Republican activist accused of shooting at tree trimmers

[Judi Lynn]

Jan. 27, 2005, 11:56AM

Republican activist accused of shooting at tree trimmers
Associated Press


WACO - A longtime Republican Party activist has been indicted on charges of shooting at workers cutting down trees at her Woodway home.

Carolyn Payne Lomax, 63, was indicted Wednesday on two counts of aggravated assault in a 2004 incident when Asplundh Co. workers were trimming trees around utility lines for utility company Oncor.

Lomax has said no one from the company contacted her before workers "butchered" her trees. On previous occasions, a supervisor went to her property and oversaw the cutting when asked, she said.

This time, Lomax said, the workers appeared to be mocking her in Spanish. After repeated pleas, she said, she went inside and grabbed a .22-caliber pistol from a desk drawer.
(snip/...)

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3011938

[legally blonde]

2. Do Republicans

know how to solve problems without resorting to violence? :shrug:

[Blue_Tires]

23. shoot first, ask questions last

lol

[LiberalEsto]

3. Gee, and I thought the rethugs HATED trees

Was it Raygun or B*sh I who talked about killer trees?

[yellowcanine]

11. That would be Reagan. Said trees pollute more than cars. Why no one

suggested he shut himself in a garage with a running car while an environmentalist shut himself in a room with a "polluting" tree to put notion to the test, I 'll never know.

[paineinthearse]

31. Reagan was was partially right

http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/thisweek/story/0,12977,1214996,00.html

Do trees pollute the atmosphere?

Tim Radford
Thursday May 13, 2004
The Guardian

Yes, just as president Ronald Reagan said in 1981. "Trees cause more pollution than automobiles do," he opined. A little later, environmental scientists ruefully confirmed he was partially right. In hot weather, trees release volatile organic hydrocarbons including terpenes and isoprenes - two molecules linked to photochemical smog. In very hot weather, the production of these begins to accelerate.

more........

[yellowcanine]

43. No he was not - He said "more pollution" First of all, the fact that

trees release volatile organic hydrocarbons does not mean the emissions are in the same class or at the same levels as auto emissions. Secondly, trees release oxygen and absorb more carbon dioxide than they release through respiration. Again I say - if you want to go down this road then take the challenge I outlined above. Believe me, you will be more than "partially dead" while I will be just fine. Partially right my ass.

[jdj]

58. oh good god.

guess it's not the mercury spewing power plants after all.

[joefree1]

15. She thought they were tree huggers. eom

[tom_paine]

36. These weren't her trees, they were her property

Busheviks have ALWAYS loved their property, especially when that designation included human beings.

[KittyWampus]

4. Not To Excuse Her Behavior... But LIPA Butchers Trees Here As Well

and butcher is an understatement.

Irretrievably mutilate is more like it.

Why power companies can't be forced to invest in putting the electric lines below ground is beyond me.

They make enough money... and then when we have one of our many nor'easters we wouldn't lose power all the freaking time.

[sendero]

6. It could be because...

... people don't want to pay several thousand dollars each to pay for doing it. Do you have the slightest idea what it costs to do that kind of plant upgrade?

I have a better suggestion - don't plant trees in an electrical easement. If they don't cut them back , everyone will be bitching about all the power outages causes by trees.

[DS1]

9. How much does it cost to maintain underground wiring systems?

:shrug:

[sendero]

18. I get your point...

... I'm pretty sure that underground systems cost less to maintain than poles. For the most part, the biggest problems are contracters with backhoes digging where they shouldn't :)

Most new distributions are done underground, but that doesn't change the fact that if you already have poles and wires nobody wants to pay for pitching it and digging.

[alfredo]

37. I am alive today because a backhoe cut an underground line

I was at a construction site wiring a phone terminal. A truch with a drilling rig backed into a 13.2 line sending the high voltage down the phone line I was working on.

