Local News – Tuesday, January 28th, 2020
This Friday night will not only be the Town and Country Bank “Cat Classic” at the Salem High School gym for the basketball game between Salem and Licking, but Homecoming as well. This year’s attendants are freshman Cayleigh Moody, sophomore Jaden Flores, junior Jodi Gotchal, and the three senior quen candidates: Malia Terrill, Mallorie Dittman and Brooklin Shelton. Last year’s Homecoming Queen, Madi Keith, will crown the new queen at the festivities. This year’s escorts will be Reese Dodson, Dawson Conway, Carter Chilton, Silas Wulff, Braiden Carmack and Luke Morrison.
The Ozark National Scenic Riverways has selected Jason Lott to serve as the Acting Superintendent following the retirement of Larry Johnson on January 3rd. Lott will arrive in the park this week to begin the 120-day assignment while a new permanent superintendent is sought. Lott has been with the National Park Service (NPS) since 2002. Lott is a twenty-year veteran with the Army National Guard, having served ten years as an enlisted soldier with a deployment during Desert Storm, and as an officer who served as a Company Commander for the 1086th Transportation Company during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. Jason retired as a Captain in 2007. Lott holds a master’s degree in History with an emphasis in Cultural Resource Management from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana. He and his wife, Wendy, and their two children are residents of Los Alamos, New Mexico.
The Dent County Commissioners’ regular meeting was held Monday morning at the courthouse. Deloris Gray Wood from the Dent County Historical Society was in attendance to discuss with the commission the 150th anniversary of the Dent County Courthouse. She recommended a celebration on March 30th at the courthouse with a birthday cake and water. March 30th, 1870 is the date the contract to build the courthouse was approved. The other celebration she would like to have is on July 4th. The commissioners agreed to both celebrations and they will discuss further what to do on Independence Day to tie in with the parade and other downtown events. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams presented the January CART tax receipts for the commission. She reported Dent County received $56,050.15 this January compared to the $54,808.09 received in a January of 2019. That is an increase of $1,242.06. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell said patch grading was being done on Dent County Roads 6230 and 6240. He said the southern part of the county received about five inches of snow from the last storm Thursday and Friday. He also stated that a crossover pipe was being repaired and another was being installed on county road 5170. He said additional road materials would be added to that road as well. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson said brush was being cut on county roads 2560, 2580, 2613 and 4430. He also said men would be working on Dent County Truck #116 and doing shop maintenance. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles reported he would be attending a Department of Natural Resources meeting at the Salem Community Center@The Armory at 1:00 today on preservation grant funds. He is interested on anything that may be able to be used for the courthouse provided that it doesn’t have too many strings associated with it. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said absentee voting for the March 10th Presidential Preference Primary would begin today. She also said the last day to register to vote for the primary would be February 12th. The next meeting of the Dent County Commission would be Thursday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.
The Dent County Sheriff’s Office has released some reports. On Tuesday, January 14th, deputies traveled to a residence in the 100 block of South Pershing Street to serve an arrest warrant. During the course of the incident, a 30-year-old Salem man was arrested for having active warrants through Dent County. The man was transported to the Dent County Sheriff’s Office where he was incarcerated. Then on January 15th a deputy conducted a traffic stop on McArthur Street. During the course of the traffic stop, a 28-year-old Licking man was arrested for having active arrest warrants from the Houston Police Department and Licking Police Department. The man was transported to the Dent County Sheriff’s Office where he was later extradited by another agency. On Thursday, January 16th, a deputy traveled to a residence in the 6500 block of Highway 119 for the report of a burglary. During the course of the investigation, a 19-year-old Salem man was arrested for having an active arrest warrant through Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office. The man was transported to the Dent County Sheriff’s Office where he later posted bond and was released. Please call the Dent County Sheriff’s Office at 729-3241 with any information about an ongoing investigation.