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Today's News

  • Early voting numbers high

    In less than two weeks, Fayette County residents will be going to the polls to vote in local, state and national elections. A lot of residents, however, have already performed their civic duty.

    “They’ve been coming in in bunches,” Fayette County Clerk and Recorder Terri Braun said about residents taking advantage of the state’s early voting option.

    Unlike absentee voting, those casting early ballots are not required to give a reason.

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  • Lady Cougars win first MTC Tournament since 2004

    The South Central volleyball team is hoping history is about to repeat itself after wrapping up a stellar regular season with a 26-24, 14-25, 16-14 win over North Clay Saturday in the championship of the Midland Trail Conference Tournament.

    The victory gave the Lady Cougars (29-2) both the MTC regular-season and conference-tournament titles for the first time since 2004.

    That was the same year South Central went on to a program-record 34 wins and a sectional championship.

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  • Lady Eagles place 2nd at NTC Tournament

    The St. Elmo volleyball team will be looking to claim its first regional title since 2003 next week on its home court.

    And the Lady Eagles can enter postseason play with some added confidence, knowing it did something Saturday that even that 2003 team - considered the best in school history - failed to do.

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  • History put on hold for Lady Vandals

    History was put on hold in Staunton Thursday, as the Vandalia volleyball team saw its first attempt to pick up a program-record 23rd win and at least a share of the South Central Conference East Division title thwarted in a 25-22, 25-20 loss.

    The Lady Vandals also saw their 14-match winning streak come to an end in a two-game setback to the upstart Lady Bulldogs, but coach Allison Smith thinks the disappointing defeat might turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

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  • Vandals Stymy Staunton

    It simply wasn't shaping up to be Cory Bunker's night.

    First, the Vandalia sophomore sustained a brutal hit while fielding a first-quarter punt Friday, fumbling the ball away as a result.

    He then saw a big third-quarter punt return to the Staunton 1-yard line called back to the Vandalia 46 due to a clipping penalty on the Vandals.

    So when Bunker went airborne to challenge Bulldogs defensive back Taylor Wright for a fourth-quarter bomb to the end zone by VCHS quarterback Drew Bell, it seemed almost inevitable that Wright would come away with an interception.

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  • Baldridge throws no-hitter, Patoka wins EIC Tournament

    Drew Baldridge was so caught up in helping his team do something it hadn't done since 1999 that he failed to realize he'd done something few ever do.

    "I didn't realize it until coach told me that I threw a no-hitter," said the senior moments after leading the Patoka baseball team to a 3-1 victory over Brownstown Friday in the championship game of the Egyptian-Illini Conference Tournament.

    "I was just so happy that we won the game that I didn't even think about it," Baldridge said.

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  • Vandals clinch program-record 3rd straight playoff berth

    It took the Vandalia football program 59 years to get to where it finds itself following Friday's 20-15 win over Pana - in the playoffs for a third straight season.

    So it should come to no surprise that the final step in a journey spanning six decades was not an easy one.

    Pana frustrated the Vandals offensively, holding VCHS to a season-low 181 yards of total offense while forcing three lost fumbles.

    And the Panthers used a pair of fluky big plays to stay in the ballgame, despite a dominating effort by the Vandalia defense.

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  • Lady Vandals win 14th straight, match program wins record

    There was a time not so long ago that it seemed the Vandalia volleyball team would be hard-pressed to achieve its preseason goal of breaking the program's single-season wins record.

    Now, it appears nothing can stop the Lady Vandals from obliterating it.

    Vandalia won its 14th in a row Tuesday night - matching the program record of 22 victories in the process - by cooling off another hot team on its "Senior Night" with a 25-14, 25-18 over Fayette County rival St. Elmo.

    The Lady Vandals are now just one win away from setting a new program standard with 23 victories.

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  • S.C. grad Garrett now playing in Dominican

    While minor league teams in America are finished, South Central grad Shawn Garrett is still playing baseball in the Dominican Republic.

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  • Perfect ending gives VYO 8th-graders another perfect season

    It was a perfect ending to another perfect season by the Vandalia Youth Organization eighth-grade football team.

    Aaron Harter's leaping grab in the right corner of the end zone as time expired Saturday gave the Junior Vandals a 14-8 victory on their biggest rival's home field, closing out a memorable run in unforgettable fashion.

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