COVINGTON, KY - Friday, September 23, Duke Energy presented the City of Covington with a $2000 check to donate towards the tree replacement efforts on Holman Avenue. The ceremony takes place at the corner of Robbins Street and Holman Avenue, near the location where the incident took place.
On July 7, 17 trees were cut down on Holman Avenue in an act of vandalism. The Covington community quickly responded and took action to raise funds to replant and repair the trees.
Duke Energy’s District Manager, Government & Community Relations, Rhonda Whitaker explained why the company was compelled to make the generous donation. She stated, “Duke Energy’s vegetation management practices are important to ensure electric reliability for our customers. As part of our efforts, we work closely with many of our local communities and their urban forestry programs.
“When we heard about the group of Covington residents that joined together to plant ornamental trees along Holman Avenue, only to have their hard efforts disregarded by an act of vandalism, we called the City to see if support from our Duke Energy Foundation could assist with replanting.
“We know that planting the right types of trees in the right locations, near our power lines, helps to avoid unnecessary future trimming. And beyond planting the right trees, it’s just sad to see that someone would not value the time and hard work of so many volunteers to improve their community. We hope our contribution will encourage these volunteers to not give up.”
Mayor Sherry Carran stated, “The City is extremely grateful to receive this donation from Duke Energy. These trees were very important to Covington. It’s great to see the community band together to turn a wrongful act into a major success story.”
Westside Action Coalition (WAC) President Mark Young and Vice President Holly Young were also be in attendance at the check presentation. The neighborhood group has also been instrumental in efforts to replace the trees on Holman Avenue.
WAC Vice President Holly Young stated, “The Westside Neighborhood Association has raised over $6000 for the tree replanting efforts in the weeks following the Holman Avenue vandalism, including large donations from Duke Energy, the R.C. Durr Foundation, Keep Covington Beautiful, Renaissance Covington, and several dozen individual contributions from local residents and businesses.”
The community will come together again on October 22 for “Make a Difference Day” to plant more than 50 trees from Main Street to Bakewell Street and from Twelfth Street to Pike Street. Donations towards tree replanting efforts can be made to The Center for Great Neighborhoods at 321 W. MLK Jr. Blvd. on behalf of the Westside Action Coalition.