Your World Today

An accident occurred Friday evening at 5:32 in Dent County on Route H about eight miles west of Salem. According to the highway patrol report, a 2006 Ford Ranger driven by 21-year-old Amanda Beck of Salem was travelling eastbound when the Ford Ranger ran off the right side of the roadway and struck a tree. Beck suffered serious injuries and was transported to Salem Memorial District Hospital by Salem EMS. She was not wearing a safety restraint at the time of the accident. The Ranger was totaled and removed from the scene by American Automotive and Towing. The Highway Patrol was assisted by the Dent County Sheriff’s Department.

Beginning today, a contractor working for the Missouri Department of Transportation will begin work on box culvert extensions along Highway 68. Once that work is complete, crews will begin resurfacing and widening the shoulders of Highway 68 in both Dent and Phelps Counties and in Dent County on Route HH near Salem. They will also be resurfacing Route F in Dent County and Route K in Phelps County. This work will require daily lane closures at various locations. Signs will be in place to alert motorists of the lane closures and flaggers will be used to guide them through the work zones. Drivers are asked to slow down and obey all traffic signs. Later this summer, culvert replacement work will require the closure of Highway 68 at the intersection of Highway 8, near Saint James, for several days. Updates will be sent in advance of the closure. The project is expected to be completed by November 2021. This work is weather permitting and could be delayed. For more information about this project or other transportation-related matters, please call 1-888-ASK-MoDOT (275-6636) or visit www.modot.org/central.

The Dent County Health Center Board of Trustees met Thursday, March 18th. Administrator Kendra Mobray updated the board on the current COVID status in Dent County. She said that as of March 18th, there were 962 confirmed cases and 177 probable cases have been investigated. She stated that 81 of those cases required hospitalization, but as of the time of the Board meeting, there were no active cases. She did say that 28 deaths have been confirmed from the COVID-19 virus. Mobray reported the Health Center has worked closely with the Salem Memorial District Hospital to host several vaccine events. A large mass vaccination clinic was held at the Dent County Commons on February 11th and 12th with booster doses for those vaccinated at the Commons given on March 11th and 12th. Mobray thanked the Maxwells for the use of the Dent County Commons and also thanked Riverways Federal Credit Union and Progressive Ozark Bank for providing food and refreshments to the staff. Other vaccine clinics have been held at the Dent County Fire Station for individuals that qualify in Phase 1A and Phase 1B, tiers 1 through 3. As of last Thursday, A total of 2990 first doses have been administered through the vaccine clinics with 2130 booster doses. According to the Missouri Department of Public Health and Social Services, 1953 Dent County residents have received 1 dose of vaccine and 952 have had a complete series of 2 shots through March 21st. Governor Parson announced that Missouri’s Vaccine Phase 2 will open TODAY, and Phase 3 will open April 9th. For more information on who is included in these new phases, go to covidvaccine.mo.gov/. The vaccine is also available at the Dent County Health Center, Moser Pharmacy, Vandivort Pharmacy, and Wal-Mart Pharmacy. To schedule an appointment at the Health Center, call 573-729-3106. Information will be released to the public through Facebook and local media outlets as additional vaccine opportunities arise. The old Dent County Health Center location on MacArthur has been listed with Elwood Real Estate since September 2020. After much discussion, the board approved dropping the price to $159,900. The board also rescinded the motion to increase their monthly payment at the new location at this time. They will revisit that at the April meeting. Mobray stated the season-to-date total of reported influenza cases remains at 1 in Dent County. She also said the WIC interviews are being mostly conducted over the phone. The next meeting will be held on Thursday, April 15th at the Health Center.

Prosecutor Andrew Curley released the results of a number of cases that were heard in Dent County Monday in front of Judge Michael Randazzo. The first case heard involved Herbert Barton of Bunker who had his probation revoked. He was sentenced to seven years in the Department of Corrections as requested by Prosecutor Curley. Barton had requested to stay on probation. The second case heard Monday was for Shane Murr of Salem. He pled guilty to the distribution of methamphetamine and in his sentencing hearing, the state asked for 10 years in the Department of Correction under Section 559.115. The defendant had served 120 days in jail at the time of sentencing. Murr was granted SIS probation for five years. Murr was ordered to complete the Dent County drug court due to his age and the lack of any prior felony criminal history. The next case heard in front of Judge Randazzo was a probation revocation hearing for Heather Stubblefield of Rolla. The state sought the execution of the sentence due to the defendant absconding from probation. Stubblefield requested to remain on probation, but Judge Randazzo ruled in the favor of the state and the defendant was sentenced to serve seven years in the Department of Corrections. In the next case, Judge Randazzo found Dannie Perkins of Salem guilty of the distribution of methamphetamine. Perkins was sentenced to serve 12 years in the Department of Corrections. The next case found Edward Durham of Salem pleading guilty to charges of burglarizing the property owned by Larry Gray after being held in jail pending his trial. He was sentenced to a period of ten years in the Department of Corrections as requested by Prosecutor Curley. In the last case of the day, Judge Randazzo sentenced Joshua Coffman of Salem to seven years in the Department of Corrections for two felony charges for the distribution of methamphetamine.

One teen was killed and two other Shannon County teens were injured in an accident Wednesday evening at 8:00. According to the report released by the highway patrol, a 2021 Polaris Ranger being operated by a 15-year old female on Shannon County Road 563 about eight miles east of Winona, started to skid and overturned ejecting the driver along with a 15 and 16-year old female passengers, all of Winona. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene by Shannon County Coroner, Sam Murphey at 9:00. Her body was transported to the Yarber Funeral Home in Winona. The other two teens suffered moderate injuries and were transported by Mercy ambulance to Mercy Hospital in Mountain View. The Polaris was removed from the scene by Sartin’s Towing. The report went on to state that none of the teens were wearing any safety devices.

Congratulations to three Salem art students who had their artwork accepted into the 2021 Young Artist Showcase at the St. Louis Artist Guild! There were only 121 pieces accepted out of over 500 from around the St. Louis and surrounding areas. It is an honor and privilege to be accepted into this prestigious art show. The students are Alyssa Russell for her White Charcoal titled “Lifted Up,” Kyra Oby for her Pencil Drawing titled, “What Am I?”, and Isabella Knaack and her Clay Sculpture titled “Sobek.”

Time is running out as USDA officials have indicated a March 31, 2021 application cutoff for producers that have an existing active CSP contract enrolled as a 2017 classic and/or the 2017 renewal contract. To be eligible for the renewal opportunity, the existing contract must expire in 2021. The CSP program helps agricultural producers maintain and improve their existing conservation systems and adopt additional conservation activities to address priority resource concerns. Participants earn CSP payments for conservation performance – the higher the performance, the higher the payment. Producers with an existing, active 2017 contract will receive a notification letter about the opportunity to apply for a renewal contract from NRCS. The letter will detail the CSP renewal application process. For more information about conservation planning and programs to help treat natural resource issues on your land, visit www.mo.nrcs.usda.gov or your USDA Service Center in Houston at 417-967-2028.