Tree Trimming in Earnest in Ludington

[XLFD]

While riding west on Pine Street in Ludington, I was surprised to see something that I've not seen for a long time-- the stop sign at the end of that street, as seen below:

Torch detectives should notice the large pile of tree branches before the sign coming from the three trees that partially obscured the sign for many years.  The trail was definitely fresh, I had not noticed it earlier this morning when I passed, and I definitely would have.

Going towards the north, I saw a City of Ludington Department of Public Works (DPW) truck with some tree cuttings and tree cutting tools in the back of it.  It was nothing more than a standard pickup, with a couple of workers riding in it wearing yellow shirts, one of them did a polite wave.   I followed them semi-discretely as I could while riding my bicycle and caught them on camera at the corner of Washington and Dexter Streets.  They were clipping the tree branches around the sign, and they put some of their excess branches they were carrying on the side of the road for future pickup:

When they were through, I took a closer photo of the tree doctoring at that locale.  The sign was a bit more visible. 

I then caught them once again up on the next street to the north, Anderson Street, at the corner of Staffon, where they were cutting another tree's limbs.  I overheard them talking to the lady in the picture below, who owned the house, the worker's had noticed me by this time taking pictures and waved at me.  I decided to ride up and talk with them.

They were very friendly and allowed me to learn that they had gotten an order from on high in the morning to go throughout the town and clear the trees that were blocking the stop signs.  They had also been involved with removing the foliage in front of the stop sign on the corner of Park and Court Street, the one involved in the crash between the LPD vehicle and the teenager.  

They admitted that the work they were doing was long overdue, but really couldn't be done until they got the go ahead from their bosses, just as one would imagine.  It's incredible that it would take so long for those in charge to actually get the message and try to correct the problem. 

I thanked them for the great service they were doing for the community, and left them to their devices.

[AQUAMAN]

Excellent investigatory thread X. Great pics. too. I'm glad that your message finally sunk in with the higher ups. This is nothing more than simply routine work, and should be done on a regular basis, for SAFETY! I hope the DPW keeps up the good work, and covers the entire downtown back streets with the same duty and courtesies. Tip of the hat to the DPW. 

[XLFD]

The rank and file workers of Ludington are primarily a solid bunch of dedicated folks that will often do extra, volunteer work during these summer months.  And even though we here at the Ludington Torch often find need to complain about the Ludington DPW, police, or other local public service, it should be always presumed that we are holding that service's management to account (or the city management of John Shay), not the individual members of that service (unless specifically stated).  Both workers were doing a great job, were happy to perform the service, and maybe the DPW in the future can repeat the same activity in May of each year to keep the problem from reoccurring annually in the summer. 

[Willy]

"They had also been involved with removing the foliage in front of the stop sign on the corner of Park and Court Street, the one involved in the crash between the LPD vehicle and the teenager." Wow. City employees admitted that the accident scene at that corner was altered after the accident. I hope the girls parents read this and take their case either to court or the Council for an apology and to have the record set straight. The City should also reimburse the girl for damages to her vehicle. If the Council were using their heads they would do these things immediately in order to avoid an embarrassing situation. 

[XLFD]

Have you ever known the Council, City Manager, or Mayor of Ludington to ever admit fault, hold themselves accountable, or do the 'right thing' in similar situations? 

The girl involved and her parents are poor folks from out of town and deserve any support they can get from the heartless juggernaut known as the City of Ludington, who would callously let them endure the costs of the City Manager's own negligence. 

A City Manager who would doubtlessly rather have these DPW workers continually involved with lugging picnic tables, fences and trash bins to special events rather than doing a days worth of 'intersection maintenance'.   

[AQUAMAN]

Dittos X. At times, there is a fine line between being earnest, honest, and righteous, vs. being arrogant and ruthless. I don't blame ALL City Councilors, I think there are some good people on that council. Trouble is, they are all too often the ones that cower down and vote against their own principles and beliefs. And against what their own constituents put them in office for. Why? Because, as three have told me in recent years, they don't want to upset that apple cart, and be looked down on, and feel embarrased for not siding with the majority. To me at least, this isn't being a good city council person, it's cowardly, and disgustingly being another sheeple. If you can't think and vote like the individual you are, you are playing into their foul hands, and being a part of the problem, not the solution imho. People that vote to appease the majority, are only feeding from a trough of insincerity, and eventually, fraud! That's the type of personality and official that ends up distorting the system, and making corruption possible to exist, and flourish.  

[Willy]

You are absolutely correct Aquaman. The ones the cower down and except misdeeds of fellow Councilors, the Mayor and City Manager are in my opinion worse than the perpetrators of those misdeeds. They should be standing up for those who elected them. If they continue to take a "going along" attitude they should turn in their resignation and let someone else do the job.