Local News – Monday, June 17th, 2019
An out of state resident drowned Friday afternoon at 12:50 on the Jacks Fork River in Shannon County at the Shawnee Creek about five miles south of Eminence. According to the report released from the highway water patrol, 48-year old Sherrie Baker of Granite City, Illinois, was floting on a tube and struck a sunken stump. Baker was swept underwater, resurfaced and then went back underwater and did not resurface. Baker was pronounced dead at 1:53 that afternoon by Shannon Country Deputy Coroner Hunter Warren and the body was transported to the Yarber Funeral Home in Mountain View. The water and highway patrol were assisted by the National Park Service in the recovery.
An arrest was made by the South Central Missouri Drug Task Force Thursday after a search warrant located about 3.5 grams of methamphetamine and firearms at the residence of 24-year old Travis Parker on South Sligo Street. Parker was charged with a Class C Felony for the Delivery of a Controlled Substance, a Class D Feony for keeping of maintaining a public nuisance, and two Class E Felonies for the unlawful use of weapons while being in possession of a felony controlled substance. His bond was set at $25,000 by Judge Kelsaw. Methamphtamine was found in a bag on Parker when he consented to a personal search, and more drugs were found individually packaged in a safe in the bedroom of Parker after he opened the safe for the officers. A pistol and an assault rifle were also found in the bedroom of Parker during the search. A preliminary hearing for Parker will be held June 27th at 9:00 at the Dent Judicial Building.
The City of Salem Board of Aldermen will be meeting tonight at the City Hall Council Chambers at 7:00 right after a Special Planning and Zoning Committee workshop to discuss Missouri State Amendment 2. At the meeting the board will hear bids on replacing the head gasket on a 2008 Ford F-150 Pickup for the Electric Department. The city also took bids on replacing the engine for the same truck in case the repairs could not be made, or it made more sense to replace the engine. After the consent agenda, the board will hear from Gary Brown, the Planning and Zoning Commission chairman, about the workshop they held prior to the alderman meeting. City Administrator Ray Walden will then give his report on items concerning the city before the board discusses Resolution #14-2019 to sign a proposal between the city and Cahill’s Construction for the excavating, geo-grid and rock grubbing asphalt project at the back of the building for the expansion of the Community Center and a new gymnasium for a cost of $21,900. The board will also hear and discuss Resolution #15-2019 that will authorize Mayor Brad Nash to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Salem and the Board of Governors of Missouri State University-West Plains for the use of space in the city hall basement for the Adult Education and Literacy Classes. The board will then discuss Bill #3419 which would allow Mayor Nash to sign on behalf of the alderman a contract for sale of real estate between the City of Salem and Sherman and Marsha Odom. The properties in question would the property at 600 South Grand (the old fairgrounds property) and the property owned by the city on Highway 19 South that was purchased in 2006 for soccer fields. The city would also have to pay $150,000 for the in-town property that would be the future sight of the soccer fields in Salem. In new business, the board will hear from City Clerk Mary Happel as she presents trailer court applications for the board’s approval. The board will also discuss a Library Board appointment to replace Natalie Sellers who resigned. The board will then go into closed session to discuss personnel and contracts. The Planning and Zoning Workshop and the Board of Aldermen meeting are both open to the public.
Representatives from MFA Cooperative Association of Salem announced that their membership at a meeting Thursday night voted to approved the sale of the company’s assets to MFA, Incorporated. The Salem MFA Cooperative association has been a long time dealer of MFA Incorporated products and operated under its own board of directors and management since it was founded in 1932. Current circumstances have brought challenges to the industry’s retail organizations as well as rising expenses and trade issues, all of which have put pressure on all small agriculture business. MFA, Incorporated operates 140 MFA Agri Services Centers in Missouri and they plan on making a seamless transition with no interruption in service. Salem MFA customers will be able to get the same MFA products they always have plus will have new access to MFA services and product experts. The Salem location will officially open as Salem MFA Agri Services on Thursday, August 1st.
The USDA Forest Service will be holding an open house in Rolla Tuesday night at the Signature Event Center at 1701 Martin Springs Drive in Rolla to get public comments on the proposal to prohibit the hunting of feral hogs on the Mark Twain National Forest. The feral hog problem in the state of Missouri will be discussed in detail as will the current interagency elimination strategy and how to comment on the Forest service proposal. Representatives from the National Forest Service, Missouri Department of Conservation, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Wildlife Service and Missouri Department of Agriculture will all share information about the problem and answer questions. Feral hogs destroy crops, hay fields and wildlife habitat, contribute to soil erosion and destroy sensitive natural areas such as fens and springs. If you plan on attending the open house, the entrance and parking is located at the back of the building.