By JEFFREY SMITH
Leader staff writer
For gardeners and landscapers in Pulaski County, there’s a silver lining to the tornadoes that struck the area this spring. The storms provided 300 truck loads of free mulch for anyone who wants it, and there is more to come.
“We had a choice to either burn it, bury it or sell it,” said Pulaski County Judge Buddy Villines. “The public paid for the debris to be picked up and ground up, so we are giving it back.”
On Wednesday, officials from Pulaski County and the city of Sherwood were on hand at Sherwood Forest to let the public know about the free material.
Sherwood Mayor Virginia Hillman said the mulching of the debris is a creative way for Sherwood and Pulaski County to work together.
At the mulching area at Sherwood Forest, 1111 W. Maryland Ave., more than 520 dump truck loads of organic storm debris has been taken to the site. Tree limbs and stumps have been hauled in from Cammack Village, Hensley and Gravel Ridge. The storm debris was brought to the location as a faster way to clear the brush piles from yards and trees from the streets.
After the Sherwood site has turned the piles of tree branches into mulch, the grinder will be moved to southern Pulaski County where another storage area of tree debris is located.
Sherman Smith, Pulaski County public works director, said mulching is a way to keep the debris out of the landfill.
“The county bought the grinder for $166,000 to process large stumps and treetrunks. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will reimburse the county for the hours the machine is used for storm cleanup based on an hourly rate,” said Smith.
“The grinder can take stumps and tree trunks five feet in diameter and reduce them eight to one,” added Smith.
The machine operators accidentally discovered the power of the mulch grinder’s 540-horsepower engine when a discarded engine block hidden in a brush pile was chipped to bits.
Billy Ellis, equipment operator, said, “I love running the grinder. It gets the job done.”
Mulch will be available for residents from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays until all the mulch is given away. The site will have workers on hand to load mulch into the beds of pickup trucks or onto trailers.
For additional information, contact the Pulaski County Road and Bridge Department at 340-6800.
