Local News – Wednesday, March 8th, 2023

The Dent County Sheriff’s office has released several reports. On Friday, February 24th, a deputy conducted a traffic stop on Dent County Road 5010. During the course of the stop, the male driver was arrested for driving while having his license suspended or revoked. A male passenger in the vehicle was arrested on two active Dent County felony warrants. Both were transported to the Dent County Jail for processing and incarceration. On Monday, February 27th, deputies responded to the 800 block of Highway 68 for a reported theft. The investigation revealed that multiple compressors and motors were stolen from the business. Suspect information has been developed and the investigation is continuing. The next day, the 28th of February, deputies responded to the 18000 block of Route C for a reported violation of ex-parte order of protection. An investigation revealed a male suspect had violated the order. A probable cause statement was submitted to the prosecutor’s office requesting an arrest warrant for the suspect. On Thursday, March 2nd, deputies responded to the 3600 block of Highway 119 for a reported assault and suicidal subject. Through the course of the investigation, the man was transported to SMDH for an evaluation. The assault victim did not wish to pursue criminal charges and the investigation is closed. That same day, a deputy was dispatched to Salem Memorial Hospital for a reported dog bite to a child that had occurred in Bunker. The dog was placed on quarantine and the child received medical attention. The investigation was then closed. Please call 729-3241 if you have any information regarding an ongoing investigation.

Need trees and shrubs for your landscape? Go native with tree and shrub seedlings from the Missouri Department of Conservation. Native trees and shrubs can help improve wildlife habitat and soil and water conservation while also improving the appearance and value of private property. MDC’s George O. White State Forest Nursery near Licking offers a variety of low-cost native tree and shrub seedlings for sale for reforestation, windbreaks, erosion control, wildlife food and cover, and other purposes. The nursery provides mainly one-year-old, bare-root seedlings with sizes varying by species. Seedlings varieties include: pine, bald cypress, cottonwood, black walnut, hickory, oak, pecan, persimmon, river birch, maple, willow, sycamore, blackberry, buttonbush, hazelnut, redbud, ninebark, spicebush, elderberry, sumac, wild plum, witch hazel, and others. Seedlings are available in bundles of 10 or increments of 25 per species. Prices range from 34 cents to $1 per seedling. Sales tax of 6.1 percent will be added to orders unless tax exempt. There is an $9 handling charge for each order. Receive a 15% discount up to $20 off seedling orders with a Heritage Card, Permit Card, or Conservation ID Number. The nursery grows millions of seedlings each year, but some species are very popular and sell out quickly and some seedlings occasionally succumb to harsh weather or hungry wildlife, despite the nursery staff’s best efforts. Even if a species is listed as “sold out,” customers can still place an order for those seedlings because other orders may get cancelled, freeing up inventory. Customers won’t be charged for seedlings unless they are available to ship. Due to shipping costs tripling from past years, the nursery must now charge shipping fees for orders being shipped to Missouri addresses. This is the first time in the nursery’s 80-plus-year history that they have had to do this. Orders will be processed beginning September 1st through April 15th, 2023. Orders will be shipped or can be picked up at the nursery near Licking from February through May. You can learn more and place orders using MDC’s 2022-2023 Seedling Order Form Found in the September issue of the Missouri Conservationist, at MDC regional offices and nature centers, or by contacting the State Forest Nursery at 573-674-3229 or StateForestNursery@mdc.mo.gov.

The Missouri Department of Transportation crews are already focusing on pothole repairs to keep roads as safe as possible and will continue through the spring as weather allows. When you see a MoDOT crew making repairs, motorists should slow down and move over a lane to give them room to work safely – remember, it’s the law. MoDOT maintains 34,000 miles of road, including interstates, U.S. and Missouri routes, and lettered routes. In 2022, MoDOT patched more than 800,000 potholes, spending more than $16 million on pothole patching. Potholes form when temperatures warm up during the day but continue to be cold at night. The rain and snow leave moisture that seeps into cracks and joints in the pavement. Frozen water in cracks and under the surface of the roadway causes pavement to bulge and bend. Then when ice melts, the pavement contracts and leaves gaps or voids in the surface under the pavement. When vehicles drive over the bulging pavement, it weakens the roadway, eventually causing chunks of pavement or asphalt to pop out, creating potholes. Motorists can report the location of potholes on state-maintained roads by calling the 24/7 Customer Service Center at 1-888-ASK-MODOT (275-6636), or by going online to www.modot.org/report-road-concern. Potholes on local streets should be reported to local city or county maintenance departments.

Utility Committee Chairman Kyle Williams has called for a City of Salem Utility Committee meeting which will be held tonight at 6:15 at the Salem Community Center@The Armory at 1200 West Rolla Road. At the meeting, the Utility Committee will receive a utility financial update from Finance Director Stacey Houston before the committee is updated on the city infrastructure update. The committee will then hear any questions and comments before the meeting is adjourned. The Utility Committee meeting tonight is open to the public.