Archive for 2019

The Dent County Commissioners met Monday for their regular meeting. At the meeting, Executive Director of Healthy Dent County Sherry Lea brought in the annual contract for Healthy Dent County to provide rural addressing services for the county for $12,000. They have provided this service for 11tyears and have had over 7,100 contacts concerning addresses in that time. The commission approved the contract for 2020 with a 3-0 vote. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams reported sales tax revenues for the Law Enforcement Sales Tax Fund and the General Revenue Fund received in December were $96,664.91 for each fund which is up from December 2018 where $71,057.07 was collected. That is a difference of $25,607.84 more money collected which brought the amounts year-to-date in each fund into the black by $2,826.28. In the Road and Bridge fund, receipts in December were $33,125.63 which was $12,523.53 more than 2018 and left an increase year-to-date in the fund of $7,146.43 or an increase of about 1.5%. In the Jail Trust and Operational Funds, each account received $91,295.98 in December which is $25,160.54 more than last year in December and year-to-date, those numbers left an increase in each jail fund of $23,538.60 and that is about a 2.84% increase. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell stated materials would be added and grading would be done on Dent County Roads 4210 and 6040. He said a grader had broken down in the southeast area of the county and a technician was going to repair the machine before grading was going to be done on county road 5520. Purcell said brush would be cut on county roads 6370 and 6400. He also wanted to remind citizens to be on the lookout for anyone who is dumping trash or other items on county roads. Try to get the make and model of the vehicle they are driving and license plate, then call the Dent County Sheriff’s Office at 729-3241 and let them confront the people littering. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson stated grading would be done on Dent County Roads 2237, 3330, 3335 and 3337 while materials would be added and grading done on county road 5260. Larson also indicated that brush would be cut on county roads 2130 and 5300. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles wanted to congratulate the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce and City of Salem for an outstanding Parade of Lights Saturday night. He also wanted to remind people to support the Salvation Army bell ringers donating their time to help raise money to help those in need for next year at Country Mart, Wal-Mart and Dollar General. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley reported her office balanced on all, accounts with the Dent County Assessor and Collector on monthly collections, abatements and add-ons. She also said her office continues to work on the budget. Sarah Massengale of the Dent County Extension was in to present the extension budget to the county and it is the same as it was for 2019. The next meeting of the Dent County Commissioners will be Thursday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

The Salem Memorial District Hospital Board of Directors will conduct their December meeting this afternoon in the hospital library beginning at noon. After approval of the agenda and minutes of the November 19th meeting, will be the administrator’s report that will include a department director presentation, a summary of the operations for the month of November with Monica Stogsdill, the Chief of Nursing Report for the month with Debbie Hines, a report on the hospital foundation with a spotlight on the Mammography Fund Policy being discussed as well as the marketing and community perception with COO Jason Edwards. Hospital Administrator Kasey Lucas will the present the auxiliary report before updating the Board on the hospital expansion and expansion financing options. Lucas will also announce the dates for the election filing. In new business, purchases by the hospital will be reviewed. The December board meeting of the Salem Memorial District Hospital Board of Directors is open to the public.

The Salem Police Department has released a number of reports. On Thursday night, the 28th at approximately 11:35, a vehicle was stopped for a traffic violation. An investigation at the stop led to the arrest of a 33-year-old male of Salem for the possession of morphine and possession of drug paraphernalia. The suspect was issued summonses to appear in court and released. The next afternoon, Friday November 29th, at about 4:29, an officer was dispatched to a residence in the 100 block of South Pershing regarding a report of property damage. An investigation revealed a 28-year-old male of Salem had punched holes in the wall and broke two windows out of the residence causing damage valued at $750.00. The suspect was arrested and issued summonses to appear in court and released. Later that same evening at approximately 6:43 an officer was dispatched to a residence in the 100 block of South Pershing in reference to a domestic disturbance. The investigation revealed a 28-year-old male of Salem had assaulted a 47-year-old female also of Salem. Further investigation led to the arrest of the suspect for domestic assault. The suspect was incarcerated pending an application for a warrant. Contact the Salem Police Department at (573) 729-4242 if you have any information regarding any of these investigations.

Forest Service regulation. This will ensure consistency of feral hog regulations on Forest Service and Department of Conservation managed lands by allowing for the opportunistic take of feral hogs during all deer and turkey hunting seasons. While the Forest Service announcement is effective immediately on the Mark Twain National Forest and will apply to the rest of the of the 2019-2020 deer season, the change will not be in place for the 2019-2020 alternative methods and archery hunting season on Department of Conservation lands. The MDC proposal will need to make its way through the State’s regulatory process, which includes a formal public comment period on the rulemakings. The prohibition of hunting on public lands does NOT apply to private lands where landowners may hunt or shoot feral hogs on their lands. Opportunistic take refers to takings that result from, but are not the purpose of, carrying out an otherwise lawful activity. In this case, it allows for a person possessing an unfilled deer or turkey hunting permit to opportunistically take feral hogs while in pursuit of deer or turkey during the hunting season. Feral hogs became established in southern Missouri when some individuals released them for hunting. Between natural reproduction and continued illegal releases, the feral hog population exploded in southern Missouri. They now occur in more than 30 Missouri counties. Recreational hunting of feral hogs complicates efforts to trap and eliminate them. Hunting activities, particularly hunting with dogs, scatters the sounder and makes trapping efforts aimed at catching the entire group very difficult, because hogs become trap-shy and wary of baited sites. This pattern has been repeated in several states where the combination of recreational hunting and trapping programs has resulted in a larger feral hog population. Examples from other states and from large areas of private land in Missouri show that allowing state and federal wildlife managers to eliminate feral hogs yields the best results. With the Forest Service announcement, the Missouri Feral Hog Elimination Partnership has developed an operational plan that will provide additional staff and resources on private and public land around the Mark Twain National Forest. Currently, the Conservation Commission is providing $1.8 million annually for trapping services with staff providing more than 25,000 hours annually towards elimination efforts on private and public land. Other agencies who are contributing staff and resources will be stepping up their effort to fight the battle against feral hogs. The new plan will reassign staff from across the state to help with feral hog removal efforts in southern Missouri. For more information about MDC efforts to eliminate feral hogs go to www.mdc.mo.gov/feralhog.

The Salem Police Department released the following accident report. On Tuesday afternoon, November 26th at approximately 4:24, a 2007 Nissan Sentra, operated by Stephanie Webber of Salem, was northbound on MacArthur Avenue approaching the intersection with Highway 32. At that time, a 2012 Ford F-150, operated by Rachelle Atkinson of Salem, was southbound on MacArthur Avenue approaching Highway 32. The report stated that the Nissan started to turn left into the path of the Ford and the vehicles collided. Webber was transported by EMS to thehospital, while a passenger in the Nissan was transported to the hospital by private vehicle. The Nissan sustained extensive damage, while the Ford sustained moderate damage.

Chad Strain of Dixon, who originally grew up in Shannon County near the Bunker area, will speak at the Dent County Historical Society meeting Tuesday night at 6:00 at the Salem Pizza Inn on what it means to be Cherokee and also what it means to be a Cherokee Citizen, the differences and struggles that can come with each. If your family did not remove to Indian Territory, even though your ancestor was part of the Indian Removal, most likely they will not be found on the Dawes Rolls where the names of those that where accepted to become a Cherokee Citizens. Just because a family member applied for Citizenship, it does not mean that the person was accepted. It was a long process to be accepted. It helped in the process if another family member applied and was granted Citizenship. Some of these files can contain 40 pages. For more information about the meeting and the Dawes Rolls, contact Deloris Gray Wood at 729-2545.