When Carmi’s Bicentennial Committee was looking into ways to celebrate the city’s 200th birthday, the committee decided they wanted to leave a lasting gift to the city that would help to beautify Carmi. One way in which the committee attempted to reach that goal was by facilitating the planting of 200 specially designated trees. The trees,
which consisted of sugar maple, white oak, bald cypress, tulip poplar, and eastern red bud, were picked up by their buyers on October 17th. They will eventually be planted in both residential and public spaces in and around Carmi.
As trees were being picked up on October 17th, the tree committee participated in a demonstration planting of a tulip poplar tree at the White County Fairgrounds. Jennifer Behnken, an 
arborist, gave a short presentation on tree planting and demonstrated the proper techniques as the poplar was planted.
The Bicentennial Tree Committee consisted of Thys Bax, Dorothy Garrett, Don Garrett, Bart King, Jarrod Newell, Denton Aud, Tim Roser, Art Saunders, Alan Saunders, Becky Stanley, Holly Healy, Jeremy Jordan, and Clint Taylor. The committee would like to thank the Carmi Chamber of Commerce, the White County Fair Board, the Boy Scouts, WRUL/WROY, the Carmi Times, Carmi -White County High School, and Jennifer Behnken for their cooperation and assistance with this program.
