ST. ALBANS, W.Va. -- On Friday, workers cut and hauled away the trunk of one of the massive pin oak trees that stood near the end of St. Albans High School's Crawford Field.

The removal marked the end of a years-long legal saga school officials fought with St. Albans resident Pat O'Reilly, who filed a restraining order against the school board in an effort to save the oaks. A Kanawha County Circuit judge ultimately dissolved the restraining order, finding that O'Reilly did not have standing in the case.

Arboreal experts hired by the school system said the trees were damaged, rotting and could not support the weight of their own canopies. Maintenance director Terry Hollandsworth said school officials went ahead with the removal after a branch weighing several thousand pounds fell onto U.S. 60 during the derecho storm in late June.