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City treats ash trees for pest
Emerald borer on its way
AshTreesWEB
The citys municipal ash trees have been treated against emerald ash borer infestation. McMinnville Public Works Department is offering its assistance in educating city residents on how to treat their ash trees. For more information, call 473-2553. Pictured is city employee John Austin treating one of 20 trees.

McMinnville has begun the process to protect some of its municipal trees from invasion.
Warren County was recently placed under quarantine for the emerald ash borer, an invasive species that digs into ash trees. The insect is spreading across the United States and has resulted in the destruction of millions of unprotected trees.
Last month, Gary Clendenon, a plant inspector from the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, urged officials to treat city ash trees.
“It’s not a matter of if it’s going to happen, it’s a matter of when,” said Clendenon, of when the emerald ash borer would be seen here.
The city Building and Grounds Committee met Tuesday night and received an update from city landscape manager Hank Patton, who said there are 36 ash trees on city property.
Patton says he considered different treatment options and not all the ash trees were treated.
“We had to determine how many of the trees we were going to treat,” said Patton. “If the trees are over 50 percent damaged or aren’t healthy, there’s no reason to treat them. They are on their way out anyway. A lot of our old ash trees have a lot of dead wood in them. They’ve been hit by lightning. We treated about 20 trees of the 36 we were able to locate.”
Clendenon specifically urged officials to treat the ash trees at Riverside Cemetery. Due to their proximity to a saw mill that brings in lumber from other communities, those trees are prime targets for emerald ash borer infestation.
Patton said about a dozen trees were treated at the cemetery. He said another six or eight there are in bad shape and not worth treating.
Patton explained in detail the process undertaken in treating the trees, as well as the cost.
“This year, we spent $420 in insecticide,” he said. “Next year, we should spend about $240 because we understand now which chemical to use and how to do it. Next year should be easier.”
Clendenon estimated the cost of treatment would be $500 per tree, while the city’s average cost was $21 per tree.
“The good news is that this is way less expensive than what Gary estimated,” said Alderman Steve Harvey.
Patton explained the cost savings was because the process wasn’t bid out and the city didn’t use the soil injector process.
“If we had brought somebody in and they brought in a soil injector, they would have charged you a lot of money to do it,” said Patton. “As you read, it also says that no matter what you do it may not be 100 percent effective anyway.”
Patton has offered to help city residents learn what they need to treat their own ash trees. If interested, McMinnville Public Works Department can be reached at 473-2553.

Local law enforcement on the lookout for distracted driving
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April is National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Distracted Driving Awareness Month and McMinnville Police Department (MPD) is on the roads to educate motorists about appropriate hands-free driving.

The amplified focus of cracking down on distracted driving is a nationwide initiative, with many states taking part. MPD Officer Mark Mara indicated the local department is increasing patrols, funded by overtime grants, to enforce and educate about Tennessee’s Hands Free Law.

“We’re trying to get people to change their habits,” Mara said. “There’s a lot of people that are distracted while driving, whether its their cell phones or not. When driving, there are already so many distractions, so having electronics in your hands while you’re driving down the road is dangerous. We need to focus on getting where we need to go and getting there safely.”

According to its records, NHTSA estimates 3,308 lives were lost in crashes involving distracted drivers in 2022 and 8% of all fatal crashes could be attributed to the same. To illustrate the point on a larger scale, it approximates over 32,000 people have died and nearly 290,000 were left injured from crashes attributed to distracted motorists between 2013 and 2022.

Violation of the Tennessee Hands Free Law is a Class C misdemeanor and traffic citations based on the violation are considered moving traffic violations. A first-time offense is typically $50 with third-time offenses and violations resulting in a crash rising to $100; citations received in a work zone while workers or present or in a marked school zone while flashes are in operation carry a penalty of $200. Three points are also added to a motorist’s driving record for each violation with 12 points leading to license suspension.

While the law specifically mentions hands in its name, it is similarly illegal to prop the phone up with any other part of their body.

“We’re going to be stopping vehicles whose operators are distracted by using their cell phones or other electronic devices,” Mara said. “It is against the law for a motorist to be holding their electronic device or having it on their body, so if you’re holding it to your ear or with your shoulder, it’s against the law all the same.”

When using GPS technology, Mara recommends investing in windshield-, vent- or dash-mounted mobile device holder to support the phone while using it for those purposes so your hands can remain on the wheel without compromising your ability to navigate to a destination.

“I understand that your cell phones are a lifeline and we get that — we use them ourselves for GPS. If you have an important phone call that’s coming in and you really need to focus on talking to that person, just pull over to the side of the road and turn on your emergency lights,” Mara said. “When you’re on a phone call, you’re not paying attention to all of the things you need to. You’re going to be concentrating on that conversation and you’re going to find yourself drifting in your lane, going through a stop sign or not stopping properly before a red light.”

Mara additionally recommended drivers sync their phones to their vehicles in models with Bluetooth capabilities and to use phone mounts that do not obstruct vision of the roadways through the windshield.

“The greatest danger of distracted driving is ending up in a crash that was absolutely avoidable, which might hurt yourself or someone else,” Mara said. “You’ve got a lot in front of you when you’re driving and a vehicle is a piece of machinery. We want all motorists to be driving safely on the roads and getting to their destinations without misadventure.”

Warnings and citations will be rendered at officers’ discretion during the increased patrols.