Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wauconda-based business recycles village trees.
With his muscular build, white T-shirt, and broken-in blue jeans flecked with sawdust and dirt, Gerry Hamm won’t ever be mistaken for, say, Jon Hamm. But that suits him just fine because Hamm is busy doing what he loves: turning trees from villages like Northbrook into beautiful wood products including custom cabinetry, mantelpieces and flooring at his business, Good Hardwood Supply Company, Inc., in Wauconda. When trees come down in Northbrook, as several did during last week’s violent storm, village crews pick them up and store the branches or wood chips in giant piles behind the Public Works Department. Hamm is among the many woodworkers who take that wood and transform it into something new—thereby saving the village on the costs …
Monday, June 27, 2011
The village tries to recycle or reuse timber whenever possible.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Glenn Wall
-
Monday, June 27, 2011
Some are blasted by lightning; some come crashing down in high winds propelled by storms like those the Chicago area experienced last week. Others still die of disease, insect infestation and old age. In Northbrook, there are more than 15,300 trees growing on parkways and other village property, with a combined insured value of approximately $47 million, according to Northbrook Forestry Supervisor Mark Lovas. And when village trees die—as many did last week—it falls to members of the Public Works department to remove and, if possible, help reincarnate them. While it was once the policy of towns just about everywhere to dispose of trees simply by cutting them up, hauling them off and dumping them in landfills, there are now more and more …
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
For ComEd, the struggle to keep vegetation and power lines separate is a year round activity.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Glenn Wall
-
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
In the name of festivity countless people place wires filled with electricity on trees, bushes and other vegetation this year. The irony lies, however, in the fact that, trees and vegetation are among the leading causes of power outages, according to ComEd. Of course, decorating trees and more with approved holiday lights is perfectly safe. But keeping trees a safe distance from power lines in a place like Northbrook, which has tens of thousands of trees of nearly every type, is a year-round activity for the utility. Evidence of that was clear on a recent Friday when a six-man crew was cutting back trees on Oak Street after a recent vegetation-related power outage. "These are junk trees, box elders, mainly, and some mulberries," said a…
Anne Hoffman
6:31 am on Monday, June 27, 2011
This is great to know and is another reason we can be proud residents of Northbrook! more ›