees look great; you can really notice them now,” Jennette said.

The trees formerly lining the promenade were moved to the Washington Veteran’s Park on Third Street.

Unlike the trees lining the Washington Waterfront, the eight Crape Myrtles were donated in full by Griffin. Bud Brooks, owner of Brooks Construction, and employees Johnny Ayers, Jimmy Shed, John Carson and Mike Woolard volunteered to transplant the shrubs.

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Monday, May 12th, 2008

Landscaping Services No Comments

Symphony Review

Symphony Review Are we in San Luis Obispo or San Francisco? Listen carefully">

Symphony Review

Symphony Review Are we in San Luis Obispo or San Francisco? Listen carefully

When I close my eyes,%26#8221; said the gentleman next to me after Saturdays concert ended, %26#8220;I cant tell if Im listening to the San Francisco Symphony or the San Luis. I lived there for years and this group has gotten that good.%26#8221;

Then he gave me a dreamy smile and snuck away before I could thank him for writing the first sentence of my review for me.

Im not kidding. The level of music-making on display at the Christopher Cohan Center at Cal Poly on Saturday night was high, certainly at a national level, and the program offered challenges to both audience and performers.

The evenings program was the symphonys first all- 20th century concert since violinist Shunske Sato last appeared here in February 2006, and it offered three distinct portraits of that still-present time.

I was unfamiliar with the music of Norman Dello Joio, whose 1947 %26#8220;Variations, Chaconne and Finale%26#8221; opened the evening. Its a sunny, tuneful piece, reminiscent of film music (Erich Wolfgang Korngold meets Henry Mancini?), with many shifts in mood.

Conductor Michael Nowak controlled the pieces rhythms well, but its structure is top-heavy with variations, and the chaconne and finale came off as afterthoughts.

The Igor Stravinsky %26#8220;Symphonies of Wind Instruments,%26#8221; also from 1947, occupied a much more modern sound-world. The string players vanished, leaving twenty-three wind and brass players in a semi-circle. Nowak settled in and a brilliant musical game ensued.

Stravinskys title is misleading. The piece, which is not symphonic in any conventional sense, offers a quarter-hour of contrasts in timbre and tempo from groupings of winds and brass.

One might call it philosophical music. The mood is astringent, spare, thoughtful and precise, much less varied in mood than the Dello Joio. The audience responded coolly, but I must commend Nowaks courage in programming it.

After the intermission, violin virtuoso Sato %26#8212; dressed vaguely as a priest, in a long black garment that showed a square of white collar%26#8212;took command of the Jean Sibelius Violin Concerto.

Sibelius, an icon in his native Finland, lived 92 years. Enormously popular in the 1940s, his works are enjoying renewed attention for much the same reasons that Shostakovichs symphonies are. They both prove that the great romantic symphonic tradition did not end with Gustav Mahlers death in 1911.

The Violin Concerto, from 1904, is symphonic in ambition and unashamed of its basis in feeling. It requires extraordinary technique from the soloist and the fresh-faced young Sato has it. His speed and articulation were thrilling, but even more satisfying was the variety of his instrumental coloration.

Time seemed to stop for a moment, and there was only a violin, telling us that life is hard, and winter is cold, but the rhythms of nature give strength and hope.

The crowd fell in love with Satos gypsy soul, applauding after the exhausting first movement, and giving the ensemble a standing ovation at the end.

This is an orchestra ready to play at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles in June.

The concert was sponsored by Joan Sargen, Jim Sargen, and Beverly and Jim Smith.

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Monday, March 10th, 2008

Landscaping Stone No Comments


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