Local News – Thursday, February 8th, 2018

The Dent County Fire Protection District Board of Directors meeting was held Tuesday evening at the fire station. The monthly reimbursement report showed firemen responded to 27 calls in the month of January that included five structure fires, two flue fires, five brush fires, a car fire, preparing one landing zone, six first responder calls, one vehicle accident, three mutual aid calls, one haz-mat call and two trainings. In new business, Chief Brad Nash asked the board to make a motion to purchase a truck from state surplus to fill the roll of a First Responder Vehicle as well as an Emergency Response Vehicle and act as a command post in disaster situations. The truck would benefit all departments including law enforcement in the Dent County area. The cost of the truck was $6,000. After some discussion and questions by the board, the board approved the purchase. Chief Nash also presented to the board a dual head radio bid from Wireless USA who is the only Motorola vendor in the area for the new truck. The cost of the radio was $4,342.50 and the board approved the purchase. Chief Nash went on to report on the USDA and CDBG grants indicating that grants are looking good depending on what funds are available from the government. Some paperwork still needs to be signed before the CDBG grant can move forward. He also updated the board on the Junior Firefighter program with five participants currently enrolled. He said all the participants are enthusiastic and are working hard in the program. Nash asked the board if the payment rule was still in effect to reimburse the Junior Firefighters at a rate of $5.00 per call for gas and other expenses. The board could find nothing that confirmed that was done, so a motion was made and carried to reimburse the Junior Firefighters $5.00 per call. The next meeting of the Dent County Fire Protection District Board of Directors will be March 6th at 6:00 at the Dent County Fire Protection District Firehouse.

Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway has announced her office has begun a regularly scheduled audit of the government of Shannon County, located in southeast Missouri. The county's most recent audit was released in December 2014, and received an overall performance rating of fair. Among the recommendations in the 2014 review were that county commission take the necessary steps to improve the financial condition of the General Revenue Fund and the Special Road and Bridge Fund, and make repayments from the General Revenue Fund to the Sheriff’s Revolving Fund and the Special Road and Bridge Fund; that the sheriff use revolving fund monies in accordance with state law; that the prosecuting attorney ensure better accounting methods in the office. Individuals who would like to provide information for consideration may contact the State Auditor's Whistleblower Hotline at moaudit@auditor.mo.gov or by calling 800-347-8597. Concerns may also be submitted anonymously online at auditor.mo.gov/hotline.

A citizens’ response to an “active shooter” event training will be held at Oak Grove Baptist Church on Saturday, February 17th from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm. The training is open to citizens, law enforcement officers and anyone concerned with community safety. The training will be presented by Joe Weber of Weber and Associates and will cover “active shooter” situations and ways to enhance citizens’ chances of survival when confronted by an active shooter. As “active shooter” events become more frequent, the need for preparation has become more critical. While law enforcement is trained to address “active shooter” events, they rarely take place in the presence of law enforcement. The lack of law enforcement present to protect and assist if an event happens makes it important to provide citizens with tools to protect themselves until law enforcement arrives. This type of training is referred to as CRASE, which stands for Citizens’ Response to “Active Shooter” Events. This class is a “community caretaking” effort provided by local law enforcement to enhance the safety of citizens. There is no charge for the class since it is hosted by local law enforcement as a service to the community. If you would like more information, feel free to contact Salem Police Chief Keith Steelman at 729-4242, Sheriff Bob Wells at 729-3241, or Joe Weber at 729-4429. They would like to get a head count of how many people will be attending so please let Chief Steelman or Sheriff Wells know if you will be attending the class.

Southwest Baptist University is seeking comments from the public regarding the five-year site visit of the Bridge-RN program at the University’s Salem campus, which is part of the ASN Program at the Springfield campus. The Missouri State Board of Nursing will conduct a site visit the campus on April 4th. The public is invited to submit written, signed comments regarding the program by March 28th. Comments may be sent to: Bibi Schultz, RN, MSN, CNE, Education Administrator, Missouri State Board of Nursing, 3605 Missouri Blvd., Jefferson City, MO 65102.