REEDLEY, Calif. (KMPH) -
He may be just a boy, but he's already trying to make a difference in his community.
A Reedley kid is asking the city not to chop down more than a dozen palm trees planted more than a century ago by the city's founder.
The city says it wants to widen a main road into Reedley, and about 15 trees are in the way.
"They've been here for over 110 years. Now they want to knock them down to make a wider road," said 10-year-old Matthew Casarez.
He may only be in the fourth grade, but he's well versed in his hometown's history.
"In 1894 our founder Thomas L. Reed came to this area, and in 1888, he bought 1,260 acres for $51,000," said Casarez.
The palm trees that line Reed Avenue were planted in the 1890's.
Matthew is the oldest member of a group called the Reedley Urban Explorers, and is embarking on his first act of community service - trying to convince the city to preserve these palm trees.
"I would be sad and a little mad that they would ignore the founder's plan that he wanted these trees to be here," said Casarez.
Reedley's city engineer says up to 13,000 cars pass through the intersection of Manning and Reed every single day.
The solution on the table now, is to make this 2-lane road into a 4-lane road, and move 10-15 palm trees in front of Reedley College.
"We understand those trees are very important to the city, unfortunately we have to come up with a solution to the traffic congestion out there," said Noe Martinez, Reedley's city engineer.
"Our intent is to keep them along the Reed corridor," said Martinez.
Matthew says he can see this city's point of view, but says he has to do something to keep these historic roots intact.
"We do have traffic problems in this part, because we do have the college and the high school over there, but they should have another plan," said Casarez.
The city engineer says they plan to hold more public workshops to get community input before deciding on a final plan to widen the road.
Arborists have also been called to help the city to safely relocate the palm trees.
