Students returning to school for their first full day of exams on Dec. 16 noticed some new physical changes to the area around Building 1. Two crews of tree trimmers had been working since Dec. 15 and had cut down a tree and knocked over a light pole.

The crews were there to trim the oak, pine, and palm trees that decorate Dreyfoos’ campus. Trimming the trees is both an aesthetic and safety concern.

“We [didn’t] want [the tree] to hit the awning. We cut it down a long time ago but we didn’t grind it,” District Tree Trimmer Lamar Purter said. “That tree [has] been there a long time and we kept cutting it. We’re going to replace it. That tree lacked water and it was going to bust the concrete and break the pipes so we had to cut it down.”

A separate crew had been assigned to come earlier to Dreyfoos during school hours on Dec. 15. That crew accidentally knocked over a light pole next to the car loop.

“There were kids playing out there during lunch,” School Police Officer James O’Sullivan said. “As the truck was backing up there was a spotter and somebody was throwing a football and it brought the kid into close proximity where the truck was. The spotter went over to tell the kid not to play where the truck is backing up. Because the spotter moved out of the range of the driver’s mirror he tapped the light pole. Thankfully there was no one injured and no damage to the tuck. He was backing slowly, probably less than 5 miles per hour.”

The light pole will be fixed. After testing the light pole, administration discovered only the bulb and globe had broken and those will be replaced. The actual pole only needs to be remounted.