Archive for 2020

The City of Salem Board of Aldermen meeting was held Monday evening. The board discussed the proposal by WCA for refuse and recycling services. There were some concerns that some of the recycling was not being picked up and their general manager stated that it may because there were non-recyclable items in the bin that would corrupt the entire load, so the drivers would leave them. It was asked by the aldermen if the sanitation workers could leave a tag or note on the container as to why the recyclables were left, as that should eliminate a lot of calls to the office. The alderman approved the bid to continue with the trash and recyclable pickup that would be billed and collected by the city beginning September 1st for $14.75 for residents, $14.25 for senior citizens and $17.75 for non-residents on city utilities. The board postponed the bids on the police dispatch renovation until the next meeting as Chief Joe Chase was not in attendance at that time due to a personal emergency, but they did approve the bid from Scenic Rivers Vehicle Outfitters to outfit the new police department cars for a total of $10,236.91. The board held a public hearing on the changing of the Floodplain Control Ordinance. A few changes to the ordinance included new mapping panels and a change in the appeal process that would now go before the Board of Adjustment of the Planning and Zoning Commission. After the Consent Agenda, City Administrator Ray Walden reported the Salem Community Center@The Armory had 2,850 participants in July. He also said the city was looking at expanding the drive-up hours and also opening the drive-up facility on the weekend. The city would send out a press release to the media when they are ready to make that change. Walden also said the utility bills for the May consumption were just about finished as they are working on the corrections. Walden introduced Gina from Tyler Technologies who works with Incode and she said they have worked with the city since June. She told the board that the city needed to get a new meter reading interface which has been installed and corrected many of the problems with the meters. She recommended to the board that the July consumption bills go out August 25th, then the August Bills could go out the 20th of September and the September bills could go out on October 15th. Walden said the board will meet with the utility committee to determine if they want to follow that recommendation or do approved Resolution 17-2020 to set up a payment plan with Salem R-80 to pay for a new pad mount transformer needed for the renovations to the ag-education building at a cost of $140 a month for 60 months. The board also approved the existing Code of Conduct before going into closed session.

Between the dates of July 18 and July 31st there were a total of 251 calls for service by the Salem Police Department. Officers with the Salem Police Department conducted 28 traffic stops for various traffic violations, 8 of the stops resulted in a summons being issued or an arrest being made. Of the calls for service and traffic stops the following reports were generated. On July 18th approximately 12:35 in the afternoon an officer was dispatched to Wal-Mart for a report of a shoplifter. It was reported that a 36-year-old female from Licking had stolen $126.21 worth of merchandise. As a result of the investigation the female was arrested and later released on summons to appear in court. That same day an officer made contact with a 43-year-old Salem male at the Salem Police Department. The male had an active warrant for his arrest through the City of Salem. The male was arrested and later posted bond and was released. The same evening at around 8:00 an officer was dispatched to the 900 block of south Hickory for a report of a disturbance. It was found that a highly intoxicated male was acting erratic. The male was asked numerous times to stop acting aggressive towards family and officers but failed to comply. As a result, a 40-year-old Salem male was arrested and later charged with resisting arrest. The male was incarcerated at the Dent County Jail pending the application of warrants. On July 19th shortly after 2:15 in the afternoon an officer was dispatched to the 1800 block of south Oak for a report of a car that had been broken into the night before. It was reported that items from inside the car were taken valued at $320. Other vehicles in the area reported to have been gone though the same night as well. This incident is still under investigation. Just after that at 3:20 officers responded to the 800 block of south Water to attempt to locate a female subject with an active warrant for her arrest. Contact was made with a 52-year-old Salem female who had an active warrant for her arrest out of the City of Salem. She was arrested and incarcerated on the warrant. Later that same evening around 7:22 an officer was dispatched to Casey’s General Store for a report of a male subject acting aggressive and wielding a knife. The male paid for his merchandise but was upset that the cashier would not tell him where his girlfriend was. The male subject left the store. The male subject, a 31-year-old from O’Fallon, Missouri was later located and arrested for unlawful use of a Weapon. The male was incarcerated at the Dent County Jail. Please contact the Salem Police Department at 729-4242 if you have any information regarding an ongoing investigation.

