CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Kelsie Stafford, the Parks and Recreation Director for the City of Marshalltown, was the guest speaker at the Oct. 9 meeting of the Optimist Club of Marshalltown. Stafford indicated that the department has done “tons of tree planting this fall,” as a result of a Community Development Block Grant. They were able to plant 200 trees in Ward 1, which was hit especially hard by the 2018 tornado and the 2020 derecho. The department crew were able to plant trees with the help of Trees Forever also. Plans are in place to plant fruit trees in Bicentennial and Optimist Parks. Stafford is pictured with Pat Peden, Optimist Club president.