INDIANOLA – Demolition on the old, moldy and deteriorating Warren County Courthouse has finally begun. But the county’s decision to get rid of all the trees on the property isn’t sitting so well with some residents.
“They stood tall so everyone could see them.” But the majestic trees on the Indianola square are now gone. “We will miss the trees, that’s for sure.”
Sally Houglend has lived in town for more than 60 years. She says the lush bushes have been a staple of the city. “Just how pretty they fix them at Christmas time and they’ve just always look nice.”
Over the years, Local 5 has reported on the unsafe conditions at the Warren County Courthouse. It was cramped, moldy, and leaky. County officials say knocking down the handful of trees is just part of phase one of rebuilding the crumbling building.
“The way I look at it, we are building a new building today that’s really going to impact our future generations,” says Brenda Easter with the Indianola Chamber of Commerce.
Easter says despite her being ecstatic for the new courthouse, she sympathizes with the numerous people who think knocking down the trees was a terrible idea. “Whenever you lose something like that it pulls at your heart strings a bit.”
According to Easter, county officials wrestled with the idea of tearing down the 50-year-old trees,
but construction crews said it had to be done. “We have a lot of big machinery that are coming in and out of there and it would be very difficult for them to navigate a big tree.”
When construction is complete, crews say they will work to replant some tree’s back.
Due to the age of the Warren County Courthouse, crews will be taking the building down piece by piece. The new complex will cost $30 million.