Your World Today

A two-vehicle accident happened Thursday morning around 7:20 in Dent County on Highway 32 about 12 miles east of Salem. The report released from the highway patrol states that a 2008 Ford Explorer being driven by 83-year-old Rodney Parker of Bunker failed to yield while making a left turn to a 2016 Chevrolet pickup being driven by 42-year-old Andrew Mendenhall of Salem. Parker suffered moderate injuries and was transported by Salem EMS to Salem Memorial District Hospital. The Explorer was totaled. The Chevrolet sustained extensive damage. Both vehicles were removed from the scene by Whitakers Towing. The report went on to state that both drivers were wearing safety restraints at the time of the accidents.

The Dent County Sheriff’s Office has released several reports for this past week. On Saturday, August 7th, a deputy traveled to a residence in the 700 block of North Washington Street to serve a warrant. At that time, a 39-year-old Salem man was arrested for having an active warrant through Dent County. The man was transported to the Dent County Jail and incarcerated. The next day a deputy conducted a traffic stop at the intersection of Mildred Street and Highway 32 East. As a result of the stop, a 64-year-old Salem woman was arrested for driving while having her license revoked or suspended, a 1st offense. She was transported to the Dent County Jail where she was fingerprinted, issued a summons and released. On Tuesday, August the 10th while on routine patrol, a deputy observed a 27-year-old Salem man walking on West Rolla Road near Henderson Street. The deputy knew the man to have active warrants through Dent County. The man was arrested and transported to the Dent County Jail and incarcerated. On Wednesday, the 11th of August, a deputy traveled to a residence in the 3000 block of North Highway 19 to serve a warrant. At that time a 58-year-old Salem man was arrested for having an active warrant through Dent County. The man was transported to the Dent County Jail and incarcerated. On Friday the 13th, a deputy conducted a traffic stop in the 1100 block of South Main Street. During the traffic stop, a 26-year-old man from Salem was arrested for operating a vehicle on a highway without a valid license, a 1st offense. The man was transported to the Dent County Jail where he was fingerprinted, issued a summons and released. If you have any information regarding an ongoing investigation, please contact the Dent County Sheriff’s Department at 729-3241.

The Meramec Regional Planning Commission Rural Opioid Initiatives, the Meramec Region’s Rural Opioid Program and Opioid Affected Youth Initiative, in partnership with Mid-MO Addiction Awareness Group will host an opioid use disorder awareness walk in Steelville tomorrow morning beginning at 10:00. The walk aims at providing awareness for opioid use disorder. MRPC’s rural opioid initiatives work to educate, increase awareness and identify prevention strategies for opioid use disorder throughout the Meramec Region for youth, children, families and adults. Resource information will be available at the walk. Participants will meet at the Steelville Schools Administration Building, 817 Main Street. in Steelville, where sign-ups will be available. The walkers will then travel left onto MO Highway 19 South and proceed through town. There will be a water stop in the community parking lot by Dollar General. Participants will then return to the administration building, following the same route. It is requested that all pets be left at home. Masks and social distancing will be encouraged. From 2015-2019, 41 people in Crawford County died of drug overdoses. Twenty-seven of those were opioid overdoses. When looking at Crawford and its neighboring counties of Gasconade, Phelps, Dent, and Washington, there were 186 overdose deaths for that timeframe with 110 of those deaths being opioid overdoses. Statistics for 2020 are not yet finalized. Persons needing more information on the walk can contact Christa Harmon at 573-265-2993 or by email at charmon@meramecregion.org. Pre-registration is not required.

City of Salem Public Works Director Mark Nash wants to remind people who may have had their utilities shut off that they can still come to the Utility Office and set up a payment contract. If you are or know of someone in this situation, the city wants to work with these residents to get their utilities back on. If they have any questions about setting up a payment contract with the city, please call the city utility office at 729-4117 for more information or to setup a time to come by.

This past Fourth of July, the National Park Service in Missouri and Arkansas partnered with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Region 7 and local law enforcement by participating in the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” impaired-driving awareness campaign. An increased presence of officers worked together in and around Ozark National Scenic Riverways in Missouri and Buffalo National River in Arkansas during the holiday weekend to take impaired drivers off the roads. These expanded efforts were conducted in a fair and equitable way. The Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign at the National Park Service sites in Arkansas and Missouri resulted in 653 traffic stops with 30 arrests for impaired driving. Of those contacts, 428 traffic stops and 20 arrests for impaired driving were associated with the campaign at Ozark National Scenic Riverways, as park rangers and other local law enforcement officers joined forces to keep the roads safe on a busy holiday weekend. This law enforcement mobilization was an effort to draw attention to the dangers of impaired driving to drivers, passengers, and everyone on the roadways.

The City of Salem Board of Aldermen will hold a special meeting Thursday evening at 5:45 at the Salem Community Center at 1200 West Rolla Road for the purpose of discussing Resolutions #24-2021, #25-2021 and #26-2021. These resolutions are to accept the contracts for the demolition program at 500 East 4th Street owned by Casey Jadwin, 702 West Butler owned by Connie Riggins and 1003 East Hawkins owned by Tracy and Stephanie Hughes. Following that special Board of Aldermen meeting at 6:00, a joint meeting of the Finance and Utility Committees will be held. The two committees will give an update on the city’s financial audit, utility billing, and Exceleron Pre-Paid Project. They will look at the American Rescue Plan Act, electric rates from February 2021 cold snap, review utility bill layouts, review the electric rate auto adjustment in city codes, and go over the hot/cold weather rules. The meeting will be open to the public.

