Your World Today-Wednesday, December 23, 2015
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NEWS: Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Added Wednesday evening!
Salem City Administrator Ray Walden has announced the City of Salem has hired Tye Lydon to serve as the new Director of Parks and Recreation, effective January 4th of 2016. Lydon recently graduated from Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville Missouri with a Masters in Applied Health and Sports Sciences. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Recreation and Wellness from NWMSU. According to Walden, Lydon has held positions with the NWMSU Campus Fitness Center and other centers in the Midwest. In additon to the hiring of Lydon, the City of Salem is also pleased to announce Tyler Wofford of Salem has agreed to serve as the Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation with his primary responsibility being grounds maintenance. A public reception is planned and will be announced in the near future.
Wednesday's Edition:
Everyone at KSMO Radio and Your World Today wish you a very Merry Christmas!! Enjoy time with your family and friends. There will not be a Your World Today published on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Our next edition will be Monday, December 28th.
The Salem Board of Aldermen met Monday night in the Council Chambers of City Hall for their final regular meeting of 2015. At the meeting, the Board reviewed bids for two police vehicles to be purchased, one a 2016 Ford F-150 4x4 and the other a 2016 Ford Police Interceptor Utility AWD. The lowest bid came from Sakelaris Ford for each vehicle. The Ford F-150 bid came in at $26,120 and the SUV at $26,210. Other equipment was going to be needed on each vehicle to equip it for police use. The additional costs for the F-150 were $3,602.23 while the additional costs for the SUV was $3,579.29. The two vehicles to be replaced had 92,000 and 90,000 miles on them respectively. The board approved the purchase of the new vehicles with the added improvements. This year, the city will pay $12,768.27 toward the purchase with three additional payments to be made on the balance. Mayor Tune did ask that from now on the bids should include all the costs associated with making it police ready. Chief Keith Steelman did say that some of the parts like the radios, scanners, siren boxes and light bars could be reused. City Administrator Ray Walden said the additional surface material for the playground area at the City Park has been ordered and will be installed once it arrives. He went on to say the City of Salem has once again been selected for project studies by a class at Missouri S&T. Walden also explained the Mid-Missouri Municipal Power Pool who the city gets their electric through has begun to gather data for their next proposal to establish electric rates. This groups rates have been some of the lowest in the area since 2013. The city’s contract ends February 28th, 2018, and Walden said the city could be considering a ten-year contract. Walden stated that as of January 1, 2016, the new city building codes will go into effect that comply the IBC 2012 standards. Also, he said the city administration building and offices will be closed this Thursday, Christmas Eve, and Friday, Christmas Day, as well as Friday, January 1, 2016 for New Year’s Day. Mayor Tune reported he attended a park board meeting where they interviewed possible Park and Recreation Director candidates and narrowed it down to four people. He also said the department superintendents are working on their capital improvement needs for next year. The city will need to find ways to save money for the waste water treatment plant upgrades that could cost between 2 and 3 million dollars. He said currently the budget breaks down to about 1/3 for the cost of utilities, 1/3rd for employee salaries and benefits and another 1/3 for materials and equipment. The board approved Bill #3309 that amends the budget to reflect an increase in anticipated overall revenues to $11,584,695 as well as an increase in anticipated overall expenditures to $10,933,695. The budget also amended the Capital Improvement Sales Tax Funds to reflect an increase in revenues of $96,162 and the cost of the playground surface material of $21,162. That brings the total revenues in the Capital Improvement Sales Tax Fund to $649,788 and the total expenditures to $642,698. The board then went into closed session to discuss personnel.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol wishes everyone a safe holiday season. One way for it to be merry is for everyone to arrive at their destination safely. Is safe, crash free travel part of your plans? If not, it should be! Check your vehicle before you travel to ensure that it is in good working condition. Make sure you are well rested before driving to your destination, no matter how short the distance. And, please, please obey all traffic laws and be a courteous driver. Last year over the Christmas holiday, there were 1,159 traffic crashes during the 102-hour counting period. In those crashes, 14 people were killed and another 388 were injured. During the 2014 Christmas holiday, one person was killed or injured every 15 minutes. This year’s traffic crash counting period is 78 hours in length and begins at 6:00 PM on Thursday, December 24th, and ends at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, December 27th. Remember: Holiday drivers will affect traffic patterns. Check the weather forecast and plan accordingly. The Road Condition Report number is 1-888-275-6636. Allow extra time to reach your destination, and obey all traffic laws. If faced with a traffic emergency, motorists can contact the Missouri State Highway Patrol at 1-800-525-5555 or *55 on a cellular phone. This emergency number will ring into the nearest Highway Patrol headquarters. Motorists should use this number if they are in a traffic crash, witness a crash or crime, or observe a stranded motorist in need of assistance, or other traffic emergencies.
Remember a number of businesses and governmental entities will have special hours for the Christmas holidays so please call to make sure they are there. Some governmental entities that will be closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day include the Dent County Courthouse, the City of Salem Administrative Offices, the Dent County Health Center and the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce.
If you haven’t yet seen Santa this year, your last chance will be Christmas Eve at the Ozark Natural and Cultural Resource Center. He will be there for the last day of the Trees and Trains exhibit from 10:00 in the morning until 2:00 in the afternoon before he leaves to make his rounds that night. So bring the kids to Santa’s Workshop Thursday by 2:00 and if you need more information, call the ONCRC at 729-0029.
SPORTS [TOP]
The Missouri Basketball Tigers will face the Fighting Illlini of Illinois tonight at Scottrade Center in the Bragging Rights game at 5:30. Missouri enters the game with a 5-5 record. Illinois has won the last four contests. You can hear the game on KSMO Radio.
Jake Allen stopped 32 shots for his fifth shutout, Vladimir Tarasenko and Robby Fabbri scored third-period goals and the St. Louis Blues cooled off the Boston Bruins with a 2-0 victory Tuesday night. St. Louis had the only power play in a well-played, clean game that featured one third-period fight. The Blues will be off until Saturday night at 6:30 when they host Dallas in a home and home series.
The St. Louis Cardinals have agreed to a five-year deal with free-agent right-hander Mike Leake for $80 million with a mutual option that could make the total value of the deal as high as $94 million and also includes a full no-trade clause. Leake was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds with the eighth overall pick in 2009. He is 64-52 with a 3.88 ERA in six career seasons.
OBITUARIES [TOP]
A Memorial Service for Michelle Davenport of Salem, age 48, will be held today at 3:00 at the Dent County Memorial Chapel. Memorials may be made to the family for funeral expenses.
Funeral services for Darrell G. Bentley of Licking, age 65, will be Monday morning, December 28th 11:00 at Fox Chapel in Licking. Visitation will be Sunday, December 27th from 4:00 P.M.- 6:00 P.M. at Fox Funeral Home in Licking. Interment will be at Montauk Cemetery.
WEATHER [TOP]
Today..Mostly Cloudy and breezy with an 80% chance for showers and thunderstorms before noon, high of 64.
Tonight..Partly cloudy with a 20% chance for showers, low of 39.
Thursday..Mostly sunny, high of 56.
Thursday night..Mostly cloudy, low of 38.
Christmas Day..Partly sunny, high of 56.
Friday night..Mostly cloudy with a 60% chance for showers, low of 46.
Saturday.. Showers and thunderstorms likely, high of 62.
