Local News – Thursday, April 6th, 2023

The Salem Police Department during the week of March 11th through the 17th had a total of 116 calls for service. Officers conducted 24 traffic stops for various traffic violations with 6 resulting in a summons or arrest. Officers conducted two traffic accident investigations along with filing five informational reports. From those calls, these reports were generated. Early Sunday morning at about 4:30, March the 12th, officers were dispatched to the 200 block of South Jackson for a report of an assault. It was reported that a male subject showed up at a residence and during a disagreement assaulted one of the residents. The victim fled the scene and officers made contact with him. This investigation is still ongoing. Then on the morning of Tuesday, March 14th around 8:00, officers were dispatched to Dirt Cheap for a report of a person leaving without paying for fuel. It was reported that a woman in a Silver Lincoln Town car bearing license plate VH4-S0M pumped $20 worth of fuel and left without paying for it. This incident is still under investigation. On Thursday, March 16th at approximately 3:30 in the afternoon, officers concluded a short-term investigation and located two subjects that had warrants for their arrest. As a result of the investigation, 36-year-old David Myers of Salem and 19-year-old William “Chance” Gentry of Salem were arrested and incarcerated at the Dent County Jail. Please contact the Salem Police Department at (573) 729-4242 if you have any information regarding any ongoing investigation.

Time is running out if you need to order your trees and shrubs for your landscape. The Missouri Department of Conservation says to “Go native” with tree and shrub seedlings from the Missouri from the George O. White State Forest Nursery near Licking. Native trees and shrubs can help improve wildlife habitat and soil and water conservation while also improving the appearance and value of private property. The George O. White State Forest Nursery offers a variety of low-cost native tree and shrub seedlings for sale for reforestation, windbreaks, erosion control, wildlife food and cover, and other purposes. The nursery provides mainly one-year-old, bare-root seedlings with sizes varying by species. Seedlings varieties include: pine, bald cypress, cottonwood, black walnut, hickory, oak, pecan, persimmon, river birch, maple, willow, sycamore, blackberry, buttonbush, hazelnut, redbud, ninebark, spicebush, elderberry, sumac, wild plum, witch hazel, and others. Seedlings are available in bundles of 10 or increments of 25 per species. Prices range from 34 cents to $1 per seedling. Sales tax of 6.1 percent will be added to orders unless tax exempt. There is an $9 handling charge for each order. Receive a 15% discount up to $20 off seedling orders with a Heritage Card, Permit Card, or Conservation ID Number. The nursery grows millions of seedlings each year, but some species are very popular and sell out quickly and some seedlings occasionally succumb to harsh weather or hungry wildlife, despite the nursery staff’s best efforts. Even if a species is listed as “sold out,” customers can still place an order for those seedlings because other orders may get canceled, freeing up inventory. Customers won’t be charged for seedlings unless they are available to ship. Due to shipping costs tripling from past years, the nursery must now charge shipping fees for orders being shipped to Missouri addresses. This is the first time in the nursery’s 80-plus-year history that they have had to do this. Orders will be processed through April 15th so order now! Orders will be shipped or can be picked up at the nursery near Licking through May. You can learn more and place orders using at MDC regional offices and nature centers, or by calling the State Forest Nursery at 573-674-3229.

Century farms and ranches have shaped our nation and state. The Missouri Century Farm Program celebrates the lasting contributions farmers and ranchers have made to our country’s and state’s heritage. In 1976, the Centennial Farm project was initiated in Missouri, awarding certificates to persons owning farms that had been in the same family for 100 years or more. Ten years later, the University of Missouri Extension and the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources created the annual Century Farm program and recognition. Since the program began in 1976, more than 8,000 Missouri farms have received the Century Farm designation. To have a farm be designated as a Missouri Century Farm, the same family must have owned the farm for 100 consecutive years or more as of December 31, 2023; the line of ownership from the original settler or buyer may be through children, grandchildren, siblings and nephews and nieces, including through marriage or adoption; and the present farm shall consist of no less than 40 acres of the original land and shall make a financial contribution to the overall farm income. The application period is open until May 1st and you can apply through our online application process. A fee of $140 is required to cover processing costs, a certificate, a booklet and one two-sided, 2-foot by 2-foot metal sign for each approved farm. No late applications will be accepted. To apply, go to extension.missouri.edu/programs/century-farms.