Local News – Wednesday, November 20th, 2019
Dent County Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Curley has released reports from court cases heard in the 42nd associate Circuit Court Monday in Dent County in front of Judge Kelly Parker. In the first case heard, Angela Wofford of Salem pled guilty to felony charges for the possession of a controlled substance as well as possession of a controlled substance in a county jail. She was sentenced to four years in the Department of Corrections on each count, to run concurrently. In the another case heard, Judge Parker revoked the probation of John Simmons, IV for the felony of possession of a controlled substance charge that he pled guilty to in May. Simmons has been sentenced to seven years in the Department of Corrections. In yet another case, Judge Parker revoked the probation of Jereme Roark of Rolla. He had been charged and pled guilty in February of 2014 with a Class B Felony for the distribution, delivery, manufacturing, producing of a controlled substance. Roark was sentenced to 10 years in the Department of Corrections as requested by the state.
Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) shows that deer hunters in Missouri harvested 88,843 deer during the opening weekend of the November portion of the fall firearms deer season November 16th and 17th. Of the 88,843 deer harvested, 51,086 were antlered bucks, 8,115 were button bucks, and 29,642 were does. Top harvest counties for opening weekend were Franklin with 2,078 deer checked, Texas with 1,931, and Callaway with 1,735. In our area, Dent County had 1,685 deer harvested, Crawford has 1,469 deer checked, Shannon County reported 1,338 deer had been taken, Phelps County had 1,176 deer harvested and Reynolds County reported 738 deer taken. Last year, hunters checked 99,470 deer during the opening weekend of the 2018 November portion of firearms deer season.
Healthy Dent County at the Salem Community Center@The Armory is hosting two one hour focus groups this Thursday from 2:00 to 3:00 and from 3:30 until 4:30 to better understand what it means to be healthy from the perspective of Missouri residents. Participants will receive a $25 incentive for their time and may only attend one of the focus group session. This is being held as part of research being conducted by NORC from the University of Chicago on behalf of the Missouri Foundation for Health. Your opinion matters and if you are interested in participating, you must register in advance by contacting Healthy Dent County by calling 573-729-8163 or e-mailing judy@salemcommunitycenter.org. Light refreshments will be provided.
The Collection Week for the Operation Christmas Child boxes is going on now through this Friday, the 22nd. There are several churches in the area that are collection points. They include the Salem First Baptist Church at 201 North McArthur Street. Their collection times start at 8:00 in the morning and stay open to 4:00 today through Thursday, and from 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM Friday; the Licking First Baptist Church at 223 S Main Street and their collection times will be through Friday from 5:00 until 7:00 in the evening; the Rolla First Baptist Church at 801 Cedar Street and their collection will be from 12:00 noon through 2:00 through Friday, plus Thursday night from 5:00 to 7:00; and the St. James First Baptist Church from 10:00 in the morning until noon Wednesday and Friday, and from 5:00 to 7:00 Thursday evening. It is not too late to do a box if you would like. Contact Linda Williams at 573-263-9550 if you have any questions.
The Salem Police Department has released reports on activities by the department for November 10th through the 12th. On Sunday,
November the 10th at approximately 12:35 in the morning, a vehicle was stopped for a traffic violation. The stop led to the arrest of a 20-year-old male of Salem for driving while having his license suspended. The suspect was issued a summons to appear in court and released. A couple of hours later near 2:22, an officer located a 31-year-old male of Salem in the 800 block of West Rolla Road who had an active arrest warrant from Phelps County. The suspect was taken into custody on the warrant and incarcerated pending extradition. That same day at about 5:19, an officer was contacted at the Salem Police Department in reference to an assault. An investigation revealed that a 32-year-old male of Salem had assaulted a 30-year-old female of Rolla while at a residence in the 100 block of Laura Street which led to the arrest of the suspect. He was issued a summons to appear in court and released. On Veterans Day, November 11th at 3:26 in the afternoon, an officer located a 36-year-old male of Salem who had an active arrest warrant from Jefferson County at Walmart. The suspect was taken into custody on the warrant and incarcerated pending extradition. And finally on the morning of Tuesday, November 12th at 10:27, an officer was contacted at the Salem Police Department in reference to a theft from a vehicle. The investigation revealed that a person or persons unknown took a wallet and its contents valued at $780.00 from a vehicle parked in the 600 block of South Macarthur. That report is under investigation. Please contact the Salem Police Department at (573) 729-4242 if you have any information regarding an ongoing investigation.