Archive for 2024

The Salem Memorial Hospital Foundation is sponsoring the return of the “Dancing with the Salem Stars” this Saturday at the Salem High School Gymnasium. Seven couples are scheduled to perform including Brett Capps and Shelly Bland, Melissa Ragsdale and Lane Hayes, Lancer Blair and Kim Moser, Rosalie Wright and Cameron Greener, Tiera Lewis and Skitter Lewis, Shannon Wright and Paige Doughtery, and April Greener and Caleb Shepherd. Sierra Connell will dance solo in the competition. The Salem Academy of Dance will also have five performances during the show featuring two tap routines and three jazz routines. Advance tickets for a floor seat are $20, or $25 at the door if any remain. Bleacher tickets will be available for $10 at the door. To get your tickets in advance, to sponsor a table or for more information, call Hannah Harris at 573-729-5917, extension 4005 or e-mail her at hharris@smdh.net. The doors will open at 6:30 and the dancing competition will begin at 7:00. Money raised from this event will go toward needed improvements and capital equipment.

The Salem Memorial Hospital Board of Directors will hold their regular meeting at 6:00 in the hospital library this evening. At the meeting, Interim Administrator Jason Edwards will give his report before the board hears the summary of operations for the month of January as well as statistics for the month. The board will hear about the 340B program, receive the Chief Nursing Officer report and be updated on Human Resources. The board will discuss the state and matching fund updates as well as strategic planning before they discuss the medical staff bylaw review. A new board member may also be appointed at the meeting to replace Judy Thompson who retired from the board. The board may then vote to go into closed session. The Salem Memorial Hospital Board of Directors meeting tonight is open to the public. To attend the meeting electronically, contact the hospital administration office at 729-6626, extension 4005.

The Salem Police department has released their report for the month of January. The department responded to 13 accidents during the month. Officers also responded to ten alarms sounding and addressed 29 animal calls. Officers investigated three assaults or fights, seven burglaries, performed 20 well being checks and eight area checks during the month. The department investigated seven domestic disputes, a verbal disturbances, conducted 61 follow-up investigations and provided 16 escorts. They investigated two nuisance incidents, five harassment reports, two fraud charges, took a missing persons report, and offered assistance to three motorists. The Salem Police wrote two property damage reports during January, plus made 11 stealing reports and four shoplifting reports. Officers investigated six suspicious circumstance calls, 15 suspicious person calls and six suspicious vehicle calls. Officers responded to two trespassing calls and attempted to serve ten warrants in January. Officers conducted 106 traffic stops during the month. They also prepared and submitted 17 Uniform Crime reports. The police responded to a total of 525 incidents in January with the average response time to calls being two minutes and 31 second. The average time spent on the scene was 17 minutes and 21 seconds.

The Missouri Department of Conservation says ordered through April 15th for shrub and tree seedlings from the George O. White State Forest Nursery near Licking. Native trees and shrubs can help improve wildlife habitat and soil and water conservation while also improving the appearance and value of private property. The George O. White State Forest Nursery offers a variety of low-cost native tree and shrub seedlings for sale for reforestation, windbreaks, erosion control, wildlife food and cover, and other purposes. The nursery provides mainly one-year-old, bare-root seedlings with sizes varying by species. Seedlings varieties include: pine, bald cypress, cottonwood, black walnut, hickory, oak, pecan, persimmon, river birch, maple, willow, sycamore, blackberry, buttonbush, hazelnut, redbud, ninebark, elderberry, sumac, wild plum, witch hazel, and others. Seedlings are available in bundles of 10 or increments of 25 per species. Prices range from 34 cents to $1 per seedling. Sales tax will be added to orders unless tax exempt. There is a shipping fee and a $9 handling charge for each order. Receive a 15% discount up to $20 off seedling orders with a Heritage Card, Permit Card, or Conservation ID Number. The nursery grows millions of seedlings each year, but some species are very popular and sell out quickly and some seedlings occasionally succumb to harsh weather or hungry wildlife, despite the nursery staff’s best efforts. Even if a species is listed as “sold out,” customers can still place an order for those seedlings because other orders may get canceled, freeing up inventory. Customers won’t be charged for seedlings unless they are available to ship. Again, orders are now being processed so order now! Orders will be shipped or can be picked up at the nursery near Licking now through May. The 2023-24 seedling order forms are available at MDC regional offices and nature centers, or you can contact the George O White State Forest Nursery at 573-674-3229. You can also request a form by e-mail StateForestNursery@mdc.mo.gov. You can also order your trees or shrub seedlings from the mdc.mo.gov website.

