Local News – Tuesday, December 17th, 2019
An accident happened Sunday night in Phelps County at 7:15 on Route F at the Dry Ford Creek Bridge about 5.4 miles south of Rolla. According to the highway patrol report, a 2005 Ford F-150 pickup driven eastbound by 60-year old Colleen Marxkors of Rolla, lost traction with the road and the pickup went off the roadway and into a ditch. Marxkors suffered serious injuries and was taken by a private vehicle to Phelps Health in Rolla. She was wearing a seat restraint at the time of the accident. The Ford sustained extensive damage in the accident and was removed from the scene by Tunes Wrecker.
The Dent County Commissioners met Monday morning for their regular meeting. In the road report, both District 1 and District 2 Commissioners Dennis Purcell and Gary Larson stated their crews were out treating chip and seal roads, and concentrating on hills and curves on all county roads to make them passable. Purcell stated that a crew had to install new road signs on Dent County Road 6225 and Larson said another crew would be working at the shop changing a spreader box from one pickup to a different truck. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles reported on the Transportation Advisory Committee meeting that he attended last Thursday at the MRPC office. Skiles said the standing priority concern is to make Highways 63 and 50 four lanes through the Ozark Region. The members then heard about the 30 other transportation priority needs from the other counties before voting on the priorities they felt were the most important that need to be addressed. The Gladden Creek (or Standing Rock) Bridge came in as the 3rd most important concern from the committee. This does not mean that the bridge will be replaced immediately, but if MoDOT should find extra funds it could be moved up on the list. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley reported she would be working on the 2020 county budget. The next meeting will be Thursday at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.
After 42 years of federal service, 36 with the National Park Service (NPS), Ozark National Scenic Riverways Superintendent Larry Johnson is retiring on January 3, 2020. Larry has been the superintendent at the park since 2015. Johnson is extremely proud of his time at Ozark, during which he led the park through an extensive recovery effort following the devastating flood of April 2017. He guided the initial emergency response as well as the longer-term planning efforts for rebuilding.Johnson and his wife of 38 years, Jan, will stay in the Van Buren area for a time before ultimately settling down in Iowa to be close to their family. Meanwhile, Larry looks forward to more exploration of the area, spending more time researching family history and hiking and biking area trails. A retirement luncheon will be held at noon on Friday, December 20th, at park headquarters in Van Buren. Guests are welcome and can R.S.V.P. by calling (573) 323-4852.
The Missouri Conservation Commission approved recommendations by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) at the Commission’s December 13th meeting for upcoming deer-hunting and fall turkey season dates. The 2020 and 2021 Archery Deer Hunting Dates will be September 15th through November 13th and November 25th through January 15th, 2021. Fall Firearms Turkey Season will be October 1st through 31st. Firearms Deer Hunting Dates are October 31st through November 1st for the Firearms Deer Early Youth Portion. The Firearms Deer November Portion will be November 14th through the 24th. Firearms Deer Late Youth Portion will be November 27th through the 29th. Firearms Deer Antlerless Portion will be conducted December 4th through the 6th. Finally, the Firearms Deer Alternative Methods Portion will be December 26th through January 5th, 2021. Details on hunting regulations, harvest limits, allowed methods, required permits, and other related information will be available in MDC’s “2020 Fall Deer & Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information” booklets. Both will be available where permits are sold prior to the related seasons. Buy Missouri hunting permits from numerous vendors around
the state, online at mdc.mo.gov/buypermits, or through MDC’s free mobile apps, MO Hunting and MO Fishing, available for download through Google Play for Android devices or the App Store for Apple devices. Learn more about deer and turkey hunting in Missouri at huntfish.mdc.mo.gov.