Your World Today

The Dent County Sheriff’s Department has released reports for January 7th and 8th. On Tuesday, January 7th, a deputy responded to the 200 block of Dent County Road 5070 for a report of a theft. Upon arrival the deputy discovered that a 41-year-old woman was the reported victim of the theft. This investigation is still ongoing. Also on Tuesday a deputy conducted a traffic stop near the 1400 block of South Gertrude Street. During the course of the traffic stop, a 40-year-old Salem man was arrested for felony driving while driving while having his license revoked or suspended. The man was transported to the Dent County Sheriff’s Office where he was fingerprinted, issued summons and released. Then on Wednesday, January 8th, a deputy traveled to the Missouri Private Probation Services on West 4th Street in an attempt to serve an arrest warrant. During the course of the incident, a 27- year-old Salem man was arrested for active warrants through Dent County. The man was transported to the Dent County Sheriff’s Office where he was incarcerated. Also on the 8th while on routine patrol, a deputy observed a 52-year-old Salem man removing items from a donation box at the Lifeway Center. After further investigation, the Salem man was arrested for the possession of a controlled substance. The man was transported to the Dent County Sheriff’s Office where he was incarcerated. Please contact the Dent County Sheriff’s Office at 729-3241 if you have any information about any investigation.

The City of Salem Board of Aldermen will meet tonight at the City Hall Council Chambers for their regular meeting at 7:00. In the hearing of persons, the board will hear from Ray Bruno of the Scenic Rivers Industries about possible changes in the recycling services they offer. The board will also hear Kristin DeLuca from K DeLuca Auditing Services as she will present the 2019 Fiscal Year audit for the city. The board will then receive and discuss bids from on the TAP Grant for the trail from the Salem R-80 Administration Building to Pavilion #1 in the Salem City Park. After the consent agenda, the board will hear from City Administrator Ray Walden about current projects going on in the city. In the Introduction and Reading of Bills, Resolution 2-2020 will be discussed that would adopt an economic development policy for the City of Salem. In new business, Salem Police Chief Keith Steelman will discuss the destruction of some of the 2013 police records that no longer have to be kept. The board will then go into closed session to discuss contracts before adjourning. The meeting of the Salem Board of Aldermen is open to the public.

The Salem Memorial District Hospital Board of Directors will conduct their January meeting tonight in the hospital library beginning at 6:00. After approval of the agenda and minutes of the December 10th meeting, will be the administrator’s report that will include a summary of the operations for the month of December by Monica Stogsdill, the Chief of Nursing Report for the month by Debbie Hines, a Home Health report, and a report on the hospital foundation, plus the marketing and community perception with COO Jason Edwards. Patient satisfaction survey results for the Emergency Department and Family Medicine will be reviewed. Hospital Administrator Kasey Lucas will the present the auxiliary report before updating the Board on the hospital expansion and expansion financing options. Lucas will also update the Board on election filing. In new business the Conflict of Interest Policy is to be reviewed and possibly approved. The January board meeting of the Salem Memorial District Hospital Board of Directors is open to the public.

January is National Radon Action Month and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) encourages Americans around the country to test their homes for radon, the second leading cause of lung cancer. Make 2020 a healthier, safer new year by testing your home. Last year nearly 21,000 people died from lung cancer caused by exposure to radon. EPA’s radon program began more than 30 years ago as the scientific and public health community began to understand the risks associated with indoor radon exposure. Since then, elevated radon levels have been fixed in approximately two million homes in the United States and millions more have been tested. In many states, radon testing has become a standard part of real estate transactions. However, EPA estimates that about seven million high-radon homes remain across the United States. Testing is the only way to know if a home has an elevated level of radon. Affordable do-it-yourself radon test kits are available online and at most home improvement and hardware stores. You can also hire a qualified radon professional to test your home. Taking action to reduce your exposure to radon is a long-term investment in your families’ health and your home. The cost of reducing radon in your home depends on how your home was built and the extent of the radon problem. Most homes, however, can be fixed for about the same cost as other common home repairs. For more information on testing and contact information for radon resources in your state, please see: https://www.epa.gov/radon.

