Borough: PennDOT downs borough Christmas tree; plan is to replace it
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - A new pole sits at the Veterans Memorial in Shenandoah. The town Christmas Tree was behind the memorial.
SHENANDOAH – Shenandoah’s longtime Christmas Tree was recently removed, but borough officials say they plan to replace it.
Shenandoah Borough Manager Tony Sajone said the tree was taken down by PennDOT, citing concerns with nearby Route 924.
The tree was planted in the early 1980s, and is said to have been dedicated to Vietnam Veterans.
“I’ve been coming up here for 15 years for memorial services, and I’ve never seen a plaque underneath the tree,” said Gordon Slater, borough council president. Workers were on site prepping to place a pole near the site of the tree, covering where Slater suspected a plaque could be. “If there is [a plaque,] we are putting another tree in this area somewhere… we’ll move the plaque over here.”
“None of the veterans groups knew that that was dedicated to the Vietnam veterans,” Slater said. Slater, he said, was on active duty in the military when the tree was planted.
Slater said the plan is to plant a new tree on the borough hall side of the Veterans’ Memorial, as opposed to the former location on the Route 924 side. The previous tree was too large to be transplanted to the new location, he said.
Both Slater and Sajone said the borough had no hand in the removal of the tree.
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