City moves to fight tree blight

Havre city officials may soon have more authority to fight diseased and blighted trees on city and private property.

The city council's Ordinance Committee gave tentative approval to legislation that would give Parks and Recreation officials the authority they say they need. Lawyers will compile changes made during Tuesday's meeting, and the ordinance will be voted on at the next meeting. The date has not been set.

But the ordinance will not include a provision that opponents feared gave the city unilateral permission to enter public property. Those concerns were rectified during a meeting Tue...