Local News – Wednesday, May 17th, 2017

The Salem Board of Aldermen met Monday night at the city hall council chambers following the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. The board approved the request from the Salem Public Library to use the sidewalk for a sidewalk art contest and to use traffic cones to block off some parking spaces. The board heard about the bid on the NovaChip overlay, but wanted a second bid on that product or something similar. The board voted to repost the bid proposal. The board approved changing their life insurance carrier from Guardian Life Insurance to Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield for $20,000 basic life insurance and $20,000 AD&D Insurance for $4.74 per month per employee. Last year, the city paid $5.20 per month per employee. After the consent agenda was approved, Gary Brown reported on the Planning and Zoning meeting. He said the committee elected officers and Brown was elected as Chairman, Keith Inman was elected as Vice-Chairman and Wayne Bertz was named Secretary. The Committee recommended approving an In-Home Business License for a hair salon at 205 S. Washington for Carly Wilbur and the board of aldermen approved. City Administrator Ray Walden said the Salem Community Center had a total of 5,629 participants during the month of April. He reported a launch meeting was held on May 10th to begin work on the TAP grant and the LWCF grant that will develop the Unlimited Play playground with the initial work probably coming in the city park. He said the Salem Parks and Recreation Board will be meeting Thursday at the Salem Community Center@The Armory at 6:00 and the city offices will be closed on May 29th for Memorial Day. The board approved allowing Walden to request qualifications for the architectural and engineering services for the Old Middle School property that will be due by June 9th. Mayor Brad Nash discussed the use of the city electric line locator on private property as there is no firm that can do that kind of work in the area if it is needed. He asked City Attorney William Camm Seay if a waiver could be drawn up that would allow the city to be held harmless if they would use the machine and make a mistake. Seay said you cannot remove negligence with a waiver and Mayor Nash said he will investigate this further. The board approved Bill #3331 adopting rules and regulations for the City of Salem’s Cedar Grove Cemetery that will go into effect immediately upon the signing of the bill. The Board approved adding Elizabeth Condray to the Planning and Zoning Commission to replace mike Thompson who resigned, and they also approved the appointment of Chad Heithold as the Chairman of the Utility Committee with members Alderwoman Molly Zettel, Gary Brown, Mike Godi, Jerry Layman, Catherine Dent and John Hambacker. The board went into closed session to discuss litigation.

A meeting was held at the Salem City Hall Auditorium Monday to kick off the Dent County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan. About twenty people were on hand including representatives from the City of Salem, the Dent County Commission, Healthy Dent County, Dent County Health Center, and all the school districts. Tammy Snodgrass and Ryan Dunwoody from the MRPC explained the process and the time frame to have the first draft completed which she expects will be June of 2018 with the final plan expected about a year later. The mitigation plan is used to identify hazards, assess the potential impact of those hazards, develop goals as well as objectives and actions to reduce impacts, and to prioritize those actions. There are seven planning areas and they are the City of Salem, Dent County and the five school districts. The meeting eliminated some potential hazards in Dent County before the next steps in the process were discussed including the next meeting to be held June 12th with all the data collection surveys due June 19th. For more information about the mitigation plan, contact Ryan Dunwoody at 573-265-2993.

The Salem Police Department released reports involving traffic violations, a suspicious vehicle, and a traffic crash. On Friday, May 5th at 1:58 in the early morning, a vehicle was stopped for a traffic violation. The stop led to the arrest of a 20-year old Salem male for driving without a valid license. He was issued a summons to appear in court and released. On Saturday, May 6th at 12:32 in the early morning, an officer was investigating a suspicious vehicle parked at the Mercy Medical Center at Rolla and Macarthur. The investigation led to the arrest of a 37-year old Salem female on an active arrest warrant from Iron County. She was incarcerated pending extradition. On Sunday, May 7th at 12:12 in the early morning, a vehicle was stopped for a traffic violation. The stop led to the arrest of a 28-year old Salem male for driving while suspended. He was issued a summons to appear in court and released. That night at 9:20, an officer was detailed to North Henderson near the walking trail in reference to an intoxicated male yelling profanities and hitting things as he walked past them. The report led to the arrest of a 22-year old Salem male for failure to obey a lawful order of a police officer. He was issued a summons to appear in court and released. Contact the Salem Police Department at 729-4242 if you have any information regarding any ongoing investigation.

Healthy Schools, Healthy Communities is teaming up with the North Wood Obstacle Course to put on the first ever, “ELITE DAY” where kids will learn about the importance of physical activity and unique ways to get active. This is the first of its kind. Students in grades 6-8 from Dent County schools will be competing on the obstacle course with a variety of challenges. The children will compete as individuals and as teams. The program will run from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm today!