Archive for 2022

The Dent County Commissioners met Monday morning at the courthouse for their regular meeting. At the meeting, Deloris Grey Wood from the Dent County Historical Society was in attendance to thank Commissioners Wes Mobray and Darrell Skiles for attending their meeting Thursday evening at the Salem Community Center@The Armory that featured Superintendent Jason Lott of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. Wood said well over 100 people were in attendance to participate in the meeting. She said the meetings of the society are topics dealing with the history of the local area and they are always open to the public. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Mobray said crews will be cleaning up a trash pile on Dent County Road 5390 plus checking for downed trees and washouts. The commission is asking anyone who sees a truck or people stopped along a county roadway with trash or furniture to please get a vehicle description and or a license plate that can be provided to law enforcement. If someone is leaving trash on your road that is ending up on your property, cameras are available to help catch the culprits. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson said a crew will be patching chip and seal roads with the ultimate paving material while another crew will be checking for washouts and downed trees. He said work will be done to county road 2183 to provide better access to the Anutt Community Building. Larson said he received the contract back from the Missouri Department of Conservation to help provide funds to maintain county roads that access conservation areas for $19,652. Larson also is asking the public not post pictures of county roads that need attention on social media as the county road crews take care of over 630 miles of county roads and are not intentionally missing any roads. Rain and wet conditions as well as freezing temperatures have prevented crews from grading for quite some time where crews the last two weeks have been able to only grade about a day and a half. They ask for your patience and they will get to the roads once there is some dry weather. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles and Commissioner Mobray attended the South Central Regional Economic Development meeting held last Thursday in Houston arranged by Economic Development Director Sally Burbridge. They toured the Durham plant while in Houston who is still looking for about 50 more employees. They also discussed improving Highway 63 from Thayer to Jefferson City, preferably to a four-lane highway, and they also touched on broadband with the Howell-Oregon Electric Cooperative. Skiles said he and Mobray also attended the historical society meeting at the Salem Community Center@The Armory on Thursday. Skiles said the commission needed to sign a Notice of Decision prepared by Kelly Sink of the MRPC so the Salem Memorial District Hospital could apply for the $200,000 in county ARPA funds. The next meeting of the Dent County Commission will be Thursday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

The Salem Board of Aldermen will meet this evening at 6:00 for the regular meeting at the City Hall Council Chambers. In the hearing of persons, Sara Massengale will address the board about closing Iron, 4th and 5th streets on Saturday, June 4th for an all-day Taste of Dent County event. After the consent agenda is approved which shows an invoice for $24,571.35 for implements to a 2022 Peterbilt as well as sales tax and CART tax reports. The board will hear and discuss Bill #3504 which would create an ordinance to authorize the mayor to execute a contingency allocation of $9,513 between the City of Salem and Energy Solutions Professionals, LLC for additional services at 301 North Grand; hear and discuss Resolution 11-2022 authorizing the law firm of Cunningham, Vogel and Rost, PC to perform a review of the City of Salem Personnel Policy Manual under the current approved terms for professional services as adopted by Ordinance 3199 on June 21st, 2010; and hear and discuss Resolution 12-2022 authorizing the mayor to sign an agreement between the City of Salem and United Healthcare for medical insurance for employees for a total premium of $287,244.36 effective July 1, 2022. The board will also hear and discuss Resolution 13-2022 authorizing the mayor to execute an agreement between the City of Salem and SCI Engineering, Inc. for geotechnical services in doing soil bores for $5,950 at the certified site at the Masters Industrial Park, and Resolution 14-2022 authorizing the extension of an agreement between the City of Salem and Godi Excavating Services for work at the certified site in the Masters Industrial Park. The board will then hear reports from City Administrator Ray Walden, Mayor Greg Parker, Public Works Director Mark Nash, Economic Development Director Sally Burbridge, Park and Recreation Director Melissa Dubois and aldermen. In old business, the board will discuss a new truck for the Park and Recreation Department before getting the financial report from Financial Director Stacey Houston. The board will also discuss the selling of five surplus vehicles owned by the city. The board will then go into closed session to discuss contracts. The meeting of the City of Salem Board of Aldermen is open to the public.

