Archive for 2018

The Dent County Commissioners met Thursday morning in the Courthouse for their regular meeting. District One Commissioner Dennis Purcell was unable to attend due to a serious illness in his family. District One Road Foreman Rusty Chamberlain reported that grading would be done on Dent County Roads 5360, 6080, 6110 and 5070, plus materials would be hauled to county road 5380. He noted that chip and seal patching would be done on county roads 4180 and 6380. District Two Commissioner Gary Larson reported that brush would be cut on Dent County Roads 4480 and 4010. He said that due to a backhoe breakdown, the low water crossing work was not completed on Dent County Road 2300, the Commons Road, but he was hopeful work would be completed by Friday so the road would be open by the weekend. Larson also noted that materials were being hauled from county road 2300. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles reported that Tuesday he and Commissioner Larson attended the County’s health insurance consortium meeting in Springfield. He said that Dent is one of ten counties that belong to the consortium. Skiles attended a feral hog program in Eminence Thursday night at their old gym. He noted that he had been contacted by a Dent County landowner who has a problem with feral hogs destroying his property. The landowner commented that he is unable to solve the problem and it may result in him having to sell his farm. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley reminded voters that absentee voting continues through April 2nd in her office, that the last day to mail out a ballot is March 28th, and that her office will be open for absentee voting Saturday, March 31st, from 8:00 until noon. She also noted that the April 3rd election is the first one where voters are required to present valid photo identification. Curley said the photo could be a driver’s license, a non-drivers license, military identification, or passport. She also reminded voters that need to make an address change should come by her office and complete the change. The next meeting of the Commissioners will be Monday morning at the Courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

Scammers are yet again calling Intercounty members and impersonating employees in an attempt to collect financial information. Please do NOT fall victim to these attempts to rob you of your hard earned dollars. Members in the Rolla area are the latest target. The caller is claiming to be with a merchant company working on behalf of the co-op to collect unpaid electric bills. Members are threatened with power disconnection if they do not comply and make payment over the phone. Intercounty will NOT call and threaten to disconnect your power. Intercounty does NOT use a merchant company to collect payments. Intercounty does NOT even take payment information over the phone (payments are made through our secure, automated line). If you are unsure of the validity of a call, hang up and call us directly at 866-621-3679. Do not call them back at the number they provide, as they will only attempt to validate their scam call and collect your bank account information.

Healthy Dent County would like to invite everyone to the “Non Newlywed Game” Show. This event is a couple vs. couple hilarious version of the classic game show where you will discover just how much couples know (or don’t know!) about their spouses! This fundraising event will be held tonight at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory beginning at 7:00 PM. The “Non Newlywed Game” Show is an evening of laughter and fun that you will never forget. It’s called the Non Newlywed Game, because it’s not just for newly married couples. Four local married couples have been selected to play the game, they are: Max and Judy Dunn; Mike and Glenda Wofford; Clint and Barb Medlock; and Nathan and Nicole Miracle. These couples have graciously volunteered their time to play this fun game and entertain the audience. A total of less than 50 tickets remain for the event tonight and a VIP sponsored table can still be reserved by 4:30 today with a $300 donation, or you can get your individual tickets for $20 each. The individual tickets will not have reserved seating. The Salem Community Center @ the Armory is located at 1200 W. Rolla Road in Salem. To reserve your VIP table please call 729-8163. The event begins at 7:00 PM and doors open at 6:30 PM.

There will be a Hay Production program April 6th from 8:30 in the morning until 4:30 in the evening at the MU Wurdack Farm in Cook Station. Developed by MU Extension Specialists, this program will provide the fundamental knowledge to help you lower production costs and improve net returns per acre. The cost is $40 per person, or $60 per farm couple. To RSVP by April 2nd, stop by the Dent County MU Extension Office or call 573-729-3196, or you can go to extension.missouri.edu/dent. If you would like more information, please call Ted Cunningham, MU extension Livestock Specialist at 573-729-3196.

