“We’ve come to trim your trees.”

Encarta Dictionary defines:

Trim (verb): to make something tidy by cutting, clipping or pruning; to reduce or remove an excess.

Chop (verb): cut something off; to sever or fell something.

A distinction between these two words must be made in reference to what is being done lately to the trees of Lewiston.

I understand the need to trim branches of trees that are hanging over the wires. This has been happening for many years and our trees have been trimmed many times with no issue. This year, however, they are not trimming but chopping.

Even after speaking with those in charge about what branches needed to be trimmed on our trees, I came home from work to find total devastation of our two trees. Not only were the branches trimmed over the wires, but limbs that were under the wires and arched over our driveway were completely chopped.

Rather than “trimming,” they chose to simply “chop” the entire side of one tree and chopped one entire stem on the other.

These trees have been on our property for more than 60 years and never posed any danger to the street or our property. Now, I fear the condition in which they were left will probably lead to their demise.

Gone is all our shade, and garden plants that are now exposed to full sun. What a shame.

So much for beautifying Lewiston.

Denise Ouellette, Lewiston