Archive for 2019
Weather – Friday, March 8th, 2019
Funeral services for Marvin McDonald of Salem, age 69, will be held this morning at 11:00 at the Salem Chapel of James and Gahr Mortuary. Interment will be in the Jadwin Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the Jadwin Cemetery
Funeral services for Fay Shirley Gibbs of Salem, age 94, will be Sunday at 1:00 at the Wilson Mortuary Salem Chapel. Visitation will be held Sunday from 12:00 until service time. Burial will be in the North Lawn Cemetery. Memorial Contributions may be made to the Love Pack Back Pack program.
Local News – Thursday, March 7th, 2019
The Salem Park and Recreation Board met Tuesday evening at the Salem Community Center@The Armory. Park and Recreation Director Tye Lydon reported on the soccer program and said 185 players signed up with Town and Country Bank sponsoring the shirts and the Salem Memorial District Hospital sponsoring the fields. There are nine 6 and under teams, five 8 and under teams, three 10 and under teams and two 14 and under teams. Lydon reported on the “Start Smart” Soccer program and 10 parent/child combos signed up for the initial class. The next “Start Smart” program will be for baseball and softball. Lydon said the regular registration for the Youth Baseball/Softball and T-Ball leagues would begin March 18th and last until April 12th for $25 per child. Late registration will be from April 13th through the 26th for $35 per child. The league is for boys and girls from 14 years of age and under. Lydon said he would like to do another Opening Day at the city park on May 23rd. The board discussed swim lessons this year and there will be three sessions: June 10th through the 21st; July 8th through the 19th; and July 29th through August 9th. The board approved leaving the cost of lessons at $45 per person, and the daily admission to the pool at $4.00 for children, $5.00 for adults, and $4.00 for seniors who are 62 years of age and above. Lydon said the pool would be open from noon until 7:00 Monday through Saturday and from 1:00 to 6:00 on Sunday. Pool parties will again be available this year for $150 for the first hour and $50 per half hour after that. He also said water aerobics would be held Monday through Friday from 11:00 until 12:00 noon at $4.00 per day or a monthly pass of $50. A Season Family Pass will now cost $160 for two adults and two children and $45 for each additional family member. Lydon asked the board about rental fees for the use of the pavilions. The board agreed the larger pavilion with the fireplace rental would be $45 for the day and the other pavilion would be $35 for the day. Pavilions and Pool Parties can now be booked for the 2019 season in the office of Tye Lydon at the Salem Community Center@The Armory. The board did approve opening the pool on May 25th and closing the pool on August 14th. Only pool parties will still be available through Labor Day at the pool on the weekends. Lydon said an LWCF Grant application was submitted for the soccer fields on Highway 19 south and he hopes to know on that by mid April. The board discussed the possibility of employing an Assistant Park and Recreation Director to assist Lydon. There also may be the possibility of getting a college intern for a stipend and lodging for the summer. The Park Board agreed that a job description needs to be compiled and approved before the search for an assistant or intern can be done. With that said, the board approved looking into hiring an Assistant Park and Recreation Director along with an intern for the first and possibly second year once the job description has been approved. Park Board President Stan Podorski reported the budget is pretty well on track for this time of year and budget preparations for the next fiscal year budget will begin soon. Tye Lydon opened the one bid received for a Kubota Mower for the Park and Recreation Department that would be used only on playing fields from Wayde’s Equipment in Cuba for $12,967.72. A fair/foul line forming attachment for the machine may be available for another $400. The bid was approved by the board to be recommended to the Alderman for their approval. This is a budgeted item. The meeting was then adjourned.
A one vehicle accident occurred Tuesday night at 10:00 on Highway 21, about five miles North of Ellington in Reynolds County. According to the highway patrol report, a 1999 Ford Ranger, driven by 21-year old Tiarra Light of Black, was southbound when she fell asleep at the wheel. The vehicle continued to travel south into the northbound lane. The driver overcorrected and overturned off the left side of the roadway, striking a tree. Light suffered minor injuries and was transported by Reynolds County EMS to Iron County Hospital. The driver was wearing a safety restraint at the time of accident. The Ford Ranger was totaled in the accident and removed from the scene by Aissie Towing of Ellington.
