Archive for 2024

The Salem Memorial Hospital Board of Directors held a special meeting on Tuesday evening in the hospital library. Mike Swyers called the meeting to order while Chairman Ray Bruno attended via zoom. Interim CEO Jason Edwards presented a financial update through December 2023. The beginning balance for account activity in September was $368,394 with an ending balance of $398,878. In December, the beginning account balance was $38,300, with an ending balance of $212,209. The Operating Account activity for September was $2,247,600 and was down to $1,572,597 in December, which includes $800,000 in CDs. This is less than 21 days with cash on hand. CFO Doug Hoban presented an Accounts Payable history that showed the hospital has outstanding balances of $1,278,485 which is up from $690,543 in July. Some vendors won’t ship supplies until the hospital pays first, and others have the hospital on a credit hold. Current outstanding accounts payable are at $1,649,365. Some invoices were being paid 120-200 days late with interest being charged for late payments. Hoban is expecting to receive $200,000 from the 2019 Medicaid Rural Health Clinic Settlement and another $233,000 from 2020. Property tax payments have been recorded in December of $109,000 with more expected in January. Hoban expected to be able to meet the January payroll, but CDs might need to be cashed in to do so. The accounts receivables owed to the hospital for December totaled $3,392,957, with $1,155,526 being received. Edwards reported the hospital currently has a hiring freeze and they have eliminated and/or consolidated 14 positions in the last five months. The meeting was adjourned, and the board went into a closed session.

The Missouri Department of Revenue is announcing the upcoming Request for Proposal (RFP) of the license office in Salem located at 1104 South Main Street in the Crossroads Shopping Center. Bids will start being accepted January 10, and must be submitted by January 24. For a list of bid opportunities and bid response instructions, please visit Missouri’s statewide electronic procurement system, MissouriBUYS, at missouribuys.mo.gov. Interested groups or individuals who wish to bid to operate the Salem License Office must have an active Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) and must submit the proposal under the legal entity name for which the FEIN was assigned. The Missouri Department of Revenue, through the Office of Administration, is posting an RFP for the Salem License Office contract, since the current contract is close to expiring. Interested bidders will have approximately 10 business days to submit their proposal for the operation of the license office in the competitive bid process, as outlined in the RFP. A scheduled tour of the current location may be requested by emailing the procurement contact listed on MissouriBUYS. Proposals will be evaluated on items as outlined in the RFP. All of the proposals will be evaluated by a review team at the Department of Revenue, and the proposal that scores best in the areas outlined in the RFP will be selected to operate the office.

Colonel Eric T. Olson, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, provides the following preliminary statistics related to the New Year’s holiday weekend. Five people died and 59 were injured in 115 traffic crashes during the 2024 New Year’s holiday counting period, which began at 6:00 Friday evening, December 29th and ended at 11:59 Monday night, January 1st, 2024. There were 139 DWI arrests. There were no boating crashes and no drownings over the 2024 New Year’s holiday counting period. During the 2023 New Year’s holiday counting period, six people were killed and 345 injured in 925 traffic crashes statewide. In 2023 Troopers arrested 105 people for driving while intoxicated. There were no fatalities on January 1st, 2024. The fatality statistics in this news release could change if late deaths occur, or if other departments report fatal traffic crashes after this news release is sent to the media.

Live Christmas trees after the holidays are a win-win for fish and angers if you have a pond or lake. They can create an underwater condominium for fish to take a load off. In turn,they can also be popular spots for anglers who are searching for their next big fishing jackpot. The trees benefit some of the most popular fish that anglers like to reel in, including large mouth bass, bluegill, red ear sunfish and crappie. If you don’t have a pond or lake, and your community does not offer a tree-recycling program, there are several creative ways to make further use of your tree. You can place the tree in the backyard to offer cover for wildlife, or under bird feeders to provide nesting locations in the branches. Your tree can also be shredded or chipped for mulch. If you used a live evergreen and your ground is still soft enough to spade up, add your tree to your home landscape for years of enjoyment and wildlife cover.

