Scroll Down for Sports, Weather and Obituaries! For State-Wide News, go to the MissouriNet! To read previous editions of Your World Today please visit our Archives Page.

The Salem Memorial District Hospital Auxiliary's 2010 Holiday Home Tour will feature a total of six stops including two festively decorated homes and four historic buildings. The tour will be held on Sunday December 5^th from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Stops decorated for the holidays and participating in the 2010 Holiday Home Tour include the home of Clarence and Charlotte Mobley located at 502 North Hickory Street and the home of Eddie and Nancy Knight located at 1203 West Center Street. Other stops along the way include the Bonebrake Center of Nature and History at 601 North Hickory; The Dent County Museum at 400 North Pershing; The Dent House at 501 South MacArthur; and Trees and Trains Exhibit at the Ozark Natural and Cultural Resource Center, on Highway 19 South. Tickets are $10 each and are available at the Salem Memorial District Hospital, from auxiliary members, at all local banks, the Edwards Jones office and will also be available at each of the homes and buildings on the tour. For more information contact the Salem Memorial District Hospital at 729-6626.

Troop I, of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, recorded two traffic fatalities during the month of October 2010. This is one less than October 2009. There were a total of 181 accidents with 61 injuries and two fatalities reported for October2010 compared to 290 accidents with 104 injuries and three fatalities reported for October 2009. The total fatalities for 2010 are 22 compared to 19 for the same time period last year. In Crawford County, there were 33 accidents reported with nine injuries and one fatality, Dent County reported 23 accidents with two injuries and Laclede County had 38 accidents reported with 14 injuries. In Maries County, there were nine accidents reported with six injuries, Phelps County had 55 accidents reported with 21 injuries and one fatality, while Pulaski County recorded 23 accidents with nine injuries. Captain Lee Ann Kenley, the commanding officer of Troop I, wants to remind everyone that Missouri law requires motorists to approach cautiously when an emergency vehicle is stopped ahead with its lights flashing.  Motorist must change lanes away from the emergency vehicle if they are on a multi-lane highway and can do so safely. If drivers can’t change lanes safely, or they are on a two-lane highway, they must slow down while maintaining a safe speed so as not to impede other traffic.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated 28 counties in Missouri as natural disaster areas because of losses caused by drought that occurred from May 1^st through September 30^th of this year. The counties in our area include Dent, Shannon, and Texas. Farmers and ranchers in 22 other counties in Missouri also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous. The counties in our area include Phelps, Pulaski, and Iron. All qualified farm operators in these areas are eligible for low interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses. FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. FSA has a variety of programs, in addition to the EM loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity. USDA also has made other programs available to assist farmers and ranchers, including the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SURE), the Emergency Conservation Program, Federal Crop Insurance, and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program. Interested farmers may contact their local USDA Service Centers for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs. Additional information is also available online at disaster.fsa.usda.gov.

An accident occurred Monday night at 11:15 in Phelps County on Highway 68 about 15 miles south of St. James. According to the highway patrol report, a 2003 Pontiac Sunfire driven by 19-year old Courtney Christmas of Salem was traveling south on highway 68. Christmas was traveling too fast for highway conditions, lost control of the Pontiac and ran off the right side of the roadway and then struck a tree. Christmas suffered minor injuries and was taken to the Phelps County Regional Medical Center by St. James ambulance. She was wearing a seat restraint at the time of the accident. The Pontiac was totaled and removed from the scene by Whitaker’s Towing of Salem. 

The City of Salem will be meeting at 10:00 this morning in St. Robert to review proposals from seven different electric suppliers. The present city contract will run out in 2013. At that time, the city will either have to have a new contract with Sho-Me Power or go with a different electric supplier.

The Dent County Fire Protection District is again hosting their annual toy drive. The toy drive is for children birth thru age 12. Registration will be Thursday, December 2^nd from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Dent County Fire Protection District Station. Parents or guardians need to bring verification of the child’s age, that the child lives with them, and proof that the child is a Dent County resident (such as utility bill). Only registered children are allowed to participate in the toy drive. The toy pick-up date will be December 21^st. For more information please contact Brad Nash at 729-3250. Volunteers are needed to help staff the event – to volunteer please contact Becki Godi at 247-0086.

The Salvation Army Service Unit of Dent County would like to announce that this year’s Christmas kettle campaign is going on now through Friday, December 24^th. The kettles will be located at Wal-Mart, Country Mart, and Dollar General. Counter Kettles will be placed at various locations around Dent County. This year’s goal is $21,000 and with the continuation of a local mail appeal and the hundreds of volunteer hours donated by individuals, businesses, and clubs to ring the bell at the Christmas kettle, the Salvation Army is hopeful that local citizens will support this campaign generously as they have in the past. This year, David Dittman, a Vice-President at the Bank of Salem, will serve as the Honorary Christmas Campaign Chairman and he thanks everyone for their donation on money, time or both during this Christmas season to make it a brighter 2011 for hose less fortunate. The funds raised during this campaign will be used to assist the citizens of Dent County with utility assistance, and prescriptions. The Salvation Army also supplies local school children with backpacks, and provides assistance to families who have lost everything due to a fire. The generosity of the citizens of Dent County will enable the local Salvation Army to continue to meet the needs of those who need assistance in 2011. If you would like to help by ringing the bell as the Christmas kettle or need additional information about the local Salvation Army, please call Jim and Diane Boulware at 729-6685 or Sherry Lea at 729-8163.

Sports [TOP]

The Salem Lady Basketball Tigers dropped their second straight game as they lost to the Sullivan Lady Eagles last night by the score of 57-25. Jennifer Herndon scored nine points to lead the Salem Lady Tigers who will play in the Cabool Tournament next week.

Jason Clark made three three-pointers in overtime to lift the 16th-ranked Georgetown Hoyas over the ninth-ranked Missouri Tigers, 111-102, in a non-conference clash at the Sprint Center. Marcus Denmon had 27 points and six rebounds to pace the Tigers (5-1), who went 7-of-18 from three-point range. Ricardo Ratliffe chipped in with 22 points and seven boards, while Michael Dixon donated 17 points in defeat. Missouri will play Oregon on Thursday night.

Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews both scored twice and the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the St. Louis Blues, 7-5, at United Center. David Backes tallied a goal and three assists while Patrik Berglund and Brad Boyes were among the goal scorers for the Blues, who have dropped three straight on the heels of a three-game win streak. Ty Conklin allowed all seven goals on 24 shots in the losing effort. The Blues host the Washington Capitals tonight at 7:00 on KSMO.

The St. Louis Cardinals acquired infielder Ryan Theriot from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for pitcher Blake Hawksworth. The Cardinals also signed free agent pitcher Brian Tallet to a one-year contract.

Obituaries   [TOP]