News – Monday, August 26th 2024

Dent County Prosecutor Andrew Curley released information about the euthanization of the five dogs that were involved in the attack of a mail carrier. The act was carried out pursuant to the Salem City Ordinance and Missouri State Statute RSMo 578.024 which provides that a person commits the offense of keeping a dangerous dog if he or she owns or possesses a dog that has previously bitten a person or a domestic animal without provocation and that dog bites any person on a subsequent occasion. Also, the offense of keeping a dangerous dog is a class B misdemeanor, unless such attack results in serious injury to any person, in which case, it is a class A misdemeanor; or results in serious injury to any person and any previous attack also resulted in serious injury to any person, in which case, it is a class E felony; or results in the death of any person, in which case, it is a class D felony. In addition to the penalty included in this section, if any dog that has previously bitten a person or a domestic animal without provocation bites any person on a subsequent occasion or if a dog that has not previously bitten a person attacks and causes serious injury to or the death of any human, the dog shall be seized immediately by an animal control authority or by the county sheriff. The dog shall be impounded and held for ten business days after the owner or possessor is given written notification and thereafter destroyed. Curley says that in this case, the dogs had not previously bitten another person or domestic animal, as required for state prosecution, but caused serious injury to the victim, resulting in the destruction of the dogs involved. As a result, the owner cannot be charged with a crime by state statute. Further, Dent County does not have an ordinance concerning aggressive dogs, nor dogs at large. The City of Salem has an ordinance for dogs at large and the owner of the dogs received citations for each animal. Further, civil remedies, such as a lawsuit for personal injuries and/or workman’s compensation, remain available to a victim of this circumstance. City of Salem Attorney James Weber added that violations of § 205.140 of the Municipal Code of the City of Salem are punishable by a maximum fine of $500, a maximum sentence of 90 days imprisonment in the Dent County Jail, or a combination thereof. This range of punishment is applicable to each citation issued.

An accident occurred Saturday evening around 9:24 in Crawford County on Hwy 49 and Adams Road. According to the highway patrol report a 2007 Chevrolet Impala driven by 18-year-old Dakota Sequichie of Steelville was travelling northbound and travelled off the right side of the roadway. The Chevrolet struck a road sign and several trees. Sequichie and 18-year-old Chloe Brooks of Viburnum both suffered moderate injuries. Sequiche was wearing a safety restraint and was transported by Iron County Ambulance District to Missouri Baptist Hospital Sullivan. Brooks was not wearing a safety restraint and was transported by private vehicle to Missouri Baptist. Two other occupants in the Chevrolet suffered minor injuries 18-year-old Abigal Wilkinson of Viburnum and a 17-year-old juvenile male, both were wearing safety restraints. Wilkinson was transported by Iron County Ambulance District and the juvenile by Steelville Ambulance District to Missouri Baptist Hospital Sullivan. The Chevrolet was totaled and removed from the scene by Abney’s Towing.

The Salem Memorial Hospital will hold their tax rate hearing tomorrow evening at 6:45 at the hospital library. The tax rate to be determined is set to produce revenues for the fiscal year beginning July 1st, 2025. For the tax year 2023, the estimate real estate valuation came in at $199,183,841 with the personal property valuation coming in at $86,338.737 for a total of $285,522,678. For the current tax year, the estimated assessed real estate valuation is down to $183,937,158 leaving a total assessed valuation of $270,275,894. The proposed tax rate for 2024 was 24 cents per $100 assessed valuation and that proposed tax rate is the same for 2025. That rate, if approved, would produce about $648,662 for the hospital for the next fiscal year. The hearing will then be adjourned followed by the regular hospital board meeting.

The Missouri State Parks is now accepting nominations for three different advisory board representatives: a pedestrian-use trail representative, a mountain bike trail user representative and an equestrian trail user representative. These representatives will serve a three-year term starting November 1st, and run through November 30th, 2027. Members must be Missouri residents and must participate in the user group they represent. Roles of the Missouri Trails Advisory Board include reviewing, scoring and ranking applications and making recommendations to the grants management section for funding; annually reviewing the recreational trail project application and open selection process; and developing project eligibility criteria including sponsor eligibility and what type of projects the state should consider for funding. To nominate an individual for the Missouri Trails Advisory Board, please submit a nomination form found on the Missouri State Parks’ website at mostateparks.com and search got the nomination form, a resume and/or other background information for the nominee, and two letters of recommendation. Electronic submission is preferred to be sent to mpsgrants@dnr.mo.gov or nominations can be mailed to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Division of State Parks, Grants Management Section, c/o RTP Planner, P.O. Box 176, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0176. Nomination forms, resumes, and letters of recommendation MUST be submitted to the Missouri State Parks no later than this Sunday, September 1st. For more information, please contact the grants management section within Missouri State Parks at 573-751-7958, 573-751-0848 or mspgrants@dnr.mo.gov.