Local News – Wednesday, April 11th, 2018
The Salem Area Chamber of Commerce Business Expo will be held this Saturday starting at 9:00 and ending at noon at the Salem Community Center@The Armory. A total of 43 vendors will be in attendance and four of those businesses will be giving away prizes valued at more than $250: Town and Country Bank with four St. Louis Cardinals tickets, A-1 Tech of Rolla will be offering a refurbished Windows 10 computer with keyboard, mouse and monitor; Echo Bluff will be offering a one night stay and basket full of Echo Bluff goodies, and Salem ATA Martial Arts will be giving away a free enrollment along with a free uniform, free trainer weapon & private lesson. There is no cost to attend the expo and everyone is welcome. This is an excellent opportunity to find out about a number of local businesses where you can talk with them about their services and products. Many business will have products there you can buy. Many of these vendors will offer free giveaway items or may have their own prize registration. Parking for the expo will be throughout the Salem City Park and also across the street from the Salem Community Center on Rolla Road. Make it a point to stop by the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce Business Expo this Saturday starting at 9:00 at the Salem Community Center@The Armory at 1200 West Rolla Road. For any questions you may have, contact the chamber office at 729-6900.
Missouri Department of Transportation Senior Maintenance Worker Justin Sundell of Salem recalls a time he was flagging vehicles through a work zone on Highway 68 when he noticed a car that wasn’t slowing down. Sundell says the next thing he heard was the sound of squealing tires and locking brakes as the driver was looking at his phone the whole time. This week is “National Work Zone Awareness Week” and Sundell is speaking up in hopes of getting drivers to pay more attention in work zones, which will be cropping up throughout the state as warmer weather moves in. He is begging drivers to buckle up and put the phone down. Unfortunately, work zone crashes are on the rise nationwide. Sixteen people were killed in work zone crashes last year and two of those people were workers. That is double the number killed in 2016, when eight people died in work zones. In fact, a work zone crash occurs every 5.4 minutes. With construction season underway, motorists will encounter work taking place on Missouri roadways through the fall. Some of the more impactful work zones will occur on Interstates 70, 44, 64, 55, 270 and on Highway 65. Here are some tips for navigating work zones safely: Observe warning signs and merge before reaching lane closures, and be aware of changing traffic conditions. Traffic could slow or stop unexpectedly as the traffic lanes can merge, or equipment and workers can enter the roadway. Always be prepared to slow down. Driving too fast for the conditions is a major factor in work zone crashes. To help make your travel safer, visit MoDOT’s Traveler Information map at www.traveler.modot.org/map and find out what work zones you’ll encounter before you go.
According to preliminary data from Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), young turkey hunters harvested 1,723 turkeys during the spring youth season this past Saturday and Sunday. Top harvest counties were Franklin with 51 turkeys harvested, Miller with 43, and Maries with 43. Young hunters checked a little over 4,000 turkeys during last year’s youth weekend. MDC’s Turkey Biologist, Jason Isabelle, said that weather was the biggest contributing factor to this year’s low youth turkey season harvest. Temperatures that were well-below average probably made it difficult for young hunters to spend as much time hunting this past weekend as they would have with more seasonal temperatures. Isabelle also notes that in addition to cold temperatures this weekend, spring has been slow to get here this year causing turkeys to be a little behind schedule as far as the winter flock break-up. With warmer temperatures in the forecast, hunting conditions should be much more favorable for the upcoming regular spring turkey season. For more information on the upcoming regular spring turkey hunting season, April 16-May 6, get a copy of MDC’s 2018 Spring Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information booklet, available where permits are sold, or online. Hunters who harvest their first turkey can have the accomplishment recognized through a special certificate from MDC, complete with a photo. Learn more at huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/trophies-certificates/certificates.
The Community Blood Center of the Ozarks has scheduled another blood drive in Salem this week and this one will be Friday from 9:00 in the morning until 2:00 in the afternoon at the Salem Memorial District Hospital. Remember, current blood supplies of “O” negative and “A” negative are critically low. To be eligible to give blood, you must weight at least 110 pounds, be in good health and have a picture ID. For more information about this blood drive, contact Debra Piatt at the Salem Hospital at 729-6626. The other blood drive in Salem is today at the Salem High School from 8:30 until 2:30.