Columns

15 Years Ago

1996 – Deliberating less than 50 minutes, a Christian County jury found 41-year-old Rocky Bennyhoff guilty of reckless homicide for his part in an October 1995 wreck that caused the deaths of 19-year-olds Leigh-Ann Metzger and Kelly Horton, both of Vandalia. A prosecution expert testified that his study showed Bennyhoff had about 24 beers prior to the accident.
Carey Oldfield of Vandalia was crowned the 1996 Miss Fayette County Fair. Samantha Morrison won the Little Miss crown.

15 Years Ago

1996 – Dr. Tom Jaselskis, a family practitioner in Vandalia for the past five years, announced that he was moving to Tennessee.
Matt Baker of Vandalia and Brian Maske of Ramsey earned degrees from the St. Louis College of Pharmacy.
Vernon and Alma Meyer of St. Peter were planning to celebrate their 50th anniversary.
Brooke Straub and Mandi Wasmuth of Vandalia were inducted into Phi Theta Kappa sorority at Kaskaskia College.

This week’s Mystery Banks Photo: This little guy, pictured about 23 years ago, grew up in Vandalia. He is currently in the military and lives out of state.

Last week in this space, I told of the upcoming commemoration of the Cox Massacre, the first Indian attack ever recorded in Bond County. My story of the attack combined several sources, and this past Saturday, I learned even more after attending the Hill’s Fort Living History Days in Greenville.