News – Thursday, June 12th 2025
The Salem Park and Recreation Board will be holding a meeting today at 5:00 in the afternoon at the Salem Community Center@The Armory. At the meeting, the board will hear from Parks and Recreation Director Melissa Dubois before discussing a by-law amendment. The board will then review and discuss the 2025-26 budget before they appoint new officers for the upcoming year. The Salem Park and Recreation Board meeting is open to the public.
The Salem R-80 Board of Education will hold a budget workshop and special meeting today at 5:30 at the Salem R-80 Administrative Offices. At the workshop, a number of CSIP goals will be addressed, while as part of the special meeting, the board will approve soliciting bids for parking lot work and also soliciting bids for the High School track repair. The board will move into executive session where personnel will be discussed before the meeting is adjourned. The Salem R-80 Board of Education Workshop and Special Meeting are open to the public.
The Salem Board of Aldermen was scheduled to meet Tuesday evening at the City Hall Auditorium to discuss five resolutions covering a number of topics, but due to a lack of a quorum, the meeting was cancelled. The next Salem Board of Aldermen meeting is scheduled for June 24th at 6:00 at the City Hall Auditorium.
On Tuesday, June 10th, Dent County Prosecutor Andrew Curley reported that Jeremy Jackson from Bowling Green, Missouri, was sentenced to serve five years in the Missouri Department of Corrections consecutive to all previously imposed sentences for a total of 20 years in the department of corrections. On May 21st, Jackson had pled guilty in front of Judge Michael Randazzo. Jackson was currently serving a 15-year sentence for a multitude of past crimes involving stealing, burglary and passing bad checks, was charged with the possession of fentanyl as a persistent felony offender.
Bull elk and black bear hunting remain very popular in Missouri, based on the number of people applying for permits. According to Missouri Net the latest numbers from the Missouri Department of Conservation show 5,249 bear applications and 8,409 bull elk applications were received last month for this year’s respective hunting seasons. Last year, the department received 9,300 bull elk applications and 5,969 black bear applications. Two years ago, 5,374 people applied for bear permits and over 8,562 for elk permits. Conservation staff said the numbers of applicants fluctuates from year-to-year and that this year’s drop is not concerning. The application process is a money maker for the conservation department – it charges applicants $10 each for both black bear and bull elk. Those awarded permits have to pay extra fees – $25 extra for bear hunters and $50 extra for elk hunters. Last year, the state agency collected $162,940 in fees from bull elk and black bear applications. The department will select 600 applicants for black bears permits this year, which is a significant increase. In April, the Missouri Conservation Commission approved increasing the number of applications from 400 to 600. No more than 40 bears can be shot down during the season. Only five permits for bull elk will be issued. One of the five permits has to go to someone who owns land in either Shannon, Reynolds, or Carter counties, which is where Missouri’s elk range is located. Black bear season runs from October 18-31. The state has two bull elk seasons – archery season runs from October 18-26, and firearm season is scheduled from December 13-21. Last year, hunters killed 15 black bears and five bull elk. In 2023, 12 black bears and three bull elk were killed by hunters in Missouri.