Archive for 2019

A one-vehicle accident resulting in serious injuries occurred Wednesday afternoon at 4:42 in Iron County on Highway 32 about five miles west of Bunker. The accident happened as a 2012 Ford Edge driven west by 56-year old Eddie Freeman of Salem, traveled off the left side of the road and struck two trees. Freeman was transported by ambulance to Salem Memorial District Hospital for treatment of his injuries. The Ford was totaled in the accident and removed from the scene by Abney’s Towing. According to the report Freeman was not wearing a safety restraint at the time of the accident.

The Dent County Commissioners met for their regular meeting Thursday morning in the Courthouse. In the road report District One Commissioner Dennis Purcell said that his crew was working on a spreader box and installing reflectors on the railings of a bridge on Dent County Road 2400. He said that others of his crew were checking roads for slick spots and treating them. Purcell noted that one member of his crew was working with District Two at the Road and Bridge Department. He also reported that on Monday he attended a Tourism Committee meeting where three proposals were presented and approved, plus two requests for reimbursement were approved. District Two Commissioner Gary Larson reported that two of his crewmen, along with a man from District One, were adding three bays to the dump truck parking shed. He said that the rest of his crew was checking for slick spots and grading those to reduce danger. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles reported that on Wednesday he attended the 50th Anniversary Celebration of MRPC in St. James. He noted that other MRPC Board Members from Dent County in attendance were Gary Brown, Bob Parsons, and Ray Walden. Skiles said that those in attendance were treated to remarks by Ray Carillo, one of the founding members of MRPC. He also noted that MRPC’s Bonnie Prigge is only the third Executive Director in MRPC’s 50 year history. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley reminded everyone of the budget hearing Monday, January 28th at 10:00 in the Commissioners’ Office. She also noted that the last day to register for the April 2nd election is March 6th and that anyone who has had an address change should contact her office at 729-4144. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams was in to report CART tax receipts for January at $54,808.09, which is down $1,547.03 or 2%, when compared to January 2018’s $56,355.12. Dent County Sheriff Bob Wells was in to discuss disposing of some Sheriff’s Department vehicles that are no longer needed. The next meeting of the Dent County Commissioners will be Monday morning in the Courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

Missouri youth, archery, and firearms turkey hunters can apply online for 2019 spring turkey managed hunts starting on February 1st through the 28th through the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) website at mdc.mo.gov. Managed hunt details and application procedures are outlined on the webpage. Drawing results will be posted starting March 15th. Spring turkey hunting youth weekend will be April 6th and 7th with the regular spring season running April 15th through May 5th. Permits will be available starting March 1st. Detailed information on spring turkey hunting will be available in MDC’s 2019 Spring Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information booklet, available where permits are sold beginning in February. To learn more about turkey hunting in Missouri, visit MDC’s website. Buy Missouri hunting permits from numerous vendors around the state, online at mdc.mo.gov/buypermits, or through the MDC free mobile app, MO Hunting, available for download through Google Play for Android devices or the App Store for Apple devices.

Congressman Jason Smith has announced the 2019 Congressional Art Competition is now accepting entries from high school students across southeast and south central Missouri. Each of the five district offices in Missouri’s 8th Congressional District will select two winning pieces from their region to move on to the “Best of Show” competition, where an overall winner will be selected. The overall winner’s artwork will be displayed in the United States Capitol for a year, where lawmakers and thousands of visitors will walk past it each day. Each regional winner will have the opportunity to have their artwork showcased in local offices for all visitors to see. Last year’s winner was Avery Coffman from Salem R-80, who created her artwork of the St. Jude Chapel in Montauk by burning a drawing of the church into a piece of wood. For winning “Best of Show,” Avery received two round-trip plane tickets to Washington, D.C. to attend the Congressional Art Competition reception with other winners from across the country. To be considered for the Congressional Art Competition, artwork should be submitted to the respective district office no later than April 17th, 2019. Regional winners will be announced shortly thereafter, and the “Best of Show” competition will be held on May 13th, 2019. Local high schools have been notified of the competition and how to submit students’ artwork to local offices. If any students wishing to participate would like more information or wish to see the complete participation rules manual, call the district office at (573) 364-2455.

