Archive for 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!

The Dent County Commissioners met Monday morning at the courthouse. Emergency Management Director Brad Nash was in to tell the commission that FEMA and SEMA personnel will be at the firehouse this morning at 8:30. He said it would be good if a commissioner and the road and bridge district supervisors can be there to take FEMA and SEMA around and show them the worst of the worst. He said this year they requested more information then before. They want a map with all the damaged areas hi-lighted, wanted copies of the annual road district budgets, pictures of the damage as well as a spreadsheet of every road that had damage from the rains with GPS coordinates that include all the labor, materials, rentals, etc needed for each damaged area. Commissioners Dennis Purcell and Gary Larson both stated that the first three requests were covered, but there is no way that a spreadsheet with that information could be completed. Nash stated at 9:30, the people with individual assistance requests are to be at the firehouse. If you had damage from the extensive rains or flooding, call Brad Nash at the firehouse at 729-3250. Marlin Hartman was in to request additional and longer culverts be installed on Dent County Road 6160. He said some of the culverts are full or gravel and others are too short and get covered up when the road is graded. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Purcell said Dent County Road 6635 that was washed out in the Montauk area is being rebuilt. Materials will be taken to other roads in that area. Another crew is still rebuilding Dent County Road 4080. Purcell said patch grading will be done on Dent County Road 6230 on a curve while other grading will be done on county roads 5410, 5420 and 5480. He said repairs will need to be made to county road 6300 where the chip and seal was damaged by the water rushing over the road. Work will also be done on various other road locations as time allows. District 2 Commissioner Larson said patch grading will be done on country roads 2330, 2380, 4290 and 5260. Time permitting; work will also be done on county roads 5270, 3273 and 3275. Larson stated materials would be hauled to county roads 2330, 2380 and 4290, and brush would be cut on Dent County Road 3330. Presiding Commissioner Darrel Skiles reported Salem and Dent County will host the MRPC Annual Awards Dinner Thursday, October 26th, at the Salem Community Center@The Armory. At the MRPC meeting, the special speaker was Luke Holtschneider who works with the Department of Economic Development in rural development and he is working on getting broadband Internet access in the rural area. He will be holding a meeting in July. Skiles will be attending an Ozark Rivers Solid Waste Management District Executive Board meeting Tuesday. The commission visited the Dent County Judicial Building to review a request for renovations by Becky Sweeney in her office. The next meeting of the Dent County Commissioners will be Thursday morning at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

The Dent County Sheriff’s Department has released some reports. On Tuesday, May 9th, deputies conducted a consent search at a residence in the 1000 block of County Road 4300. During the search, deputies found revealed baggies containing marijuana and marijuana seeds. As a result, 37-year old Asha Kirker of Salem was fingerprinted and given asummons for possession of up to 10 grams or less of marijuana. that same day, deputies responded to the Anutt Country Store in the 24000 block of Highway C for a report of property damage. Deputies discovered that a front window had been broken. This report is still under investigation. On Wednesday, May 10th, deputies conducted a traffic stop on Highway 32 West at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church. The driver, 23-year old Kevin Coon of Salem, was arrested for driving while revoked. During a consent search of the vehicle, a clear plastic baggie with residue that field tested positive of methamphetamine was found under the driver’s seat. Coon was taken to the Dent County Jail and incarcerated. He was charged with possession of a controlled substance and given a $10,000 cash only bond. Anyone who has any information regarding any ongoing investigation should call the Dent County Sheriff’s Office at 729-3241.

The City of Salem Utility Committee will conduct a meeting, called by Chairman Alderman Chad Heithold tonight be the Salem Community Center @ the Armory beginning at 7:00. The purpose of the meeting will be to review rates for 2017-2018. The meeting of the Salem Utility Committee is open to the public.

