Archive for 2018

The Dent County Commissioners met for their regular meeting at the courthouse Thursday morning. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams gave the report on the sales tax collections in the month of September. Williams reported the General Revenue Fund received $112,218.61 in December which is up $20,868.80 from the 2017 amount collected in September. Year-to-date, the General Revenue Fund is up $135,609.90 which comes to about 21.33%. A similar amount was collected in the Law Enforcement Sales Tax Fund for September. Williams said the Road and Bridge Fund received $53,432.33 and that is up from the $42,246.54 collected in September 2017. The increase year-to-date in that fund is $56,578.27 and that increase is 19.14% over last year. Williams reported each jail fund raised $106,210.51 in September. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell stated grading would be done on Dent County Roads 6500, 5630 and 5650 while ditch work and a crossover pipe for a low water crossing is being installed on county road 5130. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson said materials would be added and grading done on county roads 2070 and 2110 while only grading would be done on Dent County Road 5260. Larson said the low water crossing on county road 2070 is now open to traffic. Dent County Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles said he and the other commissioners attended the Community Betterment Judges visit to Salem on Monday. He also said he attended the MRPC External Relations and board meeting Thursday night. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said she balanced with the collector and assessor on all abatements, collections and add-ons for August. She also said people need to be registered to vote for the November General Election by October 10th. She said the state will be sending out postcards next week to citizens who would be eligible to vote but are not currently registered in an effort to get people registered in time for the November election. If you receive one of these postcards and you are already a registered voter, please disregard it. The commissioners approved the bid from Dent County Glass and Door to make the west doors to the courthouse handicapped accessible using a push button system to open the doors automatically for entry or exit as well as all applicable hardware for $4,280. The commission agreed to revise the ordinance for getting an ATV/UTV permit from a lifetime permit to an annual permit. They will sign the revised ordinance once the annual stickers arrive and the ordinance will then be in effect from that date forward. The Board opened new grader bids at 10:00 from Erb Equipment Company and Fabick. After a long discussion and comparison of the options and features of each machine, the board elected to purchase two new Fabick Cat graders with the steering wheel option. These machines feature a five year/5,000 hour warranty and have a buy back after five years of $110,000. These graders will be delivered sometime in late January or February. The next meeting of the commission will be Monday morning at 9:00 and the meeting is open to the public.

An ABATE Fundraiser for the South Central Missouri Chapter will be held this Sunday as they will hold a Poker Run that will begin with registration at 10:00 at the Whispering Pines Campground on Route ZZ in Jadwin. The run begins at 11:00 as the ride will go to Akers Ferry, Double O in Eminence, JB Malones in Salem and back to Whispering Pine. Drivers must have a drivers/motorcycle license and everyone signs a waiver at the time of registration. The cost is $10 for the first hand and $5.00 for each additional hand. The best hand wins $50. For more information, contact Dale Williams at 573-453-0000.

Healthy Dent County and the Salem Memorial District Hospital invites you to join them for a great evening at the Community Wellness Expo today at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory, located at 1200 West Rolla Road in Salem. The event begins at 5:00 and will last until 7:00. This is a free community event to showcase the wellness of ourselves and our community. There will be interactive booths with hospitals, doctors’ offices, eye doctors, chiropractors, dentists, first responders, along with additional health providers. If you bring a canned good or non-perishable food item, you will receive a ticket to win prizes. You will receive one ticket for every item you bring in so if you bring in ten cans of food, you get ten tickets. The more you donate, the better your chances are to win prizes. All donations will be given to Sacred Heart Food Pantry. If you have any questions about the Community Wellness Expo, please call 729-8163.

On Monday, Community Betterment Judges Dean and Ava Lingner of Lathrop, MO visited Salem for the annual awards competition. During their visit, Salem was able to showcase local community projects accomplished since the last awards competition. Participating communities will be recognized at the 55th Annual MCB Conference that will be held in Columbia on October 14th and 15th. Governor Parson will be presenting the awards beginning at 5:00 on the 15th. All community members, friends and youth are invited to attend the informative educational sessions and awards competition where the winners of the adult leadership, youth leadership, community awards and community youth award group award will be recognized. Registration to event is open to anyone and can be made the MCB website: www.MOCommunityBetterment.com.

Come and join the fun and camaraderie at the 2018 Fall Rendezvous of the Missouri Fur Trappers Association this Friday and Saturday from 6:00 in the morning until 7:00 in the evening, and from 8:00 until noon on Sunday. It will be held at the Commons in Salem in Missouri. Numerous types of vendors will be in attendance. There will be something for the whole family to enjoy. Tent camping on the grounds is $15 per day, and electric hookups are available for $20 per day. If you want reservations for campsites with electrical and water hookups, you can call Sarah Myers at (573) 453-6551. A schedule of events that will occur daily at the event is available at the Missouri Fur Trappers Association website: www.missouritrappers.com.

University of Missouri Extension will host a Management Intensive Grazing School September 26th through 28th at the MU Hugo Wurdack Research Center near Cook Station. The three-day program will include guest speakers covering the topics of grazing system layout and design, watering systems, fence systems, soil fertility, livestock nutrition, and forage growth and quality. Additionally, extensive farm tours will be included to allow participants to receive training on grazing system utilization. The cost of the three-day school is $135 per person or $215 per farm couple. This fee includes the cost of meals, resource books and other handout materials pertinent to the course. Space is limited for this program, and registration along with full payment is required by September 20th. For more information, please contact Rachel Hopkins, MU Extension Ag Business Specialist at (573) 438-2671. To register, contact the Dent County Extension office at 573-729-3196, or visit www.extension.missouri.edu/dent.

