Archive for 2023

The Dent County Commission met Monday morning at the courthouse for their regular meeting. In attendance was Deloris Gray Wood who was honored Thursday night at the MRPC Annual Dinner with a community volunteer award as well as the Eugene E. Northern Award which is the highest award for volunteerism presented by the MRPC. She brought in her plaque to show the commissioners and Presiding Commissioner Gary Larson thanked her again for her tireless efforts to make Dent County a better place. He also wanted to salute Easton May on receiving the Dent County Youth Award for volunteerism at the banquet. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray said materials would be added and grading done on Dent County Road 6540 while only grading would be done on county road 4160. He said rock is still being hauled to county road 5600 for the Title II project and crews were removing a tree down on county road 6500. Mobray said repairs were being made to county truck #125 as the heater was not working. District 2 Commissioner Gary Polk said materials were being added and grading done on Dent County Roads 2320, 2330, 4340 and 4370, while grading only would be done on county road 2340. Polk reported brush would be cut on county roads 2315 and 3210. Commissioner Larson reported an MRPC truck collected eight tons of illegaly disposed of tires picked up by county workers from the county maintenance lot which means $1,800 in recycling fees were not collected to properly dispose of the tires. At the last meeting, Frand Aquino with Gallagher Benefit Services handling the MAGIC Health Consortium, reported the county should expect a 7.5% increase for the cost of health insurance in 2024. Open enrollment will begin this November. The next meeting of the commission will be Thursday at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

The Salem Police Department, Dent County Sheriff’s Department and the highway patrol encourages everyone to have a safe Halloween. It’s that time of year when young ghosts, vampires, superheroes, and cartoon characters are planning their night of trick-or-treating. While some local events take place in large parking lots the weekend prior, many trick-or-treaters will be out on Halloween night. It’s imperative that drivers and pedestrians stay alert. Young children excited by Halloween could dart in front of a vehicle. Slow down and drive with extra caution. Expect an increase in the number of slow-moving vehicles in neighborhoods as motorists pick up and drop off trick-or-treaters. Please be courteous and stay alert for trick-or-treaters of all ages. Distracted drivers are dangerous drivers─when you’re driving, keep your eyes on the road, not on your phone! Parents are asked to remind children to approach only familiar houses that are well-lit. Remind them they should never enter a stranger’s house or vehicle. Consider trick-or-treating with your children for their safety and because it’s a fun way to spend an evening. Give some thought to safety when choosing a costume. Consider using make-up rather than wearing a mask, which can obstruct a child’s vision making it difficult to see an oncoming car. A light-colored costume is easier for drivers to see at night and adding reflective tape to dark costumes makes them visible. Flame resistant costumes are encouraged. All trick-or-treaters are reminded to watch for traffic while they are out and about this Halloween. Remember to look both ways when crossing the street. Use sidewalks wherever possible and trick-or-treat while it is light outside. If you do go out after dark, increase your visibility by using a flashlight and wearing a light-colored costume. An adult should always accompany small children, and older children should stay in groups. Halloween isn’t just for children. Many adults enjoy dressing up and visiting haunted houses or attending gatherings of friends. If you are driving to a costume party, make sure your costume doesn’t hamper your vision. If you attend a Halloween party that includes alcohol, designate a sober driver for the trip home. Alcohol, even in small amounts, slows reaction time and dulls the senses. Driving after you’ve had alcohol could have a sad and possibly deadly result.

To reflect estimated changes in the wholesale cost of natural gas as well as a change in the company’s Actual Cost Adjustment (ACA) factor, natural gas customers of Ameren Missouri will see natural gas rates change under a filing that takes effect this Wednesday. The ACA factor is a mechanism which tracks any over-collection or under-collection of actual natural gas costs over a 12 month period. The net over- or under-collected balances are subsequently either refunded or collected the next year. Residential customers currently pay approximately $0.63 per Ccf (per hundred cubic feet) of natural gas. Under Ameren Missouri’s filing, the rate will drop to approximately $0.60 per Ccf. About 50% to 55% of a customer’s current natural gas bill reflects the cost of natural gas from wholesale suppliers. The wholesale cost of natural gas is not regulated by the Missouri Public Service Commission. The wellhead cost of natural gas is unregulated and is mostly driven by supply, demand and the weather. Ameren Missouri serves natural gas customers in Dent, Phelps and Gasconade counties in this area.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reports that Missouri hunters harvested 12 black bears during the state’s third bear-hunting season, October 16th through the 25th. More than 5,370 hunters applied during May for 400 permits for the season with the maximum total harvest being 40 bears. Of the 400 hunters selected through a random drawing of all applicants, 342 hunters purchased permits for the season. Bear hunting in Missouri is limited to Missouri residents and restricted to three designated areas of southern Missouri called Bear Management Zones (BMZ). Each permit issued is for a specific BMZ and hunting is limited to public or private property within the BMZ. Nine bears were harvested in BMZ 1 out of a maximum of 20 with 173 hunters purchasing permits to hunt the zone. Three bears were harvested in BMZ 2 out of a maximum of 15 with 125 hunters purchasing permits to hunt the zone. No bears were harvested in BMZ 3 out of a maximum of 5 with 44 hunters purchasing permits to hunt the zone. All bears were harvested using firearms methods. Of the 12 bears harvested, three were boars (males) and nine were sows (female). MDC Bear Biologist Nate Bowersock said that MDC had another successful black bear hunting season this year and saw bears harvested in four new counties where bears had not been previously harvested. He went on to say that conditions this season couldn’t have been much better for hunters, and we look forward to hearing from hunters about their experiences through our annual post-season survey. Learn more about Missouri black bears and bear hunting in Missouri at mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/bear.