The Dent County Sheriff’s Office has released the following reports. On Tuesday, February 26th, deputies conducted a traffic stop at East Highway 32 and Dent County Road 4180. During the course of the traffic stop, a 33-year old Rolla male was arrested for active warrants through Rolla, Missouri. The male was transported to the Dent County Sheriff’s Office where he later posted bond. On Thursday, February 28th, deputies conducted a traffic stop at the Casey’s General Store on East Highway 32. During the course of the traffic stop, a 42-year old Saint Louis male was arrested for active warrants through Jefferson County. The male was transported to the Dent County Sheriff’s office where he later posted bond. Finally, on Friday, March 1st, deputies were contacted by an individual requesting a well being check on a female subject, who was possibly involved in a domestic disturbance. Deputies traveled to the 200 block of Dent County Road 4155. During the course of the investigation, a 30-year old Salem man was arrested for Domestic Assault in the 3rd Degree. The male was transported to the Dent County Sheriff’s Jail and incarcerated If anyone has any information regarding an ongoing investigation, please contact the Dent County Sheriff’s Office at 573-729-3241.
Obituaries – Thursday, March 7th, 2019
A Celebration of Life services for Lonnie Chandler of Steelville, age 71, will be today at 2:00 at the Britton-Bennett Funeral Home in Steelville.
Funeral services for Marvin McDonald of Salem, age 69, will be held Friday morning at 11:00 at the Salem Chapel of James and Gahr Mortuary. Interment will be in the Jadwin Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the Jadwin Cemetery.
Funeral services for Fay Shirley Gibbs of Salem, age 94, will be Sunday at 1:00 at the Wilson Mortuary Salem Chapel. Visitation will also be Sunday from 12:00 until service time. Burial will be in the North Lawn Cemetery. Memorial Contributions may be made in memory of Fay Gibbs to the Love Pack Back Pack program.
Sports – Thursday, March 7th, 2019
Tyler O’Neill hit his fourth homer of the spring and Paul DeJong hit his first as St. Louis beat the NY Yankees, 9-5. The Cardinals will have today off before having split squad games against Houston and Washington on Friday.
The Chicago Cubs scored single runs in the 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th innings and beat Kansas City by the score of 4-1. The Royals will play the LA Angels of Anaheim this afternoon.
Jordan Geist scored 18 points and Torrence Watson had 17 to lead Missouri to a 64-39 win over Georgia on Wednesday night in a matchup of two of the SEC’s bottom three teams. Missouri has won back- to back conference games for the first time this year. The Tigers are 14-15 on the year and 5-12 in the Southeastern Conference.
Robert Thomas and Alex Pietrangelo scored 12 seconds apart late in the third period as the St. Louis Blues rallied for a 5-4 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night. Pietrangelo, Brayden Schenn and Ryan O’Reilly each had a goal and an assist for St. Louis, which has won 14 of its last 18 games. Vladimir Tarasenko and Colton Parayko each had two assists and Jordan Binnington stopped 23 shots. The Blues will be in Los Angeles tonight to face the Kings in the 2nd leg of their three game West Coast swing. You can hear the pre-game show on KSMO at 9:00.
The St. Louis Cardinals 2019 pocket schedules have arrived! You can find them here at the KSMO Studios and at all this year’s participating sponsors. There is no cost for the pocket schedules and feel free to take as many as you want.
Weather – Thursday, March 7th, 2019
Today..Mostly cloudy with drizzle after 1:00, high of 46.
Tonight..Mostly cloudy with a 50% chance of drizzle with rain after midnight, low around 35.
Friday..Mostly cloudy with light rain early, high near 50.
Friday night..Cloudy with a 50% chance for showers after midnight, low of 41.
Saturday..Showers likely, high near 62.
Local News – Wednesday, March 6th, 2019
The Salem Board of Aldermen held their regular meeting Monday night at the City Hall Council Chambers. The board heard from Daniel Black of Black’s A-1 Septic, LLC about dumping the waste from some port-a-potties at the Salem Waste Water Treatment plant. City of Salem Sewer and Water Superintendent Jack Emory reported that the cities plant is an activated treatment plant as it is oxygenated while port-a-potties are not. A direct discharge will result in foaming and clogs in the aerators. Black would not be releasing much waste into the system and City Administrator Ray Walden asked him to submit to the city his waste information for the city’s engineers to review and see if there can be a solution for him at the treatment plant. The board approved the bid from Fleetwood Pyrotechnics, LLC in Salem to shoot off the fireworks at the 4th of July Celebration for $12,524.00. They board received eight bids for the AMI metering systems. They approved moving forward with the Automatic Meter Reading system from NexGrid for $1,109,957.50 without installation. With installation, the cost will come to $1,342,977.35. This vote was by a 3-1 margin with Alderman Kenny Nash voting against. The board heard from Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Gary Brown about the Planning and Zoning Meeting held prior to the regular meeting. The commission recommended the subdividing of the property currently known as 5400 West Scenic Rivers Blvd into eight parcels of which five were rezoned from Commercial to Residential R-3. The board approved the recommendation and would later pass Bill #3408 to allow the subdivision to occur with the new addresses to be recorded. City Administrator Ray Walden explained the city’s part of the Workforce Training Initiative Grant where they are a co-sponsor with the Salem R-80 Schools as well as other partners that can provide up to $1 million dollars. This was recommended by the MRPC. This would be for a new building to house the construction trades program and computer cyber security lab that will also be used for the Adult Education and Literacy Program. Salem R-80 will be the fiscal agent and there would be no cost to the city. Walden recommended to the board to approve the request by Salem R-80 and the aldermen did. Walden reported on a pre-submission conference at the old middle school held on February 25th where a number of people toured the old building and property. The proposal deadline will be March 29th and those proposals will be sent to the old middle school committee for their review and determination as what the best option is. Walden asked for the public’s patience for the work being done on the old city hall auditorium as it will take some time to complete that project. He also wanted to thank volunteers around town for making projects happen and that includes the upcoming Road Rally on March 15th and 16th. Many events would not be possible without the volunteers making them happen. The board approved Bill #3409 that establishes a procedure to disclose potential conflicts of interest for certain municipal officials. They also unanimously approved Resolution # 6-2019 for the mayor to execute the scope of work agreement between the City of Salem and NexGrid to deploy a wireless smart grid infrastructure for the purpose of advanced metering and smart grid management activities, and also approved Resolution #7-2019 to co-sponsor with the Salem R-80 School District to apply for a Workforce Training Initiative Grant. The meeting was then adjourned.
