Archive for 2021

The Missouri State Highway Patrol have arrested a man and woman who were found walking in the Highway 63 and Highway 28 area in Maries County and they have now been charged in Phelps County in connection with the stabbing death of Donald Wethy at the Economy Inn Motel in St James. Arrested were 20-year-old Josue Martinez from Pennsylvania and his girlfriend, 29-year-old Kimberly Riston from California. Martinez is accused of stabbing Wethy twice while they were in the parking lot of Economy Inn Wednesday. Once Wethy fell to the ground, Martinez reportedly stabbed him at least 12 more times. After killing him, Martinez reportedly rummaged through Wethy’s pockets apparently for car keys to take the car. While this was going on, Riston is seen on video trying to get her dog into Wethy’s car. Martinez did not find the keys, so the couple left the area on foot, leaving Wethy dead in the parking lot. Martinez and Riston are both being charged with first-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action, robbery, and tampering with a motor vehicle. They are both being held without bond in the Phelps County Jail.

The Dent County Commissioners held a special meeting Tuesday where they went into closed session pursuant to the Revised Statutes of Missouri Section 610.021 at 1:20. The commissioners emerged from closed session at 2:20 and approved the bills and then signed the agreement with Anderson and Associates Engineers LLC for $8,980. This contract is for the assessment for the scope of work needed on the exterior of the courthouse. At the last regular meeting, Skiles signed the Missouri Department of Public Safety LESO Program agreement. Sheriff Bob Wells came in and they discussed the new jail elevator and the maintenance agreement. The Commission agreed 3-0 to sign the maintenance agreement with the vendor Kone, Inc. The meeting was then adjourned.

“Take Back Day” for unused and expired medications will be this Saturday at the Country Mart and Walmart parking lots. The event will be from 10:30 in the morning until 1:00 in the afternoon. “Take Back Day” is sponsored by a partnership with the DEA, Salem Police Department, Dent County Sheriff’s Department, and Health Dent County Prevention Coalition.

The Doe Run Company is offering two scholarships to Mineral Area College for the Fall 2021-Spring 2022 academic year. The scholarships cover $500 per semester, totaling $1,000 for each of two students annually at MAC. Local high school students should apply for the Doe Run scholarships by May 15th. Scholarships are available to graduating high school seniors from the following districts: Potosi R-III District; Iron County C-IV District; Bunker R-III District; Arcadia Valley R-II District; Valley R-VI District; Southern Reynolds Co. R-II District; Lesterville R-IV District; Mineral Area College Districts – North County R-I, Central R-III, Farmington R-VII, Bismarck R-V, West County R-IV, and Fredericktown R-I. Interested students can obtain a scholarship application from the financial aid office at MAC. Eligible students must meet the following scholarship criteria: Be planning to enroll in at least six credit hours per semester at Mineral Area College. Rank in the upper half of his or her senior class. Possess a genuine interest in preparing for a specific occupation. Express a desire to be employed locally. Scholarships are one of a number of ways Doe Run supports STEM education in the region. In addition to sponsoring scholarships for students attending MAC, Missouri University of Science and Technology, and Southwest Baptist University Salem Campus, the company has funded technology and other projects that support elementary, middle and high school STEM curriculum for local school districts.

The Salem Memorial District Hospital regular board meeting was held Tuesday evening in the Hospital Library. District 2 Board member Mike Swyers was sworn in by Hospital Attorney Mark Weaver after running unopposed in the Municipal Election. In the summary of operations for the month of March, the hospital had 105 inpatient admissions with 211 inpatient census days. The average amount of patients per day in Acute Care was 6.8. The hospital showed a loss from operations of $613,362 and expenses over revenues after taxes of $584,707. During the month, there were 593 emergency room visits to go with 202 ambulance runs where 148 patients were transported, 39 surgery cases, 2,098 outpatient registrations, 9,033 lab tests, 1,184 radiological procedures, 286 Home Health visits and 725 rehab treatments. The cash flow statement showed the hospital had a cash decrease for the month of $243,308 and the days in accounts receivable remained at 92 for the second straight month. Chief of Nursing Debbie Hines gave the Acute Care Staffing by Patient Acuity report that showed the average acuity at 17 per day with seven patients per day. Hines said That only 95 people were vaccinated at the fire station on April 16th as the hospital had 600 vaccinations available. The hospital redistributed 400 of those to Missouri Baptist Hospital in Sullivan and Phelps Health took the remaining doses back. Since January 15th, the hospital has had 19 events and 3,600 people have been vaccinated and another 135 have not yet had their second dose. Hines also said there are two active COVID-19 cases in Dent County as of Tuesday so there will be no changes to their visitor policy. Hospital Administrator Kasey Lucas said it has been a year since the COVID-19 pandemic and he said one of the biggest concerns is the deductions from revenue. This is being discussed internally on a weekly basis and the hospital has a plan on how to reduce this amount. Lucas said he would be meeting with auditors BKD next week to discuss this further. Chief Operating Officer Jason Edwards said the Golf Tournament is scheduled for June 4th and the hospital has received $8,100 in sponsorships so far and five teams have signed up. Another round of sponsorship letters will be going out soon. Edwards said the TytoCare Product has been tested and evaluated in house, and all up-to-date documentation has been sent to the USDA. Edwards has spoken to a rural school to start piloting the program and the hope is to have the program in all the schools at the beginning of the next school year. Lucas reported on the hospital expansion and said the new water heater electric has been installed. The new water heater will be installed soon followed by the water softeners and that will finish the expansion project. Lucas said the Cerner Conversion for payroll is underway as they are currently running dual payrolls to make sure all the deduction codes the hospital has are recognized and the first payroll using Cerner will be dated July 2nd. He also said the departments are all working on creating workbooks for the conversion to be done in early fall with Microsoft Dynamics 365. Lucas said the next finance committee meeting is pending as they are trying to get more accurate numbers for the budget preparation. Once they feel they have an accurate prediction, the committee will meet. There were no purchases for the month and the board went into closed session.

The 6th Annual Veteran Affairs Day will be held Friday from 10:00 in the morning until 2:00 in the afternoon at the American Legion Walker Roney Post 99 and All-American VFW Post 6280 on Highway 32 West in Salem. The Veteran Affairs Day is an annual outreach to all veterans from parts of central rural Missouri to provide easier access to VA services. It includes the American Legion District 16 and the VFW District 2 which includes Camden, Cole, Crawford, Dent, Howell, Laclede, Maries, Miller, Phelps, Osage, Pulaski, Reynolds, Shannon, Texas and Wright counties. Representatives from the Department of Veteran Affairs, including enrollment and claims processing specialists as well as benefit advisors, will be in attendance. The Truman VA Hospital will also have the COVID vaccine available for veterans and their spouses. The Columbia Veteran Center will have counselors and advisors on hand in their mobile unit. In addition, the Missouri Veterans Commission will have Service Officers at the event. A light lunch will be provided around noon. It doesn’t matter when you served, if you are a veteran and have questions, have a claim or need to enroll into the VA healthcare system or get the COVID vaccine, please attend. Don’t miss out on your hard-earned benefits. Truman VA Hospital has confirmed that they will NOT be using the Johnson and Johnson single dose vaccine (presumably due to recommendations by FDA & CDC). They will now be administering the Pfizer two dose vaccine. The second dose will be administered on Friday, May 14th from 10:30 in the morning until 2:00 that afternoon in the Bingo Hall in the Legion/VFW building. Call the American Legion Post 99/VFW Post 6280 at (573) 729-3710 for questions, to get vaccinated or to schedule a private time with a counselor.