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June 19, 2009

Thief takes redbud trees

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  • ZACH GRAY | THE EDMOND SUN Three Oklahoma Redbuds have gone missing from the Cheyenne Ridge housing edition. The trees, which were purchased by the Home Owners Association, were valued at $50 each. Zach Gray

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Mark Schlachtenhaufen

EDMOND — Thieves, it seems, will steal anything that is easy to haul away — including the state tree.

Earlier this week, an Edmond man returning from a two-week trip to Alaska noticed that three Cercis Reniformis “Oklahoma,” also known as the Oklahoma Redbud, were missing in the median at 33rd Street and Cheyenne Drive, according to a police report.

The Cheyenne Ridge Homeowners Association bought three of the trees, each worth $50. They were planted in early May.

On Wednesday, the homeowners association president was driving by the entrance when he noticed that someone had dug up the trees and they were gone. Police said the trees were stolen while he was away on vacation.

Cindy Townsend, assistant manager over the nursery at TLC Florist and Greenhouses, 105 W. Memorial Road, said the Oklahoma Redbud is one of the most popular trees the business sells. Townsend said their location sells several of them each day.

Townsend said based on her knowledge, thefts of the state tree are sporadic. Usually the type of trees taken are whatever the thief needs, and the thefts make it more difficult for people trying to maintain a nicely landscaped area, she said.

“It’s frustrating to me,” Townsend said. “I’m sad that it happened.”

Redbuds grow in Oklahoma valleys and ravines. In early spring, their reddish-pink blossoms brighten the landscape throughout the state. The three stolen trees, which can grow up to 20-25 feet, were about 5 feet tall, police said.

In other unrelated police news, in recent weeks several incidents of vandalism to flowerbeds in the area of the 3000 block of Amberwood Court have been discovered, according to a police report.

Sometime early Thursday morning someone pulled up about 10 flower garden lights, unhooked the electrical wires and threw them on the ground, police said. Nothing else was disturbed.

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