During the evening of July 3, the quick thunderstorm that blew through Ellicott City knocked down one of the public right-of-way street trees in front of our house. It was not blocking traffic, nor threatening any power lines, but it was a mess and I was dreading having to spend a good portion of my 4th doing a cleanup of my front yard and sidewalk.

At about 9:30 p.m. a crew from the Department of Public Works for Howard County showed up with a chipper, truck and assorted flood-lighting and had the tree and debris removed by 10:30 that evening.

I would like to thank Jim Irvin and his department and Ken Ulman and his administration for another example of the efficiency and management of county services that make Howard County such an excellent place to live.

Russ Dickens

Ellicott City