Your World Today

This Saturday will be the Community Wide Yard Sale in Salem as yard sales will be occurring all over town and out in the county. Maps for the location of local yard sales are available at the Salem Chamber of Commerce in the Crossroads. A central sale location will be held at the city administration building on Saturday. You can still reserve a space on the city parking lot at 4th and Iron Street for $8.00 per space by calling 729-4811. Those spaces are reserved on a first come, first serve basis. Don’t forget that the following two weeks in the City of Salem is the semi-annual GFL Residential Spring Clean-Up Weeks. This is for Salem residents only and is done on your normal trash day from May 6th through the 10th and again May 13th through the 17th Remember, tires, appliances, yard waste, car batteries, oil, chemicals, solvents and paint as well as non-compactable items like concrete, tree stumps, steel, etc. cannot be picked up. If anyone has questions about what can be or cannot be picked up, they are welcome to contact GFL at 1-800-926-3953 of 1-417-741-7714.

The Secure Rural Schools program is another way that the USDA Forest Service provides benefits to communities in and around the Forest. The program provides critical funding for schools, roads, and other municipal services to more than 700 counties across the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Twenty-seven counties across Missouri received funding through the “Secure Rural Schools Act.” This comes from a portion of Forest Service funds generated through multi-use activities such as grazing, timber production, and special use permits being distributed back to the counties where these activities occur; and for Missouri, that translates to those that serve as the home of Mark Twain National Forest. This year’s programs payments, made up of funds from 2023, were distributed to states this April. The counties decide how they will utilize the payments, starting with what percentage they want for different categories, known as Title 1 for road and schools; Title 2 for projects on federal land; and Title 3 for county projects. Dent County got $150,403.00, Iron County gets $195,692.15, Reynolds County gets $190,129.19, Shannon County got $181,553.60, and $132,771.75 goes to Texas County. The 2023 program funds going to Missouri total over $2.6 million. Most of the funding by each county usually is selected to go to Title 1 funding, which does great work for the school systems and roadways in our forest communities. Although only a few Missouri counties have contributed to Title 2 funds over the past several years, a community-driven Resource Advisory Committee will meet later this year to discuss where to allocate those funds for projects on federal land. Some counties decide to utilize some of the money for Title 3 to increase their fire readiness; and the Forest Service is always excited to find ways to support and partner with counties and communities that are performing wildfire reduction activities. So, the next time you hear about a Title 1 school program or drive down a freshly paved road in a community near Mark Twain National Forest, you can think about how the Secure Rural Schools program benefits the communities that it serves.

A West Plains man was sentenced in federal court on Tuesday, April 29th, for illegally harvesting and stealing trees from Mark Twain National Forest. Justin Lee Massey was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to serve two years and six months in federal prison without parole. The court ordered the federal sentence to be served consecutively to the unrelated state criminal convictions for which Massey is currently incarcerated. The court also ordered Massey to pay $30,000 in restitution to the U.S. Forest Service, and to forfeit to the government $30,000, which represents the proceeds of his theft. On July 19th, 2023, Massey pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government property. Massey admitted that he illegally cut down trees in Mark Twain National Forest, in the area of Howell County Road 5120 between December 15th, 2020, and January 20th, 2021. According to his plea agreement, Massey cut down at least 10 trees. The trees were removed from the area and taken to a local sawmill, where they were sold. Based on the value of the trees illegally harvested and stolen from Mark Twain National Forest and those trees damaged due to the illegal harvesting, the total restitution is $30,000. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by the U.S. Forest Service.

This Saturday at the Ozark Natural and Cultural Resource Center on Highway 19 will be the final day for the exhibit called “Crossroads: Change in Rural America.” If you haven’t yet attended this incredible display, time is running out. The “Crossroads” exhibit is part of the “Museum on Main Street,” a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and state humanities councils nationwide. Support for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the United States Congress.

Dent County Assessor Jamie Homeyer wants to remind everyone your annual assessment forms that list your personal and business property for 2023 are due TODAY. Those forms MUST be dropped off in the Dent County Assessor’s Office or postmarked today to avoid paying a penalty. You may drop off your assessment list at the assessor’s office at the courthouse and they are open from 8:00 in the morning until 4:30 in the afternoon. There is also a drop box on the front lawn of the courthouse for your convenience if you can’t make it by until after hours. You can also mail in your assessment list forms, but make sure you have the postal clerk postmark your envelope. If you have lost your assessment list form or never received one, or you are new to the area, blank forms are available at the Dent County Assessor’s Office in the Dent County Courthouse. The penalty for not getting in your assessment form on time is determined at $10 per every $1,000 of assessed valuation with a maximum penalty of $100 if you have assessed valuation of $10,000 or more. If you have any questions or need assistance, call Dent County Assessor Jamie Homeyer at the Dent County Courthouse at 729-6010 or stop by the courthouse during regular business hours at the corner of Highway 19 and 4th Street in downtown Salem.

Century farms and ranches have shaped our nation and state. The Missouri Century Farm Program celebrates the lasting contributions farmers and ranchers have made to our country’s and state’s heritage. In 1976, the Centennial Farm project was initiated in Missouri, awarding certificates to persons owning farms that had been in the same family for 100 years or more. Ten years later, the University of Missouri Extension and the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources created the annual Century Farm program and recognition. Since the program began in 1976, more than 8,000 Missouri farms have received the Century Farm designation. To have a farm be designated as a Missouri Century Farm, the same family must have owned the farm for 100 consecutive years or more as of December 31, 2024; the line of ownership from the original settler or buyer may be through children, grandchildren, siblings and nephews and nieces, including through marriage or adoption; and the present farm shall consist of no less than 40 acres of the original land and shall make a financial contribution to the overall farm income. The application period end TODAY and you can apply through an online application process. A fee of $140 is required to cover processing costs, a certificate, a booklet and one two-sided, 2-foot by 2-foot metal sign for each approved farm. No late applications will be accepted. You can still apply by going to extension.missouri.edu/programs/century-farms.

On April 23rd, a sentencing hearing was held Sara Lynn Cunningham of Salem in front of Judge Michael Randazzo. Cunningham was charged with two charges of tampering with a motor vehicle in the 1st degree, kidnapping in the 1st degree, leaving the scene of an accident, operating a motor vehicle in careless and imprudent manor, resisting arrest or detention or failing to stop as well as a DWI. This stems from an incident that started at the Salem High School on July 7th, 2022 and continued all the way to Rolla. Dent County Prosecutor Andrew Curley sought 10 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections based on the nature of the crime and the impact on the victims. Cunningham sought probation with placement in the Restoration Hope Program in Springfield, MO. Cunningham had been in the Dent County Jail the past seven months due to a previous bond violation. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Cunningham was sentenced to serve a ten-year suspended sentence. With the sentence suspended, Cunningham placed on probation for five years with the standard terms of probation, with a special term of probation to include the repayment of restitution and placement in the Restoration Hope Program.

The Salem High School Ag Department greenhouse plant sale will start this Saturday, May 4th from 7:00 in the morning until 12:00 noon. There will be vegetables, hanging baskets, annuals and succulents. The Ag department will accept cash or checks. There will NOT be any presales. If you are unable to come on Saturday, the Ag Department will be open the week of May 7th through May 10th from 8:00 in the morning until 4:00 in the afternoon. The proceeds raised will benefit the Greenhouse Operations and Management Crisis Budget. For more information about the sale, e-mail Salem Ag instructor Heather Johnson at heather.johnson@salemr80.org.