Elm trees sprout up on governor’s bad side

Monday, Nov. 8, 2004 | 9:30 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn apparently really hates elm trees -- wherever they are.

"They are like a junk yard dog -- a bad dream," Guinn said Friday during a meeting of the state Board of Examiners.

The examiners -- Guinn, Attorney General Brian Sandoval and Secretary of State Dean Heller -- were approving a $12,000 contract for Terminix of Las Vegas to provide exterior and interior rodent and pest control services at the state Veterans Home in Boulder City.

Guinn said part of the contract calls for yearly spraying of 15 elm trees on the campus of the home. He complained that when it is windy, sap is blown from the elm trees onto nearby cars or buildings.

Guinn's animosity may be misdirected, however. Chuck Fulkerson, director of the state's Veteran Affairs Administration, said he didn't think there are any elm trees at the veterans home.

But he agreed with the governor that elm trees "are troublemakers." Fulkerson noted that they have been banned in Reno for 30 years. They do spew sap, and their roots break through sidewalks and sprinkler systems, he said.

Fulkerson also said the governor may have misspoken about the Terminix contract. Fulkerson said the contract with Terminix does not provide for any landscaping. Terminix only does pest control and not any spraying of the trees, he said. The Boulder City Parks and Recreation Department takes care the landscaping chores, he said.

Darrell Hansen, administrative service officer at the veterans home who signed the Terminix contract, said it provides pest treatment only for inside and outside buildings. Terminix will not spray any trees, he said.

And he doesn't think there are any elm trees at the home. "This is all desert landscaping," he said.

State Budget Director Perry Comeaux said the community of Boulder City landscaped the campus and if the trees are there, they may have been donated.

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