Trees

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Curly willows are decorative trees and they can also prevent top soil runoff.  Fassnight Farm owner Dan Bigbee is planting them on his property along Fassnight Creek to protect his land from soil erosion. "I've lost about 2 to 2-1/2 feet of soil," Bigbee said in his weekly gardening feature on KY3 News at Noon on Wednesday. The trees are also easy to grow.  "I planted one back in the spring and it's more than three feet tall," said Bigbee. If you're looking for fruits and vegetables that are locally grown, you can find them at the farmer's market at Battlefield Mall this Saturday.

BRANSON, Mo. -- The holidays can bring an abundance of certain types of trash, especially wrapping paper and gift boxes.  All the Christmas cards sold each year in the U.S. could fill a football field 10 stories high.  That's why environmental specialists ask people in the Ozarks to think twice before throwing things in the trash.  'Tis the season to be jolly -- with festive meals, elaborate presents, and Christmas trees.  Once the fun is...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.-- Many gardeners were on high alert on Friday morning as a frost advisory was in place across the Ozarks. Frost season isn't officially over until May 10. For any flowers you might have in pots, make sure to bring those inside before nightfall. If you have something in a garden or flower bed, the best thing to do is cover those plants with blankets. Workers at Wickman's Nursery say a lot of people ask about their flowering trees. The frost won't hurt them but you can cover them too. "If you have a small flowering bush or tree, you might be able to cover it and save your blooms," said Pat Scammahoren of Wickman's Nursery.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Despite the cold on Thursday, many are just thankful we're not dealing with an inch to an inch-and-a-half of ice on everything.  The ice storm of 2007 changed the way many of us prepare for winter weather. Nita and Leonard Clough's house got just a trace of snow on Thursday.  Five years ago, the whole place was covered with ice.  "When I think of the ice storm, I think of the noise.  We had a whole field of trees out back and, all night long, it sounded like a war zone," said Leonard.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.-- An old rail yard near downtown Springfield is well on its way to being restored.  The area north of College Street between Fort and Grant is well on its way to becoming the west end of Jordan Valley Park, known as the West Meadows. One truck load at a time, crews are hauling away contaminated soil. "We've had environmental contamination just from all the industrial uses of the former rail yard.  Since the turn of the century, there were all kinds of machine shops, paint factories," says Olivia Hough, Senior Planner with the City of Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo --  Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, it's time to put up the Christmas Tree. But be warned: there could be a steep price with beauty - dozens of house fires every year in the Ozarks are caused by Christmas trees. If you plan to have a real Christmas tree in your house this holiday season, firefighters want to remind you of a few things. Before you buy any tree, make sure you tap it to the ground.  If a lot of needles fall, firefighters say get another one.  Needles falling means the tree is dry and can easily catch on fire.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Hundreds of young Missourians will have the chance to go to work this summer with the State Parks Youth Corps program. The program employs residents between ages 17 and 23 in jobs at Missouri's state parks and historical sites. The goal is to put about 500 young people to work from June 1 through the end of September.  Applications for the program will begin being accepted online on the state of Missouri website on Tuesday, May 1.  “The State Parks Youth Corps has been of tremendous benefit to our state parks and historic sites in its first two years, and we want to keep that positive momentum going in 2012,” Gov. Nixon said.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.  -- Licensed landfills in Missouri can't accept natural Christmas trees.  Here are three places in the city where you can take them. BASS PRO Bass Pro will accept trees at the fenced area at the northwest end of the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World parking lot directly behind the store at 1935 S. Campbell Ave. Dates accepted: Dec. 26-Jan. 1 Hours: Noon to 6 p.m. daily Fee: $2 or more per tree donation; benefitting the Boy Scouts' local Order of the Arrow lodge Uses: Trees are used for fish habitat Special Instructions: Remove all icicles, ornaments, tree stand and no flocked trees accepted.

It's a month-long push to help local kids in need have a Merry Christmas. From now through December 22, the Salvation Army has teamed up with local Walmart and K-Mart stores for it's annual Angel Tree benefit. Customers can take a tag off the trees located at the front of the store, buy the items listed and drop them off in the donation boxes when they leave.      The toys and blankets will be distributed just before Christmas.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A line of thunderstorms that moved through the Ozarks on Tuesday caused some minor damage to trees and a few buildings.   Later, the rain in the storm system flooded some streets. In Osceola, the St. Clair County sheriff says his call-takers heard about some damage to barns, power lines and possibly other structures southeast of Osceola along Highway TT near Gerster.   Sheriff Scott Keeler sent his deputies to look for the damage but they didn't find anything more than downed trees.