Former Salem High School Volleyball Coach Stephanie Bates has been inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. Bates was a combined 625-199-73 coaching volleyball at Salem, Glendale and Springfield Catholic high schools. In 11 seasons at Salem, three of her teams reached the Final Four. The 1996 Salem Varsity Volleyball team won the Class 3 state championship, finishing 37-2. She was an assistant on the 1993 team that placed third, and her 1995 team was a state runner-up. Salem also won seven South Central Association championships, and Bates was the conference Coach of the Year five times. A Salem High School All-State player, she starred at Drury University, earning Honorable Mention NAIA All-American honors in 1990. Congratulations Stephanie on your induction!!!

In closed session at the Salem R-80 Board meeting Tuesday, the board approved adding a special education position at the upper elementary school. They also approved extra-duty contracts for Robyn Taylor for the high school yearbook; Amy Halinar for the upper elementary yearbook; Tania Wood for the middle school yearbook; Mary Beth Patrick for the William Lynch yearbook, Alec Conner for high school STUCO, Elaine Russell in music, Charles Mosley for band, Chris Jessen as an assistant in band; Susan Sheeley and Sarah Sanders as quiz bowl sponsors; Shannon Phelps for upper elementary music, Herman Blau for federal programs; Alicia Gallagher for color guard; Clay Moody as athletic director, and Joni Bobbitt as the 504 coordinator. The board hired Derek Freeman as the cross-country coach; Neal Myers as the assistant football and assistant track coach; Bryson Barnes as an assistant baseball coach; Chris Kamprath as an assistant baseball coach; Jordan McLaurin as the assistant girls’ basketball and assistant track coach; Cody Woody as the head girls’ basketball and middle school girls’ basketball coach, and Shelby Botkin as a volunteer assistant volleyball coach. The closed session and regular meeting were then adjourned.

An accident happened Thursday night at 11:15 in Phelps County on Highway 63 about five miles south of Rolla. The report from the highway patrol states that a 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis being driven by 19-year-old Joel Neudeck of Edgar Springs, had broken down in the southbound lane of the roadway. Right after the breakdown, a 2014 Ram 1500 being driven by 22-year-old Dalton Harmon of Rolla, was traveling south and struck the Mercury from behind. Neudeck was transported to Phelps Health in Rolla for treatment of serious injuries. Harmon suffered minor injuries and was taken by a private vehicle to Phelps Health. Both vehicles were totaled. The Mercury was towed from the scene by Tunes Towing and the Dodge was removed by D&D Recovery. The report went on to state that neither driver was wearing a seat restraint at the time of the accident.

A one vehicle accident happened Thursday night just before 11:15 in Crawford County on Highway AA, six mile south of Steelville. According to the highway patrol report a 2000 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 being driven south by 18-year Nathan Helms of Steelville, failed to negotiate a curve. The Chevy traveled off the left side of the roadway and struck a tree. A passenger in the vehicle, 20-year-old William Coleman, also of Steelville, suffered moderate injuries and flown by Air Evac to Mercy Hospital in St. Louis. Neither the driver nor occupant were wearing safety restraints at the time of the accident. The Silverado sustained extensive damage and was removed from the scene by Miles and Sons Towing. Helms was arrested by the highway patrol for a felony DWI involving an injury in a crash, careless and imprudent driving, having no insurance, and operating a vehicle without a valid license. He was taken to the Crawford County jail where he was later released.

An accident occurred Friday evening around 6:43 in Phelps County on Phelps County Road 3450 about eight miles east of Rolla. According to the highway patrol report, a 1983 Honda 3-wheeler driven by a 17-year-old juvenile male from St. James, was travelling westbound and travelled off the right side of the roadway. The 3-wheeler overturned landing on top of the driver. The juvenile suffered minor injuries and was transported by EMS to Phelps Health. He was not wearing safety equipment at the time of the accident. The Honda sustained minor damage and was towed by Spurgeon’s Towing.

A Toothbrush Rug Class with Tana Kettner will be held Tuesday evening from 6:00 until 8:00 @ the Creative Arts Center. This class is for older children and adults. The class will teach you how to make a rug that’s the size and colors you want. You’re welcome to bring your own fabric. The process involves ripping fabric, cutting small notches, and using a handmade needle like a toothbrush to make crochet-type knots. Rugs made with this technique look similar to braided rugs. All the supplies for the class are provided and the cost is $25. For more information or to register, call 247-0651 or you can e-mail salemartscouncil@outlook.com.

