Annual Fire Hazard Returns to State Capitol

I was at the capitol this morning attending to a little business, and I was again distressed to see that the trees are back in the capitol building. I don't know how or when the tradition started, but the trees have been in Pierre since at least the Janklow administration. I remember Dottie Howe being in charge of the project in the 80's; and she may well have been in charge of it longer than that. My youth recalls a tastful display of maybe twenty trees with a large tree in the center. I even remember going up to the capitol to see them, and actually thinking that they were a beautiful addition to our statehouse.

But my how times have changed. The 70 and 80's saw a decrepit capitol refurbished to the tune of several million dollars, bringing it's natural beauty out in time for the 1989 SD Centennial. After restoration was complete the capitol was appraised at a value of over 100 million dollars; an amount which has almost certainly increased. But even if the state had that kind of money, the building could never be replaced as it stands. Much of the woodwork in the Senate and House chambers is of African Mahogany, a tree which has since become extinct. Pillars in the rotunda are made of scagliola, a process which has been described to me as an almost lost art. Not to mention the amount of original artwork in the building whose artists have passed away many generations ago.

And the trees have changed as well. Instead of a tasteful display, it seems that every organization or group in the state is represented; the display has engulfed not just one, but three floors. Every corner of the building which looks as if it can hold a tree, now holds two. And the first thing that greets the eyes when entering the rotunda is a sign which says "Fire Extinguishers provided by Smith's fire extinguishers." You see despite all it's ammenities, there is one thing the capitol doesn't have, and that is a fire supression system; at least not one capable of extinguishing a forest fire. And a forest fire is essentially what we would have if one of these tree would go up. Because even though they are beautiful on the outsite with flocking and electric light, on the inside these trees are dry and brittle and extremely flammable.

I wonder what the state would say if one began to stack piles of kindling around the capitol and decorate them with gasoline and matchstick. Because this, in my opinion. is what we do every year at Christmas time. I am a little dissappointed that our government feels that this is an appropriate risk to take with our state history. I can't imagine that any insurance policy would cover the loss of this landmark due to such negligence. I don't know what the solution is, but there must be a better one than the current plan.

You may think I am a scrooge, but I am a scrooge who cares more about over 100 years of history, than he does about a pile of tinsel and pine needles.

Rusty