Archive for 2018

The Dent County Commissioners met Thursday morning for their regular meeting. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams was in attendance with eight different budgeted transfers to various funds for the commission to approve. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell said materials would be added and grading would be done on Dent County Road 2480 while only grading would be done on county roads 5070, 5150, 5420 and 5500. He also said brush would be cut on Dent County Road 5630. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson indicated that materials would be added and grading done on Dent County Roads 3165 and 4260 while only grading would be done on county road 2020. Larson stated brush would be cut on Dent County Road 3180. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles reported he attended the Salem Area Community Betterment Association Annual Meeting Monday and two new board members have been added: Jenna Deason and Bob Gravely. He wanted to remind everyone the SACBA Annual Trivia Night will be held March 16th at the Salem Community Center@The Armory. He said attended a Transportation Advisory Committee Meeting Thursday afternoon. At the last meeting, Donald Dodd, President of the IDA Board, said the board had three board positions open that were three year terms. Willing to serve again on the board are Sherman Odom and Joan Sample while a third person for the position will be considered by the IDA Board. Once they find a person they would like to nominate, they will bring their recommendation to the county. There was also some discussion on the new construction work going on Highway 32-72 West. Public Administrator Sherida Cook attended the meeting to discuss her request for a pay raise for her part time employee in the budget. The budget the commissioners approved did not contain any raises for part-time employees for that office. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley wanted to remind everyone that the courthouse will be closed on President’s Day on Monday. The next meeting of the Dent County Commissioners will be Thursday, February 22nd at the courthouse at 9:00 and it will be open to the public.

A citizens’ response to an active shooter event training will be held at Oak Grove Baptist Church Saturday from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm. The training is open to citizens, law enforcement officers and anyone concerned with community safety. The training will be presented by Joe Weber of Weber and Associates and will cover active shooter situations and ways to enhance citizens’ chances of survival when confronted by an active shooter. As active shooter events become more frequent, the need for preparation has become more critical. While law enforcement is trained to address active shooter events they rarely take place in the presence of law enforcement. The lack of law enforcement present to protect and assist citizens make it important to provide people with tools to protect themselves until law enforcement arrives. This type of training is referred to as CRASE, which stands for Citizens’ Response to Active Shooter Events. This class is FREE of charge since it is hosted by local law enforcement as a service to the community and lunch will be served by the church. Please contact Salem Police Chief Keith Steelman at 729-4242, Sheriff Bob Wells at 729-3241, or Joe Weber at 729-4429 if you plan on attending so they can get a head count, or if you have any questions about the class.

Echo Bluff State Park will host a Great American Backyard Bird Count event from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. this Saturday at the park’s amphitheater. Participants will take a brief hike in the park’s day-use area to identify and count different types of birds. Participants are encouraged to bring cameras and their own binoculars. A limited number of binoculars will be available along with some field guides for identifying birds. Echo Bluff State Park is located on Hwy 19, about 25 miles south of Salem and approximately 14 miles north of Eminence. For more information about the event, call Connie at Echo Bluff State Park at 573-751-1224. For more information on state parks and historic sites, visit mostateparks.com. Missouri State Parks is a division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

The Dent County Sheriff’s Office has released some reports. On Monday, February 5th, deputies took a report of theft from a residence on Route EE. It was reported that a small Sentry Safe containing jewelry, silver dollars, documents, and a harmonica was taken. This report is still under investigation. On Wednesday, February 7th, deputies responded to a fight in progress near the intersection of Route J and Highway 72. Deputies approached a vehicle parked near the intersection and spoke with three occupants. A firearm was discovered laying next to a 29-year old Salem man that deputies knew to be a convicted felon. The firearm was seized and he was placed under arrest. It was then discovered that it was a shotgun that had the serial number tampered with and the barrel was modified to be only 14.25 inches in length. He was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of an illegal firearm. He is being held in the Dent County Jail on a $50,000 cash only bond. On Friday, February 9th, deputies conducted a traffic stop on Dent County Road 6370. As a result, the driver, a 26-year old Salem man, was arrested for driving without obtaining a new driver’s license after having his license Revoked or Suspended. He was fingerprinted, issued a summons, and released. If you have information about any ongoing investigation, please call the Dent County Sheriff’s Department at 729-3241.

