Archive for 2022

Due to a reporting error by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, we reported in Monday’s edition of YWT, and on the air that there was a double fatality accident Friday in Texas County. The corrected report from the Highway Patrol was issued stated that only Richard Strom of Licking was killed and there were no injuries for Hayden Mercer of Searcy, Arkansas. Our apologies for an error that was beyond KSMO and YWT’s control.

The Dent County Commission met Monday morning at the Dent County Courthouse for their regular meeting. Salem and Dent County Economic Development Director Sally Burbridge gave her report discussing a couple of new economic prospects, and reported the city and county have a total number of business licenses to date for 2022 of 482 with 12 new licenses in September. She reported the certified site has been cleared and seeded, and she submitted her final response to questions on September 9th and has not had a return response. Also the contracts for the demolition program have been approved waiting for the owners to sign their paperwork and pay their 50% of the project. Burbridge is waiting on the county surveyor to get back with her regarding the Industrial Park sign as it need to be replaced in the proper location. Her report also included the local unemployment numbers which shows less people in the work force and more unemployed with an unemployment rate of 3.7% in August up from 3.4% in July. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray reported materials would be added and grading done on Dent County Road 4100 while only grading would be done on county roads 4090 and 6505. Mobray said brush would be cut on county roads 4150 and 4155, while a tree was going to be removed from county road 5550. Mobray indicated workers would be changing blades as well as doing some other maintenance on a grader. Mobray said the chip and seal overlay work began on Monday. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson said materials would be added and grading done on Dent County Road 3150, plus a culvert would be installed on that road as well. He went on to report brush would be cut on county roads 6150 and 6160, and a man would be going to Springfield for oil for chip and seal repair. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles said Dent County Surveyor Michelle Elwood approved and signed the contract for the re-monumentation of corners and he also signed the contract. Skiles was also asked by Steelville Telephone Exchange for a letter of support from the commission for them to attempt to bring additional broadband Internet access to Dent County and the commissioners approved. At 10:00, MRPC Executive Director Bonnie Prigge, MoDOT Central District Area Engineer Preston Kramer, plus Transportation Advisory Committee representatives Gary Brown and Sally Burbridge were in attendance to the Dent County Transportation Needs annual meeting. Kramer said the Gladden Bridge on Highway 19 is on the STIP program to be replaced in fiscal year 2023 and it will be relocated with new approaches so as not to close the road, while the other priorities from last year including a new bridge on Route TT over Crooked Creek, a new bridge over the West Fork of the Huzzah Creek, new shoulders and alignment on Route B about two-tenths of a mile from County Road 5390, and the addition of turn lanes at the intersection of Highway 19 and Roosevelt remain to be a priority again for the next year. Kramer said more money is available this year for TAP grants and he recommended the city apply for any project they feel needs funding provided they have the matching funds. Prigge also discussed high priority unfunded needs that need to be address which include the bridge over Crooked Creek on Route TT, and also high priority multimodal needs such as an increase of services provided by the SMTS busses, sidewalks on the East side of Highway 19 from Center Street to Highway 32 and sidewalks from Carty Street to the Craig Industrial Drive on Highway 32 East (Scenic Rivers BLVD). Kramer also discussed changes to the BRO bridge replacement program for the county to consider including the elimination of the shortage in the county BRO fund which Kramer says has been wiped clean by the state. This information will be discussed when the MRPC and other regional commissions get together with MoDOT to address transportation issues. At the last meeting, Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams paid the Salem Nutrition Center $14,500 for their quarterly budgeted distribution and the SMTS bus $7,000 for their budgeted quarterly distribution. The next meeting of the Dent County Commissioners will be Thursday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

The Dent County Fire Protection District board of directors will be meeting this evening at 7:00 at the fire station located at #2 South Main Street. After the roll call and approval of the consent the board will review the minutes of the September meeting along with the budget review, financial report, and approval of bills. After the calendar reviews will be the monthly reimbursement report, followed by any old or new business before fire chief Brad Nash give his report to the board. The date will then by set for the November meeting before adjourning and going into closed session if necessary. The meeting, other than the closed session, will be open to the public.

An accident occurred in Phelps County Sunday afternoon at 4:00 on Phelps County Road 7240 west of County Road 7270. According to the highway patrol report, an eastbound 2005 Yamaha YZ450, operated by 21-year-old Chase Hayes of Rolla, crossed the center of the roadway, and struck the right side of a 2004 Ford F-250, operated by 32-year-old Tyler Sinnott of Newburg. The Yamaha then traveled off the left side of the roadway and overturned. Hayes suffered moderate injuries and was transported to Phelps Health by a private vehicle. The Yamaha sustained minor damage and was taken to a residence. The Ford sustained minor damage and was driven from the scene. Hayes was not wearing safety equipment at the time of the accident, while Sinnott was wearing a seat restraint.

