Archive for 2019

The Dent County Service Unit of The Salvation Army would like to announce that they have successfully surpassed their $30,000 goal during this year’s Christmas Kettle Campaign. The total raised was $39,544. Along with the monetary donations received this year, 289 local children were adopted at the Angel Tree that was located at Wal-Mart. The local Salvation Army Board would like to thank everyone who made monetary donations and/or adopted an angel. They also extend their greatest appreciation to the dedicated volunteers that took time out of their busy holiday season to ring the bells at the kettles. The community’s continued generosity will be distributed throughout 2019 to those less fortunate in Dent County.

The Salem Board of Alderman met Tuesday night at the City Hall Council Chambers. Bids were discussed for a utility body for a 2006 F-250. This issue was brought back for consideration after the bid from KRANZ Body, LLC had been misplaced. The Board voted to rescind the motion passed at the January 7th meeting to accept the bid from Knapheide Truck Equipment. Since the list of specifications submitted to the bidders was not available for review so the Board postponed a decision to award the bid until the next Board of Alderman meeting. Three responsible bids for WWTP Phase 1B Improvement Projects were received and the Board approved the low bid by Smith & Edwards Construction, Inc. of Mountain Grove in the amount of $1,574,750.00. Three alternative bids were received for rebuilding or replacing an influent pump or pumps. The Board approved the purchase of two pumps from Hydro-Kinetics Corporation in St. Louis for a total of $28,133.00. After approval of the consent agenda, City Attorney William Camm Seay reported that there were no objections at the Planning and Zoning Commission Public Hearing to the subdivision of 5400 Ranch Motel Drive. The Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to approve the request to subdivide Lots A, B, C, & D and zone the lots R-3, while the remaining properties will continue to be zoned Commercial. The Board approved the request by the commission and an ordinance will be prepared to finalize the request. City Administrator Ray Walden reported that Requests for Proposal Qualifications will be sent out for the former Middle School and the former City Hall Auditorium, plus water line projects. Economic Development Director Sally Burbridge presented the Social Media Policy for consideration. She noted that the Policy addresses Facebook use and any other Social Media utilized by the City of Salem. Resolution No. 1-2019, a resolution authorizing the Mayor to sign the application for a LWCF Grant for Soccer Field Complex development, was approved board as was Resolution 2-2019, a resolution adopting a social media policy for the City of Salem. Resolution No. 3-2019, a resolution authorizing the mayor to accept a perpetual utility easement located at 1415 West Scenic Rivers Boulevard, on property owned by Phelps County Regional Medical Center, was presented and was approved by the board. The meeting was then adjourned.

A one-vehicle accident injury accident happened Monday evening at 6:51 in Phelps County, on Route C just north of Phelps County Road 8260. A 2005 Chevrolet Impala, driven by 57-year old Lawrence Greene of Rolla, was southbound and failed to negotiate a curve. The vehicle traveled off the left side of the road and struck a fence, a utility box and a tree. Greene was transported to Phelps Health hospital for treatment of moderate injuries. According to the report, Greene was wearing a safety restraint at the time of the accident. The Impala sustained moderate damage and was removed from the scene by Ron Dishman’s Towing.

This Saturday night at 6:30 at the Creative Arts Center, everyone is invited to the Salem Acoustic Community Jam. Bring your instrument and play along or just come and tap your feet. There is no cost but your time!

Congratulations to these 7th and 8th grade Salem Middle School Band students for their selection in the Missouri Music Educators Association Central District Honor Band. The students participated in an all day rehearsal and concert at the Waynesville High School on January 5th. The 7th Grade students named to the band included Hunter Barton, Chris Frederickson, Abby Hutto and Jacob Bender. The 8th Graders that were selected to the band include Kaycee Ditch, Hayden Utley, Reagin Toten and Chris Harris. Congratulations also go out to these students for their selection to the SCA Middle School Honor Band. These students will rehearse and perform on February 2nd at the Ava High School. The 7th Grade students named to honor band include Hunter Barton, Chris Frederickson and Jacob Bender. The 8th Grade students named to the Honor band include Kiele Land, Alyson Leach, Kaycee Ditch, Reagin Toten, Sam Henderson, Chris Harris, Marvin Aspinwall and Dylan McMullin.

The City of Salem Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a Public Hearing at 6:30 tonight to hear a request of the subdividing of 5400 Ranch Motel Drive at the City Hall Council Chambers. A Planning and Zoning Commission meeting to discuss the subdividing of Ranch Motel Drive will follow the hearing. The regular Board of Aldermen meeting will follow at 7:00 at the council chambers and will feature the discussion of three bids. The first bid will be for the utility body for a 2006 Ford F-250. A bid placed by Kranz Body of St. Louis had been misplaced and will now be brought before the alderman along with the bid from Knapheide of Jefferson City. Bids for the Waste Water Treatment Project Phase 1B Improvements will be discussed as will the recommendation by Archer-Elgin. There will also be a bid brought before the aldermen for the rebuilding of an influent pump. After the consent agenda, the board will hear the recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Commission about the subdividing of 5400 Ranch Motel Drive. They will also hear City Administrator Ray Walden’s report. In new business, the board will hear about and discuss a new Social Media Policy for the city. The board will also hear three resolutions at the meeting. The first allows the mayor to sign the application for federal assistance and any other documents needed by the State of Missouri or the US Department of the Interior, National Park Service. The second resolution is to adopt a Social Media Policy for the City of Salem, and the third resolution authorizes the mayor to sign to accept a perpetuity utility easement located at 1415 West Scenic Rivers Blvd on property owned by the Phelps County Regional Medical Center. The meeting will then be adjourned. The Salem Planning and Zoning Commission hearing and meeting, and the Salem Board of Aldermen meeting are open to the public.

