"The old Mahogany and Almond trees are dying in Cruz Bay's Powell Park, across from the ferry dock.
In a letter to the Tradewinds, longtime St. John resident Paula Myles blames VI Senators, the Dept. of Agriculture and the Island Administrator for failing to act to help save the trees.
A year ago, "When the fencing was taken down to reveal our very pricey new park ... (we saw) deep wells built around the trees and filled with soil," Myles wrote. "A huge mistake which any beginning landscaper knows will rot the base of the tree and slowly kill it."
And that's what's happening, she said. "We sit on Powell Park's new benches, with their extra arm rests, in full sun, surrounded by leafless piteous giants, victims of political non-action."
Myles asked the Administrator for permission to remove the soil. "An easy job which with permission, any one of us would glady have done." However, she said she was told to wait for permission, wait for a plan, wait for a grant.
"A year has passed, and nothing's been done."