Archive for 2018

The Dent County Commissioners met Monday morning at the Dent County Courthouse. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell stated that on Sunday he received a report of a tree blocking Dent County Road 4080. It was removed. He said the southern part of the county received more than five inches of rain from Friday through Saturday. Patch grading will be done where needed on roads affected by the rain. Purcell stated grading would be done on county roads 2400, 4220, 5590, 5610 and 6090. He went on to say that a crossover pipe will be installed on Dent County Road 4080 and the crossover pipes will be cleaned out on county road 5015. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson indicted grading would be done on Dent County Roads 2320, 2330 and 4380 while materials would be added and grading done on county road 4060. Larson said brush would be cut on Dent County Roads 2240, 2300, 4380 and 5260. He also said roads would be checked for possible washouts where heavier rains fell. Larson did report that the concrete slab on Dent County Road 2070 was poured last Thursday. He said the road will remain closed through Thursday morning to allow the concrete to fully cure. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles met with the Community Betterment Representatives on their visit to Salem Monday. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley stated her office balanced with the treasurer on all accounts for the month of August and the commissioners signed off on the report. She also stated she attended the Missouri Association of County Clerk and Election Authority Conference last week. She said they discussed a number of state issues and resolutions that were made at the conference. At 10:00, Commissioner Gary Larson brought up that a petition was received on August 9th to close the 0.466 miles at end of Dent County Road 2083. The landowner owns the property on all three sides of the road and would like to close it off to the public. Larson said the petitions have been in three public locations for the last month. There were no objections and the commission unanimously voted to vacate that section of Dent County Road 2083. Richard LaBrash from the American Volunteers was in attendance and thanked the commission for the beautiful plaque that was presented to Medal of Honor recipient Donald “Doc” Ballard on his visit to Salem. He also said the Missouri Fur Trappers Association will hold their fall rendezvous at The Commons this weekend starting on Friday and lasting through Sunday. The event is open to the public and the American Volunteers will be there preparing meals for the group. He also brought attention to an event that will be held on October 20th that will begin at The Commons called ‘Ride for America.” This event is being sponsored by Cowtown USA in association with the American Volunteers that will allow four-wheelers, ATV’s, UTV’s and RTV’s to drive a prescribed course through Dent County that will be between 75 to 100 miles in length on Dent County Roads. LaBrash was joined by Sheriff Bob Wells who is helping with the event. Those vehicles in the event will need to have a Dent County ATV permit which must be purchased through the Dent County Clerk’s Office. LaBrash said with this being the first event like this in Dent County, he expects to have between 300-500 participants. Cowtown and the American Volunteers would like to make this an annual event. The Commissioners reviewed the policy on the permitting of ATV’s and UTV’s in Dent County and discussed changing it from a lifetime one time purchase to an annual fee for each vehicle. This has been discussed before as the county does not require a visible sticker on the machines being driven that verify county compliance, but no action had been taken. The commission may possibly amend their ATV permit ordinance at the next meeting which will be Thursday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting will be open to the public.

The High School Art Club is offering to paint downtown business windows again with Fall or Halloween designs. Please see flyer attached for more details, and contact Amber Pryor at the Salem High School at 729-6641 to sign up or for more information. This is a great chance to showcase our local students’ artistic talents, draw attention to your business, and brighten our community with some awesome art! Only 12 spots available – sign up fast!

Healthy Dent County and the Salem Memorial District Hospital invites you to join them for a great evening at the Community Wellness Expo on Thursday evening, September 13th 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 573-729-8163.