Luckily a backhoe operator cut the line a couple seconds before the incident. My supervisor ran down to the basement where I was working His face was white as a sheet. He screamed at me to get away from there. They figured I would be traumatized by the incident and gave me the day off.

[klyon]

41. Don't forget the underground creatures like moles and voles

they do damage to underground line as do other creatures that dig for food. Not planting under power lines solves the problem of butchered trees.

KL

[MADem]

53. And FLOODING

Those underground lines can get wet and corroded. I lived in a hood where they had to replace all of the lines for cable and phone due to heavy rains. Major pain in the ass, the outages were absurd.

[Mystified]

12. Why?

Why would a power company have to upgrade its generating plant in order to put neighborhood power lines underground? Besides, power companies have to go through the public utilities commission for rate approval. Why not have the commission approve aa temporary increase in rates to finance moving the power lines below ground?

However, I think this lady might have overreacted just a little bit!

[sendero]

16. Not the generating plant,...

... the outside plant. Trust me on this, taking down the poles and putting wires in the ground is EXPENSIVE. If they do it that way in the first place (as they are in most places), the cost is comparable to poles.

[Mystified]

22. Thanks for the info

I'm no electrical engineer so I don't understand the particulars. I figure it would be expensive to move above-ground cables below ground after the fact. However, I wonder if it may be more reliable and cost-effective in the long run?

[Walt Starr]

39. Yep, most new construction is buried cables

and believe me when I say, it's far preferable to ugly poles.

[NickB79]

47. You could still plant trees under powerlines

You just have to choose the species very carefully. There are many beautiful tree species that don't grow much over 20 ft tall in their lifetimes. You don't get the shade of a big tree, but a small well-shaped tree is better than a big disfigured one, IMO. Or, plant shrubs and flower gardens under powerlines instead.

[heidler1]

14. High voltage transmission lines must be above ground.

There is no way to insulate and line loss of power is much less with higher voltages. When I was in working in a power plant 2300V was the max. that I saw buried and it was dangerous. Thats why you see transformers where they tap off to serve a consumer.

[Boomer]

20. A woman I know works for the local power company...

... and she admitted that she would tell a resident anything they want to hear about protecting trees just to get them to agree to an easement, then ignore all promises later. She described one man who literally wept as her crew used chainsaws to cut down towering trees that were in their way.

I'd be tempted to get out a gun, too, to protect my trees.

[MadHound]

40. I hear you,

These tree trimmers that the electric company uses, Asphulundi of course, have no clue about when and how to trim trees properly. Nine out of the ten trees that have been subjected to their tender care around here wound up dying a short time later.

I've only had one time when they wanted to trim a tree of mine. I ponied up the cash to get a real tree trimmer to come out and do it. The tree is still alive and thriving.

[knitter4democracy]

68. Same here

They put a line through my mom's front woods, and you should've seen what they did to it one year. Mom'd been in a fight with them to leave it alone (still hadn't grown back from the last time, and no trees were threatening the lines), so what did they do? They waited until she was gone and came in a bush-hogged the entire space--at one foot or so above the ground. Then they left everything there, dead.

Mom and I both considered getting the shotgun out when we came back and saw the devastation. I honestly don't blame that woman.

[Ganja Ninja]

5. I think we can draw one conclusion from this.

Republican activism is a sign of mental illness.

[yellowcanine]

7. "the workers appeared to be mocking her in Spanish" . I suspect the

real reason Lomax got upset was because they were speaking Spanish and she couldn't understand them. (the reason why many wing nuts are pushing "English Only" by the way.) If she can't speak Spanish how does she know they were mocking her?

[KansDem]

26. I do believe you're correct...

I wondered about this Republican until I saw the word "Spanish" in the same article. Then it became all too clear...

