Archive for 2019

The Dent County Sheriff’s Department has released some reports. On Sunday, March 10th, deputies conducted a traffic stop on Dent County Road 4110. During the course of the traffic stop, a 51-year old Salem man was arrested for driving while having his license revoked, a second or subsequent offense; operate a motor vehicle owned by another knowing owner has not maintained financial responsibility and possession of marijuana/synthetic cannabinoid of 11-35 grams. The man was transported to the Dent County Sheriff’s Office, fingerprinted, issued summons and released. On Wednesday, March 13th, deputies traveled to the 400 block of Dent County Road 4220 to conduct an investigation. During the course of the investigation, a 35-year old Salem female was arrested for active warrants through Dent County for a probation violation. The female was transported to the Dent County Sheriff’s Office Jail and incarcerated. Then on Friday, March 15th, deputies traveled to a residence on Dent County Road 6400 for a warrant check. During the course of the investigation, a 21-year old Salem female was arrested for an active warrant through Dent County. The female was transported to the Dent County Sheriff’s Office Jail and incarcerated. On Wednesday, March 20th, deputies were traveling westbound on Highway 32 near Highway 19. The deputies observed a 22-year old Salem man, which deputies knew to have an active warrant through Dent County. The man was arrested and transported to the Dent County Sheriff’s Office Jail and incarcerated. Also on March 20th, deputies traveled to the Salem Memorial District Hospital for a report of a vehicle being damaged. During the course of the investigation, a 30-year old Salem man was arrested for Property Damage in the 1st degree. The male was transported to the Dent County Sheriff’s Office, fingerprinted, issued summons and released. If anyone has information regarding an ongoing investigation, call the sheriff’s department at 729-3241.

Ozark National Scenic Riverways is hosting a river cleanup effort on March 30 with the Ozark Heritage Project. Come join the clean up along the Current and Jacks Fork rivers. Staff from Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Ozark Heritage Project, park concessionaires, local chambers of commerce, area schools, youth groups, and volunteers will band together to tackle litter in the rivers and along the roads and accesses of the park. The river clean-up is scheduled for Saturday, March 30th. You can register from 8:00 to 11:00 in the morning at the following sites: Watercress Landing in Van Buren, Big Spring Boat Landing, Two Rivers Campground, Alley Spring Campground Landing and Round Spring Visitor Center. The staff at the registration sites will provide trash bags and river bags for your convenience. Additional dumpsters and recycling trailers will also be available at various locations throughout the park. Participants are encouraged to bring work gloves, and to wear appropriate clothing and footwear for the activity. The Ozark Heritage Project is sponsoring a Saturday evening meal and musical entertainment for all participants beginning at 5:00 at the Alley Spring Pavilion at Alley Spring. For more information, call Cathy Runge at 573-323-4806 Monday through Friday 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM; visit the park’s Facebook page, or go to the website at www.nps.gov/ozar or contact Rick Mansfield of Ozark Heritage Project at 573-663-2269.

The Ozark Natural and Cultural Resource Center on Highway 19 South is hosting “Art Across the Ages” sponsored by the Salem Area Arts Council and the ONCRC. This show, for all ages of artists, is a celebration of Youth Art Month which is recognized during the month of March. Numerous individuals as well as the Salem R-80 art classes are participating in the local art show which reveals how much artistic talent is in the Ozarks! The show is open to the public Monday through Friday from 9:00 in the morning until 5:00 in the afternoon through April 12th.

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 more information about the 2019 Business Expo, contact the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce by calling 729-6900 or email chamber@salemmo.com.

The Dent County Commissioners met for their regular meeting Monday morning in the Courthouse. In the road report District One Commissioner Dennis Purcell said that his crew would be grading Dent County Roads 6240 and 4215, as well as grading and adding materials to county roads 5012, 5510, 4215, and 6020. He said that his crew was cleaning up a tree on county road 5520. Purcell noted that Monday, March 18th, he attended a Tourism Committee meeting where five proposals were submitted and approved. District Two Commissioner Gary Larson said that his crew was grading and adding materials to Dent County Roads 6130, 6140, and 6160, plus grading would be done and materials would be added to county roads 4293, 4285, and 4287. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles reported that the Commission signed the paperwork for the CDBG grant for the improvement of the Dent County Fire Department and will forward it on to MRPC to release the funds and that the Commission signed the Child Support Enforcement Agreement with Crawford County for the year. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley reported that absentee voting continues through April 1st and that her office would be open Saturday morning from 8:00 until noon for absentee voting. She noted that she attended the SHS Career Day last Friday and spoke about government, elections and had a voter registration drive. Bills were approved by the Commission for payment. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams reported the CART money received was $51,859.04, which leaves CART down year to date .522%. Major Len Pabin of the Sheriff’s Department and Dwight Ramsburg, Septagone, were in attendance and Nick Smith of Septagone joined by phone for an update on the new jail. Payments for the month totaled $204,482.92. The Food Service Bid from CARE Sales and Service for $190,037.25 was recommended by Shive-Hattery and Septagone and the bid was approved 3-0. The next meeting of the Commissioners will be Thursday morning and the meeting is open to the public.

Healthy Dent County would like to invite everyone out to a fun community fundraising event called the “Non Newlywed Game” Show on Friday, April 5th at the Salem Community Center@the Armory beginning at 7:00. It is couple vs. couple in this hilarious version of the classic game show where you will discover just how much our couples know (or don’t know!) about their spouse! It’s called the Non Newlywed Game, because it’s not just for newly married couples. Four local married couples have been selected to play the game. They are Scott and Susie Cahill; Wade and Jackie Sisco; Thom and Sally Haines; Russ and Tonette Anderson. These couples have graciously volunteered their time to play this fun game and entertain the audience. VIP sponsored tables can be reserved with a $300 donation. The VIP Tables includes reserved seating, free drink tickets and light refreshments. A cash bar will be open during the evening. A limited number of individual tickets will be sold for $20 per ticket. The individual tickets will not have reserved seating. Bead necklaces will be sold throughout the night to support your favorite couple. The Salem Community Center @ the Armory is located at 1200 W. Rolla Road in Salem. To reserve your VIP table please call 729-8163. The doors will open at 6:30 PM.

