Local News – Thursday, October 8, 2020
The Salem R-80 Administration has released a statement that this past Monday, October 5th, the Salem R-80 School District was notified that three high school staff members had tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19). Students, their families, and other staff members who were in close contact with the three staff members were notified by the Dent County Health Department as it relates to possible quarantines. The Salem R-80 School District will continue to work closely with local health officials to monitor evolving circumstances and revise their plans as needed. They have placed a dashboard on the Salem R-80 website where you can view reporting information for the entire district. As a reminder, the 9th through 12th grade hybrid plan begins this Friday, October 9th. High school students will not attend school Friday.
The Dent County Fire Protection District Board of Directors met Tuesday night at the fire station. At the meeting, the board reviewed the financial report that showed an ending balance of $146,281.67 as of September 30th. All bills were reviewed and approved, and as was the budget. After there was no old business to discuss, the board updated check signing cards for all the banks before setting the next meeting of the Dent County Fire Protection District Board. That meeting will be Tuesday night, November 3rd at 6:00 at the fire station at #2 South Main Street in Salem. The meeting was adjourned.
An accident happened in Franklin County on Interstate 44 westbound at the 248 mile marker Tuesday night at 9:15. According to the highway patrol report, 28-year old Devon Cardin of Dixon, fell asleep causing a 2008 GMC Sierra driven westbound to travel off the left side of the roadway, strike the cable median barrier and then overturn. Suffering serious injuries was 26-year old Kailyn McCall of Rolla who was a passenger in the Sierra. She was taken to the Mercy Hospital in St. Louis by the Meramec Ambulance. McCall was not wearing a seat restraint at the time of the accident. Cardin was wearing his restraint and did not suffer any injuries. The Sierra was totaled and removed from the scene by Patriot Towing.
An accident happened Tuesday afternoon at 3:50 in Phelps County on Stoltz Road about one half of a mile north of the Rolla City Limits. According to the highway patrol report, a northbound 2002 Yamaha Vstar, operated by 41-year-old Cody Gumm of Rolla, drove into the backside of a northbound 2019 Ford Taurus, driven by 84-year-old Loyd Edgar of Edgar Springs. Cody Gumm suffered serious injuries and was transported by Phelps Air to Mercy Hospital in Creve Coeur. The report stated that Gumm was not wearing a safety device at the time of the accident. It also stated that Loyd Edgar was wearing a safety restraint. The Yamaha sustained extensive damage and was removed from the scene by Ron Dishman’s Towing, while the Ford sustained minor damage and was driven from the scene.
A special waste collection for residential and farm electronics, appliances and tires is planned this Saturday from 9:00 to 1:00 at the St. Robert Community Center located at 114 J.H. Williamson Drive in St. Robert. The city of St. Robert and Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC), with funding through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) and Ozark Rivers Solid Waste Management District (ORSWMD), are offering this collection. The collection is open to residents from Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Phelps, Pulaski and Washington counties. To minimize personal contact, those bringing items to the collection are asked to stay inside their vehicles, and assistants will unload items. Stoves, washers, dryers, hot water heaters, and other appliances will be collected free of charge. Free electronics also include computer components, laptop computers, keyboards, hair dryers, VCR/DVD players, cell phones or anything that runs on a cord or battery. Oil and gas must be removed from tanks of any items such as push mowers, weed eaters, etc. Fees on certain items will be collected as follows: $25 for CRT TVs over 27 inches and wood console TVs, $20 for CRT TVs under 26 inches, $15 for flat screen TVs, $10 for all computer monitors and refrigerated appliances with Freon. Fees for tires are as follows: $2 each for passenger tires, $7.50 each for semi-truck tires and $35 each for tractor tires. Please ensure that rims have been removed from tires prior to collection. There is a list of items that may not be accepted. Contact Jill Hollowell at MRPC at 573-265-2993, Ext. 109 for more information on those items or e-mail her at jhollowell@meramecregion.org.
Are you still familiar with your voting rights to make sure that your vote counts on November 3rd? Right now, you can submit an application in person, by mail, e-mail or fax to the Dent County Clerk’s office to vote absentee which does require an excuse. You can also request in person or by mail to do a mail in voting. These application methods MUST be received by the Dent County Clerk no later than October 21st. You can also vote absentee in person from now until November 2nd at the Dent County Courthouse where you complete an absentee application, receive your ballot and cast it at that time. If you still have questions about absentee balloting, or mail-in voting, please call the dent County Clerk’s Office at 729-4144 or stop by the Dent County Courthouse.