The Salem Memorial District Hospital Board of Directors met for the regular meeting Tuesday evening at the hospital library. Chief Financial Officer Monica Stogsdill gave the summary of operations for February that showed a gain from operations of $49,053 with an excess of revenues over expenses of $67,393 for the month. In February, 82 patients were admitted to the hospital as acute care patients per day for the month came in at 11.1. The cash flow statement showed an increase in cash of $72,796 for the month with days in accounts receivable shooting up to 71 due to the high volume of patients. Chief Nursing Officer Debbie Hines reported during the month there were 774 emergency room visits, 247 ambulance runs with 190 patients being transported to the hospital, 22 surgery services, 1,763 outpatient registrations, 166 home health visits, 8,539 lab tests, 981 radiological procedures and 596 rehab treatments. The days cash-on-hand for the hospital stands at 95 year-to-date and that is way over the Critical Access Hospital state average of 65. Hines went over the Quality Improvement report for the month of February for dialysis, radiology and SMDH Family Medicine. An updated risk management project was also reviewed. A flu update showed flu cases decreased at the hospital in February to 128 cases after peaking in January at 236 cases. Chief Operating Officer Chris Strickland reported on the hospital foundation and the golf tournament to be held on June 8th. He also discussed the possible change of the entity structure of the foundation to a 501 C 3 status. Hospital Attorney Mark Weaver, Strickland and the hospital accountants, BKD have discussed the change, but a few more issues need to be addressed before any change is made. Hospital Administrator Kasey Lucas showed the board the new patient whiteboards done by Kent Nichols sponsored by the hospital auxiliary. Strickland attended his first opening day at Montauk and handed out new marketing materials on the hospital. He said the hospital and SMDH Family Medicine will also have representation at the Ladies Night Out event this week with a new display. The board approved privileges for nine Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists from Phelps County including Billy Albertson, Christopher Black, John Byrd, Jason Corey, Angela D. DeLaria, Jeffrey Dean Heese, Michael F. Jones, Joe Meyerott, and Curtis Roberston. Courtesy Staff privileges for Charles Rasmussen, DO and Jacob Ballman MD from 360 degree Medicine for the Emergency Department were also approved by the board. The Finance Committee met March 6th and approved the market assessment and reviewed the capital budget. They plan on meeting again in April. The board approved the purchase of a deep fat fryer for dietary from US Foods for $5,594, approved the purchase of an E-Stim/Ultrasound Combo Unit for Rehab from Medline for $3,370, approved the purchase of a Glidescope for the Emergency Department from Salter Labs for $12,514, approved the purchase of a Lift Assist IV Pole for the Surgery Department from Bryton Corporation for $1,169, and approved the purchase of a Cautery Unit for the Surgery Department from Ethicon Megadyme for $6,171. The board then went into closed session.

Healthy Dent County’s 7th annual “Girls Night Out” event will be held on tonight from 5:00 to 8:00 at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory. Attendees will experience shopping with unique vendors, prize giveaways, FREE samples, door prizes, massages, food samples, wine tasting and many other exciting items. This event is limited to women and girls who are 12 years of age and older and the admission fee is $5.00. Over 54 vendors will display and sell their products and services. Bring your girlfriends for an evening of pampering, shopping and eating. Bring in a canned food or non-perishable food item for a chance to win a Amazon Gift Cards. You get one ticket per item, so the more you donate, so does your chance to win the gift cards. Food donations will be given to the Sacred Heart Food Pantry. For additional information call Sherry at 729-8163.

A ReproGene 2018 workshop will be held in Monday at 4:30 at the Recklein Auditorium in Cuba. The workshop will deal with the remarkable technology available to beef producers and how producers can use these tools to increase profits. The workshop will be led by MU Extension’s David Patterson and Jared Decker. The workshop will be coordinated by University of Missouri Extension Livestock Specialist, Ted Cunningham. Early registration for $20.00 ends TODAY which includes dinner. The registration fee is $25.00 at the door. For information contact Jared Decker at (573) 882-2504 or Ted Cunningham at (573) 729-3196.

