Local News – Tuesday, February 13th, 2018
The Dent County Commissioners met at the courthouse Monday morning for their regular meeting. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams brought in the taxes received by the county in the month of February. Williams stated the county received $62,290.32 in General Revenue funds which is $10,900 more than for February of 2017. For the year, the sales tax revenue for General Revenue for 2018 is up 8.48% from 2017 or $22,703.06. Williams said the tax money received for the Road and Bridge Funds came in at $30,265.00 which is $5,200.28 more than February of 2017, and for the year the sales tax revenue for Road and Bridge Fund is up $4,419.31 or 8.44%. The sales tax revenue for the two jail funds came in at $132,032.16. Since this is a new fund, so far the county has received $394,824.18 for the new jail and justice center project for the months from November through February. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell indicated crews were out Sunday treating chip and seal roads and subdivisions. He said they will continue to respond to calls if people have issues with roads in the county. Purcell did say that repairs were being made to the snow plow on truck #119. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson said crews continue to monitor the roads and treat slick spots where needed. He did say workers were working on truck #124 that had some tailgate issues. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles reported the commissioners attended their required annual training last week. He said he attended the Salem Area Community Betterment Association annual meeting Monday night. All the commissioners wanted to extend their deepest sympathies to the families of Dr. Ted Ziske and former County Clerk Gary Leonard for their losses. The next meeting of the Dent County Commission will be Thursday at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.
Last Monday, February 5th at the Salem Community Center@The Armory, nearly 60 community members and local leaders participated in the public meeting for the Salem 2040 community visioning project. Students from Drury University in Springfield facilitated a process for the participants to identify high priority long-term goals, objectives and strategies that our community might consider. Some initial ideas that were discussed included goals such as becoming a place that youth stay in the community and return to after college, being a sustainable community, a town with big city amenities and small town charm, among many others. The students used a unique game method for guiding conversations and reaching consensus with participants. If you could not attend the first meeting, the next public meeting will be held Monday, February 26th, from 5:00-7:00 PM at the Salem Community at the Armory. At this meeting, the Drury students will present a variety of vision sketches based on the information gathered from the community visioning workshop and discussion with community leaders. These “What if” ideas are intended to elicit discussions and broaden the community’s awareness of potential improvements. You can be a part of the conversation for shaping Salem’s future by attending the next meeting on February 26th and bring a friend! Everyone is welcome. If you would like more information, call Ray Walden at 729-2428 or Sarah Massengale at 729-3196.
The Salem Rotary Club will be holding their annual Pancake Day this Saturday at the Middle School Cafeteria from 7:00 until 11;00 in the morning. The cost is $6.00 for adults and $3.00 for children. Everyone is welcome!!!