A Primary Election was held Tuesday to determine who will run for offices for their respective parties in the November General Election. In some cases, the election determined who will win the General Election as they would be unopposed. Those offices include the Public Administrator race and Dent County Assessor race. A total of 4,247 votes were cast which is 41.87% of the registered voters. Only the contested races are presented and all contested races were on the Republican ticket. The results presented are unofficial.

• indicates winner.

Dent County 1st District Commissioner
Wes Mobray* 720 votes
Phillip Mercer 556 votes
Justin Headrick 382 votes
J.T. Fleener 219 votes

Dent County 2nd District Commissioner
Gary Larson* 691 votes
Travis Fulton 541 votes
Jimmy Williams 495 votes
Jim Martin 113 votes

Public Administrator
Sherida Cook* 2,045 votes
Larry Edwards 1,623 votes

Dent County Assessor
Jamie Homeyer* 2,374 votes
Alisa Brookshire 1,235 votes

State Representative District 43
Ron Copeland* 3,630 votes
Frank DeVenuto 1,768 votes
Jaret Holden 1,608 votes
Jack Bates 601 votes
William R. Parsons 495 votes

Circuit Judge Circuit 42 Division 2
Mike Randazzo* 3,459 votes
Brandi Baird 3,358 votes
Christopher Piatt 1,431 votes
Stephen Paulus 1,324 votes
Kristopher Crews 1,320 votes

The Salem R-80 Board of Education held a special meeting Monday night to discuss a “back to school” re-entry plan. Superintendent Dr. Lynne Reed discussed with the board the data received in the surveys they received from parents and staff. Reed said there were 806 responses from parents and 158 staff members. Reed said 67% of parents were going to drop off their children at school which would help keep distancing on those who must ride the bus. She also said 77% of parents would not want their children playing sports. Using the information received, Salem will start the year with two options: the first includes seated classes with precautions or there will be virtual options. Reed said the virtual option for those in Kindergarten through the 8th grade would have virtual instruction through a third party MOCAP approved vendor called Acellus. Students will participate in online, video-based lessons aligned with the Missouri Learning Standards with a district staff member monitoring the student’s progress. Those in the 9th through 12th grades will use the Google Classroom and be instructed by Salem teachers. Their online instruction will be online video-based lessons created and maintained by Salem staff. The plan stresses that students who wish to participate in athletics or extra-curricular activities cannot attend school by the virtual option. If a student or their parent commits them to the virtual learning option, they will be required to commit to the option for the entire semester after a five-day trial period where the student can opt to come back to school. If a student enrolls in the classroom option, they can switch to virtual learning during the course of the semester. Minimal technology requirements must be guaranteed by parents to enroll in the virtual education option. If parents have questions about Acellus or Google Classroom, they should contact Assistant Superintendent John Smith at 729-6642. Reed indicated that students would have their temperature taken everyday upon entering the building. The district would strongly encourage children to wear masks on the bus and in the common areas, but students will not be required to wear them in class. The board unanimously approved the plan. Reed did say that the plan is fluid and may change at any time due to information from DESE or the CDC. The “back to school” re-entry plan will be available on the Salem R-80 website The board approved going with the fuel bid from County Fuels for $1.54 per gallon for gas and $1.59 per gallon for diesel. The school will have to install a 2,000 gallon tank for diesel and a 500 gallon tank for gasoline. The board then attended a two-hour MSBA training session online by Parry Polster and Kelli Hopkins before adjourning their meeting.

An accident occurred in Dent County at 11:40 Tuesday morning on Route K about six miles south of Salem. According to the highway patrol report, a northbound 2019 Ford F-350 driven by 50-year-old Greg Wilson of Salem was entering the highway from a private drive and traveled in front of a southbound 2016 Nissan Altima driven by 30-year old Kayla Richardson of Salem. Richardson suffered moderate injuries and was transported by Air Evac to the University Hospital in Columbia. The report stated that neither driver was wearing a safety restraint at the time of the accident. The Nissan was totaled and removed from the scene by Whitaker’s Towing. The Ford was removed from the scene by the owner. The Highway Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Dent County Sheriff’s Office and the Jadwin Fire Department.