Archive for 2022

The Dent County Commissioners met Thursday morning in the Courthouse. Dent County Emergency Management Director Brad Nash was in. Nash discussed the need for a Burn Ban Ordinance and the Commissioners approved Ordinance 2022-1, which has been used in the past. He also thanked the Commission for the $40,000 ARPA funds that will be divided equally among the four rural fire departments. Nash also expressed appreciation for the new extrication equipment that the Commission previously approved. He explained that the company that the equipment is being purchased from had loaned his department a set which they had to use last week on a single car accident on Highway 19 South. Nash reported that they were able to extricate the victims in 10 to 15 minutes, which was about the time it would have taken to get the old equipment operational. Bob Parsons on behalf of the Junior Livestock Committee thanked the Commission for hauling chips to The Commons prior to the 4-H and FFA Expo. Members of the Committee had removed old chips from the barns and used the ones hauled in to establish a fresh base. In the road report, District One Commissioner Wes Mobray said grading would be done on Dent County Road 5690, which is wet nearly year-round, and the dry weather has made it workable. He said service was being done on the new Brush Cutter #10 and Truck #125. Mobray went on to report that a blower motor and resistor were being replaced in pickup #73. District Two Commissioner Gary Larson reported that grading would be done, and materials would be added to Dent County Road 4060, plus the transmission was being serviced on Truck #124. He also reported that bridge repair was taking place on county roads 2200 and 2370, both of which will be time consuming jobs. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles said he has been on the phone a lot with Kelly Sink at MRPC as they work on the details of the ARPA funds that are going to the fire departments. Skiles reminded everyone of the Burn Ban Ordinance approved at the beginning of the meeting and cautioned smokers to refrain from throwing cigarettes out of their vehicles. Nash had noted at the beginning of the meeting that one of the grass fires last week was thought to have been started by a cigarette. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley reported absentee voting continues in her office through August 1st and that since the election is a primary voters will have to choose one of the four party ballots. The next meeting of the Commission will Monday morning at 9:00 in the Courthouse and it is open to the public.

Two new picnic pavilions and the recently renovated historic entrance station are now open in the Big Spring district of Ozark National Scenic Riverways. The Big Spring Pavilion, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1935, and the Peavine Pavilion, built in the 1950s, were both destroyed in the devastating 2017 flood. The new picnic shelters have been designed to adhere to the historic “CCC era” building style and constructed to better withstand future floods. The Big Spring Pavilion is located a short distance from the beautiful Big Spring, with views overlooking the spring branch. The Peavine Pavilion is located just off Peavine Road, along the road to Big Spring campground, with river access for swimming nearby. Both pavilions are equipped with picnic tables to accommodate up to 60 people, lights, electricity, and water. Each one also features a fire pit and two grills, one of which is ADA-accessible. Both shelters are now accepting reservations on www.recreation.gov for $30 per day plus a $3 reservation fee. The historic entrance station re-opened in June and will once again welcome visitors to the Big Spring area. Constructed by the CCC in 1936, it served as the main entrance to the former Big Spring State Park on State Highway 106. It embodies the Rustic style of architecture that is characterized by hand craftsmanship, use of native materials, and details influenced by Ozark culture. The timber-framed, cross gable design with irregular, coursed cut stone walls is the same style featured in the Big Spring Dining Lodge and other historic structures just down the road. The entrance station will be open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily through the summer, with rangers available to provide information, park maps, souvenir passport stamps, and exhibits about the CCC work at Big Spring. For more information, contact Ozark National Scenic Riverways Headquarters at (573) 323-4236, visit the park’s Facebook page, or website at www.nps.gov/ozar.

The Salem Police Department has released a number of reports for early through mid-June. On June 2nd near midnight, an officer contacted a woman in reference to an active arrest warrant out of Dent County. As a result, 49-year-old Alexandra Blackwell of Salem was arrested and incarcerated at the Dent County Jail awaiting bail. On June 3rd around 9:00 in the evening, an officer contacted a man that had an active warrant out for his arrest from the Dent County Sheriff’s Office. As a result, 19-year-old Michael Longrie of Licking was arrested and incarcerated at the Dent County Jail. On June 7th near 10:00 in the evening, an officer was dispatched to the 1400 block of South Hickory for a report of a disturbance. It was reported that two males had a disagreement that live at the home and one of them assaulted the other. As a result of the investigation, a 19-year-old Salem man was arrested and later released on summons to appear in court. Then on June 11th and 12th, there was three separate shoplifting incidents involving the same man. After a short investigation, officers found out who the suspect was and as a result an 18-year-old Salem man was arrested and issued three summons to appear in court. The total approximate value of all the items stolen was $300. Please contact with the Salem Police Department at 573-729-4242 if you have any information on any ongoing investigation.

The Creative Arts Center will be having a barn quilt class with Terrie Welch and Tana Kettner on Monday and Tuesday August 1st and 2nd, but you must pre-register for the class by TONIGHT. The cost is $55 a person and all supplies are provided. To sign up, call or text 573-247-0651, or go online at salemcommunitybetterment.com and look for the Salem Creative Arts Center.

The “Christmas in July” Toy Drive this Saturday will be from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM at The Commons in Salem. Bring a toy to fill the truck to win a door prize. There will be a craft show and a silent auction of some valuable items. Registration for the Poker Run starts at 10:00 sponsored by South Central Abate with kick stands up at 11:00. Registration for a Cornhole Tournament will be at 12:00 noon with the games at 1:00. Also, at 1:00 in the afternoon there will be a Jeep Show and the Current River Cruisers Car Show. Free kids’ games will be held throughout the day. Burgers, hot dogs and BBQ chicken dinners will be available for purchase. For more information call 247-2216 or find them on Facebook at The Dent County Toy Drive.

