Archive for 2020

The Dent County Health Center Board of Trustees met April 16th at the Health Center at 1010 East Scenic Rivers Blvd. Health Center Administrator Kendra Mobray updated the Board on the Health Center’s response to COVID-19. She has conducted numerous meetings with local officials, briefings with community stakeholders, weekly calls with Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and Governor Mike Parson, radio interviews and responded to 100’s of phone calls, messages, emails, etc. She worked with local officials to enforce “stay-at-home” and social distancing orders. Health Center staff was divided into two teams working split shifts to avoid the entire staff needing to be quarantine in the event of an exposure. Health Center services are being provided by appointment only. Mobray reported that outpatient lab services were provided for 87 clients in March. She presented the draft report from Maloney, Wright and Robbins for the 2017/2018 audit, which showed no findings in each accounting record reviewed. In contract updates she noted that the Pubic Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) funding for FY20, which runs through June 30, 2020, has been exhausted as of March 31st with a deficit of $6,702.02 due to COVID-10 response. The Health Center has submitted an application to SEMA for FEMA reimbursement. Local Public Health Agencies are reaching out to legislators and the Missouri DHSS as well as the Center for Disease Control to find other funding sources to support local response efforts. Mobray reported that all other programs are being conducted either via phone or mail, or are currently on hold due to the COVID-19 response. Mobray said there have been 443 confirmed cases of influenza reported in Dent County. The Health Center investigated 2 cases of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, 1 case of Giardiasis and 1 case of Campylobacteriosis during March. The health center expenses were approved before the next regular board meeting was set for May 21st at 5:00. The meeting was adjourned.

Dent County Health Center Administrator Kendra Mobray wants people to know that you can find on the Dent County Health Center Facebook Page the “Show Me Strong Recovery Plan and What to Expect from Phase 1.” This two page guide lists the plan for a soft opening for the area on May 4th and how some businesses may have to make some adjustments to allow for social distancing. If you have further questions, contact Mobray at 729-3106.

An accident happened in Maries County on Monday afternoon around 5:10 at the junction of Highway 63 and Highway 42. According to the highway patrol report, a 2009 Chevy Suburban driven by 67-year old Mark Moss of Dittmer, Missouri, turned northbound into the path of the Highway Patrol 2020 Ford Explorer driven northbound by 42-year old Brian Crawford of Rolla, causing the patrol vehicle to impact the driver’s side of the Suburban. The Ford Explorer came to rest in the roadway while the Suburban traveled across the roadway and came to rest in the west ditch. Suffering minor injuries were Officer Brian Crawford who was taken by a highway patrol vehicle to Phelps Health in Rolla, and Mark Moss who was taken to Phelps Health by the Maries Osage County Ambulance. Everyone involved was wearing seat restraints at the time of the accident. Both vehicles were totaled in the accident with Ron Dishman’s Towing of Rolla removing the Highway Patrol Ford Explorer and Plaza Towing of Vienna removing the Suburban. Estimated damage to the Explorer was $30,000 as there were only 8,300 miles on the vehicle. The accident involving an officer was investigated by the Major Crash Investigation Unit Team #4.

A one vehicle accident occurred Monday morning around 6:30 in Phelps County on Route J about two miles north of Duke. The report from the highway patrol states that a 2009 Ford Ranger being driven by 75-year old Charlie Dilmore of Raymondville was traveling south when the Ranger went off the right side of the roadway down an embankment, striking several small trees before catching fire. Dilmore, who was wearing a safety restraint at the time of the accident, was taken by Phelps ambulance to General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

Hunters, anglers, and trappers who use the Missouri Department of Conservation’s free MO Hunting mobile app need to perform an update to continue to get the most current regulations and data information, as well as to be able to apply for an elk hunting permit that begins on May1st and will last until May 31st. Both Apple and Android users need to install the update. Apple requires users to have at least the iOS-10 version to use the updated MO Hunting app. Android requires users to have at least Android 5. For more information on MO Hunting, go online to mdc.mo.gov/mohunting.