The Dent County Sheriff’s Office released some reports for Wednesday, August 4th. The first incident occurred when a deputy traveled to a residence in the 500 block of Dent County Road 3270 to serve an arrest warrant. During the course of the incident, a 48-year-old Salem man was arrested for having an active warrant through Dent County. The man was transported to the Dent County Jail and incarcerated. Another incident occurred when a deputy conducted a traffic stop at the intersection of South Pershing Street and East Highway 32. At the traffic stop, a 37-year-old Salem was arrested for having an active warrant through Probation and Parole, the unlawful possession, transport, repair, for manufacture or sale of an illegal weapon; and for operating a motor vehicle on a highway without a valid driver’s license, a 1st offense. The man was transported to the Dent County Jail and incarcerated. The final report occurred when a deputy conducted a traffic stop at Highway 72 and the Route C intersection. During the traffic stop, a 19-year-old Salem woman was arrested for having an active arrest warrant through Cuba Police Department. The woman was taken to the Dent County Jail where she later posted bond and was released. If you have information regarding any ongoing investigation, please contact the Dent County Sheriff’s Department at 729-3241.

The Salem R-80 Board of Education will be meeting this evening at 5:45 in the R-80 Board Room for the tax rate hearing, followed by the regular August meeting. After the tax rate hearing, Superintendent Dr. Lynne Reed will report on a variety of issues followed by principals’ reports, as well as the athletics and facilities report. In new business the board will approve the 2020-2021 Annual Secretary of the Board Report, 2021 tax rate, Head Start MOU and Transition Agreement and consider revision of Board Policy GBEBC. Other new business will include the board approval of the Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan (SRCSP), ESSER III Plan/Budget, consider extension of Extended Paid Sick Leave (COVID), consider FFA National Convention out of state trip, and approve fuel bids. The Board will then go into closed session. The Tax Rate Hearing and the regular meeting of the Salem R-80 Board of Education Thursday evening are both open to the public.

Spring Creek 4-H Club member Presley Strader of Salem made an impression at the Missouri State Fair as she showed the Reserve Champion Dorset. This honor came after she showed at the Phelps County Fair on August 7th and had the Reserve Championship Crossbred Ewe and was the Champion Sheep Showman. That ewe was bred by the Rule Sheep Company. Also at the Phelps County Fair, Strader had the Grand Champion Crossbred Heifer that was bred by Campbell Blecher. Congratulations Preslie on your hard work!

Congratulations also goes out to Clayton Headrick of the Lake Spring 4-H Club as he won the Senior Skeet Doubles last week in St. Louis. He shot a 91-out of 100. Headrick also took 6th place in the Senior Skeet Single competition. Another 4-H club member from the Spring Creek 4-H, Ryker Major, took 16th place in the Senior Skeet Singles in St. Louis. This is Major’s first year competing in this event.

The Salem Memorial District Hospital regular board meeting was held Tuesday evening in the Hospital Library. In the summary of operations for the month of July, the hospital had 123 inpatient admissions with 376 inpatient census days. The hospital showed a loss from operations of $220,282 and had an excess of expenses over revenues of $216,666. During the month, there were 850 emergency room visits with 93 admissions, plus there were 210 ambulance runs where 141 patients were transported. In July, there were 24 surgery cases, 1,920 outpatient registrations, 10,290 lab tests, 1,478 radiological procedures, 504 rehab treatments and 246 home health visits with 18 home health admissions. The days in account receivable during the month went down to 62 from 74 in June and days cash on hand stayed at 85. The hospital had a cash decrease during the month of $3,202. Two CD’s will be renewed in August for $100,000 each for .50% from the Bank of Salem for 12 months. Hospital Administrator Kasey Lucas said Critical Access Hospitals are to receive $50,000 to help with staffing for COVID, but they haven’t received information on how to get it yet. New Chief of Nursing Ashley Sullins gave the Acute Care Staffing by Patient Acuity report that showed the average acuity at 32 per day with 12 patients per day. Chief Operating Officer Jason Edwards said the Wings and Strings event in September has been cancelled while the “Dancing with the Salem Stars” program is scheduled for January 22nd at the High School Gym. He said the hospital is waiting on payment for the TytoCare-school focused telemedicine product from USDA, and the plan is still to have the program in place in schools by 2022. Lucas gave the COVID-19 update and said the number of COVID cases as of Tuesday in Dent County is 107 with a positivity rate of 17.2% of those tested. As of Tuesday, 101 employees at the hospital have been totally vaccinated with another 22 having at least one dose. That is a 37% fully vaccination rate with 45% having at least one dose. The visitor policy changed Monday where there is only one entrance to the hospital and that is at the emergency room, patients may only have one visitor per day, long-term care patients cannot see visitors, and door screeners will welcome visitors and patients at the ER door. Lucas reported the renovation work is all but finished except for some minor details that are being worked on and completed. The Cerner Conversion continues as this is “train the trainer” week. Board President Ray Bruno selected the fiscal year 2022 finance committee and is comprised of the same people as last year: Mike Swyers, Willie Strader and A.J. Seay. The board then went into closed session.

Have you been to the Ozark Natural and Cultural Resource Center in Salem where they still have open the exhibit entitled “Dent County Pictorial History?” If you have not yet attended, you are missing a chance to see how history has affected Dent County and their citizens, changes made over the years as well as progress made, all courtesy of a number of photographs taken over the years by the newspapers in town, family photos, special occasion photos such as church and family outings and much more. There is no charge to attend the exhibit and it is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 in the morning until 5:00 in the afternoon. The exhibit will remain open until August 31st at 202 South Main Street in Salem, next to the Farmers Market.