Local News – Friday, September 15th, 2023
The Dent County Commission met Thursday morning at the Dent County Courthouse. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray stated brush would be cut on Dent County Road 6370 while maintenance will be done in the shop. The other crew will continue to put up signs where old signs have either been damaged or stolen. District 2 Commissioner Gary Polk said grading was being done on Dent County Road 2550 while vines were being cut on county road 2570 and low hanging limbs were being removed over county road 2120. Presiding Commissioner Gary Larson received a report from Jill Hollowell from MRPC concerning the special electronics and tire collection held this past Saturday in Salem. Hollowell stated a total of 6.9 tons were collected diverting these products from the landfill. There were 2.2 tons of tires collected and 4.7 tons in electronics brought in. The 6.9 tons of materials collected set a new record for Dent County whose previous record was 6.6 tons collected back in 2017. The commission was also contacted by Town and Country Bank for more information on the two new John Deere graders the county is getting. The bank was awarded the lease/purchase bid at the last meeting. They needed the vehicle identification numbers and other information for the lawyers to prepare the paperwork. Larson also said the county needs to send in a report on the funds received in the opioid settlement by the end of the month. The county has not yet dispersed any of those funds to date so the reports should be fairly simple. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said she balanced on all collections, abatements and add-ons for the month of August with the collector and assessor. The next meeting of the commission will be Monday morning at 9:00 and the meeting will be open to the public.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced his office has obtained a default judgment against Zechariah Hockersmith, and ProCare Pools, LLC, of Phelps County for falsely promising to provide pool installation and maintenance services to Missouri homeowners. He collected advance payments for work that was never completed. The judgment prohibits Hockersmith and ProCare Pools from advertising or selling pool repair or construction services in Missouri. Further, the judgment orders Hockersmith and his business to pay approximately $99,000 in restitution, $9,900 to the Missouri Merchandising Practices Fund, and $6,000 in civil penalties. Attorney General Bailey encourages Missourians who believe they may have been victims of a construction scam to file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office by calling the Consumer Protection Hotline at (800) 392-8222 or by submitting a complaint online at ago.mo.gov.
An accident happened in Phelps County Wednesday afternoon at 1:32 on Highway 63 about four miles south of Rolla that left three people with serious injuries. According to the highway patrol report, a 1998 Ford Taurus was traveling southbound and being driven by 83-year old Audrey Pritchett of Rolla, when a 1993 Chrysler Le Baron driven by 25-year-old Lex Kibler of Rolla, failed to yield to the Taurus while making a left hand turn. The Taurus struck the Le Baron in the driver’s side door, causing both vehicles to travel off the left side of the roadway. A passenger in the Le Baron, 34-year-old Brianna Chanineak of Bolivar, was ejected from the vehicle and was flown by Air Evac to the University Hospital in Columbia. Kibler was air lifted by Phelps Air to the University Hospital in Columbia. Pritchett was taken to Phelps Health in Rolla by the Phelps Health Ambulance. Neither Kibler or Chanineak were wearing seat restraints while Pritchett was. Both vehicles were totaled and removed from the scene by D&D Towing. The highway patrol was assisted at the scene by the Phelps County Sheriff’s Department.
An accident occurred Wednesday afternoon around 3:30 in Dent County on Highway 72 at Route C in the eastbound lane. According to the highway patrol report, a 2019 Chevrolet Box-truck driven by 28-year-old Chance Callahan of St. James, was stopped waiting to make a left hand turn. At that time, a 2014 GMC Terrain driven by 80-year-old Sarah Galloway of Salem, struck the back end of the Chevrolet. Galloway and a passenger, 81-year-old Robert Galloway of Salem, suffered minor injuries and were transported to the Salem Memorial Hospital by the Salem Ambulance. Both injured parties were wearing safety restraints at the time of the accident. The GMC was totaled and removed from the scene by American Muffler Towing. The Chevrolet was driven from the scene.