The Dent County Sheriff’s Department has stated that a new scam is going on around the local area. Local people have been called saying they will be arrested on outstanding warrants. Individuals are being instructed to call a 1-803 number to keep from being arrested. The originating call is coming from South Carolina. THIS IS A SCAM! Please do not call the number they give you and do NOT give out any personal information if you do call. DO NOT SEND MONEY or give them credit card or bank numbers. If you receive this type of call, contact the Dent County Sheriff’s Department at 729-3241.

The State of Missouri has been granted more time to comply with stricter identification requirements under the Real ID Act. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security granted Missouri a grace period through January 21st, 2019. The current extension ends October 10th. During this grace period, federal agencies will accept Missouri-issued driver licenses and ID cards for official purposes, including domestic air travel. Missouri Department of Revenue officials expect the state to be compliant with the Real ID Act in March 2019.

The Salem Board of Aldermen met Monday night City Hall Council Chambers. At the meeting, the board postponed bids on the Wastewater Treatment Facility Phase I improvements contracts until October due to the possibility of getting a $500,000 grant from the Department of Natural Resources. Archer Engineering is investigating this possibility. The board approved the purchase of two dump beds for the Street Department from Crown Beds for $6,950 each. The board also approved the bid from Napa Auto Parts for an All-Tel Diagnostic Scanning Tool for $6,340.00. City Administrator Ray Walden reported that Healthy Dent County at the Salem Community Center@The Armory had 5,144 participants during the month of August. Walden said the Community Betterment judges were in town for their visit Monday afternoon. Walden said he wanted to publicly apologize to the community for not addressing a number of issues that are currently ongoing in the community. He said a code enforcement module that will link code enforcement online with the Salem Police will be installed soon. He also said a workshop meeting with he, Jarred Brown and Attorney William Camm Seay about the code enforcement processes will be held. Walden also said the city should take the lead when it comes to nuisance issues on their property. He provided to the alderman a booklet on code enforcement recommendations for a small town. He asked them to review the booklet and make recommendations they feel would be beneficial. He provided a list of projects to the media affecting all departments that still need to be completed. The board approved the Fall Clean-Up Week as recommended by WCA from October 8th through the 12th. They also approved sending City Clerk Mary Happel as the employer delegate to the LAGERS meeting to be held October 25th and 26th at the Sheraton Chalet Hotel in Westport. The employee delegate has not yet been determined. The next meeting of the Salem Board of Aldermen will be held on Monday, October 1st at 7:00 Hall Council Chambers. The board then went into closed session.

The Dent County Sheriffs Office has released some reports. On Tuesday, August 28th, deputies responded to a report of an assault at a residence on Dent County Road 4215. After an investigation, a black zipper case which contained three broken glass pipes and a plastic baggie containing visible residue were located. A pipe tested positive for methamphetamine. As a result, a 44-year old Salem woman was arrested for possession of a controlled substance. She was taken to the Dent County Jail and incarcerated. On Friday, August 31st, deputies conducted a traffic stop in the 200 block of Route ZZ. After a short investigation, a baggie of marijuana and a grinder were located. The driver, a 26-year old Salem man, was arrested and taken to the Dent County Jail. He was found to have a warrant for his arrest and was issued summons for driving while having his license revoked, careless and imprudent driving, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was fingerprinted and released after posting bond. On Saturday, September 1st, deputies conducted a traffic stop on Highway 32 West at Dent County Road 4185. After a short investigation, a blue glass smoking pipe that field tested for the presence of THC was located. As a result, a 37-year old Salem woman was arrested and taken to the Dent County Jail. She was fingerprinted, issued a summons, and released. Later that day, deputies conducted a traffic stop on County Road 6180. The driver, a 21-year old Salem man, was arrested for driving without a valid license. He was fingerprinted, issued a summons, and released. That evening, deputies conducted a traffic stop on Route K and Route Z. The driver, a 32-year old Salem man, was arrested for warrants from Dent County, Salem Police Department and Crawford County. He was taken to the Dent County Jail and incarcerated. If you have any information about an ongoing investigation, please contact the Dent County Sheriff’s Office at 729-3241.

An accident happened Monday morning at 10:25 in Phelps County on Highway 63 at Route K. According to the highway patrol report, a 2001 Dodge Neon, driven eastbound by 24-year old Elsie Rymer of Salem, failed to stop at a stop sign and struck a 2015 Dodge Durango driven southbound by 58-year old Janet Mohrman of Raymondville in the side. A passenger in the Durango, 77-year old Margaret Lane of Licking, received minor injuries and sought her own treatment. The Dodge Neon sustained extensive damage and was removed by Whitaker’s Towing of Salem, while the Dodge Durango sustained moderate damage and was driven from the scene. Everyone was wearing seat restraints at the time of the accident.

Join you friends at Echo Bluff and the Dent County Astronomers for another unbelievable night sky viewing as everyone will gather on the “Sky Porch,” as it has come to be known, at the Bluff Top Pavilion to enjoy the company of Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, and Mars! The event will take place on September 15th from 7:30 to 9:30 in the evening. Everyone’s welcome!