The Dent County Health Center Board of Trustees met Monday,February 25th, at the Dent County Health Center. Administrator Kendra Mobray reported outpatient lab services were provided to 47 clients in January. Mobray reported she attended the Coalition for Roadway Safety and an HRSA Rural Opioid Grant Coalition meetings at the MRPC in February. She also attended the "Your Community Cares Rural Health Coalition" meeting at Your Community Health Center in Rolla. Mobray also reported that influenza activity in Missouri is widespread. There have been 78 confirmed cases of influenza reported for Dent County. She said people need to be aware of those around them and follow these steps in an attempt to avoid the flu: Avoid close contact, stay home when you are sick, cover your mouth and nose, clean your hands often, practice other good health habits and avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth before you wash your hands. Mobray reported on Friday, February 22nd, the vaccine refrigerator malfunctioned. According to the repair service, the refrigerator cannot be fixed. A motion was made and seconded to purchase a new refrigerator as soon as possible. The Health Center would like to thank the SMDH pharmacy for safely storing vaccines until the new unit arrives. After paying expenses for January, the board set their next regular board meeting date for Monday, March 18th at 5:00. The meeting was then adjourned.
Sports – Wednesday, March 6th, 2019
The All-SCA Conference Teams were released for boys and girls. Named to the All-SCA 1st-Team was Taylor Norris of Salem while Bella Jadwin was selected for the All-SCA Honorable Mention Team. Named to the All-SCA 2nd-Team for he boys was Jordan Shults of Salem while Reese Dodson was selected for the All-SCA Honorable Mention team. Congratulations Tigers!
The Salem 5K Fun Run/Walk returns this Saturday to the Salem Community Center@The Armory. The event starts at 8:00 in the morning and is sponsored by the Salem Running Club, the Salem Memorial District Hospital, Healthy Dent County and the Dent County Health Center. There is no charge to attend and the event is open to everyone. You can walk, skip, run, anything just as long as you are moving. For safety reasons, they would appreciate no pets, bicycles or skates. For more information, call 729-8163.
The Philadelphia Phillies scored in the bottom of the 9th inning to beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-1 Tuesday. Jack Flaherty pitched four scoreless innings for the Red Birds who will play the New York Yankees this afternoon.
The Kansas City Royals beat Arizona Tuesday night by the score of 5-3. They will play the Chicago Cubs this afternoon in Arizona.
The Missouri Basketball Tigers will play Georgia this afternoon at 5:00 and hear it on KSMO. Missouri enters the game with a 15-15 record.
The St. Louis Blues begin a three game trip on the west coast as they will be in Anaheim tonight to face the Ducks. The Blues are currently in 3rd place in the Central Division. You can hear the game on KSMO at 8:30.
Pick up your St. Louis Cardinals 2019 pocket schedules! You can find them here at the KSMO Studios and at all this year’s participating sponsors. There is no cost for the pocket schedules and feel free to take as many as you want.
Obituaries – Wednesday, March 6th, 2019
Funeral services for Blanche Juanita Pryor of Salem, age 91, will be this morning at 11:00 at the Salem Chapel of James & Gahr Mortuary. Interment will be in the Boss Cemetery.
A Celebration of Life services for Lonnie Chandler of Steelville, age 71, will be Thursday at 2:00 at the Britton-Bennett Funeral Home in Steelville. Visitation will be today from 4:00 until 8:00 at the funeral home.
Weather – Wednesday, March 6th, 2019
Today..Sunny, high of 40.