An accident happened Friday morning at 11:05 in Dent County on Highway 19 about eight miles south of Salem. According to the highway patrol report, a 2000 Chevy Cavalier driven southbound by 43-year-old Kevin Henson of Salem, traveled off the right side of the roadway and struck a tree. Henson suffered moderate injuries and was taken by the Salem Ambulance to the Salem Memorial Hospital. A passenger, 36-year-old Marlene Adenkan of Salem, suffered minor injuries and was taken by a private vehicle to the Salem Memorial Hospital. The vehicle sustained extensive damage and was removed from the scene by American Auto. Neither Henson or Adenkan were wearing seat restraints at the time of the accident.

Highway 72 in Reynolds County will be reduced down to one lane Tuesday from 9:00 in the morning until 2:00 in the afternoon, as the Missouri Department of Transportation crews will be performing pavement repairs. This section of roadway is located from Reynolds County Road 924 to Route A near Bunker. Also, Route KK in Reynolds & Iron Counties will be reduced to one lane on Wednesday from 8:00 until 2:00 in the afternoon as crews perform pavement repairs. Both of the projects will be weather permitting. Both work zones will be marked with signs.  Motorists are urged to use extreme caution while traveling near the area. For additional information, contact MoDOT’s Customer Service Center toll-free at 1-888-ASK-MODOT (1-888-275-6636) or visit www.modot.org/southeast.

Preparations are underway for Ozark National Scenic Riverways to accomplish several prescribed burns this spring, between mid-February and mid-April. The burns will be carefully planned and monitored by the park’s Fire Management staff. The scheduling of these prescribed burns is dependent on weather and vegetation meeting certain conditions. During prescribed burns, park operations will continue as usual, although temporary closure of trails or roads adjacent to the burn unit may be necessary for visitor safety. Several prescribed burns planned at Ozark Riverways in 2024 will be cooperative efforts between the National Park Service and other land management agencies. The Booming Shoals prescribed burn unit (1,095 acres) near Powder Mill and the Alley Spring burn unit (785 acres) west of Eminence will be conducted with Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC). The Pulltite prescribed burn unit (580 acres) near Pulltite Campground will be conducted jointly by the NPS, MDC, and The Nature Conservancy. The Welch Lodge prescribed burn unit (694 acres) in northern Shannon County includes lands managed by the L-A-D Foundation and Pioneer Forest. The Big Tree/Kelley prescribed burn unit (386 acres) near the end of Z Highway south of Big Spring will be managed by NPS firefighters. In order to ensure the safety of firefighters and the public, foot and vehicle travel in or near the prescribed fire operations may be temporarily restricted. Firefighters plan to conduct prescribed burns during weather conditions that will allow for smoke to disperse without causing negative impacts. However, smoke may impair visibility in the vicinity of the prescribed burn and could linger low in the atmosphere over a broad geographic area. Individuals with respiratory ailments are encouraged to take extra precautions to avoid exposure to smoke. Anyone who is concerned about the potential impacts of smoke from a prescribed burn can request to be added to the park’s notification list in order to be contacted in advance. For more information about prescribed burns at Ozark Riverways or to be included on the park’s notification list, contact Josh Chilton at (573) 226-3945. If you would like to receive additional information about other prescribed burns in the local area, please contact Missouri Department of Conservation at (573) 226-3616 or the U.S. Forest Service at (573) 364-4621. You may also visit www.nps.gov/ozar for further updates.