Kill oaks as kids have nut allergy

A Toronto-area woman has asked her community to cut down acorn-dropping oak trees near a school because her two children have nut allergies. Donna Giustizia addressed the city council of Vaughn, north of Toronto, with her request, the Toronto Star reported. The woman is chairwoman of the allergy committee of the St. Stephen Catholic Elementary School and in her call for cutting down the three oaks on adjacent property said the acorns are "a great cause of anxiety amongst all students with nut allergies," the Star reported. "I'm not a crazy mom, I'm not asking for anything that's not already there," she said, referring to the school's ban of all foods containing nuts. Giustizia acknowledged a child allergic to nuts would have to eat the meat from inside the acorn to have a reaction, but added acorns "can also be used to bully and torment children" by others who might force them to eat the nuts. The council said a committee would examine the request and report back Nov. 20, YorkRegion.com said.