Archive for 2019

The Dent County Commissioners met for their regular meeting Thursday morning in the Courthouse. Dent County Collector Dennis Medlock was in to request that the media continue informing the public of the Forte’ Credit Card website shutdown from February 22nd through March 1st for the transitioning of the Collector’s office from Medlock to Collector Elect Shannon VanKirk, plus restrictions on payments by check from February 25th through the 28th. In the road report, District One Commissioner Dennis Purcell said that patch grading would be done and materials added to Dent County Roads 5450, 5460, 5400, 4160, 6250, and various other roads as the County continues the battle with weather related bad road conditions. He also noted that chip and seal repair would be done on county road 6180 and various other chip and seal roadways. Purcell reported that on Monday he attended the Tourism Committee meeting where one proposal was submitted and approved and one request for reimbursement was submitted and approved. He also reported on the South Central Community Action Agency meeting he attended Tuesday where he learned that there are still funds available for those meeting income guidelines to receive assistance with weatherization, utility payments, heating costs, and home repairs. Purcell said more information and details can be obtained by calling 573-729-3500 and talking to Sarah. He also noted that the Agency had joined the Salem Chamber of Commerce. District Two Commissioner Gary Larson reported that patch grading would be done and materials would be added to Dent County Roads 5300, 5280, 2200, and 2150, while patch grading only would be done on county road 3220. He said that a man had gone to the Sligo area to cut brush on county road 4030. Larson also noted that he attended the meeting of Healthy Dent County where he had a chance to review plans for their expansion and learned that they are nearing their fund raising goal. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles noted that all three commissioners attended the Industrial Development Authority Annual Meeting Wednesday evening where Donald Dodd, Dean Jones and Camron Erway agreed to continue serving on the IDA depending on re-appointment by the Commissioners. The Commissioners voted 3-0 to appoint the three. Skiles said that at the IDA meeting, a representative from Intercounty Electric presented information about Intercounty’s work and plans for future expansion of broadband service. The group learned that the chances to be included in the expansion could be improved by contacting Intercounty at 417-674-2211. Callers need to ask for Sarah and request “Interconnect Service,” Intercounty’s name for their Broadband service, when it becomes available. Skiles said the Commissioners had received notice from the construction manager that steel for the jail will be arriving starting February 28th so the last day to park in the lot on the east side of Iron Street will be Wednesday February 27th. He added that the lot will be closed for 90 days or more. Skiles reminded everyone of parking availability on the east side of the Judicial Building Annex on 4th Street. He added that Thursday afternoon he would be attending the Transportation Advisory Committee and MRPC meetings in St. James. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley reported that bills were being approved for payment and that the last day to register for the April 2nd election is March 6th. She also noted that sample ballots are available in her office and that today she would be attending the South Central County Clerks regional meeting in West Plains. Three bids were received for food service for the new jail and Sheriff Bob Wells will be reviewing them and bring a recommendation back to the Commissioners. The next regular meeting of the Commissioners will be Monday morning in the Courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

A one vehicle accident happened Tuesday night at 10:10 in Dent County on Highway 68 about three miles north of Salem. According to the highway patrol report, a 2014 BMW 328, driven westbound by 23-year old Jerid Land of Salem traveled off the right side of the roadway striking an embankment with the undercarriage. Land suffered minor injuries in the accident and refused treatment at the scene. Land was wearing a safety restraint at the time of the accident. The BMW sustained minor damage and was towed from the scene by Whitaker’s Towing.

