Archive for 2020

Salem and Dent County Economic Development Director Sally Burbridge is reminding small business owners with 30 or less full time employees that there is less than one month left to apply for the Dent County CARES Act grant funds! The deadline to submit your application is December 10th. The funding limit is $50,000 per business. There is still roughly $800,000 remaining and anything not used by our Dent County businesses and non-profits will have to be sent back to the Federal Government. These funds are there to help you if your business is struggling with a hardship created by COVID-19? Don’t forget that non-profit organizations also qualify. If your business experienced employee layoffs, had to purchase additional safety items or had additional expenses due to COVID, you may get reimbursed for these items. Expenses may also be reimbursed if you had lower revenues or had to change the way you do business due to COVID that put a strain on your business. The grant funds may be used for operational needs, such as employee expenses, lease or mortgage payments, utilities, materials, supplies and services. You can also check out the Dent County CARES Act funding application at meramecregion.org/cares-act-funding. If you are not sure if your expenses qualify, contact Kelly Sink at kellysb@meramecregion.org or 573-265-2993. Even if you have applied or received other COVID-19 specific funding, that DOES NOT disqualify you for this program!

As more Missouri families turn on their furnace and spend time by the fireplace, it is time to remind everyone who uses natural or propane gas that now is a great time to review gas safety measures. When used properly, natural gas and propane are safe and efficient sources of energy, but it’s important to understand the hazards associated with a gas leak. People should use their senses to detect a leak and act fast if they smell gas. The odor is that of what some call “like rotten eggs.” Other gas safety tips include if you smell an odor or hear a hissing or leaking sound, evacuate immediately, taking all people and pets with you. Once you are safe, call 9-1-1. In the event of a suspected indoor gas leak, do not use light switches, cell phones, garage door openers or any electrical device that could generate a spark. If you spot an unusual area of dead vegetation near a pipeline, it could be a sign of a gas leak. Blowing dirt, ground fires, or continuously bubbling water may also indicate a gas leak. If you suspect carbon monoxide poisoning, vacate the premises, get fresh air and call 9-1-1. Don’t try to be a hero when it comes to gas. Let the professionals discover the problem and correct it before going back into your home.

The Salem Police Department has released a number of reports. On the afternoon of October 29th just before 4:00, an officer was dispatched to the police department to take a report of stealing. It was reported that a vehicle parked in the 100 block of south Washington had a Citizen Watch stolen out of the center console sometime during the overnight hours. This incident is still under investigation. The value of the watch is estimated to be $396.00. That same afternoon shortly after 4:00, an officer conducted a traffic stop after observing the driver of a vehicle who appeared to be someone that had an active warrant. The warrant was confirmed, and a 27-year-old Salem woman was arrested and incarcerated at the Dent County Jail. On Sunday morning, November 1st just before noon, an officer was dispatched to the 600 block of east Coffman for a report of a stolen firearm. It was reported that $50 in cash and a SCCY 9mm handgun was stolen out of a parked vehicle during the overnight hours. Video surveillance was reviewed, and the investigation is still ongoing. Please contact the Salem Police Department at (573) 729-4242 if you have any information regarding an ongoing investigation.

Colonel Eric T. Olson, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, invites the public to visit the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s YouTube channel. Colonel Olson said they are launching the YouTube channel and invites the public to visit the channel. Their mission of service and protection extends to every person in this state. While the most important contacts are those that occur when a trooper speaks with someone or stops to assist them, it’s important that they reach their stakeholders wherever they happen to be. The Patrol’s YouTube channel provides them with another platform for educating and informing the public. The Patrol’s YouTube channel will host original videos to educate the public about traffic safety, the agency, the services it provides, and show the wide variety of career opportunities with the Patrol. Colonel Olson invites the public to take a few moments to visit the patrol’s YouTube channel, and view their launch video, “This is your Missouri State Highway Patrol.” The patrol intends to have an active YouTube channel, so stay tuned. Of course, you’ll still be able to find the highway patrol on their social media accounts.

An accident happened in Dent County at 3:51 Tuesday afternoon on Route Z about eight miles south of Salem. According to the highway patrol report, 31-year old Mary E. Moser of Jadwin was driving a 2014 Honda CRV northbound when the CRV traveled off the right side of the roadway and struck a tree. Moser suffered serious injuries and was transported by the Mercy Lifeline to the University Hospital in Columbia. A passenger, a less than one-year old female, also suffered serious injuries and was taken by the Salem EMS to the Salem Memorial District Hospital. The CRV was totaled and removed from the scene by Whitaker’s Towing. The highway patrol was assisted by the Jadwin Fire Department and the Dent County Sheriff’s Department.

