Your World Today

An accident happened Thursday afternoon just after 12:30 that left a Salem resident with serious injuries. According to the report from the highway patrol a 1995 Ford F-150 being driven by 59-year-old Harvey Carter of Salem was traveling west on Highway 32 about 4 miles from Salem when he ran off the right side of the road, striking a fence and a tree. Carter was taken by Air Evac to Cox Hospital South in Springfield for treatment. The report went on to state that Carter was not wearing a seat restraint at the time of the accident. The highway patrol was assisted at the scene by the Dent County Sheriff’s Department and the Dent County Fire Protection District.

An accident occurred Saturday morning at 9:10 in Dent County on Highway 32 about three miles west of Salem. According to the highway patrol report, a 2019 Dodge Caravan driven by 30-year-old Emily Inman of Salem was travelling eastbound when she lost control on a snow covered roadway. The Dodge crossed the centerline, travelled off the left side of the roadway, struck a culvert and overturned. Inman and a 10-year-old juvenile female of Salem, suffered moderate injuries and were taken to Salem Memorial Hospital by Ambulance. Inman was not wearing a safety restraint at the time of the accident. The juvenile was wearing a safety restraint. The Dodge was totaled and removed from the scene by Whitaker’s Towing.

An accident occurred Saturday morning at 11:20 in Phelps County on I 44 westbound near mile marker 199.6. According to the highway patrol report a 2015 Dodge Grand Caravan driven by 23-year-old Caleb Davis of Rolla was travelling in the left lane while passing a tractor trailer. The Dodge travelled back into the right lane, lost control, and travelled off the right side of the roadway, down an embankment, where its undercarriage struck the ground. Davis and 24-year-old April Krieter of Rolla, an occupant in the vehicle, both suffered minor injuries. She was transported to Phelps Health in Rolla by St. James Ambulance while Davis was not transported to the hospital. All parties in the car were wearing a safety restraint at the time of the accident. The Dodge sustained minor damage and was driven from the scene.

The Salem Airport Board Chairman Tyler Naramore has called for a meeting on Tuesday night at 6:00 at the City Hall Council Chambers located at 202 N. Washington. After the introduction of the committee members, aldermen and staff, the Board will approve the minutes of the last meeting and receive an airport lighting update, get an update on the fuel card reader, gate opener and new hangar construction; hear hangar lease suggestions and discuss hangar rates. The board will also talk about the termite damage to hangars/FBO, hear updates on FBO, get updated on the status of a rotary mower purchase and discuss other business. The meeting of the Airport Board is open to the public.

The Salem Memorial District Hospital Board of Directors will conduct their January meeting Tuesday night at 6:00 in the hospital library. Hospital Administrator Kasey Lucas will report on the summary of the operations and statistics for the month of December as well as the auxiliary report, followed by the Chief of Nursing Report with Ashley Sullins. Chief Operating Officer Jason Edwards will give the hospital foundation report as well as the marketing and community perception report. In old business, Lucas will update the board on how COVID-19 is affecting the hospital, give a report on the Cerner conversion, discuss the CLIA survey and talk about the election filing for the District 3 board seat that will becoming available in the upcoming April election. In new business, the board will discuss any purchases. The board may vote to go into closed session. The SMDH Board meeting Tuesday night at the hospital library is open to the public.

An accident happened Wednesday night in Dent County at 10:10 on Highway 32 about a mile west of Boss. According to the highway patrol report, a 2003 Chrysler Town and Country driven by 64-year-old Karen Salsman of Viburnum, swerved to miss a deer in the road and traveled off the left side of the roadway where the vehicle struck the ground and a fence. Salsman suffered serious injuries and was flown by Air Evac to the Mercy Hospital in St. Louis. The Chrysler sustained moderate damages and was removed from the scene by Abney’s Towing of Viburnum. Salsman was wearing a seat restraint at the time of the accident. The Dent County Sheriff’s Department assisted the highway patrol at the scene.

The Dent County Assessor Jamie Homeyer wants to remind the public with COVID cases again on the rise, the Dent County Assessor’s office is open, but would like to keep in person visits to a minimum. If you haven’t used the online filing system for your 2022 assessment form, they would encourage you to give it a try. If you have your assessment form, log into the link provided on the 2022 assessment form you received in the mail. You will need your account number and pin number from that form to enter your information online. You can always mail your signed form back in the return envelope provided, or you can drop it in the collector’s payment box out in front of the courthouse on the southwest corner of the courthouse lawn. If you have questions, call the office at 729-6010.

