There was an accident in Dent County Tuesday evening at approximately 5:35 that took the life of two Salem residents. According to the highway patrol report, a 2020 Ford Escape driven eastbound by a 45-year-old male of Salem, was stopped waiting in traffic to make a left hand turn from Highway 32 near Route P, when 2006 Dodge Ram 2500, driven by a 17-year-old boy from Bunker, failed to yield to the Ford and struck the back side of the Escape before crossing over the center of the roadway and striking a 1973 Dune Buggy head-on that was traveling westbound driven by a 60-year-old Salem man. Pronounced dead at the scene by Dent County Coroner Ben Pursifull were the 60-year-old male driver and a 59-year-old female passenger of the Dune Buggy. Their bodies were taken to the Dent County Morgue by Coroner Pursifull. The highway patrol was assisted at the scene by the Salem Police Department, Dent County Fire Protection District and Missouri Department of Transportation. The report stated that both individuals in the Dune Buggy were not wearing seat restraints at the time of the accident while the drivers of the other vehicles were wearing their safety devices. The Dune Buggy was totaled and Dodge Ram had moderate damages. Those vehicles were towed by American Towing while the Ford, which sustained moderate damage, was removed from the scene by Whitaker’s Towing.

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) invites the central district to discuss the updated draft of the High-Priority Unfunded Needs list. Participants can view information about unfunded transportation needs in the region and provide feedback in-person at a meeting at MoDOT’s Central District Office, located at 1511 Missouri Boulevard in Jefferson City. Can’t attend the meeting in person? The draft HPUN document and comment forms will be available online through Thursday, Sept. 10th at modot.org/unfundedneeds. Dent County is on the unfunded multimodal needs list, with a project description of needing sidewalk added from Center Street to Hwy. 32 within Salem. Estimated funding needed for that project is $620,000.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is buying bulk native fruit and seeds from the public for a variety of tree and shrub species around central Missouri. MDC’s Sedalia Office at 2000 S. Limit Ave. will be buying select native fruit and seeds priced by the pound by appointment through November. Contact MDC Forester Assistant Mary Lass at 660-530-5500 ext. 4818 or Mary.Lass@mdc.mo.gov to set an appointment or for more information on seed collection and to ensure MDC is still collecting specific seed species. Currently, MDC is buying Serviceberry at $7 per pound, Black Cherry at $6 per pound, and Wild Plum at $1.95 per pound of fruit. Collected seeds are taken to MDC’s George O. White State Forest Nursery near Licking. Nursery staff grow the collected seed into bare root seedlings used for conservation work and available for purchase by the public. Each year the State Forest Nursery processes more than 10,000 orders and ships about 2 million seedlings. To grow all these species, the nursery collects or buys tens of thousands of pounds of seeds each summer and fall.

Girls’ Night Out will be celebrating its 15th anniversary on Sept. 10th. This annual event will be held from 4:30 to 7:30 in the evening at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory. Participating vendors will have a variety of products and services tailored to women’s interests, and admission is limited to all women and girls 12 years of age and older. Plan to bring your girlfriends for an evening of pampering, shopping, and eating! This event is now accepting vendors. For more information, contact Jackie@salemcommunitycenter.org or call 573-729-8163.

The Salem Area Arts Council will be holding its annual “Art in the Parking Lot” event within downtown Salem on Sept. 26th from 10:00 in the morning to 3:00 in the afternoon. This event, now to be called “Art Walk Downtown,” will be set up from the Local on 4th all the way to the Flying W store, with local music and performances expected. Attendees can expect plenty of vendors offering locally made arts and crafts, alongside free kids activities and lots of demonstrations. For more information, visit the Facebook page at Facebook.com/artsinSalemMO.