Town Devastated By Steel Mill Closure Reborn Thanks To Ncaa Ref And The Hope For New Grocery Store

Town Devastated By Steel Mill Closure Reborn Thanks To Ncaa Ref And The Hope For New Grocery Store

Town Devastated By Steel Mill Closure Reborn Thanks To Ncaa Ref And The Hope For New Grocery Store The New Venice Elementary School building – submitted to hmdb.org by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois Once the steel and manufacturing jobs dried up, the town of Venice began to sink. This Illinois community lost two-thirds of its population, before seeing its last remaining grocery store close, and even its only school. But things are looking up again thanks to an unlikely ally, who presented himself as a financial and managerial conduit through which state money could help turn the lights back on in the town. In his pomp, Ed Hightower was an award-winning college basketball referee and school superintendent for Edwardsville School District. Refereeing 12 NCAA Division I Final Fours, the 1990 World Championship of Basketball in South America, the European Basketball Championship in 1993, and the Goodwill Games in 1994 and 1998, Hightower built a storied career for himself that allowed hi…