The idea met with resistance at first, but the city of Carthage has decided to cut down a tree along Morgan Heights Road that has been the scene of a number of vehicle crashes over 15 years.
One crash in the 1990s killed two teenagers. One in May 18 sent two more teens to the hospital and could have ended more tragically if not for the bravery of Carthage resident and Leggett & Platt CEO David Haffner, who pulled the passenger out of a small SUV that hit the tree seconds before the vehicle burst into flames.
The Carthage City Council honored Haffner for his actions on Aug. 25.
We understand that in the accidents where vehicles have hit the tree, the drivers were driving at excessive speed and may even have been driving under the influence of alcohol or something else. We understand that the city can’t remove everything in the city that drivers hit.
In this case, we’re talking about a battered old tree sitting on an awkward curve that has simply been hit too many times.
City leaders, including Parks Superintendent Alan Bull, City Administrator Tom Short and the council members on the Public Services Committee came to the conclusion on Thursday that the tree needs to come out and we applaud them.
If the city wants to protect the golf course from cars plowing off the curve, the city and the Carthage Special Road District can invest in guardrails or possibly guard cables similar to the cables installed in the median of Interstate 44 by the Missouri Department of Transportation.
Maybe the golf course could install a sand trap along the curve to serve the dual service of providing an added challenge to golfers and stopping vehicles that run off the road. Sand is easier to replace than grass.
It’s time for this particular tree to go.
