Bob Gould (left), village street superintendent, removes a pear tree from in front of Quest on Main Street. The pear trees all along Main are in decline due to fire blight.

A public meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the United Methodist Church to discuss the issue.

There are 100 trees along Main. Village officials, tree commissioners and Brad Burns, a certified arborist, were on hand Wednesday morning to observe the tree removal. All went well.

The trees are in an 18 inch well, not 3 foot deep box as thought. Removal of the tree did not break up the sidewalk or gutter. Not all trees are infested at this time.

The public meeting will gain opinion about taking all the trees out at once or in stages, what variety of tree should be planted, etc. In any case, the beauty of the trees, especially during their spring bloom period, will be less for several years until the replacements get some growth on them.

Village officials, including Terry Keiser, village forester, will be on hand Tuesday. Local tree commissioners and  a representative from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources will also attend.
(Monty Siekerman)