Your World Today, Salem, Missouri

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Dent County Sheriff Rick Stallings released that on Saturday, March 5, Dent County Prosecuting Attorney Brandi Baird charged 58-year old Gary L. Stevens, with two counts of Murder in the First Degree, two counts of Armed Criminal Action, one count of Unlawful Possession of a Firearm and one count of Tampering with a Motor Vehicle in the First Degree. A warrant was issued by the Circuit Court in Dent County on Saturday and bail was denied. Stevens is being held in the Dent County Jail. The probable cause statement submitted by the investigator with the Missouri State Highway Patrol stated that on Tuesday, March 1, 2011, the bodies of Dennis L. Lewis and Mary L. Lewis were discovered deceased in their rural Dent County residence from gunshot wounds to the head. An autopsy of Dennis Lewis revealed that he had been shot three times in the head/neck area while the autopsy of Mary Lewis revealed that she had been shot once in the head/neck area. During the autopsies it was determined that both Dennis and Mary Lewis were shot with a small caliber firearm. The investigation further revealed that the victims' silver 2005 Dodge truck was missing from the residence and had reportedly been driven to Holts Summit, Missouri on Tuesday, March 1^st, by Gary L. Stevens, who was identified as the brother of Mary Lewis and a resident of the Lewis home. That same day, Stevens was contacted at a residence in Holts Summit, Missouri. During this contact Stevens stated that he had his .22 caliber rifle in the silver 2005 Dodge truck, which he admittedly drove to the residence in Holts Summit, and that he put the rifle in the truck prior to leaving the Lewis' residence. It should be noted that Stevens was convicted of a felony in 1980 and because of his criminal history is not able to lawfully possess a firearm. Steven's further indicated that Mary Lewis would be upset if she knew he took her vehicle. On Thursday, March 3rd, a search warrant for the silver 2005 Dodge truck was executed. During the search of the truck a Marlin, Model 60, .22 caliber rifle was recovered. Upon examining the rifle, bloodstains were observed on the rear sight and on the barrel and breech near the rear sight. On Friday, March 4, an interview was conducted of Stevens in Holts Summit, Missouri. During this interview Stevens admitted that prior to leaving the residence in the Lewis's silver 2005 Dodge truck, he walked into the bedroom of Dennis and Mary Lewis, turned on the lights and shot both Dennis and Mary Lewis. The arrest and charges are merely accusations, and each defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

The Dent County Soil and Water Conservation District’s 50^th Annual meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 22nd at the The Commons Youth Building in Salem. Registration will begin at 5:30 with the dinner at 6:00, the awards presentation will begin at 6:45 followed by the special guest speaker, Dr. Robert Kallenbach, a Professor of Agronomy with the University of Missouri Extension. His topic will be “Simple, Repeatable and Profitable Forage Livestock Systems.” The meal will provided by the Dent County Soil and Water Conservation District. If you plan on attending the annual meeting, please make your reservation by calling Cindy at 573-729-4442.

The Salem R- 80 Junior High Quiz Bowl Team competed in the Salem R-80 Jr. High Quiz Bowl Tournament on Monday, February 28th at the Salem Upper Elementary School. The Salem R-80 team was undefeated in all their regular rounds and advanced to the championship round where they captured First place. The team was comprised of 7^th graders C. J. (Christian) Richardson, Josh Sirois, and Jordan Sutton; and 8^th grade students Alex Downs and Josiah Beckett. The 1^st place trophy is on display in the Junior High office window. The Junior High Quiz Bowl Sponsors are Hazel Krewson and Deborah Morton.

Sports [TOP]

The Salem 6th Grade Lady Basketball Traveling Tigers recently took 2nd Place in the Columbia Show Me State Games. The Lady Tigers dominated St. Louis, 26-4, then lost to Columbia 36-16. The Lady Tigers came back and blasted Osage, 34-8, before overwhelming Jefferson City, 24-3 to reach the Championship game. The Championship contest was close for three quarters before Columbia pulled away in the fourth quarter and beat Salem, 28-17. The Salem 6^th Grade Traveling Lady Tigers are comprised of Payton Curley, Camryn Pryor, Cheyenne Sercl, Kari Hatridge, Allie Fleener, Kaleigh Nash, Alexis Goff, & Desiree Swenson. Congratulations Ladies on a great effort!!!

