Keep us in mind if you’re planting a tree this fall

Introducing our new water service guarantee

West Side home tour October 13

Fall safety tip: buckle up!

Lansing sewer rates increase this month

If you’re thinking about planting a tree this fall, please keep our power lines in mind.

Tree interference with power lines is the biggest single cause of power outages and poses a safety hazard as well. If you’re planting a new tree, pick a species that is strong and will thrive in our climate. And remember, that sapling won’t be small forever.

As a general rule, species that grow quickly will also be weak and will break easily. Forestry experts at Michigan State University suggest you avoid Silver Maple, Box Elder, Mulberry, Native Black Cherry, Chinese Elm, Catalpa and Black Locust.

On the other hand, foresters suggest that the following are trees that grow well in our climate and are not as susceptible to breakage:

Small (plant at least 15 feet away from power lines)

• Hedge Maple

• Cornelian Cherry

• Hawthorn

• Flowering Crab

• European Mountain Ash

Medium (plant at least 35 feet away from power lines)

• Juneberry

• European and American Hornbeam

• Yellowwood

• Hop Hornbeam

• Amur Cork

• Ornamental Cherries

• Bradford Pear

• Japanese Pagoda

Large (plant at least 45 feet away from power lines)

• Norway Maple

• European Alder

• Hackberry

• Katsura

• White Ash

• Honey Locust

• Kentucky Coffee Tree

• Oak (White, Swamp White, Burr or Red)

• Little-Leaf Linden

If you’re building a new house, be sure to tell your contractor about the BWL’s new water service guarantee program.

We’ll install your new residential water service within seven business days or give you a $25 refund. Here’s how the program works:

1. Your builder initiates an application for service.

2. Your builder provides a site plan clearly marking where the service is to be located. We provide a cost estimate.

3. The builder makes sure the service route is free of building material and buried material and is within six inches of final grade.

4. When we get your signed service application and payment we install the service within seven business days, or give you a $25 rebate.

The first weeks of school are full of excitement with lots of short trips between school, home and parking lots. With all that activity we sometimes forget to do one vital thing to keep us safe: buckling up.

In a recent survey, 25 percent of Michigan drivers admit to wearing safety belts only some of the time, not recognizing it’s important to buckle up even on short trips or just driving in town.

The truth is that a staggering 80 percent of all traffic deaths happen at speeds under 40 mph. And 52 percent of all crashes occur within five miles of home.

The next time you get into the car, think about the people who love and care about you. If you’re not buckled up, you’re 30 times more likely to be seriously injured or killed in a crash.

A crash without safety belts could mean more than just a hole in your windshield—you could be leaving a bigger hole in someone’s life. So, remember to buckle up, always.

Members of the West Side Neighborhood Association will proudly display nine lovely homes during the group’s eighth annual Home Tour Sunday, October 13.

Lansing’s West Side Neighborhood features more than 1,700 homes of various architectural styles. Tickets for the tour cost $15 and proceeds benefit Advent House Ministries. You can get advance tickets from Advent House by calling them at 485-4722. On the day of the event you can also buy tour tickets at Fire Station #7 at the corner of Saginaw and Jenison streets.The West Side Home Tour runs from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

A 4 percent rate increase takes effect October 1 for customers of the Lansing Wastewater System.

Lansing City Council approved the new rates during budget deliberations in May. The 4 percent increase will be reflected in combined water and sewer bills mailed in November. Wastewater customers will find more details about the increase in an insert included with this month’s bill.