Tree falls, dispute stands: Pine tree's demise creates rumors of poisoning, and a lawsuit, tooDaily Herald | DuPage County, IL
The mystery continues to unfold...

A year earlier, the Ballous began battling their homeowners association to remove a 12-foot Austrian pine that obstructed the view from their back deck of the ninth green of the golf course at Stonebridge Country Club. When the tree died, rumors began circulating it was poisoned. Bob Ballou, a retired Fortune 500 executive, emerged as a suspect. "We were just getting out of our car and a neighbor ran over and said, 'The tree died, and you're being blamed.'æ" Ballou recalls. Three months after the finger-pointing began, in a neighborhood dispute that later sparked a lawsuit, Ballou said he has proof the pine wasn't purposely harmed.