Motorists coming to and from Wilton have noticed the removal of several trees around Mud Creek on Highway 38 south of Wilton. They were taken out on the east side of the highway near Dale and Mary Maurer’s property. The Advocate News received the following message from the Iowa Department of Transportation: “The adjoining property owner asked us to clear the brush and trees to restore the roadside to its original condition at the time the road was built. We agreed to do so because of the following issues caused by the dead and overgrown vegetation. 1. Trees were falling on a neighboring fence and causing livestock to get loose, creating a safety hazard on the roadway; 2. The dead fall from the trees and brush was creating a lot of extra maintenance work for us to clean up the debris; 3. The drainage was affected by this growth and causing some erosion problems that will be corrected with removal. There may have been a few dead ash trees in this area, but that wasn’t the primary reason for removal.”