“Adult bullying” is the phrase being used by homeowner Rod Thiessen to describe the RM of Ste. Anne’s recent actions.
Thiessen lives along a wooded section of Road 35 East; bush that crews are scheduled to clear in the coming weeks. While the property in question does fall on municipal turf, Thiessen says he and his fellow residents are upset they were not consulted beforehand nor notified in time to put up a fight.
“Their attitude seems to be ‘we don’t care what you think, this is what we’re doing,'” states Thiessen. “and it seems kind of odd that there would be no consideration taken as to what the residents want.”
The stated purpose of this bush clearing is to make grading and snow plowing easier, facilitate drainage, improve motorist safety, and increase maneuverability for farm equipment. Still, those reasons have done little to curb frustration.
“It’s a general consensus that we like our road the way it is. It’s even been called ‘paradise alley’ by others who don’t even live there and that is because of the beauty of it,” emphasizes Thiessen. “And now we have the municipality wanting to clear trees for safety reasons and it seems that nobody down our street is concerned about safety.”
Thiessen is not the only one to speak up on the matter. Living just a few doors down, Jim Reimer also feels Council’s recent move has been underhanded.
“We felt a little bit deceived,” he says. “Because Council put everything in place, made sure that the machinery and companies had been hired to do all the cutting and then only informed us of it five days in advance.”
Reimer adds he and several of his neighbours have attempted to discuss the matter with the RM but have been treated unfairly.
“You don’t talk back and forth; they talk to you,” he says. “They try to convince you of their position, with no intention of changing.”
Reimer notes he has spoken with over a dozen like-minded residents who are not fond of the RM's tactics. In an effort to preserve as much of the trees as possible, he notes some residents have begun looping baler twine around their trees in a makeshift barrier meant to deter the incoming crews. 
A third homeowner, Luanna Penner, was also unpleasantly surprised to be informed of the tree cutting operation mere days before it was scheduled.
“The way they handled it was, I think, a little cowardly,” she says, “but maybe the RM did not expect that anybody cared. The bush along the road that borders our yard is our security fence and we moved here because of the bush. We love it here, and so it was a big disappointment to hear that they needed to do this when we don’t think it is actually necessary.”
As Penner understands it, the municipality has made a few concessions such as allowing homeowners to collect any wood that is set to be removed near their property line. Nevertheless, she wishes the entire situation could have been avoided.
Tim Toews says he too chose this spot to settle because of its appealing trees and bushes. While he feels equally upset by the clearing plans, he recognizes the RM's authority.
“I worked for a municipality for a while and the municipality is always viewed as the bad guy,” he acknowledges. “I’m not a big fan of it and I would rather not see it go, but it is their property we don’t really have a choice in it.”
Interestingly, the bush clearing had initially been scheduled for last month but was delayed by equipment failure. With the operation now postponed until spring, many are hopeful they may yet be able to reverse Council’s unpopular decision.
Sun, May 5, 5:00 PM
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