ARBOR DAY

Arbor Day Celebration cut short when students at Stafford Elementary found an underground electrical line.

Assistant Principal Ben Knowles said the power line was new. "We had some cheap labor in here, and they dug up this area to put in security lights. The kids had all these trees to plant, and of course they went for the soft ground. I really thought [the laborers] would have buried the lines a little deeper."

Knowles' quick action is credited with saving at least one boy's life. "The Dobbin kid is hyperactive, but this time he really had something to jump about." Knowles knocked the boy free of the line using a shovel. "Something I learned in Boy Scouts years ago." However, the power line was not live.

Dobbin's parents were a little less understanding, but eventually conceded that the boy probably had a good conk coming. "First we were going to sue, but then we saw how behaved the boy was. We'll call it break even."

Stafford Elementary has 97 of the 100 maple trees available. Anyone interested may pick them up from the basketball court. Mind the wires!