Archive for 2019

An accident happened in Dent County Tuesday afternoon at 3:20 on Highway 32 about 20 miles east of Salem. According to the highway patrol, a 2017 Chevy Equinox driven eastbound by 73-year old James W. Pryor of Boss, ran off the right side of the roadway and struck an embankment. The Equinox went airborne before striking a tree and coming to rest off of the roadway. Pryor suffered serious injuries and was flown by Air Evac to Mercy Hospital in Creve Coeur. The Chevy Equinox was totaled and removed from the scene by Abney’s Towing. The highway patrol could not determine if Pryor was wearing a seat restraint at the time of the accident.

The Salem R-80 Board of Education held a special meeting Tuesday night at the R-80 District Administrative Offices. The board immediately went into closed session after opening the meeting where they employed Rich Parks as the new Middle School Principal for the 2019-2020 school year and also hire Jody Heavin as Special Education Director. The board adjourned closed session and then adjourned the regular meeting.

The Dent County Fire Protection Board of Directors regular meeting was not held Tuesday night due to a lack of a quorum of directors. The next meeting will be held May 7th at the Dent County Fire Protection District Firehouse.

The Salem Police Department has submitted reports for March 25th and 26th. On Monday night, the 25th, at about 8:01, a vehicle was stopped for a traffic violation. The investigation of the stop led to the arrest of a 21-year-old male of Salem on an active arrest warrant from Franklin County, Missouri. The suspect was taken into custody on the warrant and was later released with a new court date after posting bond. On Tuesday evening, the 26th, at approximately 5:14, an officer was dispatched to the Wal-Mart parking lot in reference to a male that was possibly in possession of methamphetamine. The investigation of the report revealed a 31-year-old male of Salem was parked in the parking lot and was in possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. The suspect was taken into custody and incarcerated pending a warrant application. A little later that evening near 6:30, a vehicle was stopped for a traffic violation. The investigation of the stop led to the arrest of a 36-year-old female of Salem on an active arrest warrant from the City of Salem. The suspect was incarcerated pending a court appearance. Just a few minutes later at approximately 7:02, an officer was dispatched to a residence in the 300 block of East Franklin in reference to a domestic disturbance. During the investigation, a 31-year-old male of Salem charged at an officer hitting him in the chest. The suspect was taken into custody for assaulting an officer and was incarcerated pending the application for a warrant. Please contact the Salem Police Department at (573) 729-4242 if you have any information regarding an ongoing investigation.

The 2019 Business Expo will be held Saturday morning, April 13th from 9:00 until noon at Salem Community Center @ the Armory, located at 1200 West Rolla Road. The Business Expo is an excellent opportunity for businesses to advertise their products and services and many of them will be giving away promotional items or have their own drawing. There are four star giveaways this year and they are provided by A-1 Tech of Rolla, Town & Country Bank, Your Community Health Center, and Salem Bowling Center. There is no cost to attend the annual Expo, it’s FREE and open to the public. The Business Expo is organized by the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce. For chamber members, your first booth space is FREE which is about 10’ by 6’, and if you want a second space, that will cost you $40. Non-Chamber members can get a booth space for $140.00 for the event. The deadline to get a booth is this Friday, April 5th. For more information about the 2019 Business Expo, contact the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce by calling 729-6900, email chamber@salemmo.com, or visit www.salemmo.com.

Do you have your tickets for the Non-Newlywed Game scheduled for Friday night at 7:00 at the Salem Community Center@The Armory? Table sponsorships for $300 and individual tickets for $20.00 are still available. Call 729-8163 or stop by 1200 West Rolla Road for more information or to reserve you seats today!

