Local News – Thursday, June 8th, 2017

The Missouri State Highway Patrol announces the results of the Motor Vehicle Inspection Division’s 2017 annual school bus inspection program. A total of 12,047 school buses across the state of Missouri were inspected by Missouri State Highway Patrol personnel between the dates of February 2nd and May 5th, 2017. During the annual school bus inspection program, buses found to have no defective items are rated as “approved.” Buses having one or more defective items which do not constitute an immediate danger are rated as “defective.” Buses with any defective items which constitute an immediate danger are rated as “out-of-service.” Buses rated as “defective” may continue to be operated for the purpose of transporting students until repair is made. School districts are allowed 10 days following initial inspection to repair identified defects before being re-inspected by Highway Patrol motor vehicle inspection personnel. Buses rated as “out-of-service” must be repaired, re-inspected, and placed back into service by Highway Patrol motor vehicle inspection personnel prior to being used to transport students. Here is a breakdown of the area schools results: Salem R-80 had 11 busses presented and all 11 busses were approved, Oak Hill R-1 had five busses presented and three were approved, one was defective and one was placed out of service; Green Forest R-2 had seven busses presented and four were approved while three were defective; Dent-Phelps R-3 presented eight busses and one was approved, five were defective and two were placed out of service; Northwood R-4 had five busses present4ed and all five were approved; Ozark Hills State School #61 presented three busses and all three busses were approved; and Bunker R-3 had eight busses presented with six being approved and two were found defective. Salem R-80, Ozark Hills State School #61 and Northwood R-4 all earned the Patrol’s Total Fleet Excellence Award, obtaining an approval rating of 90% or higher with no out of service buses.

The Dent County Fire Protection District Board of Directors held their June meeting Tuesday evening at the fire station. After approval of the agenda and the minutes from the previous meeting, the Board reviewed and approved bills. After a review of the calendar of upcoming events the monthly reimbursement report was presented and showed a total of 17 calls for the month. There were three calls for structure fires, one call for a car fire, two calls for a landing zone, three calls for first responders, one call for a vehicle accident, three calls for mutual aid, one call for a meeting, one call for training and two other calls were storm related. Calls to date total 128. In old business, sealed bids were received for equipment for sale that included a furnace, a generator, a Blazer, a truck, a mower, a transfer switch and a welder. The Board approved the high bid on each item and Fire Chief Brad Nash will be notifying the winners of those bids by phone. There was no new business, but during reports, Chief Nash reported that the grants are still out and they are waiting for responses. The Board then set their next meeting for Tuesday, July 11th at the fire station beginning at 6:00.

Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway released an audit for the City of Viburnum that shows more than $100,000 in potentially fraudulent activities over a number of years. Dana Mayberry served as the Viburnum City Clerk for 14 years. After losing her re-election bid last year, city officials identified discrepancies in accounts that had been under her control. Mayberry admitted to stealing at least $25,000 in city funds. The mayor contacted law enforcement and the State Auditor’s Office to investigate. The audit describes an elaborate scheme that involved adjusting customer utility accounts and then destroying records and other evidence. When citizens made cash payments the former city clerk would pocket the money, and then instead of marking their accounts as paid, she would adjust the accounts to show they owed less than they actually did. The audit shows an estimated $104,000 in adjustments to 1,800 water and sewer accounts over a 7-year period. Mayberry also adjusted her own personal utility account to avoid paying for water and sewer services to her home for four years at a cost of about $4,000. Numerous records and receipt documents were destroyed, however, based on existing documents and citizen interviews and receipts, the former clerk may have also stolen several thousand dollars in court fines and property tax payments. Although the mayor and Board of Alderman ultimately requested the State Auditor conduct an investigation, their previous lack of oversight contributed significantly to the city clerk being allowed to scam the city and its citizens for years before being caught. The report outlines a series of steps the city can take to better protect public dollars going forward, including recommendations to improve accounting practices in the city and court and increase oversight of the utility and property tax system. Auditor Galloway has turned the report results over to law enforcement authorities and says her staff stands ready to assist prosecutors in any way possible to bring justice for the citizens of Viburnum.

The Salem Police Department released reports involving traffic violations, theft and theft from a vehicle. On Friday, May 26th at 8:26 in the morning, a vehicle was stopped for a traffic violation that led to the arrest of a 32-year old Salem male for possession of marijuana. He was issued a summons to appear in court and released. On Sunday, May 28th at 5:09 in the early evening, a vehicle was stopped for a traffic violation that led to the arrest of a 29-year old Salem female for driving without a valid license. She was issued a summons to appear in court and released. Then at 5:45 that evening, an officer was detailed to a residence in the 700 block of South Carty in reference to a theft. The report revealed that a person or persons unknown took a central air unit valued $4,000 from a residence and the report is under investigation. Later that night at 9:45, an officer was contacted in reference to theft from a vehicle parked at Wal-Mart. The report revealed that someone unknown took a tablet valued $200 from a white Chevrolet Trailblazer parked in the parking lot and that report is under investigation. Please contact the Salem Police Department at 729-4242 if you have any information regarding any investigation ongoing.