Archive for 2019

The Dent County Commissioners met for their regular meeting Thursday morning in the courthouse. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams came in with sales tax figures. General Revenue receipts were $68,996.49, while a year ago it was $77,375.69 or down $8,379.20 from November of last year. Year-to-date GR is down $22,781.56 which is about 2.16%. She said the Law Enforcement Sales Tax receipt amounts were the same as GR. The Road and Bridge sales tax came in at $32,000.07. That figure was $36,163.17 in November of last year, which means it was down $4,163.10 for the month and $5,377.10 year-to-date or about 1.29%. Williams said the two Justice Center funds each received $63,464.06 compared to $72,217.43 last year. She said that year-to-date those funds are down $1,622.79, which is about .19%. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles compared the year to date totals to the 2019 county budget and said that with December receipts Dent County will end the year slightly above the budgeted amounts. In the road report District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell said that patch grading would be done and materials would be added to Dent County Road 5630. He added that maintenance was being done on the brush cutter before working on county roads 6400 and 6380, plus general shop maintenance was also being done. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson said that his crew would be pulling ditches and adding materials to Dent County Road 4290, plus brush would be cut on county road 2240. Skiles reported that on Wednesday he attended the joint meeting of the Central Region Workforce Investment Board and Caucus where the audits of fiscal year 2018 and 2019 were the primary topic. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said that bills were being approved by the Commissioners for payment and that her office continues to work on the 2020 county budget. She also reported that she balanced with the Collector and Assessor on all monthly collections, abatements and add-ons for the month of October and that the Commissioners reviewed her reports. The Commissioners voted 3-0 to continue the county health insurance policy where if the employee selects the $3,500 deductible option the County will pay $2,000 after the employee picks up the first $1,500. Dwight Ramsburg was in to bring a couple of issues to the Commissioners attention relative to the Justice Center construction. Dent County Collector Shannon Vankirk was in with court orders and abatements for the Commissioners to review and sign off on, as well as the monthly collections report. Kurt Fagel with the 100-Acre Wood Rally was in to touch base with the Commission and provide updates. The Missouri Association of Counties will be meeting at Tan-Tara the first part of next week so the next meeting of the Commission will be Thursday, November 21st, in the Courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

An accident occurred Wednesday afternoon at 12:45 in Iron County on Highway 49 about one mile south of Viburnum. According to the highway patrol report, a southbound 2018 GMC Terrain, driven by 35-year-old Elizabeth Wheeler of Ellington, lost control on the partially ice covered roadway, crossed the center line, and struck a northbound 2019 Jeep Compass driven by 50-year-old Erik Hancock of Pocatello, Idaho. Wheeler suffered serious injuries and was taken by Arch Helicopter to Mercy Hospital in St. Louis. Hancock, along with a passenger, 38- year-old Genevieve Castillo of Salt Lake County, Utah, both suffered serious injuries and were taken by Air Evac to Mercy Hospital. Two other passengers in the Jeep, 52-year-old Scott Moffatt of Corpus Cristi, Texas, and 86-year-old Harold Ray of Potosi, both suffered moderate injuries and were taken by ambulance to Phelps Health in Rolla. The report stated that Wheeler was not wearing a safety restraint at the time of the accident, while all four occupants of the Jeep were. Both vehicles were totaled and removed from the scene by Abney’s Towing of Viburnum.

Missouri’s firearms deer season begins Saturday and Missouri University Health Care trauma surgeon Dr. Jacob Quick, says he sees roughly 30 major hunting accidents every year, but some key safety precautions can limit a hunter’s risk of injury. Quick, who is an avid hunter, says gunshot injuries are rare, however, he sees more hunters who were not wearing a harness and suffered a fall from a tree stand and that the reality of it is that about 30% of all hunters will fall and have a serious injury at some point in time. Roughly 80% of those who fall weren’t wearing a harness. Quick said the new full-body harnesses are more comfortable and less cumbersome than older styles. In addition to wearing a harness, Quick offered other guidelines hunters should follow when using a tree stand including working in a team to set up a tree stand and keeping three of your four limbs in contact with the ladder at all times and using a haul to bring up gear. You should also inspect your stand and equipment before the hunt and make sure someone knows your location and time expected home and always carry your cell phone. For more hunting safety tips, go to muhealth.org.

A one vehicle accident occurred on Highway 19 near Franklin Street at 7:30 in the morning on Monday, November 11th. The report released from the Salem Police Department states that a 2007 Ford Edge owned and operated by Tina Hodges of Salem was traveling north on Highway 19 when the vehicle traveled off the right side of the roadway, struck a curb, and a utility pole before coming to a stop. Hodges suffered minor injuries but refused medical treatment by the EMS that were on the scene. The Ford sustained moderate damage and was removed from the scene by Whitakers Towing. The damage to the utility pole in the accident later caused the City of Salem Electric Department to have to replace the pole and move the electric from the old pole to the new pole that caused a power outage of over 10½ hours.

With the opening of the deer firearms season this weekend, the Missouri Department of Conservation wants to remind hunters who harvest deer in any of the 29 counties of the CWD Management Zone are required to take their harvested deer (or the head with at least six inches of neck attached) on the day of harvest to one of MDC’s numerous CWD sampling stations throughout the zone. The sampling stations are open from 7:30 in the morning until 8:00 im the evening. Sampling and test results are free. Hunters who harvest deer in counties no longer part of the zone are not required to participate in sampling. The CWD Management Zone of 29 counties in or near where CWD has been found includes Adair, Barry, Cedar, Chariton, Christian, Crawford, Franklin, Gasconade, Hickory, Howell, Jefferson, Knox, Linn, Macon, Mercer, Oregon, Ozark, Perry, Polk, Putnam, St. Charles, St. Clair, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Stone, Sullivan, Taney, Warren, and Washington. Dent County is NOT included.

The Missouri Department of Conservation Commission recognizes Missourians who make outstanding contributions to conservation and is seeking nominations by December 9th for its Master Conservationist Award and the Missouri Conservation Hall of Fame. The Master Conservationist Award honors living or deceased citizens while the Missouri Conservation Hall of Fame recognizes deceased individuals. Those who can be considered for either honor must be a citizen who performed an outstanding act or developed an innovative idea or technique that contributed to major progress in conservation in Missouri or an employee of MDC, other conservation-related government agencies, universities, or organizations who performed an outstanding act or developed an innovative idea or technique that contributed to major progress in conservation in Missouri. Anyone can submit nominations and they should include a statement describing the nominee’s accomplishments and a brief biography. A screening committee meets annually to consider nominees with the Conservation Commission conveying final approval. Learn more about the Missouri Conservation Hall of Fame or conservationist award and get the nomination form at mdc.mo.gov/about-us/awards-and-honors/hall-fame. The nomination deadline for both awards is Monday, December 9th, and each nomination form has information on how to submit it.