Heritage Mall white oak

The story: The landmark white oak at Heritage Mall is about 300 years old and appeared in good health in October 2005, following what some said was a severe pruning. They worried about the tree’s future after two large limbs broke off and a company was called in to remove a number of rotten branches. After the pruning, Buena Vista Arbor Care Co., which took care of the tree for about 13 years, contacted the city’s forester with concerns that the tree was cut back too much. The tree is one of Albany’s designated Heritage Trees.

The latest: The city’s arborist Craig Carnagey said he looked at the tree recently and it was his opinion “the tree is still relatively healthy but showing some slight signs of stress. There is quite a bit of dead wood in the crown that the mall should have pruned out.” Other than that, he said the tree has seen better days but probably will be around several more years. Gordon Dobbsterstein, the mall’s general manager, said the mall continually monitors trees on the property and “relies on services as necessary.”

Cathy Ingalls

Veterans Home

The story: In April 2010, the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs announced that a 150-bed veterans home would be constructed in Lebanon on 10 acres of the Samaritan Health Sciences Campus. Linn County was one of six cities/counties that had made proposals to site the home. Linn County voters approved a 19 cents per $1,000 property tax levy to raise $12 million to be used as matching funds for the project.

The latest: Friday, the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs issued a Request for Proposals to select an architectural and engineering firm to design, engineer and provide consulting services for construction of the home. Application deadline is 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 30. The project has an estimated cost of about $30 million. More information can be found at http://orpin.oregon.gov

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Alex Paul