Archive for 2022

The Dent County Commissioners met Monday morning at the courthouse for their regular meeting. Grant Wilson from the Congressman Jason Smith’s Rolla office was in attendance. He told the commission Smith voted “No” on the Consolidation Appropriations Act, better known as H.R. 2471, that came in at 1.5 trillion dollars. Smith voted against the bill because nothing in it would benefit the people of the 8th District. He also wanted to let the commission know that Smith will not run for the Senate and stay in the House where he is on the Ways and Means Committee. Dent County Collector Shannon VanKirk presented the commission with the Collector’s Annual Settlement form for her year which runs from March 1st through February 28th. This report was for collections in 2021. In the report, collections came in at $8,799,537.38 with an additional $679,848.52 in delinquent payments and another $41,802.34 in abatements. Major distributions noted on the report were $5,722,025.54 to schools, $721,645.21 to the county for General Revenue and Road and Bridge, and $443,987.66 for the hospital. She said there was an increase in collections from 2020 of $392,148.37. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray stated materials would be added and grading done on Dent County 5650 while only grading would be done on county road 6500. Mobray said brush would be cut on Dent County Road 2440. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson indicated materials would be added and grading done on Dent County Roads 2590, 2610, 3120, 3180 and 5240 while only grading would be done on county roads 3190, 4370 and 5280. Larson also said it was time to put out bids for grader blades and the commission agreed to accept bids until 10:00 on March 28th. Bids will be opened after that time in the regular meeting. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles said he attended the TAC meeting last Thursday and reported the district engineer said they are scoping the Route TT area in Sligo for a new bridge over Crooked Creek. At the MRPC meeting, the group met with federal and state legislators or their representatives. He said on Friday all the commissioners attended the South Central Missouri County Commissioners Association in Houston, Missouri; and also attended the FFA Labor and Pie Auction Friday night. Skiles said he will be meeting with Attorney Travis Elliott either Wednesday or Thursday along with Department of Revenue representatives to work on a solution to the sales tax debacle by the state. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said absentee voting continues in her office at the courthouse for the April 5th Municipal Election. She said the state auditors will arrive this week to start their performance audit which is due every four years. The next meeting of the commission will be Thursday morning at 9:00 and the meeting is open to the public

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced Wednesday that Rodney G. Durbin, who owned and operated “Honey Do’s Handy Service,” from Belle, Missouri, has been charged with consumer fraud and, on account of those charges, has been arrested. Durbin faces nine counts in Maries County for defrauding consumers and financially exploiting elderly Missourians. The charges allege Durbin falsely promised consumers that he would provide construction and moving services in exchange for upfront payments. However, once paid, Durbin only performed a minimal amount of work before abandoning the projects and refusing to issue refunds. On three occasions, the victims of this fraud were elderly. The prosecution of Durbin is being jointly conducted by the Missouri Attorney General and the Maries County Prosecuting Attorney Richard Skouby. Missourians who believe they may have been scammed by a contractor should file a complaint with the Missouri Attorney General’s Office by calling the Consumer Protection hotline at 800-392-8222 or online at ago.mo.gov.

An accident occurred Sunday evening around 10:30 in Maries County on Highway 68 about five miles west of St. James. According to the highway patrol report, a 2006 Chrysler Seabring driven by 62-year-old Kenneth Allen of Rolla, was travelling westbound and travelled off the right side of the roadway and struck a ditch. Allen suffered minor injuries and was transported by St. James Ambulance to Phelps Health. He was not wearing a safety restraint at the time of the accident. The Chrysler sustained extensive damage and was removed from the scene by Spurgeon’s Towing.

The Healthy Dent County Fitness Center will be offering Two-Step dance classes every Tuesday evening at 6:30 in March at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory. The Two-Step Dance will be taught tonight & March 22nd with a combination Two-Step and Swing dance night to be held March 29th. The instructor will be Rosalie Wright and the cost is $10 per couple at the door. Call 739-1127 for more information.

Learn to weave scarves and sashes without a loom, as the American Indians who lived in this area did. Learn from instructor Susan Wilson who has over 30 years’ experience with finger weaving. The workshop will be tonight from 5:30 until 7:30. Enrollees will get a book and instructions on how to create a piece of their own design and will weave a bookmark in the class. All supplies will be provided and the fee for the class is $20. For more information or to register, call 247-0651 or 247-5306 or you can e-mail salemartscouncil@outlook.com.

