Archive for 2020

The Dent County Commissioners met Monday morning for their regular meeting. In the road report, 1st District Commissioner Dennis Purcell stated grading would be done on Dent County Roads 5080, 5380 and 6040. He went on to report materials would be added to Dent County Road 6670 as work crews will be installing three new crossover pipes in preparation of the FLAP project work that is to be done. Another crew will be replacing a crossover pipe on Dent County Road 6630. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson indicated that grading would be done on Dent County Roads 2590 and 4430 while materials would be added to county roads 3200 and 5340. Larson said brush would be cut on county roads 2370 and 6140 and service would be done on county truck #76. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles reported he went with 143rd State Representative Elect Ron Copeland to Boss to view feral hog damage to a farm there. Skiles said he would be attending the PHA Board meeting and MRPC Board meeting Thursday evening by conference call due to a couple of active COVID-19 cases at MRPC. He also said the county received several CARES Act applications that will be reviewed. Skiles also discussed with the commission approving the bid from Devereux and Company of $13,500 to perform a financial audit for the 2020 year as necessitated by the CARES Act money the county received. It was approved. Skiles said they will bill that this December so that it can be paid for out of the CARES Act fund. He also said there will be a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday for the opening of the new gymnasium at the Salem Community Center@The Armory at 4:30 and an open house from 4:00 to 5:30. Dent County Collector Angie Curley stated the election went fairly smooth in Dent County with 73 plus percent of the registered voters casting their ballot. She said she balanced with the collector and assessor on collections, add-ons and abatements for the month of October. The commissioner then discussed health care insurance for the county employees for the 2021 year. Curley said the consortium went with the United Health Care bid that was lower than the Cox Health bid. Currently, the county pays $573 per month per employee with a $3,500 deductible. The county will pay $2,000 of their deductible once the employee meets their portion of it. The new rate will be $633 per month per employee and the deductible will be $4,500. The county will pick up $2,000 of the deductible once the employee meets their portion of it. The increased base cost to the county from the rate increase will be about $57,600. The county would also offer deductibles of $3,000 and $6,000 available for employees if they wish to pay the difference. The commission approved the new insurance rates and all employees of the county will have to fill out new paperwork for the United Health Care insurance. Curley reminded the commissioners the courthouse would be closed on Wednesday and they are also going to have a salary commission meeting Thursday afternoon at 1:30 at the courtroom in the Judicial Building. Commissioner Purcell reported he was asked to serve on the Corridor Advisory Team on a study being done by MoDOT on replacing the Sinking Creek and Spring Valley bridges on Highway 19 south. They will have their first meeting in December with the consulting firm, Hg Consult out of Kansas City, and then have a follow up meeting in December 2021 to go over alternatives to the bridge replacement. Once that would be determined, public meetings would be held to get feedback from the general public. The commission then opened bids to purchase a used truck for the Road and Bridge Department and received only one bid from Chafin Auto Sales that had eight different vehicles listed. The commission made no decision at the meeting as they will have to check out all the trucks listed. At the last meeting, the commission approved the Hazard Mitigation Memorandum from the MRPC about their renewal which will come due in 2023. The commission also received picture of the courthouse from Scenic Rivers Industries. The commissioners did approve six CARES act requests. The requests came from the Salem R-80 School for $6,908.04 and $7,145.49, the Salem Memorial District Hospital was pre-approved for $29,440, Green Forest R-2 received $5,081.82 and Oak Hill R-1 was approved for $13,742.95 and pre-approved for $14,134.40. The next meeting will be held Monday at the courthouse at 9:00 and the commission meetings are open to the public.

An accident happened Sunday night shortly after 11:00 in Crawford County on Route ZZ about four miles west of Cuba. According to the report from the highway patrol, a 2020 GMC Terrain being driven by 72-year old Theresa Kosulandich of Rolla was westbound and struck a deer in the roadway. Both the driver and a passenger, 74-year old Nicholas Kosulandich, also of Rolla, suffered minor injuries and sought their own treatment. The GMC sustained extensive damage and was towed by Big Boys Towing.

An accident happened Monday morning at 7:30 in Shannon County on old Highway 60 in Birch Tree. According to the report from the highway patrol, a 2020 Toyota Highlander being driven east by a 16-year old female juvenile of Birch Tree was stopped at a crosswalk. A 7-year old pedestrian at the crosswalk made eye contact with the driver and as the driver of the Toyota released the brakes the pedestrian ran into the vehicle. The 7-year old suffered minor injuries and was transported by Shannon County EMS to Ozarks Medical Center for treatment.

