Posts by Stan Podorski

According to court records, 44-year-old Brian Ditch of Salem has been charged with the stealing of $25,000 or more, three counts of the unlawful possession of a firearm, tampering with physical evidence, and abandonment of a corpse. According to the Salem Police Department report from March 21st around 8:00 in the morning, Salem Police officers and Dent County Sheriff’s Department deputies conducted a search warrant in the 1200 block of North Main Street in Salem. Police say the search warrant was an extension of an investigation into a missing persons and fraud case. Authorities found a body at the property, and the Dent County Coroner Ben Pursifull ruled the person deceased. The body was wrapped in several trash bags and placed in a trash can which was then wrapped in more trash bags and placed inside a bigger trash can. An autopsy for the cause of death is underway. Another man is in custody on a 24-hour hold pending the application of the warrants. According to court documents, Ditch apparently was stealing from his uncle, who was a quadriplegic and who not been seen by other relatives since 2019. The court documents also reveal that the uncle was receiving Social Security and Veterans Affairs benefits that came to $554,853 over the years. Those funds were being wire transferred to Ditch’s account as he had access to the money as the caretaker.

The Dent County Fire Protection District will host a town hall meeting tonight from 6:00 to 8:00 at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory. Representatives from Dent County Fire Protection District board, along representatives with the bonding company LJ Hart as well as the Dent County Collector’s Office will be present to answer any and all questions about Proposition Fire. The town hall meeting is open to anyone who wants more information on the proposition.

Last Wednesday afternoon and evening, dry conditions and high winds sparked several wildfires in the southern part of the state on private land, conservation areas, and National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service lands. Even though most of the fires were contained by Thursday morning, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) urges caution as higher-than-normal fire-danger conditions exist across most of southern Missouri. Specially trained MDC firefighting teams from the region worked with the U.S. Forest Service and local fire departments to contain and suppress the wildfires. MDC is also mobilizing staff and equipment from other regions around the state to relieve staff that have been actively fighting fire for several days, including ones burning in and around the Caney Mountain Conservation Area in Ozark County and part of the Current River Conservation Area in Reynolds County.

Christopher Olds, Salem District Ranger for the Mark Twain National Forest, will be the featured speaker at the Dent County Historical Society Speaker’s Series tomorrow at 6:00 in the afternoon. The event will be held at the James and Gahr Family Center in Salem. A community question-and-answer session with Ranger Olds will begin at 5:00, providing an opportunity to meet Olds and interact with members of the Dent County Historical Society Board. Olds, who joined the Salem Ranger District in 2023, brings extensive experience in fisheries and wildlife management. Olds manages areas of the Mark Twain National Forest intersected by the Trail of Tears and actively works with the Cherokee Nation to preserve and educate the public about this historic route. For additional details, contact Dent County Historical Society’s President Deloris Gray Wood at 573-729-2545.

The Dent County Commission met Thursday morning at the courthouse for their regular meeting. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams gave the report on the CART taxes received by the county. She said the county received $74,778.75 this month and that is up $3,990.86 from march of 2024, and year-to-date, the CART taxes are up $21,468.74 which is an increase of 9.5%. Williams also said she was accepted to serve on the Missouri Association of Counties Trust Board which oversees workman’s comp. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Keith Green said rock will be added and grading done on Dent County Roads 6495 and 6505, while only grading will be done on county roads 6240, 6245 and 6370. Green said brush will be cut on county road 6500 and the county Mantis brush cutter will be taken to get welded. District 2 Commissioner Jimmy Williams said rock will be added and grading will be done on Dent County Road 3180 and on the hill of county road 4060. Williams said rock will also be added to county roads 2245 and 2250 where new driveway pipes are being installed. He went on to say brush would be cut on county roads 4270 and 4280, patching will be done on chip and seal county road 3260, and maintenance will be done on some of the equipment. Presiding Commissioner Gary Larson stated he attended the Ozark Rivers Solid Waste Management District Executive Board meeting Tuesday where new members had to be appointed. He said it appears he will again be the president of the board as he was the only one nominated for the position, but the vote has not yet been taken. He did say that an electronics waste recycling collection and tire disposal would be held at Brewer Science in Rolla on June 14th. He also said he attended the Tourism Tax Committee meeting where five reimbursements were requested and approved. Larson said he has the new pulley for the flagpole, but with the heavy winds expected to continue, the county will not be putting up flags until the part is replaced. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley indicated the excused absentee voting for the Municipal Election continues through April 7th, and non-excused absentee voting will begin on Tuesday, March 25th. The last day to have a ballot mailed out will be Wednesday, March 26th, and her office will be open for absentee voting on Saturday, April 5th from 8:00 in the morning until 12:00 noon. She also said the voters at Oak Hill R-1 will still cast their vote at the school gymnasium on April 8th for the Dent County Fire Protection District Bond Issue. With no school board election, she said there are 242 possible voters registered that will vote at R-1. Curley stated she balanced with the treasurer on all accounts for the month of February. She went on to say that the Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins has reported the local election authorities have removed 18,637 deceased persons from the voter rolls in the first 60 days of his term. Curley said a canvassing will be held in the summer to update the rolls from those who have moved, changed their name, or who have not voted in the last two federal elections. Dent County Collector Shannon VanKirk said the issue with an altered check with Marsha Geninatti that was brought to the attention of the county commission Monday, was resolved after Geninatti met with VanKirk and the issue was investigated. It was asked if the applications for the Homestead Tax Credit would be ready by April 1st and VanKirk said they would be available in her office by Tuesday, April 1st. The applications are free and if you have any questions, please contact Collector Shannon VanKirk at 573-729-3911. The next meeting of the Dent County Commission will be Thursday morning at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

Salem R-80 Superintendent Nathan Wills reported on an incident that occurred at William Lynch Elementary Wednesday morning at 9:45. Staff detected a suspicious smoke smell and as a precautionary measure, and the fire department was contacted immediately. Firefighters responded promptly, assessed the situation, and determined that there was no active fire or danger to students and staff. There was a blower unit within the ceiling that went out. The building was thoroughly checked, and normal school activities resumed once it was deemed safe. The safety of our students and staff is always our top priority, and we appreciate the quick response from our fire department. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Salem R-80 Central office at 573-729-6642.

