DEBORAH SIMCOX CORRESPONDENT In spite of last week’s snow, the Vandalia Park Board is gearing up for the warmer seasons to come. Visiting the board meeting on Thursday, Jan. 13, was Vandalia Mayor Ricky Gottman, who is also aware of the safety concern which was presented by David Townsend at the recent City Council meet…

By, MIKE WARREN Managing Editor The Vandalia school board had its accreditation lowered from “recognized” to “on-probation” on Thursday, Dec. 23, following a tense online meeting over COVID-19 masking with Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) officials the day before. The issue in this case of accreditation is an attempt by ISBE to enforce the…

Deborah Simcox Correspondent Mayor Ricky Gottman opened the Vandalia City Council meeting on Monday, January 3, with the announcement that masks were being required for the meeting as well as any other business taking place at the city offices. He related that Covid cases were rising rapidly, not only in Vandalia, but also in Fayette…

This year was supposed to be different. COVID was supposed to have been eradicated, and generally, things were supposed to be better. While some may consider it better than its predecessor, many just viewed 2021 as a continuation of 2020, and many are hoping 2022 will definitely be different. There were many stories in Fayette…