Motorists exiting Interstate 65 and heading up the hill on Tennessee Highway 7 will have two new street lights to illuminate the area, thanks in part to the tireless efforts and tenacity of Alderwoman Janice Reece and Alderwoman Laurene Schrimsher.

The issue of additional lighting on Main Street, particularly the area coming up the hill from the Interstate, has been a bone of contention among members of the City of Ardmore, TN Board of Mayor and Aldermen for several months. Reece first motioned to have six new lights installed early last fall, only to see her attempt voted down. Undeterred, Reece continued to alter her plan and present it to the board in November and December, but to no avail. Each time the measure was opposed by Mayor Bobby Hastings, former Alderman Ken Crosson, and Aldermen Raymond Crabtree and Garon Hargrove.

Earlier this year, Reece again brought the issue to the table, but the motion had been tabled at a previous meeting. On that occasion, Reece and Schrimsher, who frequently seconded the motion, could not even get the issue back on the table for a vote. On one occasion, Reece presented the board with a petition signed by numerous local business owners, but once again the measure was not considered. To quote Mayor Hastings, the issue of additional lighting on Main Street was a “dead horse.”

At the April meeting of the board, Reece again motioned to have additional street lights placed on Main Street, scaled back to two lights, on the second and fourth poles from the Exxon station. Schrimsher seconded the motion and the matter came to the floor for a vote. As expected, Mayor Hastings, Alderman Crabtree, and Alderman Hargrove opposed additional lighting.

This time however, Reece, Schrimsher, Alderman Tim McConnell and Alderman Shane Emerson voted in favor of the measure.

Evidently, the resurrection of horses is a distinct reality, at least as far as the Board of Mayor and Aldermen are concerned.