The Salem R-80 Board of Education will be meeting today at 5:30 in the R-80 Board Room. After the Call to Order and the Pledge of Allegiance the Board will approve the agenda and the consent agenda. The Board will hear thank you from the Sue Tucker Family and DESE regarding emergency relocation of the Ozark Hills State School, followed by recognition of William Lynch Elementary students.  In the Superintendent’s Report CSIP Goals will be addressed, there will be an update on the FEMA building, teacher dress code will be addressed, and Senior Citizens passes are to be considered. Also, the Licking VFW will be thanked for their $1,000 donation to the Salem HS robotics team, the Construction Trades Block Development Grant is to be closed out, and Dr. Blau is to represent Salem R80 to Dent County 8th graders and their families for orientation. Administration reports will be heard from William Lynch, Upper Elementary, Middle School, High School, Athletics and Activities, Special Education, Technology, and Maintenance. In new business the board will approve the Opaa contract, approve an out of state trip for 2 Construction Trades students to Skills USA, approve gate prices for non-conference 2025-2026 activities, approve Mickes/DeBeer Litigation Group as attorneys, and discuss Fireworks display location. The Board will address hires and transfers before adjourning and moving into Executive Session to hear personnel issues.

Missouri Department of Conservation staff, partner federal agencies, and partnering fire departments fought more than 224 wildfires covering more than 15,500 Missouri acres between March 10th through the 16th. Dry conditions and high winds sparked hundreds of wildfires around Missouri last week, primarily on March 13th and 14th before severe thunderstorms and tornados swept into the state and quenched many of the blazes. While more than 20 homes and numerous vehicles and outbuildings were lost to the flames, there were no reported injuries or deaths. More than 90 specially trained Department of Conservation staff responded to 83 of the wildfires around the state, covering nearly 9,000 acres. According to the department, the Camdenton area in central Missouri had 42 fires with a total of 6,086 acres burned, including 761 acres on Granny’s Acres Conservation Area in Benton County. More than 30 MDC staff responded. Department of Conservation staff fought 19 fires in the Ozark region of the state covering nearly 1,500 acres, including nearly 300 acres of conservation lands. They reported that extreme weather conditions had one of its teams fighting a fire one minute and then taking shelter in a Dent County homeowner’s basement for a tornado warning the next. Department staff in the St. Louis region assisted with six separate fires covering nearly 300 acres, including in Davisville, on Highway 47 near Potosi, on 178 acres at River ‘Round Conservation Area in Franklin County, and on nearly 80 acres on the Glassberg Family Conservation Area in Jefferson County. Staff also assisted local fire departments in containing a 12-acre fire on private land in Reynolds County north of Current River Conservation Area. While these fires have been contained and extinguished, the National Weather Service still has Red Flag Warnings for parts of Missouri. A red flag warning is issued to inform the public, firefighters, and land management agencies that conditions are ideal for wildfire ignition and rapid spread. Some wildfires are set by vandals. Help stop arson by calling Operation Forest Arson at 800-392-1111. Callers will remain anonymous and rewards are possible. 

Campground and access point repairs are continuing at Ozark National Scenic Riverways following a record-setting flood in November 2024. Tentative plans for summer operations have been set. Some areas may look different than in the past, with altered landscapes and amenities. Areas that were heavily damaged may remain closed in 2025. Starting with developed campgrounds and group sites, major repairs are still needed at Akers, Round Spring and Pulltite. Akers and Round Spring are expected to reopen their group sites by Memorial Day, while Pulltite is expected to partially reopen around the same time. Updates on reservations for these locations will be posted on Recreation.gov, Facebook and the park website. During the flood, Pulltite sustained the most damage of any park location. The front half of the campground was scoured by floodwaters, and multiple amenities were destroyed or made inoperable. However, the two restroom buildings farther back are in good condition. As a result, a partial reopening is planned by Memorial Day weekend. As expected, the number of sites at Pulltite will be temporarily reduced. All three group sites are expected to reopen, but only about 35 family sites will reopen. Approximately 20 sites will likely remain closed pending major repairs to the landscape, roadways and restroom/shower house. Restrooms will be available at Group Site 1, Group Site 3 and the amphitheater. Showers will be available at the Group Site 1 restroom building. Reservations for all available campsites should be made on Recreation.gov. Pulltite landing is a high priority for the maintenance division as they work to ensure smooth operation for the summer season. Pavement and parking repairs are key challenges. Visitors should be mindful of construction zones and closures during the work. Backcountry campgrounds are expected to open in time for the summer season unless unforeseen delays or additional flooding occur. Sinking Creek, Cedar Grove, Jerktail and Broadfoot all require further work. The park will post updates as these campgrounds open. The exception is the Dee Murray Campground and it will remain closed due to heavy flood damage, but the day-use area is expected to open alongside other backcountry sites. The reopening of some campgrounds may occur earlier or later than Memorial Day. We appreciate your patience as crews complete repairs. For questions and updates, call (573) 323-4236. To reserve developed campsites, go to Recreation.gov or call (877) 444-6777. For more information on developed, backcountry or primitive camping options, visit the park’s camping page at go.nps.gov/OZARcamping.