Williamstown's Tomlinson Park is covered with dozens of beautiful and majestic trees. And even people who don't live there, who regularly visit the park, take notice of them. And they believe lots of out-of-towners do as well.

"You'll find that, when there's a lot of cars parked here, most of them are from Ohio," Raymond McIntosh notes. "So this says something that people come over from Marietta come here to the park."

That's one reason that, for 24 consecutive years, the National Arbor day foundation bestowed its "Tree City U.S.A." honor on Williamstown. But due to a number of unforseen problems, it will miss out on a 25th honor in a row. and park patrons are disappointed.

"I live outside town, so it's not a big deal to me," Sharon Rocks says. "But I think the residents of the town like it a lot."

Councilman Paul Jordan declined an on-camera interview. But he told us a mistake in initially sending an application to the state Division of Forestry, coupled with an apparent and unexpected delay in its getting to its true destination on time, are the reasons the city won't be eligible this year.

"Any time there's any type of ceremony that can be held to help promote a city," Meryl Walker says, "I think it's something that would be nice to have."

The problem this year isn't expected to keep Williamstown from trying again next year. It had planned a 25th anniversary celebration of its "Tree City" award.

February first was the deadline for the paperwork to be filed for the award.