Your World Today

A fatality accident happened Friday evening just after 6:00 in Crawford County on Highway 8 at Indian Springs Road. According to the highway patrol report, a 2007 Dodge 1500 being driven by 30-year-old Cody Carey of Steelville, was traveling westbound in the eastbound lane and struck head-on a 2019 Ford F-150 being driven eastbound by 37-year-old Joshua Morgan of Steelville. Morgan was pronounced dead at 7:14 by Dr. McCarthy at the Missouri Baptist hospital. A passenger in the Morgan vehicle, 40-year-old Leah Morgan of Steelville, suffered serious injuries and was taken by helicopter to Mercy Hospital in St. Louis. Carey suffered minor injuries and was taken by the North Crawford County ambulance to the Missouri Baptist Hospital in Sullivan. Both vehicles were totaled and removed from the scene by Miles and Sons Towing. All involved in the accident were wearing seat restraints. Carey was arrested by the highway patrol for DWI-causing the death of another, DWI-causing serious injury, failure to drive on the right half of the roadway, careless and imprudent driving causing an accident, operating a motor vehicle without insurance, and failure to properly affix a license plate. He was taken to the Crawford County Jail for an initial 24-hour hold.

The City of Salem’s Finance and Capital Improvements Committee will hold a meeting Monday evening at 5:30 at the Salem Community Center@the Armory. After the call to order will be the review of the proposed fiscal year 2024-25 Capital Improvement Plan and recommendation, to be followed by the fiscal year budget review and recommendation, which will be followed by adjournment. The meeting was called by Alderman Shawn Bolerjack, Chairman of the Finance Committee.

At the Dent County Commissioner meeting on Thursday, the commissioners heard from Jeff and Austin with Great Rivers Engineering on FLAP Project #077 which is for the paving and road improvements to be made to Dent County Road 6670 which is the back way into Montauk State Park. The cost of the project will be $725,000 which will widen the road, improve curves, stabilize slopes along the Current River and asphalt the road within the right-of-way. The county could do some of the work which would reduce the cost, but this project is 100% grant with no match, so the entire project will be bid out. The engineers then talked about the FLAP/TAP sidewalk project for the courthouse square. This is an 80/20 match grant. The survey has been finished and the project will include replacing the current sidewalks and the improving ADA access with sidewalks being moved to street level where possible, and installing a block retaining wall where the outside sidewalks still have to be elevated. They will eliminate the three angled sidewalks that don’t go to the entrance doors of the courthouse and replace them with wider sidewalks to the exterior doors. The projected budget is $491,603.75, the TAP portion would be $393,283 and the county’s portion would be $98,320.50. Great Rivers Engineering will be advertising bids this October with the bid opening this November with the construction expected to begin in October of 2025. Brandi Richardson and members of the Dent County University Extension Council came in to update the commission on recent programs. Richardson reported the extension office is short-handed and the University of Missouri has a freeze on hiring. The county has been impacted by the university’s youth program associate guidelines but is still well served with specialists. They wanted to let the commission know the 4-H and FFA Expo will be held July 18th through the 20th at The Commons. Richardson also said she would be attending an infrastructure meeting that will include a discussion on broadband in September and would like to have community leaders including the commissioners attend. She discussed the need for the Internet as she would like to see the Extension have a computer available to the public for those who could use it for telehealth services. She also discussed the university’s BioChar Climate-Smart Fieldscapes project program and a possible program with that in the future. Richardson also said the extension council would provide a monthly report from now on to the commission. The meeting was then adjourned.

The Dent County Fire Protection District board of directors will be meeting Tuesday evening at 6:00 at the fire station at #2 South Main Street. After the roll call and approval of the consent agenda the board will review the minutes of the May meeting then review the financial report before approving bills and reviewing the budget. Following the monthly reimbursement report the board will deal with old business including the repair and sealing of the parking lot at the station. The board will then hear any new business before Chief Floyd gives his report. The board will then set the date for the July meeting before going into closed session if needed before adjourning. The meeting Tuesday evening is open to the public.

