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The Salem Memorial District Hospital Board of Directors will conduct their regular monthly meeting this evening at the Holiday Inn Express beginning at 5:30 pm. After the call to order and the approval of the minutes from the November 29^th meeting, Administrator Dennis Pryor will give a departmental review, along with the hospital activity calendar and legislative updates. There will also be a summary of operations and statistics report for the month of November along with nursing services, ancillary services and the auxiliary report. Old business to be addressed will include a physician’s office building report, a strategic planning update and the election filing that runs from Tuesday, December 18^th until Tuesday, January 22^nd. In new business, the Board will discuss insurance, both commercial and auto, as well as purchases. Following the regular meeting there will be an Executive Session for the purpose of discussing personnel, contracts and pending litigation. The regular meeting of the Salem Memorial District Hospital Board of Director’s is open to the public.

The Dent County Sheriff’s Department released their report for the month of November. For the month there were 80 9-1-1- calls, in which all were responded to with 16 of the calls being prank calls. The Department served 135 papers consisting of 83 civil papers, 48 criminal papers and four notices to vacate, plus they served 17 felony warrants and 21 misdemeanor warrants. During the month, there were three drug arrests and 14 domestic disturbance calls were addressed. The Sheriff’s Department issued 63 tickets, conducted 74 traffic stops, made four DWI arrests, and assisted on eight traffic accidents. The Dent County Sheriff’s Department also conducted one death investigation. For the month of November, the Sheriff’s Department investigated four burglaries, six assaults, 14 thefts, three reports of crimes against children, seven reports of trespassing or property line disputes, and eight property damage reports. The Department spent 223 hours working in court and nine hours testifying. The Dent County Sheriff’s Department handled a total of 239 calls during the month and made seven community policing appearances. In the Dent County Jail Report for November, there were 42 prisoners incarcerated for the month with an average daily total of 18. There were eight transfers to the Department of Corrections and 16 transfers to or from other departments. During the month of November, the sheriff’s department drove a total of 16,926 miles on criminal investigations, patrolling and prisoner transportation.

Thomas Haines, District Ranger, has announced that he has signed a Decision Notice and Finding of No Significant Impact for the Medley Hollow Analysis Area Project authorizing the  implementation of Alternative 2.  The purpose of the Medley Hollow project is to utilize an ecosystems management approach to maintain and restore the structure and composition of the natural communities that fit with historic landscape patterns in the area. Moving toward that desired condition may take 15 to 25 years for the ground cover and more 100 years for the composition and structure of the canopy characteristics. The decision to continue in the plan is subject to appeal. If no appeal is received, implementation may occur five days after the close of the appeal filing period. For more information on the appeal process or for a copy of the decision notice contact James Turner at the USDA Forest Service at 729-6656.

The Meramec Regional Planning Commission, in cooperation with the Meramec Community Enhancement Corporation and the Phelps County PHA Family Self-Sufficiency Program, will host two-free homeownership workshops, one on December 11th at Meramec Regional Planning Commission, 4 Industrial Drive, St. James and the other on December 13th at the Recklein Center, 202 North Smith Street in Cuba. The workshops are scheduled from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 pm. Chuck Cantrell of the Meramec Regional Planning commission will present a training on budgeting. A representative with the Phelps County Public Housing Agency will also be on hand to discuss the region's HUD Section 8 rental assistance program for tenants and landlords. The class is offered at no cost, on a first-come, first-served basis. Pre-registration is requested. To register for the class, persons should contact Cantrell today at (573) 265-2993.

Sports [TOP]

The Salem Lady Basketball Tigers won the Cabool Tournament Saturday night as they defeated Seymore, 43-39. Natalie Howard led the way for Salem scoring 17 points followed by Allison Jones with 15 points. Salem is now 4-0 on the year and they will host the West Plains Zizzers tonight with the JV contest first followed by the varsity game. You can hear the varsity contest on KSMO starting at about 7:15.

The swarming Owensville defense and their quick start helped beat Salem, 71-62. Owensville got out to 9-0 lead and were up by 15 twice in the game. Salem came back to get the lead one time in the game, but couldn’t hold it. The Tigers were led by Taylor Sirois with 24 points and 14 rebounds followed by Cody Wofford with 11 points and C.J. Smith with 10. Salem is now 4-2 on the year and they will travel to Rolla tomorrow night

Milan Hejduk notched a hat trick and added three assists as the Colorado Avalanche clobbered the St. Louis Blues, 9-5, at the Pepsi Center. Paul Stastny had two goals and three assists while Ryan Smyth had a goal and two assists for the Avalanche. Jay McClement had two goals while David Perron and Lee Stempniak each had a goal and an assist for the Blues, who defeated Edmonton Friday night by the score of 4-3. The Blues return home to face the Edmonton Oilers Tuesday night at 8:00.

Rudi Johnson ran for a touchdown, and Shayne Graham booted four field goals to lift Cincinnati over St, Louis, 19-10, in a messy affair played in a raw rain at Paul Brown Stadium. Brock Berlin finished 17-of-28 for 153 yards and an interception for St. Louis, which has dropped two of its past three games. Steven Jackson had 91 yards rushing on 18 carries and Torry Holt added eight receptions for 90 yards. The Rams are 3-10 on the year.

Jay Cutler passed for 244 yards with four touchdowns, including two to Brandon Marshall, and Selvin Young rushed for 156 yards as the Denver Broncos demolished the Kansas City Chiefs, 41-7, at Invesco Field. Brodie Croyle struggled, completing only 15-of-29 passes for 132 yards with one touchdown and an interception for Kansas City (4-9), which has dropped six straight games. Kolby Smith was held to only 12 yards rushing on 13 carries.Tony Gonzalez had seven catches for 76 yards and touchdown for the Chiefs.

Obituaries   [TOP]

Funeral services for Betty Marie Vest of Salem, age 61, will be held this morning at 10:00 at the Salem Chapel of the James and Gahr Mortuary. Interment will be in the North Lawn Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the family.

Funeral services for James A. McBride of St. James, age 78, will be held Tuesday afternoon at 2:00 at the James & Gahr Mortuary in St. James. Visitation will be tonight from 6:00 to 8:00. Interment will be in the Double Springs Cemetery in Maben, Mississippi.

Weather [TOP]