Archive for 2025

At the Dent County Commission meeting Thursday morning, Grant Wilson from Representative Jason Smith’s Rolla office was in attendance and reported that Missouri has been approved to receive funding through the Rural Health Transformation Program from the Big Beautiful Bill designed to help rural areas with healthcare needs including help to rural hospitals. Representative Smith will be keeping an eye on the program to ensure that those funds actually go to rural health systems and not get re-allocated. He also reported the Secure Rural Schools Re-authorization Act has passed congress and has been sent to President Trump’s Desk to be signed. This act will provide money to counties that have significant federal lands on them that cannot be assessed for taxes such as National Forests or grasslands. This money is in lieu of the tax money and will be distributed to schools, county governments for road maintenance, and law enforcement services. The program expired in 2023, but this act will reimburse the counties with retroactive payments for the years 2024 and 2025 and will also be in place to pay counties in 2026. Those payments may be received before the end of the year. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Keith Green said crews were still partially rebuilding Dent County Road 2440 with the members from District 2. Green went on to say workers were also changing out blades and tires on graders. District 2 Commissioner Jimmy Williams said workers would be working with District 1 crews on county road 2440 by hauling rock and grading, plus they will be grading county roads 2450 and 4300. Presiding Commissioner Gary Larson stated he attended the Ozark Rivers Solid Waste Management District meeting and banquet Tuesday night at the MRPC offices. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said candidates can now file for offices for the April 7th Municipal Election for school boards, hospital boards, City of Salem alderman positions, etc. They have until December 30th to do so and many of the entities will have special holiday office hours around Christmas. She also said her office would be working on the budget. Jack Williams with the SBA Office of Disaster and Resilience was in to let the commission know there are funds available through the SBA that governments can apply for when disasters hit to help cover what FEMA and SEMA doesn’t reimburse and leaves to the county to fund on tight budgets. Williams said these funding mechanisms are not only for governments, but local businesses as well as those that are hurt physically or financially by disasters. These monies can be made available through disaster loans or mitigation to cover expenses not yet reimbursed by FEMA or SEMA. The commission was looking to at least get their name in the system to apply for these funds if needed. The Dent County Extension Office submitted their budget to the county commission and asked for an increase in their funding. Brandi Richardson, Janet Brannan and Samantha Riley were all in attendance. Richardson reported the city cut their funding from $8,400 in 2025 to $5,000 in 2026, and they will receive $5,000 from the Judson Young Foundation. They asked for $60,000, but also stated that it may be possible for them to get some of that funding paid for through the opioid settlement funds which has been done in other counties because of the established drug-free education through 4-H. Richardson stated she would also submit an application to that board to see if they can be awarded some of those additional funds requested in their budget. The next meeting of the Dent County Commissioners will be this morning at the courthouse at 9:00 and the meeting is open to the public.

The winners of the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce and City of Salem Parade of Lights held last Friday have been announced by Salem Area Chamber of Commerce Director Catherine Wynn. The winner of the commercial float was Town and Country Bank while Scenic Rivers Industries was the non-commercial float winner. Wynn also announced the winners of the Shop Salem promotion. Winning the Missouri Basketball Tickets vs Texas from KSMO Media and the wash bucket of goodies and headphones from TownScreen were won by Annette Hill, the Christmas Basket from the local Edward Jones office with Joe Brand and Leah Nash was won by Sandy Bowers, the Simple Traditions gift certificate and cedar spices were won by Camryn Pryor, the Regine’s Common Kitchen gift certificate and book courtesy of the Salem Public Library were won by Marian Ledden, Sandra Wofford won the gift card from A Gypsy’s Dream along with Turquoise Earrings, Tiger Stickers and Tyler Car Air Freshner; winning the Hot Cocoa Sign, Bath Soak, Tyler Wax Melts, Campfire Smore Mix, a book, a vintage box and a gift certificate top Custard by C Sue (or Savory!) was Amanda Duncan; and winning the Missouri Basketball Tickets vs MSU from KSMO Media, the Terrill Auto Care hats and gift certificate and Maxell Wireless Earbuds from TownScreen was Celeste Nelson. Congratulations to all the winners and thanks for your participation.

First reported by a riverboat captain on the Mississippi River in 1833, the annual Geminid meteor shower has been captivating viewers for nearly two centuries, and it keeps getting better. Due to the gravitational influence of Jupiter, the meteor shower’s brilliant streaks are becoming visibly brighter with each passing year as Earth orbits through the dust trail left by orbiting asteroid 3200 Phaethon, making its December appearance high in the southern sky near the constellation Gemini a must-see event. You can view this incredible show this Saturday, at Elephant Rocks State Park located at 7406 Highway 21 in Belleview. From 5:00 in the evening to midnight, guests are invited to view the show. If you like stargazing and light shows, join the team at the park to create a lifelong memory. No telescopes or binoculars are needed, as the shower can be viewed with the naked eye. Please dress for the weather and remember the temperature on the rocks is often lower than the average local temperature. Portable chairs and blankets are recommended. For more astronomy-related events, please visit mostateparks.com/astronomy. 

