Sheridan Family Pleads For Help Over Dangerous Tree
The storms of 2024 create lingering hazardous conditions
On stormy nights, Tammy Loftis sits on her carport in Sheridan watching a tree with two big limbs sway.
Depending on the strength of the winds, Loftis may stay on her carport all night or several nights in a row. She's that worried about the tree.
In January, a strong storm with high winds hit Sheridan in the middle of the night. Loftis’ heard a tree snap just seconds before she yelled at her son, Landon, a senior who graduated from Sheridan High School last Friday, to get up. He bolted from his bed seconds before a huge limb crashed into his bedroom.
Part of the same tree fell on Landon’s antique truck that night.
“We were both terrified,” Loftis said. “ We didn't know if the windows were fixing to blow out. You didn’t know what the hell it was, if it was a tornado or what.”
Limbs from the same tree have fallen into U.S. Highway 167 near the Gum Street intersection barely missing a car one time on a sunny day, Loftis said.
Loftis pointed out the wind was barely blowing the day that the two limbs fell while traffic was heavy on Highway 167 B.
If the tree belonged to Loftis, she would have already chainsawed it down, she said. But it's not. The tree’s owner apparently is Trey Combs.
Combs told South Arkansas Reckoning that he doesn't think the tree is fully his responsibility because it's only five inches on his property, which is currently for sale.
He said he had talked to the mayor and the Department of Transportation. Both said it was Combs’ tree. Combs questions that and believes it possibly sits in the easement.
If the tree is in the easement, the responsibility would fall to the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) because Highway 167 belongs to the state.
One limb hangs over Highway 167. Does that make it an ARDOT problem? ARDOT did not respond to emails about the tree.
Sheridan Mayor Cain Nattin told South Arkansas Reckoning that the ARDOT representative for Grant County no longer worked in that position. He said he had yet to communicate with anyone from the ARDOT about the problem.
Nattin said he feels bad for all parties involved.
“The situation with Ms. Loftis is very unfortunate,” Nattin said. “I'm no attorney, however I'd hope Ms. Loftis calls her insurance company about a vehicle or home claim. The City of Sheridan has no obligation whatsoever in this situation. The tree in question currently sits on private property (which is owned by the property owner) and while that Highway is called ‘Rock Street’ in that area, its official title is ‘Highway 167 B.’
That highway is owned, operated and maintained by the Arkansas Department of Transportation. The City of Sheridan does not have a right-of-way easement in this area nor does the City own any property in the area. The only people that have property in that area are the landowner and ARDOT.
In regard to the tree being removed, The City cannot go onto private property and remove the tree, nor can we hire a company to remove it. The City cannot use public funds on private property.
Ms. Loftis is welcome to attend a council meeting.”
Loftis said she will attend a city council meeting.
“Yes, I will go to the city council which will probably be a waste of my time also,” Loftis said. “But really what difference will it make? The mayor has never even bothered to return my calls”
A call from the mayor would be nice, Loftis said.
Loftis has called her insurance company about claims, but they can't do anything about a tree that isn't on her property. What Loftis does worry about is the remaining tree falling again and her insurance prices increasing or, worse, losing coverage.
The tree's limbs hang over wires that belong to Windstream.
“We don’t own the property where the tree is located,” Scott Morris, Senior Adviser, Corporate Affairs for Windstream, said. “The property owner is responsible for the tree. If the owner wishes to trim or cut down the tree, we would be happy to coordinate with him or her to make sure that our cable in the area isn’t damaged.”
The Loftis family have lived in their home for 22 years in downtown Sheridan. Tammy Loftis has watched Sheridan grow from a small town with an identity tied to the timber industry to a sprawling bedroom community of subdivisions filled with commuters to Little Rock and Benton.
Loftis feels as if she and her family, including her husband, who uses oxygen because of his COPD, has been left behind in Sheridan's race to grow into a town of fast-food restaurants and convenient stores to lure more wealthy people to its school.
“I don't care what the mayor says,” Loftis said. “I know he has friends who could help me and Trey Combs get this tree down and it not cost a fortune. What happens when that one limb hanging hits a car?”
Like his mom, Landon can't sleep when the thunderstorms — like the ones over the weekend — strike. A gamer, Landon even fears wearing his headphones because he is waiting for the limb to crack.
“If that limb comes through our house again, there’ll be hell to pay,” Landon said. “My mom has tried to tell everyone. We can't do anything about it. And if something happens to me? It will really be hell to pay.”
Tree cutting is expensive. Sounds like no one wants the responsibility and expense of cutting down the tree. If owner of property would sign off on having it cut down- that tree could be an obstacle to selling his property- and a tree service could agree to do the work - cutting, removal, and stump grinding-at a reasonable price, then perhaps a GoFundMe might be in order.
Depending on the kind of tree, some local woodworkers may be interested in the wood.
As a cost comparison-My yard has big oaks. Last year I had no tornado damage, but a June microburst crowned one of my trees, leaving “widow-makers” snagged in the upper branches of its neighbors. Because of the inaccessibility and height, a tree service would cost me around $1500 to get them down. Thankfully, Mother Nature obliged in the recent weather.