Healthy Dent County has announced the Grand Opening of their new Gymnasium at the north side of the Salem Community Center@The Armory this afternoon with an open house from 4:00 to 5:30. The ribbon cutting will occur at 4:30 to officially open the gymnasium. Congressman Jason Smith representing Missouri’s 8th District will be in attendance for the event. The new gym is equipped with six retractable basketball goals and can be used for pickleball and volleyball as well. Everyone is welcome to attend! For more information about the gym, please call Healthy Dent County at the Salem Community Center@The Armory at 729-8163 or stop by 1200 West Rolla Road.

The Meramec Regional Planning Commission was awarded a $780,000 revolving loan fund from the Economic Development Administration CARES Act Recovery Assistance grants. The MRPC board approved the CARES RLF plan submitted to the Economic Development Administration for the use of the RLF funds, which will include a micro-loan lending program to meet working capital and fixed asset needs at its October 8th board meeting. The CARES RLF new loan program is designed to provide financing for small businesses, particularly those impacted by COVID-19. The loan program is structured to include simplified loan applications and closing procedures, reduced loan application fees, reduced borrower equity and collateral requirements and reduced interest rates. MRPC Business Loan Specialist Candace Connell said the MRPC has the money to lend to small businesses impacted by COVID-19 at really good rates for things like working capital, inventory, equipment, land and buildings. The MRPC and the Meramec Regional Development Corporation, who will work as the loan review agent, will consider loan requests from $5,000 to $200,000 for businesses located in the Meramec Region. The program will allow borrowers to finance up to 90 percent of the total project cost. Projects up to $50,000 do not require a participating lender. For projects over $50,000, a participating lender must finance a minimum of 25 percent up to 50 percent of the total cost. The loan terms are up to eight years for working capital and typically 15 years for fixed assets with reduced interest rates. The first loan was made at 3.5 percent. Additionally, for every $20,000 borrowed the business must create or retain one job and all businesses need to demonstrate an impact from COVID-19 when applying. This is MRPC’s third EDA-financed RLF.. Businesses and bankers interested in learning more about this new loan opportunity can contact Candace Connell, MRPC business loan specialist, at cconnell@meramecregion.org or by phone at 573-263-8651.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) announces it has maintained its certification by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) Forest Management Standard for 658,348 acres of state land. The certification follows an annual audit of MDC forestry practices for those lands. MDC has maintained its certified status since 2017 with annual audits confirming its forest-management practices continue to meet the SFI® standard. SFI is one of the world’s most recognized, independent third-party for forest-management certification standards and certification provides assurances of responsible practices across the forest products supply chain. MDC State Forester Justine Gartner said certification to SFI considers all aspects of our forest management process, from actions taken in the woods to the paperwork they keep in their files. MDC is extremely proud to maintain this certification, which means They have outside validation that they are properly managing forest resources to assure their health and sustainability. SFI’s Forest Management Standard is based upon principles, goals and performance measures that were developed nationally by professional foresters, conservationists and others with the intention of promoting sustainable forest management in North America. SFI and its many partners work together to balance environmental, economic, and social objectives such as conservation of wildlife habitat and biodiversity, harvesting forest products, protecting water quality, providing forest industry jobs, and developing recreational opportunities. The SFI Forest Management Standard is also the only standard that requires participants to support forestry research. To find out more information, go to https://www.forests.org/.

The Federal Highway Administration has declared this week as National Traffic Incident Response Awareness Week. Every year, 200 roadside workers lose their lives in the line of duty, according to AAA. When motorists approach MoDOT or any other responders or emergency vehicles on the side of the highway with flashing lights, they should move over. A report from the National Safety Commission revealed that 71% of Americans do not know about their state’s Move Over law. Missouri’s Move Over law requires drivers to either change lanes or slow down when approaching stationary MoDOT, law enforcement or other emergency vehicles with flashing lights. To help protect those who protect us, all 50 states enforce some form of the Move Over law.

