Local News – Wednesday, June 7th, 2017

The Salem Board of Aldermen met Monday evening at the Council Chambers. The Board heard from Alex Sellers representing the Salem Alumni Association asking to close 4th Street from Highway 19 east to Iron Street and Iron Street from 4th Street to 5th Street for their event September 23rd from 2:00 until 9:00 PM. His request was approved. The Dent County Commission was on the agenda to discuss an easement on Iron and Water Streets, but that will have to be taken in front of the Planning and Zoning Commission before it comes to the Board of Aldermen. After the consent agenda, City Administrator Ray Walden reported the city continues to pick up limbs, branches and trees from the storm and will continue to make rounds for at least the next couple of weeks. If people still have trees or branches down in their yard and can’t remove them, people can call the I Heart Salem volunteer cleanup group who will be working this Saturday for help at 453-2500. Others are being helped by the Missouri Southern Baptist Clean-Up crew. Walden said he was asked about the power restoration and if there is an order. He said one feeder that served a nursing home that did not have a generator was first and then the electric department tried to get the feeders back up that served the most people, but sometimes there were other lines down once the lines were energized that had to be repaired. Crews worked around the clock to get services back as quickly as possible. Walden said the Salem Community Center@The Armory had 4,893 participants during the month of May and that County Hazard Mitigation meeting will be held June 12th at the City Hall Council Chambers at 2:00. Walden presented an Emergency Utility Reconnect Policy that was postponed until more details can be provided after a long discussion. The board approved the Insituform Technologies Sanitary Sewer CIPP Project budgeted work up to $145,000 and approved moving the next three Board of Alderman meeting dates to June 26th that will be include voting on the proposed sewer and water rates, plus July 10th and July 24th. The board approved by a 3-0 vote executing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Council for a Healthy Dent County to initiate a ten-year lease with Alderwoman Kim Shelton abstaining. They also approved the purchase of uniform shirts from Knight Apparel for City League baseball, softball and T-Ball in the amount of $3,272. Progressive Ozark Bank pays $2,000 toward the shirts. Mayor Brad Nash postponed appointing a tree commission, but did appoint Sherman Odom, Kriste Crocker and Deloris Gray Wood to the Qualification Evaluation Committee who will evaluate the qualifications for consultants for the old middle school property. The board then went into closed session.

The City of Salem Park Board will conduct a meeting, called by President Stan Podorski tonight at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory located 1200 West Rolla Road beginning at 6:00 pm. After approval of the agenda, the Board will go into closed session for the purpose of discussing personnel. The Board will then come out of closed session where they conduct the election of officers to the Board. Parks & Recreation Director Tye Lydon will then give an update on the swimming pool as well as the baseball, softball and T-ball programs. The Board will then review as well as discuss a proposed budget for 2017-2018 as well as discuss and set priorities for the next three years. Following any other business, the meeting will then be adjourned. The regular meeting of the City of Salem Park Board is open to the public.

The 20th annual Rock Swap will be held June 9th through the 11th at Missouri Mines State Historic Site in Park Hills. Sponsored by Missouri State Parks, the free event will be held from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm on Friday and Saturday and from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm on Sunday. The event will bring together rock hobbyists from across the Midwest. Participants will be selling, swapping or buying rock and mineral specimens, fossils, rock jewelry and other rock-related items. There is no charge for the public to attend the event. During the three-day event, there will be free admission to the historic site museum, which interprets Missouri’s mining history and displays restored mining machinery and an outstanding mineral collection. The event is co-sponsored by the Mineral Area Gem and Mineral Society and the Greater St. Louis Association of Earth Science Clubs. Visitors can experience all the park system has to offer with the Centennial Passport. Visit mostateparks.com/passport for more information. Missouri Mines State Historic Site is located in Park Hills on the south side of Highway 32 at the Flat River Drive overpass, 1.5 miles west of U.S. Highway. 67. For more information about the event, call the site at (573) 431-6226. For more information on state parks and historic sites, visit mostateparks.com.

The Missouri Forest Products Association (MFPA) is now accepting applications for their logging school program that will begin about October 1, 2017 at the Camp at Lake Wappapello. The school is a 10-week course held 5 days a week and students are expected to stay at the camp throughout the week and housing will be in a dormitory on the property. The logging school tuition is expected to be $5,000 which covers room, meals and instruction for the 10-week period. A maximum of 12 students per session will be accepted in to the program and MFPA will offer two sessions per year, one in October and the other in February. There will classroom as well as field instruction covering topics such as: forest management, timber harvesting, marketing and utilization. To receive additional information, application materials and scholarship opportunities contact Fred Smith at (573) 619-4494.

The Salem Area Arts Council will host a Kids Paint Party Thursday from 3:00 to 5:00 at the Old Teacher’s Closet Building. The cost is $20 per child and includes the acrylic paints, aprons, brushes, canvas and easel. Reservations can be made at the ONCRC Building or by calling or texting 247-0279 to make other arrangements.