News

     Fifteen members of the recently formed Vinton Shellsburg Alumni   football team held their first practice on Sunday, May 1 at the high   school football practice field.  The focus of this practice is the   upcoming game versus the Center Point Urbana Alumni football team on   Friday July 8 at 7:00 pm in Center Point.

     After getting just a couple hours of sleep Saturday morning, 2011 Vinton-Shellsburg Prom Queen Shelby Beyer woke up to get dressed up again to receive another honor. She traveled to Des Moines, where she was honored as one of the Governor's Scholars of 2011.       Below is some information sent from VSHS Principal Kirk Johnson about that honor.

        Several hundred area third grade students learned a variety of farm-based lessons during the Third Grade Ag Day on Wednesday, April 27.      The sponsor and participants include: Benton County Farm Bureau, Vinton Shellsburg FFA,  Benton County ISU Extension, Benton County Beef, Pork and Dairy Producers, Benton County Fair Board,  East Central Iowa REC, Benton County Conservation, Benton County 4-H,  all the Benton County Schools and Stan Geiken, Duane Fisher, Ruth Schafbuch (the event leadership team).

     Once again, agents from the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have shut down the Peony Family Restaurant in Vinton, and are conducting an investigation. A uniformed Vinton police officer was standing guard outside the door at noon today, prohibiting unauthorized people from entering. Area television station reporters and cameramen are also in the area.

     Tuesday, May 3, 2011, is National Teacher Day. Thank a teacher for making public schools great!      May 2-6 is Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week.  For the lives they touch, we appreciate them very much.   Vinton Today has asked our Facebook followers to share some of their favorite teacher memories.

  The City of Vinton has started work on a new comprehensive plan. The process, designated 2020 Vision for Vinton, will culminate in a document containing policies and goals to guide the city’s long-term growth. Vinton city officials have retained the services of the East Central Iowa Council of Governments (ECICOG) to help a citizens’ planning committee draft the 10-year comprehensive plan.

     Bill Hammond, who comes to Vinton for the annual Guitar Jam each fall, came for a spring performance. Hammond, from Minnesota, played (along with a few friends) for a couple of hours in the lobby of the Cobblestone Inn. Approximately 25 people sat around the lobby, listening to Hammond sing and interact with the crowd. 

     The timing was coincidental, but the presentation of the Vinton Fire Department's annual report to the Vinton City Council on Thursday and the VFD fish fry on Saturday both demonstrated the same fact: The department relies on the community to help provide the resources to protect Vinton from the damage and danger of fire.      "Our members are very proud of the Vinton Fire Department and on behalf of them, I would like to thank you, the City Council, the Rural Advisory Board and the citizens of the Vinton fire district for the support given to us this past year," wrote Fire Chief Gary McKenna in the letter addressed to Mayor John Watson that accompanied the annual report.

     After celebrating their prom on Saturday night, most of the Vinton-Shellsburg participants returned to the high school, food, fun and prizes awaited. Donors, volunteers and many VS parents (junior parents traditionally do most of the work) spent months raising funds, arranging food and entertainment, and soliciting donations from Iowa colleges and area businesses.

     After letting the public see them in their formal attire during the Grand March, the Vinton-Shellsburg juniors and seniors and their dates went to the Skate Center for the 2011 Prom. Afterwards, most returned to the high school for the after prom party which included a variety of food, prizes and games.      The students chose Shelby Beyer as Prom Queen and Logan Williams as King.