By Jill Hanning
Enquirer contributor

Norris

LEBANON - City Hall will be closed Monday for Lebanon's first official observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

City Council recently voted to add the holiday to its list of official observances.

"I appreciate the steps this council has taken to recognize Martin Luther King Day," said City Councilman James Norris, a social studies teacher at Berry Middle School.

"I teach it as a day to reflect on the many contributions that those whose names we don't know have made to civil rights. It's significant to the city, the students and the council."

Meanwhile, council voted Tuesday evening to advance $450,000 from the electric fund to the telecommunications fund to cover debts carried over into the new year. The loan will be drawn from the reserves of the more-established electric company and be paid back over 20 years.

Lebanon is the only city in the Tristate to operate its own telecommunications system, offering cable, high-speed Internet and telephone services, the last of which began this summer.

The set-up costs of the system totaled $11 million - double what was estimated - and some citizens expressed concern at Tuesday evening's meeting.