A one-vehicle accident happened Sunday afternoon at 3:30 in Dent County on Highway 32 West of Salem. According to the highway patrol report, a 1996 Chevy S-10 Pickup driven eastbound by 17-year old Nathan Faulkner of Salem traveled off the right side of the roadway, struck a fence and a telephone pole. The Chevy S-10 then overturned in a ditch. Faulkner suffered minor injuries and refused treatment at the scene. The Chevy was totaled and removed from the scene by Whitaker’s Towing.

Missouri’s 2018-2019 deer-hunting season ended January 15th with the Missouri Department of Conservation reporting a preliminary total harvest of 290,339 deer. Top counties for the overall season were Franklin with 5,826 deer harvested, Callaway with 5,545, and Howell with 5,350. Of the 290,339 deer harvested, 136,776 were antlered bucks, 30,116 were button bucks, and 123,447 were does. The most recent record season was in 2012-2013 with a total harvest of 313,254. Deer hunting ended with the close of the archery season. Preliminary data from MDC showed that hunters checked 54,447 deer during the archery season. Top counties for the archery season were Jefferson with 1,262 deer harvested, St. Louis with 1,083, and Franklin with 1,068. Hunters checked 51,991 deer during the 2017-2018 archery season. In our area, deer taken in Dent County came to 3,107, another 4,500 were harvested in Texas County, 3,345 deer were taken in Crawford County, Reynolds County harvested 3,071 deer, Shannon County hunters took 2,940 deer and Phelps County harvested 2,410 deer. MDC reported eight firearms-related hunting incidents during the 2018 fall deer and turkey hunting seasons. Three were fatalities with two occurring incidental to hunting while at hunting camps and one was a self-inflicted incident in the field. Of the five non-fatal incidents, four were self-inflicted and the fifth occurred when the shooter shot a victim while swinging on game.

The Salem Area Arts Council will hold their regular meeting tonight at the Creative Arts Center and they would like to hear from you. Help them plan, develop and coordinate arts activities for the Salem area. This is for people who like music, visual arts, film, theatre, etc.
The meeting starts at 7:00 and it is open to everyone.

The Salem R-80 Board of Education met Thursday evening at the District Administrative Offices. Superintendent McColloch recognized the members of the Board of Education in honor of School Board Recognition Week. He also reported that incumbents Dustin Howard and Dr. Bernie Sirois were the only two who filed for the positions coming up on the Board of Education so no election of the R-80 School will need to be held. McColloch introduced Elizabeth Hogan, Jessica Crites, and Angela Loughridge from the High School Science Department who gave an update on the curriculum and class changes for the 2019-2020 school year. McColloch gave a budget update that shows revenues year-to-date are $7,325,106.78 with expenditures coming in at $6,962,721.29. McColloch gave the board information on the tuition calculation tool that the district will be using to determine tuition for the 2019-2020 school year. In the school reports, William Lynch Elementary has 255 students enrolled that breaks down to 65 in pre-kindergarten students, 117 kindergarten students and 73 first grade students. Currently, 91.22% of William Lynch students are above 90% in attendance for the year. At the Salem Upper Elementary school, their current enrollment is 353, with three more expected this week. Currently, 95% of Upper Elementary students are at or above 90% in attendance through the end of December. It was also announced that the Salem Upper Elementary has been nominated to be a featured story in the February Positive Focus Newsletter, an electronic publication of Missouri Schoolwide Positive Focus Newsletter. At the Middle School, their enrollment currently stands at 220 students with 90.08% of the students attending school at 90% or above for the year. The Salem High School enrollment is at 578 with 93.2% of the students attending school 90% of the time or better. It was reported that Workkeys testing will occur in February and the district received a $4,000 grant from the Department of Labor for the testing. It was also reported ACT testing will occur on April 2nd and that is open to any student in grades 9 through 12. Ten Salem High School students graduated in December. The board accepted the resignation of James Joynt, the high school business instructor, effective at the end of the 2018-2019 school year before going into closed session where the board voted to extend Superintendent John McColloch’s contract through the 2021-2022 school year and add an additional 5 days of vacation. The board also hired Lindsey Major to instruct high school math before hearing from four community members concerning athletics. The meeting as then adjourned.

A Prescribed Burn Workshop will be held TONIGHT from 6:00 until 9:00 at the Salem Community Center@The Armory. Cody Roberts
from the Missouri Department of Conservation will describe how prescribed burning can be a valuable tool for managing native plant diversity and controlling undesirable vegetation, but it can be dangerous and ineffective when not used properly. This workshop will provide basic information about how to plan and execute a prescribed burn for grassland management. For more questions or to register for the class, please call Cody Roberts at 573-226-3241 ext 106. You can also register from the Missouri Department of Conservation website at mdc.mo.gov.

The Salem Memorial District Hospital Board of Directors will conduct their January meeting on Tuesday, January 22nd in the hospital library beginning at 6:00 pm. After approval of the agenda, the board will hear the administrator’s report that includes a summary of the operations for the month of December with Monica Stogsdill, the Chief of Nursing Report for the month will be given by Debbie Hines, a report on the hospital foundation as well as the marketing and community perception with COO Chris Strickland, and Administrator Kasey Lucas will present the auxiliary report and the patient satisfaction survey results. After the Chief of Staff report, the Board will be informed of candidates who filed for the two open board seats. In new business, the board will review the conflict of interest policy and discuss purchases before going into closed session. The January board meeting of the Salem Memorial District Hospital Board of Directors is open to the public.