Students cited for cutting down 40-year-old red oak

FROM IDS Reports

John Schoenheit, age 59, was driving down his steep driveway around 2:30 a.m. Thursday when his car windshield nearly collided into the 40-year-old Red Oak that now lay elevated across the road.

Four IU students were cited for cutting down the tree: Matthew K. Tatum, 19 of Indianapolis; Justin J. Holland, 19 of Granger, Ind.; Edward N. Coyle, 19 of Hinsdale, Ill.; and Christopher M. Knoff, 18 of Eden Prairie, Minn.

The incident occurred at Old Ind. 37 and North Fox Hollow Road.

Schoenheit’s neighbor, Brad Armes, blocked the students’ vehicle and called the Monroe County Sheriff’s office.

The sheriff on the scene estimated the damages to be $7,200, Schoenheit said. If damage to another’s property exceeds $2,500, the charge will be elevated from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class D felony, according to the Indiana Code on the state’s website.  Schoenheit is the president of Camp Vision, a Christian camp adjacent to his house, which owns the tree.        

“We try to do a lot of good for the community and God,” Schoenheit said. “It’s upsetting.”

This is not the first time the camp has dealt with vandalism. It has had signs ripped apart and stolen.

Last Tuesday morning, someone cut down a sugar maple tree.
The students said they cut the tree down for firewood; however, neighbors are skeptical, Schoenheit said.

Schoenheit is just happy that none of the neighbors or the students were injured, he said. Schoenheit cuts his own firewood in the winter and knows the danger of operating a chainsaw — doing so at night is even more dangerous, he said.

­— Alex Benson