The new four-lane to Woodbury will be named after former state Sen. Jerry Cooper, who served in the Tennessee Senate for 23 years until his retirement in 2007.
County Highway and Bridge Committee members Gary Prater, chairman, Randy England, David Rhea, Melissa Yancy and Blaine Wilcher met Thursday and voted 4-1 to name the four-lane after Cooper.
Wilcher was the lone vote against it.
“After I did my research and another guy showed up wanting it to be named after Eric Frazier, I just couldn’t vote for naming it after Cooper,” said Wilcher.
James Fandlin asked the committee to consider Frazier, a Marine Reserve who served in Iraq. Frazier was seriously wounded when the Humvee in which he was a passenger drove over an IED in October 2006. The explosion nearly claimed his life and resulted in the loss of both his legs.
“Fandlin wanted it named after Frazier,” said Wilcher. “He came to the meeting and talked about Frazier’s injuries. He’s a double amputee. It got me thinking there are other people out there we are overlooking. This was a good chance to honor a veteran who did a great deal of service to the country and to our county. I wanted to name it after Frazier.”
“This wasn’t political, even though I’m the only Republican in there,” said Wilcher.
Cooper is a longtime Democrat.
Wilcher made positive comments about Cooper during the last meeting of the committee when Cooper was first considered.
“I still think he’s done some great things,” said Wilcher. “I went to Motlow and he was very instrumental in that expansion, but I had to vote my conscience. I hope everyone understands that.”
As chair of the Highway and Bridge Committee, Prater has long praised the work Cooper has done on behalf of Warren County.
Signs will be ordered and placed on the new four-lane to Woodbury.