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THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2026 • $1.50
MV Middle School parking lot work expands
Business of the Year:
Bijou Movie Theatre
Nathan Countryman Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun
nathan.countryman@mvlsun.com
The work on the Mount Vernon Middle School parking lot will now include all of Seventh Avenue. The board unanimously approved an amendment to extend an additional parking lane space from the parking lot to the east side of the Mount Vernon Middle School horseshoe drive. That additional paving work for a parking lane in that stretch of road was $39,904.22 The original bid for the parking lot was $976,502.82, which was $66,605 less than the engineer’s estimated cost off the project. Dave Panos of Shive Hattery explained that the 12-foot parking lane south of the current lane would allow for more parking options and allow the road to continue to function. It would also add a 6-footwide sidewalk. There will be a denoted crosswalk for students to use to safely cross to the middle school. “The goal is the raised lip for the parking lane will differentiate it from the roadway, and the inner curb will protect pedestrians or walkers,” Panos said. That addition is to be added to the current project being worked on by Mortensen currently, with a goal of being completed before the start of the school year. The school board also approved moving forward with the bid process for an extension of the 12 foot parking lane on the south side of Seventh Avenue through the horseshoe drive out to the three way stop. The estimated cost for that extension is $261,000 on the top end. Bids will be let this week, and due back by July 30, with the board holding a special meeting Aug. 3 on the numbers. The plan is for completion of Sept. 30 of this year, with restricted hours of work beginning Aug. 28 when school is back in session where work can only be completed 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the time school is in session. Board member Suzette Kragenbrink said after watching flow of traffic on that road, any plan that did not add parking to the south of the horseshoe drive was not addressing the issue. “It’s not a two-way street when so many cars are just parked there,” Kragenbrink said. Board member Jeremy Kunz said his concern was that the school still has a middle school exterior that needs to be completed, and that an additional $261,000 would possibly eat in to that money. PARKING LOT | 2
INSIDE
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John Charlson | Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun
Owner Kelli Kennon-Lane makes popcorn inside of the Bijou Theatre in Mount Vernon on Saturday, July 11, 2026. The Bijou was awarded Business of the Year by the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Development Group. By John Charlson Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun news@mvlsun.com
Kelli Kennon-Lane is proud to continue the Bijou Theatre’s 50-year-old tradition of bringing the Mount Vernon and Lisbon communities together to enjoy films on the big screen. “We thought this was a great opportunity to breathe some new life into the business plan, keep the theatre going, but maybe in a slightly different direction,” says Kennon-Lane, who bought the Bijou from its previous owners, Kira and Chris Moore, in late 2024. In just the second year of owning the Bijou, Kennon-Lane has been awarded Business of the Year by the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Development Group. “I think when you have 20, 50, 70 people together in a small room, watching something together, there’s that shared sense of camaraderie that
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people are missing,” said Kennon-Lane, who adds that when she and her husband John bought the theater, they wanted to keep all the things that make the Bijou a staple in the community, while enhancing that experience for the next generation. The first order of business was revitalizing the storefront. “We just did a ton of cleanup, basically upstairs in the projection room, here in the lobby, new carpeting, just cosmetic things.” In March of 2025, the Bijou was also awarded a $50,000 grant from T-Mobile, which afforded Kennon-Lane a new, energy efficient door for the front of the building, in addition to providing her the opportunity to host free, outdoor screenings in the grass lot next to the building. “We did a lot of landscaping with native pollinator plants that we purchased from our local farmer: Rhubarb Botanicals,” said Kennon-Lane, who adds, “It just created a cozy little out-
door theater where people can bring a blanket or a chair and watch a movie together once a month.” Creating fun new opportunities for families to come together has been key to Kennon-Lane’s vision for the Bijou. “We showed an independent film, ‘H is for Hawk,’ that I actually had to beg the distributor to let us show because we’re such a small theater,” said Kennon-Lane, who adds that she also invited a local falconer to attend the screening, giving movie watchers a chance to see a real life red tailed hawk. “As a business, it’s really important to us that we wrap around our schools, and our youth,” said Kennon-Lane, who says that the Bijou is constantly making donations to different youth sports teams, clubs, organizations, and BIJOU | 2 Additional CDG Awards pages 15 & 16
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