Archive for 2018

According to State Auditor Nicole Galloway, former Viburnum City Clerk Dana Mayberry has pled guilty to receiving stolen property, a Class B Felony. In a statement she released on her plea, “Officials that violate the public’s trust and use their position to enrich themselves must be held accountable” Galloway stated she was grateful for law enforcement and Iron County Prosecuting Attorney Brian Parker for working with her to seek justice for taxpayers in Viburnum. Auditor Galloway released the results of the city of Viburnum audit report last year. The audit identified more than $100,000 in fraudulent activities over a number of years. She promises to keep trying to get the legislature to finally pass legislation that would provide law enforcement with the tools they need to more swiftly combat fraud and public corruption.

The Dent County Commissioners met Monday morning for their regular meeting. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson was not in attendance due to a death in his immediate family. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell stated the southern half of Dent County received about an inch of rain Friday night and another 1 ¾ inches Saturday. Although there was minimal additional damages to the roads, crews were out repairing the washouts as needed. Purcell said materials would be added and grading would be done on Dent County Roads 2460, 2490 and 5015. He also said just grading would be done on county roads 4225 and 5650 while brush was going to be cut on county road 6670. Sam Gorman, Road Supervisor for District 2, gave the report for the district and said grading would be done on Dent County Roads 2313, 2580, 2610, 2613, 4410 and 6160. He went on to say materials were going to be added to county roads 2630 and 2640. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles indicated he would be attending the Ozark River Solid Waste Management full council meeting today. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams brought in the sales taxes receipt numbers that came in this month. For the General Revenue Fund and Law Enforcement Sales Tax Fund, monies received were $88,056.27 which is more than $10,000 over the June 2017 figure, and brings the year-to-date increase up to $66,624.52 over last year. That is an increase in sales tax revenue of 16.2% over 2017 in those funds. The Road and Bridge Sales Tax Fund received $39,443.27 which is about $4,250 more than the 2017 June figure of $35,180.93. Year-to-date, the Road and Bridge Sales Tax Fund is up $23,228.98 over 2017 and that comes to an increase of about 12.25%. The two jail funds each received in June $78,561.31 in sales tax money. The next meeting of the commissioners will be Thursday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

The Dent County Sheriff’s office has released some reports. On Sunday, June 3rd, deputies conducted a traffic stop on Highway 32 West. The driver, a 35-year old Salem woman, was arrested on several warrants and as well as driving without having a valid license. She was taken to the Dent County Jail and incarcerated. On Monday, June 4th, deputies responded to a residence on Dent County Road 3190 for a report of property damage. It was reported that an Intercounty Electric box had been shot with a firearm. This report is still under investigation. On Thursday, June 7th, deputies traveled to a residence in the 400 block of Dent County Road 4220 to attempt to serve an arrest warrant. The 40-year old Salem man was located and arrested. A consent to search his bedroom was granted and a Suboxone strip and red straw that had residue on it field tested positive for methamphetamine were found. He was taken to the Dent County Jail and incarcerated. If anyone has any information regarding an ongoing investigation should contact the Dent County Sheriff’s Department at 729-3241.

An accident happened in Phelps County on Route KK about 4.5 miles east of St. James Sunday afternoon at 3:36. According to the highway patrol report, 29-year old Tracey Earls of Cuba was driving a 2005 Chevy Impala westbound when she crossed the centerline and struck a 2013 Kubota Tractor also driven westbound by 46-year old Michael Ripplemeyer of St. James causing the tractor to overturn. The Chevy traveled off the right side of the roadway. Ripplemeyer suffered serious injuries and was flown to the Mercy Creve Coeur Hospital via Phelps Air Ambulance. Earls suffered minor injuries and was taken to the Phelps County Regional Medical by the North Crawford County Ambulance. The Chevy and the Kubota both had extensive damages and were towed from the scene by Spurgeon’s Towing.

Echo Bluff State Park invites the public to an informational meeting at 4:00 this Saturday afternoon at the park’s Betty Lea Lodge. The public is invited to share comments about the park and its operations. Park staff will be on hand to provide information and answer questions. Input from the public is important to Missouri State Parks. These informational meetings help create two-way communication with the public. The meetings give staff the opportunity to let people know the current status and future plans for the park or historic site, and they offer visitors the opportunity to comment on the facilities. Echo Bluff State Park is located at 35244 Echo Bluff Drive, Eminence. For more information about the meeting or about other events at the park, call 573-751-5211.

