Archive for 2022

With the impending storm expected to cripple travel and make exposure to the cold dangerous, and with the number of city and government offices closing due to the holiday or weather, KSMO Media has elected not to publish a paper version of Your World Today for Friday. A new version will be available Friday morning online at ksmoradio.com. Also, with the Christmas holiday being observed on Monday, Your World Today will NOT be published in recognition of the holiday on December 26th. From everyone at KSMO Media, KSMO Radio and Your World Today, Merry Christmas!!

A one vehicle accident happened late Tuesday afternoon in Miller County on Highway 17 just north of Airport Road that took the life of an area man. According to the highway patrol report, a 1992 Peterbilt being by 70-year-old Barry Wisdom of Dixon, formally of Bunker, traveled off the right side of the roadway then returned to the roadway and began skidding. The unit being towed jack-knifed and separated from the cab which then traveled off the left side of the road and struck a guardrail before overturning on the passenger side and striking a tree before coming to a rest. The trailer then traveled off the left side of the road, striking a guardrail and overturning. Wisdom, who was not wearing a seat restraint at the time of the accident, was pronounced dead by Miller Coroner Tim Bradley at the scene at 6:05. Wisdom was taken to the Francher-Rekus Funeral Home. The Peterbilt was totaled and removed from the scene by Hi Tech Towing.

Dent County Prosecutor Andrew Curley has released results from a couple of court cases heard Friday in front of Judge Michael Randazzo in Dent County. In the first case, a probation hearing was held for Michael Shaw of Rolla who was on probation for stealing and burglary in the second degree. Judge Randazzo revoked the probation and sentenced Shaw to serve five years in the Department of Corrections as requested by Prosecutor Curley. In the second case of the day, another probation hearing was held for John Birdsong of St. James who was on probation for resisting arrest and for the possession of a controlled substance. Randazzo revoked Birdsong’s probation and he was sentenced to serve nine years in the Department of Corrections as requested by the prosecutor.

State Fire Marshal Tim Bean is urging Missourians to be extra cautious heating their homes as the most frigid temperatures of the season push into the state. Each year, space heaters account for about one-third of home heating fires and 80% of heating fire deaths. Space heaters are the leading cause of home fires in the months of December, January and February, according to the National Fire Protections Association. When temperatures in Missouri plunged in February 2015, space heaters and supplemental heating sources were suspected in seven deaths and six injuries in less than a week. This weekend temperatures across most of Missouri are expected to drop below zero with wind chill values as low as 30 degrees below zero due to wind gusts as high as 40-50 miles per hour. Fire Marshal Bean stressed two key factors leading to heating fires: not using space heaters and other heating sources as they are designed to be used, and not having smoke alarms in their homes. Space heaters are designed to be used to supplement primary heating sources; that’s where the name comes from, they’re meant to help heat limited spaces in a residence that do not warm sufficiently from the primary heating source. Also, people need to think of space heaters and smoke alarms as working together. Smoke alarms are essential in the home. Remember these safety tips whenever heating equipment is used: Turn off portable heaters whenever leaving the room or going to bed. Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment. The three-foot safety zone includes furniture, drapes, Christmas trees and electronics – anything that can burn. Have a three-foot “kid-free zone” around open fires and space heaters. Do not overload extension cords or outlets. Many extension cords and power strips are not designed to handle the load of an electric heater. Never place an electrical cord under a rug, to prevent the cord from overheating and causing a fire. Never use an oven or other cooking devices to heat your home. Never use an outdoor propane heater indoors. Make sure your home has working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms by testing them monthly.

Due to the incoming weather system and pending road conditions, the City of Salem offices will be closed today. They are asking the public to please be safe and stay home if possible. If residents are in need of a warm place during the frigid cold and below-zero wind chills, they are asked to go to the Salem Police Department lobby. If there are several requests, the basement of the old city hall may be opened as a warming station. For weather or utility outage issues call the Salem Police Department at 729-4242.

The volunteers for the Salvation Army red kettle campaign will not be ringing the bell at the kettles this weekend at Country Mart and Wal-Mart, due to the expected cold temperatures. Anyone wishing to help the local unit raise funds to meet this year’s goal of $37,500 is invited to send a check to P.O. Box 190 in Salem, MO 65560 or you can drop it off at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory. Please call 729-8163 for more information.

