Archive for 2019

The 134th Graduation of the Salem R-80 High School will be held Friday night at 7:00 at the Salem High School Football Field. After the procession of students, the Salem High School band will perform the National Anthem before the Salem High School Chamber signs” My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord.” Assistant Principal Richard Parks will present the Senior Class Citizenship Awards as well as the Best All-Around Boy and Girl Award. Principal Marty Anderson will introduce the Salutatorian, Megan Myslinski, as well as the eleven Valedictorians that include Brooke Adams, Kylee Cahill, Michaela Chilton, Olivia Erway, Kirsten Golden, Katelyn Schwartz, Kylie Stenhoff and Mackenzie Whitaker. Anderson will also recognize the A Plus students, students who are entering the military and the Career and Technical Certified Students. Diplomas will then be awarded to the Class of 2019 students followed the recessional which will feature the playing Stars and Stripes Forever by the Salem High school Band. The graduation exercises will be broadcast live on Fidelity Channel 6 and HD 406 starting at 7:00 for those who unable to attend graduation. The exercises will be rebroadcast periodically over the next week or so.

An accident occurred Tuesday morning at 10:05 in Texas County on Highway 32 about five miles east of Licking that left a Salem woman with minor injuries. According to the highway patrol report, a westbound 2008 Ford Freestyle driven by 58-year-old Wanda Brown of Salem, traveled off the right side of the roadway, stuck a fence and then a tree. The report stated that Brown was wearing a seat restraint at the time of the accident and was transported by ambulance to the Salem Memorial District Hospital for treatment of her minor injuries. The Ford sustained extensive damage and was removed from the scene by Whitaker’s Towing.

Come to Akers Ferry this Saturday and Sunday to kick off the summer at Ozark National Scenic Riverways. The free event features an open-air concert by modern folk band National Park Radio at 6:00 Saturday evening, and a celebration of the Akers community beginning at 9:00 Sunday morning. On Saturday, the summer kickoff will begin at 4:00 at the Akers Visitor Center with activities, information booths, and exhibits about historic communities on the banks of the Current River. At 6:00, National Park Radio will take the stage with their unique blend of folk, country, and bluegrass music that echoes the band’s deep-seated roots in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. Bring a blanket or lawn chair for the entertainment. The concert and activities are expected to conclude at 8:00. Food will be available for purchase. On Sunday, a driving tour of special cultural and natural sites along the upper Current River begins at 9:00 at the Akers Visitor Center. Bring a picnic lunch and hop on the tour shuttle, or follow in your own vehicle. Stops along the tour are the Devil’s Well at 9:45, the historic Akers Cemetery at 10:30, a ride across the river on Akers Ferry at 11:00, a picnic lunch at the Mt. Zion Church followed by a hike to the Welch Spring and Hospital followed by a float back to Akers Ferry with a stop at the Howell/Maggard cabin. The weekend celebration will highlight recreational activities and historical programs that can be enjoyed throughout 2019. Partners for this event include the Shannon County Museum, Ozark Riverways Foundation, Ozark Trail Association, and Ozark Heritage Project. The Akers Visitor Center is located at the junction of Routes K and KK in northern Shannon County. For more information, please contact Ranger Dave Tobey at 573-323-8093.

The Salem Park Board held a special meeting Thursday evening, May 9th at the Salem Community Center@The Armory. Park Board President Stan Podorski reported that Tye Lydon’s last day was May 8th and temporary replacements have been found to continue the park’s summer programs. Melissa DuBois will be taking over the Summer Camp and Summer Food Service Program, Jared Patterson will be helping with the pool and also the Softball, T-Ball and Baseball programs. Field Supervisor Don Smith will act as the Interim Park and Recreation Director until a replacement can be found. All Park Pavilion rentals and Pool Parties are to be booked though the Healthy Dent County office at the Salem Community Center@The Armory where people can also buy their pool passes until the pool opens on May 25th. Their number is 729-8163. The board also said the Opening Day Ceremony for the Baseball, T-Ball and Softball program will be held as scheduled as numerous members of the park board will step up and help to coordinate the efforts on May 23rd. There was a request to see if the back gate could be open for the ceremony to allow easier exiting from the event. That will be checked out. The board then voted to go into closed session to discuss real estate.

