Local News – Friday, April 27th, 2018

According to the Reynolds County Sheriff’s Department, 19-year old Nick Barton of Bunker has been charged with a Class A Felony of 2nd degree murder in the shooting death of 42-year old Cameron Dale Hill of Bunker. He is also charged with a Class C Felony for the delivery of a controlled substance. According to documents from the Prosecuting Attorney’s office, the police investigation showed that Barton arranged to sell a quantity of prescription Oxycodone to another man. Barton attempted to meet the individual but made contact with Hill instead. During that contact, officials say there was a confrontation and Barton fired several shots causing Hill’s death. Deputies found Hill lying face down on the ground near a vehicle off of Reynolds County Road 844 after they received a call to check on the well being of a person. Hill’s body was taken to Farmington Tuesday for an autopsy and the results have not yet been released. The investigation of the incident by the Reynolds County Sheriff’s Department and the Missouri Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control is continuing.

The Dent County Soil and Water District will be holding an Open House and Supervisor election on Tuesday, May 1st at their offices at 1012 East Scenic Rivers Blvd in Salem. The polls will be open from 11:30 until 5:30 and refreshments will be served.

The Dent County Commissioners met for their regular meeting Thursday morning in the Dent County Courthouse. In the road report, District One Commissioner Dennis Purcell reported he had a crew upgrading a creek crossing on Dent County Road 5520 including the addition of materials, plus patch grading would be done on that road. He added that he had another crew patching chip and seal on Dent County Roads 2400, 6150 and 6180. Purcell urged drivers to use caution on those roadways as they travel around the work areas. District Two Commissioner Gary Larson reported brush would be cut on Dent County Road 5240, plus materials would be added to county roads 2630 and 3300. He went on to say that two men were working on repairing an air leak on Truck #116, plus a man was screening rock at the Road and Bridge Department. Larson noted that grading would resume next week once the roadways dried out. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles reported that on Monday he met with Russ Runge of Ozark National Scenic Riverways to discuss a number of issues. Runge updated Skiles on the progress to date on repairing last year’s flood damages to campgrounds, roadways, buildings, etc. Skiles noted that the feral hog problem was also discussed. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley reported that Thursday she attended a luncheon meeting at the Community Center @ the Armory about the salemmo.com website, which the groups share. She went on to say that today she and the county assessor would be attending the South Central Regional County Clerks’ regional meeting in West Plains. Curley said the group would hear from the State Tax Commission about revisions and online reporting. She said that bills were being approved by the Commissioners for payment. The Commissioners set May 14th at 10:00 for a budget adjustment hearing to include the CDBG grant for the Dent County Fire Protection District. A decision on bids for culverts, which had been postponed from a previous meeting, was revisited with the bid from Metal Culverts, Inc. being accepted for metal culverts and the bid from Viebrock Sales and Service, Inc. was accepted for polypropylene culverts. The next regular meeting of the Dent County Commissioners will be Monday morning at 9:00 in the Courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

The Salem Police Department has released a number of reports. On Thursday afternoon, April 19th at about 3:50, an officer was dispatched to Wal-Mart in reference to a shoplifter. The investigation of the report led to the arrest of a 50-year old female of Salem for stealing merchandise valued at $10.00. The suspect was issued a summons to appear in court and released. On Sunday, April 22nd at about 8:57 in the evening, a vehicle was stopped for a traffic violation. The investigation of the stop led to the arrest of a 37-year old male of Salem on an active arrest warrant from St. Francois County. The suspect was incarcerated pending extradition. That evening at approximately 10:11, a vehicle was stopped for a traffic violation. The stop led to the arrest of a 29-year old male of Salem for the possession of methamphetamine drug paraphernalia. The suspect was issued a summons to appear in court and released. On Tuesday evening, April 24th at about 9:54, an officer located a 32-year old male from Pevely at a residence in the 400 block of South Askins who had an active arrest warrant from Dent County. The suspect was taken into custody on the warrant and incarcerated pending a court appearance. If anyone has information regarding any ongoing investigation, please contact the Salem Police Department at 729-4242.