TOURISM: Promoted as the "Gateway to the
Ozark Riverways", each year visitors and families on
vacation come to the Salem
Missouri and Dent County
area to admire and enjoy the Ozark National Scenic
Riverways, Montauk State Park,
the Current River, the Mark
Twain National Forest and Indian Trail
Conservation Area .... to name just a few.
The Ozark
National Scenic Riverways Park includes more than 130 miles
of the Current and Jacks Fork rivers, known as two of the best canoe float
streams and scenic waterways found anywhere, and famous for their excellent Rainbow Trout fishing. There is also Montauk
State Park, where over 400,000 visitors come to fish for trout,
camp, vacation, deer hunting and relax each year.
Dent County
outdoors-recreational opportunities are unlimited, be it fishing,
hunting or wildlife watching. The U.S. Forest Service maintains
public picnic grounds, lakes, roadways and hiking and biking trails
within the nearby Mark Twain National Forest. The Indian
Trail Conservation Area, 12 miles northeast of Salem,
and Shawnee Mac Lakes just east of town, are excellent outdoors
destinations.
RECREATION:
The City of Salem Missouri's Alice Lou
Craig Municipal Swimming Pool offers a variety of activities and
competitive swim team events. The Salem City Park offers lighted
community tennis courts, sand volleyball courts, baseball and
softball fields, playground equipment and picnic shelter houses. A
fitness trail is also maintained. The Salem
Missouri Park Board operates summer youth softball and
baseball programs, a fall soccer program, co-ed volleyball and
winter basketball programs for local youth. The city's Al Brown
Fields are also used for church and city leagues. Salem also has a
nine-hole private golf course and country club. Of course, there are
also the myriad of recreation activities that bring close to a
million tourists a year through Dent County. CULTURE:
The Bonebrake Center of Nature and History is an area with
paths through natural settings of prairie and forest plantings,
ponds and a spring. The center is a place for people to stroll,
learn and observe nature. There is also a year-round calendar of
natural, historical and cultural activities. Dent
County Museum is preserving Salem
and Dent County's history for future
generations. This museum houses furniture, clothing and a variety of
collectibles and historic memorabilia that make the past come alive.
It opened May 30,1976. The community also features many crafters and
antique shops. Salem is home to many
churches, clubs and organizations. HEALTH
CARE: Located just outside the city limits on Highway 72
North, Salem Memorial District Hospital
provides the Dent County area with a
comprehensive health facility. SMDH also serves portions of the
surrounding counties of Iron, Shannon and Crawford. SMDH is a 59-bed
facility that includes 34 acute care beds, four special care beds,
three obstetrical beds and 18 long-term care beds. Quick Care offers
residents non-emergency service after local doctors' offices are
closed. The Dent County Health Center and Southeast Missouri
Community Treatment Center are other facilities available to the
community. Salem has plenty of facilities that offer quality health
care, home health skilled care and hospice services for elderly or
homebound individuals. In-home care and residential living facility
services are also available.
SALEM
LIBRARY: The Salem Public
Library has been serving the community for more than 68 years. Its
collection now includes more than 25,000 items. Present library
cardholders total nearly 3,000. The library purchased an automation
system with two public access computers (automated card catalogs) in
1996 to facilitate circulation. Two Internet accessible computers
were made available for public use in 1997. An additional
non-Internet computer is available for research purposes only. EDUCATION:
Salem
Missouri and Dent County
offer a wide range of educational opportunities for children and
adults alike, including four rural school districts and one
elementary located in the city of Salem. Our Senior High School is
AAA rated, offering high-quality learning and various vocational
training. Opportunities for adults as well, to obtain a higher
education in several different subjects can be taken. There are
night classes offered by Southwest Baptist University in Salem and the University of Missouri at Rolla is not far. LAW
ENFORCEMENT, FIRE PROTECTION: the Salem
City Police and Dent County Sheriff’s
Department patrol Dent County. Both
feature trained officers and modem equipment. The county and city
have 911 emergency service. The Dent County Fire Protection District
is the largest of four departments in the county. It receives
funding from a district-wide tax levy. The Dent
County District coverage area is 121 miles. It includes the
city and approximately seven miles outside of the Salem
city limits on the north, east, south and west sides. The Masters
Industrial Park carries a Class 6 rating (ISO) for fire insurance. |