Archive for 2019

The 56th annual Rose Holland Trout Derby will be held tonight, tomorrow and Sunday at Montauk State Park. Derby fishing hours on both Saturday and Sunday will begin at 7:30 in the morning. Fishing will end at 6:30 Saturday evening and at 11:30 Sunday morning. At noon on Sunday, prizes will be awarded in front of the lodge ranging from attendance prizes as well as prizes for men, women, and kids heaviest stringer, the heaviest brown trout, and tagged fish caught and registered. Several activities will take place in conjunction with the derby including a cruise in car show on Friday from 4:00 until 9:00 at the parking lot across from the lodge and trout bingo with park naturalist Steve Bost at 6:00 in the campground amphitheater. On Saturday the Salem Memorial District Hospital will offer free blood pressure screenings, BMI, and Blood Sugar tests from 9:00 until noon outside of the lodge. There will also be a country store and bake shop available on Saturday as well as activities for kids from 11:00 until 3:00 presented by Volunteers from the Montauk Fire Department. Guided hikes will also be taking place on Saturday and live entertainment from noon until 4 in front of the lodge with “The Usual Suspects” and “Current River Bluegrass” performing followed by an auction at 5:00. The event is sponsored by the anglers and friends of Montauk State Park and coordinated with the Department of Natural Resources. All proceeds will benefit the American Heart Association.

The Dent County Commissioners met for their regular meeting Thursday morning in the Dent County Courthouse. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell reported the concrete work continues on the bridge on Dent County Road 6580 and the south end remains closed. He went on to say that grading would be done on county road 5590 and brush would be cut on county road 6210. Purcell noted that a flat tire was being repaired on Grader #24 and fuel filters were being replaced on Tractor #7. After the work was completed on the tractor it would be going to mow on county road 6210. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson said that Dent County Road 2020 would be receiving materials and would be graded. He noted that county road 2025 would be graded and county road 4020 would have materials added. Larson pointed out that brush cutting would be finished up on county road 3333 and then move to county road 3270. He also said he had two men out. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles reported that on Tuesday the Ozark Region Solid Waste Management District Executive Board met and awarded 13 waste reduction and re- cycling grants totaling $192,322.00. He said grants ranged from $4,400.00 to $36,000.00. Skiles noted that Montauk State Park received a $7,697.80 grant for a trailer to be used for trash re-cycling. He said Brady Wilson of Rolla Re-cycling Center had reported that finding markets for recyclables is very difficult. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley reported that she had certified the 2019 tax levy to the Dent County Collector and they balanced on all tax totals for 2019 and delinquent taxes. Sally Burbridge, the City of Salem Economic Development Director, was in to review the Economic Development Strategic Plan with the Commissioners and present her report for the month of September. The next regular meeting of the Commission will be Monday morning at 9:00 in the Courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

The Old Miners’ Days 33rd Annual Celebration will be held in Viburnum tonight, tomorrow and Sunday. Numerous events will held with most of them occurring at the Viburnum Shopping Center with numerous vendor booths and free entertainment. One of the main hi-lighs of the events is the free mine tours offered by Doe Run from 9:00 until 4:00. For more information and a full list of events for each day, go to their website: oldminersdays.com.

The Salem Memorial District Hospital regular board meeting was held Tuesday evening in the Hospital Library. Hospital Administrator Kasey Lucas introduced Steve Lake who gave the board an update on the process that the Utilization Review department uses when a patient is admitted. Monica Stogsdil gave the summary of operations for the month of August where the hospital had 116 inpatient admissions with 434 inpatient census days. There were 1,912 outpatient registrations, 2,719 cardiopulmonary procedures, 9,044 lab tests, 1,427 radiology procedures, 781 rehabilitation treatments, 26 surgeries, 393 home health visits and 826 emergency room visits. The hospital showed a gain from operations of $158,946 and revenues over expenses after taxes of $162,254. The Hospital Auxiliary held a Breast Cancer Awareness Walk Tuesday with over 100 walkers in attendance. The auxiliary’s next meeting will be held on November 5th at noon at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory. Lucas introduced the new Chief Operating Officer at the hospital, Jason Edwards who was the former SMDH Registered Dietician. Lucas reported the Hospital Foundation will be holding their “Dancing with the Salem Stars” on January 25th as well as a Golf Tournament on June 5th and a “Wings and Strings” on September 12th. The hospital will participate in the Rose Holland Trout Derby at Montauk on October 5 and continues to do CPR training and first responder training in town. A Stroke Support group is now going to start meeting quarterly and a Diabetes Support group will meet the 4th Tuesday of each month at 1:00 pm at the hospital library. In the Chief of Staff report, the medical staff recommended and the board approved appointing Anthony Kaczmarek, MD at the Surgery Department Physician Director, replacing Dr. Yvonne Prince, and also gave courtesy staff privileges to James Lamousin, MD for telepsych. Lucas explained some changes have been made in the facility expansion. A new room will now be built to house the new MRI machine, life safety code exits will be created and the generator, water heater and water softener will be replaced. The main sewer line plumbing improvements will be made as well. The total Phase 1 expansion and renovations will cost about $1,830,100. The board then approved a resolution to approve the expansion financing option approved by the board to issue revenue bonds to provide funds that will be needed to pay for the completion of the project. The board approved the annual bylaw review and approved one change to the lock box authorizations. The board also approved the budgeted purchase to replace the old IT Network Storage at a cost of $15,932 from Dell and a the budgeted purchase of a bathtub lift for Long Term Care for $19,324 from Apollo Corp. They also approved the EHR software for Home Health at a cost of $18,000 from Bright Tree. The board then went into closed session where no decisions were made. The meeting was then adjourned.

Applications are available for the next Salem “Project Rise” which focuses on helping families reach personal and financial goals. “Project Rise” will help families to reduce debt, improve their credit scores, increase income, strengthen confidence and gain hope. To participate in the program, families must be willing to attend weekly meetings and make a change in their lifestyle. Financial incentives are offered through the program. “Project Rise” is a coalition formed by Healthy Dent County in partnership with area service organizations and businesses. To participate in “Project Rise,” applications must be picked up and turned in to the Salem Community Center@The Armory at 1200 West Rolla Road once they are filled out. For more information or questions, please contact Sherry Lea or Kelsey Schatz at 729-8163 or e-mail Kelsey@salemcommuntycenter.org. All applications MUST be submitted by Friday afternoon at 4:30 to be considered.

Waste Corporation of America (WCA) will be providing the annual residential Fall cleanup for Salem residents the week of October 7th through the 11th. Residents are asked to have all trash curbside the night before their normally scheduled trash day. Environmental Protection Agency law will not allow collection of yard waste, batteries, tires, motor oil, chemicals or solvents, paints, appliances or non-compactable items such as concrete, tree stumps, steel, construction debris, etc. For more information or for questions call 1-800-926-3953.