Local News – Friday, September 1st, 2017

An accident happened in Dent County Wednesday afternoon at 1:50 on Dent County Road 6510 about 15 miles south of Salem. According to the highway patrol report, a 2003 Yamaha motorcycle driven southbound by 61-year old Kevin Rebo of Springfield, Missouri, lost control on the gravel and the motorcycle went off the left side of the road and struck a large rock. Rebo suffered serious injuries and was flown to Mercy Hospital in Springfield. He was wearing safety equipment at the time of the accident. The motorcycle was totaled and removed from the scene by Whitaker’s Towing.

The Dent County Commissioners met for their regular meeting Thursday morning at the courthouse. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams reported on the CART receipts for the month of August. She said the county received $61,076.37 and the CART fund stands at $10,780.03 more than last year which is a 2.4% increase. Last year in August, the county received $58,277.62 in CART funds. Williams said the $61,076.00 was the most CART funds collected for a month in over two years. Also in attendance was City of Salem Administrator Ray Walden and Jill Hollowell from the MRPC. Walden handed out a flyer on the upcoming electronic and tire collection that will be held September 30th from 9:00 in the morning until 1:00 in the afternoon at the city construction parking lot at 3rd and Grand Streets. There will be a $10 charge for CRT TV’s, CRT computer monitors, flat screen TV’s and flat screen computer monitors. There will also be charges for tires that are collected at $2.00 for passenger tires, $7.50 for truck tires and $35 for tractor tires. The electronic and tire collection is for residential items only. For more information on what is and is not accepted, contact Jill Hollowell at the MRPC at 573-265-2993. Walden also explained to the county that with the latest city waste collection contract, WCA will begin collecting recyclables from residential customers. They will be providing a 96 gallon trash container to each resident for recycling and residents must follow the collection guidelines WCA has set up. Because of that, the city will no longer have a need for the 10 recycling bins and two trailers they currently use and have at the Upper Elementary School. Walden told the county for little or no cost, they could take have the bins and trailers for recycling. Walden told the county the city has to manually sort the recyclables and take them to Rolla. Ms. Hollowell said there may be grant money available to pay for gas and/or labor to do that if the county is interested in retaining the bins and trailers in Dent County. It may also be a possibility to talk with WCA to see if they could take the recyclables to Rolla as part of their collection process. Walden said there was no immediate need for a decision as it will take WCA a few weeks to get all of their trash dispensers purchased and distributed. Hollowell also said the Region I Solid Waste Management District many times has money that becomes available between cycles that may also be available to provide that services in the county. Hollowell also reported she is working school children with a “Keep America Beautiful” contest to help combat littering in the area. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell said grading would be done and materials would be added to Dent County Road 6500 while only grading was going to be done on Dent County Roads 6220, 6230 and 6240. He also indicated that materials would be added to county road 5130. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson stated materials would be added and grading done on Dent County Road 2090 while only grading would be done on county road 5260. He also said brush was being cut on Dent County Road 2380 and a speed limit sign was going to be put back up on Dent County Road 3260. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles reported that SOLVE in Salem needs some financial help with the HVAC system and roof from the straight line winds from a couple months back. Their insurance won’t cover all the damages that came to about $31,000. If people would like to contribute or make a donation, contact Pam Brantley at 729-7294 or stop by 203 West 3rd Street in Salem. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said the commission needed to get in the minutes that they signed the Master Tax Exempt Lease Purchase Agreement from US Bank for the new graders. The commission agreed and it was added to the current minutes. The Dent County Commission was also going to get propane bids for the courthouse. The commissioners will not be meeting until Thursday, September7th due to the Labor Day Holiday on Monday. That meeting will start at 9:00 and it is open to the public.

Ron’s Race for a Reason, honoring all local veterans, will be held today and Saturday at Flat Nasty located on 1771 Highway ZZ in Jadwin. There will be 2 classes of racing: Truck and Side-by-Side, and the entry fees are $25 which includes camping. Food will be available from the American Volunteers, and a raffle of four Henry rifles as well as various products provided by local businesses. This is a family friendly event and as a special treat for the kids, Frosty the Snowman will make a special visit to Flat Nasty and it WILL SNOW! If you need more information, you can call (573) 729-6668 or 729-1394.