Local News – Tuesday, October 9th, 2018
An accident occurred in Dent County Sunday night at 10:15 that took the life of a woman from Boss. According to the highway patrol report, 76-year old Helen Miner of Boss was driving an eastbound 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier on Highway 32 abut two miles east of Salem, when the Chevrolet crossed the center of the roadway and Miner overcorrected causing the vehicle to cross back over the center of the roadway. The Chevrolet then ran off the right side of the roadway and overturned. Miner was pronounced dead at the scene Monday morning at 8:15 by Dent County Coroner Gina White. According to the report, Miner was not wearing a seat restraint device at the time of the accident. The highway patrol was assisted by the Dent County Sheriff’s Office, the Salem EMS and the Salem Police Department. The Chevrolet was totaled and removed from the scene by Whitakers Towing.
The 55th annual Rose Holland Trout Derby was held this past weekend at Montauk State Park. Despite the rainy weekend, 1,040 tags were sold on Saturday and 680 tags were purchased on Sunday. A total of 1,065 anglers were registered in the derby and 34 children registered their stringers of fish with the Kid’s Heaviest Stringer going to Heston Parsons of Rolla at six pounds, seven ounces. Two fishermen from Salem caught lunkers, which are fish weighing 3 pounds or more. Tad Headrick landed a four pound, four ounce trout and Zack Schafer caught a five pound, six ounce trout. The Men’s Heaviest Fish was caught by Paul Terry of St. Louis when he brought in a seven pound, 12 ounce rainbow, and the Women’s Heaviest Fish was a two pound, seven ounce rainbow caught by Nancy Schmidt of Waterloo, Iowa. The heaviest Brown Trout registered was one pound, twelve ounces by Josh Stagner of Batesville, Missouri. Numerous prizes were given away for tagged fish including a kayak, an afghan, a horserace game, a framed picture, a chiminea, a food saver, a trout rod and his and her trout lure cups. A cruise-in car show was also held during the event on Friday night with 60 plus cars taking place in the event. The best Ford award went to Lyle Hutchens of Salem for his 1954 Ford while Larry Wofford’s 1964 Impala SS won the best General Motors award. The best MOPAR award went to Tom Gale of Licking while Terry and Betty Welch of Licking won the best other makers award for their 1951 Willys pick-up. The Best rat rod went to Jerry Wofford’s 1948 Ford. The car coming from the longest distance, 138 miles, was Russell Hainer and his 1925 Ford Model T from St. Louis. In total $14,756 was raised during the event and those proceeds will go to the American Heart Association.
On Friday, October 5th, the Salem R-80 Administration indicated that 57 Salem Senior High students were presented with their ACT Incentive Checks. For several years, Salem Senior High has encouraged its students to increase their ACT composite scores. The checks given out today were for the on-site April ACT test. Students earning a composite score of 22 or higher were presented with $50 (unless they already have received their $50 for a previous test) and $25 for a composite score of 17-21. The school also gives out $100 for the top score out of everyone that took the test on that particular date, and $50 for the next top five scorers from that same date. All of the money comes from the ACT incentive account which is funded by businesses advertising on the electronic sign outside the high school.
Predicting the peak of fall color in Missouri can be difficult. Missouri is blessed with a great variety of trees, shrubs, and vines. Their leaves turn at different times, so Missourians enjoy a fall color season that may last four to six weeks. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation as of last weekend, only the Ozark Region, Southwest Region and St. Louis region has not seen significant color change while the rest of the state is beginning to turn. The color change in the Northeast Region of the state in the Hannibal and Kirksville area is well under way and is best seen near the Mississippi River. The Department is actually expecting a fairly decent fall color season because of a good amount of moisture we’ve had in the last month and a half. The norm for the peak of the fall color in Missouri is usually around mid-October. This is when maples, ashes, oaks, and hickories are at the height of their fall display. Normally by late October, the colors are fading and the leaves beginning to drop from the trees. Fall color is usually finished by the middle of November. Generally, the color change is predictable, but it can vary from year to year. Much depends on the weather. For more information about the leaves color changes, persons can go to mdc.mo.gov website and type in fall colors in the search box.