Gone but perhaps not forgotten — that’s the root of an idea under consideration by Tree Board.

Following removal of towering trees that lined the driveway into Longshore Club Park in January, the question was raised by some members of the last Tree Board about where that wood was going to go.

Now the board, which has new members appointed by First Selectman Jim Marpe, are joining with recently named Tree Warden Bruce Lindsay to consider options for repurposing the logs. One suggestion from Lindsay is to seek ideas from a business that creates furnishings and other objects from the wood of historic and noteworthy trees.

“City Bench is a company based in Higganum, Connecticut, that builds hand-crafted furniture and other art objects from revered trees,” said Susan LeDonne, the board’s new chairwoman. “These guys are artisans.”

While she stressed that discussion is in its early stages, the hope is that wood from some of those trees could not only be given to townspeople for firewood or other uses, but that some pieces could be crafted into benches or other objects. These, in turn, could be displayed in town buildings, or possibly auctioned to help raise money for the town to purchase new trees.

“We still have a lot of details and we’d still like to figure out a lot of things, (but) I think it’s a great idea,” LeDonne said.

“It’s really recycling when you come down to it,” she said, noting that if a tree is not particularly noteworthy it could be made available as firewood, while “where it’s really an important tree, and people want in some way to remember it or memorialize it, people can have it made into something.”

“Although the Tree Board cannot fund the purchasing of hand-crafted furniture, it is investigating opportunities to gain funding through private donations, etcetera,” she said.

Following the removal of trees along Main Street at the end of 2012, the part-time tree warden and town came under fire. Part of the issue was the apparent failure to follow procedures by the Downtown Merchants Association in moving forward with the project.

That, in turn, led the Tree Board and then-First Selectman Gordon Joseloff to seek extra funds for the Department of Public Works budget to expand the tree warden position to full time. Lindsay was named to the post last November.

As the newly named Tree Board members move forward, part of their mission is to address concerns that engulfed municipal tree care — or lack of it — in recent years.

“We have many amazing programs that the Tree Board and my office are working on,” said Lindsay. “Most of them are in their infancy, though, and we don’t have a lot of data to support our efforts yet.”

“Bruce, the new tree warden, is really on top of things,” said Ed Picard, vice chairman of the Tree Board.

“There’s been a lot of criticism about trees that were taken down in the past,” he said. “Bruce’s goal is to plant 100 new trees this year,” he said, and the board intends to try to help find funding to make that happen.

“It’s about keeping Westport green,” Picard said.

“He’s going to do a lot of positive, good things,” LeDonne said of Lindsay. “I think instead of all this negative stuff that’s been going on these last few years, this is a chance to turn it around.”

A popular and respected couple in Moore County education have announced their joint retirement at the end of the current school year.

West Pine Middle School Principal Candace Turk and her husband, Southern Pines Elementary counselor David Turk, are retiring after six years of service each to the school system. David Turk will end his duties in June, with his wife to follow in July.

“I have really mixed feelings about leaving Moore County Schools,” said Candace Turk, who assumed the principal’s position at West Pine in 2008. “I love the teachers, the parents and the children, and while I’m sad to go I feel really good about what’s happening here at West Pine Middle. I know that the staff will carry on and do an incredible job no matter who is in the principal’s position.” 

The Turks came to Moore County in 2008 after leaving Duplin County Schools, where Candace was the assistant superintendent for Human Resources and Operations for two years. Prior to that she was Duplin County Schools’ director of human resources, and served as the principal of East Duplin High School in Beulaville from 2004 to 2005. She was voted Duplin County Principal of the Year for the 2003-2004 school year.

“At the beginning of my career I wanted to be a teacher, and I worked in the classroom for awhile, but there came a time that because of what I saw in the schools that I knew I could make a bigger impact in administration,” she said. “I miss the classroom, and I will miss the one-on-one moments with students that I was sometimes able to do as principal.”

Turk said that she would like to return to a school environment part-time in order to assist first-year teachers in adjusting to what can be a “difficult and demanding” profession.

“One essential element that I think first-year teachers have to remember is that all decisions have to be based on what is best for the students, not the teacher,” she said. “Not only in the classroom, but everything associated with the school has to be for them.