The Salem Board of Aldermen met Monday night at the Salem City Council Chambers. The board approved the chip and seal bid from Missouri Petroleum out of St. Louis for 30,000 square yards of chip and seal for $2.37 per square yard for a total of $71,100. The board made no decision on the purchase of a backhoe for the construction company before hearing from Parks and Recreation Director Tye Lydon. He was informing the board he will purchasing refrigerators, freezers, ice maker and other equipment through funds provided by Healthy Dent County for the Health Foods Initiative that will be in effect at the park. He also reported that SACBA will be paying $7,000 toward a new entrance sign for the city park that includes the materials, concrete pad and electric lights. Lydon also let the board know that he wanted to sell signs to businesses for the city park fences and offer team sponsorships if they wanted. City Administrator Ray Walden gave the traffic survey results of the study done on Grand Street by Officer Allan Kimrey that showed 36 cars parked on the east side of the street while another 12 cars parked on the west side. There were 262 private parking spaces available in the lot and very few were being used. The board decided to eliminate parking on both sides of Grand Street from 1st to 3rd Streets. Walden gave his report where he thanked Rob Benowitz and all those involved with this year’s 100-Acre Wood Road Rally for making it another success. He said the school will have another volunteer day on April 3rd, and another visioning meeting will be held April 9th from 5:00 to 7:00 at the Salem Community Center@The Armory which the public is invited to attend. The board approved Bill #3367 that corrected the fee for sewer inspections from $25 to $30; approved Bill #3368 that establishes a Commercial Plan Review Fee of 65% of the building permit fee for commercial projects; and approved Bill #3369 that allows the Mayor to execute an agreement between the city and Westport Pools, Inc. for a change order for the bath house renovations at the city pool. The board approved adopting a policy for Livable Streets as presented by Alderwomen Shelton that says any new street development would have to have sidewalks unless exempted by the aldermen. The board approved the appointment of Sarah Ziske Swindell to the Library Board and the re-appointment of Doris Stempniak to the Housing Authority Board. The board went on to approve setting a public hearing for the annexation of property into the city recently purchased by the Phelps County Regional Medical Center on Highway 32-72 West. The board then went into closed session.

The Dent County Sheriff’s Department has released some reports. On March 13th, deputies received a report of an identity theft. It was reported that a Verizon account had been falsely open in the victim’s name. This report is still under investigation. On March 15th, deputies responded to a residence on Dent County Road 5320 for a theft. It was reported that a black, singe axle, ten-foot trailer was stolen from a barn. The trailer has a metal frame with wooden boards on the sides and has white wheels without hubcaps and fender flares. It also has a lift gate and a toolbox on it. This report is still under investigation. That same day, deputies responded to call to the Seville Care Center parking lot for a verbal domestic. During the investigation, it was revealed that 43-year old Salem man involved had a felony warrant from Lafayette County. He was arrested, taken to the Dent County Jail and incarcerated. If you have any information about an ongoing investigation, please contact the Dent County Sheriff’s Department at 729-3241.

Highway 106 in Shannon County will be reduced to one lane with a 12-foot width restriction as the Missouri Department of Transportation crews perform bridge maintenance. The bridge over the Jacks Fork River is located at Alley Springs between Shannon County Road 308 and Shannon County Road 423. Weather permitting, work will take place Wednesday, March 21 through Thursday, March 29 from 7:00 in the morning until 5:00 in the afternoon. The work zone will be marked with signs. Motorists are urged to use extreme caution while traveling near the area. For additional information, contact MoDOT’s Customer Service Center toll-free at 1-888-ASK-MODOT (1-888-275-6636).

An accident happened in Texas County Monday afternoon at 12:25 on Route AT about six miles northwest of Licking. According to the highway patrol report, a 1995 Mercury Cougar driven by 33-year old Sarah Tow of Licking traveled off then roadway and struck a tree. Tow suffered moderate injuries and was transported by ambulance to Texas County Medical Center. The Mercury sustained extensive damage and was removed from the scene by a family member. Tow was not wearing a seat restraint at the time of the accident.