Local News – Wednesday, August 23rd, 2017

The Salem Board of Aldermen met Monday evening in the Council Chambers for their regular meeting. The board approved the lowest bid from L & B Electronics for $3,260 to replace the current repeater antenna and cable at the Salem Police Department. These funds will come from the Capital Improvement Sales Tax. They also approved purchasing two police cars for a total of $46,876 replacing one car and an SUV currently in service. The addition of cages, lights and sirens will bring the total to near the $60,000 approved budgeted amount. The board postponed any action on the bids for a used John Deere Backhoe Loader until it can be determined which department’s current backhoe will be used for trade-in. City Administrator Ray Walden presented two bids for residential trash service that included recycling services as well. The board approved staying with the current trash service, WCA for a rate of $13.65 per month the first year, then $13.92 for year two and $14.20 for year three. This service will include a 96 gallon trash container for each resident as well as an additional 96 gallon recycling container. Recycling will be picked up every other week. Since home pick up for recycling is a new service WCA will provide consumer education opportunities. Mayor Brad Nash called for a Public Hearing in order to open discussion on the setting of a property tax rate for 2017. City Clerk Mary Happel noted the current rate is $0.6484 and the max allowed is $0.6533. This is a $0.0049 total increase. The board approved setting the rate at $0.6533. City Administrator Ray Walden reported that the Former Middle School Committee has identified a consulting firm and will bring a proposal at a future meeting. Under the new fundraising ordinance, Walden and City Auditorium Improvement Committee Chairman, Catherine Dent, asked for approval of a proposed fundraising project schedule. The committee is looking at organizing fundraisers to raise funds to make improvements to the City Hall. This proposal was approved. Walden will bring an employee pay differential list to a future meeting for further discussion. Due to Labor Day the next Alderman meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 5th. The Missouri Community Betterment judges will be in town on September 13th. Under Mayor Nash’s report, he allowed Alderman Haydn Powell to read an open letter to the citizens of the East Ward. The letter wanted to clarify that he resides on the east side of Salem at 705 E. Dent Street. He wanted to clarify his place of residence since there has been some citizens questioning where he resides. He went on to say that although he owns property in the county as well as property at the Lake of the Ozarks and Branson, he is a full time resident in the city. If anyone has questions they can call him directly, his phone number is listed on the city’s webpage. The board approved Bill No. 3340 an ordinance levying a tax rate of $0.6533 for every $100 assessed valuation of real estate and personal property within the city of Salem, for general revenue purposes. The board then adjourned.

The Ozark National Scenic Riverways invites the public to attend an open house on today from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Methodist Fellowship Hall in Eminence, Missouri. The purpose of this open house is to collect information to aid in the development of a new Long Range Interpretive Plan for the park. Park rangers will be available to discuss your ideas for outreach and public programs with you which, in turn, will assist in the development of services that meet the needs of our visitors. The Methodist Fellowship Hall is located at 18228 Church Street in Eminence, approximately 2 blocks west of the intersection of Highway 19 and Highway 106. The Long Range Interpretive Plan will help guide the creation of interpretive and educational programs, outreach efforts, media, exhibits and publications for the next seven to ten years. It will help set goals and priorities for interpretation and education. As part of the process for developing a new long-range plan for interpretive and educational outreach activities at Ozark National Scenic Riverways, it is important to include input and ideas from our stakeholders and partners. Please stop by the open house to share your ideas and feedback! We look forward to hearing from the public and encourage all to visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/ozar or our Facebook page for further updates. For more information, please contact Dena Matteson at (573) 323-4814.

Attorney General Joshua Hawley announced that a Phelps County jury has found 51-year old Charles Curnutt of Houston, guilty of statutory sodomy, endangering the welfare of a child, and four counts of child molestation for sexually abusing a 9-year-old girl over the course of several months. The case was heard on a change of venue from Texas County. The jury watched a recorded interview of the victim in which she described in detail the acts perpetrated upon her by the defendant. Her account was corroborated by testimony of a nurse practitioner confirming physical injuries to the child, the testimony of Missouri State Highway Patrol officers that located the clothing the victim described having worn during the abuse in the defendant’s home, and Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Lab technician that found high levels of the defendant’s DNA on the crotch of the victim’s pajamas. The jury took less than three hours to find Curnutt guilty of all six counts. Phelps County Circuit Judge John Beger has set Curnutt’s sentencing for November 27 at 1pm in Texas County. Curnutt faces up to life plus 67 years. Assistant Attorney General Katharine Dolin tried the case as Texas County prosecuting attorney Parke Stevens had a conflict of interest.