Archive for 2022

On June 28th, a letter was sent from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Administrator John Langston to the Salem Memorial District Hospital regarding their unannounced onsite CLIA revisit to the Salem Memorial District Hospital’s Lab that was made on June 15th of this year, stated that “all deficiencies noted on the survey conducted on October 21, 2021 are corrected. The facility is now in substantial compliance with the regulations for laboratories 42 CFR Part 493.” With this documented determination, the hospital lab is again fully operational.

The Dent County Commissioners met Thursday morning at the Dent County Courthouse. At the meeting, Salem and Dent County Economic Development Director Sally Burbridge gave her monthly report for June. She said the “Welcome Home” program first round of homes has had their pre-inspections completed and the second round of homes has signed all the paperwork. They still need more veterans to apply as they have had nine new pre-applications, but none of them are veterans. Burbridge said the Voluntary Residential Demolition Program will have bids let out in July for three residences and a foundation. She said the certified Site Application has been submitted and the technical review committee had five additional questions on the application before the final review. She also discussed her findings on the amount of people who live in Dent County and work in other counties and the breakdowns on those jobs, as well as the unemployment rate for Dent County that came in at 3.3% for May. She also said she expects to get an update on the broadband situation this week. John McIntire was in attendance to ask the commission about parking restrictions on county roads. He was told by the sheriff there are no county laws concerning parking on county roads and he would like for the county to investigate this and see if other counties or regions have restrictions. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles said the county is limited by statute on what they can do but would ask the district attorney to look into it. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray said materials would be added and graded, plus ditch work would be done on Dent County Road 5600. He said work crews would be patching the creek crossing on county road 6575 and grading would be done on county road 2480. He said workers would be adding material and rebuilding Dent County Road 5220 known as the Quarry Road to widen it so that trucks could pass safely on it. He went on to say brush would be cut on county roads 5080 and 6180. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson said workers would be adding materials and replacing culvert pipes on Dent County Roads 3070 and 3340, adding materials and repairing the culvert on county road 3370, grading on Dent County Road 3350 and adding materials to county road 4050. Commissioner Skiles said the county had received a Quit Claim request from the Bahr Family in Crawford County for the railroad right-of-way. He also reiterated about applications for grants for recycling through the Ozark Rivers Solid Waste Management District can now be submitted with a total amount available of near $150,000, but they must be submitted by noon on August 19th. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said her office and the treasurer balanced on all accounts for the month of June. With the August Primary fast approaching, Curley said absentee voting continues in her office, the last day to mail out an absentee ballot is July 20th, and voters will need to choose a specific party when they vote between the Republican, Democrat, Libertarian or the Constitution Party. The commission opened two bids for asphalt paving: one from Stewarts Asphalt Paving from Anderson, Missouri; and Boyd Schleicher from Carl Junction, Missouri. No decision was made at the time as the bids were being reviewed. Roma Jones from the Dent County Health Center visited with the commission before they adjourned. The next meeting of the commissioners will be Monday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting will be open to the public.

The results are in and with your help, Johnson’s Shut-Ins won #1 “Best State Park for RVing/Camping” in the nation! The wilderness qualities and geology of Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park and the surrounding St. Francois Mountains make this park a special place to visit. Its rugged character provides the perfect backdrop for camping, hiking, picnicking, splashing in the shut-ins, exploring nature or just relaxing. It’s no wonder it was nominated in May as the #1 “Best State Park for RVing/Camping” in the nation by USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards. For more information about Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park, visit mostateparks.com/park.

The Salem License Office in the Crossroads Shopping Center will close at noon TODAY.

With the excessive heat expected this week, the City of Salem and Intercounty Electric Cooperative Association is asking everyone to try to conserve your energy usage especially between 4:00 in the afternoon until about 9:00 in the evening. The City of Salem and MPUA are under a PEAK POWER ALERT through Thursday afternoon, July 7th from 2:00 through 6:00. A Peak Alert is issued when the City and City’s power provider are trying to manage the electric load on the system to prevent setting a new high (peak) power usage. This is not a notice of a power shortage, but a management tool to keep usage under previously set “peaks”. If the citizens of Salem are not able to conserve electric usage during a Peak Alert and that results in setting a new Peak Demand for Salem, or a new peak power high point, what happens is the cost of electricity the city buys from MPUA increases and your electric bill will increase in relation to that increase in cost. 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, hold off 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, 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 and type in the search box summer energy saving tips.

A drowning happened Monday, July 4th in the Meramec River in Meramec State Park just downstream from the state park boat ramp. According to the water patrol report, 25-year-old Uriel Ramirez of Collinsville, Illinois, jumped off a bluff and was unable to be rescued by bystanders. Ramirez was pronounced dead by Missouri Baptist Sullivan EMS at 5:30. He was transported by Superior Mortuary Service to the St. Louis County Morgue. The water patrol was assisted by park rangers and the Sullivan Fire Department.

Mayor Greg Parker called a Special Meeting of the Board of Aldermen of the City of Salem for Wednesday evening at 6:00 at the Salem Community Center @the Armory. To consider a bid from OPW Fuel Management System for the Salem Airport. Following the bid consideration, the meeting will be adjourned. The meeting is open to the public.

The City of Salem’s Utility Committee will hold a meeting tonight at 6:15 at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory located at 1200 W. Rolla Road to discuss of water and sewer rates. The meeting was called by Utilities Committee Chair Kyle Williams and is open to the public.

The Missouri State Highway patrol reports that there were six traffic fatalities, no boating fatalities, & one drowning over the July Fourth holiday counting period which ran from 6:00 Friday evening, July 1st, through 11:59 Monday, night, July 4th. Highway Patrol Troopers worked 285 traffic crashes, which included 107 injuries and six fatalities. Those troopers also made 141 DWI arrests and 82 drug arrests over the holiday weekend. Water Patrol Troopers worked 11 boating crashes, which included five injuries and zero fatalities. Those troopers made 13 boating while intoxicated arrests and 18 drug arrests. One person did drown over the holiday weekend. During the 2021 counting period, seven people were killed and 532 injured statewide in Missouri over the holiday in 1,139 traffic crashes. Highway Patrol Troopers arrested 80 people for driving while intoxicated last year. Over the 2021 July Fourth holiday, there were 12 boating crashes, which included eight injuries and one fatality. One person drowned during last year’s holiday. Water Patrol Troopers made nine boating while intoxicated arrests during the 2021 counting period.

Deer hunters can now apply online through the Missouri Department of Conservation’s website for a shot at more than 100 managed deer hunts throughout the state this fall and winter. MDC offers managed deer hunts for archery, muzzleloading, crossbow, and modern firearms from mid-September through mid-January at conservation areas, state and other parks, national wildlife refuges, and other public areas. Some managed deer hunts are held specifically for youth or for people with disabilities. The managed deer hunt application period is now through July 31st. Hunters are selected by a weighted random drawing. Draw results will be available August 15th through January 15th. Applicants who are drawn will receive area maps and other hunt information by email, or mail if an email address is not located on the customer’s account. To get more information on managed deer hunts, preview hunt details, and apply starting July 1st at mdc.mo.gov and search for managed hunts. Details about managed hunts can also be found in the MDC “2022 Fall Deer & Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information” booklet. It is now available at MDC offices and nature centers, from permit vendors around the state, and also online.

Kayaking is part of the Women’s Outdoors Program to be held at the upper lake at the Current River State Park on Thursday, July 14th. During the class women will learn a few basics, then put into practice with a nature interpretive tour around the lake. Bring a PFD if you have one. For more information or to register contact Connie at 573-751-1224 or email connie.weber@dnr.mo.gov.