Archive for 2018

The Dent County Commissioners met Thursday morning for their regular meeting at the courthouse. Dent County Clerk Denita Williams reported on the sales tax receipts from the state this month. She stated that year-to-date, the General Revenue Fund sales tax receipts are up $56,309.75 which comes to an increase of 16.9% over last year. The money received for General Revenue in May came in at $49,950.54. Last May, the county received from the state $52,699.28 for General Revenue. For the Road and Bridge Fund, receipts from the state in May were $23,762.15 which was down from collections last May of $25,718.67. Year-to-date the Road and Bridge fund is up $18,966.64 and that is about a 12.3% increase. The sales tax receipts from the state for May for the two jail funds combined came in at $47,171.49. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell stated grading would be done on Dent County Roads 4185, 5110 and 5600. Purcell indicated brush would be cut on county roads 6040 and 6490. He also said a man went to retrieve ultimate paving materials for chip and seal repair. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson reported grading would be done on Dent County Roads 3080, 3090, 3193, 3195 and 4350. He went to say materials would be added to county road 5228 and spread out by the county crews, while materials would be added and grading done on county road 2200. He did say brush would be cut on county road 4280. Larson wanted the public to know the county crews will be out the next two weeks getting the roads to cemeteries in the county ready for the Memorial Day weekend. He also went on to say that he and Commissioner Purcell attended the City of Salem Vision 2040 meeting Monday at the Salem Community Center@The Armory. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles said he attended a Public Housing Agency meeting in St. James and also an MRPC meeting Thursday in St. James. The commissioners decided to solicit bids to provide the labor and all necessary repair work for the replacement of the courthouse windows on the third floor. The windows will be provided. The bid specs will be available in the county clerk’s office. The bids must be submitted by June 4th before 10:00 to the county clerk’s office and the bids will be opened at 10:30 that morning at the courthouse. The commission also decided to solicit bids for the removal and replacement of the carpet in the courthouse courtroom and all related facilities. The carpet must be of commercial grade. The bids specs for the carpet removal and replacement will also be available in the county clerk’s office. Those bids must be submitted to the county clerk’s office by 10:00 Monday, June 4th as the commissioners will open the bids in their office at 10:00 on Monday, June 4th. At the last meeting, the commissioners heard from Jonathan Williams from EPM who came in to discuss utility savings through the EPM computerized temperature control system. The next meeting of the Dent County Commission will be Monday morning at the courthouse and it is open to the public.

The City of Salem wants to remind city residents another Spring Clean Up Week will begin on Monday, May 14th on your regular trash day. You can put excess items to be disposed off on the curb where your trash is normally picked up. Old appliances, lawns mowers, etc can be put at the curb during the Spring Clean Up weeks. You can also put out yard waste that includes leaves, grass clippings, branches, and general yard debris. Please don’t combine with wood, mulch landscape timbers or dirt. Yard waste can only be collected in tied bags or bundles. Grass clippings and leafy debris should be placed at the curb in biodegradable trash bags that are available at the City Administrative Offices. Branches and limbs should be no longer than four (4) feet in length, and six (6) inches in diameter. All branches and limbs should be tied in bundles weighing less than 50 pounds, and bundles should be stacked uniformly at the curb. You cannot put out old tires, old car or lawn batteries, or motor oil or other oil accessories, or paint cans with any paint in them for pickup. If you have any questions, call the City of Salem Administrative Offices at 729-4811.

An accident happened at 12:10 Wednesday afternoon in Phelps County on Highway 63 about three miles south of Edgar Springs. According to the highway patrol report, a 2006 Mercury Grand Marquis driven northbound by 18-year old Megan Karnes of Edgar Springs, attempted to avoid an animal in the roadway and the Mercury traveled off the left side of the road, struck an embankment and a tree. Megan Karnes suffered moderate injuries while her 16-year old sister, Mianna Karnes suffered serious injuries. Both were taken to the Phelps County Regional Medical Center. Neither girl was wearing a seat restraint at time of the accident. The Mercury Grand Marquis was totaled and removed from the scene by Lucas Garage in Edgar Springs.

The Meramec State Park invites the public to its annual open house and public meeting 10:00 in the morning until 2:00 in the afternoon on Saturday, May 12th. The public is invited to share comments about the park and its operations. Park staff will be available to provide information about the park and answer questions. The meeting will be held in the park’s visitor center. Input from the public is important to Missouri State Parks. These informational meetings, which are being held in all state parks and historic sites, help create a two-way communication with the public. The meetings give park staff the opportunity to let people know the current status and future plans for the park, and they offer visitors the opportunity to comment on the facilities. The Meramec State Park is located at 115 Meramec Park Drive in Sullivan. For more information about the open house and public meeting or about other events at the park, call 573-468-6072.

