Here are 2015’s most-read stories at thesalemnewsonline.com, a mix of news stories and reporting on issues important to our readers:
1) The Dent County Commission voted unanimously in July to observe one year of "mourning” over the Supreme Court’s June 26 decision that gay couples have the constitutional right to marriage. The group soon after met in special session to rescind that order "out of respect for veterans and those currently serving in the military." The observance of mourning was to come in the form of lowering the flags at the Dent County Courthouse and Judicial Building to below half-staff.
2) A Salem man reported missing in August returned home days later, according to a Smith Family Statement released from the congressional office of Representative Jason Smith (R-Salem). The missing man, Billy Smith, is the brother of United States Representative Jason Smith (R-Salem).
3) A crowd of almost 100 people was on hand in July at the Dent County Courthouse to hear political activist Chief Wana Dubie announce that he is running for the United States Senate in 2016. Republican Senator Roy Blunt is currently serving his first term in the Senate, and is due for reelection in 2016. Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander has announced he will be seeking the seat on behalf of the Democrats. Wana Dubie confirmed in his announcement that he will be running as an independent.
4) The US Census Bureau released its Small Area and Income Poverty Estimate map, and a story on the statistics appeared in a February story by The Salem News. Dent County stands as the gateway to this poverty with 23 percent of residents living below the poverty line. To the southeast, Crawford County had 20.1 percent, Iron 22, Reynolds County has 23.3, Texas County 25.4, and Shannon County has 31.5 percent of its residents living below the poverty line.
5) A four-year Doe Run employee, John D. Hoodenpyle Sr., 54, was killed in an accident in January at the company’s Fletcher Mine near Bunker, according to Doe Run contact Tammy Stankey. The last Doe Run work-related death occurred June 11, 2009 at Viburnum #29 Mine.
6) The region’s residents are experiencing significantly high cancer rates, as reported in a May story. To Dent County’s south and east, 15 of these 27 counties form an unbroken block stretching from New Madrid County in the Bootheel, all the way north to Jefferson County in metro St. Louis, and west to nearby Carter County.
7) Sereno B. Thompson, 52, was charged in December with one count of felony first-degree statutory sodomy and deviant sexual intercourse with someone less than 14 years old, according to court records. Thompson was arrested with bond set at $250,000 cash only. According to the probable cause report, Thompson molested and raped a 10-year-old victim inside a tent.
8) Savanna L. Roney, 16, was killed in a single-vehicle accident in August on County Road 2330 five miles west of Salem. Roney is remembered by her classmates and teachers for being a popular member of the high school’s social life who was a part of a very strong group of friends.
9) David Manning, 25, went into Phil-Mart on April Fools’ Day to buy his daily lottery ticket. The difference was, this time he won $1 million. His first thought when he saw $1 million on the ticket was that it wasn’t real. “I thought, ‘No way, this is a joke!’” Manning said.
10) An unnamed new Missouri State Park was being built on the grounds of the old Camp Zoe site close to Current River State Park off Highway 19 in Shannon County, according to documents obtained by The Salem News and appeared in a March story. It was months later before the Department of Natural Resources confirmed the park was indeed being built.
