Local News – April 19, 2017
The Salem Board of Aldermen met Monday evening at the Council Chambers for their regular meeting. After approval of the consent agenda, the board canvassed the election results of the April 4th election and approved Resolution No. 3-2017 declaring the results valid. City Clerk, Mary Happel, then administered the oath of office to Dr. Haydn Powell for East Ward Alderman and Chad Heithold as West Ward Alderman. The board then approved Dr. Powell as President of the Board of Alderman. Mayor Brad Nash nominated and the board approved Mary Happel as City Clerk and Camm Seay as City Attorney. Three bids were presented to replace the roof at the Al Brown Concession Stand and the board approved John Woods Roofing, the lowest bid, for a total of $3,280. City Administrator Ray Walden reported on a recent Planning and Zoning Workshop where the committee is currently assessing all parcels inside the city limits for zoning classification. After this assessment is complete, a map can be created of all classifications of zoning in the city. The Salem Community Center @ the Armory assisted 6,742 people at their facility for the month of March. The Chamber of Commerce Business Expo will be held this Saturday from 9 am-12 noon at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory. A GRO Economic Development meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 25th at 5:30 PM at the Bank of Salem Courtesy Room. The City Wide Yard Sale will be held on May 6th and spots are still available at the City Administrative building parking lot. Spring Clean-Up days will be the week of May 1st thru 5th and May 8th thru 12th. Healthy Dent County will be selling lanterns for $10 each with a Lantern Lift-Off to be held at the Commons on the Fourth of July prior to the fireworks display. All proceeds from the Lantern Lift-Off will go towards next year’s fireworks fund. Walden stated that a Request for Proposals will be published in the local paper asking for proposals for the future development of the former high school located on 10th Street. An architectural consulting firm will be retained to help evaluate the proposals. Water/Sewer Superintendent, Jack Emory, requested approval to repair 2 Flygt Mixers at the Waste Water Treatment Facility. The board approved the repairs at $2,903.50 and $3,514.78 before going into closed session to discuss contracts, litigation and real estate.
The Dent County Sheriff’s Department has released a number of reports. On Tuesday, April 4th, deputies responded to the 6400 block of Route K in attempt to locate a fugitive with an active warrant. A consent to search the residence was granted by the home owner. Once inside, deputies located Jeanne Bourbon of Salem. Bourbon was wanted out of both Crawford and Texas Counties for probation violation warrants. Bourbon was arrested without incident. Upon arrival at the Dent County Jail, Bourbon was found in possession of suspected methamphetamine and prescription pills. Bourbon was charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance. She is currently incarcerated on a $50,000 cash only bond as well as her charges from Crawford and Texas Counties. On April 5th, deputies responded to the 3200 block of south Highway 19 and arrested Josh McAfee who had an active felony warrant for his arrest. McAfee was arrested without incident. Also arrested was Bethany Knight of Salem. During a consent search of Knights purse, deputies located suspected marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Knight was transported to the Sheriff’s Office, issued a summons to appear in court, and released. McAfee was incarcerated at the Dent County Jail on no bond. On April 6th a subject walked into the sheriff’s office to report fuel missing from a storage tank located at Indian Trail Park. They reported that 142 gallons of fuel has gone missing from the tank. This report is under investigation. If you have any information on ongoing investigations, feel free to call the Dent County Sheriff’s Department at 729-3241.