A double fatality accident happened Friday afternoon at around 4:20 in Texas County on Route VV about four miles south of Licking. According to the highway patrol report, the accident occurred as a 2022 GMC Sierra being driven east by 30-year-old Hayden Mercer of Searcy, Arkansas, changed lanes to pass another vehicle and struck head-on a 2003 Ford Taurus being driven west by 55-year-old Richard Strom of Licking. Both drivers were pronounced dead at the scene just before 5:20 by Texas County Coroner Marie Lasater. The report went on to state that Mercer was wearing a safety restraint while Strom was not. The Taurus was totaled while the GMC had extensive damage. Both were removed by Jay’s Towing.

The 59th Annual Rose Holland Trout Derby was held this past weekend at Montauk State Park with absolutely ideal weather and great attendance. The Derby raised $15,191.75 with 20 total tagged fish caught. During the derby, there were also a total of 19 lunkers caught. The Men’s Heaviest Trout caught was by Tristen Weitkamp of Troy, Missouri, and it was nine pounds and ten ounces. The Women’s Heaviest Trout, caught by Lisa Brenneke of Bismarck, Missouri, weighed in at two pounds and two ounces. The Heaviest Brown Trout caught during the tournament was a three-pounder by Jeremiah Yount of Festus, Missouri. Taking First Place in the Kids Heaviest Stringer was Brady Towry of Fair Grove, Missouri, whose stringer weighed in at four pounds and 13 ounces. Second place went to Alli Martin of Sullivan and her stringer weighed in at four pounds and nine ounces. Everyone at the park thanks all those who attended for making this year’s event a great success!!

Dent County Clerk Angie Curley wants to remind people that any voter can cast a normal excused absentee ballot now for the November General Election, but Missouri voters are now expected to show a Missouri issued photo ID when they vote. The photo will need to be an unexpired Missouri Driver’s License, an unexpired Missouri non-driver’s license, a US Passport, or an unexpired US military ID with a photo. If you do not have a photo ID, free ID’s are available for voting from the Department of Revenue. The Missouri Secretary of State Office can help you get the required documents for free. For more information on free ID’s, contact the Dent County Clerk’s office in the courthouse or go to “showit2vote.com.” Curley also said any voter can cast a no excuse absentee ballot in the Dent County Clerk’s Office between October 25th and November 7th. If you are registered to vote but do not have a valid photo ID, you can vote a provisional ballot. If you vote a provisional ballot, you can come back to your polling location on election day and show a valid photo ID and your vote will count, of if your signature matches the signature in the voter registry, your vote will count. For more information on the free photo ID, you can also call the Voter ID hotline at 866-868-3245 or visit www.sos.mo.gov.

Ozark National Scenic Riverways Superintendent Jason Lott announced the selection of new members of the park’s management team. Stacey Griffin was selected as the Chief of Administration, assuming her position on May 8th. William Terry was chosen as the Chief of Facility Management and joined the staff on August 29th. Both bring extensive experience in their respective fields, as well as proven track records of strong leadership, teamwork, and excellence in management. In addition, both have local roots and have spent years living near and enjoying the rivers. Their personal experience and passion for this national park combined with their professional backgrounds make them outstanding additions to the team. The National Park Service cares for special places saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage. William grew up along the upper Current River, in the Jadwin community, and is the son of Bill Terry, a legendary Park Ranger for Ozark Riverways. William knows the rivers firsthand and is excited to enhance the visitor experience through his understanding of the needs of the floater, boater, hiker, camper, fisherman, and hunter; all activities which he enjoys doing along the Current and Jacks Fork rivers. As a local, he’ll help the park continue to develop positive relationships with area communities. As a civil engineer experienced in working with rivers, he will help solve many long-standing issues with river access points by working to make park infrastructure more flood resilient. William brings a unique background and skillset to the park management team that will be critical for addressing the challenges of floodplain management. For more information, contact park headquarters at (573)323-4236, visit the park’s Facebook page, or website at www.nps.gov/ozar.

The Creative Arts Center will be offering a stained glass beveled snowflake class with Jennifer Curry Tuesday afternoon and evening. You choose one of the two workshops to attend this week with two more next Tuesday. The first is Tuesday from 1:00 to 4:00, the next is from 4:30 to 7:30. During the three-hour class, you will use some basic stained class soldering techniques and be introduced to vocabulary and materials while creating a beautiful snowflake. The cost is $50 per class. If you have taken a stained glass class before at the creative arts center, your cost is $40. The Creative Arts Center has two easy ways to sign up for events! Call or text 573-247-0651, or go online at salemcommunitybetterment.com and look under programs for the Salem Creative Arts Center.

