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The City of Salem Board of Aldermen held their regular meeting Tuesday evening at the city hall council chambers. They heard from Mark Ruether from the State Auditors office regarding an audit of the city’s finances.  This audit is being conducted because of a 311-signature citizen petition that was presented to the State Auditors office. The audit will begin next Monday and take from two to five months to complete at a cost to the city of between $20,000 and $30,000. The audit findings will first be presented to the Board of Aldermen in a closed session, and then the final report will be presented at a public meeting. Mayor Brown indicated that the sales tax revenue for December was up over $21,697 over last year. City Engineer Bill Huffman gave a report on the public hearing that was held prior to the Board meeting. He said that the Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend that a subdivision be approved for property owned by Joe Lato on Pershing Street. The aldermen approved the drafting of an ordinance to subdivide 904 N. Pershing Street. Alderman McDaniels asked about extending the city limits and City Attorney Nanci Wisdom reported that they are working on the legal descriptions of the areas to be annexed and they will be mailed out to residents. He also asked about improvements to the airport, and Mayor Brown reported that MoDOT would be flying in town for final approval of the improvements.  After their approval has been obtained, airplanes can fly into the airport both day and night. Aldermen Kenneth Nash asked about having a representative from MoDOT attend a future meeting to discuss some needed work on McArthur Avenue.  He asked that the Planning and Zoning Commission meet and discuss some new and stronger ordinances for mobile homes inside the city limits. Mayor Brown stated that Well #4 would be back up and working this Friday. Brown reported that the Chamber of Commerce and Salem Area Community Betterment Association will be asking downtown business owners to have their employees park in designated city parking lots to enable more room for customers on Fourth Street and around the Courthouse. The Road Rally will be held February 27 and 28th in Dent County. All motel rooms are booked and if anyone would like to rent out a room in your home they should contact the Chamber of Commerce. Brown distributed copies of the Chamber of Commerce and Salem Area Community Betterment contracts with the City for discussion at a future meeting. After the bills were approved, the board went into closed session.

Two arrests have been made in connection with incidents of mailboxes being vandalized on County Roads 2330 and 3200. On Sunday, January 18th, 17-year old Michael Wilder of Texas County and a male juvenile were taken into custody. Wilder was issued a summons to appear in court and released, while the juvenile was released to his parents. A traffic stop was made of a Dodge pickup. In the truck was found an aluminum baseball bat that the two stated was used to damage 10 mailboxes. The two then showed officers and their parents the vandalized mailboxes.

Captain Lee Ann H. Kenley, commanding officer of Troop I, announces the results of an “Arrive Alive” selective enforcement operation, which specifically targeted drivers exceeding the posted speed limit.  The eight-hour operation, which was conducted in Phelps County on Thursday, January 15^th, resulted in the assigned troopers stopping 36 passenger vehicles and three commercial motor vehicles.  As a result of this operation there were 23 speeding violations, one failure to yield (move over) violation, one driver’s license violation, one commercial motor vehicle violation, two vehicle registration violations, two violations for failure to wear seat belt, and three violations for no insurance. A total of 36 warnings were issued.

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) will perform edge rut repair on Route 32 in Texas County, from the intersection of Route 17 to the Dent County line beginning today.  Weather permitting, crews and equipment will be on the roadway between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Edge rut repair work requires placing material at the edge of the roadway and is necessary to reduce shoulder drop off. While performing this function, crews and equipment are located directly on or near the roadway. Motorists are urged to exercise caution when moving through the work zone. For additional information regarding this or other transportation-related topics, call the MoDOT Customer Service Center, toll free, at 1-888-ASK MoDOT (275-6636). 

Sports [TOP]

Brandon Moore hit a desperation off balance three-pointer as time expired to give Blair Oaks a 61-58 win over the Salem Tigers Tuesday night at St. James. Salem was led in scoring by CJ Smith with 19 followed by Phillip Moser with 14. Salem is now 6-9 on the year and they will face Belle Thursday night at 6:00. You can hear that game on KSMO Radio.

The Salem Lady Basketball Tigers beat the Owensville Dutchgirls Tuesday night at the SHS Gym in overtime, 51-47. Salem is now 7-8 on the year and they will host Licking Friday night.

The Missouri Basketball Tigers will be back in action tonight as they face the Oklahoma State Cowboys at 8:00. You can hear the game on KSMO Radio starting at 7:30. Missouri enters the game with a 15-3 record and 2-1 in the Big 12.

The St. Louis Blues will be in Chicago tonight to face the Blackhawks. The game will not be on KSMO due to the Missouri Basketball game.

The St. Louis Cardinals have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with pitcher Brad Thompson. The Cards still have two players eligible for arbitration. They have not yet agreed to terms with Rick Ankiel and Ryan Ludwick.

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]

A memorial service for William H. Johnson of Salem, age 50, will be held this morning at 11:00 at the James & Gahr Mortuary in Salem.

Funeral services for Betty Ritter of Bunker, age 77, will be held Thursday at 11:00 at the United Baptist Tabernacle in Bunker. Visitation will be tonight from 5:00 to 8:00 at the McSpadden Funeral Home in Bunker. Interment will be in the Bunker City Cemetery.

Funeral services for Lewis “Joe” Lee Schonfield of Steelville, age 50, will be held Thursday morning at 11:00 at the Britton-Bennett Funeral Home in Steelville. Visitation will be from 5:00 to 8:00 today. Interment will be in the Eaton-Hanson Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the family.

Funeral arrangements for William (Bill) Joseph Rostron Sr. of Salem, age 62, will be held Thursday at 1:00 at the Wilson Mortuary in Salem. Visitation will be from 11:00 until service time. Interment will be in the North Lawn Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to the American Legion Walker-Roney Post #99.