The Dent County Sheriff’s Office has released the following reports for Tuesday, April 21st. A deputy conducted a traffic stop in the 200 block of Dent County Road 5010. During the course of the traffic stop, a 33-year-old Salem man was arrested for the possession of a controlled substance. The man was transported to the Dent County Sheriff’s Office where he was fingerprinted, issued a summons and released. Later that same day, deputies were conducting an investigation concerning a violation of an order of protection. During the course of the investigation, it was discovered that the suspect was an inmate at the Dent County Sheriff’s Office Jail. The 59-year-old Salem man was fingerprinted and remains in the custody at the Dent County Jail. A probable cause affidavit was forwarded to the Dent County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office after the investigation. Also on April 21st, deputies traveled to a residence in the 10500 block of South Highway 19 to serve an arrest warrant. During the course of the incident, a 34-year-old Salem man was arrested for an active warrant through the Dent County Sheriff’s Office. The man was transported to the Dent County Sheriff’s Office Jail and incarcerated. On Thursday, April 23rd, the he was able to post bond and was released. If anyone has any information regarding an ongoing investigation, please contact the Dent County Sheriff’s Office at 729-3241.

The Dent County Commissioners met Monday morning for the regular meeting at the courthouse. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams was in attendance to provide the commissioners with the CART receipts received in April. Williams reported the county received $57,959.79 this April while in 2019 during April the county received $52,310.88. Year-to-date, the county is up $5,544.10 over last year which is an increase of 2.56%. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell indicated the county would be stockpiling two inch base rock from Melrose Quarry and Asphalt. He said the men would be performing the 500 hour service on Grader #38 and also replacing stolen or downed county road signs in numerous locations. Purcell went on to say that men would be repairing potholes on Dent County Road 6180 which is a chip and seal road. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson stated materials would be added and grading done on Dent County Road 2550 which is a Department of Conservation road. He added that men would be working on Grader #31 and checking for some washouts throughout the district from the rain that came in Thursday as well as Friday night into Saturday. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles reported that he has been staying in touch almost daily with the Dent County Health Center Administrator Kendra Mobray to stay up to date on the COVID-19 situation in Dent County. Skiles was pleased to say that as of Monday morning there were still no reported cases of the coronavirus in Dent County. He said that Governor Mike Parson is putting in place two phases to open the state back up to more normal economic activities. Those phases will be announced this week. The commissioners agreed to plan on opening the courthouse back up on Monday, May 4th, but will continue to only have commission meetings on Monday for the time being. Skiles stated people that come in the courthouse will still have to try to abide by social distancing. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley reported absentee voting continues for the June 2nd Municipal Election and the last day to register to vote for the August 4th election is July 11th. Curley said she was going to apply for a grant of up to $20,000 for protective supplies for the workers and judges at the polling locations that would include masks, gloves and hand sanitizers. Purcell said he attended a Tourism Tax Committee meeting last Monday and four reimbursements were submitted and all four were approved for a total of $30,133.00. He also said two event proposals were submitted and they were both approved. Dwight Ramsburg from Septagone came in to present the commissioners with an update on the jail construction. The next meeting of the Dent County Commissioners will be Monday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

After being cooped up for weeks during the COVID 19 pandemic, warmer weather and the need for continued social distancing could find many more motorcycles on our roadways this spring and summer. The Missouri Department of Transportation and the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety want to remind motorists to Watch for Motorcycles in order to help prevent motorcycle crashes, deaths and injuries on Missouri roadways. This awareness campaign will run during the month of May and on holidays through the summer. According to Jon Nelson MoDOT assistant to the state highway safety and traffic engineer preliminary data shows that approximately 15% of Missouri traffic fatalities in 2019 involved a motorcycle, with 120 motorcyclist lives lost. MoDOT wants to see that number decrease this year by reminding motorists to be mindful of motorcyclists on the road and by reminding both motorcyclists and other drivers to obey speed limits, put down the phone, and never drive impaired. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration offers the following tips to drivers on how to prevent a fatal crash with a motorcycle. Allow the motorcycle the full width of a lane at all times, always signal when changing lanes or merging with traffic, check all mirrors and blind spots for motorcycles before changing lanes or merging with traffic, especially at intersections, and never drive distracted or impaired. Motorcyclists must also take precautions to remain safe on the road. Motorcyclists can increase their safety by following these steps. Wear a DOT-compliant helmet and other protective gear, obey all traffic laws and be properly licensed and trained, wear brightly colored clothes and reflective tape to increase visibility, ride in the middle of the lane where you will be more visible to drivers, never ride distracted or impaired, anticipate the moves of other drivers and be extra cautious of road conditions and debris. Experts recommend riders also complete motorcycle training before getting out on the road. There are 23 training locations in Missouri. You can find the one nearest you at www.mmsp.org. For more information, visit www.saveMOlives.com.

