I can only hope that the vote by the Hanover City Council last night finally drove a proverbial stake through the heart of the beastly plan to destroy the trees in Settler's Park for the ball field redesign project! We will remain cautiously vigilant....and continue to keep you posted. I want to send a special shout out to Stephanie and Marty! They both attended the city council meeting with me last night. We each separately addressed the council during the citizen's forum in an attempt to make them see reason. I'd like to believe our efforts had an effect and made a difference. Kudos to all of those who have stood up and supported our position. I'd also like to recognize Councilor Warpula and Councilor Hallstein for having the courage to vote against the resolution to accept the $50,000 donation from the Athletic Association which was earmarked for the project. I can only say that when it was announced that the resolution had been defeated, we felt relief and elation that at least for now, the trees would remain. I realize emotions have run very high during this entire ordeal so I don't necessarily blame the mayor and other meeting attendees for taking out their frustration on us but I assure you of at least one thing, in spite of what Mayor Kauffman says, the Hanover Historical Society is NOT the reason this project won't be completed as originally planned. Our organization and the citizens who opposed this project have reached out multiple times to the powers-that-be in an attempt to reach ANY compromise that would not include the destruction of the bur oak grove. I sincerely hope that the U16 Hanover Youth Baseball team finds a viable alternate location, perhaps on the Athletic Association's ball fields, to play their home games. I think it's important to remember that the 2 ball fields built specifically for the children of the Hanover Youth Ball program will also remain. And the majestic trees of the park, will be silently cheering them on as they play.