Do Some People Simply Choose Not to Think? (part 2 of 3)

For as long as the trees have lived beside the hydro line in front of the house, some sensible thinking chap on the trimming crew has always brushed them back about two or three feet back of the vertical plane of the lines, and kept the line of six trees looking absolutely fabulous. Three years ago, this was done, except this time, someone punched a hole the size of a small car in the draping canopy of the first of six trees to accommodate the 240 V line from the pole to our neighbors house.

I called Erie Thames, and the next day a supervisor came around to inspect the work. He agreed that the cutting around the line to the neighbors, although legitimately required, was somewhat excessive and not really necessary. He further agreed that Erie Thames would contact me before any trimming in the future, especially if any significant cutting back was required.

Well, this time around, it seems Hydro has subcontracted a lot of work, if not all of it, and the cutters arrived, promptly shearing off virtually all the branches of one tree facing the power lines, and most of two of the others. As soon as I found out the extent of the hatchet job, I talked to the crew chief, and suggested he stop the brushing until he had a supervisor contact me about the work being performed. He complied, noting that I was just a little bit pissed, and moved on down the street. A supervisor from the line cutting department called me back (on Friday) and told me he would drop by personally to inspect on Monday....