News
The fifth annual Missouri National Archery in the Schools (MoNASP) state tournament, held March 22nd and 23rd at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, drew 1,438 student archers in grades 4 through 12 from 74 schools across the state. The top-scoring male student was Seth Pezley of St. Joseph Cathedral in Jefferson City with a score of 294 out of a possible 300. The top-scoring female student was Shelby Winslow of Summit Lakes Middle School in Lee’s Summit with a score of 287 out of 300. Top-scoring teams and individuals, along with other teams and individuals who had qualifying scores, will go on to compete in the National Archery in the Schools (NASP) national tournament in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 10th and 11th. Delaney Fields from Phelps Co. R-3 in Edgar Springs took 5th place in the individual Middle School Female category while Jaden Dunn, a 6th grader from North Wood R-4, took 4th place in the Individual Elementary School Female category. Also qualifying was 5th grader Nina Howard from the Salem Upper Elementary. The entire Salem Upper Elementary team qualified as a team for the national tournament.
An accident occurred at 4:30 Tuesday afternoon in Texas County on Highway CC about seven miles north of Licking. According to the highway patrol report, 49-year old Robert Lauer of Licking was riding a 2006 Kawasaki Ninja when he failed to negotiate a curve. The Kawasaki then ran off the roadway and struck a mailbox, causing Lauer to be ejected. Lauer suffered serious injuries and was taken by helicopter to the Mercy Hospital in Springfield. He was wearing a safety device at the time of the accident. The Kawasaki sustained moderate damage and was removed from the scene by A1 Towing of Houston.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Wildlife Health Center has confirmed that a deadly disease in bats called “White Nose Syndrome” (WNS) has been recently found in a little brown bat and a tri-colored bat from a public cave in Washington County. The USGS has also confirmed that WNS has been recently found in a little brown bat and a northern long-eared bat from two public caves in Franklin County. All three caves are closed to the public, and cave names are not being disclosed to prevent disturbance of remaining bats. The name of the disease describes a white fungus typically found on faces and wings of infected bats. The WNS fungus thrives in cool, damp conditions found in many caves, which are also hibernation and roosting sites for many bat species. WNS spreads mainly through bat-to-bat contact and has not been found to infect humans or other animals. The fungus that causes WNS may be inadvertently carried between caves by humans on clothing, footwear and caving gear. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), signs of the disease or the fungus have now been confirmed in 19 bats from caves in Crawford, Franklin, Lincoln, Perry, Pike, Shannon, and Washington counties since WNS was first found in Missouri in 2010. The USGS cautions that people should not handle any bats, and should contact their local MDC office or conservation agent if they find dead bats, or see bats flying outside during the day in the cold when they typically would be roosting or hibernating. Missouri is home to more than 6,300 known caves with about 74 percent of them privately owned. Many contain bats, which provide tremendous value as natural pest control for farms and forests. More info is available online at whitenosesyndrome.org.
Troop I of the Missouri State Highway Patrol recorded two traffic fatalities during the month of February this year, which is the one less than February of 2012. In the Troop I area, there were 193 accidents with 59 injuries while in February of 2012, there were 177 crashes with 65 injuries. In the county breakdown, there were 16 crashes with 12 injuries and one fatality reported in Dent County during the month of February while in Crawford County, there were 23 crashes with seven injuries recorded. In Phelps County in February, there were 57 crashes with 23 injuries reported while in Pulaski County, there were 48 crashes with 10 injuries recorded. In Maries County, there were four traffic crashes reported with no injuries while in Laclede County, there were 45 crashes reported with seven injuries and the other fatality.
The Dent County Fire Protection District Board of Directors will conduct their monthly meeting on Tuesday, April 2nd at the fire station beginning at 6:00 pm. After approval of the agenda, there will be a review of the minutes from their March meeting, and the Board will then review their financial report, approve bills and sign file copies, review the calendar and monthly reimbursement report. The Board will then address any old or new business followed by Fire Chief Brad Nash’s report. The Board will then set their next meeting for May 5th at the fire station and then vote to go into closed session for the purpose of discussing personnel, if necessary. The monthly meeting of the Dent County Fire Protection District Board of Directors is open to the public.
Sports [TOP]
The Salem Baseball Tigers will play at Potosi at 2:00 this afternoon. You’ll be able to hear the game on KSMO and online at ksmoradio.com.
The Salem Tiger Track and Tennis teams will play host today. The track team will host the Salem Open at the Salem High School track while tennis team will play Willow Springs. Start time for both is set for 4:00 this afternoon.
The St. Louis Blues will host the L.A. Kings tonight at the Scottrade Center. The Blues are 17-13-2 on the year and you can hear that game on KSMO, starting with pre-game at 6:30.
St. Louis scored three runs in each of the first three innings to give Jaime Garcia all the support he would need as the Cardinals pummeled the Washington Nationals, 10-1, on Wednesday. Shane Robinson knocked in a pair of runs while Garcia struck out eight over eight innings of one-run ball, allowing just six hits and no walks. The Cardinals will play the Marlins at 12:05 this afternoon.
The St. Louis Cardinals have reportedly agreed to a five-year contract extension with starting pitcher Adam Wainwright that will keep him with the club through the 2018 season.
The Kansas City Royals dropped the first of their split squad games on Wednesday, 9-1, to the Milwaukee Brewers. In the second game, The Royals finished with a 9-9 tie through 10 innings with the Chicago Cubs. Chris Getz racked up six hits, two RBI and two runs scored for the Royals, who will play the Reds today.
Obituaries [TOP]
Funeral services for Raymond Lee Stroup of Cuba, formerly of Steelville, will be held at 1:00 today at the Britton-Bennett Funeral Home in Steelville. Visitation will be held from 11:00 in the morning until service time. Interment will be in the Martin-Trask Cemetery in Cherryville. Memorials may be given to the Britton-Bennett Funeral Home for funeral expenses.
A Celebration of Life service will be held for Ronald David Graham of Salem, age 61, on Saturday, at 12:00 (noon) at the Gladden Baptist Church. Memorials may be made to the Graham Family. All arrangements are under the direction of the Wilson Mortuary of Salem.
Weather [TOP]
