Archive for 2023

Salem resident and Congressman Jason Smith of the 8th District in Missouri has been selected to serve as the Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means for the 118th Congress. Congressman Smith says the Ways and Means Committee under his guidance will champion an agenda that works for working families by focusing on delivering more jobs, higher wages, and greater investment in America. A link to his statement on being chairman is on the KSMO Facebook page.

Dent County Assessor Jamie Homeyer wanted the public to be aware that if you are 100% disabled or are 65-years of age or older, based on your total household income you could be eligible for a Missouri Property Tax Credit of up to $1,100 for real estate taxes paid. To determine if you are eligible, visit with your tax professional or visit the Missouri Department of Revenue website and click on the tab called “taxation” and go to individual taxes. You will be given options to the right and find the “property tax credit” button and clock on it to get all the details. If you owned and occupied your home for the entire year and have over five acres of property, you will need to bring your paid real estate tax receipt to your county assessor’s office, and they will fill out the required form for you to determine your credit. If you live in Dent County, stop by the Dent County Courthouse at the Dent County Assessor’s Office and speak with Jamie Homeyer. Her office hours are 8:00 in the morning to 4:30 in the afternoon, Monday through Friday. You can also call her if you have questions at 729-6010. If you live in a different county, contact your county assessor for help or any questions you may have.

The Dent County Commission met Monday morning at the courthouse for their regular meeting. District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray was not in attendance due to a previous commitment and Road Supervisor Jason Akins gave his report. He said grading was going to be done on Dent County Roads 4160, 5600 and 6490 while brush was going to be cut on county roads 5610 and 5620, and rock was going to be added to county road 5510. Akins also said work had started Monday morning on the Cooley Bridge FLAP Project near Bunker. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson indicated materials would be added and grading done on Dent County Roads 3110 and 4380 while only grading was going to be done on county roads 3253, 3255, 3295 and 3305. Larson said brush would be cut on county roads 2160, 2165 and 2170. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles said he attended a SACBA meeting Monday evening and would be attending a CCAM Board Meeting this afternoon via Zoom. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley wanted to let the public know that a public hearing on the Dent County 2023 budget will be held on Monday, January 30th at 10:00 at the County Commission office in the Dent County Courthouse. She said a tentative budget will be available after 10:00 on Thursday, January 19th at the Dent County Clerk’s Office and they are free to the public. The next meeting of the Dent County Commission will be Thursday morning at the Dent County Courthouse starting at 9:00 and the meeting is open to the public.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is developing an updated drought mitigation and response plan that will help guide future statewide, multi-entity drought response efforts. The plan is designed to aid government officials, water users and water suppliers in planning and responding to droughts in Missouri. The current plan has been in use since 2002. Because public input is a department priority, drought response partners, stakeholders and the public are invited to review the draft plan and provide comments before it is finalized. The public comment period opens Monday, January 9th, and closes Tuesday, February 7th. An executive summary, which provides an in-depth but less technical overview of the plan, is available for review online at dnr.mo.gov. Use the search feature to find the draft of Missouri’s drought mitigation response plan 2022 executive summary. The full drought mitigation and response plan, which includes much more scientific and technical information, can also be accessed at dnr.mo.gov. Dru Buntin, director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources said that drought can have devastating impacts to Missouri’s environment and economy, affecting everything from agriculture to drinking water supplies. The 2022 Missouri Drought Mitigation and Response Plan is a comprehensive update to the 2002 Missouri Drought Plan. A key component of the updated plan is an assessment of Missouri’s drought history and impacts in an effort to estimate potential future impacts. The revised plan is intended to build on lessons learned from past droughts and to establish a framework for better preparation, mitigation and response to future droughts. After reviewing the draft 2022 Missouri Drought Mitigation and Response Plan, comments may be submitted to mowaters@dnr.mo.gov.

The Salem Police Department reports that during the week of December 24th to December 30th, there was a total of 110 calls for service. Officers with the Salem Police Department conducted 10 traffic stops for various traffic violations with 5 resulting in a summons or arrest. Officers conducted 6 traffic accident investigations along with 3 informational reports. A couple of calls officers responded to include a call on December 29th around 11:00 in the morning when an officer was dispatched to a storage unit on Craig Industrial Drive for the report of a stolen 4-wheeler. It was reported that an ATV was stolen within the prior nights. The 4-wheeler stolen is described as a Kawasaki Bayou. Other items were also taken from the storage unit such as tools and sporting goods. This incident is still under investigation. On Friday, December 30th at around 9:00 in the evening, an officer conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle for speeding. The vehicle was seen traveling at a high rate of speed. When the officer attempted to stop the vehicle, a short pursuit took place. Once stopped the officer noticed the driver was visually impaired. After a short investigation, a 28-year-old Salem man was arrested for a DWI and was later released on summons. Please contact the Salem Police Department at (573) 729-4242 if you have any information regarding an ongoing investigation.

The Salem Memorial Hospital Board of Directors has called a special meeting for Tuesday at 5:00 at the hospital library. After the roll call, the board will go into closed session to discuss confidential or privileged information with their auditor, before the meeting is opened back up to the public to review the financial report for the month of November and then reading of the amended governing board bylaws. As indicated, the meeting is open to the public except for the closed session with the auditor.