A fatality accident occurred in Phelps County at 9:15 Friday morning on Highway 68 about a quarter of a mile west of Highway 8. According to the highway patrol report, a westbound 1999 Dodge Ram 1500, driven by 17-year-old Ethan Parrott of St. James, was negotiating a curve when the Dodge began to skid. Parrott overcorrected causing the vehicle to travel off the left side of the roadway and overturn. The juvenile was partially ejected and the vehicle came to rest off the roadway. Parrott was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:24 by St. James Ambulance personnel. The body was released to the Phelps County Coroner and taken to the Jones Funeral Home in St. James. Parrott was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident. The Dodge was totaled and removed from the scene by Spurgeon’s Towing.

Congratulations to Deloris Gray Wood who Thursday night was recognized for her volunteer efforts in the county, and was then presented the Eugene E. Northern Award which is the Meramec Regional Planning Commission’s highest honor for volunteerism at the annual awards banquet in Hermann. Nominated by Presiding Commissioner Gay Larson, Wood is the President of the Dent County Historical Society and has worked on a number of projects including the microfilming of old courthouse records, the designation of the “Trail of Tears” in Dent County and a new project of telling the “History of the Current River from the Road” to name a few. Wood has graciously dedicated her time to making Dent County a better place through its colorful history and her receiving the Eugene E. Northern Award was well deserved. Also honored at the banquet was Easton May who received the Dent County 2023 Outstanding Youth Volunteer Award, as he was also nominated by Commissioner Larson.

In the Salem R-80 Board of Education closed sessions from October 12th and the 19th, the board approved employing Krystie Smith as the Middle School Volleyball Coach and approved employing Dan Copeland as the new Assistant Superintendent beginning July 1, 2024. Also during the closed sessions, the board sent a real estate contract to Southwest Baptist University on October 12th, then approved the purchase of the SBU Building at the October 19th meeting.

In honor of Mine Rescue Day, October 30th, the Doe Run Company recognizes the dedication of its skilled mine rescue teams and celebrates their recent accomplishments at the 41st Annual Missouri Mine Rescue Competition. Doe Run’s Maroon team won first place in the mine rescue field competition and second place in the first aid competition. Doe Run’s Grey team was also successful, earning the top spot in the first aid competition and third place in the mine rescue field competition. In addition to the group wins, Grey team members Mark Barton and Sara Laskowsky placed second in the team technician competition and Gary Moore placed second in the bench technician competition. Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla hosted the annual contest with the Missouri Mine Rescue Association. The competition is the only one of its kind held underground in the United States and was attended by nine teams from six states. As part of the company’s underground safety program, mine rescue teams complete eight hours of training monthly. They do so on a voluntary basis. The teams compete in mine rescue competitions annually to keep their skills sharp and prepare them to help fellow miners in real-life situations. Company wide, Doe Run employees went through more than 37,000 hours of training in 2022, including extensive health and safety training. Several sites have gone years without a lost-time accident: Sweetwater Mill has reached 26 consecutive years with no lost time, Brushy Creek Mill has reached 17 years, and Buick Mill at 12 years. In addition, the Sweetwater Mine surface team has reached 19 years with no lost time.

In response to lead being found in water samples taken in the schools of the Salem R-80 district, Dent County Health Center Administrator Zach Moser released the reports of the lab results of water tested for lead in the City of Salem’s water system generated by the Missouri State Public Health Laboratory taken at three different locations. The water tested was taken directly from the city’s fire hydrants as the health department wanted to pull water directly off of the water main. The locations the water was tested were at 1300 West 3rd Street, 700 East Franklin and at West 1st Street at North Washington Street at the William Lynch Elementary School. The test for metal in the water was done using an ICP Mass Spectrometer and the results for each test showed less than 0.005 milligrams of lead per liter of water showing no lead contamination. These tests would show evidence that suggests the contamination at the schools is most likely coming from internal plumbing at the schools and not from the city’s water system.