Archive for 2017

The Salvation Army Dent County Service Unit has announced they have partnered with Healthy Dent County to ensure that the annual Angel Tree program will be available this year. The Angel Tree will be located at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory. Sherry Lea, the Welfare Secretary for the Dent County Service Unit, hopes that the community will rally together to help make a local child’s Christmas brighter this year. The Salvation Army Dent County Service Unit would like to thank the citizens of Salem and Dent County for their overwhelming response to the report that Wal-Mart would not be allowing an Angel Tree this year. Local residents have always enjoyed adopting a child, shopping for clothing, coats, hats, and toys. Some families use this time of year to teach their children the importance of giving during the holiday season. Because of the different location, citizens will have to come to the Salem Community Center@ the Armory to adopt a child, purchase the gifts, and then bring the gifts back to the Community Center. In recent years, there have been over 200 children’s names on the tree and all were adopted by the very generous citizens in our community. The Angel Tree will be available starting this Wednesday, November 29th with access to the tree Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory, located at 1200 W. Rolla Road in the front lobby. Sign-ups for families wanting to participate in the Angel Tree will be held Monday through Friday at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory starting TODAY and running through Tuesday, December 5th. For several years, Wal-Mart has partnered with the Salvation Army for its Angel Tree program. Recently the Salem Wal-Mart informed the local service unit that due to a directive from their corporate offices, Wal-Mart will not participate by allowing the tree and angels to be displayed at their Salem store. It was not the local manager’s decision but a corporate mandate. The familiar red kettle will still be located outside Wal-Mart as well as at Country Mart and Dollar General. For information about the Angel Tree program, please call 729-8163.

The Dent County Health Center Board of Trustees met Monday evening, November 20th. Health Center Director Kendra Mobray reported that building renovations were being completed. Improvements included new guttering on the south side of the office building, interior painting, and new flooring in the reception area. New privacy fencing will be installed on the west side of the Health Center parking lot during the next few weeks. These improvements were made possible through a grant obtained by the Health Center. Mobray reported that High Dose and Quadrivalent influenza vaccines are still available and that the Health Center bills Medicare, Private Insurance and children’s Medicaid. A Memorandum of Understanding with Oak Hill R-1 to provide school nurse services had been previously approved by the Board and had been signed. Health Center nurses have been in the school several times providing consultation and updating equipment. Mobray provided contract updates and noted that the Rabies Alert for Dent County was lifted November 15th. The Health Center still encourages pet owners to keep Rabies vaccinations up to date and avoid contact with stray and wild animals. Mobray reported that influenza activity in Missouri has been sporadic with two cases reported in Dent County in September and none in October. The updated administrative manual was reviewed and approved by the Board. A staff Christmas dinner on December 14th was approved and the Health Center offices will close at noon on that date. The next regular meeting of the Dent County Health Center Board of Trustees was set for December 18th at the Health Center and the meeting is open to the public.

Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) shows that deer hunters in Missouri harvested 191,368 deer during the November portion of fall firearms deer season, November 11th through the 21st. Of the 191,368 deer harvested, 99,431 were antlered bucks, 20,148 were button bucks, and 71,789 were does. Top harvest counties were Howell with 4,564 deer checked, Texas with 4,374, and Franklin with 4,095. In Dent County, a total of 3,072 deer were harvested while Crawford County checked 2,767 deer, Shannon County had 2,395 deer taken, Phelps County harvested 2,226 deer and Reynolds County hunters took 1,529 deer. Last year hunters checked 185,062 deer during the 2016 November portion of firearms deer season with 95,381 being antlered bucks, 18,888 being button bucks, and 70,793 being does. Deer hunting in Missouri continues with archery deer hunting from November 22nd through January 15th, 2018.