The Salem R-80 Board of Education will hold their regular meeting at 6:00 Thursday evening, at the Salem District Administrative Offices Boardroom. At the meeting, the board will hear an update from Superintendent John McColloch. The Board will review and approve all previous minutes and bills, approve the attendance report, approve the Food Service report, approve the substitute list, and approve Program Evaluations for Curriculum and PDC. After the Principals’ Building Reports the Board will address new business including; consideration of renewal of agreement with Healthy Dent County, approve meal prices for 2019-2020 school year, approve preliminary budget for 2019-2020, approve surplus property list, consider Chromebook bids, consider upper elementary HVAC Bids, consider out-of-state trip requests for FFA and FBLA, consider copier lease bids, consider revisions to Board Policies IK, JED, and JGR, plus consider K-5 Comprehensive Reading Program. The Board will hear resignations and then adjourn and move into an executive session. The May regular monthly meeting of the Salem R-80 Board of Education is open to the public.

Montauk State Park invites the public to an informational meeting at 4:00 Saturday afternoon, May 18th. The public is invited to share comments about the park and its operations. Staff will be on hand to provide information and answer questions. Input from the public is important to Missouri State Parks. These informational meetings, which are being held in all state parks and historic sites, help create two-way communication with the public. The meetings give staff the opportunity to let people know the current status and future plans for the parks or historic sites, and they offer visitors the opportunity to comment on the facilities. Montauk State Park is located 22 miles southwest of Salem on Highway 119 in Dent County. For more information about the meeting, call the park at 573-548-2201. For more information about Missouri state parks and historic sites, visit the web at mostateparks.com. Missouri State Parks is a division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

The Dent County Commissioners met Monday morning at the Dent County Courthouse. At the meeting, Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams presented the commission with the sales tax amounts received in Mayto the proper funds. She reported the General Revenue Fund Salem Tax showed receipts of $64,433.28 for the month of May and that is up $14,482.24 over the May of 2018 figure of $49,850.54. Year-to-date the General Revenue Funds is up $15,673.29 and that is an increase of about 4.03%. She said the Law Enforcement Sales Tax numbers are virtually identical to the General Revenue Fund. Williams went on to say the Road and Bridge Sales Tax Fund received $28,523.33 and that is up $4,761.18 over the 2018 May figure of $23,762.15. Year-to-date, the Road and Bridge Sales Tax Fund is up $10,760.20 and that is an increase of near 6.21%. The new Dent County Jail sales tax funds each received $59,665.86 this May compared to $47,171.49 in May of 2018. The increase this year is $12,494.37 per fund. Year- to-date for each fund shows an increase of $29,943.12. That increase comes in at around 8.81%. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell said workers would be patching chip and seal roads 4110, 4150 and 4180. He went on to report that a new road sign would be put back on county road 4180 and materials were going to be added to county road 5525. He said patch grading would occur on Dent County Roads 5525, 6240 and 6255. Purcell stated a man would be heading to Springfield to pick up a batch of the Ultimate Patching Material for chip and seal road repair. He said workers would still keep an eye out for washouts. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson said pipes were going to be installed on Dent County Road 2570 and materials would also be added to that road. Larson stated his crew would be out checking for washouts, especially on county road 4405. He reported workers would be replacing the tires on Dent County Truck 115 and working on brush cutter #6 as some of the bearings are getting bad. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles said he attended the PHA Board meeting in St. James Thursday and they approved their budget for the next fiscal year. Skiles said the next MRPC annual meeting and awards banquet will be held Thursday, October 26th in Waynesville at the Stone Brook Center. He went on to report the MRPC re-elected their officers for the upcoming year. Skiles also stated that Matt Hesser, a demographer for the state of Missouri, talked about the importance of the upcoming 2020 census and what it can mean for Missouri if not all the citizens are accounted for. 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.

Don’t forget that this is the last week of the Spring Clean-Up in the city of Salem. Your regular pickup day will also be the day you can put out unlimited trash.

The Dent County Extension Council met Monday, April 29th at the Community Center @ The Armory. After approval of the agenda John Langdon, candidate for the Extension Regional Livestock Specialist position, made a presentation that included information on his background, education and areas of livestock emphasis. Landon’s presentation was followed by a question and answer session. Following the presentation and Langdon’s departure the Council voted to agree with offering the position to Langdon. The Council then reviewed and approved the minutes of the March 19th meeting, the treasurer’s report and staff reports. In old business the council voted to nominate the Dustin and Dru Howard as the Farm Family for the Missouri State Fair and the Ted and Ashley Cunningham family as the alternate. Motion was made and passed to combine the May Council meeting with the annual picnic to be held at Wurdack on June 10th. It was noted that orientation held primarily for new Council Members, but open to all, will be May 16th from 6:00 until 8:00 in the evening at MRPC in St. James. In new business the Council voted to pay for one of the three picnic tables that are being placed on the Courthouse Square. The meeting was then adjourned.