.....Advertisement.....
.....Advertisement.....

Today's News

  • VCC warden terminated

    The Illinois Department of Corrections on Wednesday terminated the Vandalia Correctional Center warden who has been on administrative leave for more than two months.

    Derek Scnhapp, a spokesperson for the IDOC, said early Wednesday afternoon that Steve Mensing's termination had become effective that day.

    Mensing, who has served as the warden of VCC since the fall of 2004, has been on administrative leave since late January.

    Click here to read more...
  • Grapperhaus will play at Illinois College

    Illinois College announced on Tuesday that South Central multi-sport standout Isaac Grapperhaus will play basketball at the Jacksonville school.

    The 6-foot, 6-inch Grapperhaus scored 19 points and pulled down 12 rebounds per game in helping guide South Central to a 23-7 mark in Gary Shirley’s final season as head coach.

    Grapperhaus was a second-team selection for the 2008-09 Illinois Basketball Coaches Association all-state squad.

    Click here to read more...
  • Girls Softball Action

    St. Elmo 12, Neoga 4

    Neoga 5, St. Elmo 0

    The St. Elmo girls picked up their first win of the season with a 12-4 victory over Neoga in a doubleheader last Thursday.

    Shelby Sapp led St. Elmo hitters with a 2-for-4 performance and 4 RBIs. Also having two hits in the contest were Lindsey Mills, Cortney Calhoun, Taylor Carson and Meghan Evans.

    Mills drove in two runs, and Brooke Maxey, Calhoun, Dylan Dilley, Taylor and Evans each had one RBI.

    Click here to read more...
  • Top Guns

    Five area natives helped their respective college shooting teams to impressive finishes at the Association of College Unions International National Shotgun Championships, held March 18-22 at the National Shooting Complex in San Antonio, Texas.

    Brett Pruett of Brownstown and Mulberry Grove natives Garrett Blankenship and Matt Blankenship helped Lindenwood University win its sixth straight national championship.

    The Lions finished by hitting 1,562 targets, 67 more than runner-up Missouri.

    Click here to read more...
  • Girls track squad second at Hillsboro

    Vandalia placed second in a field of five teams in a girls track meet at Hillsboro on Tuesday.

    The Lady Vandals had six first-place finishes in scoring 72 points in a meet featuring Vandalia, Hillsboro, Mt. Olive, Staunton and Highland.

    Kayla Houston had two first-place finishes, taking the high jump at 5 feet and winning the 400-meter run with a time of 1:01.07.

    Tori Hagy won the triple jump with a jump of 30 feet, 7 inches, and Ashley Durbin won the 800-meter run with a time of 2:35.

    Click here to read more...
  • Lady Vandals improve to 2-3

    Vandalia picked up its first win of the season in girls softball in placing third at the Woodlawn Tournament over the weekend, then added its second win on Tuesday.

    The Lady Vandals fell to Sparta, 4-0, in their Woodlawn Tourney opener, but bounced back with a 7-6 win over Webber Township to take third.

    Audra Donaldson took the loss against Sparta, then recorded the win against Webber as the Lady Vandals improved to 1-3 on the season.

    On Tuesday, Donaldson tossed a no-hitter as the Lady Vandals defeated St. Elmo, 23-0, in a four-inning contest at St. Elmo.

    Click here to read more...
  • Election shows the system still works

    Though there weren’t many contested or controversial races in Tuesday’s election, there were enough to spark significant interest in certain parts of the county.

    For instance, several mayoral races were hotly contested – including contests that resulted in new mayors in St. Elmo and Brownstown and a new village president in St. Peter. In Vandalia, two-term incumbent mayor Rick Gottman fended off efforts by two challengers to secure his third term.

    Click here to read more...
  • Bermuda Triangle story makes rounds

    Little did I know when my Feb. 5 story about a Vandalia connection to the mysterious Bermuda Triangle was published in this newspaper that a copy of the article would make it to a family member, Don Garner.

    You may recall from that article that Aviation Machinist Mate (AMM3) Thomas Garner was lost with 11 crew members aboard a PBM Mariner flying boat on July 10, 1945, while on a routine training mission. It was last sighted over New Providence Islands, going north, apparently headed into a rain squall.

    Click here to read more...
  • Gottman wins third term; Tish, Deal win Brownstown, St. Elmo posts

    Rick Gottman garnered two-thirds of the vote on Tuesday in winning a third term as Vandalia’s mayor.

    But residents of Brownstown and St. Elmo decided it was time for a change, unseating their incumbent leaders.

    In Brownstown, Billy “B.J.” Deal defeated incumbent Chuck Fitch in the village president’s race, and in St. Elmo, incumbent Jayson Porter was beaten by challenger Larry Tish.

    Click here to read more...
  • City OKs change order policy for downtown project

    The Vandalia City Council voted on Monday to give the mayor, city administrator and director of public works the authority to approve minor change orders for the downtown improvement project.

    But not without considerable discussion.

    Mayor Rick Gottman submitted the request to allow him, City Administrator Jimmy Morani and Director of Public Works John Moyer to handle minor change orders in the two-week periods between council meetings. In presenting the request, Gottman told aldermen that it was up to them to set the monetary limit on change order approvals.

    Click here to read more...

Copyright © 2013

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