With the memory of last year’s fatal accident still fresh in everyone’s mind, Vandalia Mayor Rick Gottman says there has been a plan outlined for this year’s Halloween Parade to try and avoid such an accident from happening in the future. Mayor Gottman told the Vandalia City Council at last night’s meeting that Vandalia Police Chief Jeff Ray has a plan for next week’s Halloween Parade in downtown Vandalia. Chief Ray recently met with the Vandalia Lion’s Club to discuss the plans. Mayor Gottman says the plan will include having an extra person manning a post at the 6th street crossing and asking that there be no line up of any parade participants on 8th street to the north, only to the west or south. Mayor Gottman says they are also communicating with CSX Railroad to ask that trains slow down on the night of the parade—basically asking them to crawl thru town at a very low rate of speed. Gottman says they will also contact CSX that day to remind them—as Gottman said when they asked the trains to slow down when the downtown building’s had partially collapsed a few months ago, the slow down only lasted for a few hours. Gottman says he would like to see trains permanently slow down coming thru town, as he believes their speed of 55 to 65 miles per hour coming thru is too fast. The extra precautions are being taken as this year’s Halloween Parade will mark the one year anniversary of the fatal train-vehicle accident last year during the parade that claimed the life of Crystal Ann and three of her children.