A Salem woman was injured in an accident that happened on Tuesday evening, March 1st just after 7:30. According to report from the Salem Police Department a 2007 Ford Expedition being operated by Laura Benstine of Salem was stopped in traffic facing west on Rolla Road due to a transmission failure. Benstine exited the vehicle to speak with a Dent County deputy who was assisting on the scene. As the deputy was backing up to clear a space to provide for removal of the vehicle, Benstine got back in the vehicle and put the transmission in neutral then got back out of the vehicle. The Ford began to roll backward out of control, striking Benstine with the open front door knocking her to the roadway. The vehicle then began turning to the right sweeping over top of the driver pinning her underneath the Expedition. Deputies and several people standing near by were able to move the vehicle off the driver. Benstine was taken to the helipad at SMDH and was flown by Air Evac to Mercy St. Louis Hospital. Salem police were assisted on the scene by the Dent County Sheriff’s department and the Missouri State Highway patrol.

Salem High School Senior Justin Arthur from the Salem R-80 Construction Trades Program placed first in the district for the practical application of carpentry at the SkillsUSA competition hosted in Lebanon on Wednesday, March 2nd. Justin also scored third place for a written carpentry test. Justin is now eligible to participate in the state competition that will be held April 7th through the 9th at Missouri State Technical College in Linn. Depending on his placement there, he may be eligible for the national competition. Jason McCarter of Salem scored third in the skills portion and, if either first or second place winners cannot participate, he will be eligible to compete at state. The Salem R-80 Construction Trades Program is instructed by A.J. Tinker.

The Salem Police Department have released a report confirming the arrest of 57-year-old Timothy Bruce Dooley from Salem after a search warrant was served Sunday evening, March 6th, on his government subsidized apartment on 502 West Independence in Salem. He was charged with three felony counts of distribution of a controlled substance in a protected location and three misdemeanor counts of unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. His bond was set at $500,000. As a result of the search warrant, approximately 16 grams of methamphetamine, 104 heroin beans, 19 grams of loose heroin, 199 grams of marijuana along with numerous items of drug paraphernalia were seized. Cash was also found in the amount of about $14,000. Dooley was interviewed at the Salem Police Department and admitted to the distribution of heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana. After the interview was concluded, Dooley was taken to the Dent County Jail.

The Missouri Department of Conservation will begin allowing the expanded use of bicycles and electric bicycles on many department-area service roads and multi-use trails starting February 28th. Multi-use trails allow a variety of users, such as horseback riders, bicyclists, and hikers. Service roads are non-public roads on MDC areas used by staff to conduct resource management activities. Many service roads are currently used as walking paths by the public. MDC notes that conditions of service roads on department areas vary and are not maintained at the level of public-use trails and public roads. The regulation change will impact approximately 300 MDC areas and provide access to more than 1,500 additional miles of roads for cyclists. Approximately 30 of these areas will be closed to bicycle and electric bicycle use during all portions of the firearms deer hunting season and the spring turkey hunting seasons. Bicycle use on most of MDC’s approximately 1,100 conservation areas is still restricted to roads open to public-vehicle traffic and some multi-use trails because the areas do not have applicable service roads. Bicycles are not allowed on service roads on department lands associated with nature and education centers, fish hatcheries, staffed ranges, offices, designated natural areas where bicycle use could cause damage to sensitive habitats, and other conservation areas. Electric bicycles are defined by MDC as “any two-wheeled or three-wheeled device equipped with fully operable pedals, a saddle or seat for the rider, and an electric motor of not more than 750 watts. MDC adds that cyclists are expected to follow appropriate trail etiquette, including yielding to pedestrians and horseback riders, maintaining a safe speed, staying on designated trails or service roads, and avoiding damaging trails by not riding in wet conditions. Find MDC multi-use bicycle trails and allowed service roads online through the MDC webpage titled “Find Places to Go” at mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/places. Bike trails can be searched for by using the Advanced Search feature. Service roads can be identified by searching for a conservation area and then checking the online map for the area to see if service roads exist that allow bicycles.

