Archive for 2018

Today..Cloudy with a 60% chance for rain by noon, with occasional showers this afternoon, high of 58.
Tonight..Cloudy with a 30% chance for rain, low of 49.
Tuesday..Partly sunny, high of 69.
Tuesday night..Partly cloudy, low of 47.
Wednesday..Mostly cloudy, high around 64.

The Salem R-80 Board of Education held their re-organizational meeting Tuesday at the District Administrative Offices. Re-elected board members Chris Heavin and Carrie Snider were swore in by Board Secretary Holly Erway. The board elected Bernie Sirois as the Board President, Dustin Howard as the Vice-President, and Holly Erway as Board Secretary. Larry Maxwell was elected as the MSBA delegate with the Carrie Snider elected as the MSBA alternate. The re-organizational meeting was then adjourned with the regular meeting to follow. Superintendent John McColloch gave a budget update before the building principals gave their reports. William Lynch Elementary Principal Kriste Crocker announced Kindergarten registration would be held May 8th and pre-school enrollment would be held May 16th and 17th. Children must be five years of age by August 1st to be eligible for enrollment in kindergarten and those who are three by that date are eligible for the “Tiger Tots” program. Upper Elementary Principal Melanie Wisdom announced their art show will be held April 26th and Serendipity will be held May 3rd which is a week earlier this year. Middle School Principal Scott Roberts saluted 8th grader Johnny Scott for taking 1st place and 6th grader Cooper Beeson for taking 2nd in the Trash Art category of the Earth Day Contest “Be a Hero-Your Planet Needs You” sponsored by the MRPC. He also congratulated the SMS Band for receiving a “1” rating at the St. James Music Contest on April 14th. High School Principal Marty Anderson talked about an additional 42 hours of dual credit being offered through MSU West Plans for the 2018-2019 year. He also discussed some changes to the student handbook for the next school year. The board set the tuition rate for the 2018-2019 year at $7,417.68 before approving the creation of two new school positions to be filled if the budget allows. Those positions would be a Security Resource Officer and School Psychological Examiner. The board also approved the Middle School Building Improvement Plan. The board accepted the resignation of High School English Teacher Eric Myers, 4th Grade Teacher Erin Blankenship, Upper Elementary Teacher Lori Beasley, Middle School Football coach James Joynt and High School Assistant Track Coach Natalie Sellers. The board went into closed session where they employed the coaches for the 2018-2019 season, hired Angie Loughridge for high school chemistry, Martin Gray as a high school math instructor and Scott Fredrickson for 6-12 music. The meeting was then adjourned.

Onondaga Cave State Park will host the first in a series of photography tours of Cathedral and Onondaga caves this Saturday. The Cathedral Cave tour will be from 9:00 in the morning until noon, and the Onondaga Cave tour will be from 1:00 to 4:00 in the afternoon. A member of the Onondaga Friends Association will lead the tours, showing participants the caves’ most interesting features and allowing ample time for plenty of photographs. Participants have the option to tour one or both caves on these adventures. There is a 1/3-mile hike to Cathedral Cave on the Deer Run Trail. Conditions in the caves include limited lighting, concrete walkways and metal handrails, a constant but cool temperature of 57 degrees and humidity of nearly 100 percent. Participants are encouraged to dress in layers of warm clothes and wear sturdy, closed-toe shoes or boots. No equipment will be provided for the tours, so participants should bring their own cameras and other photography gear. There is a fee associated with the photography tours and the fee and registration information is available at onondagafriends.org. Onondaga Cave State Park is located seven miles southeast of the Leasburg exit off of Interstate 44 on Route H. For more information about the event, contact the park at 573-245-6576.