Ozark National Scenic Riverways and the Ozark Riverways Foundation will host two holiday events in December. Carols at Alley Mill will be held Saturday from 6:00 to 8:00 in the evening. The historic mill will be decorated for the holidays and feature candlelight caroling, ornament-making and seasonal refreshments. Attendees are encouraged to dress warmly. Alley Spring is located five miles west of Eminence on State Highway 106. A Christmas Celebration at Mt. Zion Church will be held Sunday, December 14 at 2:00 in the afternoon. The event will include holiday stories from the Akers community, traditional caroling, special displays and a visit from Santa Claus. Complimentary holiday treats will be available. Participating organizations include Friends of Mt. Zion, Dent County Historical Society, Ozark Heritage Project and Shannon County Museum Association. Mt. Zion Church is located half a mile north of Akers on State Highway K. Both events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Ranger Josh Chilton at 573-226-3945 or Josh_Chilton@nps.gov. Details are available on the park Facebook page or at nps.gov/ozar.

The annual “Shop with a Cop” was held Saturday at Wal-Mart and it was a huge success. They were able to help bring a “Merry Christmas” to 40 children in our community! A special thank you to the Dent County Sheriff’s Office, Salem Police Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Missouri Department of Conservation, and the Missouri Division of Fire Safety-investigations for shopping with the kids. In addition to the 40 children helped Saturday morning, five children from the Dent County Salvation Army’s “Angel Tree” were also shopped for. A special thank you goes out to Wal-Mart for helping coordinate the event and helping to keep it running smooth. Finally, a big “thank you” goes out to this community who donated so those children could have a good Christmas.

An accident happened Wednesday morning at 7:16 in Dent County on Highway 72 near Dent County Road 2300 that took the lives of a Salem man and an infant. According to the highway patrol report, a 2017 Chevrolet Spark driven eastbound by a 60-year-old man from Salem, crossed the center line and struck a 2015 Dodge Charger being driven westbound by a 31-year old Salem woman. Dent County Deputy Coroner Gina White pronounced the 60-year-old Salem man dead at the scene at 7:45. Two female infants, one under one-year of age and the other who was one-year-old, were taken by the Salem Ambulance to the Salem Memorial Hospital with serious injuries. The infant under one-year of age was later pronounced dead at the hospital by Dr. Featherly at 8:21 Wednesday morning. The 31-year-old Salem woman who was driving the Charger was also taken to the Salem Memorial Hospital by the Salem Ambulance with serious injuries. The 60-year-old Salem man was not wearing a seat restraint at the time of the accident, while all the occupants in the Charger were wearing their restraints. Both vehicles were removed from the scene by Whitaker’s Towing of Salem. The Salem man’s body was taken to the Wilson Mortuary in Salem.

The Salem Police Department has recently released their report for the month of November. The department responded to 14 accidents during the month and addressed 39 animal calls while officers responded to seven alarms sounding, investigated four assaults or fights, three burglary calls, performed 18 well-being checks and conducted 12 area checks in November. Police investigated 14 domestic disputes, nine verbal disturbances and two physical disturbances, conducted 48 follow-up investigations and provided 26 escorts. They investigated seven harassment reports, two fraud reports, three missing person reports, three parking complaint calls, two drug offense reports, six intoxicated pedestrians, four motorist assist calls, a trespassing call and four property damage reports. The Salem Police wrote eight stealing reports, a shoplifter report, responded to 18 traffic complaints and had five peace disturbance calls. Officers responded to two reports of a suicidal person, 14 suspicious circumstance calls, a suspicious person call, and three suspicious vehicle calls. The Salem Police in November performed a pedestrian check, responded to ten life assist calls and four nuisiance violations. Officers attempted to serve five warrants and conducted 47 traffic stops during the month. The police responded to a total of 453 incidents in November with the average response time to calls being one minute and 58 seconds. The average time spent on the scene was 23 minutes and 48 seconds. If you have any information regarding any ongoing investigation, contact the Salem Police Department by calling their non-emergency phone number at (573) 729-6550 or speak with them in person at 500 N. Jackson Street in Salem. 

The Salem R-80 School District has announced that Mrs. Heather Johnson has been named as the December 2025 Teacher of the Month, while Mrs. Carmen Vaughan has been honored as the December 2025 Staff Member of the Month. In total, forty-four nominations were submitted throughout the district from other members, parents, students, and community members to highlight contributions made by nominees regarding the district mission and CSIP goals designed to support student learning in every aspect. Congratulations Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Vaughn!

Help decorate the Giving Tree at Salem Public Library at 403 North Jackson! The library is collecting warm winter accessories for area children in need. New hats, mittens, gloves, scarves, and socks may be hung on the tree now through Monday, December 15th. All items will be given to a local school for distribution. Thank you for helping warm young hearts this winter! If you have any questions, call the library at 573-729-4331.