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KEARNS — Becky Vanduren, who works for Intermountain Healthcare on the frontlines of the pandemic, said she is out over $600 after two companies failed to cut down and remove a tree from her yard.
“First guy didn’t finish the job, second guy said he could handle it,” she said. “Had a huge tree limb fall. It came down and it hit the edge of our neighbor’s roof. Totally scammed.”
But once word got around, an unexpected group did it for free.
“Heard of the problem she had with the guy that said he would cut her tree down, and she had no way to get rid of the debris,” said David Henderson with the Unified Police Department. “Just happened that we were looking for some service projects to do.”
Dozens of UPD officers showed up to help the single mother, who has three children under the age of 4.
“(The trees) were over 40 feet tall,” Vanduren said. “Now, you can see they are stumps on the ground. It is awesome.”
DEEP ROOTED PROBLEM.
— Morgan Wolfe (@MorganWolfeKSL) July 7, 2020
A Kearns woman says 2 companies scammed her hundreds of dollars after not finishing the tree removal job they were hired to do. The ones who came and did it for free brought a tear to her eye. Catch the story on @KSL5TV . Bring your tissues. pic.twitter.com/UvZtyjSRJh
“Single mom, three children. Working hard, long hours. Not a lot of money to hire someone to finish the job,” Henderson said. “I thought what better opportunity to help the community and show how much we care about the community of Kearns.”
For Vanduren, her appreciation grew by the minute as officers picked up what the others had left behind.
“In my heart, I am so overwhelmed. I cannot explain to you how grateful I am,” she said. “To have someone do it for me — my heart is full.”
“That money goes towards diapers, food, and my rent. I’m a single parent,” Becky Vanduren said about the $630 she lost in a tree removal debacle.
— Morgan Wolfe (@MorganWolfeKSL) July 7, 2020
A story you’ll only find on @KSL5TV at 6. pic.twitter.com/oYirM3C9SP
