Obituaries – Monday, May 11th, 2020
The Salem R-80 Board of Education Saturday morning in a special meeting of the board voted unanimously to employ Dr. Lynne L. Reed as the new Salem R-80 School District Superintendent with her duties to begin on July 1st. Reed had been the superintendent of the Newburg R-II School District for the last five years, and prior to that was the elementary principal and director of special services in the Steelville School District from 2006-2015. She was an elementary principal in the Rolla School District from 1998-2003. Reed, who has lived in Phelps County almost all her life, will replace John McColloch who resigned last month as he was hired as the Washington school district’s new assistant superintendent of finance and operations. McColloch served as the Salem R-80 Superintendent for five years after being the assistant superintendent for five years. McColloch was also the Salem Junior High principal for five years before accepting the assistant superintendent position.
An accident happened Saturday night at 11:30 in Reynolds County on Route N near Lesterville that left two men with serious injuries. According to the highway patrol report, a 2011 Infiniti driven southbound by 58-year old Daryl Black of Farmington, intentionally struck two pedestrians in the road and left the scene. Suffering serious injuries were 21-year Brantley Mathes of Black, Missouri and 44-year old Chris Whitbey of Middle Brook, Missouri. Mathis and Whitbey were both flown by Air Evac to Mercy Hospital in St. Louis. Black was later arrested at 12:32 early Sunday morning and was charged with felony driving while being intoxicated leading to a serious physical injury, a felony for leaving the scene of an accident with physical injuries, and a felony for leaving the scene of an accident with property damage exceeding $1,000.00. Black was placed in the Reynolds County Jail on a 24-hour hold.
An accident occurred Saturday evening at 11:30 in Dent County on Route B about nine miles east of Salem. According to the highway patrol report, a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu driven by 33- year old Megan Johnson of St. Louis, was traveling eastbound and swerved to miss a deer. The Malibu the traveled off the right side of the road and struck a tree. A passenger in the Malibu, 41-year old Christopher Null of Park Hills, suffered serious injuries and was flown to the Mercy Hospital in Creve Coeur by Air Evac. The driver, Megan Johnson, suffered minor injures as did an 11-year old juvenile from Park Hills, and they were both transported to the Salem Memorial District Hospital by Salem Ambulance. Johnson and the juvenile were wearing safety restraints at the time of the accident; however Null was not wearing a safety restraint. The Malibu was totaled in the acci dent and was removed from the scene by Whitaker’s Towing of Salem.
A one vehicle accident happened at 3:20 Saturday morning in Phelps County on Phelps County Road 8110 about a quarter of a mile north of Rolla. According to the report from the highway patrol, a 2014 Ford Focus being driven by 19-year old Kenneth Pankey of Rolla was southbound when the vehicle became airborne over a hill and traveled off the left side of the road where the Focus struck a creek bed and overturned. Pankey suffered serious injuries and was transported from the scene by the Phelps Health Ambulance to the Phelps Health Hospital before being transported by air ambulance to the University Hospital in Columbia. Two passengers in the Focus, 17-year old Dakota Triska and 18-year old Zolboo Munkhjrgal, both of Rolla, were transported by ambulance to Phelps Health in Rolla for treatment of minor and moderate injuries. The Ford Focus was totaled and removed from the scene by C & C Towing. Only Dakota Triska was known to be wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident.
A two vehicle accident happened Sunday, May 3rd shortly before noon at the intersection of Highways 19 and 32. According to the report from the Salem Police department, a 2005 Ford F-150 being driven by Brayden Ferguson of Salem was traveling east on Highway 32 andhad a flashing yellow light when he failed to yield and struck a 2013 GMC Sierra being driven by Roy Feiste of Frohna, Missouri causing the camping trailer being towed by the GMC to slide into a traffic pole before coming to a rest. Ferguson had minor injuries while a passenger in the GMC received serious injuries. All vehicles involved sustained extensive damage in the accident. The Ford and GMC were both towed from the scene by Whitaker’s Towing.
Lodging, retail and food operations at Echo Bluff State Park have resumed and they will be operational in a limited capacity. Echo Bluff takes great pride in maintaining the highest standards of cleanliness and hygiene. They have taken additional measures to create all their cleaning and hygiene protocols developed in consultation with State, local public health authorities and the CDC. This includes all recommended cleaning and sanitation guidelines in all accommodations and public areas. All Park staff will wear masks and all food servers will also wear gloves at this time. They will continue to adjust food and beverage service with current food safety recommendations and ask that you help by practicing social distancing, washing your hands frequently and adhering to all state regulations and requirements.
The Salem Public Library is proud to offer you best-selling and classic eAudiobooks and eBooks available 24/7 to keep your mind active. You can browse the collection, place holds and check out using your library card. You can then transfer the titles to your computer and many mobile devices. Patrons are encouraged to call 729-4331 to get more information.