News

Dent County Sheriff Rick Stallings is pleased to announce the award of the 2015 State Cyber Crime Grant (SCCG) to support the South Central Missouri Computer Crime Task Force. The Sheriff’s Office was awarded $44,430.03 from the program through the Missouri Department of Public Safety. This grant, which is retroactive from June 1, 2014 and runs through May 31, 2015, will fund the salary of a Special Investigator, located at the digital forensic lab in Salem as well as forensic software maintenance, Internet access, and additional forensic software for the examination of cell phones. Dent County is the recipient of the grant and administers it for the task force agencies. There is no local match requirement for this award. The award of the grant was delayed due to state budget concerns. The South Central Missouri Computer Crime Task Force provides investigations, technical support, computer forensic examinations, officer training in identifying and seizing electronic evidence, and Internet Safety presentations to schools in the region. The South Central Missouri Computer Crime Task Force is comprised of investigators from various agencies and provides services to Dent, Pulaski, Phelps, Crawford, Iron, Reynolds, Shannon, Texas, and Washington Counties. The Task Force provides investigative and technology expertise to assist law enforcement in South Central Missouri in the investigation and prosecution of cases where digital evidence may be involved, particularly crimes against children. The Missouri Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force also supports the South Central Missouri Computer Crime Task Force with funds made available by the US Dept. of Justice from the PROTECT ACT, as well as the funds from the SCCG program.

An accident occurred at 8:47 on the evening of Thursday, March 12^th at the intersection of Second Street and Oak in Salem. According to the Salem Police report, a 2001 Dodge 1500 driven by James Gorman of Salem was traveling eastbound on Second Street while a 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse driven by Reba Mounce of Salem was traveling northbound on Oak. According to the report, Mounce was under the influence of alcohol and failed to stop at the stop sign. The Mitsubishi collided with the Dodge and was moved prior to the officer’s arrival. Gorman suffered minor injuries. Both vehicles sustained extensive damages.

The Dent County Sheriff’s Office released reports that occurred on March 23^rd. On Monday, March 23^rd deputies responded to a property located on Highway 32 west near Texas County for a theft report. Upon arrival, deputies discovered that a 49-year old male from Springfield was the reported victim. He stated that the lock on the front gate of the property had been cut and a 1988 Ford 350 truck, air compressor, miter saw and stand, table saw, generator and portable heater were taken from the property. Deputies responded to the 1700 block of Route B for a report of a burglary. Upon arrival, deputies discovered that a 44-year old female of Salem was the reported victim. She stated that unknown persons had climbed over a gate and forced open the door on her barn. No items appeared to have been removed from the building. Deputies were also dispatched to 3700 block Route EE in reference to a stolen ATV. Deputies responded and met with the reporting party who was a 69-year old male of Salem. He stated that he noticed that his 2015 Polaris Ranger Model 570 was missing. The ATV is described as green in color and valued at $14,000. The ATV was stolen during the overnight hours on March 22 into the early morning of the 23rd. At 9:47 pm that night, Deputies responded to County Road 3250 for a report of a suspicious vehicle. After further investigation, 39-year old Joseph Herman of Boss was arrested. An investigation revealed that Herman made threats towards Mr. Harold Tune and Mrs. Nancy Tune and attempted to avoid contact with law enforcement. Marijuana and drug paraphernalia were located during a consent search of Herman's vehicle. Herman is currently being held in the Dent County Jail on a $5,000 cash only bond and being charged for Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Harassment, Resisting a Deputy Sheriff, and Careless and Imprudent Driving. The information presented is just an accusation, and is not evidence of guilt. Evidence in support of any charge must be presented before a court of competent jurisdiction whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

Sports [TOP]

The Salem Baseball Tigers will host the Licking Wildcats today in a varsity double-header. The original scheduled game will be held at 4:30 and you can hear that game on KSMO Radio and online at ksmoradio.com. The game will also be televised for playback on Fidelity Channel 6. The second game is the makeup game from the Houston Tournament Saturday game that was postponed due to the weather conditions. There will be no JV game today. Salem enters the game with a 1-2 record.

The Salem Track Teams will be at Cuba today for a meet starting at 3:30, while the golf team will host the Salem Open at 4:00.

The Salem Tennis team defeated Richland yesterday 10-2 and they will be back in action as they will be in Houston today at 4:00.

Eddie Lack made 23 saves and the Canucks got goals from four different players in a 4-1 victory over the Blues on Monday night. Brian Elliott gave up three goals on 21 shots for the Blues, who have dropped five of six. Zbynek Michalek scored for the Blues who have now lost three straight at home and who will host Calgary Thursday night.

Matt Holliday's tie-breaking two-run single in the fifth inning helped propel the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-2 Grapefruit League win over the Washington Nationals. Holliday's two-out hit off Xavier Cedeno snapped a 2-2 deadlock, with Pete Kozma and Peter Bourjos adding RBI singles later on for St. Louis. Cardinals’ starter Michael Wacha walked three and allowed five hits through five innings, but was able to limit Washington to two runs -- one earned. The Cardinals will face the Miami Marlins today.

The Kansas City Royals scored seven runs in the first inning, then held on to beat the Texas Rangers, 11-7. Mike Moustakis had a grand slam and Alex Gordon homered for KC while Jason Vargas gave up three homers in the game, but got the win. Eric Hosmer had three hits for the Royals who will take on San Diego tonight.

The City of Salem baseball, softball and T-Ball sign-ups will be Thursday and Friday, April 2nd and 3rd from 4:00 to 6:00 PM. A signup will also be held Saturday morning April 4th from 9:00 to noon. All the signups will be held in the lobby of the Salem Community Center @ the Armory. Children ages 4 through 13 as of August 1st are eligible to play and the cost is $20 per child. For more information, call 729-6290.

Obituaries   [TOP]