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Today's Opinions

  • School options require study, input by voters

    With several months of study already under its belt, the committee of 10 representatives studying the potential reorganization of the St. Elmo and Brownstown school districts is continuing on a path toward presenting the issue to voters in those communities.

    So far, the committee has progressed at a reasoned pace, and with a consistent goal of determining what the reorganization could do to enhance the quality of education available to the students of those districts.

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  • Flour milling once a thriving business

    Again this week, we turn to the historical archives found in back issues of The Vandalia Union newspaper. For this weeks column, we are visiting the week of Oct. 13, 1927.

    In that issue, an article titled, "Flour Milling in Fayette County" was published in the paper. Special attention was given to the St. Elmo Milling Co., once the most thriving of its kind in this part of the country.

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  • How we respond to Orgill loss can determine our future

    A week after receiving the news, its still hard to swallow the fact that our community was a runner-up in the race for a new Orgill distribution center. Making the news doubly hard to accept was that it means the loss of the current Orgill facility in Vandalia.

    Obviously, that news hits no one harder than the 140 or so employees of the Vandalia facility who know that they will have to find a new job and one that pays as well within a year.

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  • Grandpa's Indian discovery creates stir

    My mother, Cora Rebbe Torbeck, was reared along Flat Creek in Wilberton Township. The firstborn of seven children of Edward and Edna Moeller Rebbe, she was reared within a stone's throw of the home of her grandparents, Chris and Minnie Rebbe.

    One night, while sitting around the supper table, Mom told us of the time her father had unearthed the skeleton of an Indian while plowing a field along Flat Creek. Mom knew that this had happened while her dad was still a teenager, but she didnt know any of the details. The story intrigued me.

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  • Sales tax option may help schools

    Though we have to start from the premise that the last thing most people want is another tax, there may be some merit in studying the benefits of a countywide sales tax to benefit our schools.

    The concept of a sales tax to provide funding for education is new in Illinois, but has been used successfully in several other states.

    The difference between this proposal and other current school taxes is that under this plan, funds are generated by retail sales rather than the more traditional property taxes.

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  • Paper preserves Pennington story

    Back in 1914, the editor of The Vandalia Union newspaper asked the old settlers to write down what they remembered about the county 50 years before. There were 20 or more replies, and they were published in the newspaper, beginning on April 9, 1914.

    Maranda Pennington was one of the first to respond, and her personal story of the days of 1865 is very interesting.

    She wrote, Editors and readers of the Union I do not remember any certain incidents that transpired in the year 1864, but well do I remember my experiences during 1865.

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  • County needs Enhanced 911

    The Fayette County Board is expected to vote this week on putting an Enhanced 911 referendum on Novembers general election. Were advocating for that board action, and also for the support of E911 at the general election.

    On the agenda for the boards regular meeting this Thursday night is a proposed ordinance that would put the measure before the voters, with the recommended monthly E911 surcharge set at $2.75.

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  • Charles Evans served community in many ways

    With the involvement of the United States in World War I, the nations citizens became well aware that the resources of our allies were nearly exhausted. Eyes turned to America for necessary food, fuel and supplies to continue the conflict.

    In Fayette County, as in other counties throughout the nation, agencies were formed to not only gather clothes for the Belgian war effort, but also to be sure that local residents had enough food and fuel.

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