TREE FALLS

Power was knocked out to a number of businesses and residences early Sunday morning when a tree fell across the power line, toppling the pole on Funderburg Drive across from the Monticello Police Department.

“The tree fell about 3:15 a.m.,” said Monticello City Manager Tim Sweezey. He said “the tree had a shallow root ball, and the ground was saturated because of all the recent rains, so when a straight line wind hit the tree, it fell.”

A police car parked on the street was damaged. “Power was out for about six hours, said Mr. Sweezey, but since it was not a main transmission line, it did not cause a hardship to a lot of people.”