The Salem Memorial District Hospital Board of Directors will be conducting their May meeting tonight in the hospital library beginning at 6:00. After approval of the minutes from the April 18th meeting, Chief Financial Officer Monica Gargus will update the Board on the summary of operations and statistics reports for April followed by Chief Nursing Officer Debbie Hines report for April. Hospital Administrator Kasey Lucas will report on the hospital foundation, auxiliary activities and community involvement along with marketing strategy. In old business will be a discussion of the City of Salem water/sewer expansion and the meeting of the budget committee regarding 2018. In new business the Board will address purchases made for the hospital. The Board may vote to go into closed session. The May meeting of the Salem Memorial District Hospital Board of Directors is open the public.

The Dent County Sheriff’s Department has released some reports. On May 5th, deputies traveled to the 6000 block of Highway VV for an investigation. Deputies were granted consent to search the residence and located a clear plastic baggie with residue that field tested positive for methamphetamine. As a result, 51- year old Steven Dorothy of Salem, was arrested and incarcerated into the Dent County Jail. That same day, deputies traveled to the 700 block of Dent County Road 6620 and made contact with an individual that had two active Texas County warrants for her arrest. As a result, 31-year old Bethany Heiney of Licking was arrested and incarcerated in the Texas County Jail. On May 6th, deputies conducted a traffic stop at the Shawnee Mac Conservation Area. While speaking with the vehicle occupants, the odor of marijuana was detected. As a result of a short investigation, 18-year old Robert White of Salem, was arrested for Minor in Possession, Minor Visibly Intoxicated, and Littering. White was transported to the Dent County Sheriff’s Office, where he was fingerprinted and released on 3 summons to appear in court. On May 7th, deputies responded to the 1800 block of County Road 4030 for a report of a burglary. Upon arrival, it was discovered that various tools had been taken from a shed. This report is still under investigation. That same day, deputies responded to the 200 block of County Road 6470 for a report of an 18-year old with a diminished mental capacity walking off into the woods. A search was conducted of the area with the help of Missouri State Highway Patrol, Salem Police Department, and Texas County Sheriff’s Office. A Texas County Deputy was able to locate the missing person walking on Route AB in Texas County. He was then returned home to his guardian. If you have any information about any ongoing investigation, please contact the Dent County Sheriff’s Department at 729-3241.

The City of Salem Planning & Zoning Commission will conduct a meeting tonight at the City Hall Council Chambers located 202 North Washington beginning at 6:30 regarding a request of an In-Home business at 205 South Washington owned by Carly Wilber. The City of Salem Board of Alderman will conduct their regular meeting starting at 7:00. During the hearing of persons, Kate McBride with the Salem Public Library will request to used sidewalk & traffic cones on Thursday, June 1st for the annual teen sidewalk chalk art contest. In bids, the City of Salem requested bids for an estimated 16,000 square yards of NovaChip overlay and the one bid received will be presented to the Board. Also in bids, the City of Salem employee life insurance is up for renewal. During reports of city officials, boards and committees, the Board of Alderman will hear the results of the Planning & Zoning Commission meeting held earlier regarding an In-Home business. City Administrator Ray Walden will then report on various current and future projects concerning the City of Salem as well as give an update on the Old Middle School property followed by reports by Mayor Brad Nash. During the introduction and reading of bills and resolutions, Bill #3331 an ordinance adopting rules and regulations for the City of Salem’s Cedar Grove Cemetery as well as providing when this ordinance shall become effective will be presented for the Board’s approval. In new and miscellaneous business, Mayor Nash is requesting Board approval to appoint Elizabeth Condray to the Planning & Zoning Board to replace Mike Thompson’s unexpired term which ends in 2018. Mayor Nash will also request Board approval to appoint Alderman Chad Heithold, Chairman, Alderwoman Molly Zettel, Gary Brown, Mike Godi, Jerry Layman, Catherine Dent and John Hambacker to the City of Salem Utility Committee. The Board may vote to go into closed session. The meeting of the Planning & Zoning Commission and regular meeting of the City of Salem Board of Alderman are open to the public.