News

The Quality Assurance will be held TONIGHT beginning at 7:00 pm at the old city hall in Salem. This is the ONLY meeting to be held in Dent County this year and if you miss it, you’ll have to go to another county to take the meeting. For more information contact the Dent County Extension Center by calling 729-3196.

On March 3^rd, Dent County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to a call in the 1200 block of Dent County Road 4090 where Timothy Tracy files a complaint of a motor vehicle theft from his residence. The vehicle was described as a green 1997 Dodge Flatbed truck with a value of approximately $6,000. On Monday, March the 9^th, the vehicle was located in Crawford County by the Crawford County deputies. Also on March 3^rd, the Dent County Sheriff’s Office received a report of stolen vehicle tags from a GMC Yukon. This case is still open and under investigation. On March 6^th at about 6:53 in the evening, the Dent County Sheriff’s Office received a telephone call reporting an assault. Deputies responded to the 1000 block of Dent County Road 2030 where their investigation revealed a felony assault had taken place by means of punching and choking. As a result of the investigation, 53-year old Michael Thompson of Salem, was arrested and charged with a 2^nd degree felony for Domestic Assault - 1^st offense, and also a felony for resisting or interfering with the arrest for a felony. Thompson was placed into the Dent County Jail and was given an $11,000 cash only bond. 

The Dent County Commission met Monday morning for their regular meeting at the Dent County Courthouse. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams brought in the sales tax distribution information from the state for the money received in March and it came in at  $78,892.24 and that is down from the March receipts from 2014 of $80,444.92. Williams said year-to-date, the sales tax distributions from the state are $407.15 less this year than for the first three collections in 2014. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell said a crew would be cleaning, washing and repairing the snow and ice removal equipment. He also said that while out taking care of the roads, workers identified a number of areas with low limbs and leaning trees that crews will be addressing. Another crew will be checking roads for soft spots. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson reported he had a crew cleaning and lubricating the spreader boxes, and he had a crew out checking for muddy or soft spots. Larson wanted to let the public know that the county road crews will repair the roads that absolutely must be done as moving heavy equipment onto the soft roads could do more damage to the road than good until the road firms up. Larson did say a worker may try to screen some rock if it is not too wet and they have time. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles will be attending a Meramec Community Enhancements Corporation Board meeting today at the MRPC offices in St. James. Skiles also stated he and Commissioner Larson will meet with school administrators on Wednesday to discuss the Road and Bridge sales tax issue on the ballot. Commissioner Purcell will not be able to attend that meeting due to a previous commitment. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said the last day to register to vote for the April election would be Wednesday. She will be holding a voter registration drive at the Salem High School today from 11:00 AM until 1:00 PM in the lobby of the cafeteria. Students who are 17½ years of age or older can register to vote. They must have a legal ID such as a driver’s license or Social Security Card to register. Curley reported that her office and the treasurer’s office balanced on all accounts for the month of February. The next meeting of the Dent County Commissioners will be Thursday morning at the Dent County Courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

Sports [TOP]

The St. Louis Blues will be at home tonight to face the Winnipeg Jets to start a three game home stand starting at 6:30. You can hear the game on KSMO Radio. The Blues sit two points behind Nashville for the top spot in the Central Division with two games in hand.

Mack Rhoades has been selected as the newly appointed Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at the University of Missouri in April. A press conference will be held today to formally make the announcement. Rhoades currently serves as the vice president for intercollegiate athletics at The University of Houston. He will be taking the place of Mike Alden.

Michael Wacha had a successful spring debut, but the Boston Red Sox pulled away late for a 3-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Wacha struck out four over two hitless innings for the Cardinals, who were held to only six hits. The Red Sox moved ahead with a two-run seventh inning against Tyler Lyons. Luke Montz had an RBI double and Mookie Betts hit a run-scoring single. The Cardinals will play Houston today.

Mike Moustakas drove in a pair of runs to lead the Kansas City Royals in a 5-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers in Cactus League play on Monday. Brett Eibner, Whit Merrifield and Raul Mondesi each drove in a run for the Royals. Jason Vargas allowed a run on two hits with three strikeouts in two innings of work. The Royals will play the Chicago White Sox today in Arizona.

Obituaries   [TOP]