The Salem Memorial District Hospital regular board meeting was held Tuesday evening in the Hospital Library. Hospital Administrator Kasey Lucas introduced Tabitha Stanfast who is the Director of Quality Improvement and Risk Management. She explained about the Flex Program and how it is designed to improve the quality of care and the profitability of small rural hospitals. She said SMDH was the featured hospital in Festus at a meeting on Quality Improvement in October because of how well they worked together. She said SMDH was a four out of five star hospital with the HCAPS comparable data. She said she reviews the patient satisfaction surveys through Press Ganey and Feed Trail to get instant feedback so that actions can be taken. In the summary of operations for the month of January, the hospital had 107 inpatient admissions with 404 inpatient census days. Patients per day in Acute Care came in at 13 in January. The hospital showed a gain from operations of $168,146 and revenues over expenses after taxes of $537,810. Cash increased for the month by $714,196 mostly from a $700,000 settlement from Medicare as there were three payrolls covered in the month. The days in net account receivables rose to 73 from 68 days last month. During the month, there were 769 emergency room visits to go with 225 ambulance runs with 162 patients being transported, 25 surgery cases, 1,765 outpatient registrations, 395 home health visits, 9,128 lab tests, 1,364 radiological procedures and 711 rehab treatments. Debbie Hines gave the Chief of Nursing report that concentrated on the HCAPS where the Salem Hospital holds their own with the state averages and national averages even though they have a much smaller sample size than many of the hospitals they are being compared with. Hines gave an update on the flu season and Salem has had a much lower concentration this January versus last year with only 20 reported cases compared to 236 last January. So far in February, there have been 19 cases reported. Hospital Administrator Kasey Lucas reported there were 345 people who attended the Health Screenings this year at the Salem Community Center@The Armory. The next Health Screenings will be in May. The Hospital Auxiliary met on February 10th with ten members and set their fundraisers. “Scrubs and Beyond” will be held on April 17th and Shoe Roads Productions will be on September 10th with both fundraisers being held at the hospital library. COO Chris Strickland said the Hospital Foundation “Dancing with the Salem Stars” raised $10,800 and the next fundraiser will be their Golf Tournament in June. He said the bands are booked for the “Foundation Benefit Concert and Wing Off” that will be held August 3rd at the Commons. Strickland said the hospital will be represented at Montauk State Park on “Opening Day of Trout Season” and will be at Healthy Dent County’s “Girls Night Out” on March 14th. Lucas reported there were seven issues discovered during the CMS Survey visit. The hospital responded to those issues but there were still some questions by CMS that the hospital addressed and they are waiting on their final report. He also said the Fiscal Year 2020 committee would be meeting in March to focus on a seven-year capital budget. The board approved three budgeted purchases. The first was an Isolator Hood for the Pharmacy to make them fully compliant with regulations from Aseptic Enclosures for $14,101, the second was a Bariatric Bed Scale from McKesson for $5,375, and the third was the purchase of a Tosoh GB Analyzer for A1c testing for the lab for $33,895. The board approved two non-budgeted purchases. The first was for a new stress test machine for Cardio-Pulmonary from GE Healthcare for $27,605 and the other purchase was for a Hematology Analyzer for the lab from Sysmex for $54,961. The board then went into closed session.

Dent County Collector Dennis Medlock is reminding everyone the Forte Credit Card website for those wanting to pay their real estate and personal property taxes online will be shutdown for Dent County from this Friday until March 1st. This is due to the transitioning of the Collector’s office from Medlock to the new Dent County Collector, Shannon Van Kirk. NO credit cards or debit cards will be accepted on the website or at the Collector’s Office in the Dent County Courthouse during that time. Medlock also reported that checks will NOT be accepted from Monday through Thursday next week at the Collector’s office. Any checks mailed during that period will be processed on March 1st, and there will be no additional interest or penalties if they envelopes were postmarked in February. Any payments made at the Collector’s office Monday through Thursday next week MUST be made in cash, by cashier’s check or by a money order. If anyone would like to know the exact amount of taxes they owe before they come in and pay, they can contact the collector’s office at 729-3911. The Dent County Collector’s office wishes to apologize for any inconvenience to the public during this changeover. If you have a question, stop by the collector’s office in person at the courthouse or by phone at 729-3911.

The Salem FFA Alumni will be holding their 9th Annual Salem FFA Alumni Scholarship Fund Labor and Dessert Auction tonight at 6:30 at the Salem Upper Elementary School Cafeteria on Roosevelt at Doss Road. Those attending can bid on students from the Salem FFA Chapter who will be providing labor for four, six or eight hours that will include a variety of services. Attendees can also bid on homemade pies, cakes and other desserts that will be available. Everyone is welcome to attend. The proceeds will go to the Salem FFA Alumni Scholarship Fund. A meal will be served for those who will be bidding starting at 5:00. For more information, call 739-2016 or 729-7990, ext 2.