<p>The execution date has been set. All appeals have been exhausted, and Mother Nature won't be granting a reprieve.</p><p>Augusta State University's symbol, the Arsenal Oak, will be cut down June 18 after a long bout with a deadly disease and wood borer beetles, school officials announced.</p><p>Augusta State spokeswoman Kathy Schofe said there will be a ceremony to commemorate the tree _ the oldest oak in the Augusta area _ but that plans have not been finalized.</p><p>Some wood from the tree, which is estimated to be between 250-400 years old, will be preserved for display on the campus, Schofe said.</p><p>"We would hope to be able to use it in the design of the new student center, but that depends on the condition of the wood," Schofe said Wednesday.</p><p>A good portion of the wood will be hauled away by the nonprofit group American Forests, which will treat the wood and store it in Jacksonville, Fla., until a plan is made for its use.</p><p>Past projects by the group, which funds environmental restoration projects, have made items like pocket knives out of wood from significant trees. The items are then sold to the public as a fund-raiser.</p><p>Aimee Homan, an American Forests spokeswoman, said the group also hopes to help the Arsenal Oak live on in a new form at its Augusta home.</p><p>"They wanted to see something nice done with the wood," she said, referring to Augusta State officials. "One of the things I'd like to do is take cuttings of the tree to make offsprings of it.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x2866604)</p>
