Fair, 39.0° F
A message for our readers
The Galena Gazette is providing all of its news stories and photos of the COVID-19 pandemic with no payment required as a public service and in an effort so you can be totally knowledgeable as to how the pandemic affects you. Please consider a print or online subscription to support this vital reporting by a locally owned business .
Village of Elizabeth to honor seniors
ELIZABETH–Melody Landwer, Elizabeth village trustee, has spearheaded hanging banners with pictures of seniors graduating from River Ridge High School in Elizabeth.
Landwer, a parent of a 2020 senior, saw the idea on social media and thought it would be something the village of Elizabeth could do to show support for the 32 River Ridge seniors graduating this year.
“We were going to pay for new banners for our town because the ones we have now are not working,” said Mike Dittmar, village president at the village’s special end of fiscal year 2020 board meeting on Wednesday, April 29. “Obviously with the coronavirus we weren’t going to look for them until next year.”
Dittmar said that typically the village pays Jo-Carroll for the banners including installation. The village pays 10 percent of the cost.
Landwer sent the grant to Jo-Carroll for approval.
When the banners are taken down, they will be given to the seniors.
Loan program
The village also instituted a COVID-19 business loan assistance program. The maximum loan amount is $3,000, with a 2 percent interest rate.
Loans will be for a maximum length of five years with loan repayments being deferred for up to six months, or until the village determines the pandemic hardship is over. The loan becomes immediately due and payable in full if a business permanently closes or is sold.
At the meeting, the board approved loans for Common Cents Resale, Jane Marie Boutique and Highway 20 Brewing Company.