The Dent County Commissioners met Thursday morning at the courthouse. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams brought in the CART Receipts of $57,925.88, which was up $4,347.36 from April of 2021. She said that year-to-date CART is up $22,619.42 or 10.4%. Leroy Kunkel dropped by to invite the Commission to the Jadwin Fire Department Annual meeting and bar-b-que Saturday, April 30th. In the road report District One Commissioner Wes Mobray said he was happy to report that his crew got one day of grading in this week and was looking forward to lots of grading once the roads dried out some. He said that District One crews were checking for clogged culverts and wash outs, plus they were patching chip and seal potholes. District Two Commissioner Gary Larson was absent due to a prior commitment, so Travis Turner presented the report for the district. He said that materials would be added to Dent County Roads 2560, 2340 and 4050, plus pothole patching would take place in the district. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles said he attended the Transportation Advisory Committee meeting in St. James last Thursday were a request for a letter of support for the nearly 70-million-dollar state expenditure for the proposed Rock Island Trail State Park was presented. At the meeting Skiles pointed out that state parks like Montauk
are in much need of state funds for repairs and maintenance, plus upgrades to the sewer system. Neither the TAC nor MRPC took any action on the request for the letter. The Commission will advertise for bids on four sets of vehicle extrication equipment for the four Dent County Fire Departments. Bids are to be submitted by Thursday, May 5th at 10:00. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said that the Commission was approving bills for payment. The meeting adjourned at 10:00 so both Commissioners Mobray and Skiles could attend the Economic Development Regional Meeting in Houston organized by Salem and Dent County Economic Development Director Sally Burbridge. The next meeting of the commission will be Monday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

The Salem R-80 Board of Education held their re-organizational meeting Tuesday evening at the R-80 Board room. After the election results were certified, Board Secretary Amanda Walker swore-in board members Sammi Parker and Phillip Mercer. Superintendent Lynne Reed then served as the temporary chairperson during the election of the new board president and vice president. The board elected Steven Patterson as president, Holly Erway as vice-president, Amanda Walker as secretary and Andrew Wynn as board treasurer. The board appointed Sammi Parker as the MSBA delegate and Phillip Mercer as the MSBA alternate delegate. In the regular meeting, Upper Elementary music teacher Shannon Phelps discussed their upcoming musical before Superintendent Reed gave a budget update and a Construction Trades update. Assistant Superintendent John Smith gave an update on Salem’s curriculum which is now accessible online. The Board will vote in May to approve the curriculum. The board heard from each building principal with their monthly report. After some discussion, the board approved the tin gym building project base budget along with the CMU half-wall and painting, discussed and approved the insurance plan with an increase of $57,000 district wide going from $490.00 per employee per month to $514.00 per employee per month. The board approved setting the 2022-2023 tuition rate at $8,000 per student per year and also approved changing the tuition billing to the percentage of enrollment based on the highest attendance percentage from the previous year instead of attendance hours. The board went on to approve publishing the surplus list from William Lynch and Upper Elementary schools before agreeing to let out bids for a new Suburban. After agreeing to adopt the MSBA policies and forms, the board approved employing Corky Stack as the architect and engineer for the Construction Trades building. The board agreed to let out bids for the new gym mats and runners before approving adding 6th grade girls and boys basketball. The board accepted the resignations of Bryan Carty as a high school science teacher, head boys basketball coach and assistant football coach; Travis Sampson as a high school social studies teacher, head cross country coach and assistant track coach; Bessie Sanders as a high school science instructor; and Sally Wood as upper elementary speech implementer. The board also accepted resignation letters from Jennifer Fleener as an upper elementary paraprofessional, Chris Crocker who is the William Lynch paraprofessional and bus driver Jimmy Hanger. The board then went into closed session.

In Crawford County on Tuesday in front of Judge Michael Randazzo, Dent County Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Curley reports that Johnnie Barton of Salem pled guilty to his 4th DWI conviction. Prosecutor Curley sought seven years under Section 559.115 while the defendant sought probation with 60 days in jail which is the minimum required under the statute. Barton was given a suspended sentence with 60 days in jail over the objection of the state. Also Tuesday, Bobbie Laramie of Salem previously pled guilty to the distribution of meth. After the sentencing hearing was held, Curley sought ten years in the Department of Corrections under Section 559.115 while Laramie sought probation. The judge sentenced Laramie to the ten years under Section 559.115 as requested by the state.

The University of Missouri Extension will be offering a Food Preservation Workshop on Pressure Canning on April 30th at the Salem Community Center @the Armory located at 1200 West Rolla Road from 10:00 till noon. Pre-registration is required and there are only 8 spots. For the April class you must register by April 25th. There is a $25 cost per class. To register call 573-729-3196.