Marcus Morris scored 21 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, as the second-ranked Kansas Jayhawks won the Big 12 Conference regular season title with a 70-66 victory over the 22nd-ranked Missouri Tigers Saturday. Laurence Bowers finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers (22-9, 8-8), who came into the game with a 17-0 record at home this season. Marcus Denmon tallied 19 points in defeat.

John Tavares and P.A. Parenteau scored first- period goals to send the New York Islanders to a 5-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues at Nassau Coliseum. Chris Stewart and Andy McDonald scored for St. Louis. Ben Bishop stopped just 17 shots in defeat. The Blues will face Columbus tonight starting at 8:00 on KSMO.

Dewayne Wise drove in three runs to help the Florida Marlins beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-2, in Grapefruit League play. Mark Hamilton clubbed a solo home run for the Cardinals, while Kevin Thomas allowed one run and three hits in a two-inning start. Jason Motte yielded five runs in the fifth inning.

Clint Robinson went 2-for-5 with two runs batted in and Mike Aviles added three hits and scored twice as Kansas City knocked off the Chicago White Sox, 8-3, in Cactus League play. Lance Zawadzki and Pedro Feliz hit home runs for the Royals, who banged out 17 hits. Luke Hochevar earned the win after allowing a run on three hits over three frames in the start.

Aaron Carter led the way with 15 points as No. 3 seeded Indiana State captured the Missouri Valley Conference title with a 60-56 win over top-seeded Missouri State and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Jermaine Mallett led all scorers with 17 points to go with eight rebounds for Missouri State (25-8), which defeated Southern Illinois and Creighton to get to the conference final. Adam Leonard and Kyle Weems each posted 11 points in defeat. Weems added eight boards.

The Salem Winter Sports Banquet will be held on Tuesday, March 8^th at 6:30 at the Salem High School Cafeteria to salute the Boys and Girls Basketball Teams and the Cheerleaders.

Obituaries [TOP]

Funeral services for Manford T. Rhea of Steelville, age 92, will be held this morning at 11:00 at the First Baptist Church in Steelville. Memorials may be given to the First Baptist Church or Gibbs Care Center in Steelville. All arrangement are under the direction of the Britton-Bennett Funeral Home in Steelville.

Funeral services for Verna Ruth Parry of Salem, age 89, will be held this morning at 11:00 at the James and Gahr Mortuary in Salem. Interment will be the Asher Cemetery in Phelps County. Memorials are suggested to the music department at the Salem Christian Church.

Joint funeral services for Mary Lou Lewis, age 50 and Dennis Lee Lewis, age 57, both of Salem, will be held this afternoon at 1:00 at the Wilson Mortuary in Salem. Visitation will be from 11:00 until service time. Interment will follow in the Cedar Grove Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the Crime Victims’ Compensation Fund.

Graveside services for Robert J. Ditmeyer of Salem, age 69, will be held Wednesday at 2:00 at the Miles Cemetery in rural St. James. Memorials are suggested to the Phelps County Hospice or Miles Cemetery. All arrangements are under the direction of the James and Gahr Mortuary in St. James.

Graveside services for Virginia Franke of Bowling Green, Kentucky, age 82, will be held Saturday at 2:00 at the Cedar Grove Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to the American Cancer Society. All arrangements are under the direction of the James and Gahr Mortuary in Salem.

Weather [TOP]

Today..Mostly cloudy, high of 47.
Tonight..Cloudy with a slight chance for rain after midnight, low of 38.
Tuesday..Cloudy with a 70% chance for showers and thunderstorms, high of 52.
Tuesday night..Cloudy with a 90% chance for showers and thunderstorms, low of 42.
Wednesday..Mostly cloudy, high of 49.
Wednesday night..Mostly cloudy, low near 30.