The Dent County Commission met Thursday for their regular meeting at the courthouse. Treasurer Denita Williams presented the sales tax money received from the state this month. In the General Revenue and Law Enforcement Sales Tax Fund, the county received $85,670.18 in each fund and those funds are each up $206,381.63 for the first three months of 2022. The Road and Bridge Fund received $39,486.61 and year-to-date that fund is up $94,385.67; while each of the jail funds received $78,921.16 and have increased for the first quarter of 2022 $188,590.29. Last year, the county received no sales taxes in the month of March due to the error by the Missouri Department of Revenue. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray stated materials would be added and grading done on Dent County Road 6280 while only grading would be done on county roads 5220 and 5610. He also indicated brush would be cut on county roads 2430 and 2440. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson reported materials would be added and grading done on Dent County Roads 2150, 5240 and 5260; while only materials would be added to county road 2405 and 3165. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles said he attended the Ozark Rivers Solid Waste Management District Executive Board meeting Tuesday morning where they approved grant extensions and close outs. He said there would be a cleanup of an illegal dump site in the Mark Twain National Forest in Dent County. Skiles said the district would be installing hard to detect cameras throughout the forest to find those who are dumping illegally and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. Skiles also reported the City of Rolla is no longer offering curbside recycling collection. Rolla Recycling Manager Brady Wilson said citizens can still fill their recycling bins and bring them to Rolla Recycling to be emptied. The city said the costs were getting too high and there was a problem with getting enough help with the pickup. Skiles said he, the county treasurer and county clerk attended a Zoom meeting Wednesday to get an update on the distribution of the county ARPA funds. Skiles said the commissioners would be attending a South Central Missouri County Commission Association meeting in Houston today. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley reported absentee voting for the Municipal Election continues in her office, and the testing of the voting machines will be held on March 22nd at 9:00 in the morning. The next meeting of the commission will be Monday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

On March 1st a federal grand jury for the Eastern District of Missouri in Cape Girardeau returned an indictment against Marvin “Mark” Remster in connection with the arson of the Round Spring Visitor Contact Station in Ozark National Scenic Riverways last December. According to the four-count indictment, the 39-year-old Remster from Davisville, has been charged with the felony offenses of arson, burglary, theft of government property, and felon-in-possession of a firearm. The arson charge is punishable by imprisonment for up to twenty years. The investigation remains ongoing. These charges stemmed from a reported fire at the Round Spring Visitor Contact Station on the night of December 26th, 2021. The National Park Service law enforcement rangers responded to the scene and observed the building was engulfed in flames. Local firefighters from Timber and Eminence extinguished the blaze, but the building was a total loss. During fire suppression efforts it was determined that a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado pickup belonging to the Park Service had been stolen from the parking lot. Evidence at the scene indicated the fire was incendiary in nature and a joint criminal investigation was undertaken by NPS law enforcement rangers and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF). Charges set forth are just accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty. The loss of the Round Spring Visitor Contact Station and the stolen government vehicle are substantial losses, however what cannot be measured is the loss of park historical items associated with the structure. Planning is underway for both temporary and long-term replacements for the visitor contact station to minimize the impact of the crime on park visitors.

State Fire Marshal Tim Bean recommends Missourians use the return of daylight savings time this weekend to change the batteries as well as test smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. At 2:00 this Sunday morning, March 13th, clocks need to be moved forward one hour. Bean also urges families to practice their fire escape plans. Safety experts recommend families practice their home escape plans at least twice each year. The risk of dying in a fire is cut by one-half by having working smoke alarms in your home. About one-half of home fire deaths occur between 11:00 at night and 7:00 in the morning when most people are asleep. That’s why it’s important for all family members to be able to act react quickly and get out. Every family member, including children, should know two escape routes from every room in their residence. This should be shared with overnight guests, too. Bean also reminds Missourians that they should have carbon monoxide alarms for their homes. Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, tasteless, invisible gas that results from the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, which can be deadly if undetected. Bean recommends families check their smoke and carbon monoxide alarms monthly by pushing the test button; replace smoke alarms every 10 years because they lose their effectiveness over time; and installing additional smoke alarms if you don’t have a minimum of one alarm on every level of the home, inside and outside all bedrooms.