.....Advertisement.....
.....Advertisement.....

Today's Opinions

  • Giving us the gift we don't deserve

    It’s nearly Christmas time! We’ve come to the end of the most wonderful holiday season of the year – one anticipated by young and old alike.

    It’s a season that’s easy to love. Of course, there are the presents; we all enjoy giving and receiving things. There are the holiday traditions – the sights and sounds and smells we have filed away in our memories from Christmases past. And there are the many opportunities to gather with friends and family.

    Click here to read more...
  • Even governor must get his day in court

    What a difference a week can make.

    It was a little more than a week ago that almost everyone had said that Rod Blagojevich was done as governor, that he should resign from office, after being arrested on federal corruption charges.

    Now, many are changing their tune, pointing out that Blagojevich is innocent until proven guilty, and that some of the allegations aren’t nearly as bad as they sounded just a week ago.

    Indeed, Blagojevich deserves his day in court.

    Click here to read more...
  • Lincoln wayside exhibits a great addition to the community

    As much history as there is inside the Vandalia Statehouse, tourists visiting Illinois’ oldest capitol have only been able to learn part of the story about Abraham Lincoln’s time in our community.

    Now, they can learn the rest of the story, thanks to local historian Dale Timmermann and Vandalia’s Looking for Lincoln Committee.

    The committee, led by Bill Donaldson, celebrated yet another milestone on Sunday, when it dedicated its 10 Lincoln wayside exhibits.

    Those exhibits tell important stories about Lincoln’s time in Vandalia.

    Click here to read more...
  • Schwarms settle Hickory Creek bottoms

    Several years ago, I was caught unawares at the Ingram Log Cabin Village in Kinmundy. There I was, without a camera, standing in front of the Schwarm family log cabin that had once stood along Hickory Creek, right here in Fayette County!

    So, when an ad in the newspaper told that the village was open the weekend of Oct. 13, I grabbed my husband, Dale, and my camera, hopped in the car and visited the village.

    Click here to read more...
  • Governor betrays citizens of state

    Tuesday was a sad day for Illinois.

    With former governor George Ryan already in prison, Gov. Rod Blagojevich was taken into custody by FBI agents at his Chicago home Tuesday morning on a wide variety of corruption charges.

    Click here to read more...
  • Attend storyboard dedication Sunday

    Like nothing else our community has done in the recent years, the soon-to-be-installed Looking For Lincoln storyboards will tell visitors the fascinating story of Vandalia’s intersection with Abraham Lincoln.

    Click here to read more...
  • Uncles tell of family history in St. Peter

    I think I learned more about my dad’s family from my two bachelor uncles, Renatus "Noddy" and Harold Torbeck, than just about anyone else.

    Of course, by the time I began to drive out to the German Prairie to visit the pair, they were semi-retired and had the time to visit. Uncle Harold would join right in on the conversation, but Uncle Noddy would more or less study the green patterned linoleum in front of his feet and offer a few words here and there.

    Click here to read more...
  • Local gift may save Statehouse

    When the key turned in the door of the Vandalia Statehouse on Sunday evening, the state said it would be the last time the facility would be open to the public for the foreseeable future.

    Gov. Rod Blagojevich had slashed the funding, and that was that.

    But state officials don't know the people of Vandalia – though they should be getting an idea of the character of the residents by now. Remember the effort to save the Vandalia Correctional Center? Remember the effort to build the first phase of the Kaskaskia College campus?

    Click here to read more...

Copyright © 2013

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