The Salem Area Chamber of Commerce and the City of Salem has set the date of Saturday, December 5th for the Christmas parade to beginning at 5:30. The parade will begin at SBU and wind its way to the courthouse. The theme this year will be “Favorite Christmas Movie”. Businesses, organizations, and individuals that would like to have an entry in the parade will need to return the entry form that is available at the Chamber of Commerce office at 200 South Main Street no later than December 2nd. For more information you can email the Chamber office at chamber@salemmo.com or call the 729-6900.

An accident occurred Saturday evening at 7:18 on Route W about three miles north of Highway 32 in Dent County. According to the highway patrol report, a 2003 GMC Sierra driven by 38-year old Joshua Gately of Salem was traveling southbound. The GMC traveled off the left side of the roadway and struck a tree. Gately suffered moderate injuries and was transported to Salem Memorial District Hospital by EMS. He was wearing a safety restraint at the rime of the accident. The GMC was totaled and removed from the scene by family.

Landowners and renters can learn about farm leases from University of Missouri Extension specialists 6:00 to 9:00 tomorrow evening. Participants in our area can attend through Zoom. Topics include current rental rates and trends, items to include in a lease, terminating a lease, recreational leases, and crop and livestock share arrangements. USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service publishes average cash rental rates for farm, forage and pasture ground each September. The MU Extension studies these rates every three years. Ten MU Extension offices will be open for those who wish to attend in person or do not have reliable internet access. The closest location to Salem will be West Plains. With CDC guidelines in place, in-person class sizes are limited. Instructors at each site will provide an opportunity for attendees to interact with presenters. For details and registration, go to extension.missouri.edu and search for “farm lease.”

The Missouri Department of Conservation encourages deer hunters who will have their deer professionally processed to check with meat processors about their availability to process deer this fall. Some meat processors around the state are reporting higher-than-normal business and may not be accepting deer for processing or will have significant delays in processing deer. Hunters wanting to donate to Share the Harvest are also encouraged to check with their local meat processors as some are not participating in the program this year. Get more information on Share the Harvest online at huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/

Ozark National Scenic Riverways is seeking public input on the park’s draft Accessibility Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan. Public participation is an important part of the planning process and will help Ozark National Scenic Riverways become more accessible for all visitors. An interdisciplinary team of planners, facility specialists, and landscape architects produced the plan to help Ozark National Scenic Riverways improve park-wide accessibility. In creating the plan, the team identified the key experiences that every visitor, regardless of their ability, should be able to have at the park. This helped set the stage for identifying and prioritizing where key experiences could be found. After performing the assessment, the team developed strategies and solutions to address accessibility barriers. The final plan will guide changes to the way existing services, activities, and programs are provided to increase accessibility for all users. The draft Accessibility Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan will be available online for public review and comment at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/ozar. Comments must be received no later than November 19, 2020. Comments may be submitted online or will be accepted through the mail to: Ozark National Scenic Riverways; Attn: SETP comments; P. O. Box 490; Van Buren, Missouri 63965. When commenting, please consider these questions: Does the plan capture the accessibility barriers present in the park and are the recommended solutions appropriate and comprehensive? The National Park Service values your interest in Ozark National Scenic Riverways, and we look forward to your participation in this planning process. For more information, contact Dena Matteson at (573) 323-4814 or dena_matteson@nps.gov.

Missouri State Parks today announced eight Missouri communities have been selected to receive more than $1 million in federal grants from the Federal Highway Administration to assist with the development of trails. The grants are part of the Recreational Trails Program, which can be used to develop, acquire and restore recreational trails and trailhead facilities. Locally, Recreational Trails Program recommended grant recipients, along with the projects and grant amounts include the city of Winona, Lions Club Park Recreation Trail: $129,621 and the city of St. James, The St. James-Maramec Iron Works Bike Path Restroom Facility: $25,000. For more information on Recreational Trails Program grants, contact mspgrants@dnr.mo.gov. For more information on Missouri state parks and historic sites, visit mostateparks.com. Missouri State Parks is a division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

The City of Salem Park and Recreation Department and Salem Holiday Committee is still looking for churches, businesses, organizations and even private individuals that would like to set up an illuminated holiday display inside the Salem City Park for the first ever drive-through light display for the Christmas holidays. The drive-through would begin on the Friday AFTER Thanksgiving. These displays would be scheduled to be open from November 27th through January 1st. Contact Melissa Dubois for more information at 573-729-6290 or to sign up.