Echo Bluff State Park invites the public to celebrate Earth Day by participating in the park’s annual Stream Team Cleanup event that will be held this Saturday from 10:00 in the morning until 1:00 Saturday afternoon. Participants will work with Stream Team volunteers to pick up trash and clean up flood debris along Sinking Creek. Participants are asked to meet at the check station in the park’s campground to register and pick up trash bags and gloves. There will be prizes for registered participants. Participants are welcome to float the creek, but must arrange their own shuttle transportation. For more event information and to pre-register, contact Connie Weber at 573-751-1224. Echo Bluff State Park is located on Highway 19, approximately 25 miles south of Salem. For more information on state parks and historic sites, visit mostateparks.com. Missouri State Parks is a division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

The Salem Memorial District Hospital Board of Directors met for the regular meeting Tuesday evening at the hospital library. Ray Bruno was sworn in as the District 5 Board of Director by Hospital Attorney Mark Weaver. Chief Financial Officer Monica Stogsdill reported the month of March had a $20,471 gain from operations with an excess of revenues over expenses of $51,505 for the month. In March, 72 patients were admitted to the hospital as acute care patients with an average per day of 9.8. There were 13 swing bed patients and 13 more patients admitted for observation in March. The cash flow statement showed a decrease in cash of $298,063 for the month with days in accounts receivable dropping to 64 from the 71 reached the previous month. Chief Nursing Officer Debbie Hines reported that in March there were 774 emergency room visits, 279 ambulance runs with 200 patients being transported to the hospital, 1,559 outpatient registrations, 221 home health visits, 7,590 lab tests, 739 radiological procedures and 740 rehab treatments. The cash-on-hand days the hospital could operate stands at 90 days year-to-date and that is still way over the Critical Access Hospital state average of 65 days. Hines went over the Quality Improvement report for the month of March for Acute Care, Social Services and the Pharmacy. A flu update showed reported flu cases drastically down in March from February to under 40 cases. The board discussed the pros and cons of changing the hospital foundation structure and reminded everyone the golf tournament will be held June 8th. Chief Operating Officer Chris Strickland reported on the community presence and involvements of the hospital by being out in the public at the opening of trout season at Montauk, the Ladies Night Out at the Salem Community Center, attending the Missouri S&T High School Career Fair on March 27th, attending the SHS Career Fair on April 6th and also being at the Business Expo on April 14th. They have even had an ambulance at the City of Salem Soccer Program. The board also received an update on the billboard advertising before Hospital Administrator Kasey Lucas reported on the hospital auxiliary meeting from April 3rd. The next meeting will be their “bring-a-friend” meeting at the Salem Community Center@The Arnory before they go on summer break. The board reviewed the patient satisfaction surveys from the Emergency Department and the SMDH Family Medicine with Emergency Department getting very good results and SMDH Family Medicine receiving outstanding positive feedback. The board approved three purchases for the Rehab Department including the purchase of a complete traction package for $6,198 from Performance Health, the purchase of a Bariatric H-Lo Table from Performance Health for $2,723, and the purchase of a Bar Activated 5 Section X-Frame Table of $2,677 from Performance Health. The board also approved the purchase of a Compression Device for Acute Replacement for $1,534, the purchase of a Blood Gas Machine for Cardio-Pulmonary from Instrumentation Laboratory for $13,500, the purchase of an EMS Manikin Head and Torso Trainer from BoundTree for $2,480, and 18 patient room heaters and air conditioners were purchased from TMI-ASG for $27,486. The board then went into closed session.

The Salem Police Department released their report for the month of March. During the month, they wrote two equipment repair orders, 18 summons to appear in court, six warning tickets, and 19 traffic tickets. The Salem Police Department investigated 13 accidents, one assault, two burglaries, two reports of a dog bite, four reports of domestic violence, six driving while being intoxicated reports, seven driving while having their license revoked or suspended, two fraud reports, one harassment report, and three reports of leaving the scene of an accident. The department also investigated two reports of minor in possession or intoxicants, seven reports of possession of a controlled substance, four reports of possession of drug paraphernalia, one report of property damage, and three reports of resisting or interfering with an arrest, eleven reports of stealing, one tampering report, and had two 96 hour commitments. They also served eight fugitive warrants and five city warrants. The police department received 1,280 calls for service during the month and handled 72 walk-ins to the station. They spent 20 hours in court testifying and 10 hours as court bailiff. The Salem Police Department drove a total of 8,813 miles and arrested 23 males and 9 females during the month of March.

