Tree Still 'Parked' on Maverick Street

Somebody give this tree a parking ticket.

It's been a little more than a year since this old tree growing in front of was the focus of our column and the town's tree warden still says its days are numbered.

Although Tree Warden Doug Gordon admitted that the tree has been growing strong on Maverick Street for decades, he still thinks it will come down in the near future because the base of it is rotting and it has become a danger to the library.

When we asked him about the tree last year, Gordon said he wasn't sure why it had remained untouched and out in the street for so long - a call to a former tree warden, didn't turn up any new information.

"I know that tree has been there a long, long time," Gordon said.

Gordon said he remembered when a local resident's appeal to have something done about the tree failed after the community united against him.

"Someone wrote into The Reporter and complained because they backed into a tree on that street and asked local residents to write in if they had any other complaints," Gordon said. "The guy got blasted by people who said he should have known it was there and we never heard from him again."

In addition to the tree's old age and condition, Gordon said its close proximity to the library's chimney is another reason why it is on the short list.

"It's just a matter of prioritizing," Gordon said. "As long as there are worse trees out there we have to focus on them, but that one is going to have to go."

The tree on Maverick Street isn't the only one in town that is way out in the street, there's a large chestnut growing on Commercial Street.

Click through the photo gallery above for a closer look at both trees.

Think these trees need to go? Do you think they should be left alone? Let us know how you feel in the comments section below.