Archive for 2021

The Salem Police Department has released their report for the month of September. They served 13 summons to appear in court, gave out 59 warning tickets and nine traffic tickets, plus they served nine fugitive warrants. The department investigated 14 traffic accidents, had 11 ambulance assists, made 80 traffic stops, wrote two property damage reports, five stealing reports and two resisting or interfering with an arrest. The department investigated four driving while having a license being revoked or suspended, investigated two assaults, had one death investigation, investigated four charges for possession of a controlled substance, three possessions of drug paraphernalia, plus they investigated one trespassing report, and one violation of a full order of protection. The department also investigated four intoxicated pedestrians and responded to eight assaults or fights, responded to 43 animal calls, conducted 28 follow up investigations, and investigated four reports of a prowler. The police department also performed 16 well-being checks, investigated one sexual offense, and four suspicious vehicles and 12 suspicious subjects, and had a report of a runaway juvenile. The department drove 7,911 miles during the month and served 4 hours as court bailiff. The department had 621 calls for service during September and had 26 walk-ins to the station. There were 16 males and 10 females arrested during the month of September.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is now accepting applications through October 15th for the Missouri Outdoor Recreational Access Program (MRAP). The program provides participating landowners with annual incentive payments of $15 to $25 per enrolled acre and financial assistance to improve wildlife habitat on their properties for public walk-in hunting, fishing, or wildlife viewing. The standard landowner commitment period is three years, with annual renewal opportunities. This funding, which is provided by a USDA grant, allows for the additional enrollment of approximately 10,000 acres into MRAP this year. The recreation allowed on each property varies according to the public access option selected by the participating landowner. MRAP access types include all access hunting and fishing, small game and turkey hunting, youth only hunting and fishing, archery hunting, fishing only, or wildlife viewing. Most MRAP access types are open to the public year-round, however, archery hunting and small game and turkey properties are open only during relevant legal seasons. Offered lands must meet minimum eligibility requirements such as being at least 40 contiguous acres or at least a one-acre pond for fishing access. Wildlife viewing properties must be at least five contiguous acres and be located within highly populated counties. Eligible lands must be comprised of at least 20% quality wildlife habitat such as native grass fields, crop field buffers, restored wetlands, or managed woodlands. Public use is limited to foot traffic only. Properties must be open one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset. Equipment and gear are carry-in-carry-out daily. Participating landowners are offered liability protection through Missouri’s Recreational Use Immunity Law. Learn more about MRAP and apply to the program at mdc.mo.gov. To apply, complete the MRAP Application. Completed applications can be e-mailed to Rachel.Williams@mdc.mo.gov by October 15th. Missouri has approximately 13,700 acres enrolled in the MRAP program across 55 properties. Find enrolled MRAP properties and offerings online at mdc.mo.gov.

New in fall 2021, University of Missouri Extension is launching a workshop series on Whole System Management of Beef Cattle Reproduction. The objective is to aid Missouri producers in improving the reproductive management of their cow-calf herds through a systems-based approach. There will be a whole system management workshop at Wurdack Farm in Cook Station on Tuesday October 26th. Workshops will include presentations as well group discussions, scenario troubleshooting, and a tour and overview of the reproductive management system at a University of Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station Research Center. Participants will leave with a new perspective about reproductive management of cow-calf herds, viewing common causes of variability in reproductive performance now as leverage points for future improvement. For more information you can email Rachel Hopkins at hopkinsrm@umsystem.edu.

The City of Salem Curbside Yard Waste Pickup is being RESCHEDULED to the week of October 18th. The City of Salem Streets Crew will be performing crack sealing on multiple city streets the first two weeks of October and will not be able to pick up yard waste during that time. Please be courteous while city crews are repairing and maintaining your streets. Again, please DO NOT set out yard waste until the weekend of October 16th.

An accident happened Saturday afternoon at 3:44 on Highway 63 about a mile south of Edgar Springs that left five people with serious injuries. According to the highway patrol report, A 2007 Chevrolet 1500 driven northbound by a 17-year-old male juvenile from Mountain View, collided head on with a 2019 Nissan Kicks driven southbound by 39-year-old Robert Burns Jr. of Licking. Burns suffered serious injuries and was taken by Air Evac to Cox South Hospital in Springfield. Also suffering serious injuries from the Nissan Kicks were 32-year-old Kimberly Burns who was taken by Phelps Air to Cox South Hospital in Springfield, a nine-year-old female from Licking who was taken by MU Air Care to the University Hospital in Columbia, and a 16-year-old female of Licking who was taken by Mercy Life Line to Children’s Hospital in St. Louis. Suffering serious injuries from the Chevrolet was a 16-year-old female juvenile from Mountain View who was transported by Arch Air Care to Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Columbia. Both vehicles were totaled in the accident. The Chevrolet was removed by D&D Recovery while the Nissan was taken from the scene by Lucas Garage. The highway patrol was assisted at the scene by the Edgar Springs Fire Department and the Rolla Rural Fire Department.

An accident happened Saturday evening at 6:50 in Pulaski County on Interstate 44 at the 156- exit ramp in Waynesville. According to the highway patrol report, a 1999 Harley Davidson being driven eastbound by 48-year-old Donald Miller of St. James was making a right hand turn onto the exit ramp when he traveled off the left side of the roadway, returned to the road and overturned. Suffering serious injures was Miller who was taken by Life Flight to the University Hospital in Columbia. A passenger with Miller, an 11-year-old female juvenile, suffered minor injuries and was taken by ambulance to the Lake Regional Hospital in Osage Beach. Miller and the passenger were wearing safety devices at the time of the accident. The Harley Davidson was totaled and removed from the scene by TC Towing.

