News

The Dent County Commissioners met for their regular meeting Thursday morning in the Dent County Courthouse. Dent County Coroner Gina White was in to let the Commissioners know that her computer monitor would not work and asked the Commission to replace it since she had no equipment replacement budgeted. The Commissioners approved replacement of the monitor. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell said that his crew was continuing to deal with snowdrifts and icy patches. Purcell added that Truck #115 spreader box had a broken chain that was being repaired. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson said that Wednesday his crews treated slick spots on the District 2 chip and seal roads and would deal with the rest of the roads the remainder of the week. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles noted that Monday evening all three Commissioners attended the meeting at Fort Leonard Wood. He said that there was an overflow crowd and that the program was very well presented with the emphasis on facts that were clearly presented. Skiles went on to say that he felt that the early dismissal of the State Legislature and the attendance of twenty-four state senators and many representatives definitely made the point that the proposed reductions at Fort Leonard Wood were not just locally important, but was of state wide importance. Skiles noted that on Tuesday he attended the Ozark Solid Waste Management Board meeting. Commissioners Skiles and Larson said that they met last Thursday with Mr. Frankie Swartz about his request to place a Spiritual Harvest Edition Bible in the Courthouse Court Room to be used when witnesses are sworn in. Skiles said that they shared with Mr. Swartz that they would make sure the bible was returned to him or his descendents if it was ever removed from the courtroom, but they wouldn’t always be in office and that they could not guarantee it’s disposition after they were out of office. Mr. Swartz was understanding and made the donation of the bible. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said that the Collector and the Assessor balanced on all collections, abatements and add-ons and that the Commissioners had reviewed the reports. She also stated that bills were being reviewed so they could be paid. Curley went on to say that March 11^th is the deadline to register to vote in the April election and that on March 10^th she would be conducting a voter registration drive at Salem High School from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. The next meeting of the Commission will be Monday morning at 9:00 at the Courthouse and the meeting is open to the public. 

An accident occurred at 6:30 Thursday morning in Phelps County on Highway 72 about two miles east of Rolla. According to the highway patrol report, a 2003 Ford F-250 pickup driven by 23-year old Brett Combs of Salem was traveling westbound on Highway 72. The Ford left the roadway, struck a driveway, causing the pickup to go airborne and then struck a fence and a tree. Combs suffered minor injuries and was transported by a private vehicle to the Phelps County Regional Medical Center. He was not wearing a seat restraint at the time of the accident. The Ford F250 pickup sustained moderate damage and was towed from the scene by I-44 Wrecker.

An accident happened at 12:07 early Thursday morning in Phelps County about four miles east of St. James on I-44. According to the highway patrol report, a Mitsubishi Eclipse driven by 21-year old Casey Cash of St. James was traveling westbound on I-44 in the eastbound lanes and struck a 2014 Volvo tractor-trailer driven by 27-year old Bikram Singh of Sunnyvale, California on the passenger side. A 2004 Dodge Dakota driven by 49-year old Charles Behnen of Rolla was struck by a piece of debris from the Mitsubishi. Casey suffered serious injuries and was transported by air ambulance to Mercy Hospital in Creve Coeur. Casey was the only one not wearing a seat restraint at the time of the accident. The Mitsubishi Eclipse was totaled while the Volvo tractor-trailer sustained moderate damage. Both were towed from the scene by C&C Towing. The Dodge Dakota sustained minor damage and was driven from the scene.

Sports [TOP]

Kobe Wands scored 26 points to lead the Rolla Bulldogs past the Salem Tigers Thursday night at the School of the Osage in District play, 90-60. Salem was led in scoring by Kobe Mead and Zayne Kyser each with 21 points. The Salem Tigers finished the year with a 14-11 record.

The Missouri Tigers will be at Mississippi State for their final regular season game Saturday afternoon at 5:00. You can hear the game on KSMO Radio. Missouri is 9-21 on the season and 3-14 in the SEC Conference. (Missouri lost, 52-43)

Wayne Simmonds netted the game-winning goal with 8:23 remaining, one of three third-period tallies which lifted Philadelphia past St. Louis by a 3-1 count on Thursday night. Jaden Schwartz provided the sole offense for the Blues. Brian Elliott stopped 28 shots in defeat. The Blues will be at Toronto Saturday night. KSMO will join the game in progress after the Missouri game. (Blues won, 6-1)

Jason Heyward singled in his first at-bat with the St. Louis Cardinals in the Cardinals 4-1 win over Miami Thursday. St. Louis starter Carlos Martinez struck out three of the six batters he faced. The Cardinals play Houston today.

Kendrys Morales, signed in the offseason to give the Kansas City offense a jolt, followed up a homer in his spring debut with an RBI single. Outfield prospect Brett Eibner also went deep as Kansas City beat Texas, 5-4. The Royals will take on the Indians today.

Obituaries   [TOP]