Your World Today

An accident happened Sunday morning at 10:50 on private property on Route J in Oates that took the life of an 11-year-old boy. According to the highway patrol report, a 2021 Yamaha Viking being driven by an 11-year-old male juvenile, reversed onto a mound of gravel and overturned, with the Yamaha coming to rest on top of the young boy. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene by the Washington County Paramedic Jamie Lallumondiere at 11:26, and the body was transported by the Reynolds County Coroner to the McSpadden Funeral Home. The highway patrol was assisted by the Reynolds County Sheriff’s Department.

The Salem R-80 Board of Education met Thursday evening at the district administrative offices boardroom. The board heard from Ruben Hovey about the wrestling club and Mrs Russell showed a video of the choir. Dave Dawson from the community addressed the board before they heard the Superintendent’s report from Dr. Lynne Reed and Dr. Nathan Wills. Reed reported the CSIP progress updates were presented to the building principals before Reed and Wills provided information regarding the insurance claim for damages to school property from the recent hail storms. Dr. Wills also informed the board the yearly professional development needs assessment had been conducted, and the school identified focus areas for next year’s professional development. After the building principals gave their reports, the bids for the FEMA storm shelter construction and the Healthy Dent County sponsorship were postponed for a later date. In the regular meeting, the board declared Chromebooks as surplus property and requested bids for purchase. They approved MSBA Policy AI with suggestions from board member Marjorie Piatt, and also approved the contract with Shied Solutions. The board approved the career ladder plan, approved the contract with Show-Me Therapy Services, approved the contract with First Student for ECSE transportation, approved an MOA with the University of Missouri for a College Advisor, and approved the CACFP contract. The board approved out-of-state trips for the Salem FFA, the constructions trades program and the choir before the board failed to approve a ballot initiative for the August 2024 election as the motion failed by a 7-0 vote. The board approved the lease agreement with the Dent County Developmental Disabilities, approved the summer school food service program, and they authorized the solicitation of bids for roof, siding, HVAC, greenhouse repairs and all other replacements from the recent hail damage. The board accepted the resignations of Carilee Ball as the district psychological examiner, Josh Gorman for high school math, Mark Howard for high school social studies and assistant track coach, Jerry Adkins as a high school social studies teacher and Terrie Welch for high school track. Also resigning were support staff members Sherri Reichard as the high school nurse, custodian Dalton Chapman and para professionals Stephanie Grace and Daisy Shalbot. In closed session, the Salem R-80 board hired Megan Blair as a a high school chemistry teacher and head track coach, Charles Overton for 8th grade English/Language Arts, Katherine Culp as a Kindergarten teacher, Alaina Santhuff for SLP-A, Brentnee Miller as a teacher, Elizabeth Robertson as a high school math teacher, Eric Metcalf as a high school history instructor, Hannah Terrill as the upper elementary special education instructor, Shelby Botkin as the Middle School Volleyball Coach and Neal Myers as the Head Golf Coach. The board heard student issues before approving attendance appeals that were recommended by the administration. After real estate was discussed, the board extending Dr. Rachel Green’s contract to 220 days. The board then adjourned the closed and regular meeting.

A one vehicle accident happened early Friday morning at 12:30 in Callaway County on westbound Highway 54 at the Route AE/TT off ramp. According to the highway patrol report, a 2013 Chevrolet Equinox being driven by 18-year-old Azaleaya Edwards of Rolla, ran off the right side of the roadway and struck a tree. Edwards, who was wearing a seat restraint, suffered minor injuries. A passenger who was not wearing a seat restraint, 18-year-old Deja Whitfield of Jefferson City, received moderate injuries. Both were taken by Callaway County EMS to University hospital in Columbia. The Equinox was totaled and removed from the scene by Tom and Steves Towing.

City of Salem Parks and Recreation Board president Carlos Lopez has called for a meeting of the Board for this afternoon at 5:30 at the Salem Community Center@the Armory. After the call to order and roll call, the Board will hear the Director’s report, consider and approve the budget, and review the 3-5 year plan. The meeting of the Parks and Recreation Board is open to the public.

The Salem Police department has released their report for the month of April. The department responded to seven accidents during the month. Officers responded to two alarms sounding and addressed 33 animal calls, investigated four assaults or fights, two burglaries, performed 22 well being checks and 16 area checks in April. Police investigated 15 domestic disputes, eight verbal disturbances, conducted 53 follow-up investigations, and provided 14 escorts. They investigated two nuisance violations, one report of fraud, took two missing persons reports, and offered assistance to four motorists. The Salem Police wrote five property damage reports, made 14 stealing reports, and responded to three traffic complaints. Officers investigated one sex offense charge, 20 suspicious circumstance calls, 9 suspicious person calls, and five suspicious vehicle calls. Officers attempted to serve 7 warrants and conducted 48 traffic stops during the month. The police responded to a total of 465 incidents in April with the average response time to calls being one minute and 59 seconds. The average time spent on the scene was 21 minutes and 50 seconds.

