Archive for 2019

An accident occurred Friday evening at 8:00 on Route TT about 10 miles east of Bunker. A 2013 Chevrolet Silverado driven by 40-year old Ricky Holt of Bunker, was traveling southbound and ran off the right side of the road, then returned to the road and traveled off the left side of the roadway. The Silverado overturned ejecting the driver and front seat passenger 35-year old Richard Clifford. Holt and Clifford suffered serious injuries. Clifford was transported by air ambulance to Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. Holt was transported by ambulance to Salem Memorial Hospital. Clifford and Holt were not wearing safety restraints at the time of the accident. The Silverado was totaled and towed from the scene by Whitaker’s Towing.

The Salem R-80 Board of Education held a re-organizational meeting Tuesday evening at the District Administrative Offices. No Board election was held during the April 2nd Municipal Election due to only having two candidates for the two open positions so Board Secretary Holly Erway swore in re-elected board members Dr. Bernie Sirios and Dustin Howard. Bernie Sirois was elected to serve as Board President while Holly Erway was elected to serve as the Board Vice-President. The board went on to elect Carrie Snider as Board Secretary and Dustin Howard as the Board Treasurer. The board also elected Larry Maxwell to serve as the MSBA delegate with Chris Heavin elected to serve as the MSBA delegate alternate. After Superintendent John McColloch gave a current budget update, A.J. Tinker provided the board with a Constructions Trades update. He informed the board that junior Dell Hoffmeister won the state Skills USA competition and will be representing Salem High School at the National Competition this June in Louisville, Kentucky. The board approved the out-of-state trip for Hoffmeister to attend the competition. In the building reports, William Lynch Elementary Principal Kriste Crocker said the final Kindergarten Registration for the year will be May 10th. Parents of incoming kindergarteners can call the office to make an appointment. She also said Preschool Registration will be held May 15th and 16th. Parents of incoming preschoolers can call the office to make an appointment. The school number is 729-6611. Upper Elementary School Principal Melanie Wisdom reported to the board that Serendipity will take place May 2nd and their stage production of Mary Poppins, Jr. was huge success! Middle School Principal Scott Roberts reported on the grade 6 through 12 SMS/SHS Spring Band Concert at the High School Gym on May 2nd at 7:00 while the grade 6 through 12 SMS/SHS Spring Choir Concert & Awards Night will be held May 9th at 7:00. High School Principal Marty Anderson reported on the Service Project and ACT Day held April 2nd with 250 students participating. He also said preparations for Salem’s first Computer Science Principles course are in full swing with Amber Pryor registering to attend a five-day Code.org training in July. Mrs. Pryor has already created a Computer Science page on the school website. Anderson reminded the board graduation will be held Friday, May 17th at the high school football field unless there are adverse weather conditions which would force the proceedings inside the gym. The board accepted the resignations of 4th grade instructor Roxann Cochran and head basketball coach Conrad Prugh. The board then went into executive session where they employed Melissa Lettman as a 1st grade teacher, Amanda Hanger as a 3rd grade teacher and Ashlyn Cook as a 4th grade teacher. The board also employed Conrad Prugh as a High School Assistant Principal for the 2019-2020 school year. Closed session was then adjourned before the meeting was adjourned.

An accident happened Thursday afternoon at 4:50 on Bell Road about five miles south of Roby. According to the highway patrol report, 28-year old Ashley Wortman of Rolla was driving a 2006 Chevrolet Aveo when she lost control and the vehicle traveled off the roadway and impacted an embankment. The Aveo then returned to the roadway, traveled back across the roadway before going off the right side of the road where the Aveo struck a tree. Suffering moderate injuries was the Ashley Wortman of Rolla and she was taken by the Texas County EMS to the Texas County Memorial Hospital in Houston. Suffering minor injuries was a passenger, 43-year old Thomas Russell of Rolla who was also taken by the Texas County EMS to the Texas County Memorial Hospital. Russell was not wearing a seat restraint at the time of the accident while Wortman was. The Chevy Aveo sustained extensive damage was removed from the scene by a private party. The highway patrol was assisted by the Texas County Sheriff’s Department at the scene.

The Dent County Commissioners met for their regular meeting Thursday morning in the Dent County Courthouse. In the road report District One Commissioner Dennis Purcell said that the six to seven tenths of an inch of rain overnight has left roadways too wet too grade so his crew was doing equipment maintenance. He said a hydraulic leak on Dump Truck #123 was being repaired and shims were being put in Grader #24, plus some of his crew was cleaning culverts and others were replacing county road signs. Purcell went on to say that with the improving weather some good progress has been made on many of the roadways and that weather permitting materials would be added to Dent County Road 6245. He reported that Tuesday he attended the South Central Community Action Agency meeting and that funding is available for all programs including child care, Head Start, Early Head Start, weatherization, etc. Purcell said that income guidelines apply and for more information call 729-3500 and talk to Sarah. Wednesday Purcell attended a Tourism Committee meeting where one reimbursement request was submitted and approved, plus one proposal was submitted and approved. District Two Commissioner Gary Larson reported that brush would be cut on Dent County Roads 3180 and 3283, plus service work was being done on a pup trailer. He also noted that he had a man hauling rock to stock pile at the Road and Bridge Department and that right now he is short a grader and a dump truck that are being repaired. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles reported that last Thursday he attended the Transportation Advisory Committee meeting where MoDOT reported the number of potholes since the first of the year is at an all time high for 2019 compared to previous years. Later that evening Skiles attended the MRPC meeting where plans are starting for the Annual Awards Banquet and Requests for Proposals are being developed for the event. He reported that on Friday of last week and Wednesday of this week he was in Jefferson City attending the Central Region Work Force Investment Board meeting where the board was working on budget and audit issues. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley reported that bills were being approved by the Commissioners for payment and that Thursday afternoon she would be attending a meeting about the County/City/Chamber Website were they are working towards seeking bids on development of a new website. The next meeting of the Commissioners will be Monday morning in the Courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

The Dent County Sheriff’s Department has released the following reports for April 9th through the 11th. On Tuesday, April 9th, deputies conducted a traffic stop in the 1600 block of Highway FF. During the course of the traffic stop a 33 year-old Salem male was arrested for driving while having a revoked license, 2nd offense. The man was transported to the Dent County Sheriff’s Office, fingerprinted, issued summons and released. Then on Wednesday, April 10th, deputies were requested in the Dent County Courthouse for a court ordered preliminary breath test. Deputies arrived at the Dent County Courthouse and requested a 34 year-old Salem women to submit to the breath test. The female refused and began to yell. The female was held in contempt of court and placed under arrest. While the female was being escorted back to the Dent County Jail, she became combative and attempted to pull away from the Deputy. After attempting to pull away multiple times and refusing to cooperate with Deputies, she was escorted inside the Dent County Sheriff’s Office.
The female was incarcerated in the Dent County Sheriff’s Office for contempt of court and resisting or interfering with an arrest, stop, or detention. On Thursday, April 11th, deputies with the Dent County Sheriff’s Office and Officers with the Salem Police Department traveled to a residence near the 150 Block of County Road 5050 to attempt to locate a male with an active warrant for his arrest through probation and parole. During the course of the investigation a 27 year-old Salem male was arrested for the active probation and parole warrant and unlawful possession of a firearm. The male was transported to the Dent County Sheriff’s Office and incarcerated. Please contact the Dent County Sheriff’s Office at 729-3241 if you have any information about an ongoing investigation.