The Dent County Commissioners met for their regular meeting Monday morning at the Dent County Courthouse. The City of Salem Economic Director Sally Burbridge presented her report for the month of March. She said she had two new business prospects during the month with one of them making a visit to Salem. She continues to work with existing businesses to help them grow and is still working on some ongoing prospects who are interested in Salem. She gave a report on the City of Salem Facebook page and also told the commission the next Economic Development Strategic Plan workshop will be held April 25th at 5:30 at a place to still be determined. She said that workshop will concentrate on signage and housing. She said the Enhanced Enterprise Zone information has been updated on the Missouri Department of Economic Development Website. She talked to the commissioners about STEP-UP program training for any business in Salem that exports their products internationally. She also said she and Chamber Director Tabitha Utley attended a Tourism Division Regional meeting to learn about funding and partnership activities available to Salem and Dent County through the Missouri Division of Tourism. She also reported the City of Salem, the Salem R-80 Schools and Healthy Dent County submitted the grant application for the Workforce Training Initiative Grant. Burbridge also said she is researching an AARP grant for downtown sidewalks and lighting upgrades. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell said Dent County received about 1.8 inches of rain over the weekend. He said crews will be out adding material to and grading Dent County Roads 5210, 2460, 5015 and 5080 while only grading will be done on county road 5085. District 2 Commissioner Larson said grading would be done on Dent County Roads 2070, 3190, 3260, 4270 and 4260. Larson also said materials would be added to county road 2240. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley wanted to remind voters the polls will open at 6:00 this morning and stay open until 7:00 this evening. She also wanted to remind the voters in Bunker that they will need to vote at the Bunker City Hall and not at the school. This is a permanent location change and voters will vote from now on at the Bunker City Hall. The next meeting of the Dent County Commissioners will be Thursday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

If you are curious about how the Missouri Department of Conservation’s George O. White State Forest Nursery operates? They are inviting the general public to an open house at the State Forest Nursery on Saturday, April 6th, with tours by appointment from 9:00 in the morning until 2:00. The nursery is located at 14027 Shafer Road, just north of Licking. If you want to see how nursery staff grow, store, and ship millions of tree seedlings each year, this will be your chance. The tours will take guests behind the scenes through the seedling beds, sorting room, cold storage room, and more. Guests can also learn about Missouri’s native trees and plants, enjoy fishing demonstrations at the nursery’s three-acre lake, meet Smokey Bear, watch a full-scale sawmill demonstration, and chat with Missouri’s conservation experts. Free hot dogs, chips, and cookies will be served throughout the day. To reserve a tour time, call the nursery at (573) 674-3229.

Businesses with seasonal or temporary employees are invited to send their employees to boost their skills in customer service and hospitality at two upcoming Customer Service Training workshops this April hosted by University of Missouri Extension. Tourism plays a significant role in our region’s economy. Improving employees’ customer service skills and knowledge of local attractions can help improve the visitor experience, and draw tourists back for future visits. Workshop participants will update their customer service skills, learn about regional tourism resources, and practice answering common visitor questions. There are two locations available for this training. the first will be on Wednesday, April 10th at the Meramec Regional Planning Commission located at #4 Industrial Drive in St. James. There are two time options available. The first training is from 9:00 – 11:00 in the morning and the second training is from 1:00 -3:00 in the afternoon. If you are part of the Naturally Meramec Consortium, your employees can attend for no charge, otherwise the cost is $6.00 per employee. Call Samantha at 573-265-2993, extension 111 to register or to find out more information about being a part of Naturally Meramec Consortium. The second training will be in Salem at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory located at 1200 West Rolla Rd in Salem on Friday, April 12th. Again, there be two time options available for the training: from 9:00 – 11:00 in the morning or from 1:00 – 3:00 in the afternoon. This training is free to employees of Dent County businesses or Naturally Meramec Consortium members, otherwise there is a $6.00 charge per employee. Call Dent County Extension at 573-729-3196 to register. These workshops will be led by University of Missouri Extension, with funding support from Naturally Meramec Consortium and Dent County Tourism Tax Commission. The University of Missouri Extension is an equal opportunity and ADA institution.