The 2020 Honoring our Heroes Marathon will be held Saturday, November 21st and this year will offer the full marathon, half marathon, the marathon relay, 10k and 5k runs. The marathon and marathon relay will begin at 7:00 in the morning at the Dent County Commons while the half marathon will begin at Lake Spring at 8:00 in the morning. The route those runners will be going will mostly be on Highway 72 then to Lions Club Drive and then finish in the Lions Club Park. The 10k and 5k runs will be mostly at the Rolla Lions Club Park with the 10k diverting to the Veteran’s Park in Rolla before coming back to the Lions Club Park, and they will start at 8:00 in the morning. Registration for the marathon and half marathon will end Saturday. The cost to register for the full marathon is $95 and there are seven openings left, the cost to register for the half marathon is $50 and there are five spaces left. The marathon relay is already full. The cost for the 10k run is $55 and $40 for the 5k run. Those races will increase in cost by $5.00 after November 18th. There are unlimited spaces available for the 10k and 5k runs. This year, there are also virtual races that you can sign up for where you run the races when you want where ever you want. You can also sign up to volunteer to help out at the event. This year’s Pasta Party is already sold out due to the COVID-19 restrictions on the number of people that can congregate and it will start at 5:00. The party will be lived streamed for those who cannot attend from the Honoring our Heroes website with the speakers starting at 5:30. For more information or to sign up, please visit https://www.heroesmarathon.com.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol would like to remind the public that driver examination stations throughout the state will be closed on today in observance of Veterans Day. Normal operations will resume on Thursday, November 12th. Examinations stations will also be closed on Thursday, November 26th and Friday, November 27th in observance of Thanksgiving. Normal operations will resume on Monday, November 30th. Follow the Missouri State Highway Patrol on Twitter @MSHPTrooperGHQ

The Missouri Department of Conservation reminds hunters not to forget their hunter orange before heading out the door for opening weekend of firearms deer season starting this Saturday and lasting through Tuesday, November 24th. Hunters must wear a hunter orange hat and a hunter orange vest, shirt, or coat. The color must be visible from all sides. Camouflage orange does not satisfy this rule. Hunter orange clothing makes it easier for one hunter to spot and recognize another hunter because nothing in nature matches this color exactly. Hunters must wear hunter orange if they are hunting any species of game during firearms deer season. Hunters must also wear orange if they are hunting on an area that is having a managed firearms deer hunt, or they are serving as a mentor to another hunter during firearms deer season or while on an area that is having a managed firearms deer hunt. Hunters must also wear orange if they were selected for the elk firearms season that will be held December 12th through the 20th. The late youth portion of deer season will be Friday, November 27th through Sunday, November 29th, followed by the antlerless portion from Friday, December 4th through Sunday, December the 6th. Finally, the alternative methods portion for deer will be Saturday, December 26th through Tuesday, January 5th, 2021. Hunters can find more information about hunting seasons at https://huntfish.mdc.mo.gov or by reading MDC’s 2020 Fall Deer & Turkey Hunting Regulations & Information booklet at https://short.mdc.mo.gov.

The Salem Police Department has released some reports. On Saturday morning, October 24th at around 9:37, an officer was dispatched to the 800 block of west Highway 32 for a report of a female who appeared to be impaired and slumped over the drivers’ seat. Contact was made and she was showing signs of impairment. During a consent search items used in the consumption of narcotics were located. As a result, a 28-year-old Salem woman was arrested and placed on a 24-hour hold pending the application of warrants. On Sunday morning, October 25th at about 2:00 in the morning, an officer conducted a traffic stop for a vehicle exceeding the posted speed limit. Upon further investigation, it was found that the driver appeared to be intoxicated. As a result, a 28-year-old Salem man was arrested for driving while being intoxicated. He was released on a summons. During the afternoon of Tuesday, October 27th around 1:52, an officer was on routine traffic patrol and noticed a female that he knew to have an active warrant for her arrest. The warrant was confirmed and the 38-year-old Salem woman was arrested and incarcerated at the Dent County Jail. During the evening of October 28th near 9:22, an officer was dispatched to an accident where the driver had fled the scene. During the investigation, the driver was later located passed out behind the wheel near the intersection of Highway 72 and Route J. As a result, a 40-year-old Salem woman was arrested and placed on a 12-hour hold at the Dent County Jail. Please contact the Salem Police Department at (573) 729-4242 if you have any information regarding an ongoing investigation.