The Dent County Commission Thursday morning held their regular meeting at the courthouse. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray stated grading would be done on Dent County Roads 4080 and 6220 while a crew will be unloading pipes on Dent County Road 5600 for Title II work. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson said his work crews would be checking roads in the Boss area, repairing chip and seal roads 3230, 3233 and 3235; and then check all the chip and seal roads in the district to make sure those roads scheduled for an overlay are ready. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles reported he attended the Ozark Rivers Solid Waste District Executive Board meeting Tuesday at the MRPC for the distribution of $223,388 for waste reduction and recycling grants to nine applicants. One of those applicants is for an anaerobic digester project through a professor at Missouri S & T for Frontier Environmental Technology that will be used at the Hometown Processing location in Dent County. They received $12,500 for the project locally. Skiles also attended a Meramec Community Enhancement Corporation board meeting Wednesday by Zoom where they approved applying for a grant to help support the “Naturally Meramec” program. The commission heard a presentation from David Hickman from the Health Insurance Cooperative Agency about health insurance for the county employees before opening bids for the lease/purchase financing for two graders for a cost of $389,244.90. The commission received three bids from the local banks in Salem including the Bank of Salem, Town and Country Bank and Progressive Ozark Bank. The Commissioners went with the lowest bid from Town and Country Bank for 4.25% interest with five annual payments as part of the 5-year lease/purchase agreement. At the last meeting, Dent County Sheriff Bob Wells discussed the jail stand-by generator maintenance contract they currently have with Fabick Caterpillar. The next commissioner meeting will be Monday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and it is open to the public.

An accident happened Wednesday morning at 7:30 in Jefferson County at Lonedell Road at Henley Woods Drive. According to the highway patrol report, a 2004 Oldsmobile Alero being driven by 28-year-old Steven Presley of Arnold, was stopped at a stop sign when he struck from behind by a 2015 Ford Fiesta being driven by 44-year-old Aerica Hickman of Salem. Hickman suffered minor injuries and was taken to Mercy Hospital South by Rock Township Ambulance District. Both vehicles sustained minor damage and were removed from the scene by Ives Towing. Both drivers were wearing seat restraints at the time of the accident.

City of Salem Park and Recreation Director Melissa Dubois at the Salem Board of Aldermen meeting held Tuesday night said there are 154 registrants for the flag football program and fall cheerleading that will begin on October 8th. She said signups for the Youth Basketball Program will be held starting the middle part of October. Dubois said the city is still waiting on the bids for the electrical work at the Al Brown Fields from ESP after making several calls. She said the city tried to find a leak in the line at the pool from the pump to the kiddie features at the Alice Lou Craig Municipal Swimming Pool under the concrete but could find none. They determined the problem is probably the pump which will need to replaced before the next pool season. That repair is not specifically been budgeted and Dubois may have to bring the estimates for the repair back to the board for their approval. Dubois reported the city and the Salem R-80 School are going to work together to install a drainage system on the Blue Field after the school approved that work at their last meeting. Dubois also reported the projector has finally arrived for the City Auditorium Theatre and will need electric work to be installed.

The Ozark National Scenic Riverways will bring Ozark history to life at Alley Spring on Saturdays in October. Join them on Saturdays this October at Alley Spring from 10:00 in the morning until 4:00 this afternoon to learn about pioneer skills and traditions. Experience Ozark folkways such as making brooms, lye soap, rope, and candles, as well as a demonstration of how moonshine was made. Bring the whole family to Alley Mill to visit with demonstrators and see how raw materials were turned into useful household items in the past. Pioneers of the riverways region made the most of the resources and materials they had available. Because cash was rarely exchanged in the early days of settlement, it was important for inhabitants to create items for their own use or for bartering. These skills and traditions were passed down generation to generation, and some became masters in their craft. Some of the October Pioneer Demonstrations will be Broom making this Saturday; moonshining demonstration on October 8th, lye soap making on October 15th, and rope and candle making on October 22nd. The demonstrations are free and open to the public. Alley Spring is located five miles west of Eminence on Highway 106. For more information, call (573) 226-3945, or visit the park’s website at nps.gov/ozar.

The 59th annual Rose Holland Trout Derby will be held today through Sunday at Montauk State Park. Derby fishing hours on both Saturday and Sunday will begin at 7:30 in the morning. Fishing will end at 6:30 Saturday evening and at 11:30 Sunday morning. At noon on Sunday, prizes will be awarded in front of the lodge ranging from attendance prizes as well as prizes for men, women, and kids’ heaviest stringer, the heaviest brown trout, and tagged fish caught and registered. Several activities will take place in conjunction with the derby including a cruise in car show today from 4:00 until 8:00 at the parking lot across from the lodge and trout bingo with a park naturalist 6:00 in the campground amphitheater. Saturday will be Hike’s For Your Heart – Guided Hikes. Pine Ridge Trail hike will be a 1.5-mile challenging trail from 10:00 until 11:30. Participants are to meet at the Stone Shelter. At the shady picnic tables across from the mill you can learn about and play old-time traditional and indigenous games from 1:30 in the afternoon to 3:00. There will also be a high voltage obstacle course kids’ inflatable in the open field between the lodge and the mill from 11:00 to 3:00. Bring a lawn chair and enjoy music in front of the lodge. First up is SugaRose with a mixture of folk, pop, and classic rock from noon until 1:30. Next is the Current River Band from 1:45 to 3:15 with bluegrass. To finish out the afternoon is James Vankirk from 3:30 to 4:30 who performs a little bit of everything. Finally, there will be the Know The Dark three quarter mile night hike starting at 8:00 from the Naturalist’s Office. All proceeds will benefit the American Heart Association.