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Today's News

  • No easy, inexpensive fix for river intake

    City officials learned on Monday night that they can no longer hope for a simple and inexpensive fix to its raw water intake on the Kaskaskia River.
    Alderman Terry Beesley, chairman of the city council’s water and sewer committee, passed on the bad news after months of working on the project.
    Beesley has been in regular contact with a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers representative who agreed to look into the problems with the intake.

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  • Octochem TIF agreement OK'd

    As the Vandalia City Council approved significant Tax Increment Financing assistance for an existing industry, the mayor cited that company’s continuing growth and loyalty to Vandalia.
    The agreement approved unanimously by the council gives Octochem 90 percent of the new property taxes generated as a result of the company’s expansion at its facility on Wagner Street.

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  • Teachers' contract OK'd

    One day after the Vandalia teachers’ union ratified a contract, the Vandalia Board of Education last Wednesday approved a three-year pact that gives teachers a raise in the second and third years of the contract, but also clarifies the district’s option to make reduction-in-force personnel cuts.
    The action came during a special meeting of the school board that lasted only five minutes.

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  • Three county teams have No. 1 seeds in volleyball regionals

    Vandalia, St. Elmo and South Central are all No. 1 seeds in three different regional volleyball tournaments that begin next Monday.

    The Lady Vandals are the top seed in the Class 2A Vandalia Regional, and will play on Tuesday at 6 p.m. against either (4) Metro-East Lutheran or (5) Altamont.

    Other teams in the regional are (2) Flora, (3) Staunton and (6) Marquette Catholic.

    During the regular season, Vandalia only played against Staunton, winning that season-opening match, 25-18, 25-17.

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  • Leiken places 21st at state golf tournament

    DECATUR – After posting her best round of the high school season last Friday, Vandalia senior RaeChelle Leiken had positioned herself to finish in the top 10 of the state.

    But on a rainy Saturday at Red Tail Run Golf Course in Decatur, Leiken couldn’t repeat her 78, shooting an 87 on day two of the Class A state tournament to finish 21st, eight spots higher than last season.

    And she still can’t put her finger on what  exactly went wrong.

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  • Vandals have a lot at stake vs. Greenville

    Is this the year?

    Vandalia and Greenville’s storied rivalry has been one-sided recently, but the Vandals are hoping that this year, the Battle of I-70 will result in a Vandalia victory for the first time since 1999.

    “They like to spread it out, so we have to cover everybody and be aware that they can run it up the middle,” said senior Alex Newsom. “We can’t let them think they have a chance, or if we do get down, we can’t think that we don’t have a chance.”

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  • Vandals excel in many facets to win at Pana

    PANA – Vandalia’s defense has been making statements all season as the conference’s No. 1 unit, but its loudest mark yet this season came in the third quarter last Friday.

    Holding Pana to minus-7 yards on just eight plays over four drives in that quarter, the defensive showcase helped allow the Vandals to build a 33-0 lead during an eventual 33-13 victory that spoiled the Panthers’ senior night.

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  • Swofford cut short at state, takes 17th

    BLOOMINGTON – Blake Swofford sat in the back seat of the team’s van, just itching to get back on the course.

    But with a thunderstorm passing over Prairie Vista Golf Course in Bloomington on Saturday, Swofford and the rest of the field had to take a break from the second round of the Class 1A state tournament until the weather cleared up.

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  • Conference championship on the line for Lady Vandals

    An undefeated conference season is in reach for the Lady Vandals, but to get it, they have to beat Pana on Thursday.

    Seven seniors will be recognized prior to the varsity game, and all of them will be looking to make contributions to avenge a loss from earlier this season, when Pana knocked off the Lady Vandals, 10-25, 19-25, in a nonconference game on Sept. 20.

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  • Tennis season ends at sectional

    EFFINGHAM – The Vandalia tennis season came to a close last Friday with no wins at the sectional tournament.

    But coach Kevin Schroeder had no complaints about how his girls performed.

    “They gave it a very good effort,” Schroeder said. “The effort was there, but the results don’t show where the effort was.

    “It just didn’t go our way, kind of the opposite of the conference meet.”

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