The City of Salem has two Pavilions that can be rented at the Salem City Park for an entire day. The cost of the Fireplace Pavilion on the circle drive is $45 per day and the large pavilion on the west side of the creek is $35 for the entire day. This includes electric and lights. Other pavilions at the park are free and cannot be reserved. For more information on reserving a pavilion for a family outing, picnic, meeting, team gathering or party, call Park and Recreation Director Tye Lydon at 729-6290. Reservations on the pavilions are made on a first come, first served basis.

An accident happened in Reynolds County Monday morning at 1:30 on Highway 72 about five miles west of Bunker that took the life of a man from Richland, Missouri. According to the highway patrol report, a 2002 Ford F-250 driven eastbound by 62-year old Dennis Bounds of Salem, struck 28-year old Seth Bryson of Richland in the roadway. Bryson was pronounced dead at the scene by Reynolds County Coroner Jeffrey McSpadden. Bryson’s body was taken to the McSpadden Funeral Home in Ellington. The 2002 Ford sustained minor damage and was driven from the scene. The highway patrol was assisted by the major Crash Team and the Reynolds County sheriff’s Department. The 2002 Ford sustained minor damage and was driven from the scene.

The Salem R-80 Board of Education met Thursday evening at the R-80 Administration Boardroom. At the meeting, State Fire Marshall J.T. Beam presented Salem Middle School student Charles Enloe a proclamation from the Governor Parsons. Charles recently saved his father from a fire at their house. Superintendent John McColloch discussed summer school for R-80 students. He said this year Summer school will begin on May 20th and run for 14 days and is available to students entering Kindergarten through 6th grade next year. He also said credit recovery is available for students grades 7-12 who qualify and drivers’ education will be available. Mccolloch then reported on the health insurance costs for the 2019-2020 school year. The schools insurance premiums are increasing by 12% from $406 a month per employee to $456.53 per month per employee. In the facilities update, McColloch reported that the bathroom project at the football field is complete, new lighting structures will be placed in the circle drive and some new doors are still being installed. McColloch wanted thanked Keith Inman for his donation of a washer/dryer for the Upper Elementary. He also said the Dent County Community Foundation received a $10,000 grant award from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks partnering with the Missouri Foundation for Health and the money will used to put in a shower and a washer/dryer at William Lynch. Also as part of the facilities update, board Member Larry Maxwell gave an update from the Athletic Advisory Committee meeting. After the building reports, the board organizational meeting date and the regular April Board meeting will be moved to Tuesday, April 16th at 6:00 at the district administrative offices. The MSBA Policy Service Agreement was approved and the board set the tuition rate for 2019-2020 for $7,570.91. The board approved the resignations of John Brewer, the William Lynch special education instructor; Amanda Walker the Middle School physical education instructor and head volleyball coach; Jennifer Headrick, a Middle School math instructor; Kim Cooper as the Middle School track and High School assistant volleyball coach; and Jared Patterson as the 9th grade boys’ basketball coach. The board went into executive session where they employed a number of probationary instructors from William Lynch Elementary, Upper Elementary, Middle and High Schools. They also employed coaches, coordinators and team sponsors for all schools before the meeting returning to open session and adjourning the meeting.

The Salem Police Department has released their report for the month of February. The Salem Police issued 4 equipment repair orders, 5 summons to appear in court, 5 warning tickets, and 9 traffic tickets, plus they also served 6 city warrants and 2 fugitive warrants. The Salem Police investigated 10 traffic accidents, one assault, one report of counterfeiting, one dog bite, and a lost or stolen license plate. They also wrote one report on domestic violence, two domestic assaults, one endangering the welfare of a child, one fraud report, a property damage report, three stealing reports, and 1 trespassing report. The department investigated one driving while intoxicated, one harassment, two sex offenses, plus had five reports of driving while having a license revoked and suspended, two possessions of a controlled substance reports, three possession of drug paraphernalia reports and had one vehicle towed. The department was also dispatched for 31 animal calls, 33 ambulance assist calls, 10 well being checks, 10 requests for information, and performed 39 traffic stops for the month. The department received 806 calls during the month of February and 87 walk- ins to the station. The department drove 6,581 miles during the month of February and spent 4 hours in court testifying and 10 hours as court Bailiff. There were 13 males and six females arrested in February.

The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety wants to remind teens how dangerous a car ride can be if they don’t take wearing their seat belt seriously. Law enforcement will be out in full force now through March 31st to help improve teen seat belt use and save lives. The national average for seat belt usage is 90 percent. Missouri is a bit below that average at 87 percent, but teens in Missouri come in even lower at 74 percent. Consider some of the reasons you should choose to wear your seat belt. Of the 88 teenagers killed in Missouri traffic crashes in 2017, 77 were vehicle occupants and 54 of them (70 percent) were not buckled up; when properly used, seat belts reduce the risk of fatal injuries to front-seat passenger vehicle occupants by 45 percent and reduce the risk of moderate-to-critical injuries by 50 percent. With no primary seat belt law or all-driver texting ban in Missouri, teens and all motorists are asked to personally take the challenge to Buckle Up Phone Down. Put your cell phone down while driving and always make sure you and your passengers are buckled up. For more information, visit saveMOlives.com.