The Salvation Army Dent County Service Unit volunteers will be ringing bells starting today to help raise funds locally with the familiar red kettle at Christmas time. The red kettles will be located at Country Mart, Dollar General and Wal-Mart today and then every Friday and Saturday until December 23rd. A number of counter kettles are also located at various locations throughout the community. With the generous help of our community from bell ringers to those who donate, the Dent County Service Unit hopes to reach their 2017 goal of $30,000. The kettles are the primary way that funds are raised to continue to meet the emergency needs as well supplementary needs of individuals and families struggling to make ends meet in Dent County. Volunteer bell ringers are needed each year to help raise these funds. To volunteer to ring the bell at the red kettle, please call Jan at 729-6355. For additional information about the local service unit, please call Sherry Lea at 573-729-8163. The Salvation Army..doing the most good.

The Salem Board of Aldermen met Monday night for their regular meeting. In Bids, the board approved the bid from R & B for three walkie talkies for $1,935 each with an extra battery and the added upgrade that mesh these radios with the state and sheriff’s department radios. The money used to pay for the walkie talkies will come from the money left over from the repeater of about $6,700. After the consent agenda was approved, City Administrator Ray Walden told the board about a workshop held on sidewalks in the city where a full audit assessment was done. Also discussed at the workshop were the downtown streetscape and the TAP grant. Walden went on to say the Airport Board met as well as the Park Board. Walden wanted to thank Marilyn Sweitzer and Shaun Bolerjack for all their hard work on the Heroes Marathon that took place last Saturday. Walden reminded everyone the city offices would be closed Thanksgiving Day and Friday. He also handed out an information packet to the aldermen concerning a CDL Policy and differential pay. Currently the city has two workers who have the classification to haul a 5th wheel. He is looking for feedback from the aldermen on the information at the next meeting. Mayor Brad Nash said the city had advertised for a new Economic Development Director and received seven applications. Nash said there has been one interview and they are scheduling more. He hopes to have a recommendation by the end of the year for the aldermen. The board passed Resolution 5-2017 calling for the Municipal Election on April 3rd for a mayor, one east ward and one west ward aldermen. They also approved Bill #3349 that amended the City of Salem Budget by $300,000 on the income and expense side going from revenues of $12,642,369 to $12,942,369 and expenses from $12,519,474 to $12,819,474. The board went on to pass Bill #3350 that allows the city to enter into a lease purchase transaction from which the proceeds will pay for the improvements to the Alice Lou Craig Municipal Pool. The bill further approves the execution of the certain documents in association with the transaction. The board also approved Bill #3351 that authorized Mayor Nash to execute an agreement between the City of Salem and H.W. Lochner to provide engineering services for the Salem Memorial Airport clearing and the grub trees project. The board approved the holding of a public hearing by the City of Salem Planning and Zoning Commission concerning the petition for annexation from Max and LaWanna Inman, the trustees of the Inman Living Trust. The board went on to approve leaving the salaries of elected officials the same so no new ordinance is needed. Any increase or decrease in salary would have only affected the newly elected officers. The board then voted to go into closed session.

The counting period for the 2017 Thanksgiving holiday weekend is from 6:00 tonight until 11:59 Sunday night. During the 2016 Thanksgiving holiday weekend, 14 people were killed and another 553 were injured in 1,426 traffic crashes. That means one person was killed or injured in a traffic crash every 10.8 minutes in Missouri over last year’s Thanksgiving holiday weekend. It is also important that you are well rested before you start driving. Remember to buckle up — seat belts save lives! Obey all of the traffic laws—all of the time. There is never a reason to speed, drive aggressively, or drive impaired. The Patrol will participate in Operation C.A.R.E (Crash Awareness & Reduction Effort) during this Thanksgiving holiday weekend. As part of this operation, all available troopers will be assigned to Missouri’s roadways to enforce traffic laws, especially those related to impaired driving, driving over the speed limit, and seat belt/child restraint use. Troopers will also be available to assist motorists as needed. This Thanksgiving weekend will include 20-Mile Trooper enforcement projects on November 22 and November 26, 2017. Troopers will be assigned at 20-mile intervals along Interstates 29, 44, 55, and 70, as well as U.S. Highways 60 and 63. The Highway Patrol’s Emergency Assistance number is 1-800-525-5555 (or *55 on a cellular phone). Motorists should use this emergency assistance number to report traffic crashes, crimes being committed, or other emergencies on Missouri’s highways. When you dial this number anywhere in the state, it rings directly into the closest Patrol headquarters.