By David Grant Long

Representatives of the company that owns Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers in Cortez presented Parks and Recreation Director Chris Burkett with a $1,000 check Wednesday to make amends for the actions of a former manager who chopped down one shade tree and severely cut back another in front of the restaurant last winter.

"Essentially they were trying to say that it’s not the policy of their corporation to do things such as cut down trees," Burkett said Thursday, explaining the donation would be used to buy four park benches for Parque de Vida. "They were trying to atone for it and say they are good citizens of the community.

"They also wanted to pass on to us that if there were any other ways they could participate in the community, to let them know," he added.

As part of a plea bargain in which a felony charge was dismissed, former manager Paul McClure, who no longer works for the company, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor criminal mischief in May and was ordered to pay $1,659 restitution and was also fined.

Last December under the cover of darkness, McClure, with the assistance of another Wendy’s employee, cut down a 20-foot Schwedler maple on the southwest corner of Main and Washington streets and sawed the lower limbs off a Bradford pear further west along Main.

As they grew, the trees were beginning to obscure the view of the restaurant’s sign from the street. They had been planted in 1982 as part of a downtown improvement project 10 years before the restaurant was built, according to Burkett, and the builder had been advised that placing the sign in that location could create such a problem in the future.

McClure initially claimed that he had only done what he’d been instructed to do, both during an interview with the Cortez Journal and through his attorney during his disposition hearing, and the paper was unable to get a response from the Colorado Springs-based company that owns the franchise despite repeated attempts.

However, in a vaguely worded public apology written at the behest of his employer and published in the Journal, McClure seemed to admit that cutting the trees was his own idea.

"It was at my discretion, not Wendy’s, concerning the tree," he wrote. "My actions were of my own doing . . ."

After meeting with Burkett Wednesday, Tobey Williams, the company’s West Slope manager, vigorously condemned McClure’s action and denied that the company had encouraged it or played any part in the scheme.

"You’re dealing with a guy here who does his own thing, and (he) was not told to do that," said Williams. "We know the individual has a problem with not telling the truth when he’s under pressure.

"Our company is very community-oriented," he added. "Things like this, we don’t like. We’ve never had an employee do anything like that —never."

Williams explained that because of possible liability issues, the company had to thoroughly investigate the incident before commenting, but that he had instructed McClure to write the letter and hoped this might put the matter to rest. McClure was also transferred to the Durango Wendy’s following his conviction to improve relations with the community, and has since left the company.

"Why we’re here today is just to let you know that we’re very involved with the community and we care," Williams said, "and we want to do whatever we need to do to make it right." He said Wendy’s also contributes to various school programs and non-profit organizations in Cortez.

And in response to a recent Journal editorial questioning why the company had not participated in the replanting of a replacement tree earlier this month, Williams explained that Burkett’s invitation had been sent to the wrong address and was just recently returned to the city unopened.

"There was just some miscommunication on down the line," he said, adding that the company would have been happy to be part of the tree-planting, but thought it was going to happen in the spring and had been waiting to hear more definite information.

"The main thing is we can take it from here and go forward," he added. "We want to be a positive influence in this community —it means a lot to us because we’re a business here.

"We’re involved in the community in so many ways —we donate all kinds of products (to schools and non-profits)," Williams said, "and the way it looked from the newspaper articles, we were not (involved in the community), and that’s not true."

Burkett confirmed that his letter had been sent to a New Mexico address that is no longer operative rather than the company’s Front Range headquarters.

The company also plans to be part of next year’s Arbor Day celebration in Cortez, added Laura Gidden, vice president of marketing, a traditional event that takes place in City Park every spring and includes all fifth-graders in the county.