Today's Opinions

Each year, the Vandalia Chamber of Commerce presents a pair of Abe Awards. And most years, the announcement of the recipients elicits the same reaction: “It’s about time they were recognized for all the things they have done.”
This year’s honorees – Tony Flowers and Bob Lindberg – fit that pattern. They’ve both toiled for years, sometimes in obscurity and sometimes in the spotlight, but always working for the good of others.

20 Years Ago

1993 – U.S. Rep. Dick Durbin (D-Springfield) held his first town meeting in Fayette County since picking up all of this county through a redrawing of congressional district boundaries. The town meeting drew about 50 people.
H. Edward Smith, a former employee of the National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA), visited with students of Vandalia Junior High School.
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Harner of rural St. Elmo were planning to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on Jan 23.

For most area residents, the only view of the Vandalia Correctional Center is the one they get from driving past on Ill. Route 51.
From that vantage point, they can see the fences, the buildings and the 1,500-acres of land on which the facility is located. They may occasionally observe inmates in the exercise area, when the weather allows. But those superficial glimpses are about the extent of the contact most residents have with the county’s largest employer.