The Salem Public Library will host a sidewalk chalk competition! This program will take place outside, on the north side of the library on 5th Street on Tuesday, June 11th from 10:30 in the morning until 12:30 in the afternoon. Children are not required to attend the full length of time allotted to the program. There will be four categories: Elementary: K – 1st Grade, Juvenile: 2nd Grade – 4th Grade, Tweens: 5th – 8th Grade, Teens: 9th – 12th Grade. Winners will be announced by 1:30 that afternoon. The four winners will receive a small prize. No library card is necessary to participate. This program is intended for children from K -12th Grade.

On Friday, June 14th, Montauk State Park will pay tribute to Flag Day held in honor of the “birthday” or the adoption of the Stars and Stripes on June 14th, 1777. Numerous American flags will be on display throughout the park on cabins, the lodge, shelters, bridges and more. Drive by or walk through and see “Old Glory” flying throughout Montauk State Park.

The Annual Chamber Expo will be this Saturday from 9:00 to 11:00 in the monring at the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce office at 1136 S. Main in the Crososroads. As of this morning, it seems there may be some unfavorable rain and storms affecting the area Saturday Morning. All participants will be notified later today as will the general public if the event will be moving inside the Salem Community Center at the Armory’s Event Room. Rain or shine, the Expo will be held. There will be live music & food!

The Dent County Commission met Thursday morning at the Dent County courthouse for their regular meeting. Presiding Commissioner Gary Larson was not in attendance due to prior commitments so Commissioner Wes Mobray was appointed temporary Presiding Commissioner. In the road report, Mobray gave his reports for District 1 and said rock would be added and grading would be done on Dent County Roads 5460 and 6350 while only grading would be done on county road 5170. District 2 Commissioner Gary Polk reported rock would be added and grading done on Dent County Roads 2570 and 4380 while only grading would be done on county road 4370. Polk indicated brush would be cut on county roads 5280 and 5300. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said her office balanced with the assessor and collector on all collections, add-ons and abatements for the month of May, and that absentee voting for the August Primary will begin June 25th. She also said that county liquor licenses will need to be renewed by June 30th for those business that sell liquor. Lancer Blair was in attendance and said there will be a “Meet the Candidate” night in Cuba on June 18th at 6:00 at the Cuba Middle School Gym sponsored by Farm Bureau. District Casework Manager Jenni Reigel from Jason Smith’s office was in attendance as was State Representative Ron Copeland. He was there toupdate the commission on any legislative action that took place. Denver Ellis asked about Senate Joint Resolution 71 that provides for the levying of certain costs and fees to support the salaries and benefits of sheriffs, prosecuting attorneys, and circuit attorneys. Copeland explained that when you get a traffic violation, you are assessed a fine as well as court costs. A lot of the court costs went to the retirement funds of sheriffs and prosecutors which the Missouri Supreme Court ruled illegal and discontinued those fees. He said the resolution will be voted on by the people in the November election to allow those fees to be added to the costs of the court. Copeland said he has received a number of calls about the National Park Service closing access to the river, but said much of that comes from the 2015 plan. He said the Park Service doesn’t do everything in their plan at once, instead takes small bites out of it to still get what they want, but over a longer period of time. If someone would like a copy of that 2015 plan, they can e-mail Copeland and request a copy: Ron.Copeland@house.mo.gov. Copeland said he was glad the county will be moving forward with Senate Bill 190 dealing with personal property tax values for seniors as they take a poll for community feedback, and he was also pleased the county and Royal Oak Charcoal are trying to resolve the road problem together. He said Royal Oak called him and felt they were being blamed for the road situation. They are actually helping the local timber industry as well as increasing the tax base of the county. In the discussion with Copeland, both Commissioners Mobray and Polk said the county has been frustrated by MoDOT about putting up signs and not repairing road accesses. Copeland said he will get with MoDOT on this and see the response he gets back. He did say the only way to have police enforce any weight limit signs, speed limit or other restrictive signs is to havean ordinance in place supporting the restriction. Clerk Curley said theprosecuting attorney has prepared an ordinance and the commission is currently reviewing it. The next meeting of the Dent County Commission will be Monday morning and the meeting will be open to the public.

This Saturday night at 8:00 at Echo Bluff State Park, you can hear a free concert from Blake Gardner and The Farmers as they break free from being able to be defined by a single genre by mixing together elements of blues, reggae, hip-hop, funk and nearly everything else under the sun. Bring a blanket or chair to the outdoor amphitheater and enjoy a FREE concert under the stars. For more information, call Echo Bluff State Park at 573-751-1224.

