Munford residents who enjoy using the new walking track soon will be able to extend their hours, as the Town Council voted this week to install lights around the track.

The track is part of the old high school complex, in an area where the marching band and football teams practice. Many of the people who now use the track can remember when they walked the same ground years ago as students.

The decision a few years back to build a new high school came with the recognition that the old facility could no longer accommodate the needs of the student body, but the town wisely has held on to the property and over the years has found ways to keep it in use.

The old school stood in the center of town, and it remains a center of activity. The football team, band and cheerleaders still use the grounds for practice; the cafeteria is now a senior center; the gymnasium gained the official designation this week as the Munford Community Center; the Volunteer Fire Department and the Munford Water Authority have relocated to the old school grounds.

Giving new life to the old school shows respect for the town’s heritage, it makes good use of limited resources, and it retains a historic edifice in a community that has lost most of its oldest buildings.