The weekend is always exciting for students to look forward to after spending an entire week at school, doing homework, extracurricular activities, and studying for tests. The weekend of January 18th through the 20th was particularly special because it allowed students one more day to study and prepare for their upcoming finals. Although students were returning back to school on Tuesday after Martin Luther King Jr. day, they believed nothing would be waiting for them. No one had expected to return to a missing tree on the school’s campus, and rumors quickly began to sprout among staff and students.
The deeply missed tree had stood there for as long as staff members could recall. With its ingrained roots in the ground, it was a part of the school. The maple tree had signaled students and staff members of Sentinel of seasonal changes throughout its leaves it displayed. It was a home to many creatures that depended on its height and coverage for a safe and cozy home, but now those animals will have to migrate to the other standing tree with the possibility of losing that as a home as well. The school is unknown of the future plans, but removing more trees could be considered.
Staff members were bewildered at the thought of someone possibly trespassing and stealing a contribution to the school. The group of trees stood on the west side of the school, near the entrance closest to the cafeteria, also known as the courtyard.The stolen tree was surrounded by its family of trees but had stranded the others over the three day weekend. The tree will not be able to be planted there again and return to the family of trees in its entirety. Not only is something missing from the school, the school is missing a beautiful addition that spruces up its landscape.
One staff member was especially disturbed at the fact that something had gone missing without him being aware. Aaron Fessler, a Structured Learning Program math teacher, was one of the first who had noticed the maple’s disappearance. On Tuesday January 21st, Mr. Fessler had walked past where the tree had once stood, but had to look back: “What on Earth happened to the tree?”
Mr. Fessler has taken a specific interest in solving this mystery, coming up with multiple theories that bombarded his brain. He began questioning everything that had ever happened at his workplace. One of his hypotheses being that lumberjacks decided to gather extra material for the cold season, citizens around the neighborhood wanted a late Christmas tree, or someone had Earth Day and Arbor Day confused.
Fessler truly believes whoever did this was barking up the wrong tree, and he’s ready to show them that this isn’t a laughing matter. He believes this is a real life clue game, with him eliminating fellow people around the school as suspects. Others have shared a similar opinion. Sentinel Senior, Ashton Sanders is upset with the situation. She states that because ”the school already has a few trees near the bus loop, any tree growing there is important to the area”.
Although most people have the same thought, one science teacher who wishes to remain anonymous, disagrees with the situation. He believes that the missing tree doesn’t matter, and it wasn’t anything special due to the size and age of the tree. The bus loop is a small area with little to no biodiversity, so it was the better decision to tear it down then let it be.
The most logical theory is the maintenance crew. During the summer of 2024, there were multiple wind storms that exceeded over seventy miles per hour around the state of Montana. The storms had damaged several areas in Missoula County including dragging trees out of the ground and separating branches. Not many of Sentinel’s trees were damaged by the multiple wind storms during the summer, but this tree was one that was damaged and had to be dealt with.
People around the school are trying to solve this mystery. Even the school’s Assistant Principal, Craig Mettler, jumped in on the case. Mettler had studied the camera footage and confirmed that the Sentinel yard crew removed the tree due to it being uprooted. It didn’t take long, they hooked it up to a truck and removed it in approximately three to five minutes.
The most logical theory is the maintenance crew. During the summer of 2024, there were multiple wind storms that exceeded over seventy miles per hour around the state of Montana. The storms had damaged several areas in Missoula County including dragging trees out of the ground and separating branches. Not many of Sentinel’s trees fell subject to the storms, with a few of them blown down by the strong winds.
As you walk up toward the west side bus loop, there are tire tracks circling the old home of the tree. There were also footsteps leading up to the now empty hole, with dirt spewed over the snow and sidewalk.
There used to be two maple trees that stood in the bus loop, now there is only one. After the investigation and interviews of concerned students and staff, one clear question remains:who wood let this happen?
