Today's News

My chemo buddy at the Fayette County Hospital outpatient clinic the past couple of weeks has been Carl Benning of St. Paul, down on the German Prairie in Wilberton Township.

I have never lived in St. Paul, but part of my heart is there, because my mother’s people, the Sasse and Kruenegel families, settled there about 1865, migrating with the Dodge County, Wis., German Lutherans. These settlers founded the St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church.

St. Elmo grad Maribel Guerrero was one of the big reasons Kaskaskia College’s volleyball team approached the .500 mark this year.

That fact was recognized by the Great Rivers Athletic Conference in mid-November. Guerrero, who is a 5-foot-5 sophomore defensive specialist, was named to the GRAC’s first team. She finished her sophomore year with 394 digs and 16 service aces. As a freshman, Guerrero finished with 96 digs and one service ace, bringing her two-year career total to 490 digs and 17 aces.

Paul McConkey operated the Victory Lane Service Station and Convenience Store in Brownstown for 16 1/2 years, something he began in 1992, because he saw a need in the community.

And it proved to be something he enjoyed over the years.

However, Sept. 30 was his last day in the business, as he handed the keys over to a new owner.

“I don’t think of it as retiring,” McConkey said, “It was a chapter in my life, and now I’m just going on to another chapter.”

Vandalia Main Street Program Activities

• 5:30 p.m. – Lamplighter, accompanied by carolers, lights the storefronts on Gallatin Street.

• 6 p.m. – Lighting of community Christmas tree at Seventh and Gallatin streets.

• 6:30 p.m. – Children's story time at Evans Public Library.

• Other activities between 5 and 8 p.m. – Strolling carolers, chestnuts roasting on an open fire, free horse-drawn carriage rides, chainsaw-carved ice sculptures, photos with Santa and silent action play of the nativity.

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