Slidell gets tree from Ohio city

Like the Ohio buckeye sapling sent to Slidell from it’s sister city, Zanesville, Ohio, the friendship between the two municipalities continues to grow.

Last Tuesday, city officials gathered in Possum Hollow Park to dedicate the tree and a concrete marker that reads: To all our friends in our sister city, this buckeye tree has been donated by the Zanesville Hurricane Relief Team. The marker is signed by Zanesville Mayor Howard “Butch” Zwelling, and the co-chairmen of the Zanesville Hurricane Relief Team, Fred Buck and Greg Hamilton.

Ever since Hurricane Katrina, the Zanesville administration and its residents have been sending down supplies, volunteer workers and equipment to help Slidell recover from the storm.

“They’ve been back several times since then, and we’ve developed a true friendship with them. We owe them so much,” Slidell Mayor Ben Morris said.

The city of Slidell is so grateful, that if Zanesville is ever faced with a similar crises, Slidell will help out.

“We hope they never have to go through a Katrina-like disaster,” Councilmember Kim Harbison said at the ceremony. “But if they do, they can count us at the top of the list of those who will help them out in whatever way we can.”