WESTON -- Poisoned trees in Weston's city park will find new life as statues.

Four trees between the ages of 60 and 90 years old in this Oregon city about 19 miles south of Walla Walla were poisoned last year, said Sgt. Joshua Henningsen of the Weston Police Department.

"(The suspects) drilled into them and poured a chemical directly into the trunk of the tree," Henningsen said, adding city officials had hoped the trees would survive, but too many dead limbs were causing safety concerns.

"The trees were just showing too many signs of stress," Henningsen said.

Rather than cut the trees down and remove the stumps, city officials decided to have the standing trunks turned into artwork.

Four sycamore trees will be turned into standing artwork, said Henningsen, and the city plans to plant other trees to take their place.