Morning Sentinel
Skowhegan school's trees succumb to disease
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BY COLIN HICKEY
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel 07/02/2009

SKOWHEGAN -- Ricky Heatly of R.H. Tree Specialists on Tuesday afternoon yanked off a chunk of rotted wood from the trunk of a sugar maple tree in front of Margaret Chase Smith School.

Heatly didn't have to pull hard.

The maple was one of at least six trees lining the street and driveway outside the elementary school that Heatly said are diseased and deteriorating.

That's why Heatly and his crew went to work that morning, taking down four of the trees.

"I don't like cutting them any more than anybody else," he said.

But, he added, the trees are so rotted that a strong wind could easily bring down heavy limbs, endangering students when school is in session and children who play at the school's playground year-round.

Heatly pointed to the hollow trunks of trees already downed as evidence of the danger they posed to anybody walking near them.

"They had some dead limbs break off when school was in session," he said of the trees.

Heatly said he planned to cut down two more today.

Darrell Mitchell, School Administrative District 54 business administrator, said the degree of rot in the trees made them a safety hazard.

"I have the safety of students to consider," Mitchell said. "I knew one of the trees was in really bad shape and the word I got from my grounds folks is the others were bad too."

James Ross, president of the Bloomfield Garden Club, questioned the need to cut down the trees.

"If trees are diseased, remove the section that is diseased," he said, "but don't cut the tree down unless the tree is endangering somebody or somebody's property."

Ross argued that the trees were too far from the school building and playground to pose a serious safety hazard.

Mitchell, though, said children -- from the school or the playground -- could always wander under the trees, putting their safety at risk.

"I'm not going to stand idly by and assume it is just going to be wonderful," he said, "especially with the volume of rain we've had. It is a very risky time. The limbs are rain-soaked."

Mitchell said he plans to replace the trees at Margaret Chase Smith School eventually. SAD 54, he said, is a strong supporter of beautifying school grounds. He pointed to the recent planting of 20 maple trees by the superintendent's office on Route 2 as a prime example.

"I'm a strong proponent of things green," he said. "I mean we live in Maine after all."

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