The Salem Memorial District Hospital regular board meeting was held Tuesday evening in the Hospital Library. The board approved the appointment of Mike Swyers as the District 2 board member to fill the vacancy of A.J. Seay who resigned after moving from the district. Swyers was sworn in by Hospital Attorney Mark Weaver. Swyers has filed to run for this position in the upcoming April election and will be sworn in again after the election as he is unopposed. The board heard from Frank Rauhe questioning his bill for outpatient services. He stated that his co-pay bill, after Medicare’s payment, was 12 times higher than at a larger hospital in St. Louis. Hospital Administrator Kasey Lucas explained that Medicare sets the fees and co-payment charges for all Critical Access hospitals. Lucas recently discussed the need for reform in the Medicare calculations for Critical Access Hospitals with Congressman Jason Smith. The board heard presentations from Jodie Gorman, Human Resources and Kathy Haynes, Infection Control/Employee Health. Monica Stogsdil gave the summary of operations for the month of December. The hospital had 108 inpatient admissions with 346 inpatient census days. The hospital showed a gain from operations of $80,122 and revenues over expenses after taxes of $136,583. Cash increased for the month by $239,444. During the month, there were 733 emergency room visits to go with 193 ambulance runs, 18 surgery cases, 1,510 outpatient registrations, 339 home health visits, 7,760 lab tests, 1,153 radiological procedures and 665 rehab treatments. Chief of Nursing Debbie Hines gave a Hospital Performance Report where the hospital is ranked on five areas. The next Hospital Auxiliary meeting will be held February 5 at noon at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory where the 2019 fundraising schedule will be discussed. Hospital COO Chris Strickland reported the Hospital Foundation “Dancing with the Salem Stars” fundraising event will be held this Saturday at the Salem High School gymnasium. A benefit concert and wing-off will be held August 3 at the Commons. He said the hospital is continuing to work on Project RISE with Healthy Dent County. Lucas gave the Patient Satisfaction Survey results for the Emergency Department and Family Medicine. There were 130 total surveys returned for the ED department and 431 returned for the Family Medicine, both departments received very high scores in each category. The board approved the medical staff recommendation for active staff privileges for all current CRNA, Medical and Courtesy staff. The board approved a Conflict of Interest Policy and approved appointing Mike Swyers to the Finance Committee. The board also approved the budget purchase of a BiPap Machine Replacement for Cardio Pulmonary totaling $13,797 from Philips Health Care; a medical grade refrigerator for the Pharmacy for $2,366 from Alex Laboratory Equipment, a refrigerator for Dietary from US Foods for $4,264. They also approved the non-budgeted purchase of two refrigerators for $8,312 for the Lab from Jack’s Refrigeration. The board then went into closed session.

The Dent County Sheriff’s Department has released some reports. On Tuesday, January 15th, deputies received a report of cattle stolen. During the course of the investigation, it was discovered that approximately 32 cattle had been reported stolen from a property off Route K. This report is open and still under investigation. On Wednesday, January 16th, deputies conducted a traffic stop on East Highway 32 near Chilton Oil Company. During the course of the traffic stop, a 26-year old Salem man was arrested for driving while being intoxicated. The male was transported to the Dent County Sheriff’s Office, finger printed, issued summons and released. That same day, deputies received a report from Intercounty Electric of a utility meter that was being tampered with. Deputies traveled to an address on Private Lane 413, which is where the meter was located that was allegedly being affected. During the course of the investigation, a 58-year old Salem man was arrested for tampering with a utility meter in the 2nd degree. He was transported to the Dent County Sheriff’s Office, fingerprinted, issued summons and released. If anyone has any information about the cattle theft, please contact the Dent County Sheriff’s Department at 729-3241.

Come take a mental health break and pet some adorable puppies! Healthy Dent County is partnering with the Dent County Animal Welfare Society (DCAWS) to bring you their very first “Dog Days!” Come out to the Salem Community Center @ Armory and play with some puppies to unwind and de-stress. The event will be on February 1st from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm in the multipurpose room. All the puppies at the event are up for adoption at DCAWS. If you want to bring in food or blankets for the animals, you will be entered in a drawing to win a $50 gift card. For additional information, please call 729-8163.