Help Me Hank: Help Me Hank! Troublesome trees

It's not that John Shrimpf doesn’t like trees, he likes them fine. They provide shade from the sun and shelter from the rain. They prevent erosion and give birds and critters good homes. Landscaping is a good thing.

But these particular maples, pretty as they are, are a pain in John's back yard. Breaking branches threaten his parents, his nieces and his nephews.

John Shrimpf
"There would be branches probably about four to six inches in diameter that would actually fall down."

So if you're saying hey get out the chain saw, the problem is the trees don't belong to John or his family. They're on the other side of the fence. They belong to the town. Municipal trees.

John Shrimpf
"Why shouldn't the town take care of their own problem?"

Of course since some branches extend over John's family's property, they're allowed to whap off the green invaders, which they did. But the big stuff was too heavy to handle.

John Shrimpf
"There was no way we were going to be able to do that ourselves."

So the family called the town, and called, and called. The seasons changed. The leaves fell. Officials promised they'd soon bring out the saws, but soon never came.

John Shrimpf
"They wouldn't do anything about it. They kept giving them the run around."

So when the calls for arboreal assistance got no action, John wrote an email instead.

John Shrimpf
"Help Me Hank was on and I said you know what, let me give it a try."

So job one: confirm ownership of the trees.

We knew that's all in black and white and right in the town’s records.

We found John’s plot plan. Here’s that fence. So that means over here are the trees, on the town’s property.

As we reminded the director of Public Works, that means the town's gotta take care of them.

And soon after -- well, check out the "before," too many trees, and the "after," nature confined to her own side of the fence. And John’s house and family are no longer threatened by the marauding maples.

John Shrimpf
"Big relief!"

More and more communities are putting plot plans on line, check your hometown’s website if you want to find yours.

(Copyright (c) 2006 Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)