FUNDS NEEDED TO MAKE STUMP ART

JACKSON, Mo. -- Artist August Birk soon will begin turning a stump on the Jackson Chamber of Commerce lawn into a sculpture of an Indian brave.

Birk has completed his most recent sculpture, a golfer at the Cape Girardeau Country Club, and is working on the design of the Indian brave that will honor the Jackson High School Indians.

The Jackson Chamber of Commerce still needs to raise $1,700-$2,000 to pay for the project, but Chamber Beautification Committee Chairman Joe Sherinski said the project is proceeding. "We'll get the money," he said.

Megan Thiele, a junior at Jackson High School, submitted the winning drawing of an Indian brave that Birk will transform into a wooden sculpture. The drawing was chosen by Thiele's art teacher, Wanda Jung, from those created by Jackson High School art students.

The project was suggested earlier this year by Jackson City Administrator Steve Wilson after pruning killed a 50-foot pin oak in front of the Chamber office on East Main Street. A procedure called "topping" or "de-horning," likened by Sherinksi to an amputation, was used on the tree.

An 11- or 12-foot stump remains for Birk to sculpt. The stump is 44 inches in diameter.

Sculpting a stump that still has roots presents special problems, Sherinski says, because as the roots rot the tree rots. "There is no way to prevent it."

One option is to cut the stump off and place it on a pedestal. Birk also has experimented with different kinds of wood preservatives.

The total cost of the project, which includes reducing the tree to a stump, is estimated at $3,000-$3,500. Donation checks can be made to Community Coalition and mailed to the Jackson Chamber of Commerce, 125 E. Main St. 63755.