By Lynda Potts

Special to the Tribune

A spectacular Christmas light show has been set up on the east lawn of the courthouse for everyone to enjoy for the month of December. It is similar to last year's show, but bigger and better.

The light show was constructed by Edward Potts, Tony Hudson, Wendell Griffy, and Jack Cathey, and installed with the help of welders Cory Racine and Joey Kleine, Steve Cain of Action Tents, and Mike Wiles, executive director of the Marshall County Joint Economic and Community Development Board.

Edward and Lynda Potts have produced this as a gift to the community in memory of her parents, the late Calloway and Jean Crunk.

Businesses on the square are decorating for Christmas as well. Rick Tillis, of Tillis Jewelry, has placed a fabulous lighted Christmas tree on the roof of his building, drawing attention to the southwest corner of the square.

The light show on the courthouse lawn will run from 5 p.m. to midnight every night until Jan. 1. The music may be heard by tuning your vehicle's radio to 89.7 FM.

The centerpiece is a 20-foot cosmic-ribbon Christmas tree at the top of the courthouse steps. The tree is made up of 12 16-foot strands of cosmic ribbon. Each ribbon is composed of 150 light-emitting diodes. This year four dancing hoops, also composed of the cosmic ribbon, have been added to the display. Several new songs have also been added, including a patriotic medley which draws attention to the veterans' monuments which are nearby on the courthouse lawn.

Each strand of lights in the show is operated by its own controller, which allows the lights to dance, blink, and come on and off as programmed.

The star, the Santa sleigh and reindeer, bells, Happy Holidays sign and gingerbread house were fabricated by Griffy in his welding shop. He and his wife Patsy were originally using these at their home.

Cathey, an IT expert and owner of Megawatts Communications, is the computer software guru who synchronized the tree with the other lights and the music.

The controllers, cosmic ribbon, programmed software for the tree, and associated licenses were purchased from Light-O-Rama, the premier designers of such shows.

Many hours of "think time" go into the engineering and construction of the display. The labor begins in early fall. On the day of installation, it takes 10 people working for nine hours to set the display up on the courthouse lawn. It is reviewed and tweaked daily, though the computer starts, runs, and stops the show as programmed.

The benefactors are especially grateful to County Mayor Joe Boyd Liggett, the County Commissioners, and Architect James Kennon for allowing the delay of construction on the east side of the square until after Jan. 1.