Tim Lea deserves a tip of the hat - and grateful waves from many leafy boughs. County Commissioner Lea may have found himself on the short end of numerous 4-1 votes in recent months. But he quickly mobilized 4-0 unanimity (with one colleague absent) in favor of his imaginative idea to rescue a great many noble crape myrtle trees by removing them from the U.S. 1 median and transplanting them to several county sites.

The word "quickly" is operative here. The wheels of government typically grind slowly. That's why it was so refreshing to see the lightning speed with which events unfolded after the county decision. Before you knew it, powerful rigs with clamshell diggers were plucking dozens of otherwise doomed trees out of the ground and transporting them to more welcoming locations where they can enjoy a new lease on life.

Hearty thanks for this praiseworthy mission go out to county crews, McCrimmon Landscaping, Riley Paving, the Moore Parks Foundation, Barnhill Construction - and Tim Lea.