A special waste collection for residential electronics, appliances, tires and media storage will be held this Saturday from 8:00 until noon at Brewer Science located at 2401 Brewer Drive in Rolla. Brewer Science, the City of Rolla and Meramec Regional Planning Commission, with funding through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and Ozark Rivers Solid Waste Management District, are partnering on the June 8th collection. The collection is for residential items only – no materials from businesses will be accepted and is open to residents from Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Phelps, Pulaski and Washington counties. For more information on items accepted or the fee structure, please contact Kathryn Hawes at MRPC at 573-265-2993 Ext. 110.

The Healthy Dent County Prevention Coalition presents a Communities Talk Event as a panel of students will discuss substance abuse affecting teens in the community in a Town Hall meeting to be held at the Salem Community Center@The Armory at 1200 West Rolla Road on Tuesday, June 11th from 12:00 noon until 1:00. The town hall meeting allows all in attendance to join in the discussion about local substance use prevention programs. Registration is required and lunch will be provided. The program is sponsored by the Prevention Consultants of Missouri, Healthy Dent County Prevention Coalition and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. To register, please call 573-729-8163.

During it’s May meeting, the Meramec Regional Planning Commission Board approved officers for Fiscal year 2024-2025. The Chairman is Mary Heywood, Vice-Chairman is Darryl Griffith, the Secretary is Joey Auxier and the Treasurer is Sean Wilson. They will all continue to serve in their current roles for an additional term. Other additional at-large appointments approved for another term included Crawford County’s “For Profit” Representative Erik Lowes, Gasconade County’s “For Profit” Representative Duane Kraettli, Dent County’s “For Profit” Representative John Smith, Industry Representative Jan Haviland and Transportation Representative John Casey. Bob Parsons, at-large for farming/ag-business, retired after serving nine years on the board. The Board also heard an update from MRPC Planning Manager Anne Freand on the Forward 44 project, which is the interstate improvements along 44 from the Franklin/St. Louis County line to the Oklahoma state line. She requested any specific traffic data and information on future developments such as large manufacturing facilities, large retail or housing developments along the Interstate 44 corridor in the region. They heard proposed changes to the MRPC bylaws that would change the title of the minorities at-large position to underrepresented at-large position. The proposed by-law changes will be voted on at the June 13th meeting.

The much-anticipated Friends of the Salem Public Library summer book fair is scheduled for 9:00 to 4:00 this Friday and 9:00 to 12:00 this Saturday. The sale will be held in the library’s north basement meeting room. Hardback books and even some new releases can be found for as low as $1.00 with paperback books priced as low as a quarter. Parking will be available in the lot located at the northwest corner of 5th and Jackson.

The Salem Creative Arts Center will be holding a two-day Clay Flower Workshop on Tuesday, June 11th and Monday, June 17th where participants will create a bouquet of three-dimensional flowers. The class will be taught by Wanda Nickles and Tana Kettner. The first class will work with slab building techniques and appling textures to create the flowers. The second class participants will apply glazes to the bisqued flowers. Finished pieces will have to be picked up later after the glaze firing. The cost of the class is $30 and includes all the supplies. At least four people need to sign up for the class and it will be limited to no more than 16. To register, go the SACBA website and find the Programs tab. Find the Creative Arts Center and click to register for the class. Registrations online are on a first come, first serve basis.

Take part in the upcoming Alley Spring glade hike on Saturday, June 8th starting at 10:00 in the morning at Alley Mill. Join rangers for a 1.3-mile hike through the glade management area around Alley Spring. This area has benefitted from prescribed fire management and should be bursting with colorful summer wildflowers, butterflies, and glade species. The park’s fire ecologist will discuss fire management practices, Ozark glade habitats, glade restoration, and glade inhabitants. Staff will identify wildflowers and other interesting features along the way. The hike is free to the public and no reservations are required. The hike will follow the Alley Overlook Trail, which departs behind Alley Mill and climbs to the overlook on the bluff above the spring. Hikers should wear sturdy footwear, bring water, and consider using insect repellent and sunscreen. The event is subject to cancelation based on weather conditions. Alley Spring is located five miles west of Eminence on Highway 106. For more information, contact Alley Spring at (573) 226-3945, visit the park’s Facebook page, or website at www.nps.gov/ozar.