Jerry’s Cafeteria’s Very First Tweens Cooking Class Had a Phenomenal Turnout
There was no shortage of smiles or interest when Jon Roderick announced he was holding a Cooking Class at Jerry’s Cafeteria. The class registration filled to capacity in a matter of minutes, then a waiting list had to be created for the next class, to be announced at a later date.
On the menu, they learned to make a basic white cream sauce and turned it into 3 different dishes. Panko crusted bacon mac & cheese along with Chicken pasta Alfredo and Cream of potato soup.
Royals Liquor Has Settled into Granite City and Is Open for Business
The new Royals Liquor store, located at 3102 Nameoki Road in Granite City has turned on the open sign and is now welcoming new customers. The business has brought life back into an empty building that once housed Block Buster Video. The glow of the neon lights is an attractive addition that brightens the area. The store will be a convenient location to buy Beer, Wine and Spirits without the long lines that you often find in a supermarket.
Ward 4 Alderman Brad Eavenson Recaps the September 07, 2022 Council Meeting
The mayor recognized 4th ward resident, Mr. David Czerny for his efforts in maintaining the grass medians on St. Clair Avenue.
The council granted several requests for temporary road closures for various events including the GCHS homecoming parade.
The downtown committee brought in ordinances to reimburse TIF projects to the property owner at 2265 Madison Avenue and to the Granite City Park District for the projects at Memorial Park. An ordinance was also presented to approve roofing projects for two buildings owned by the city. All issues were passed by the council.
Under Planning and Zoning, nine additional properties were approved for demolition. All were approved. The Police Committee brought in the annual renewals for contracts with the Granite City School District to provide SRO services to the district. All were approved.
The Fire Department Committee presented a letter of resignation from Firefighter/Paramedic Marc Birc who is relocating. Thank you for your service, Marc and best wishes for your future.
Two inducement resolutions were presented by the Economic Development Committee to investigate the feasibility of incentives for projects at buildings on Nameoki Road including the old Tri Mor Bowl, and adjoining properties. Both were approved.
The finance committee asked for approval of the collective bargaining agreement with the city white collar workers. The contract was approved.
During committee meetings, the legal and legislative committee reviewed ordinances that dated back to 1992 dealing with business licenses, sidewalk sales and potential new language for the new pop-up style businesses. Currently there is no language that deals with this new type of business and since it appears that this could be a new “wave of the future”, we need to provide operating ordinances for these types of ventures.
The next meeting will be September 20th. Come down and see how your city government works.
Senator Duckworth Visits Granite City
Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois held a roundtable discussion in Granite City Monday. She focused on the future of law enforcement and the new ‘Public Safety Officer Support Act. Senator Duckworth said one of her main goals is to prioritize the mental health of public safety officers. This new law focuses on supporting any officers facing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and families of officers lost to suicide following any sort of trauma.
She was joined by many public safety leaders at Granite City City Hall Tuesday, including the city’s Mayor, Mike Parkinson. Parkinson shared many public safety officials are still recovering from the loss of Officer Tyler Timmins last year. Mayor Parkinson said, “I’m going to set aside $20,000 of ARPA money today for any of those officers in my city who may need it, as a direct result of this conversation we had in the room (at the roundtable) today.” Read full article here.
Twigs 10th Annual Back to School BBQ and School Supply Giveaway was a Much Appreciated Celebration for Area Students
After GCSD#9 canceled its promised Back to School Celebration for area students over possible bad weather, reactions were met with disappointment to frustration from area parents. With no apparent back up plan in case of unfavorable weather, the students and parents plan to enjoy the day of fun with bounce houses, games and prizes and surprise guest speakers and school supply giveaways were instead switched to a brief announcement of the event being canceled with no plans of being held at a later date, along with closing message of “See You in The Classroom!”.
The volunteers at Twigs were a welcome sight to the students as they were met with smiles and excitement for the day’s celebration. Music filled the air as happy children played in mountains of bubbles and lined up for snow cones among other treats. The day was a smashing success while happy children enjoyed the back to school celebration and parents received a little help with so many school supplies being given to the families free of charge.
Twigs and its team of volunteers is an asset to the community that never fails to put children and families first.
If you’ve never walked the grounds of the Six Mile Museum and Community Garden you need to add it to your to-do list. The museum and garden are maintained by volunteers who donate their time and labor to raise funds all going toward the upkeep of the property.
July brings the opening of the Community Garden produce stand, where the hard work of volunteers is rewarded with a bounty of fresh home grown produce. The first to hit the shelves are ripe heads of cabbage along with garlic plants. Thursday, July 14th the shelves will be stocked with fresh corn from Relleke Farm.
You will also find beehives on the property and plenty of local raw honey for sale. Shortly the garden will be providing red ripe tomatoes along with a varitey of peppers among other garden-fresh veggies. The museum and garden are operated by volunteers and made possible through donations. For more information visit the Old Six Mile Historical Society.
Granite City filmmaker Colton Crawford has another short film underway with scenes shot in their hometown and in Alton.
“Under the Setting Moon” is a short horror film that soon will be in post production for about a month, then distributed and entered into film festivals across the nation, Crawford said. The short was shot in Lenny’s Bar in Granite City and in Alton on the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River, as well as other locations. You might spot someone you know in the film, as so many people applied as extras through Facebook and word of mouth.
“Under the Setting Moon” is about a young trans woman who loses the love of her life unexpectedly. Struck with grief, she is willing to do anything to get him back, even if it means conjuring up the devil to do so.
“She and her girlfriends play around in black magic to try to bring him back. This is part of the collection of Colton Crawford’s Classics,” Crawford said. “Right now, I’m working on a, kind of, new art by mimicking classic cinematography, like ‘Gone With The Wind.’” Read more…
Planning and Zoning Committee: The council approved eleven more properties for demolition.
Legal and Legislative Committee: The council approved the ground lease for the property occupied by the main post office building.
Public Works: The council approved a bid for sidewalk replacement for the north side of Johnson Road as part of the continuing improvements to that corridor. The council approved an ordinance establishing a “No Parking” zone on the north side of the 2700 block of Edwards Street to better accommodate bus traffic on that street.
Economic Development: The council approved the ordinance to purchase the property at 1509 Pontoon Road for possible future development. The council approved the proposal for engineering and survey services from Juneau and Associates for the next fiscal year.
Finance Committee: The council approved salaries for appointed officials for the next fiscal year. These are the non-union employees that work in the city administration. The council also approved placing funds from the American Recovery Program in higher interest earning investment accounts until those funds are used to pay for projects.
Other items: Reports were presented by the Police, Fire and EMS departments as well as the Treasurer to be placed on file. Several residents addressed the council with concerns about a recovery house opening in their neighborhood.
This is a summary of items discussed and is not to be confused with the actual minutes of the meeting.