Local News – Tuesday, December 19th, 2017

The Dent County Commissioners met Monday morning for their regular meeting. The Commissioners voted 3-0 to lift the Burn Ban established last Monday for the area. They felt the rainfall received Sunday and early Monday morning was enough to remove the immediate fire danger. They will continue to monitor the weather, but more rain is supposed to arrive this week through early Friday morning. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell stated grading would be done on rough spots on Dent County Roads 5150, 5160, 5170, 5380 and 6220 if time permits. He said brush would be cut on county road 5690 and a man would be stockpiling base rock at the shed. He also said he would be attending a South Central Missouri Community Action Agency meeting tonight in Winona. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson indicated grading would be done on Dent County Roads 2030 and 3180 while two men would be adding materials to and grading would be done on county road 5260. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles reported on the Transportation Advisory Committee meeting last Thursday at the MRPC building. He said a group wanting to convert the Rock Island Railroad into a trail that would be adopted into the state park system was in to ask for a letter of support for their entire project. Some heated discussion was held on the costs to the state park system for bridge maintenance for the trail, and not to honor private property rights where the railroad easements on the deed say that if the property were not used for a railroad, it would revert back to the original landowner. The Rails to Trails Conservancy has promoted this as the next longest Rail to Trail system, but the TAC Committee voted down by a narrow vote for a letter of support for their entire project. The TAC committee thought did approve a letter of support for the piece of the trail that is in Owensville and Belle. Also at the TAC meeting, Skiles said three Dent County Projects came in 9th, 10th, and 11th in priority of the 30 projects submitted. Coming in at 9th was the Standing Rock Bridge over Gladden Creek on Highway 19 south of Salem, followed by the Bridge on Route FF over Norman Creek with the adding of shoulders on Highway 68 from Highway 19 to the Dent-Phelps County line coming in 11th. Another project, the low water crossing on Route TT in Sligo, was way down on the list, but MoDOT is very aware of that problem and has stated that unless there is a tremendous influx of funds, that project will probably not get done. Skiles said Senator Brown was in attendance at the meeting to discuss the upcoming session for the legislators. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams announced additional sales tax revenues for Dent County sent by the state. She stated the county received an additional $13,591.23 for the Road and Bridge Sales Tax Fund with the General Revenue Fund getting an additional $27,791.14. She went on to say the Law Enforcement Sales Tax Fund received an additional $27,769.66 while the two Jail Capital Improvement Funds each came in with an additional $10,579.49. American Legion Chaplain Richard Labrash was also in to let the commissioners know this is the last week to adopt-a-vet at the St. James Veteran’s Home for Christmas. The cost to adopt-a-vet is $50 per veteran. If you would like to help out, contact Richard at 729-1394. At the last meeting, Prosecutor Andrew Curley and Associate Circuit Judge Brandi Baird came in to discuss a third courtroom upstairs at the Judicial Building. The costs would be minimal and the commissioners voted to move forward with the project. The next meeting of the dent County Commission will be Thursday morning at 9:00 and the meeting is open to the public.

The Salem R-80 Board of Education will hold their regular board meeting at 6:00 this evening at the Salem District Administrative Offices Boardroom. At the meeting, the Board will hear from Superintendent John McColloch who will give a facilities report and provide an update on the board of education candidate filings. The principals from all the schools will give their reports before the board selects an MSBA Belcher Scholarship recipient. The board will also discuss the MUSIC renewal, consider 2017-2018 budget revisions and accept resignations. The board will then go into closed session to discuss personnel. The Salem R-80 Board of Education meeting tonight will be at the District Administrative Office at 6:00 and the meeting is open to the public.

Missourians planning to heat their homes with wood this winter should check their chimneys now. University of Missouri Extension safety specialist, Karen Funkenbusch suggests scheduling a periodic chimney cleaning to eliminate any creosote, the highly combustible byproduct given off when wood burns. When ignited, creosote can cause destructive chimney fires. You can clean your own chimney using a wire chimney brush, but Funkenbusch warns that this is hard, dirty work. Professional chimney cleaning services are available across Missouri. In addition to cleaning, there are several steps you can take to reduce the risk of chimney fires like using seasoned wood, which has a lower moisture content and therefore produces less smoke and burns more efficiently, by never burning cardboard boxes, wrapping paper, trash or Christmas trees in an indoor fireplace; do not use water on an extremely hot chimney fire as quick cooling can crack the tile lining or warp a metal chimney, and repair cracks or holes in older masonry flues. Sparks could get to the framework surrounding the chimney through these defects and ignite a house fire. If you do have a chimney fire, get everyone out of the house, then call the fire department. If there is a fire in the stove box or fireplace box, extinguish it with a dry-chemical extinguisher. For more information, ask for the free MU Extension guide “Cleaning Stovepipes and Chimneys” (G1735).