The 139th Graduation Ceremonies of the Salem R-80 High School will be held Friday night at 7:00 at the Salem High School Football Field. After the procession of 124 graduating students, the National Anthem will be performed by the Salem High School Chamber Choir Singers. Assistant Principal Laci Kolbe will then present the Senior Class Citizenship Awards, the Best Female and Male Leader Awards, and salute students who earned the Missouri Seal of Biliteracy Awards. Principal Jody Heavin will introduce the A Plus students, students who are entering the military, as well as the career and technical certified students. Senior Class President Leya Russell will then give her speech before Senior Class-Vice President Jonathan Stokes gives his speech. Diplomas will then be awarded to the Class of 2024 students by Superintendent Lynne Reed and President of the R-80 Board of Education, Drusilla Howard, followed by the tossing of the caps. The graduation exercises will be streamed live on KSMO Media. Those wanting to stream the graduation exercises can go to the Salem R-80 website which is www.salemr80.org, go to their menu and you will find a link to ksmoradio.com which is our Twitch account. People can also go directly to the KSMO Radio website at www.ksmoradio.com and from the homepage, they can click on the stream of their choice including the KSMO Stream Facebook page, KSMO Twitch page and on KSMO’s YouTube page. There is NO charge to stream the services. Should the exercises be rained out, they will be held Sunday afternoon at 2:00.

The Dent County Commissioners met Thursday morning. Grant Wilson from Congressman Jason Smith’s Rolla office was in attendance and informed the commission that the Ways and Means Committee has sent through six bills to the full house that deal with improving rural health care through funding for telehealth, emergency access, quality care through training and incentives, and second chances for hospitals that closed. Wilson said much of the information that led to these bills being created came from citizens from town hall meetings and the committee remote hearings. He will keep the commission informed on the progress of these bills. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray said his crew would be out checking pipes and culverts and removing any blockage. District 2 Commissioner Gary Polk stated brush would be cut on Dent County Road 4290, repairing a clutch fan assembly on truck #116, servicing dump truck #122 and also cleaning out culverts. Presiding Commissioner Gary Larson reported he attended the Ozark Rivers Solid Waste Management District meeting on Tuesday at St. James where he will become their new president on July 1st. Larson said an electronic, appliance, tire and media storage recycling collection for residents will be held in Rolla on June 8th at Brewer Science from 8:00 until noon sponsored by the management district, City of Rolla, Brewer Science and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. On May 9th, the commission decided to not renew the Rural Addressing Agreement with Healthy Dent County for 2025 to provide rural addressing for the county, and move the service into the county assessor’s office. They needed to give a six-month notice as per the agreement. They felt by having rural addressing in the assessor’s office, it would make it more convenient to the public who already see the assessor for their real estate needs to get an address as well. A timeline will be discussed to make sure services are still provided during the transition. The next meeting of the commissioners will be Monday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and it is open to the public.

The Salem Area Community Betterment Association held their “Gift of Tine” Awards banquet at the Ozark Natural and Cultural Resource Center Thursday night to honor volunteers in a number of categories for their work in making Salem a better community. The winner of the “Gift of Time” Award for the Art and Culture Category was Danielle Norris, while Christina Pierce was honored with the award in the Education and Youth Category. The “Gift of Time” Award winner in the Category of Community Enhancement and Preservation was the Bonebrake Center of Nature History with Mike Godi accepting that award on behalf of the center. In the Outstanding Youth Category, Khloe Baldwin was presented the “Gift of Time” Award,while Tod Kinerk was honored with the award in the Humanitarian Category. The SACBA Board, in honor of the 30th anniversary of the organization, presented the Community Trailblazer Award to Jerry Craig for all his hard work over the years in promoting and preserving the Salem community. David Spear, the artist and painter who designed and painted the mural on the Ozark Natural and Cultural Resource Center, was the keynote speaker at the event.

The Dent County Sheriff’s office has released some reports. On Saturday, May 4th, deputies responded to the 19000 block of East Highway 32 for a wanted subject. Deputies arrested a 30-year-old Salem woman on her warrants and incarcerated her in the Dent County jail. On Tuesday, May 7th, deputies responded to the 19000 block of Route C for a reported burglary. During the investigation, a 64-year-old Lenox man discovered an unknown female stealing items from his residence. The woman fled and after a multi-jurisdictional investigation, a 39-year-old woman from St. Louis was arrested in Rolla. On May 10th, deputies responded to the 500 block of 5th Street in Bunker for a domestic dispute with a weapon involved. During the investigation, it was determined a 33-year-old Bunker man had exhibited a handgun while arguing with his 32-year-old spouse. The man was arrested for unlawful use of a weapon and transported to the Dent County jail. That same day, a deputy responded to the 1100 block of Highway 68 to take a property damage report. The victim told deputies an unknown person had broken the rear window of their vehicle. The investigation is ongoing. If you have any information regarding an investigation please call the Dent County sheriffs office at 729-3241.