The Dent County Commissioners met Monday morning at the courthouse for their regular meeting. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray stated grading was going to be attempted on Dent County Roads 4220 and 6600 while materials were going to be added and grading done on county road 5520. He also said brush would be cut on county road 5530. Mobray said the county road crews would be preparing the trucks with spreaders for the winter storm that’s expected to hit on Thursday. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson reported materials would be added and grading done on Dent County Road 3200 with only grading being done on county road 2510. Larson said brush would be cut on county road 2550. Larson said he would be attending the Tourism Tax Committee meeting Monday and bring back their budget for the 2023 year. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles wanted to remind the public the courthouse will be closed this Friday and on Monday, December 26th for the Christmas holiday. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said work continues on the county budget for the 2023 year. The commission was visited by Jenna Deason and Liz Condray from the Salem Area Community Betterment Association along with Roger Still from the LAD Foundation and Pioneer Forest. They talked about the success of this years ”Trees and Trains Exhibit,” and how they have 10 volunteers working each normal week, but with “Trees and Trains, they needed to have 20 volunteers each week and SACBA was able to cover it. The purpose of their visit was to ask the commission to consider providing funds for needed repairs to the Ozark Natural and Cultural Resource Center that included brickwork, sealing of the windows, foundation work on the back side and electrical upgrades. They budgeted $30,686 for those repairs form the county ARPA funds. One of the reasons for this needed work was that Salem has been selected as one of six sites in the State of Missouri to host, “Crossroads in Rural Missouri,” a traveling Smithsonian exhibit that offers small towns a chance to look at their own paths and to highlight the changes that affected their fortunes over the past century. The exhibit would be in Salem for four to six weeks. Condray said representatives from the Smithsonian will be in Salem to check out the building for the exhibit. The commissioners said the county right now is getting ready to put together their budget for 2023 and would revisit their request once the budget has been compiled to see how they may be able to help. Deason and Condray also spoke about a meeting they had with their partners about using the outside of the ONCRC as a canvas for mural that would be designed by and painted by David Spear. Roger Still said the LAD Foundation would be interested in making a sizeable donation to that project that would encompass all of what Dent County is and was. The mural cannot be started until all the brick and tuckpointing work has been completed. They said work on the mural could start in Spring of 2023 and last until Spring of 2024. They were not asking the county for any funds for the mural at this time. Laura Parker from Town and Country Bank brought in the lease-purchase agreement for the new John Deere graders for the commission to sign and record. The next meeting of the commission will be Thursday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

The Salem Police Department has released several reports. On Friday afternoon, December 9th at around 1:30, officers were dispatched to Wal Mart for a report of a vehicle collision where one party had left the scene. An investigation concluded that a male subject had backed into another vehicle causing damage that went unreported. After further investigation, it was apparent the driver of the vehicle knew he had hit the other vehicle and still failed to report it. As a result, a 41-year-old Salem man was arrested and issued a summons to appear in court. Around 9:30 the evening of December 10th, officers were dispatched to the 300 block of South Jackson Street for a report of domestic disturbance. During the investigation, a subject was located that had an active capias warrant out of Dent County. As a result, 32-year-old Melissa Lea of Salem, was arrested and incarcerated at the Dent County jail on her “no bond” warrant. On Monday, December 12th at 11:00 in the morning, officers located a man at the Ranch Motel with an active warrant out of the Newton County Sheriff’s Office with the bond of $10,000. Officers arrested and incarcerated 42-year-old Steven Pacheco of Springfield, Missouri, at the Dent County Jail awaiting extradition to Newton County. Finally on December 14th at around 7:00 in the evening, officers located a woman at Dollar General who had an active capias warrant out of Dent County. They arrested 33-year-old Allie Haines of Salem, and she was incarcerated at the Dent County Jail on her “no bond” warrant. Please contact the Salem Police Department at 729-4242 if you have any information regarding any investigation.

A one vehicle accident happened Friday afternoon at 1:00 in Shannon County on Highway 19 about a mile south of Eminence. According to the highway patrol report, a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee being driven north by 79-year-old Samuel Crider of Eminence, crossed over the centerline and ran off the left side of the road where the Jeep struck a tree. Samuel Crider and a passenger, 80-year-old Jo Crider, also of Eminence, both suffered serious injuries and were transported by the Mercy EMS to the Ozarks Health Care in West Plains. Both were wearing seat restraints at the time of the accident. The Jeep was totaled and removed from the scene by Bakers Towing of Birch Tree.