Local News – Monday, May 2nd, 2022
Volunteers from the MO Moto Trail Riders group and employees from Mark Twain National Forest and Meramec Regional Planning Commission cleared 27.92 tons of trash and approximately 256 tires from the Mark Twain National Forest in Dent County on Saturday, April 2nd. Cody Norris, the public affairs officer with the Forest Service, said there are more than 700 confirmed sites across this beautiful Mark Twain National Forest where we have mapped instances of illegal dumping. Every pound of that trash is a pound that doesn’t belong in the national forest. The cleanup that Ozark Rivers Solid Waste Management District held with the MO Moto Trail Riders was an exceptional example of what people can do to work together to keep our forests clean. Their cleanup removed to what equates to 55,840 pounds of trash from the forest. Any one of those pounds of trash could contain substances that might be bad for ground water, plastic bags or rings that could have harmed animals, or other things that are not good for the soil, water, plants, and animals of the forest. Choosing to dispose of trash properly is choosing to take care of the land. The Mark Twain National Forest is very thankful for the volunteers that help take care of the land when others have chosen to hurt it by dumping trash illegally on the forest. Thirty-three MO Moto Trail Riders, one forest service employee and one MRPC employee spent seven hours working to clear the illegally dumped trash and tires from the Mark Twain National Forest land. The group filled four dumpsters. The Dent County cleanup is the third cleanup coordinated by the MRPC in 2022. So far in 2022, the solid waste district has cleared 37.48 tons of trash from the seven-county district. For those interested in participating or organizing a cleanup, contact Kathryn Hawes, the MRPC environmental specialist, at 573-265-2993 or via email at khawes@meramecregion.org.
City of Salem Mayor Greg Parker has called a special meeting of the Board of Aldermen for this evening at 6:00 at City Hall Council Chambers, located at 202 N. Washington. The meeting is being held to consider appointments to city boards and committees. The meeting will then be adjourned.
The Dent County Fire Protection District board of directors will be meeting Tuesday evening at 6:00 at the fire station located at #2 South Main Street. After the roll call and approval of the consent agenda, the board is expected to review the minutes from the April meeting before hearing the financial report and approving bills. The budget will then be reviewed along with the upcoming calendar of events, and the monthly reimbursement report. Any old or new business will then be brought before the board before Chief Brad Nash give his report to the board. The date will then be set for the June meeting before adjourning. The meeting is open to the public.
An accident occurred Sunday morning around 1:44 in Phelps County on I-44 near the 192.2-mile marker in the eastbound lane. According to the highway patrol report, a 2003 Chevrolet Silverado driven by 51-year-old Stanley Smith of Houston, Missouri, was stopped in the right lane when the front of a 2014 Toyota Avalon driven by 52-year-old Christopher Lauders of High Ridge struck the rear of the Chevrolet. The collision caused the Chevrolet to travel off the left side of the roadway and strike a guard rail. Lauders suffered serious injuries and Smith suffered moderate injuries. They were both transported by St. James Ambulance to Phelps Health. The report stated Lauders was wearing a safety restraint at the time of the accident, but Smith was not. Both vehicles were totaled. The Chevrolet was removed from the scene by D&D Towing and the Toyota by Dishman’s Towing.
The Salem Police Department has released the following reports. On Sunday night, March 27th, at approximately 7:30 officers arrested 24-year-old William Scott for warrants out of the Dent County Sheriff’s Office following a traffic stop at the intersection of Franklin and Macarthur. Scott was incarcerated at the Dent County Jail with a bond of $425. The next night, March 28th, near 7:30, officers arrested 49-year-old Alexandra Blackwell of Salem for warrants out of the City of Salem following a traffic stop for vehicle registration at Warfel and Third Street. Blackwell was able to post the $85 bond on the warrants and was later released. Then on Tuesday afternoon, March 29th, at about 3:00, an officer conducted a traffic stop near the intersection of Franklin and Henderson Streets for a vehicle failing to signal while turning. As a result of the stop, the officer requested consent to search the vehicle which was granted. Found in the vehicle were items of drug paraphernalia that appeared to have been used to ingest Methamphetamine. As a result of the stop, a 51-year-old Salem female was arrested and placed on a 24-hour hold at the Dent County Jail. Finally, Thursday afternoon, March 31st, around 1:20, an officer arrested 44-year-old Jared King of Salem for warrants for his arrest after officers responded to King’s known residence in an attempt to locate him on the warrant. King was incarcerated at the Dent County Jail with the bond of $300. Please contact the Salem Police Department at (573) 729-4242 if you have any information regarding any ongoing investigation.