In a press release from the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office, 46-year old Brian Naber of Salem has been charged with a Class E felony of sexual conduct with a prisoner by an employee of a jail. Naber was a probationary detention employee of Crawford County at the time of the incident. According to the release, the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office received information about Naber engaging in potentially inappropriate interactions with recently released inmates on April 27th. The Crawford County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division then began an investigation into these allegations, plus there was an internal investigation regarding policy violations that had occurred. After the investigation, Naber was arrested by a Crawford County detective along with the assistance of the Phelps County Sheriff’s Office. He is currently incarcerated in the Phelps County Jail on a $25,000 cash only bond. Naber was also terminated from his job at the Crawford County jail.

An accident happened in Phelps County on Highway 68 about a mile north of Route F Tuesday afternoon at 4:10. According to the highway patrol report, a 2003 Honda Motorcycle driven westbound by 21-year old Daniel Steen of Concordia, Missouri, failed to negotiate a curve and traveled off the left side of the roadway and struck a sign. Steen and a passenger on the bike, 20-year old Kayla Bruemmer of Fair Grove, Missouri, suffered minor injuries and were taken to the Phelps County Regional Medical Center. Both were wearing safety devices at the time of the accident. The Honda sustained extensive damage and was removed from the scene by Spurgeon’s Towing of St. James.

The Salem Park Board will meet this Friday evening at 6:00 at the Salem Community Center@The Armory. The board will  go over the previous meeting minutes and approve the agenda. The meeting will also include a report from Park and Recreation Director Tye Lydon along with a pool tour for the board and any other business of interest brought before the meeting is adjourned.

The Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) and Phelps County Public Housing Agency Family Self-Sufficiency program will host a free workshop from 10:00 in the morning until noon this Friday in St. James on “Kids and Self Esteem” at #4 Industrial Drive in St. James. The workshop is designed to help parents understand how to build up children’s self-esteem and how important it is for the parents to model that self-esteem in themselves for the kids to see. Christy Saylor, the Missouri Ozarks Community Action (MOCA) county projects coordinator, will be presenting the workshop. Free training classes are a part of the efforts to help prepare families by making them aware of the resources available to assist with self-sufficiency. Workshops are offered at no cost to the participants. For more information or to RSVP, contact Savannah Vandegriffe at 573-265-4200 ext. 132. Each participant meeting income qualifications will receive a $25 Wal-Mart gift card.

Rural Missourians can save money on energy bills with help from University of Missouri Extension and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. MU Extension specialist Willard Downs says USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) helps Missourians lower costs through energy audits, financing and grants. Farmers who earn at least 50 percent of their income from agriculture and small businesses in eligible rural areas qualify. MU REAP audits cost only $112.50 which is a savings of thousands over standard energy audit costs and it will show wasteful energy systems. Auditors figure savings and suggest changes for all or part of an operation. MU Extension helps with the first step of the program: a full farm or business energy audit. Audits show which upgrades provide the largest savings in the long term. Audits are necessary to qualify for the second step: the financial incentives through REAP’s loans and grants program for renewable-energy systems and energy-efficiency improvement. USDA offers funds to buy, install and build renewable energy systems or improve existing systems. REAP makes loan guarantees on loans up to 75 percent of total eligible project costs. Grants can fund up to 25 percent of eligible project costs. Combined grant and loan funding can be up to 75 percent of eligible project costs. Loans range from $5,000 to $25 million, with loan guarantees up to 85 percent. Borrowers and lenders negotiate loan rates, which are subject to USDA approval. Grants range from $2,500 to $500,000 for renewable-energy systems and $1,500 to $250,000 for energy-efficiency grants. USDA is offering funds now though March 2019. This is the third generation of the REAP project. During the 2010-2013 MAESTRO Program, more than 200 audits were performed and 153 agricultural operations installed energy-saving systems. To learn more about MU Extension energy audits, visit the MU REAP website at REAP.missouri.edu, or contact MU REAP at mufsbreap@missouri.edu or 573-882-2731. You may also contact the USDA Rural Development state office at 573-876-9321, or your local MU Extension center.

A reminder that if you have a school aged child who will be participating in sports in 2018, they can get a FREE comprehensive sports physicals through Friday, May 11th at Salem Family Medicine on the campus of SMDH. A parent or guardian MUST be present when the physicals are given. SMDH Family Medicine is in Physicians Office Building #3 on Highway 72 in Salem and is open from 8:00 AM until 8:00 PM today, and from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM Friday. Please call 729-8000 to schedule your time.

