Today's News

Vandalia Mayor Rick Gottman received confirmation on Thursday that work on the downtown enhancement project is scheduled to resume on Monday.

Gottman said that Hank's Excavating and Landscaping of Belleville, the general contractor for the work, told him that workers will be back on the job at the beginning of next week, weather permitting.

Just a day after the fire that destroyed his business, Art Martin was counting his blessings.

With smoke still rising from the corner where his business stood, the owner of Donaldson’s Carpet, said, “We are fortunate enough to be in a small town.”

Donaldson was referring to the offers for help he received, including one from his main competitor, Tom DePaolo of DePaolo’s Floor Covering and Home Decorating Center.

My last column dealt with some of the 150-plus Fayette County one-room schools,  through whose doors generations of Fayette County citizens passed. 

In that column, I mentioned that County Superintendent C.F. Easterday had visited more than 20 country schools, and he shared his report in an issue of The Vandalia Union newspaper.

In hopes of avoiding layoffs and furlough days, Vandalia officials will be asking city employees to agree to wage freezes for six months.

After meeting in closed session for close to an hour on Monday, the city council agreed to take proposals for wage increases to the unions representing the city’s laborers, police officers and telecommunicators.

The city has prepared memorandums of understanding for the pay freezes, which would run from May 1-Oct. 31, and Mayor Rick Gottman said the city will attempt to set up a meeting with the union representatives.