Local News – Friday, October 8th, 2021
A report from State Auditor Nicole Galloway finds that the city of Edgar Springs in Phelps County has implemented some recommendations from her 2020 audit, but that other concerns still remain. The November 2020 audit of Edgar Springs was initiated through a petition of city residents. That audit highlighted numerous problems with the city’s accounting controls and procedures, as well as other operations of city government. Because the audit gave a rating of “poor,” the lowest possible rating, the Auditor’s Office conducted a follow-up review to measure the progress the city has since made. Of the 20 recommendations followed up on from the 2020 audit, Edgar Springs officials have fully implemented only two. Eight recommendations remain not implemented with another ten either partially implemented or in progress. State Auditor Nicole Galloway stated that she urges city officials to implement all of the audit recommendations to ensure they are transparent with taxpayers. While auditors found that the Board of Aldermen has begun reviewing monthly budget-to-actual reports as recommended, the city’s official 2021 budget could not be located and supporting budget documents did not contain all the statutorily required elements. The board also has not prepared and maintained accurate financial statements and accounting records as recommended. City officials have also not filed an accurate and timely financial report with the State Auditor’s Office. The follow-up review also found that the city has made no progress on the recommendation that they ensure ordinances are maintained in a complete and well-organized manner, and establish an index of all ordinances passed and rescinded. No progress had been made towards ensuring that sunshine requests are responded to timely. Auditors did find that progress was made on recommendations relating to sewer system controls, maintaining supporting documentation for disbursements of city money, and a written policy regarding public access to city records.
The Salem Police Department has released some reports for the mid to latter part of September. During the afternoon of Tuesday, September 14 just before 2:00 an officer was dispatched to the Salem Police Department for a report of a forgery. It had been reported that $400 worth of checks were stolen and written without consent. This incident is still under investigation. The next day around noon, an officer arrested a 41-year-old Salem woman identified as Danielle McDonald for an active arrest warrant out of Texas County. McDonald was incarcerated at the Dent County Jail awaiting extradition. On Friday the 17th just after 3i:30 in the afternoon an officer arrested a 38-year-old Salem man identified as Herbert Bartlet on an active arrest warrant out of Jefferson County Missouri. The next afternoon at approximately 1:30 an officer was dispatched to 700 south Orchard for a report of a vehicle crash. Investigation of incident revealed that a woman had rammed into a family members car during a disagreement. As a result of the investigation a 28-year-old Salem woman was arrested for DWI and Careless and imprudent driving. The woman was held on a 12-hour safekeep at the Dent County Jail and later released on a summons for court. On Tuesday afternoon, September 21st, near 1:45 an officer conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle for equipment issues near the 400 block of east Franklin. During the stop the officer was shown signs of possible narcotics activity. After gaining consent to search, suspected heroin and drug paraphernalia was located in the vehicle. As a result, a 31-year-old Salem man was arrested and incarcerated at the Dent County Jail. The next day an officer arrested a 58-year-old Salem man identified as Robert Simmons for an active warrant out of Dent County. Simmons was incarcerated at the Dent County Jail. On Thursday the 23rd, at around midnight an officer arrested a 35-year-old man identified as Jeremy Jackson and a 32-year-old man identified as Ryan Lumsden on warrants for their arrest. Both men were incarcerated at the Dent County Jail. Please contact the Salem Police Department at (573) 729-4242 if you have any information regarding an ongoing investigation.
A one vehicle accident happened Thursday morning just after 6:30 on Highway 19 in Shannon County. The report released by the highway patrol states that a 2014 Chevrolet Equinox being driven by 22-year-old Danielle Counts of Eminence, was traveling south when she swerved to miss a deer in the roadway. The Chevy then ran off the road and struck a bridge. Counts was taken to Mercy St. Francis Hospital in Mountain View by Shannon County Ambulance for treatment of moderate injuries. The report stated Counts was wearing a safety restraint at the time of the accident. The Equinox sustained extensive damage and was towed from the scene by Sartins Towing.