During Monday’s COVID-19 briefing, Governor Mike Parson announced the first phase of the “Show Me Strong Recovery” Plan outlining how Missouri will gradually begin to reopen economic and social activity on Monday, May 4th. This framework will allow the state to work through a gradual reopening, leading to broader economic recovery. During phase one of the plan, citizens may begin returning to economic and social activities but must adhere to social distancing requirements, including maintaining six feet of space between individuals in most cases. There are currently no limitations on social gatherings as long as necessary precautions are taken and six feet of distance can be maintained between individuals and/or families. Additionally, all businesses can be open provided that the social distancing guidelines set forth in the new health order are followed. Some businesses will be required to take additional precautions to protect their employees and the public, such as occupancy limits at retail locations. Local officials will have the authority to put further rules, regulations, or ordinances in place so long as they are not inconsistent with the statewide order. Some communities may be able to reopen at a faster rate than others. For more information, contact Kendra Mobray at the Dent County Health Center at 729-3106.

City of Salem City Administrator Ray Walden issued a press release on Friday, April 24th addressing the history of the City of Salem AMI project and utility billing delays. In the press release, Walden explains that in 2019, the board of aldermen approved a recommendation to proceed with the proposal by Nexgrid for an AMI Network with city employees installing the electric meters, and quotes would be solicited for a contractor to install new water meters and modules that turned out to be Second Sight Systems. After that, representatives from Nexgrid worked with the city utility staff to finalize the design for a system that would meet the city’s requirements. The city then ordered 2,600 electric meters and 2,200 water meters and modules. The modules the city used had to be programmed before they were shipped to Salem. The electric meters were installed first as they provided the part of the network that the water meter modules would connect to. The water meter and module installation followed. But some of the data captured from the old and new meters did not sync with the city’s existing system. This required unexpected manual steps to correct. As soon as the issues were identified, they were communicated to the installer’s project management team. The issues were related to the meter serial numbers and the service addresses obtained in the installation process as they needed to match up correctly to what was in the old billing system so that the new system could properly populate data into the city’s billing system. Walden states the correcting of the data sync issues sometimes involved accessing account and service information in both the existing billing system and the new AMI system. Service personnel also occasionally needed to have meter numbers and service locations confirmed in the field. Walden estimates the project to date has required about an additional 200 man hours of staff time over what was originally planned. The issues causing the first billing delay started with what would have been the normal November 2019 bill that was processed in December of 2019. City staff continued to work on the data issues with the next utility bills being processed in February of 2020. The city did provide notice on social media and through regular media outlets in both cases that utility bills would be delayed. Walden reports the next bill cycle was processed in April 2020 using the final manual reads of meters that have been replaced with the new AMI meters. Most of the May bill cycle will come from the new AMI system with regular monthly bill cycles expected after that. The final shipment of water meters was delayed due to supplier issues and the shipment of the remaining modules was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Delivery of the remaining modules is expected before the end of April with the contractor returning as soon as possible to complete the installation. The original cost of the project was estimated to be $1.4 million dollars and the project is expected to come in under budget. A benefit of the AMI system is utility customers can ask for detailed data of the electric and water usage they consume and that includes identifying potential leaks and excessive electric usage. Once the system is fully installed and functional, a customer portal will be opened where each individual can access their consumption and billing history, and provide the ability to pay online or over the phone. The city is also looking at the possibility of e-billing and options to support that program. Walden states in the release that the city realizes the interruption of regular billing cycles has represented an inconvenience to its customers. The delays have compounded the prior existing backlog between usage and billing. With the new AMI system providing the capability of billing to reflect more recent consumption, the city will be offering their customers some options after the city’s COVID-19 Emergency Declaration expires. These options include a discount to get current (not yet determined,) budget billing and pay as you go (or prepaid electric usage). The city is preparing letters to customers that will provide more specific information. The city appreciates the public’s understanding and cooperation during this transition. Walden wanted to let Salem businesses know that if they need documented utility usage for meeting their SBA COVID-19 assistance requirements, or if anyone has questions about their account, please call the utility office at 729-4117.

A special closed meeting of the Salem R-80 board of education to discuss personnel will be held this evening at 6:00 in the district administrative offices board room. After approval of the agenda the board will adjourn and move into executive session to discuss personnel pursuant to RSMO 610.021 before adjourning.