Tonight..Mostly cloudy, low near 25.
Thursday..Mostly cloudy, high of 46.
Thursday night..Mostly cloudy with a 40% chance of showers, low around 35.
Friday..Mostly cloudy with a 30% chance for showers before noon, high near 53.
Local News – Tuesday, March 5th, 2019
The Dent County Commissioners met for their regular meeting Monday morning at the Dent County Courthouse. Salem and Dent County Economic Development Director Sally Burbridge gave her report for the month of February. She currently has seven ongoing projects and a new project that was pre-existing that is going to be moving forward with altered plans. She also wanted to remind people to check out the Salem, Missouri Facebook page for upcoming events and information. She said she will be rescheduling the Economic Development Strategic Plan meeting that was postponed last Thursday by adverse weather. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell and District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson each indicated that work crews this weekend were out salting and sanding roads after the snow Sunday morning. With the extremely cold temperatures, crews will be out checking and treating slick spots on curves and hills to make sure people can get to their destinations. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles reported on the Ozark Rivers Solid Waste Management District Executive Board meeting he attended last Tuesday. He reported the board toured the Tacony Manufacturing plant in St. James where they assemble numerous brands of vacuum cleaners. He said they had received a grant to get a new cardboard processor that turns scrap cardboard into packing material. This saves the company money by not having to purchase bubble wrap or Styrofoam peanuts. Tacony employs 81 people and they are always looking for good people to employ. They also have a vacuum cleaner museum that includes the collection of the late Stan Kann who used to be the organist at the Fox Theater back in the 1930’s through the 60’s. Skiles said that two representatives from the Department of Natural Resources were also in attendance to remind people that grants are still available for the use of old shredded tire material for playgrounds or trails. Skiles went on to say that all three commissioners attended the “Meramec Morning” that was held Wednesday at the Salem Community Center @ The Armory. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley wanted to remind anyone that is not registered to vote you must do so by March 6th or you will not be able to vote in the Municipal Election in April. She also mentioned that absentee voting is going on now and will through April 1st. The next meeting of the Dent County Commission will be Thursday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.
The Meramec Regional Planning Commission and Phelps County Public Housing Agency Family Self-Sufficiency program will host a free "Eating Smart" class on March 7th from 10:00 in the morning until noon at the Phelps County PHA Office located at #4 Industrial Drive in St. James. This class is designed for teaching families with young children to learn healthy lifestyle choices. Topics include physical activity, how to stretch food dollars, how to increase the amount and variety of fruits and vegetables, identifying whole grain foods and why they are beneficial, building strong points, lean protein sources and choosing foods low in fat, sugar and salt. Christy Saylor, the Missouri Ozarks Community Action county projects coordinator, will present the workshop which is offered at no cost to the participant. For more information or to RSVP, contact Savannah Vandegriffe at 573-265-4200 ext. 132. Free training classes are a part of MRPC and PHA's efforts to help prepare families by making them aware of the resources available to assist with self-sufficiency. Each participant who attends will receive a $25 Wal-Mart gift card, as long as they meet income qualifications.
The Salem Park Board will be meeting this evening at 7:00 at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory. The board will hear a report from Parks and Recreation Director Tye Lydon. After the directors report, there will be an update on the LWCF Grant for the Soccer Fields. The board will also discuss adding the position of Assistant Park and Recreation Director if the budget allows. A budget update will then be presented along with opening of bids for a new Kubota Mower/Tractor. The board will address any other business before adjourning. The meeting is open to the public.
The Salem Area Community Betterment Association will be presenting their Trivia Night this Friday night at 6:00 at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory. Teams may consist up to eight players and the fee is $100.00 per team. There will be ten questions in ten categories. Participants are welcome to bring dinner for their team and drinks and popcorn will be available for purchase. There will be prizes for the top three teams, the team with the cleverest name, and first place will receive a cash prize of $200.00 and a trophy. For more information call 729-8163 or email judy@salemcommunitycenter.org.
The Doe Run Company has named Steve Batts as vice president and chief operating officer. The 30-year veteran of the company will lead the entire organization’s operations including balancing immediate performance with long-term maintenance and growth to maximize the company’s prosperity, sustainability and development. Additional local company leaders received promotions within the SEMO Division. Brian Mangogna has been named general manager of SEMO operations. Mangogna has been with Doe Run for approximately 20 years, most recently as mill manager. During his tenure, he has overseen ISO environmental certification at each mill location, improved metallurgy and metal recovery, and developed more efficient processes for shipping Doe Run’s lead and zinc concentrates globally. Mangogna received a bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering from University of Missouri – Rolla (now Missouri S&T) and a master’s degree in business administration from Webster University. Mangogna lives in Salem, Missouri.