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Today's Opinions

  • Area gives strong support to St. Elmo fundraiser

    Austin Adams has lost his hair, because of chemotherapy treatments he has taken to battle cancer. By late afternoon on Sunday, about 70 people at the St. Elmo Fire Station had similar hairstyles.

    Those individuals who agreed to have their heads shaved did so both as a show of support for Austin and other children with pediatric cancer, and to raise funds to fight that type of cancer.

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  • Smoke-Free Act too hazy to work

    What appears to be a poorly drafted piece of legislation has the states restaurant and bar owners enveloped in a cloud of smoke, with no easy way to clear the air.

    The new Smoke-Free Illinois Act, which went into effect the first of the year, attempts to ban smoking in virtually all public areas. Thats good news for those who are bothered by second-hand cigarette smoke. But its extremely confusing for business owners, government officials and law enforcement personnel who are expected to enforce the vague measure.

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  • Vandalism of tribute tree is sad

    All vandalism is a senseless crime – there's no arguing that. Damaging property that belongs to someone else is nothing but mean and cruel.

    It's even worse when the target of acts of vandalism, whether or not it is the intent, is to something that has been erected to pay tribute to an individual.

    Such is the case with the evergreen tree that has been planted near the start of the Lincoln Loop Walking Trail that runs through three of Vandalias city parks.

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  • State's first woman voter from Ramsey

    Now that were in the middle of all the election excitement, it seems a good time to retell a story of the first election ever held in the Hurricane Precinct near VanBurensburg.

    At this early day, Montgomery County and a portion of Fayette County were within the environs of what was then Bond County.

    Perrysville, while located in what is known as Seminary Township, Fayette County, was, in those days, the county seat of Bond County. The seat of government was later moved to Greenville, and within a few years the log cabin village of Perrysville was abandoned.

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  • Event helps fund cancer research

    Pediatric cancer is the No. 1 killer of our country's children, but there is an effort under way to change that ... and you can be a part of that effort.

    Area residents can help to fight pediatric cancer, and raise awareness of the disease, by participating in a special event this Sunday in St. Elmo.

    Regional firefighters are holding a St. Baldricks Foundation fundraiser at the St. Elmo Fire Station. A ham and beans dinner that begins at 11:30 a.m. is followed by the shaving of about 50 heads.

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  • Enhanced 911 saves lives

    Fayette County residents have been asked twice to pay a nominal monthly surcharge for an emergency phone service that saves countless lives each year and twice they have chose not to do so.

    County residents will again be asked to fund an Enhanced 911 phone service, possibly this fall, and this time, we hope that they support that program.

    We agree with Fayette County Board Chairman Steve Knebel, an Illinois State Police officer, when he says that he wants Fayette County to no longer be among the few counties that dont have that service.

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  • A.W. McDonald visited here...and stayed

    Two weeks ago, I wrote about the John A. McClanahan family burying ground, located two miles north of "Twin Churches" in Carson Township.

    Bowling Green, a pioneer village from the 1830s, occupied the site more than 170 years ago, with John A. McClanahan as storekeeper and doctor.

    The McClanahan Family Cemetery is situated on the west side of the road. Almost directly across from it, on the east side of the road, is found the McDonald Family Cemetery.

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  • It's time to find solution for intake

    If its not one thing, its another or another or another.

    There have been several reasons why Vandalias new raw water intake hasnt worked properly since the project was started more than four years ago. But, as Alderman Chad Feldpouch pointed out Monday night, the city has gotten very little use out of the intake.

    The citys consulting engineers, HMG Engineers, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have tried a couple of different ways to get the intake working properly, but nothing has worked.

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