MOUNT VERNON — Kennda Melick has lived in her house on Martinsburg Road for 20 years and has never had to have her old oak tree trimmed. The majestic oak branches used to reach out over Ohio 586, but as the Ohio Department of Transportation made its rounds along state highways cutting tree branches, limbs and rotten trees, Melick’s tree caught the department’s eye.
Melick’s concern was that no notification was given warning that trimming would take place, and that she wasn’t allowed to give her input on the tree limbs being cut.
“There was one limb I thought that they could cut off because some of it looked like it could fall and that is what I thought they would do is cut that one off,” Melick said. “And then they just kept cutting and cutting, that is when I got my coat on and went out there.”
The ODOT crew explained to Melick that the air couldn’t get underneath the tree and the trucks were hitting the limbs. She was also told the acid from the tree causes erosion in the asphalt, which in turn creates potholes.
“They weren’t rude or anything. They were polite,” Melick said. “An older gentleman asked what he could do for me and I said, ‘I want to know why you are butchering my tree?’ And he said, ‘We’re not butchering it, we are just taking some limbs off of it.’”
“But what could I do,” she said, after they cut several limbs she felt there was no way she could protest.
About five to six limbs that were hanging over the roadway were cut on the front and side of the tree.
“I was really sad about them cutting those big limbs off of it. They said they couldn’t cut down half the limb or the rest of the tree would die,” Melick said. “And when they saw how upset I was they asked if I burned wood, and I said ‘Yeah, we burn wood.’”
ODOT workers cut and stacked the wood and placed the pile at the edge of her property, she said.
The same workers took the time to explain to Melick that the trimming was necessary, especially for the health of the tree.
“They did show me a limb that was rotten at the center of it and you could tell,” she said.
She has a lot of fond memories of the tree and she hopes to have many more. “It’s like a [landmark] that is how I told people how to come to my house, ‘There is a big oak tree at the end of my drive and its branches go clear cross the highway.’”
“And last fall the leaves were purple. It was a beautiful tree,” she said. “I loved the tree. I still love it, but its going to be different now. I am just sorry they cut the tree limbs down.”
Melick wishes ODOT would let people know that they would be cutting down tree limbs.
ODOT annually goes out to cuts limbs and possibly trees that, if they fall, could obstruct the roadways and cause other problems.
“All over the county we do a lot of this during winter months and we will be trimming a lot of trees that hang over the highway. Hopefully we don’t have to cut a lot of trees down,” said Brian Hunter, county manager for ODOT.
Overhanging trees can also cause other dangers to travelers.
“Anytime trees shade the road, the road doesn’t dry out completely and it causes potholes and the roads to deteriorate. So that is why we are trying to cut back the trees that are over the road,” Hunter said.
“We didn’t want to cut the [Melick] tree down. We thought we were doing it a justice by just cutting the limbs down,” Hunter said. “We have a 60 foot right of way — 30 feet from either side of the road from the center line — and I’m pretty sure that tree sits within the 30 foot right of way from the center line over.”
Within the right of way, ODOT doesn’t have to notify property owners, but if a tree needs to be cut down they do try to notify the property owner.
During Hurricane Ike, a large number of trees were down over the highways and many trees remain with unsteady branches. As a precaution, ODOT is trying to take care of possible hazards before they fall onto roadways if bad weather occurs.
“If the trees are dead and they are causing problems, and if there is a chance of them falling down, for safety, we are trying to be proactive,” Hunter said.