The Salem Police Department has released additional reports for the month of December. During the afternoon of Friday, December 10th around 1:00 an officer arrested 50-year-old Richard L. Labrash of Salem on an active capias for his arrest. Labrash was incarcerated at the Dent County Jail with no bond. Then on Sunday the 12th of December close to midnight, an officer conducted a traffic stop near the intersection of Hunt and Warfel Streets. It was apparent that the driver of the vehicle was under the influence of either drugs or alcohol. An investigation was conducted and the police found the subject to be operating the vehicle under the influence of narcotics. As a result, a 58-year-old Salem woman was arrested and issued a summons for driving while being intoxicated. On Wednesday afternoon, December 15th near 1:30, an officer arrested 28-year-old Ashlie Sapaugh of Salem for an active arrest warrant. Sapaugh was incarcerated at the Dent County Jail. During the afternoon of Saturday, December 18th around 4:30, an officer conducted a traffic stop at the intersection of Highway 19 and 32. The driver was found to be in possession of marijuana and paraphernalia. Due to the items located, a 33-year-old Salem man was arrested and later released on summons. The last report occurred on Tuesday, December 31st, an officer arrested Stephanie Tahssain for an outstanding arrest warrant out of the Uvalde Police Department in Texas. The bond amount was $5,000 in cash or surety. Tahssain was incarcerated at the Dent County Jail pending extradition or bond. Please contact the Salem Police at 729-4242 if you have information regarding any investigation.

The University of Missouri Extension is offering a webinar series on how to save money on your timber taxes. Many forest landowners pay more taxes on their timber than they should. Accountants can help calculate the taxes, but forest landowners need to understand how timber expenses should be reported and how they are taxed. When planning forest management activities, knowing the timber tax rules will help keep your records in line and save you money. The webinar series is part of the Woodland Stewards regional extension program for landowners. The webinar was created by a team of forestry extension professional from 10 programs, the United States Forest Service and more. The webinars are one-hour sessions that will be held on Tuesdays starting at noon beginning January 18th and lasting every Tuesday through February 15th. If you are interested in one or more of the webinars, please click place the following address in your browser: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ForestryTaxWebinars. For additional assistance, call the Dent County Extension at 729-3196.

A one vehicle accident occurred in Dent County Tuesday morning at 10:20 that left a Salem area resident with moderate injuries. According to the Highway Patrol report a 2000 Chevrolet S-10, driven by 33-year-old Debra Stidham, travelled off the right side of Route A and struck two trees about a half mile west of Bunker. The report stated that Stidham suffered moderate injuries and was transported by a private vehicle to Salem Memorial District Hospital. The S-10 was totaled and removed from the scene by Rowdy’s Towing. According to the report it is unknown whether the driver was wearing a safety restraint at the time of the accident.

The Salem Police Department has released several reports for the month of December. On Monday, December 6th at around midnight, an officer was dispatched to the 700 block of South Jackson for a report of a disturbance. After an investigation, a male subject was contacted and found to be in possession of a scale containing methamphetamine. Due to the possession of drug paraphernalia the man was arrested and placed on a 12-hour hold due to his level of intoxication. That same evening close to 8:00, an officer was dispatched to the 700 block of East Jack Street for the report of shots being fired. During the investigation, it was learned that a 23-year-old Salem man was intoxicated and acting belligerent, had discharged a number of rounds from a 9-millimeter handgun. As a result, the man was arrested and placed on a 24-hour hold pending the application of warrants. During the morning of Wednesday, December 8th near 8:30, officers were dispatched to the 400 block of North Henderson for a report of a burglary and theft. It was reported that a building had been broken into and approximately $2,000 worth of property had been taken. An investigation was conducted by Detective Burns and subsequently a search warrant was obtained and served in the 300 block of West Fifth Street where items stolen from the building were located along with the suspect. As a result, a 50-year-old Salem man was arrested and is facing charges of Burglary and Stealing. Please contact the Salem Police Department at (573) 729-4242 if you have any information regarding an ongoing investigation.

The Doe Run Company is proud to announce that longtime employee, Todd Mead, has been awarded Driller of the Year by the Heartland and Mississippi Valley chapters of the International Society of Explosive Engineers (ISEE). Mead, a resident of Bunker, has been responsible for drilling and blasting work as an underground miner at Doe Run for more than 12 years. He currently works as part of a two-person crew developing ore at Fletcher Mine. Mead and his mining partner had great success this past year: together, they broke more than 87,000 tons of rock to make significant progress towards expanding Fletcher Mine.

Through this Friday, Dent County residents can vote to elect members to the University of Missouri Extension Council of Dent County. The council has two positions that need to be filled in the Northern district, five in the Central district and two in the Southern district. Ballots may be mailed to the Dent County Extension Center at 112 East 5th Street in Salem, or you can vote or drop off ballots on the second floor of the Judicial Building between the hours of 8:00 in the morning and 4:30 p.m. Candidates include Kelly Chapman and Terry Phelps in the Northern District; Darlene Dahms, Thomas Haines, Charlee Sue Jadwin, Betty Kunkel and Kolson Seay in the Central District; and Kyle Case and Jason Jones in the Southern District. Ballots were printed in the January 4th edition of the Salem News and were in this Monday’s edition of Your World Today as in insert. If you have any questions, please call the Dent County Extension Office at 729-3196.

The Board of Directors of the Salem Memorial District Hospital will conduct a special meeting tonight at 6:00 in the hospital library. This meeting may be conducted and attended by telephone or other electronic means and the public may observe and attend any portion of the meeting not closed to the public. Any person that would like to attend by telephone or electronic means should contact Tonya Akers at 573-729-6626 to obtain access information.