The Salem High School Quiz Bowl Team took First Place in District Play on Saturday. Salem dominated play for most of the tournament before facing off against Licking in the finals round. Three Salem players were awarded Outstanding Individual Player medals. Richard Parks took home Second Place Individual medal, Sam Swindell took home the Third Place Individual medal and Jacob Stacy was awarded the Sixth Place Individual medal. Other players on Saturday’s team included Jordan Fulton, Arley Gale and Martin Jones. Salem will host Sectional Quiz Bowl Competition on Tuesday night, April 24th. Salem will face Cuba for a chance to advance to the State Scholarship Tournament in Columbia on the Mizzou Campus in May.

An accident happened in Texas County Monday evening at 7:15 on Boone Creek Road about four miles west of Licking. According to the highway patrol report, a 1998 Buick LeSabre driven northbound by 17-year old Dameun Wiliams of Licking traveled off the roadway. Williams then overcorrected and the Lesabre struck a tree. Suffering minor injuries were passengers 17-year old Chelsea Hawkins of Licking and 18-year old Jaina Lewis of Licking. Both were taken to the Texas County Memorial Hospital in Houston by a private vehicle. Williams and Hawkins were wearing seat restraints while Lewis was not. The LeSabre was totaled and removed from the scene by the owner.

The Dent County Sheriff’s Department released some reports. On April 8th, deputies conducted a traffic stop on Highway 32 West at County Fuels. The driver, a 48-year old Salem man, was arrested for driving while being intoxicated. The man was fingerprinted, issued a citation, and released. On Monday, April 9th, deputies responded to a burglary in progress at a residence on Dent County Road 4270. A neighbor relayed that lights were on in a garage and no one was home. When deputies arrived, no one was located in the garage but a door was unlocked. This report is still under investigation. On Tuesday, April 10th, deputies assisted Children’s Division with an investigation at a residence on Dent County Road 4280. While assisting, deputies recognized a 38-year old Salem man in the house and knew he had warrants. He was arrested and taken to the Dent County Jail. On Wednesday, April 11th, deputies responded to a residence on Dent County Road 4210 for a domestic disturbance. After a short investigation, a 34-year old Salem man was arrested for 2nd Degree Domestic Assault. A 33-year old Salem woman was also arrested, as she had warrants for her arrest. They were both taken to the Dent County Jail. That same day, deputies responded to a residence on Highway 68 for a report of a theft. It was reported that a battery-powered sprayer was stolen. It is described as being on wheels and had a tank. This report is still under investigation. On Thursday, April 12th, deputies conducted a traffic stop on Highway 19 North at Franklin Street. The driver, a 24-year old Salem woman, was arrested for driving while having her license suspended. She was fingerprinted, issued a summons, and released. On April 13th, deputies responded to a residence on for the report of a domestic disturbance on Dent County Road 6150. A 26-year old Salem man was located and found to have a warrant. He was arrested and taken to the Dent County Jail. During his arrest, he was found to be in possession of a pipe that had residue that field-tested for THC. Charges are being sought for the unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. That same day, deputies responded to the Salem Full Gospel Church on Highway 19 North for a report of property damage. It was reported that a window on the Family Center portion of the church had been broken. This report is still under investigation. Also on the Friday, April 13th, deputies responded to Dent County Road 6200 after receiving a call for a suspicious vehicle. A consent search of the vehicle resulted in deputies finding a small black zipper pouch with two baggies of marijuana and a Hydrocodone pill. As a result of the search, a 36-year old Salem woman was arrested and taken to the Dent County Jail for possession of a controlled substance. If anyone has information regarding any ongoing investigation, please call the Dent County Sheriff’s Office at 729-3241.