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"Vandals who recently hacked up four trees on South Winooski Avenue in Burlington could be costing taxpayers $6,000 to replace the greenery, but it's not just residents' wallets that are hurting.\u00A0It was a particularly painful morning for Eugene Aube as he cut down the very badly damaged Gingko trees.\u00A0\"I hate to see them destroyed like that. I consider them sort of my children,\" Aube said. He's worked for Burlington's Parks and Recreation Department for almost 23 years.Of the four cut-up trees, three needed to be removed immediately.\"Even though it was a small tree, it still could do some bodily harm to somebody if it fell down and the way that they were cut they really needed to come, come down,\" Aube said.The vandalism happened just around the corner from where the tires of at least eight car owners were discovered slashed Monday morning. Police said they are unsure the two acts are related.Still, it's the attack on the trees that has Aube at heartbroken.\"It's hard to put it in words really, but it's a loss,\" he said.As crews tossed the felled trees in the chipper, at least they know they can salvage some good out of the situation.\"We use the chips that are generated on our new trees every year and we also take them down to the McNeil generating plant to produce power for the grid,\" said Aube.As for replacing the trees, the cobblestones that surround them will make that a difficult process, so it's likely that won't happen until next spring.Replacing the Gingkos could cost about $2,000 each, City aborist Warren Spinner told News Channel 5 on Monday.\u00A0Anyone with information about the tree vandalism is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 802-864-6666.Using the WPTZ app? Click here for this story's video:\u00A0"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.mynbc5.com/article/6-000-could-be-needed-to-replace-vandalized-trees/3309793>