It's got me stumped...

Question: When does examination of a felled tree's stump provide evidence of how healthy the tree was?
Answer: Only when it helps CEO Tim Clynch to concoct a story.


At the recent Annual Meeting of Electors, we the people, asked the Council to refer to authorities two cases of illegal cutting down of native (jarrah) trees; one by Shire employees, another by a resident.

Clynch told the councillors there was nothing untoward about the staff cutting down a tree because it was diseased and in danger of falling on someone.

'Ecological Equity:  The condition of the tree, being diseased (rotten) removed any ecological values that tree may have had.' he told councillors.  No action taken in regard to this incident.

But in the case of the tree chopped down by a citizen, under the same (strange) heading of Ecological Equity, Clynch told them: 'Inspection of the stump and trunk of the subject tree has occurred and the tree appears to have been a reasonably healthy specimen.'  This incident was reported to authorities.

Well, here are photos of the stumps of both trees.  Both look very similar to me.  See if you can guess which tree was supposed to be "diseased (rotten)" and which one was declared healthy..

Councillors should ask themselves why the appearance of the stump was reported to them in one case to support a view about the health of the tree in question, but not referred to in the other case.
Sooner or later you would hope at least some of them might realise they are being sold snake-oil.