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Today's News

  • Vandal wrestlers qualify for state as team

    ROXANA – After defeating Benton, 49-21, on Tuesday, the Vandalia High School wrestling team will battle Prairie Central High School in Bloomington on Saturday in the first round of the Illinois High School Association Dual Team Wrestling Tournament.

    The first-round match starts at 9 a.m. at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum. If the Vandals win, they will face either Wilmington or Stillman Valley in the semifinals.

    Coach Jason Clay said that as long as his kids wrestle balanced matches, they will have an opportunity to find success at state.

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  • Vandals wrestlers win just one bout at state, but experience gained will help next season

    CHAMPAIGN – Senior Justin Hill was the only Vandal wrestler to make it to the second day of the Illinois High School Association’s Individual State Wrestling Tournament on Saturday, and after being roughed up in the championship semifinals, he was unable to place.

    Stillman Valley’s J.J. Whaley (39-7) defeated Hill by technical fall in just 2:38, but he went to the mat hard 49 seconds into the match and required assistance from a trainer.

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  • Banks of the Okaw-Feb. 24, 2011

    This week’s Mystery Banks Photo: These three siblings were born and reared in Fayette County and graduated from Vandalia Community High School. The two brothers live around Vandalia, and their sister lives in a Southern state.

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  • The Way We Were-Feb. 24, 2011

    15 Years Ago

    1996 – Mayor Rich Walker reported that the project to extend sewer lines to the city’s western Interstate 70 interchange was nearing completion.
    South Central was knocked out of postseason play with a 79-55 loss to Freeburg at the Vandalia Sectional Tournament.
    During a meeting of the Vandalia Chamber of Commerce, Fayette County State’s Attorney Rod Irvin and Vandalia Police Department Sgt. Fred Willms told local business owners what they could do to fight shoplifting and bad check offenses.

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  • Frank Meier kept alligator, snake

    The news headline from The Vandalia Union read: “Sleepy Citizen Shot and Killed in Vandalia.”
    I’m too young to remember Frank H. Meier’s alligator, but many of our readers may recall this "pet" that, along with an ancient black snake, inhabited the Meier greenhouse.
    The Union newspaper reporter wrote that E. F. Steffen, the new owner of the F.H. Meier Greenhouses, fired the fatal shot, and then went on to fire a few of his own.

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  • Public notices vital to keep the public informed

    A bill has been proposed in the Illinois House of Representatives that – if passed – would significantly reduce the information available to citizens about the activities of the state’s governing bodies.
    That bill – House Bill 1869 – would eliminate the publication of all public notices in newspapers in favor of placing those notices on government websites.
    It’s a dangerous proposal that inevitably will inhibit citizens’ access to information that affects them.

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  • Swofford enjoys music with karaoke machine

    “Have Karaoke Machine, Will Travel” could be the motto of retired factory worker Raymond Swofford, who spends much of his time traveling to nursing homes and other places to share his love and enjoyment of gospel and country western music with others.
    His interest in music began when he was 7 years old, as he sang along with the radio as his favorite country music stars, such as Roy Acuff (“The Great Speckled Bird”) and Ernest Tubb (“I’m Walking the Floor Over You”), made their mark in bluegrass, gospel and country music history.

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  • www.leaderunion.com will become paid website on March 10

    On March 10, The Leader-Union’s website (www.leaderunion.com) will become a subscription-based site.
    On that day, visitors to the website for more than 10 minutes will be given the opportunity to subscribe to the printed product (and thus receive free access to the website), or they may choose to subscribe only to the website.
    Current subscribers to The Leader-Union, however, will have unlimited access the site at no additional cost. They merely must enter their customer number (as printed on their newspaper address label) in order to access the website.

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  • Marc Kelly elected associate judge

    In his initial career planning, Marc Kelly did not see himself following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. But that’s exactly what has happened.

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  • ROE opposes Quinn's proposed cuts

    In his budget address last week, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn identified several programs in state government that could be put on the chopping block to reduce the state’s massive deficit.
    One that hit close to home for Mark Drone was a proposal to eliminate state funding for the Illinois’ 45 regional superintendent of schools offices.

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