News – Thursday, February 26th 2026

The City of Salem Board of Aldermen held its regular meeting Tuesday evening in the auditorium at 202 North Washington Street. After approving the agenda and consent agenda, the board approved a request from Rob Benowitz for a street closure in connection with the 100 Acre Wood Rally on March 14th. Benowitz requested that Iron Street and 5th Street around the courthouse be closed for the pre-race meet and greet. The Local on 4th and Skip Dahms both submitted a request to close Fourth Street between Washington Street and Highway 19 to allow businesses to set up tables during the rally’s meet and greet. That request was approved as well. In new and miscellaneous business, the board voted to begin contract negotiations with Toth & Associates for on-call engineering services. During reports from city officials, Mayor Greg Parker said he has received several complaints from residents about delays in receiving utility bills and encouraged customers to sign up for email billing. Alderman Michael Letchworth reported that he attended the Good Dads orientation in Springfield and is looking forward to implementing what he learned. Alderwoman Catherine Dent provided updates on the beautification project along Highway 32 and Highway 19 and announced she will host a West Ward block party on Thursday, March 12, at 7:00 as a thank you to her constituents. With no further reports, the board entered executive session to discuss personnel matters. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Aldermen will be held March 10 and will be open to the public.

The Salem Police Department recently released their report for the month of January. The department responded to six accidents during the month as well as eight alarms sounding, addressed 47 animal calls, investigated an assault or fight, a report of a burglary, performed 23 well-being checks and 14 area checks in January. Police investigated 13 domestic disputes, six verbal disturbances, conducted 43 follow-up investigations and provided 24 escorts. They investigated three harassment reports, two parking complaint calls, one intoxicated pedestrian call, a fraud charge, two trespassing calls and a property damage report. The Salem Police wrote five stealing reports, responded to nine traffic complaints and assisted ten motorists. Officers responded to a report of a suicidal person, 11 suspicious circumstance calls, three suspicious person calls and four suspicious vehicle calls. The Salem Police in January investigated a report of shots fired, two reports of shoplifting, two reports of a prowler, two peace disturbances and 22 nuisance violations. Officers attempted to serve ten warrants and they conducted 113 traffic stops during the month. The police responded to a total of 508 incidents in January with the average response time being one minutes and 51 seconds. The average time spent on the scene was 14 minutes and 38 seconds. If you have any information regarding an ongoing investigation, contact the Salem Police Department by calling their non-emergency phone number at (573) 729-6550 or speak with them in person at 500 N. Jackson Street in Salem.

The Ozark Rivers Solid Waste Management District is seeking area sponsors within its seven-county region for the 35th Annual Earth Day Poster, Trash Art and Graphic Art Contest. Sponsorships provide prizes for students placing first and second along with honorable mentions in the contest. Some 91 students received prizes in 2025. The trash art and poster contests are open to all students in grades pre-kindergarten to college, including home-schooled students, within Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Phelps, Pulaski and Washington counties. Students have the opportunity to participate in multiple contest categories, including posters that are hand drawn and feature graphic arts, and also to repurpose recyclables and trash into three-dimensional pieces of art. This year’s theme is “Be a Food Waste Warrior” with a focus on reducing food waste by not taking too much food, sharing your leftovers, feeding food waste to farm animals and composting. All sponsors receive their logo on the contest flyer and special recognition on the ORSWMD website and Facebook page. For more information, contact Jill Hollowell, via email jhollowell@meramecregion.org or via phone at 573-265-2993 ext. 109.