The Salem Board of Education met Thursday night at the district administrative offices. In the Superintendent’s report, John McColloch recognized the members of the Board of Education in honor of School Board Recognition Week which will be February 9th through the 15th. He also reported there are three persons whose terms are expiring are Holly Erway, Drew Whitaker and Larry Maxwell as their terms will expire. Maxwell and Erway have refiled while Andrew Wynn has filed for the school board. Superintendent McColloch gave a budget update which showed the revenues as of December 31st were at $5,295,746.13 and that is down from last year $294,000, but McColloch said that the school had not yet received approximately $300,000 from Federal Programs. He also said the tuition income is down from the rural schools as there are less students enrolled from the other four schools. That is down about $100,000. McColloch said the expenses are up as of December 31st coming in at over six million dollars and that is due to the health insurance assessments of over $508,000. McColloch said the income numbers did not include the personal property and real estate tax check they are to receive from the county. McColloch also discussed with the board the 2020-2021 school calendar. He said with a new state law, the earliest the first day of school will be is August 24th and there is consideration by all the Dent County schools to lengthen the school day about 15 minutes. If that is approved by all the schools at a meeting to be held on Tuesday, the last day of school would be May 14th. If the schools want to keep the same length school day as they currently have, the last day of school will be May 25th. He said the rural schools were leaning toward the longer school day. Superintendent McColloch updated the board on current projects that include installing a shower and stacked washer/dryer area at William Lynch Elementary, and tripling the size of the shotput area at the track and football field area. He also went into great detail about an update on the Facility Plan that included the new Construction Trades building, and capital improvement plan for new rooftop air conditioning units and electrical upgrades at the high school. There was also a discussion about recommended facility improvement measures suggested by McKinstry to replace the lower elementary school and add a new indoor practice facility and weight room. The estimated costs of the projects and possible funding strategies were introduced by McColloch. He said he will bring a final facility plan proposal to the board at the February meeting. The principals all gave their building reports that show there are 271 students at William Lynch Elementary, 332 students at the Upper Elementary, 237 students at the Middle School and 553 at the Salem High School. The board accepted the resignation of John Brewer, William Lynch Elementary Art instructor and intervention, effective at the end of the 2019-2020 school year. In closed session, the board unanimously approved to extend Superintendent John McColloch’s contract through the 2022-2023 school year. The board also approved employing Patrick Prawitz as a high school math teacher and Mark Howard as a high school social studies teacher . The board also heard from a community member regarding a personnel issue. The meeting was then adjourned.

The Dent County Sheriff’s Office released reports for January 4th and 5th. On Saturday, January 4th, a deputy conducted a traffic stop on Dent County Road 2330. During the course of the traffic stop, a 20-year-old Salem man was arrested for the possession of marijuana of 10 grams or less. The man was transported to the Dent County Sheriff’s Office where he was fingerprinted, issued a summons and released. That same day, deputies responded to the 19000 block of Route C for the report of a sudden death. Upon arrival, deputies discovered a 55-year-old male of Salem was deceased. An investigation was conducted by the Dent County Sheriff’s Office and the Dent County Coroner’s Office. This investigation is ongoing, pending toxicology reports. On Sunday, January 5th, a deputy conducted a traffic stop on South Orchard Street and Highway 32 West. During the course of the traffic stop, a 51-year-old Salem man was arrested for a DWI, being a prior offender, and failure to maintain the right half of roadway when the roadway was of sufficient width. The man was transported to the Dent County Sheriff’s Office where he was fingerprinted, issued a summons and released. Please contact the Dent County Sheriff’s Office at 729-3241 if you have any information relative to any investigation.

Weather permitting, contractors working for the Missouri Department of Transportation will begin the replacement of the Highway 49 bridge over Dry Fork Creek in Crawford County today. The bridge, located west of Cherryville, will be reduced to one lane while work takes place, with temporary traffic signals to guide traffic through the work zone. The project is scheduled to be completed by July 1st. This bridge is included in Governor Mike Parson’s $351 million Focus on Bridges program. For more information about this project, please call 1-888-ASK-MoDOT (275-6636) or visit www.modot.org/central.