[doodadem]

30. I know just enough Spanish

to be dangerous, after classes in high school, and 3 years of living in Calif. now. And yes--PGE has sent guys to my remote ranch before, with no identification, no way to explain who they are and what they're doing. I've found them just wandering around my place before, freaking my horses out. In the area we live, that's a good way to get yourself killed. And yes--I know when I'm being called a crazy bitch in Spanish.
PG&E has a habit of hiring sub-contract companies like this, and then giving them NO supervision. (See my other post below about the Asplund people). It's not just Asplund, I've had run-ins with several different companies here, contracted to do various things. They take the attitude that we can come on your property and do whatever the hell we want. When they run into someone like me, they get really pissy. I've had them go touring cross country, driving heavy trucks across wet pastures, tearing them up. I've had them do the same around my front gate. I've had them actually hop across my locked gates into my yard, and take a weed wacker to landscape plantings.
Furthermore, we live in an area of people like survivalists, etc. As I said, remote, backcountry in the mountains. Some of these folks shoot first, and ask questions later. When we first moved here, there were several shootings of trespassers, that ultimately ended up getting a sherrif's deputy killed.
Moral of this story--you don't go messing around on someone else's property without talking to them and making sure its ok first. Doesn't matter what kind of easement rights your company has. And yes--they do totally butcher trees unless you are right there to make sure they don't. We bought this ranch because it is heavily wooded and relatively untouched. Beautiful. No one is going to mess with that without me being right there, supervising. As I mentioned before, we finally got them straightened out--they don't come here without an appointment now, and usually with a PG&E supervisor in tow.

[yellowcanine]

44. Don't plant tall growing trees under power lines. I will concede that the

power company workers are sometimes poorly supervised and do stupid things. But people don't like when their power goes off during a storm either. If people insist on planting tall growing trees under power lines they are going to have to accept that the trees have to be cut back at some point and the result is not going to be pretty. There is no way to effectively protect a power line and do an acceptable job of pruning a tree that is just too big and is encroaching on the line. So some common sense has to be exeercised by homeowners as well.

[doodadem]

49. I didn't plant any of these trees

We're talking 100 year old blue or live oaks here.
I think the main problem comes from these unsupervised workers that want to hack off as much as they can so they don't have to come back as often. They don't care if it's healthy for the tree or not. If you actually get an arborist out, they are much more selective about what they take.

[knitter4democracy]

69. That's exactly right.

That, and they don't care what it looks like or how they leave it. My mom's front woods--that they chose to put the line through when it's always been there--looked as bad as when the tornado came through. Asplund is evil.

[jdj]

54. my guess is that the trees were there first.

by a long shot, no pun intended.

[hatrack]

8. Uh, Carolyn? It's called an "easement".

Look up the concept some time, if you're not too busy reloading. :eyes:

[DS1]

10. She should be up for attempted murder

Aggravated assault is ridiculous, you don't get black eyes from bullets that find their intended target.

Stupid cow.

[Conservativesux]

72. Rich Republicans think they can get away with murder...

....using a gun, of course.

She belongs in jail.

[warrens]

13. She's sure got a ballsy lawyer

His client shouldn't be charged for shooting at someone???? Good lord, he's got big brassy ones.

[spotbird]

17. No she's connected, doesn't the DA know?

"Judging from the phone calls I have received in support of Mrs. Lomax, I have serious concerns as to why this assistant district attorney would seek an indictment on this particular case, especially without communicating with me first on the matter," said her attorney, Abel Reyna.

I read that to say that the lawyer has received calls on his client's behalf from important people. The lawyer is saying someone as important as Lomax shouldn't be charged for shooting at Mexicans! I bet you a dollar the charges will be dropped once the DA gets calls from the people who have called her lawyer.

What is startling about the statement is that the lawyer doesn't even to pretend that it isn't influence that should prevent the charges.

[0rganism]

19. Anyone wonder what'd happen if an eco-activist shot bullets at linemen?

In Texas, no less?

A lynching, I suspect.

[Conservativesux]

66. Or at the very least, Tasered to death...

[blindpig]

21. ever see what those Asplundh people do to trees?

absolute butchery. Gotta keep the trees off the wires but geez, a nod towards aesthetics would be nice. Around here the well to do don't let them in their neighborhoods, consequently when we have a "weather event" those fools are out of power for a week.