The Dent County Fire Protection Fire District Board of Directors will be meeting Tuesday evening at 6:00 at the fire station located at #2 South Main Street. After the roll call an approval of the consent agenda, the board is expected to review the minutes from the December meeting before hearing of the financial report and then approve the bills. The calendar review with be followed by the monthly reimbursement report and the hearing of any old or new business. Chief Brad Nash will then make his report followed by the setting of the date for the February meeting before adjournment. The meeting tomorrow evening is open to the public.

There will be a Watercolor Workshop with Lee Copen at the Creative Arts Center on Saturday from 12:00 to 4:00. The cost of the program is $45. The Creative Arts Center makes it easy ways to sign up for events! Call or text 573-247-0651, or go online at salemcommunitybetterment.com and look under programs for the Salem Creative Arts Center.

The Dent County Commissioners met for their first meeting of the new year Thursday morning at the Dent County Courthouse. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray stated materials would be added and grading done on Dent County Road 4245 while only grading was going to take place on county roads 5600 and 6670. Mobray said brush would be cut on county road 5610 and the Cooley Bridge Project on Dent County Road 5610 will begin on January 9th. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson said materials would be added and grading done on Dent County Roads 5240 and 5250 while only grading was going to be done on county roads 3040, 3050, 3060, 3070 and 5245. Larson said brush would be cut on county roads 2580, 2590 and 2593. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles wanted to remind vendors that the county is now working on the 2023-year budget and no bills will be paid until the budget is approved late in the month. Skiles said the county will need to seek bids for a financial audit and they will be due by 11:00 in the morning on Monday, January 30th at the county clerk’s office. Skiles also presented Dent County Resolution #1-5-23-1 to adopt the Dent County Multijurisdictional Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan to the commissioners for their review. The commissioners adopted the measure unanimously. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said the final certification from all entities is due in her office by January 24th for the April 4th Municipal Election. Representatives from McCoy Equipment in Cuba came in to discuss a disputed lease agreement on two graders needed by the county when John Deere did not deliver the new graders on time as promised. The county was turning in two Caterpillar graders in August when they purchased the two new John Deere graders. McCoy charged the county a leasing fee of 40% off their book rate and it came to around $31,000 for the leased graders that the commission was less than happy with due to repair problems. The new graders did not arrive until late November and the county would like the bill to cut at least in half as they will be having to purchase two additional graders this year. The offer from McCoy was to reduce the bill to $25,000. The commissioners requested that McCoy reduce that bill to around $15,000 and that offer will be presented to upper management. An updated statement will be expected later this month, but it is unknow what the amount will be. The commission also talked with the representatives about backhoes and the possible price increase on the new graders and when that would take effect. Kirk Faigle from the 100-Acre Wood Rally was in for a preliminary talk with commission about this year’s rally in March. The next meeting of the commissioners will be Monday morning at 9:00 and the meeting is open to the public.

The Dent County Historical Society will be hosting their second “Telling the Story of the Current River from Road” at the James and Gahr Fellowship Saturday morning at 10:00 with the lead topic, “It’s all about the Maps.” Dent County Historical Society President Deloris Gray Wood will share large USGS and Dent County Maps of the area. Some special guests will include Judy Stewart who will be sharing how her husband, John Stewart, took David Lewis all along the Current River for him to map the Current River that Lewis shared in his publications on sale now at the Shannon County Museum in Eminence; and Don Love who will share postal maps that relate to the Old West Plains Road from Salem headed southwest and crossing the Current River at Cedar Grove. The goal of gathering this information is to create road waysides with a main story available for that particular wayside, and also to build a website that connects when a smartphone scans a QR code where there will be more information about that site or the site area on the website. The gathering is open to everyone, and it is a time to share each other’s stories and give people a chance to look at the maps to learn where historic spots were located along the Current River, like Baptist Camp or Duckworth Place, or where your ancestors may have lived on or near the Current River. For more information, call Deloris Gray Wood at 573 729-2545.

Filings for those people interested in running for school boards ended December 27th and here is a list of those running on April 4th in the Municipal Election. All terms will be for three years for each of the school districts. Seven people signed up for the Salem R-80 School Board with only one incumbent running: Andrew Wynn. Others running for that board include Calvin Malone, Bret Bailey, Gregory Moravec. Marjorie Pyatt, Drusilla Howard and Brian Mink. For the Oak Hill R-1 School District Board, running is incumbent Sarah Huffman as well as Rhonda Wolfe-Hutsell, John Hoodenpyle, Jerry Norris, Daniel England and April Greener. For the Green Forest R-2 School District Board, all three positions will be filled by incumbents as Amber Toman, Jason Jones and Kyle Case all filed. For the Dent-Phelps R-3 School District Board, all three positions will be filled by incumbents as Nick Gover, Caleb Gidcumb and Bill Manthey have all filed. For the Northwood R-4 School District, two of the three positions will be filled by incumbents: David Massengale and Aaron Brooks, while Jenna Dunn was the only other person to file for the last remaining opening. The Bunker R-3 School District Board has two incumbents running: Allen Ritter and Jason David, as well as Mark Brickey and C.J. Wisdom for the three positions available. For those school districts who have only three candidates running, no election will have to be held for those school boards in April.