The Salem Police Department has released a number of reports. On Friday morning, June 1st, at 1:47 a vehicle was stopped for a traffic violation. The investigation of the stop led to the arrest of a 23-year old male of Harviell, Missouri for driving while being drugged. The suspect was issued a summons to appear in court and released. Later that morning at approximately 8:42, an officer was dispatched to a residence in the 1400 block of South Macarthur in reference to trespassing. The investigation of the report revealed that a 40-year old male of Salem had entered upon a property he had been previously instructed not to enter upon. The suspect was taken into custody for trespassing, issued a summons to appear in court, and released. On Monday night, June 4th, close to 10:35, an officer was contacted in reference to a theft from a residence in the 700 block of East Jack. That investigation revealed a male suspect and a female suspect took items from a residence valued at $550.00. The report is under investigation. Then Tuesday night, June 5th, at about 11:41 a vehicle was stopped for a traffic violation. The investigation of the stop led to the arrest of a 54-year old male of Salem for driving while having his license revoked. The suspect was issued a summons to appear in court and released. On Wednesday morning, June 6th, at approximately 4:14, an officer was conducting a narcotics investigation near the 1000 block of West Coffman. During the investigation a 25- year old male of Salem was found to be in possession of drug paraphernalia. The suspect was taken into custody, issued a summons to appear in court, and released. Later that afternoon at approximately 4:25 an officer was contacted in reference to a burglary and theft. The investigation of the report revealed a person or persons unknown entered a residence in the 900 block of South Oak and took items valued at $882.00. The report is under investigation. Please contact the Salem Police Department at (573) 729-4242 if you have information regarding any ongoing investigation.

Missouri farmers are being asked to respond to a land rent survey, says University of Missouri Extension economist Ray Massey. A report compiled from the anonymous survey responses will help landowners and renters make better decisions about lease rates. The survey is issued only in electronic form this year. It takes about five minutes to complete. Massey says he hopes that the new delivery method will encourage landowners and renters to respond. The survey covers criteria such as cash rent cost for cropland, pasture land and fee hunting property, as well as location of land, average yield and storage facilities. MU and partner agencies, including Missouri Farm Bureau, FCS Financial and others, work together to obtain information that helps economists on the local, state and federal level to assess supply and demand for land, as well as production costs and market prices. Survey results also help landowners and renters understand market values in their area. MU conducts the survey every three years and releases a summary online and at its annual ag lending schools. If you did not receive a survey and would like to participate, contact Massey at masseyr@missouri.edu or 573-884-7788.

An accident happened Thursday morning at 11:13 in Dent County on Highway 72 at Dent County Road 3200. According to the highway patrol report, a 1995 GMC Sierra driven north bound by 39-year old Derek Flowers of Vienna, struck the back side of a 2005 Chevy Cobalt driven north by 18-year old Kadi Cossins of Salem. Cossins suffered minor injuries and was transported by the Salem Ambulance to the Salem memorial District Hospital. Cossins and Flowers were each wearing seat restraints at the time of the accident. The Sierra sustained extensive damage while the Chevy was totaled. The Chevy was removed from the scene by American Muffler and Tire while the Sierra was secured at the scene. The highway patrol was assisted by the Dent County Sheriff’s Department, Dent County Fire Protection District and the Salem Ambulance District.

Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway released her office’s regularly scheduled audit of the government of Reynolds County, located in southeast Missouri. The audit, which received an overall rating of good, found several repeat findings from previous audits. The report made recommendations to improve procedures in the Sheriff’s office, including ensuring appropriate oversight of financial transactions. As noted in previous audits, the Sheriff’s office does not issue receipts for bond money received and maintains a bank account outside of the county treasury. Additional repeat findings in the report included needed improvements to controls and procedures over the property tax system and a failure to obtain competitive bids for legal and appraisal services. To see the audit, visit www.auditor.mo.gov and click on the recent news item about Reynolds County.