[Judi Lynn]

24. She should be in jail this very moment as we post.

I used to dispise the tree trimming people, too. Just hated it when they devastated our trees until we have had to live without electricity for over a week a couple of times when ice-laden tree branches fell on the wires and ripped them down.

When you've lived with the results of how it goes without the hard work of these people, you never feel the same way about them again.

This Republican is a criminal. She should be pitched into the darkest cell in Texas after shooting at people who were trying to do their jobs. How dare she.

[Blue_Tires]

50. agreed

no matter what her dispute was, taking potshots at people trying to do their job was not the answer

[Conservativesux]

67. Attempted murder charges, perhaps?

[98geoduck]

25. They were just trying to keep up the "Healthy Forest Initiative"

You would have thought a Republican would have respected that.

[Piperay]

27. Sounds like a case of "eco-terrorism"

wonder why they don't charge her with that???...Oh yeah, that's right...she is a rethug. :think: It would be different if she was a real environmentalist then she would end up on a terror list.

[doodadem]

28. Laughing like crazy at this one!

When we were still in Ohio, I had a running battle going with the Asplund people over the exact same thing--wanting to come in and butcher my trees.
So I move 2,000 miles, out in the middle of nowhere. Guess who shows up within a couple months? The damn Asplund people! I was ready to grab my gun too!
At least they finally lost the contract here. Now it's a new company that I had to whip into shape as well. But now they don't come out without calling to make an appointment first, and they come with one (last time, two!) arborists from PG&E.

[smiley_glad_hands]

29. Power company has a right of way to their power lines.

They can do whatever they want to maintain those lines---absent putting them underground--they have to cut the trees. This woman must be prosecuted---these guys were doing their job within the law.

[jdj]

32. You know, I know she is a repuke, but older ladies go loco about their

trees. I'll never forget the day my grandmother charged down the street into a group of road workers shouting "I want to talk to Jack the Ripper." They just laughed at her so she repeated herself, at which point I think they were getting a little nervous, and she said "I want to know which one of you killed my weeping willow tree!"

Bless her heart. I don't ever think she would have shot at them, but you don't mess with older women and their plants, and these workers really do "butcher" these trees, they just don't care.

Guess I'm on the wrong side of the issue again.

[d.l.Green]

33. Not just old woman.

I live in a very historic city with many 100-200 year old trees. Because of urban blight the trees were neglected. Now that more people are paying attention and because of all the new cable and upgrading of phone lines that follow investment in these old neighborhoods, it's become an all out war between the utilities and the tree preservationists. They are hacking trees without regard to proper trimming that won't damage and eventually kill these grand old and irreplaceable trees. Additionally they are actually making the risk of breaking limbs falling on lines even greater. If I witnessed such a thing happening and they wouldn't stop I would've pulled the same thing- but I don't own a gun. I don't know what party affiliation has to do with this. Demo's can be short-sighted on this issue also.

[jdj]

38. thanks. I bet these guys had no regard for the trees.

they may not kill it outright but can damage it to a point that it will die eventually.

It's really sad they did not respect her enough to at least hear her out.

[yellowcanine]

45. See my other post #43. Power lines and big trees don't mix.

[jdj]

56. how about, don't put power lines around 100-200 year old trees?

or how about, know that these trees are priceless living relics and respect their historical value and know that your workers will have to handle them with care and train them to do so.

Did you know that hispanic workers suffer fatal accidents on the job at a rate highly disproportionate to their percent of the labor force? This is because of the language barrier which leads to poor training and understanding of their job requirements. These companies need to handle qualified bi-lingual trainers to fully explain both the technical and public relations part of their jobs so that they can handle themselves in the field. If they have to spell out "Don't mess with tree-loving, gun wielding ladies from Texas", then so be it. These guys should have been told to stop what they were doing and call a supervisor. Not doing this almost got them shot.

