News – Tuesday, October 7th 2025

An accident occurred Friday afternoon around 12:45 in Phelps County on Hwy J just north of Hwy P. According to the highway patrol report a 2005 Chevrolet 1500 driven by a 29-year-old male from Licking was travelling northbound and travelled off the left side of the roadway and overturned. The man suffered serious injuries and was transported by Air Evac to Mercy Hospital in Springfield. The Chevrolet was totaled and removed from the scene by Ron Dishman Towing. The report goes on to state that the male was wearing a safety restraint at the time of the accident.

The 62nd Annual Rose Holland Trout Derby was held this past weekend at Montauk State Park with incredible weather! The Derby raised $16,300 exceeding the goal of $15,000 for the tournament with the proceeds benefiting the American Heart Association. The money came from the silent auction, trout tag sales and the country store. A total of 54 tagged fish were caught during the derby. The Men’s Heaviest Trout caught was by Caden Steinhorn of Hazelwood, Missouri, which also won him the Slippery Liz II Award for the heaviest fish, and it was six pounds and one ounce; and the Women’s Heaviest Trout was caught by Megan Fuhr of Augusta, Missouri and it was three pounds and ten ounces. No Brown Trout were caught during the tournament. Taking First Place in the Kids Heaviest Stringer was Bently Rawson of Bonneteville, Missouri whose stringer total was five pounds and thirteen ounces. The Second-Place winner in the Kids Heaviest Stringer was Bentley Foster of Imperial, Missouri with a total catch that weighed in at five pounds and six ounces. The 3rd place award went to Justin Fleener of Salem with a stringer that weighed in at four pounds and twelve ounces, while Emmett Stafford of Salem took 4th place with a stringer of four pounds seven ounces. The Slippery Liz I trophy, which is the first tag drawn at the derby, went to Sara Foster. Sixteen attendance prizes were also given away. New this year was the Corn Hole Tournament that was a big success with 20 teams participating. The Pony Rides for kids stayed busy for two hours, plus kids lined up to honk the horn on the Fire Truck and play on the Bounce House Slide. The Derby is held in honor of Rose Holland who was the trout hatchery manager at Montauk for 24 years who passed away in 1963 from heart disease. Co-Coordinator of the derby, Darlene Griffith, wanted to thank all those who attended this year’s derby and all the volunteers who helped make it a great success!

At the Dent County Commission meeting Monday morning, Deloris Gray Wood from the Dent County Historical Society reported on the 155th Birthday Celebration of the Dent County Courthouse and that the event went very well. She thanked Commissioner Gary Larson for being at the event and turning the lights on around the courthouse. She also wanted to thank all those who participated in making the event special with a special thank you to KSMO Radio/Your World Today and Townscreen for the banner, programs and news about the event, and to The Salem News for their feature article about the celebration. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Keith Green said two men were going to Springfield to get oil for the Durapatcher. He said brush would be cut on county road 6520 and crews will be replacing pipes on Dent County Roads 2400 and 6500 as well as other roads if time permits. District 2 Commissioner Jimmy Williams said workers will be installing a new crossover pipe, adding rock and grading Dent County Road 3160 while only grading would be done on county roads 3300 and 4260. Williams indicated brush would be cut on county road 2030 and rock will be added to county road 3305. He went on to report a crew would be repairing a flat tire on tractor #6. Presiding Commissioner Larson said the Solid Waste Executive Board meeting was not held last Friday as there was typographical error in the notice, so it will be held today in St. James. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said the courthouse would be closed on October 13th for Columbus Day. She also said she received the 2026 County Budget Packet to begin preparing the county budget for the next fiscal year. At the last meeting, Zach Moser from the Dent County Health Center gave his monthly update to the commissioners before they went into closed session to discuss personnel. After coming back into open session, the commission approved CERF contributions will remain the same for employees. They also voted unanimously that all elected officials and employees pay their own County Employment Retirement percentage. The next meeting of the Dent County Commissioners will be Thursday morning at the courthouse at 9:00 and the meeting is open to the public.