The village of Coal Grove got some much-welcome news on Thursday when they learned that $1.25 million form the Ohio capital budget would be coming their way for riverfront improvement projects.

This is the culmination of years of hard work, with now-Mayor Andy Holmes stating that the grant was one he worked on when he first came on council.

Rather than outright spending the funds, the village is also considering using them for purposes of matching funds on additional grant, which could make the money available exponentially larger.

We can see how this sort of foresight paid off in Ironton, when the council and mayor worked to stretch out funding for pavement projects and cover a much larger area of the city.

It is fortunate that leaders in Coal Grove are also considering going big in the approach.

In addition to Coal Grove’s funds, money was also awarded toward a welcome center at Wayne National Forest, as well school communications in the county.

We congratulate the village on the funds received, and thank the General Assembly, especially House Speaker Jason Stephens and Gov. Mike DeWine for sending them this way.