Archive for 2023

According to a couple of press releases from Crawford County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Major Adam Carnal, during the evening hours last Tuesday, March 14th, it was reported to the sheriff’s office that suspicious clothing items were located on private property on Mound Ridge Road in Cook Station. On the morning of Wednesday, March 15th, department investigators applied for and were granted a search warrant for the property to retrieve items and evidence regarding the clothing items. Upon beginning the search, deputies and investigators located human skeletal remains along with the clothing. The Crawford County Sheriff’s office asked for and received search assistance from the Crawford County Coroner’s Office, Steelville Fire Protection District and the Rolla Rural Fire District. Search operations were ended Friday, March 17th, in the 300 block of Mound Ridge Road. After three days of intense searching, several items were discovered along with the human skeletal remains that were consistent with the an open missing persons case from Crawford County involving Amanda Caudill who was reported missing on December 15th, 2014. Also recovered from the search were a .270 rifle, a camouflage coat, Muck boots, and Caudill’s cell phone. The items discovered were consistent with the items described in Caudill’s missing persons report. Additionally, a Missouri driver’s license belonging to Amanda Caudill was located within one of the pockets. The remains were turned over to the Crawford County Coroner’s Office for identifications purposes and it may be several months before there is any confirmation of the identity. The investigation is ongoing and when further information is developed it will be released. The Crawford County Sheriff’s office would like to thank the Crawford County Coroner’s Office, Steelville Fire Protection District, and the Rolla Rural Fire District for their assistance in this operation.

The Salem R-80 Board of Education met Thursday evening at the Administration offices board room. The board recognized some students for their achievements in different fields. The board recognized Christopher “Kip” Harris for capturing All-State for playing the euphonium as well as being honored by making the All-State Choir as well, the first student in the history of the Salem High School to achieve that honor in the same year. The board also recognized the outstanding efforts of Joseph McCarter taking 1st Place in the Skills USA test and Hunter Brown for taking 5th Place in the Skills USA Test. They also recognized Neely Leathers for taking 1st Place in the Early Childhood Exam through Skills USA. The board saw updated plans developed by architect John Odom for the Construction Trades Program building and he went over the timeline for bids. He said he would send a bid invite package to the MRPC and would advertise for bids two weeks prior to the final bid date of April 14th at 5:00 at the administrative office. He said all bids will have to have a 60-day price hold to give the board time to make a decision. Assistant Superintendent Dr. Nathan Wills said the APR results are available and Salem fell in the middle of the SCA Conference schools, not the worst, not the best. He said the biggest area of focus will be attendance which has not fully recovered since COVID. Superintendent Dr. Lynne Reed said the surveys of parents and staff were reviewed and those results will be part of the CSIP. Reed also said ESP was on schedule with the new Tin Gym work and locker room renovation. Principal Melanie Wisdom said Serendipity will be May 4th and Principal Dr. Herman Blau said kindergarten registration will be held this week on Tuesday and Thursday by appointment only at William Lynch Elementary school. He said another day to register children for kindergarten will be April 6th. The board approved the 2023-2024 school calendar, approved to let out bids for work to be done on the baseball field, approved the SIS Coordinator job description to include grant writing, and approved updating the Assistant Athletic Director’s job description. The board approved the updated Construction Trade Building plans submitted by John Odom, read the MSBA policy revisions, tabled the OPAA Contact Extension and the board set the reorganizational meeting for 5:45 on April 13th to be followed by regular board meeting. The board discussed setting deadlines for the certification policy for the school. This is for teachers who are teaching out of their current area of certification where they need to get certified in their new area of instruction. The board decided to give teachers already on the high school staff one-year to get certified while new employees while have two-years to get certified. The board heard resignations from Terry Nash and Tanya Reagan that take no board action; then heard and accepted the resignations of Mark Howard from coaching only, Katie Jackson and Emily Parker while Susan Sheeley submitted her letter of retirement. The board also received letters of resignation from High School Principal Tori Snitker and Middle School Principal Sarah Russell which were to be discussed as the board went into closed session.

On Thursday, March 16th, members of the Missouri State Highway Patrol arrested four individuals in the area after a special investigation by criminal investigators within its Division of Drug and Crime Control. Arrested and turned over to the Washington County Sheriff’s office were 39-year-old Matthew A. Cozad of Bixby, 62-year-old Donald R. Gaston of Caledonia, 31-year-old Chase R. Bresnahan of Centerville, and 46-year-old Jeffrey L. Burkett of Des Arc. All four individuals were charged with a Class B felony of knowingly participating in criminal street gang activities among many other felony and misdemeanor charges. Cozad and Gaston were each charged with a total of four felonies and two misdemeanors and their bonds are set at $400,000 cash only. Bresnahan was charged with a total of four felonies and three misdemeanors and his bond is also set at $400,000 cash only; while Burkett was charged with a total of four felonies and four misdemeanors and his bond has been set at $500,000 cash only. The case is being prosecuted by Washington County Prosecuting Attorney John Jones and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Caleb Aponte. Anyone with information concerning this investigation should contact the Missouri Highway Patrol Criminal Investigative Unit at 573-840-9500. The charges are only accusations and are not evidence of guilt. Evidence in support of these charges must be presented before court of competent jurisdiction whose duty it will be to determine guilt of innocence.

Join us on KSMO AM 1340 and 95.7 FM this morning around 8:30 for our radio interview with State Representative Ron Copeland. This interview will also be video streamed live on KSMO Media including ksmoradio.com, KSMO Stream facebok Page and KSMO YouTube page.

The Salem Police department has released their report for the month of February. The department responded to eight accidents during the month. Officers also responded to six commercial and one residential alarms sounding along with forty calls to the animal control officer. The department investigated four assaults or fights, two burglaries in progress and performed 12 well being checks during the month. The department also investigated 15 domestic disputes, conducted 30 follow-up investigations. provided 10 escorts, investigated three incidents of fraud, took two missing person reports, and offered assistance to six motorists. The Salem Police officers wrote five property damage reports, eight stealing reports and three shoplifting reports as well as many other individual reports. Officers also conducted 63 traffic stops during the month. The average response time to calls during February was two minutes and two seconds and the average time spent on the scene sixteen minutes and nine seconds.

The Missouri Conservation Commission held their regular meeting on March 14th at the Conservation Department Headquarters in Jefferson City. At that meeting, the commission accepted a donation of approximately 518 acres in Reynolds County as an addition to Logan Creek Conservation Area. They also approved the advertisement and sale of an estimated 1,280,161 board feet of timber located on 606 acres of Compartment 4 of the Sunklands Conservation Area in Shannon County, and approved the advertisement and sale of an estimated 3,503,811 board feet of timber located on 780 acres of Compartment 9 of the Logan Creek Conservation Area in Reynolds County.

The Salem Area Arts Council will offer a class on Wheat Straw Weaving this Saturday afternoon from 1:00 to 3:00 at the Creative Arts Center. Suzanne Douglass will guide students as they create a Market Place Cross which represents the cross woven by St. Brigid imprisoned by her faith. Come celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and learn about Irish legend and tradition. All materials are provided and the cost is $25 for adults. At least one person must sign up to hold the class which is limited to five people. To sign up, call or text 573-247-0651, or you can go online at salemcommunitybetterment.com and look under programs for the Salem Creative Arts Center. The class is designed for older teens and adults.