Anderson: Ransom Oaks trees were hazardous
by JESSICA L. FINCH AND JILL SCHMELZER Associate Editor and Reporter

Mary Ritz walks her dog through a section of Ransom Oaks on Glen Oak Drive where trees had been cut to the base due to the severe damage from the Oct. 12 storm. Residents were upset the cuts were made too hastily. Photo by John Rusac

Residents from the Ransom Oaks and Glen Oak Drive area were upset to see their ash trees disappear.

But allegations that an Amherst highway crew went through the area just cutting down trees is false, Highway Superintendent Bob Anderson said.

"A National Grid arborist determined the trees were hazardous," Anderson said, adding that photos were taken before the cuttings to show the damage, including split trunks.

He said the area and its ash trees were among the heaviest hit, and additional trees will have to be removed. On Plantation Court, 24 trees have been removed, as well as in sections all over town.

The town has an arborist, hired through Erie County, who is going through the town checking trees that have been marked for removal and making the final decision before any cuts are made.

Regarding the incident reported at the Nov. 6 Town Board meeting relating to highway crews removing trees for no reason, Anderson said that the crew had been sent out to trim trees, and crew chief Cathy Kaminski asked the National Grid arborist in the area to assist the crew.

One resident said she thought the town acted prematurely because she has been told by an arborist that a tree with up to 75 percent crown damage has the potential to be saved. She said, the trees that were chopped down in the area had 30 percent damage.

"Yes, they looked bad," the resident of Ransom Oaks said. "But you have to stand back and say, can these trees be saved?"