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Today's News

  • Friday-1 p.m.- City gets 4th Street intersection opened

    Vandalia officials have thus far been unsuccessful at getting the 300 and 400 blocks of Gallatin Street opened to traffic, but they have gotten the Fourth Street intersection reopened.

    Mayor Rick Gottman and Public Works Director John Moyer said the intersection would be opened up on Friday afternoon, making that announcement during a meeting they held with downtown merchants to explain the status of the downtown project.

    That intersection will remain open unless snow and/or ice would necessitate its closure.

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  • Bruno advances to sectional championship round in three-point contest

    Vandalia High School freshman Amber Bruno advanced to the sectional championship of the three-point shootout on Wednesday night. Bruno hit eight three-pointers to advance. The guard sank nine treys in the regional championship round last Thursday and eight three-pointers in regional semifinal round.

    Bruno will be shooting from beyond the arc again prior to tonight’s sectional championship, in Pana at 6:50 p.m.

    During the season, Bruno was the the Lady Vandals leading scorer with 352 points (13 points per game). She made 22 three-point attempts throughout the year.

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  • No check, no word from Motown

    More than two months after agreeing to reimburse the city of Vandalia for a traffic study, Motown Technology & Sports Facility Inc. has not submitted that payment.

    And, Motown officials have not responded to recent attempts by the city to contact them.

    Motown and the city signed on Dec. 7 an agreement that gave the Michigan-based group six more months to provide the city with proof that it has financing for its proposed $300-million sports and entertainment complex.

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  • Feldpouch, Morani resign on Tuesday

    The Vandalia City Council accepted two resignations on Tuesday night, and quickly acted to fill a vacancy created by one of the resignations.

    Chad Feldpouch, who has been a Ward IV alderman for eight years, resigned due to a resident's complaint about a conflict of interest.

    After accepting his resignation, the council approved Mayor Rick Gottman's appointment of Andy Lester to that Ward IV seat.

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  • Find a way to open Gallatin Street

    Even though no work has been done on Gallatin Street since Dec. 22, the two-block stretch between Third and Fifth streets remains closed to traffic.

    That means continuing hardship for merchants in those blocks trying to stay afloat during the downtown renovation project. In fact, since those two blocks have been closed to vehicular traffic since October, the total time without curb access there could be approaching six months by the time the weather allows construction workers to return to the job – probably in April.

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  • Granny-isms become part of family lore

    The recipe I was preparing called for American cheese slices, and as I substituted Velveeta brand cheese, I had to laugh.

    When I first married into my husband’s family, 33 years ago now, we were at Grandma Berniece Spires’ home in Bingham for the weekly Sunday supper.

    Grandma asked me to go “in yonder” to the back porch to fetch a cheese box. I walked down the hallway to the porch and searched the shelves for a Velveeta cheese box, that being the only cheese I knew of being packaged in a box.

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  • City administrator accepts job in New Baden

    The man who moved from Troy three years ago to serve as Vandalia’s city administrator has accepted a similar job that puts him back in that area.

    Jimmy Morani submitted his resignation to Vandalia Mayor Rick Gottman on Tuesday, saying that he has accepted a job as city administrator for the village of New Baden. He will work in Vandalia through April 16.

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  • Feldpouch resigns; Lester appointed

    A Vandalia aldermen known for openly voicing his opinion and asking questions resigned on Tuesday night, citing a resident’s plan to pursue a conflict of interest claim against him.

    And even after he resigned from his Ward IV seat, Chad Feldpouch asked a question about a pending city project.

    Right after the council accepted Feldpouch’s resignation, it approved local contractor Andy Lester as his successor.

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  • School district prepares for action on Pre-K

    In a meeting that lasted only 50 minutes, the Vandalia Board of Education handled a short agenda, received updates from the principals of all buildings in the district and heard a report from Superintendent Rich Well about shortfalls in state funding that could impact several programs in the district.

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  • Still no luck with opening Gallatin Street

    Several parties at Tuesday’s meeting of the Vandalia City Council volunteered to do whatever would be necessary to get the 300 and 400 blocks of Gallatin Street open to traffic while weather prevents work in that area.

    But, Mayor Rick Gottman said, it’s of no use – nothing can be done.

    “We’re tying to get it open, but it’s not worth it,” Gottman said.

    The council learned at its Feb. 1 meeting that it would be charged $3,870.33 each time that the two blocks are opened up while work is delayed because of weather.

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Copyright © 2013

The Leader Union is your source for local news, sports, events and information in Vandalia, Il, and the surrounding area.