Today's News

 For the 500th time in 26 years, a Gary Shirley-coached team emerged victorious when the final buzzer sounded Saturday night in the South Central Cougars' 49-39 win over Beecher City in third-place game at the 49th Annual St. Elmo Holiday Tournament.

It is a milestone that few coaches manage to reach. But Shirley was quick to note that such feats aren't achieved in team sports without a lot of help - both on and off the court.

Fittingly, on a night in which a team-first player, senior Laura Hobbie, was recognized for reaching a career scoring milestone, the Vandalia girls basketball squad demonstrated how it has used outstanding teamwork to ascend to the ranks of the top-10 Class 2A teams in the state.

Vandalia Mayor Rick Gottman announced late Wednesday afternoon that the state has accepted an anonymous donation from a local resident and will reopen the Vandalia Statehouse.

The donation to the Illinois Historic Preservation, which is being channeled through the Old Capitol Foundation, will pay the salary of a full-time employee at the Statehouse.

The IHPA issued the following press release on Wednesday afternoon:

For 27 minutes, the Vandalia boys basketball team did everything it needed to do to pull off an upset of its biggest rival on the road.

But then, everything that could go wrong for the Vandals did go wrong over the final five fateful minutes.

Now, Jan. 16 cannot come soon enough.