Local News – Friday, January 5th, 2018

The Dent County Commissioners met Thursday morning for their regular meeting in the Dent County Courthouse. In the road report, District One Commissioner Dennis Purcell said his crew was replacing a seal in a pump on the spreader box for Truck #119, plus servicing Cat Loader #24. District Two Commissioner Gary Larson reported that part of his crew was responding to a call from the Dent County Sheriff’s Department about a water line break on Dent County Road 6680. He said since 6680 is chip and sealed, his men would be putting sand on the icy roadway instead of salt. Larson went on to say that some of his crew would be doing maintenance at the Road and Bridge Department. In relation to the county possibly adopting the recycling program that the City of Salem had, Larson said he was contacting Jill Hollowell with the Ozark River Solid Waste Management District about possible funds for the program. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles credited and complemented county office holders for staying within their budgets and that at year’s end all funds were in good financial shape. Larson noted that it had been a challenge for Road and Bridge due to the spring floods and the wait on FEMA reimbursement funds. Skiles again reminded vendors that, according to state statues, only payroll can be paid until the 2018 budget is approved. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said she was continuing to work on the budget and that a notice would be posted in next week’s paper as to when the tentative budget would be available and when the budget hearing would be. The Commissioners set January 18th for the tentative budget to be available by 3:00 pm and the budget hearing to be held at 10:00 am on January 29th. Richard LaBrash was in to report that the Adopt-A-Vet program was a huge success with all the veterans at the St. James Veterans home being sponsored. He expressed his gratitude to Dent County residents for their support of the program. LaBrash also reported that the Salem VA Clinic would be getting a van for transporting veterans to the VA Hospitals in Poplar Bluff and Columbia. He noted that volunteer drivers are needed and those interested in volunteering could contact him at (573) 729-1394. The next meeting of the Commission will be Monday morning in the Courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

The Dent County Health Center will be holding the “Billion Step Challenge” again this year starting January 8th and ending April 8th. Last year’s challenge was a great success with over one billion steps walked and Dent County captured national recognition for the effort of their citizens. They hope to do even better this year! In this year’s competition, teams cannot consist of more than four members and you will also be responsible for turning your steps in as no one will be calling to get step counts. The weekly step counts will run from Monday through Sunday and all steps must be reported by the following Wednesday or they will not be counted. To register for the “Billion Step Challenge,” call the Dent County Health Center at 729-3106 or stop by the health center at 601 South McArthur. You can also register by going to the Dent County Health Center Facebook page or their twitter account, access the “Billion Step” link and enter your information. You can also submit your step totals each week this way as well. For any questions you may have or if your need more information about the “Billion Step Challenge,” call 729-3106.