Geneva wins Governor's Home Town Award

The Geneva Beautification Committee placed first in the "clean-up/beautification" category in its population division for the Governor's Home Town Award, it was announced this week.

It did not, however, win the overall Governor's Cup. That was presented to McLeansboro, a city in southern Illinois, for a playground it built.

The awards were handed out in Springfield.

The beautification committee was honored for the work it does maintaining almost 50 gardens in large planters throughout downtown Geneva. About 150 people volunteer.

When the state rebuilt State Street in the early 1990s, Geneva had to install concrete traffic-calming "knuckles" in order to keep its diagonal parking.

Genevans decided the knuckles should look good, and so took to planting them with annuals. Plants were donated by a local greenhouse, until it went out of business in 2006. Now, the committee raises money for flowers by having a spaghetti supper and by selling firewood. Firewood bundles, $5, are available at the rear of city hall near the utility payment drop box. Face cords, $80, are available by calling Jim Gehring at (630) 208-9453.

The group's Web site is www.plantgeneva.org.

The Governor's Home Town Award contest is run by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.