News

Mike Fiaoni of the Department of Conservation would like to inform residents of Dent County that the shooting range at Indian Trails will be closed today but will open back up for the weekend of Saturday, July 14^th and Sunday, July 15^th. The shooting range will be closed again Monday, July 16^th through Wednesday, July 18^th and then reopen on Thursday, July 19^th. The closures are due to logging taking place in the Indian Trails Conservation Area. Your patience and understanding is greatly appreciated. 

The Dent County Commissioners met for their regular meeting at the Dent County Courthouse Thursday morning. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell reported that grading would be done on Dent County Roads 5600, 6630 and 6670. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson reported that grading would be done on Dent County Road 2510, brush would be cut on Dent County Road 2050 and a cross over pipe would be installed on Dent County Road 3200. Larson also wanted to address the topic of chip and seal and the many requests the commissioners receive from residents asking for their roads to be chip and sealed and why the county can’t do every road. Chip and seal costs $37,000 per mile and this does not include the cost of prepping the road for the chip and seal. If a road is even considered for chip and seal, it’s usually figured into the counties budget for the following year.  Both commissioners also reported that members from each district would be hauling brown rock to the county shed and changing tires on county trucks. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley reported that absentee voting continues and if you would like to request a mail out ballot you need to call the clerk’s office at 729-4144. The deadline to make that request is August 1^st. Curley also said the public testing of the voting equipment will be held July 25^th at 9:00 am in the clerk’s office. Dent County Collector Dennis Medlock wanted to remind everyone that any payment received for personal property taxes or real estate property taxes is applied to the oldest of any back delinquent taxes. Medlock also said the next tax sale will be held on August 27^th at 10:00 am on the courthouse steps. The next meeting of the Commissioners will be Monday morning at 9:00 and that meeting is open to the public.

Captain Lee Ann Kenley, commanding officer of Troop I, announced the results of several checkpoints and operations in our area. From July 3^rd through July 8^th, troopers participated in Operation C.A.R.E. (combined accident reduction effort). During the peak travel periods on both July 3^rd and July 8^th, special enforcement operations were also conducted. These included the “20-Mile Trooper Operation” on I-44 and other projects on the secondary highways. Enforcement efforts through the Fourth of July holiday period resulted in 298 citations for exceeding the posted speed limit, 138 citations for seat belt violations, four for child restraint violations and the issuance of 791 warnings. Troopers also made eight arrests for driving while intoxicated and 18 arrests for drug violations. During this holiday period officers investigated 49 traffic crashes that resulted in 23 injuries and one fatality. There were also 249 motorist assists and other calls for service during this period. A saturation patrol was conducted on Saturday, June 30^th in and around river accesses in Crawford County, in an effort to identify those individuals operating watercraft or motor vehicles while intoxicated. There were two DWI arrests, two citations for hazardous moving violations, four non-moving violations, one marine equipment violation, one marine moving violation, one minor in possession of intoxicants violation, 10 misdemeanor drug arrests, two other misdemeanor criminal arrests and nine warnings were issued. A sobriety checkpoint was conducted on Friday, July 6^th from 6:00 pm until 10:00 pm on Highway 8, near the entrance to the Steelville City Park. During the course of the four-hour operation troopers stopped 590 vehicles.  There was one DWI arrest, two speeding violations, 15 seat belt violations, one hazardous moving violation, six non-moving traffic violations, six driver’s license violations, three uninsured motorists violations, one misdemeanor warrant arrest, two misdemeanor drug violations, and one felony drug arrest. A total of 90 warnings were issued. A DWI saturation patrol was conducted in Crawford County from 7:00 pm, Saturday, July 7^th until 3:00 am on Sunday, July 8^th. During the enforcement operation troopers made one DWI arrest, and issued one citation for speeding, one citation for failure to wear a seat belt, one citation for a hazardous moving violation, and one citation for no proof of insurance and one citation for a minor in possession of alcohol. During the saturation patrol officers also issued 33 warnings. To report a suspected impaired driver or a highway emergency, please dial the Patrol’s emergency hotline, 1-800-525-5555 or *55 on your cellular phone.

A widespread scam that claims to pay utility bills is making its way across the nation. Rural electric cooperatives are reporting incidents involving the scam daily. Intercounty Electric Cooperative is warning members to be aware of a bill-paying scam that asks them to disclose Social Security and bank routing numbers. Scammers claim electric consumers can have their utility bills paid under a federal government assistance program. No such program exists. The solicitations have been made door-to-door, online using Facebook and emails, and by phone. Members are asked for personal information and then given fake bank account numbers to use for making a payment on their utility bill. Members are urged to alert police and the cooperative if they're contacted about the scam. If you have any questions about your account, please all Intercounty Electric at 1-866-621-3679.

Sports [TOP]

The St. Louis Cardinals will be back in action tonight as they will be in Cincinnati to take on the Reds to open up the second half of the season. The Cardinals sit 2 ½ games behind the Pirates for the top spot in the NL Central. The Kansas City Royals will also be playing tonight, as they’ll be hosting the division leading Chicago White Sox for three games. The Royals are in fourth place in the AL Central, 9 ½ games behind Chicago.

Obituaries   [TOP]