By Brent McCown
Forty-eight Sunnyside Elem-entary School second-graders huddled around their presents singing "O Christmas Tree" as a bitter cold wind whipped around them in the parking lot of their school Wednesday afternoon.
Their presents were two-year-old scotch pine seedlings donated by the Havre Parks and Recreation Department, Gary and Leo's IGA, Coca-Cola, Taco Johns and many other businesses in the spirit of Arbor Day.
The Hometown Tree program was one of the main pluses in getting the Tree City USA award for the 11th consecutive year, according to Dave Wilson, director of Havre's Parks and Recreation.
Sunnyside school was presented with a flag by Mark Lennon who is the regional community forester from Missoula.
They will be able to fly the flag for a couple of weeks.
The giving doesn't stop in Havre, though, as the Hometown Tree program branches out to area communities, such as Rocky Boy, Kremlin-Gildford, Blue Sky and some of the surrounding Hutterite colonies.
