Local News – Wednesday, August 5th, 2020

A Primary Election was held Tuesday to determine who will run for offices for their respective parties in the November General Election. In some cases, the election determined who will win the General Election as they would be unopposed. Those offices include the Public Administrator race and Dent County Assessor race. A total of 4,247 votes were cast which is 41.87% of the registered voters. Only the contested races are presented and all contested races were on the Republican ticket. The results presented are unofficial.

• indicates winner.

Dent County 1st District Commissioner
Wes Mobray* 720 votes
Phillip Mercer 556 votes
Justin Headrick 382 votes
J.T. Fleener 219 votes

Dent County 2nd District Commissioner
Gary Larson* 691 votes
Travis Fulton 541 votes
Jimmy Williams 495 votes
Jim Martin 113 votes

Public Administrator
Sherida Cook* 2,045 votes
Larry Edwards 1,623 votes

Dent County Assessor
Jamie Homeyer* 2,374 votes
Alisa Brookshire 1,235 votes

State Representative District 43
Ron Copeland* 3,630 votes
Frank DeVenuto 1,768 votes
Jaret Holden 1,608 votes
Jack Bates 601 votes
William R. Parsons 495 votes

Circuit Judge Circuit 42 Division 2
Mike Randazzo* 3,459 votes
Brandi Baird 3,358 votes
Christopher Piatt 1,431 votes
Stephen Paulus 1,324 votes
Kristopher Crews 1,320 votes

The Salem R-80 Board of Education held a special meeting Monday night to discuss a “back to school” re-entry plan. Superintendent Dr. Lynne Reed discussed with the board the data received in the surveys they received from parents and staff. Reed said there were 806 responses from parents and 158 staff members. Reed said 67% of parents were going to drop off their children at school which would help keep distancing on those who must ride the bus. She also said 77% of parents would not want their children playing sports. Using the information received, Salem will start the year with two options: the first includes seated classes with precautions or there will be virtual options. Reed said the virtual option for those in Kindergarten through the 8th grade would have virtual instruction through a third party MOCAP approved vendor called Acellus. Students will participate in online, video-based lessons aligned with the Missouri Learning Standards with a district staff member monitoring the student’s progress. Those in the 9th through 12th grades will use the Google Classroom and be instructed by Salem teachers. Their online instruction will be online video-based lessons created and maintained by Salem staff. The plan stresses that students who wish to participate in athletics or extra-curricular activities cannot attend school by the virtual option. If a student or their parent commits them to the virtual learning option, they will be required to commit to the option for the entire semester after a five-day trial period where the student can opt to come back to school. If a student enrolls in the classroom option, they can switch to virtual learning during the course of the semester. Minimal technology requirements must be guaranteed by parents to enroll in the virtual education option. If parents have questions about Acellus or Google Classroom, they should contact Assistant Superintendent John Smith at 729-6642. Reed indicated that students would have their temperature taken everyday upon entering the building. The district would strongly encourage children to wear masks on the bus and in the common areas, but students will not be required to wear them in class. The board unanimously approved the plan. Reed did say that the plan is fluid and may change at any time due to information from DESE or the CDC. The “back to school” re-entry plan will be available on the Salem R-80 website The board approved going with the fuel bid from County Fuels for $1.54 per gallon for gas and $1.59 per gallon for diesel. The school will have to install a 2,000 gallon tank for diesel and a 500 gallon tank for gasoline. The board then attended a two-hour MSBA training session online by Parry Polster and Kelli Hopkins before adjourning their meeting.

An accident occurred in Dent County at 11:40 Tuesday morning on Route K about six miles south of Salem. According to the highway patrol report, a northbound 2019 Ford F-350 driven by 50-year-old Greg Wilson of Salem was entering the highway from a private drive and traveled in front of a southbound 2016 Nissan Altima driven by 30-year old Kayla Richardson of Salem. Richardson suffered moderate injuries and was transported by Air Evac to the University Hospital in Columbia. The report stated that neither driver was wearing a safety restraint at the time of the accident. The Nissan was totaled and removed from the scene by Whitaker’s Towing. The Ford was removed from the scene by the owner. The Highway Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Dent County Sheriff’s Office and the Jadwin Fire Department.