WHAT TO DO• Call 311 to get on the city’s list for tree pickup, but be prepared to wait a week or two.• Separate building materials and lumber from trees and tree limbs for curbside collection.• Limbs must be cut shorter than 8 feet long for collection equipment to handle the debris.• Residents and contractors also can dispose of wood waste at the Wood Recycling Center, 3925 N. Hawthorne St., and at a temporary wood disposal site at 3800 Cummings Highway from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
There are many large oak trees on Alabama Avenue in St. Elmo, but none matched the giant pin oak that once stood proudly in Selena Seymour and Ross Singer’s front yard.
The tree, about 5 feet in diameter at its base and about 100 feet tall, spread a majestic canopy over the yard and across the street.
But wild winds uprooted the oak in last week’s storms and sent it thundering to the ground. Now it’s a jungle gym for their 4-year-old son, Isaac. The impact shattered the sidewalk and thrust some branches more than a yard into the earth.
“We’ve had so many neighbors come by who are sad about it, saying it was their favorite tree in the neighborhood,” said Seymour.