The City of Salem Board of Aldermen will be meeting Tuesday evening at 6:00 at the City Hall Council Chambers. After the consent agenda is approved, the board will hear and discuss Bill #3493 which would create an ordinance amending Chapter 700, Article II, Section 700.130 that would allow the city to increase or decrease electric rates by the same rate of the supplier without the necessity of a vote of the aldermen. The board will then hear a bid on putting a fence around the city facility on Wines Street for $9,700. Reports will then be heard from City Administrator Ray Walden, Mayor Kim Steelman. Public Works Director Mark Nash, Park and Recreation Director Melissa Dubois, Economic Development Director Sally Burbridge and any Aldermen reports. The board may then go into closed session to discuss contracts. The City of Salem Board of Aldermen meeting Tuesday night will be open to the public.

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission has approved a contract to resurface Highway 72 in Dent and Phelps counties. Under the approved contract, resurfacing will take place from Rolla to Salem in the 2022 construction season. Pace Construction was awarded the contract after submitting the low bid of $4,029,000. When a start date is established, MoDOT will alert the public about the project through signs, news releases and social media. For more information about this project or other transportation-related matters, please call 1-888-ASK-MoDOT (275-6636) or visit www.modot.org/central.

The Salem Public Library is having a Book-O’-Lantern Pumpkin Decorating Contest. All ages are welcome to decorate a pumpkin to represent a story you enjoy or to look like your favorite book character. Use paint, markers, glue, fabric, etc., but no carving of the pumpkin please! Bring your creation to the public library through October 16th. For more information, call 729-4331.

A report from State Auditor Nicole Galloway finds that the city of Edgar Springs in Phelps County has implemented some recommendations from her 2020 audit, but that other concerns still remain. The November 2020 audit of Edgar Springs was initiated through a petition of city residents. That audit highlighted numerous problems with the city’s accounting controls and procedures, as well as other operations of city government. Because the audit gave a rating of “poor,” the lowest possible rating, the Auditor’s Office conducted a follow-up review to measure the progress the city has since made. Of the 20 recommendations followed up on from the 2020 audit, Edgar Springs officials have fully implemented only two. Eight recommendations remain not implemented with another ten either partially implemented or in progress. State Auditor Nicole Galloway stated that she urges city officials to implement all of the audit recommendations to ensure they are transparent with taxpayers. While auditors found that the Board of Aldermen has begun reviewing monthly budget-to-actual reports as recommended, the city’s official 2021 budget could not be located and supporting budget documents did not contain all the statutorily required elements. The board also has not prepared and maintained accurate financial statements and accounting records as recommended. City officials have also not filed an accurate and timely financial report with the State Auditor’s Office. The follow-up review also found that the city has made no progress on the recommendation that they ensure ordinances are maintained in a complete and well-organized manner, and establish an index of all ordinances passed and rescinded. No progress had been made towards ensuring that sunshine requests are responded to timely. Auditors did find that progress was made on recommendations relating to sewer system controls, maintaining supporting documentation for disbursements of city money, and a written policy regarding public access to city records.

The Salem Police Department has released some reports for the mid to latter part of September. During the afternoon of Tuesday, September 14 just before 2:00 an officer was dispatched to the Salem Police Department for a report of a forgery. It had been reported that $400 worth of checks were stolen and written without consent. This incident is still under investigation. The next day around noon, an officer arrested a 41-year-old Salem woman identified as Danielle McDonald for an active arrest warrant out of Texas County. McDonald was incarcerated at the Dent County Jail awaiting extradition. On Friday the 17th just after 3i:30 in the afternoon an officer arrested a 38-year-old Salem man identified as Herbert Bartlet on an active arrest warrant out of Jefferson County Missouri. The next afternoon at approximately 1:30 an officer was dispatched to 700 south Orchard for a report of a vehicle crash. Investigation of incident revealed that a woman had rammed into a family members car during a disagreement. As a result of the investigation a 28-year-old Salem woman was arrested for DWI and Careless and imprudent driving. The woman was held on a 12-hour safekeep at the Dent County Jail and later released on a summons for court. On Tuesday afternoon, September 21st, near 1:45 an officer conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle for equipment issues near the 400 block of east Franklin. During the stop the officer was shown signs of possible narcotics activity. After gaining consent to search, suspected heroin and drug paraphernalia was located in the vehicle. As a result, a 31-year-old Salem man was arrested and incarcerated at the Dent County Jail. The next day an officer arrested a 58-year-old Salem man identified as Robert Simmons for an active warrant out of Dent County. Simmons was incarcerated at the Dent County Jail. On Thursday the 23rd, at around midnight an officer arrested a 35-year-old man identified as Jeremy Jackson and a 32-year-old man identified as Ryan Lumsden on warrants for their arrest. Both men were incarcerated at the Dent County Jail. Please contact the Salem Police Department at (573) 729-4242 if you have any information regarding an ongoing investigation.

A one vehicle accident happened Thursday morning just after 6:30 on Highway 19 in Shannon County. The report released by the highway patrol states that a 2014 Chevrolet Equinox being driven by 22-year-old Danielle Counts of Eminence, was traveling south when she swerved to miss a deer in the roadway. The Chevy then ran off the road and struck a bridge. Counts was taken to Mercy St. Francis Hospital in Mountain View by Shannon County Ambulance for treatment of moderate injuries. The report stated Counts was wearing a safety restraint at the time of the accident. The Equinox sustained extensive damage and was towed from the scene by Sartins Towing.