Taking early steps after Bob Evans closing

It’ll be about a month before Galva city officials learn what Bob Evans Farms plans to do with their now-vacant building. Meanwhile, the 66 employees who lost their jobs in the Aug. 9 plant closing are considering their next steps.

City Administrator David Dyer said Tuesday that Partners in Job Training and Placement and the Illinois Department of Employment Securities will hold workshops for those who lost their jobs at Bob Evans. The sessions are Monday, Aug. 23, at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Letters about the workshops were sent to workers.

Dyer also said Bob Evans officials have said they’d let the city know their plans for the vacant building in 30 days.

“I told him we’re anxious to get that dialogue started as soon as possible and if they decide something before that 30 days, here’s my cell phone number,” Dyer said.

Ffinding a replacement for the company which had employed local workers since the early 1970s won’t be easy.

“We don’t want to be polyanna about it,” Dyer said. “In an economy that’s suffering already, it’s just hard to predict what’s going to actually happen. We’ll take all the luck we can get at this point, but we don’t want to rely on it. We want to lay the groundwork to get those jobs back. That’s the key.”