[superconnected]

52. but she didn't bring a gun and fire it

that takes a special kind of person.

[jdj]

57. in all fairness to my grandmother, the tree was already dead

had she been able to intercede sooner, who knows what she would have done.

[Candide]

34. "I am the Lomax. I speak for the trees!"

hahahaaaaa!

[Stuckinthebush]

46. LOL!

Good one.

:D

[bushisanidiot]

35. Guns don't kill people. Republicans with guns kill people

idiots.

[Tyler Durden]

42. Texas again.

This be my shocked look.

[Gold Metal Flake]

48. This time, Lomax said, the workers appeared to be mocking her in Spanish.

Paranoid much?

[superconnected]

51. sounds like the common mentality of a republican

[VegasWolf]

55. Waco, Texas. End of story. n/t

[Conservativesux]

65. Where were all those brave gunowners in Waco who..

..always complain about the branch davidian church standoff, but didnt do anything about this event, when they had the chance ?

No, its much easier to just shoot at unarmed workers doing thier jobs.

Texas=Red-State.

What else do we need to know ?

[Conservativesux]

59. Republican activist accused of shooting at tree trimmers

Jan. 29, 2005

Republican activist accused of shooting at tree trimmers

Associated Press

WACO, TX - A longtime Republican Party activist has been indicted on
charges of shooting at workers cutting down trees at her Woodway
home.

Carolyn Payne Lomax, 63, was indicted Wednesday on two counts of
aggravated assault in a 2004 incident when Asplundh Co. workers
were trimming trees around utility lines for utility company
Oncor.

Lomax has said no one from the company contacted her before
workers "butchered" her trees. On previous occasions, a supervisor
went to her property and oversaw the cutting when asked, she said.


This time, Lomax said, the workers appeared to be mocking her in
Spanish. After repeated pleas, she said, she went inside and
grabbed a .22-caliber pistol from a desk drawer.

"I went back out in the yard and I said, 'I have a gun. Get off of
my property. You're trespassing,'" Lomax said. "They laughed, and
they continued to cut."

Lomax said she fired two or three shots and called police to
report the trespassing.

Rest of story at:

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3011938

[CatholicEdHead]

She forgot about right of way laws

so as long as the trimmers are there on behalf of the power company, they have the right to be there.

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[seriousstan]

60. Tree hugger in Rep clothing

[LostInAnomie]

61. Hmmm... How ironic.

Maybe she should hold her president to the same standards. He owns a lumber company, don't ya know.

[madrchsod]

62. that is funny!!

i bet those workers were calling her some interesting names.....but these guys do whack the crap out of trees and yet the trees seem to grow back every year.

[BrklynLiberal]

63. Sounds like she drank a bit too much of the Koolaid and she went over

the deep end into Paranoia. Nothing like a Republican Paranoid with a gun!!!!

[noamnety]

64. Gotta love the pro-lifers!

1. fetus
2. trees on their own property

(snip)

583. Trees in national forests
584. Military troops
585. Veterans
586. Spanish speaking workers
587. Iraqi civilians

[Judi Lynn]

74. Great post. They only feel protective toward a very few people.

Everyone else has to get out of the way. Don't stand between them and their wishes, no matter how slight or insignificant.

[Jack_DeLeon]

70. Wow, Repub tree huggers...

seem to be pretty effective at protecting trees. lol.

[Bouncy Ball]

71. How in the HELL would she know they were "mocking her in Spanish"

if she didn't understand Spanish?

Asshole.

I don't care HOW she feels about her trees, she has NO RIGHT to go shooting at people.

I swear to God, these repukes and their fucking guns. I own two of them and I wouldn't get them out and start shooting unless someone was clearly trying to HURT MY FAMILY.

[Nitrogenica]

73. HATE and FEAR rule her world!

[VegasWolf]

75. She was just practicing so that when her insanity completely

engulfs her she will be a good shot.