The Salem R-80 Board of Education will hold their regular board meeting at 6:00 this evening at the Salem District Administrative Offices Boardroom. At the meeting, the Board will hear from Superintendent John McColloch who will report on the free and reduced lunch count, January membership, student recognition and the Bridges Program. The principals from all the schools will give their reports. In new business the board will approve the 2018-2019 School Calendar and consider purchase of Promethean Interactive Flat Panel. The board will accept resignations before adjourning and then go into closed session. The Salem R-80 Board of Education meeting Thursday will be at the District Administrative Office at 6:00 and the regular meeting is open to the public

This afternoon at 1:00 on the RFD-TV Channel, Dent County’s own Pinecrest Campground will be featured on the program “Best of America by Horseback.” Hosted each week by outdoorsman, Tom Seay and cowboy singer, songwriter and poet Del Shields, this weekly series captures the beauty of America by horseback. The show introduces trail riders to scenic locations they can visit, plus they incorporate informative and educational information about the location’s trails, camping and lodging facilities, amenities, history, as well as additional activities to participate in while visiting. This segment was recorded last fall at Pinecrest where you will see the campground facilities and ride the trails with them through the Ozark hills. Pinecrest is family owned and operated by Ethan and Marie Tuttle and is located on Route YY. They offer the best of the outdoors world including camping, trails for horseback riders, fishing, hiking, floating, kayaking and canoeing. If you can’t watch it live, make sure you record it for viewing at a later time.

The Meramec Regional Planning Commission and Phelps County Public Housing Agency Family Self-Sufficiency program will host a free workshop this Friday, in St. James on “Tackling the Tough Skills: Communications.” This workshop is the third in a series of five that will cover topics such as attitude, responsibility, communication, problem solving and preparing for the workplace. All the workshops are held from 10:00 in the morning until noon at Phelps County Public Housing Agency located at #4 Industrial Drive in St. James. Christy Saylor, the Missouri Ozarks Community Action county projects coordinator, will be presenting the program. Free training classes are a part of MRPC and PHA’s 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. Free training classes are a part of MRPC and Public Housing Authority’s efforts to help prepare families by making them aware of the resources available to assist with self-sufficiency. Each participant who attends will receive a $25 Wal-Mart gift card, as long as they meet income qualifications. The next workshop will be March 9th on problem solving at MRPC.

The Salem Board of Aldermen held a special meeting Tuesday evening at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory with Alderman Powell attending via video. Park and Recreation Director Tye Lydon presented a construction change order for renovation of a new pool house that totaled $418,981.82. This would be paid out of the Certificate of Performance over the next 20 years using park sales tax funds. Attorney William Camm Seay could not advise the alderman to approve the proposal due to legal issues. He wanted the project to be bid out as stated in city ordinances. The board did not approve Bill No. 3363, an ordinance that would have changed the utility bill due dates back to the 20th of each month with disconnection on the 27th. The current utility bill due dates are the 5th of each month. The previous ordinance to change the date to the 5th was thought to decrease the amount of disconnect notices that would go out since some checks are received on the 1st of the month. This has not been the case, in 2015 there were 16 bills subject to cutoff each month and in 2017 the number rose to 52. The alderman will look at changing the due date back to the 20th after either giving 3-6 month notice to customers of the forthcoming change, or wait and change it after the new automatic metering system goes into effect. The bill failed with a vote of 2-2 with Mayor Nash casting the final negative vote. The board did approve Resolution No. 1-2018 a resolution adopting a policy on budget billing, payments plan and a helping hand assistance fund. This resolution will allow customers to sign up for budget billing after 12 months of continuous service with no late or disconnect notices. The plan will be based on the average of the current month’s bill, plus the previous 11 months. Customers may also sign up for a payment plan where a past due amount is spread out over a 3 month time frame. At least 50% of the bill is due at the time of the payment arrangement. The resolution also creates a fund where customers could designate a set amount, or round up to the nearest dollar to help those that need assistance paying their utility bills. This fund will be administered by the Salvation Army or other non-profit organization to be determined. The board then adjourned.

In November of 2017 at the city’s request, WCA started offering a curbside recycling pick up to all residents in Salem and it has been an overwhelming success! Using data based off of other similar recycling programs, WCA orginally anticipated a participation rate of 30 to 40%. The residents of Salem have really adopted and excelled with recycling and WCA is happy to report that they are seeing participation in Salem at 70 to 80%! They are happy to announce that due to the incredible participation, WCA is going to be increasing the number of days they pick up recycling in town. Starting the week of February 19th, WCA will start collecting recyclables on Wednesdays and Thursdays! Recyclables will still be collected every other week, just like it currently is, with everything west of Highway 19 picked up one week and everything east of Highway 19 picked up the other week. The only change to the recycling pickup will be whether you’re recycling will be picked up on a Wednesday or a Thursday. If you live on or North of Center Street, you will have your recycling picked up on Wednesday. If you live South of Center Street, you will have your recycling picked up on Thursday. WCA would like to thank the residents of Salem for the care you have shown for our planet by diverting the flow of trash into a landfill and putting your waste to good use by recycling it!

The 2018 Salem High School Court Warming will be held this Friday night at the SHS Gym in between the junior varsity and varsity basketball games between Salem and Willow Springs. The senior queen candidates include Carrilee Holliday, Trista Heavin and Alyssa Bowers. Their court will consist of junior Hailey Corkell, sophomore Jana Cook and freshman Reggie Parks.