Local schools and young children are invited to Montauk State Park to get a sneak peek of the park’s Old Mill Days celebration starting at 9:00 in the morning until 4:00 in the afternoon this Friday before the celebration opens up to the public Saturday. Student participants will have the opportunity to explore hands-on historical skills and other activities. On Saturday from 9:00 in the morning until 4:00 in the afternoon, the general public is invited to step back in time and explore some of the lost historical skills and traditions from a time many have forgotten. The annual celebration will bring the valley to life with historical re-enactors, traditional artisans and other local Ozark crafters to celebrate the historic mill and the region’s rich Ozark heritage. Montauk State Park is located at 345 county road 6670 in Dent County. For more information about the event, call the park at 573-548-2225.

Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) shows that turkey hunters checked 34,055 birds during Missouri’s 2018 regular spring turkey season April 16th through May 6th. Top harvest counties were Franklin with 760 birds checked, Texas with 732, and Laclede with 657. Young turkey hunters harvested 1,729 birds during the 2018 spring youth season, April 7th and 8th, bringing the overall 2018 spring turkey harvest to 35,784. In Dent County, there were 468 birds checked, Phelps County reported 546 turkeys checked, Shannon County had 391 birds checked and Crawford County reported 383 turkeys checked. Both Reynolds and Iron counties reported less than 300 birds checked during the Spring season. This year’s harvest total is down 17% from last year’s overall spring turkey harvest of 43,339 birds.

The historic Welch Lodge, located north of Akers Ferry on the upper Current River, was destroyed in a wildfire that ignited on April 12th, during warm, windy, and dry weather conditions. Despite valiant efforts by several local fire departments and wildland firefighters from Ozark National Scenic Riverways, the Welch Lodge was a total loss as a result of the blaze. The Missouri State Fire Marshall and wildfire investigators from the National Park Service jointly investigated the wildfire and loss of the structure. The investigators determined the origin of the wildfire was a downed power line resulting from a tree that fell across the line a short distance from the lodge. The fire was first spotted around 2:00 p.m. by park visitors who had been fishing at the river landing nearby, as they were returning to their vehicle. They immediately drove to Akers Ferry Canoe Rental to report the fire. Firefighters from Timber Community Fire Protection District were the first to arrive at Welch, observing that the wildfire had already reached the structure and was spreading quickly through the attic space. They began fire suppression efforts for both the Welch Lodge and rapidly spreading wildfire, and requested additional assistance from Jadwin Volunteer Fire Department and National Park Service wildland firefighters. Because of the rugged terrain and extreme wildfire conditions, firefighters conducted a burnout operation along nearby roads, so that a secure containment perimeter could be established. Crews worked late into the evening to contain the blaze. In total, the fire burned 148 acres. Welch Lodge and the nearby unoccupied caretaker’s house, which was saved through the efforts of the local volunteer firefighters, were built about 1953 by the Welch Cave Ranch Company. The facilities were operated as a fishing lodge prior to the establishment of Ozark National Scenic Riverways. The Welch Cave Ranch Company, a commercial enterprise of a group of St. Louis businessmen, catered to trout fisherman and stocked trout in the nearby man-made spillway from Welch Spring. The success of the enterprise is unknown, but the property was sold to the government in 1967 to become part of the national riverways. The lodge included 23 rooms, with two wings of dormitory bedrooms as well as a large kitchen, dining room, lounge area, and screened porch. Over the years it had served a variety of purposes, as a home for a Youth Conservation Corps camp through the early 1980s and then as housing for park employees. Plans to develop the lodge into a training center and educational youth camp were proposed and initiated in the early 2000s, but had been put on hold due to lack of funds. The National Park Service appreciates the response of both the Timber Community Fire Protection District and the Jadwin Volunteer Fire Department and their quick work to protect the caretaker’s house while slowing the initial spread of the wildfire.

The US Postal service is having their “Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive” again this year as your postal carrier will pick up bags or boxes of
healthy non-perishable food items placed by your mailbox this Saturday, May 12th. Here are some suggested items that can be boxed or bagged up such as plastic jars of peanut butter; boxes of pasta, cereal and oatmeal; or cans of tuna, fruit, vegetables, soup or sauces. Please do NOT include any glass jars as they could break! The food collected stays in the Salem community to be sent to the local food pantries to help feed families in need. For more information, talk with postal carrier, check out Facebook.com/StampOutHunger or go online at stampouthungerfooddrive.us.