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The Salem R-80 Board of Education met at the district administrative offices Thursday night. Superintendent Steve Bryant recognized the board for their dedication and presented them with a certificate of appreciate. He said that there are two 3-year school board terms that will come up in April and incumbents Chris Heavin and Bernie Sirois have filed as has Carrie Coffman-Snider. For the one 2-year term, incumbent Joe Howard has filed. The board filing deadline will be at 5:00 Tuesday afternoon. Bryant said that there would be legislative forum next Thursday night at 6:30 at the Rolla Public School Board Room for Phelps and Dent County where the state legislators will address questions. Bryant said that there was an anonymous $15,000 donation to the Salem R-80 Public School Foundation and was endowed for scholarships. Bryant stated that this donation qualified for a matching donation from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks so there is now $30,000 in the fund. He hopes this will open the door for more donations to be made. He also said some quasi-school organizations want to use the foundation to qualify for 501-C-3 status for fund raising such as the band parents, but that money would be held separate from the encumbered money. The board heard a 5th grade student presentation from Amanda Williams, Aaron Hodges and Caleb Watts as they read their stories that became a published book from Kristin Stites 5th grade class. There was also a story that included their imaginary classmate Bob and that story was read by Stites. The board heard program evaluations on the At-Risk and Alternative programs. Cary Davidson reported that 31 students started out in the credit recovery program and four dropped out. He also said he had five students in the GED program and the attendance rate for these students is 92%. The board approved the evaluation and then heard from Karen Jones about the Parents as Teachers program, and approved that evaluation as well. Superintendent Bryant went over budget comparisons and said that expenditures for this year and last year show about a $23,000 increase for this year while revenues are down a bit. Bryant said that the school just received tax payments of about 1.9 million dollars this year for property taxes and personal property, and received $107,367 from the railroad and utility fund. That is about $116,000 more than last year, but money from the state hasn’t arrived yet. Bryant said that he has submitted the proposed school improvements to area federal legislators for the economic stimulus package that may include money for the renovation and repair of school buildings. He said there may also may be some funding for the “No Child Left Behind” programs and also short-term money for school short falls. The board approved by a 6-1 vote for placing the bond issue on the April ballot to increase the debt service from 68 cents per $100 assessed valuation to 93 cents per $100 assessed valuation. The bond issue is needed to reconfigure the senior high and junior high for the move of the 6th grade to junior high, and the move of the 9th grade to the senior high. The lone vote against came from Bernie Sirois. The board of education committee assignments were made before the board accepted the resignation of 2nd grade teacher Mary Ross Mills at the end of the school year. The board then went into closed session where they voted unanimously to renew Superintendent Steve Bryant’s three-year contract another year. No other action was taken and the meeting was adjourned.

Jackie Light of Dent County was indicted on federal charges of illegal possession of ammunition according to US Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway and Dent County Sheriff Rick Stallings. The 49-year old Light was indicted Thursday on one felony count of being a previously convicted felon in possession of ammunition. The indictment alleges that he was in possession of ammunition in early January 2009. Due to his previous felony convictions, Light is forbidden by law to possess firearms and ammunition. f convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000. In addition to Sheriff Stallings, Hanaway commended the work on the case by Dent County Prosecuting Attorney, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and Assistant United States Attorney Michael Bert, who is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Julio Jimenez-Quinones was arrested in Phelps County on immigration charges according to US Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway. The 30-year old Quinones, an illegal alien from Mexico, was indicted for re-entry of a previously deported aggravated felon.  If convicted, this charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.  He was arrested Immigration agents on December 17, 2008 in Rolla, MO. Hanaway commended the work on the case by the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Assistant United States Attorney Fred Dana, who is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Sports [TOP]

C.J. Smith scored 20 points and Zach Pitchford added 19 more as the Salem Tigers went on to defeat the Houston Tigers in an exciting SCA game Friday night. Phillip Moser added 13 points for Salem as they improved to 6-8 on the year and 1-0 in the SCA. Salem will face Blair Oaks in the St. James Tournament Tuesday night at 6;00 and you can hear the game on KSMO Radio and online at ksmoradio.com.

The Salem Lady Basketball Tigers will host the Owensville Dutchgirls Tuesday night at the SHS Gym starting at 6:00 with the JV game with the varsity game to follow. Salem enters the game with a 6-8 record.

Marcus Denmon scored a career-high 16 points to lead the Missouri Tigers to a 77-46 pasting of the Iowa State Cyclones in a Big 12 matchup at Mizzou Arena. Zaire Taylor added 15 points for the Tigers (15-3, 2-1 Big 12), who tied a Mizzou Arena record with their 13th straight home win. Leo Lyons tallied 12 points and eight rebounds, and Keith Ramsey finished with 10. The Tigers play Oklahoma State Wednesday night.

Martin Havlat's goal just 1:23 into overtime lifted the Chicago Blackhawks to a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues at Scottrade Center. David Backes scored the lone goal while Legace was charged with both goals on 21 shots for the Blues, who have dropped three of four. St. Louis plays in Boston today at noon and you can hear the game on KSMO Radio.

The St. Louis Rams named New York Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo the 23rd head coach in franchise history on Saturday. Spagnuolo agreed to a four-year contract and will be introduced at a news conference today.

NFL Playoff Scores:

Arizona 32, Philadelphia 25
Pittsburgh 23, Baltimore 14

The Winter Youth Basketball signups for boys and girls in the 1^st through 6^th grade will be held on Thursday, January 22^nd and Friday, January 23^rd also from 4:00 to 6:00 at the Salem Freedom Activity Center. The cost is $15.00 per child. These will be the only signups for the basketball program. For more information, call 729-6290.

Obituaries   [TOP]