Source of worries, detours for neighbors: tree cut down within hours of WSAZ inquiry

MINGO COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) - Twice a day every weekday, Larry and Sue Wilson have made the trek from their Lick Creek Road home to a bus stop a half-mile away to meet their grandkids’ school bus.

“It’s not easy to make this [trip],” Larry, who is in his 70s with terminal cancer, said.

The Wilsons said this has not always been the setup to meet the bus, and the current problem is rooted in a tree leaning over the road.

“This tree, it’s been leaning like this for a long time.,” he said. ”Only about three months ago, the bus driver refused to drive under because limbs fell on top of the bus. So rather than go under, he just refused to for the safety of the kids. You can’t blame him.”

Larry said he limited his time out of the house because of the tree’s condition.

“I’m wondering if it’s going to drop, wondering when it’s going to drop, who it’s going to catch,” he said.

Larry said he reached out to WSAZ, in hopes something could be done so no one gets injured.

“You guys get things ... I’ve noticed that, and nobody else seems to,” he said.

WSAZ’s Kimberly Donahue reached out to the West Virginia Division of Highways, asking if DOH operated Lick Creek Road, if there had been complaints about the tree leaning over the road, who is responsible for trimming the tree and when people can expect to see the tree cut down.

In a statement, a spokesperson said “WVDOH will reassess this route and cut what is necessary to cut.” Less than an hour later, the spokesperson told Donahue the tree had been cut down.

Earlier Thursday, Wilson told Donahue to see the tree trimmed would bring relief.

“This is just one little tree, and it doesn’t mean a lot to a lot of people, but it means a whole lot to us because we’re inconvenienced to the point that we have to meet diverse to get kids off school and we’re old. I mean, we’re not young anymore,” he said.

Upon learning the tree had been cut down, he told Donahue he feels relief knowing the root of his stress is gone.

A spokesperson for Mingo County Schools told WSAZ the bus route will open back up in the coming days.