News – Wednesday, February 11th 2026
The City of Salem Utility Committee meeting will be tonight at 6:15 at the Old City Hall Auditorium at 202 North Washington. At the meeting following any public comments, the committee will hear reports from the chairman, hear financial updates from Stacey Houston and get the report from MPUA concerning the January electric bills. The committee will discuss utility meter testing centered around a discussion to create a charge for electric meter testing, then discuss policy amendments including requiring a building inspection if there has been no utilities for a certain amount of months, and citizens must be 18-year-old or older to open a utility account. Also to be discussed is the royalty and marketing agreement for the service line warranty program. The committee will then be updated on the sewer plant mitigation projects and the water tower maintenance contract. The committee will then hear billing reports, the annual net metering report, hear work reports from the city utility crews and review the MMMPEP meeting notes. A utilities Capital Improvement Plan will be discussed before the meeting is adjourned. The Utility Committee meeting of the City of Salem will be tonight at 6:15 and it is open to the public.
Bunker R-3 school will be dismissing at twelve noon today due to a water main leak. The City of Bunker will be shutting off water at noon to resolve the leak. When the water does come back on citizens will be notified and will be under a boil order for 24 hours afterwards. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call the Bunker City Hall at 573-689-2444.
The Salem Police Department has announced the assignment of Patrolman Rictor as the School Resource Officer at the Salem R-80 School District. Patrolman Rictor brings six years of law enforcement experience to this role. His professional training includes Firearms Instructor certification, Sniper training, REID Interview and Interrogation techniques, and Narcotics training, among others. In addition to his law enforcement background, Patrolman Rictor has served on a local school board and recognizes the critical importance of maintaining a safe and secure learning environment for students and staff. The Salem Police Department commends the Salem R-80 School District for taking this important step toward enhancing the safety and well-being of our children and school community.
The Salem Police Department has recently released their report for the month of December. The department responded to 14 accidents during the month. Officers responded to seven alarms sounding and addressed 57 animal calls, investigated two assaults or fights, four burglaries, performed 30 well-being checks and21 area checks in December. Police investigated 8 domestic disputes, four verbal disturbances and one physical disturbance, conducted 47 follow-up investigations and provided 27 escorts. They investigated five harassment reports, four parking complaint calls, three intoxicated pedestrians, four fraud charges, six trespassing calls and six property damage reports. The Salem Police wrote three stealing reports, responded to 10 traffic complaints and assisted four motorists. Officers responded to three reports of a suicidal person, 14 suspicious circumstance calls and two suspicious vehicle calls. The Salem Police in December investigated two reports of shots fired, three reports of shoplifting, a report of a prowler, three peace disturbances and they checked out an abandoned vehicle call. Officers attempted to serve three warrants, and they conducted 33 traffic stops during the month. The police responded to a total of 445 incidents in December with the average response time to calls being two minutes and 12 seconds. The average time spent on the scene was 20 minutes and 54 seconds. If you have any information regarding an 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.
A public hearing will be held by the Dent County Health Center Board of Trustees on Thursday afternoon, February 19th at 5:00 in the DentCounty Health Center Conference Room located at 1014 E. Scenic Rivers Blvd in Salem. The purpose of the hearing is to receive public comment on proposed changes to the Dent County Health Center environmental fee schedule prior to consideration of adoption by the Board. The hearing is open to the public.
There are many upcoming classes at the Salem Creative Arts Center, such as a Junk Journals, Paint N Sip, and Clay Sculpting to name a few. Visit SACBA website, click on the “Programs” link and then on the Creative Arts Center.