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The Dent County Commissioners held their regular meeting at the Dent County Courthouse Thursday morning. At the meeting, Commissioners Bobby Simpson and J.J. Tune both reported that conditions are hot and dry, making roadwork very limited.  Commissioner Simpson did say that crews are still working on Dent County Road 624 and hauling rock to Bunker.  Commissioner Tune said that grading is being done on Dent County Road 312 and the rest of the District 2 crew is doing routine maintenance on equipment. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles reported that he would be attending a series of meetings on Thursday at the MRPC in St. James. Skiles also wanted to remind everyone that the City Hall, The Freedom Activity Center and the Senior Citizens Center is open to anyone for relief from the excessive heat. Stacey Gross with Geo-Com attended the meeting to present the Commission a bid of $108,00 for Rural Addressing. Joel Smith also attended the meeting to ask the Commission what he could do to get a court case re-opened that had been closed during the time that Jim Gray was Prosecuting Attorney. The Commission explained that this was out of their jurisdiction, but did give Smith two telephone numbers that he could call to get information about how to go about the process. The next meeting of the Commissioners will be Monday morning at 9:00 and the meeting is open to the public.

An accident occurred Wednesday evening in Dent County on Highway 32 about two miles west of Salem. According to the highway patrol report, a 1997 Ford driven by 17-year old Jodi Head of Salem, was traveling westbound on Highway 32 when she struck a dog in the roadway. Head suffered minor injuries and was transported by ambulance to the Salem Memorial District Hospital. She was wearing a seat restraint at the time of the accident. The Ford sustained minor damage and was driven from the scene.

The Salem Police Department released their report for the month of July. During the month, they wrote 17 traffic tickets, 11 warning tickets and one equipment repair order. They served 41 summons to appear in court and two fugitive warrants. The Salem Police Department investigated 13 accidents, six assaults, four domestic assaults, and two reports of driving  while intoxicated. The Police Department also investigated 24 reports of stealing, two reports of forgery, one report of harassment, one report of a missing or runaway juvenile, one report of refusal to obey a lawful order, one report of counterfeiting, six reports of property damage, one report of tampering, one burglary, six reports of disorderly conduct, and one report of leaving the scene of an accident. They also investigated four reports of possession of marijuana and two reports of possession of drug paraphernalia.  The police received 1,984 calls for service during the month and handled 142 walk-ins to the station. The Salem Police Department redirected 88 calls to the animal control officer. They spent 15 hours in court testifying and six hours as court bailiff. The calls in July included 32 calls for escorts, 12 9-1-1 calls, nine intoxicated driver investigation calls, one call for a suspicious person or vehicle, five calls for vehicle lockouts, three calls for peace disturbances, 14 ambulance assist calls, three calls for alarms sounding, ten calls for fights in progress, four domestic dispute calls, five calls for an intoxicated pedestrian, four fire calls and three wreckers were needed. The Salem Police Department drove a total of 9,033 miles during the month of July. The Salem Police Department arrested 24 males and 10 females during the month of July.

Sports [TOP]

Rick Ankiel made a smashing return to the majors, belting a three-run homer, and Joel Pineiro threw seven shutout innings as the Cardinals blanked the San Diego Padres, 5-0, in the finale of a four-game set at Busch Stadium. Ankiel had his contract purchased from Triple-A Memphis before the game. He started in right field and hit second in the lineup, finishing the game 1-for-4 with the big blast in the seventh inning. Ankiel was leading the Pacific Coast League with 32 home runs at time of purchase and was tied for second with 89 RBI. He won 11 games and finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2000, but retired as a pitcher in March, 2005 due to control problems and then missed the entire 2006 season due to left knee surgery. However, he returned to the majors with a vengeance on Thursday and even got a curtain call after clubbing his third career major league homer. Pineiro (1-1), making his second start as a Cardinal after the team acquired him from Boston on July 31, gave up four hits and fanned four without allowing a walk. Yadier Molina had three hits and an RBI for the Cardinals, who won three of the four contests in the series. The Cardinals host the Dodgers for three games this weekend starting tonight at 7:00, Saturday afternoon at 2:45 and Sunday at 1:00. You can hear the games on KSMO Radio.

The St. Louis Cardinals put infielder Scott Spiezio on Major League Baseball's restricted list due to an apparent substance abuse problem. Spiezio came forward to the team concerned about possible problems related to substances he was taking unbeknown to the club's medical staff. The team didn't specify which substance Spiezio has been taking. It's not known when Spiezio will return to the team. He's hitting .272 with three homers and 27 RBI in 69 games this season.

Kyle Davies and three Kansas City relievers combined on a four-hit shutout, and the Royals blanked the Minnesota Twins, 1-0, in the finale of a three-game set. Davies (5-8) allowed only three hits in 6 2/3 innings, striking out five and walking a pair for the Royals, who took two of three from the Twins after dropping three straight to the Yankees. Jason LaRue's sacrifice fly in the third inning provided the only run of the game. Joakim Soria got the last four outs of the game for his 12th save. The Royals will host the Toronto Blues Jays this weekend at Kaufmann Stadium.

Obituaries   [TOP]

Memorial services for John Al Catalanotto of Salem, age 54, will be this morning at 11:00 a.m. at the Wilson Mortuary Chapel. Visitation will be after 10:00 A.M. until service time.

A celebration of life service for Phil and Bess Askey will be held Saturday at 10:00 a.m. at the Salem United Methodist Church.

Funeral services for Delores I. Heavin of Rolla, age 75, will he held Saturday morning at 11:00 at the James and Gahr Mortuary in Rolla. Visitation will be from 5:00 to 8:00 on Friday. Interment will be in the Rolla City Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the Philadelphia Baptist Church.

Funeral services for Loretta Keithly of Salem, age 85, will be held Sunday at 1:00 at the Wilson Mortuary Chapel in Salem. Visitation will be Saturday from 6:00 to 8:00. Interment will be in the Cedar Grove Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the First Baptist Church in Salem.

Funeral services for Richard "Dick" McInnis of Steelville will be held Sunday at 3:00 at the Britton-Bennett Funeral Home in Steelville. Visitation will be Saturday from 4:00 to 8:00. Interment will be in the Pinnell Cemetery in Steelville.

 Weather [TOP]