Paddockwood senior arrested in tree protest

The clearly passionate MacDonald obstructed the work for close to an hour even though he can barely stand up. The employee for the R.M. of Paddockwood called the police because MacDonald was preventing him from doing his job.

Explaining his motives, the local senior said he made his protest because the area is occupied by a lot of small wildlife such as rabbits, squirrels, salamanders, and garter snakes to name a few.

“I don’t have a legal leg to stand on just moral, ethical and environmental points I was trying to make,” MacDonald explained.

Roadway near MacDonald’s residence. (submitted photo/ Sarah MacDonald)

Saskatchewan RCMP Cpl. Rob King told paNOW when the officer arrived he tried to negotiate with MacDonald about moving aside, but he refused to leave.

“He was given several opportunities to leave on his own accord and let the ditch-clearing crew finish their work but refused to do so,” King said.

King explained the officer arrested MacDonald for mischief and was taken into custody at the Prince Albert detachment. He spent some time there and was not charged before being taken home later in the day.

MacDonald said the worker was back the following morning to finish the job.

“I went out there and walked for about half an hour in the afternoon and it’s all mulched tree and willow in the ditch,” MacDonald said.

He said the worker could understand his point of view and was very polite, as was the police officer who attended the scene.

R.M. of Paddockwood Administrator Naomi Hrischuk explained why the maintenance needed to be done.

“The R.M. of Paddockwood has a responsibility to maintain its roadways, road allowances and ditches in order to provide for proper drainage, safety and accessibility for general road traffic,” she told paNOW. “Movement of farm equipment accommodates snowplowing and proper line of sight for safety of the general public. Part of this maintenance includes brush mulching and mowing.”

She added the brush mulching allows for the roots of the plants to stay intact maintaining the soil stabilization and allows the municipality to properly maintain without the use of chemicals or larger equipment.

Hrischuk explained mulching also helps prevent large snow drifts from accumulating and allows the roadway to properly dry out after rain or snow fall.

“Mulching is done within the R.M. right of way and the width of the mulching in the area of question was approximately 10 feet,” Hrischuk said.”It was within the R.M. ditch and on the shoulder of the road to facilitate future grass mowing.”

She added the section of road is 70 metres within the intersection of Highway 2 and multiple gravel trucks access it.

“Line of sight is extremely important for the safety of the public,” she said. “To date we’ve done up to 75 miles of ditches and road allowances with brush mulching and we’ve had no previous complaints.”

Sarah MacDonald, Myles’ daughter, initially informed paNOW about the situation and added in a Facebook post she was proud of her father.

“Pop is my hero. He’s 78 years old and he can barely stand up, but he was arrested for standing up for the trees,” Sarah said.

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ian.gustafson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @iangustafson12

by Ian Gustafson

Paddockwood senior arrested in tree protest

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