As Ironton prepares for the eventual closure of the Intermet-Ironton Iron plant in 2000, workers and their families will not be the only ones who will be worrying about what the future will bring.

Friday, December 17, 1999

As Ironton prepares for the eventual closure of the Intermet-Ironton Iron plant in 2000, workers and their families will not be the only ones who will be worrying about what the future will bring.

There are many businesses in Ironton that don’t know how the plant’s shutdown will affect their ability to continue. Some might not be able to wait for a new industry to come to the city.

But even though their own futures are on the line, too, that has not stopped many of the men and women who run businesses in this city to think about how they can help Intermet-Ironton Iron employees who are facing Christmas with a February job loss ahead.

Food, clothes and toy drives, as well as public support in the form of comments to the media are just some of the ways these businesses are offering help to the soon-to-be-displaced workers.

And that kind of loyalty to a community is one of the best parts of having a business that is owned and operated by someone who lives here.

For those who are not employed at the plant, this is the time to support the businesses that cared enough to set their own needs aside to come to the aid of a neighbor.

Check at home before you buy across the river. Give some of these businesses a chance to show you what commitment and service are. Real friends are there to help when the going gets tough. Pay attention to where that support comes from now and reward it. Those are the businesses that deserve your patronage.