The Missouri Highway Patrol reports trooper Aaron M. Cunningham, a member of the 118th graduation class from the Patrol Academy, will report to duty on January 8th and will be assigned to Zone 3 in Crawford County. Trooper Cunningham’s field training officer will be Corporal Nick Summers. Trooper Cunningham is a 2018 graduate of the Rolla High School. Trooper Cunningham’s father is Sergeant Steve Cunningham who is a 21-year veteran of the Missouri State Highway Patrol and serves the Phelps and Maries county area.

The Salem Police Department Friday released the following information. On Thursday, December 28th, 2023, law enforcement officers from Salem and Dent County concluded a six-week investigation into allegations of Sexual Abuse. An arrest was made, and a probable cause statement was submitted to Prosecutor Andrew Curley on the subject identified as 47-year-old Bradley J. Nash of Salem. The investigation began after it was learned that two minor children had disclosed the allegations against Nash. An investigation was started at that time and was concluded on December 28th, when officers executed two search warrants in Salem on two separate residences where Nash was known to stay. The warrant sought to locate electronic media storage and access to areas mentioned in the victims’ original disclosures. Nash was located and placed under arrest without incident and he was transported to the Dent County Sheriff’s Office to await formal charges and a bond setting. On Friday, December 29th, charges were announced. Nash was charged with two counts of Statutory Sodomy in the 1st degree and one count of Child Molestation in the 2nd degree. Nash’s warrant was capias no bond. The charges for which Nash has been arrested are only accusations and are not evidence of guilt. Evidence in support of these charges must be presented before a court of competent jurisdiction, whose duty it will be to determine his guilt or innocence.

The Salem Memorial Hospital Board of Directors will be holding a special meeting this evening at 5:00 this evening at the hospital library. On the agenda will be a discussion on finances. The meeting may be attended in person or via other electronic means by the public. If you wish to attend by phone or other means, please call the hospital administration office to obtain access information at 729-6626, extension 4005.

An accident occurred Saturday evening around 10:25 in Dent County near the intersection of Route E and Route K. According to the highway patrol report, a 2018 Dodge Grand Caravan driven by 28-year-old Dillon Harrison of Salem, traveled off the left side of the roadway, struck the ditch and overturned. Harrison was not wearing a safety restraint at the time of the accident and suffered moderate injuries. He was transported by EMS to the Salem Memorial Hospital. The Dodge was totaled and removed from the scene by Whitaker’s Towing. The Dent County Sheriffs Office assisted the highway patrol with the accident.

An accident happened late Thursday afternoon at 5:10 in Texas County on Horse Shoe Drive about four miles south of Houston. According to the highway patrol report, a 2017 Honda Rancher being operated by a 16-year-old male juvenile of Licking, failed to negotiate a curve, traveled off the right side of the road and struck a tree. The juvenile, who was not wearing any safety equipment, suffered moderate injuries and was taken by a private vehicle to the Texas County Memorial Hospital for treatment. The Honda was not damaged and was later driven from the scene.

On Friday, January 5th, from 5:00 until 7:00 in the evening, a Ceramics Paint Party will be heldat the Creative Arts Center with Isabella Knaack. All ages are welcome! Come spend a relaxing few hours of painting fun! There will be holiday ceramic figurines, plates, bowls, cups, etc. What better way to stay in the uplifted holiday spirits, than to paint some pieces and memories to pass down from generation to generation! The cost is $1 per ticket and you will pay by the piece to paint. At least four people need to register and no more than 20 will be allowed in the class. Class registrations are on a first come, first serve basis with online registrations. Interested persons can sign up at salemcommunitybetterment.com for activities under “Programs” at the Creative Arts Center.

The Community Blood Center of the Ozarks will hold another blood drive in Salem today at the First Baptist Church at 201 N. MacArthur from 1:00 to 6:00 PM. Successful donors will receive a warm CBCO Hoodie while supplies last. To help avoid wait times, appointments are strongly encouraged. Donors can schedule an appointment at www.cbco.org/donate-blood/ or by calling 417-227-5006.