Weekly Update 5/1/2013

I was on annual leave last Friday – visiting grandchildren
in Charleston, SC so I got off my weekly update schedule.

Ø City Court – I sat in to observe city
court on Thursday, April 18.  We started with almost 40 people in the
court room – so it was a pretty full room.  Our Solicitor, Mr. Quader
Baig, does an excellent job of working through the docket.  Most people
end up pleading guilty and paying a fine.  Dawn Towns serves as court
clerk, handles the paperwork, and sends them to the payment window with a
smile.  Judge Hathorn presides over the contested cases and I was
impressed with his thorough explanation of the proceedings to the
defendants.  Come by on the third Thursday at 9:30 AM and watch local
justice in action.

Ø Building Repair and Maintenance – Week
before last we had an electrician (after taking three bids) install some new
switches in city hall.  We added a light switch at the bottom of the
stairs and we put motion sensing switches in the front hall going to the
council room and in the council room.

Soon, we have a brick mason start work on a small
contract to clean the white stains on the brick work along with putting in some
sealant at the top of some of the walls to prevent further staining.

Ø Statistics – We are gathering some
statistics for our budget memo.  Did you know we maintain 11.9 miles of
road in the city?

Ø Bush Hog – We replaced the bush hog
attachment for our tractor last week.  The transmission gave out and the
cost of a new one was almost as much as a new bush hog, so we replaced it.

Ø Electric Lines – Through MEAG, we are
served by Georgia Transmission Corporation.  It owns and operates the high
voltage power lines that serve Georgia Power, the EMCs, and MEAG cities in the
state.  We have enclosed a copy of their latest update: click here.

Ø New Tree – On Tuesday, April 30, about 20 Oxford
students (all members of Kappa Phi Nu) helped plant a cherry tree in the
clearing on the west side of the trail around the Chinese bridge. The tree sits
back a good bit from the trail on College property and has some mulch around it
to help with mowing.  This project was coordinated by Dr. Florian
Pohl, Associate Professor in Religion.

                   
         

Ø Tree Board Work Day – The Tree Board is
having a work day at the George Street Park this Saturday (May 4).  Here’s
the explanation from Connie Head, our city arborist.

Good morning!  I am looking
forward to this weekend's park cleanup at George Street Park, beginning at
10:00 a.m. and continuing to 12 noon.  Please talk to as many folks as you
can and encourage them to come out and help.  In the case of inclement
weather, we will meet instead at City Hall for a presentation on Preparing Your Trees for Summer. 

I looked at the park yesterday, and here is my list of what needs to be done:

Prune sprouts at base of trees

Remove stakes and straps

Do some training pruning on the smaller trees

Replace the information in the kiosk (I will look around here for some materials to replace the info
that's in there now, and perhaps print up some posters)

Remove the signage (and eventually replace)

Break down the water rings around some of the trees

Excavate root collars using hand tools

Remove the dead sourwood tree (and eventually replace)

I will have handouts on "Preparing Your Trees for Summer" and do a presentation in the park
during the morning, or if we have inclement weather I will do this presentation inside at City Hall.

Please bring gloves, shovels, rakes, wheelbarrows, and loppers if you have them.  I will bring the same,
along with several sets of pruning tools (bypass shears and folding saws).

We will also have, by Saturday, a tree planted in the park for Mr. Atkinson.  LaTrelle said, I believe, that
the dedication will be at another time (?).

Please forward this e-mail to anyone you think might be interested.  I look forward to seeing you all
there!  Bring a friend!

Connie Head

Consulting Urban Forester