Because of the importance given to trees in the village, the Arbor Day Foundation this week designated Bluffton as a Tree City USA. This is the 20th year the village received the designation, according to Jamie Mehaffie, village administrator.

One of the significant players behind the scenes in the Tree City designation is the Bluffton Tree Commission.

"The tree commission has been involved in street tree plantings in Bluffton since 1991. I think 700-plus trees is a reasonable ball-park figure for the number of street trees planted since then," said Jon Sommer a member of the commission.

The village is planning an April 27 Arbor Day celebration, which will tie into the 20th year of being named a Tree City USA.

Four standards must be met to become a Tree City USA community. These include that the village must have a tree board or department, a tree-care ordinance, a community forestry program with annual expenditures of at least $2 per capita and an Arbor Day observance and proclamation.