Camp Called; Cutters Complied!

Once again we were contacted by our friends at Camp Sumatanga and asked if we might be able to remove 6 trees that were all dead but standing (or leaning) in precarious positions and places such that if they ever fell down on their own or were blown down in a storm could potentially harm people or property at camp. Of course we were eager to help out and continue our chainsaw cutting skills; especially as we have been so blessed as to NOT be hit by severe storms activity in our geographic region so far this year.  And so, on Wednesday, September 20, 2015, we mustered at camp and were shown our assignments by camp development officer and co-worker for the day, Rev. Mark Parris.

Out intrepid in-the-woods team consisted of 8 members: (L to R: Ray Miller, Ken Clements, Alan Weeks, John Boettner, Buddy Williams, Boyd Martin, Henry Averyt and Bob Thompson.

Our assignments consisted of an 80-foot dead pine tree standing perilously close to the camp administration building; two 80-foot pines along Old Sumatanga Road near the lake, a hardwood tree hanging over a cabin at Pool Camp AND already resting on live power lines (and perhaps you'll recall that we have a new-found, healthy respect for tree branches and electrical wires based upon our experience at Nauvoo several weeks ago); and two hardwood trees - one camp had dubbed the "widowmaker" - overhanging the paved trail located across the dam on the far side of the lake.

We tackled them in that order with the following results:

The big pine standing beside the administration building - before: The big pine standing beside the administration building - during:

The big pine standing beside the administration building - after:

The twin lake pines - before: The twin lake pines - during:

The twin lake pines - after:

The Pool Camp leaner - before: The Pool Camp leaner (showing the power lines issue at hand!) - during:

The Pool Camp leaner - after:

Across the dam / across the lake little leaner - before: Across the dam / across the lake little leaner - during (sorry, no after picture but we DID clean up the debris after we took down the tree!):

The "widowmaker" - before: The "widowmaker" - during; by the way, look what we can do with the appropriate gear!  We were able to borrow camp's bucket truck...a great addition to our armament of mechanical tools helping us to complete our work!

The "widowmaker" - during: The "widowmaker" - after:

Camp generously provided us with lunch to nourish our bodies and prepare us to continue to stay alert and work safely during our afternoon of cutting ahead.  We dined on turkey sandwiches, potato chips, grapes, salad and iced tea.  They also offered us dessert but our Cutters for Christ sisters, Nancy Miller and Kim Boettner, generously sent along baked goods with their husbands - brownies and cookies, respectively - to tantalize our sweet teeth while working in the woods!  Thank you both, Nancy and Kim!

So that was our day at Camp Sumatanga.  Mission fully accomplished by the team in 6 hours and all for the glory of God and the further building of His kingdom. Hopefully those who come to camp this summer will enjoy the safer scenic views of His creation and the safer buildings resulting from the dead trees we removed; and if campers come next Fall or Winter, they will enjoy the the warmth created by the firewood resulting from the hardwoods we cut down, as well. Lastly, don't forget to stay in touch with us by occasionally reading our blog at cuttersforchrist.bolgspot.com in your spare moments.  Blessings to all!

In His Service, Bob

Another great day at Lewis Armstrong's house. We were able to finish the 2 yards and the City of Birmingham came by and picked up most of the tree. Thanks to Adam, Sam, Jim, Henry, Boyd, Ken, and Tim for serving today. I have attached some of  the pictures of our finished job.

Thanks to Ken, Henry, Jason, Jim, and Boyd for a great day today. I hope to see you all again tomorrow at 9:00. Below are some before and after Pictures.

Yesterday Cutters for Christ teamed with Riverchase UMC to help our friends in Nauvoo Al.

Nauvoo - An "Exciting" Job

You'll remember the job we were asked to undertake in Nauvoo, AL at Christian's Place Mission ("CPM"), located at Nauvoo United Methodist Church.  We postponed this job twice previously because of adverse weather, so we decided that we would not postpone again regardless of the weather today - which blessedly turned out to be partly cloudy to sunny all day, and the ground was only just a little bit muddy from the previous day's rain. A team of 10 volunteers comprised the Nauvoo team.

Today's Nauvoo team consisted of (l. to r.) project leader Ray Miller, Bob Thompson, David Moser, Jim Pressler, Tim Smith, Harold Beaty, Rev. Sam Williamson, Henry Averyt, Buddy Williams and Rev. Roger Watkins.

Our first order of business was to obtain a Right of Entry authorization from the neighbor, Mitch McDaniel, on whose property we expected the big pecan tree to fall.  With that in hand we went right to work trimming some of the low tree branches.  And that's where the "excitement" began!  Careful as we try to be, sometimes mistakes occur if we move too fast; and today we were destined to be presented with one of them. One of the low limbs we were trimming snagged on a live power line strung between a power pole and the Christian's Place Mission building as we were cutting the limb, which resulted in the power line being pulled down, a piece of fascia board being pulled off the building, electrical wiring conduit poles being pulled from the building and the electrical dial boxes that record electricity consumption spewing sparks that eventually ignited a small fire as some of the wiring insulation burned!  Very fortunately, the fire quickly put itself out and no damage occurred inside the building at all.  An Alabama Power repairman was on a job just down the road so when we called Alabama Power for assistance, he was on site with us within 15 minutes.  And within 30 minutes more he had disengaged the power to the line that was hanging from the power pole and laying across the main road in town - 4th Street - and cut the now disconnected, inert lines from the Christian's Place electrical conduit pipes.  Blessedly, the items needing to be replaced were estimated to cost less than $50.  Nauvoo UMC Pastor Roger Watkins had most of the replacement parts in place by the time we finished our work and all that remained was for the power company to return and restring the power line from the power pole to the building.

Note the sparks coming from the dial box on the right and the smoke emanating from both boxes!  The fascia board and metal conduit tubes are shown where they were pulled from the building.  The power lines are still "hot" in this photo.

But by the time we were finished with our tree removal job, almost everything was pretty much back together, thanks to Rev. Roger Watkins.  All that remained was for the dials to be reinserted in the boxes and the power lines themselves to be restrung from the power pole to the building.

This large pecan tree was the main subject of our assignment.  Its roots had been cut by the installer of a septic system for the building, thereby killing the tree.  Avoiding crushing the small building located just below the tree and making sure that when the tree falls it also would not damage the neighbor's property were originally the two major challenges to we needed to consider.

After careful engineering considerations - specifically, the depth and angle of the wedge to be cut into the tree which would ultimately determine where the tree would fall - project manager Ray Miller made the wedge cut and Buddy Williams finished with the rear cut, resulting in the tree falling just slightly to the west of where we had planned.  But Mr. McDaniel's shrub tree was spared, for which he was most appreciative.

And this is view of the site after all the branches and logs had been cut up and moved to their respective debris piles.

We also took down two hickory trees on the lot owned by Nauvoo UMC located just to the north of Christian's Place Mission.

Before (looking west):

After (looking east):

Two debris piles were established, one along the rear property line for smaller branches and the other along 4th Street for larger pieces and the possible future availability of firewood for church congregation members.

All in all our work took us 6-1/2 hours to complete, inclusive of the "excitement" delay we experienced.

We would be remiss if we did not thank team member Nancy Miller who, although not being with us today, sent along nourishment for us with Ray.  Thanks so much, Nancy, for your always welcomed brownies!!!  Yum!

Please remember to visit the Cutters for Christ blog website occasionally at cuttersforchrist.blogspot.com for our activity updates and to keep abreast of our members who are active in sharing God's love outside the realm of our disaster response ministry missions.

In His Service, Bob T. Bob Thompson Riverchase UMC Disaster Response Ministry Coordinator