Inquirer: City arborists say tree isn't dangerous, but they'll run tests

Who knew that trees can have a bad hair day?

There's a big ol' oak (a pin oak, I think) over on Ogletree Street that has seen better days. It sits right next to the street and has utility lines running between it and the yard behind it. Georgia Power has to keep those lines clear of tree limbs, so one side of the tree is pretty much devoid of limbs.

I would say that it looks a bit like Donald Trump's comb-over, but I don't like to interject politics in this feature.

Anyway, a Repeat Concerned Reader called to say not only is the tree ugly, but it looks to be dangerous, too.

"Hey, I'm the man who called some time back about the tree at Jordan High and y'all got it down right away. There's a terrible sick tree on Ogletree Street. It's got major warts," he wrote. "Half of it's dead and it's hung out over the street. It just looks disastrous. Take a look at it and see what you think."

So I did, and took the picture I hope you see accompanying this. As you can see, half of it is more gone than dead, and what's left is hanging out over the street. But I'm no tree expert.

So I called Pat Biegler, director of Public Works, which includes Urban Forestry, and described the situation.

"If it's unbalanced, dangerous or dead, we'll schedule it for removal," Biegler said. "If it's impending, if it looks like it could go tomorrow, then we'll get someone out there immediately on overtime if we have to."

So she sent an arborist out to have a look at it Friday afternoon and called me back a couple of hours later.

"The guys checked it out and it definitely needs pruning. Georgia Power really did a number on it," Biegler said. "The guys said they want to run some other tests on it, to see if it's going hollow. They said there are some mushrooms around the base and that could indicate some problems."

But the tree doesn't present any danger as it is?

"None, whatsoever," she assured me.

It's just old and ugly and covered with warts. Except for the wart thing, I've got no room to talk.

Seen something that needs attention? Contact me at 706-571-8570 or mowen@ledger-enquirer.com.

This story was originally published October 4, 2015 at 10:04 PM with the headline "Inquirer: City arborists say tree isn't dangerous, but they'll run tests ."