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Wednesday night at the 83^rd annual Dent County Fall Festival, the Little Jr. Miss Dent County, Little Mister and Miss Dent County, and the Dent County Baby Contest winners were announced. The Little Jr. Miss Dent County contest was held for girls 5-10 years of age and the winner was Bailey Howard. Little Mister Dent County contest was held for boys 2-4 years of age and the winner was J.J. Welch. The next contest was Little Miss Dent County contest, which was for girls 2-4 years of age, and Jesslyn Damouth was the winner. In the Dent County Baby contest for boys and girls ages newborn to 2 years of age, Westyn Thompson was the winner for the boys and Charlee Duncan was the winner for the girls. The winners were decided by money collected by each contestant around town and the total amount collected for all contestants was $3,311.30. The Miss Dent County and Jr. Miss Dent County pageants will be held tonight at 7:30 on the stage. The contestants vying for Miss Dent County for young ladies from the age of 15-20 are Ashlee LaRue, Makayla Farrar, Alicia Wallis, Emily Smallwood, Emily Sullivan, Kala Trolinger, Brittany Collins, Amber McDaniel, Olivia Elliot, and Breanna Warden. The Junior Miss Dent County contestants are Makenna Farrar, Desiree Collins, Amanda Green, Marissa Blaylock, and Brooke Shults. These girls are between 11 and 14 years of age. Also at the Fall Festival last night was the annual Pie and Pastry Auction. A total of $1,118 was raised from the sale of a total of 32 entries. A Cream Cheese Blueberry Stollen made by Julie Salyer sold for $206.00 to Phil-Mart and was then resold for 66.00 to Interstate Regional Stockyards. Livestock exhibits will be checking in through noon today and the carnival will be open from 6:00 to 10:00 tonight with wristbands available for just $15.00. Admission after noon today will be $2.00 for adults and kids 12 and under are free.

Parking issues in downtown Rolla should soon be relieved with a $296,760 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) awarded July 29^th through the Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED). The Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) prepared the CDBG application. The CDBG funding will assist the city in redeveloping two vacant, unused, and blighted lots into paved and landscaped public parking areas. Lack of sufficient parking had been noted as a factor hindering downtown business district development. Business owners, downtown residents, shoppers and Missouri University of Science & Technology students often compete for available parking. Unused and vacant areas had been flagged in the plan as detracting from the downtown’s aesthetics and negatively impacting the image of the downtown district. The city of Rolla and the Rolla Downtown Business Association (RDBA) identified the lots, which are located near 6th Street and Pine in the southern portion of the business district and at 10th Street and Rolla near the northwestern part of the business district. The two lots will add 167 paved parking spaces as well as improve the aesthetics of the downtown. The city of Rolla is responsible for the project plans, and city crews will complete all construction. The redevelopment is expected to begin late fall, and the project is expected to be complete by the first quarter of 2012. The state’s CDBG program provides grants and loan funds to cities with a population of less than 50,000 and counties with less than 200,000 to assist in a variety of public works and economic development projects. For more information on CDBG grant opportunities in the Meramec Region, persons may contact Sink-Blair at 573-265-2993.

A public meeting has been announced by the representatives of three organizations to discuss possible action concerning the recent closings of access roads and restrictions on camping along properties managed by the National Park Service. Representatives from the Voice of the Ozarks, the Missouri Trappers Association and the Salem chapter of the recently formed Common Sense Conservation group met July 28^th to discuss recent actions taken by the National Park Service. The single act that brought the issue to a fever pitch was the “rehabilitation” of the primitive camping area at  the mouth of Sinking Creek in northern Shannon County.  The government’s placing of boulders has denied visitors the opportunity to launch a boat or place an RV in the popular gathering spot.  The three organizations agreed to co-host a meeting where not only common ground could be found among their groups but with the controlling agencies as well.  Concerns included the possibility of a hidden agenda of turning the Ozark National Scenic Riverways eventually into a Wilderness Area and the closing of access a first step, and the overall lack of transparency with which the National Park Service typically operates. Last year, the National Park Service closed off some trails and traces even after public outcry was against their planned closures. An open meeting has been scheduled for tonight at 6:30 PM in the Salem City Hall.  All persons interested in the rights of those in accessing our public properties and concerned about a Federal government’s responsibility to act openly and with a sense of accountability are encouraged to attend. 

Sports [TOP]

The Salem Tiger Football Teams and the 12^th Tiger Club would like to invite the public to a scrimmage this Friday at 6:00 at the Salem High School Football Field. Admission to the game will be bottles of Gatorade or water. These will be given to the players after the away games.

The 12^th Tiger Club Parent meeting will be held with Coach Schuchardt at 6:00 Friday night. Following the meeting, there will be a 12^th Tiger Club meeting. For more information about the 12^th Tiger Club or about the meeting Friday, please contact Stephanie Floyd at 247-1441.

Randy Wolf pitched eight impressive innings and the Brewers expanded their lead in the NL Central with a 5-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Corey Hart and Prince Fielder each drove in two runs for Milwaukee, which won its sixth in a row and moved five games ahead of the second-place Cardinals. Jake Westbrook (9-6) gave up six hits and three runs over eight innings to take the loss. The Cards and Brewers will wrap up their series tonight at 6:40 on KSMO Radio.

Sam Fuld drove in the tying run with a triple and scored the winning run on Johnny Giavotella's throwing error during the same play, as the Tampa Bay Rays scored five times in the ninth inning to stun the Kansas City Royals, 8-7. Giavotella and catcher Salvador Perez both had an RBI and scored a run. Perez went 1-for-3 in his MLB debut. Royals starter Felipe Paulino gave up one run on three hits over five innings. Soria (5-5) was charged with three runs -- two earned -- on three hits to take the loss. Kansas City seemed to have the game in control after Cabrera hit a three-run homer off McGee in the top of the ninth. With Alcides Escobar and Alex Gordon on base with two outs, Cabrera went deep to left for a 7-3 lead. The Royals and rays wrap up their series today.

Obituaries   [TOP]

Graveside services for Donna Faye Levin of Salem, age 54, will be held this morning at 10:00 at the Hew Hope Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society. All arrangements are under the direction of the Wilson Mortuary of Salem.

Funeral services for Robert F. Eaves of Overland Mo., age 87, will be held Friday morning at 11:00 at the James & Gahr Mortuary Chapel in Salem. Visitation will be tonight from 4:00 to 9:00. Interment will in the Enke Cemetery in Lenox with Full Military Honors.

Funeral services for James J. Moeslein of St. James, age 71, will be held Sunday at 9:30 at the James and Gahr Chapel in St. James. Visitation will be held Saturday night from 5:00 to 7:00. Interment will be in the St. Charles Memorial Cemetery on Sunday at 2:00. Memorials may be made to the St. Johns Lutheran Church or the American Cancer Society.