With another round of excessive heat expected this week and through the weekend, the City of Salem and Intercounty Electric Cooperative Association are again asking everyone to try to conserve your energy usage especially between 2:00 in the afternoon until about 9:00 in the evening to keep your electric bill as low as possible. The easiest way is to increase the temperature on your thermostat for your air conditioner anywhere from one degree to four or five degrees, use ceiling fans or small fans to help circulate the air in your home, refrain from doing any baking or using your stove top burners fully during those hours by preparing meals earlier in the day and using your microwave to reheat them during the hottest part of the day, avoid doing laundry during these hours especially if you have an electric water heater and electric clothes dryer, and close your blinds or drapes to eliminate direct sunlight from beating into your home which can add as much as ten or more degrees to the temperature. These tips can help conserve energy and help you save on your electric bill. For more energy saving tips, please visit www.salemmo.com or ieca.coop and type in the search box summer energy saving tips.

The Salem Memorial District Hospital regular board meeting was held Tuesday evening in the Hospital Library. The Board elected officers for the next fiscal year, and they are Mike Swyers as Chairman, Willie Strader as Vice-Chairman and A. J. Seay as Secretary. Interim CEO Don Babb said Jim Renfrow is the new lab director and right now an investment analysis on a walk-in clinic is being done with hopes of opening one this fall. Dr. Al talked about Dr. Tiffany Bland and how she has about 15-16 patients per day and is using the Salem hospital services except where specialization is needed. In the summary of operations for the month of June, the hospital had 62 inpatient admissions with 226 inpatient census days. There were 112 days of swingbed with an average length of stay almost 27 days. During the month, there were 631 emergency room visits with 41 admissions, plus there were 187 ambulance runs where 135 patients were transported. In June, there were 22 surgical procedures cases, 1,227 outpatient registrations, 5,273 lab tests, 1,010 radiological procedures, 651 rehab treatments and 149 home health visits with 12 home health admissions. The days cash on hand was at 71 with $5.2 million total cash. The hospital showed a gain from operations for June of $339,855.36 with an Excess of Revenues of $343,586. CFO JoeAnn Hammond said the hospital for the last fiscal year lost $306,114.30 with an increase in revenues of around three million dollars while the expenses remained about the same. She said the hospital will pay off the Medicare advance payment by the second week of August which currently has a balance of $258,987.12. She also has worked with the auditors cleaning up several accounts, capitalizing the POB 3 building basement improvement and the MRI building addition. Ashley Sullins gave the Director of Nursing report and said Telemetry in being installed Monday with training scheduled all week. She said John Sawyer was hired June 27th as the Med-Surg and ED Clinical Supervisor while Sammy Smith stepped down from the ED Clinical Supervisor position and became a part-time Clinical Informatic Specialist. The hospital is short two full-time night shift nurses and a PRN day shift nurse in Med Surg, and the Emergency Department needs full time night shift nurse. She said currently there are 44 COVID-19 cases in Dent County with a positivity rate of 9.35%. Hammond said the Hospital Foundation had a $14,922 profit for the golf tournament and are planning a cornhole tournament in September or October. The board elected Wanda Tatom to serve as the board foundation representative. In the community, Family Nurse Practitioner Shelly Bland gave 24 sports physicals in Ellington with three of the families transferring their care to the SMDH Family Medicine. They also were part of the 4-H and FFA Livestock Auction and Pie Auction held at The Commons. The Med staff reviewed and recommended staff privileges for Dr. Munfahk and Ray, MD-Thoracic Surgeons from Washington University in St. Louis, Dr. Dar, MD in teleradiology, Shannon Jennings in tele-psych, Dr. Tessaro in Emergency Department LifeStat, Dr. Marc Franke, Optometrist for Long-Term Care, Dr. Hornbeck for the Emergency Department, Dr. Baldwin in Gynecology and Dr. Nelly for the Clinic and Hospitalist who will begin at SMDH Family Medicine around December 1st. The transformer project is now underway but there is a 10-12 week lead time on transformers. The hospital expects the work to be completed around November 1st. The hospital had eight new employees start in June but 10 other employees left the employ of the hospital. The board set the public tax rate hearing for August 16th at 5:45. CEO Babb reminded the board of the Delta Regional Community Health Systems Development Program meet and greet at 5:30 on September 20th. The board then went into closed session.

An accident occurred Tuesday night at 9:48 in Iron County on County Road 80-A about four miles east of Viburnum that took the life of a Belleview man. According to the highway patrol report a northbound 2002 Ford Focus, driven by 18-year-old Brant Sanders of Bellview, traveled off the left side of the roadway and struck a tree. Sanders was pronounced dead just after midnight Wednesday by Dr. Matthew Hart at Washington County Memorial Hospital in Potosi. According to the report Sanders was not wearing a safety device at, the time of the accident. The Ford was totaled and removed from the scene by Abney’s Towing.

The Salem Community Choir free concert scheduled for this Sunday at the Courthouse Gazebo has been postponed due to the excessive heat predicted for the weekend. The next concert for the choir will be on the courthouse lawn Sunday August 14th at 2:00 in the afternoon.