“Most first-year teachers have a real passion for their jobs, but not all grasp this essential point. I would encourage those teachers to ask themselves questions, and to give themselves time. They should also remember that if they want their students to succeed, they need to get to know those students.”

David Turk described his work as a school counselor at Southern Pines Elementary School as the “fourth career” of his life.

“I am from a farming family in upstate New York and consider that as my first career, and later I became an ordained minister,” he said. “The ministry sent me to Greenville, North Carolina to coordinate activities, which is where I was living when I met Candace.”

The couple married in 1976, and after 15 years in the ministry David decided to make a career change.

“I worked on a dairy farm as a kid, and I thought that experience would translate to running a successful landscaping business,” he said. “Candace and I moved to the Burlington area and managed this until 1990, when we moved to Greene County and earned our advanced degrees at ECU. She obtained a doctorate in education while I received a master’s degree in counseling followed by an education specialist’s degree in the same field.”

Colleagues of the two expressed both sadness and well wishes about the couple’s pending departure.

“David is a quiet worker, someone who doesn’t seek fanfare for what he does, and he works quietly from the heart,” said Southern Pines Elementary School Principal Marcy Cooper. “He prepares the yearbook each time, he does a slideshow in our office, and wants to do what he can for everyone.

“We will miss him a lot, but hope he and and his wife have a great time in retirement.”

Barbara Levin, an AIG teacher at West Pine Middle School, expressed similar sentiments about Candace Turk.

“She has been wonderful to work for, and one of the great characteristics about Ms. Turk is that she believes in the potential of every student and every teacher here,” she said. “West Pine Middle School is a great place for a student to be, and Ms. Turk has done a fabulous job at creating a culture that is responsive to individual students’ needs in order to capitalize on that to bring out the best in everyone.

“She has also empowered the teachers here, in part by being a leader who is willing to advocate new ideas if there is a good rationale for doing so. I don’t forsee this culture that she has fostered going away, even after she has retired.”

The Turks “absolutely” have plans after retirement, Candace said.

“We have a fifth wheel camper waiting for us in upstate New York, and we are going to tour New England and then see our children, who are in Texas, Montana and Nicaragua,” she said.

David said that despite their travels, home will still be waiting.

“We anticipate having Moore County remain our home,” he said. “Having been raised on a farm, I’ll probably spend a lot of time outdoors. I probably won’t start another business, though. Since a business can run you, rather than the reverse, at 66 I’d prefer not having that kind of responsibility.”

In honor of National Small Business Week, Shop Talk reporter Virginia Bridges asked owners to share what federal, state or local government officials could do to make it easier for them to start or run a small business. This is what they said.

• “They need to partner with larger companies in an effort to provide local publishable events that are free for entrepreneurs and small businesses (and) are a catalyst for professional knowledge sharing, nonmonetary partnerships and education,” said Michael Georgiou, chief marketing officer and co-founder of Imaginovation, a website and software development and design firm in Raleigh. “In turn, this collaboration of talent and services will grow every business, even the large companies that government officials partner with for each event.”

• “Most small businesses have unique challenges that vary by industry and/or by revenue size but do not have the luxury of lobbyist support,” said Kimberly Lewey, co-owner of Lewey Landscaping LawnCare, a residential and commercial landscaping company in Raleigh. “A panel or committee of the typical North Carolina small-business owners meeting with local and/or state legislators would help keep the focus directed on small businesses rather than who is making the most noise.”

• “In 2012 and 2013, as a small business we were able to benefit greatly from the Small Business Tax credit,” said Danielle Thompson, chief executive officer of Thompson Digital Holdings, a short message marketing, mobile app and website development firm in Cary. “In 2014 this has expired and makes it harder for a small business to grow and invest based on the new tax changes. … Seeing this tax credit return in the future would greatly benefit us as a company.”

• “If North Carolina has a healthy arts budget, then my arts-based business is more likely to succeed. I’ll see more opportunities in programs, grants and services,” said Alice Osborn, owner of Write from the Inside Out, a Raleigh business that provides editing, writing and speaking services. “As an arts educator who works with many local and state nonprofits … it’s important that I advocate with local and state legislators for a fair N.C. Arts Council budget. After all, we are the ‘Creative State’ and strong arts funding produces smarter students, skilled jobs and cultural tourism.”