Gloria Stout Phet Baccam, sentenced to life in prison; shown here during his murder trial. Editor's Note: This is part of a series on the history of murder in Benton County, and unsolved "Cold Cases" from the Vinton/Benton County area.

East-Central Iowa REC is proud to announce it has awarded $1,000 scholarships to three young men who plan to begin pursuing careers as lineworkers through the Powerline Technician program at Northwest Iowa Community College, as well as nine graduating seniors who plan to further their education in a diverse range of programs.

By Janet Woodhouse Brandi Gerber with her medal May 2, 2017 WAMAC West Divisional Meet (9 holes) Hosted by Benton Comm. At Tara Hills, Van Horne, par 36 Weather conditions: cool, partly sunny, winds were gusting Team Scores: Independence 192 Vinton-Shellsburg 202 Benton Comm.

The VFW Auxiliary 8884 of Vinton is planning a lasagna supper fund-raiser for the completion of the documentary on local WWII veteran John Gualtier to help the Thaler Holocaust Memorial Fund and producer Brent Watkinscomplete the film about Gualtier'sservice during WWII and his eyewitness accounts of concentration camps as he became one of the first Americans to witness the Holocaust in person.

Central College's A Cappella Choir will take Austria and Germany by song May 16-27, with more than 60 student vocalists performing on tour. Local students part of the tour include: Elijah Miller and Hannah Miller of Newhall The choir performs internationally every four years, and more than 60 student vocalists are part of this tour.

Twenty students have been elected to Central's 2017-2018 Student Senate, The following local students will represent the student body next year: Caitlyn Conway of Blairstown Founded in 1853, Central College of Pella, Iowa, is a private, residential four-year liberal arts college known for its academic rigor and strength in global experiential learning, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), sustainability education, athletics success and tradition, and leadership and service.

Garrison will hold the Garrison Emergency Fun Days on Saturday, July 8th. Events will include: A Poker Run at 9:00 Meet at the Hitchin' Post Kids' Health and Safety Fair from 11:00 a.

As we kick off our Annual Spring Fundraiser for Vinton Today, we want to take a minute to thank all of our advertisers. The fundraising part is necessary for our annual expenses, but the advertisers, are also an important cog in the wheel of Vinton Today.

By Fritz Burow On a chilly, rainy Thursday morning, students of the Vinton-Shellsburg West Campus entered the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School's ornate front doors for their first time"¦165 years after the school received its first vision-impaired pupils.

  By Fritz Burow When VSCSD instructor RaeAnne Mason heard that the Downtown Beautification Committee had increased the number of flower pots they needed to get ready for Vinton's merchants from 67 to 81, she knew her West Campus students would help make short work of the task.