Archive for 2023

The Dent County Commission met Monday morning for their regular meeting at the Dent County Courthouse. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray indicated grading was going to be done on Dent County Roads 6430 and 6435, and rock will be added if needed. He said brush would be cut on county road 6370 and a crew will be out trimming trees on Dent County Roads 5140 and 4160. Mobray said a man went to Springfield to get oil for chip and seal repair. District 2 Commissioner Gary Polk reported that his crew would be installing six 40-foot, 42-inch culverts on Dent County Road 3220, also known as the Golf Course Road. Once installed the culverts will be concreted in. Presiding Commissioner Gary Larson said the Missouri Department of Natural Resources is now accepting applications for the Land and Water Conservation Fund recreational grants for any political subdivision including local governments, cities, counties and public schools. Matching funds are required for one-half the amount of the project. Matching funds can be in the form of cash, donations or in-kind assistance. The maximum amount for any application will be $500,000 with the minimum amount of $25,000. The deadline to submit an application is November 15th. If any entity has the application in before October 11th, a courtesy review of their application will be offered. For more information, please contact the Meramec Regional Planning Commission at 573-265-2993. Larson also said the road to The Commons would be trimmed up before the weekend in preparation of the Labor Day Weekend Rodeo. Madison Baker from Jason Smith’s office was in and said Congressman Smith would doing his farm tour again this year by visiting 15 counties in three days. 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.

An accident happened Sunday afternoon at 5:00 in Texas County on Strawberry Road about six miles north of Houston. According to the highway patrol report, a 2003 Honda Rancher being operated by 25-year-old Braxton Haaland of Licking and heading eastbound, crossed the center line of the roadway and struck a 2003 Ford Expedition being driven westbound by 27- year-old Heather Dinwiddie of Plato. Haaland suffered minor injuries and was transported by a private vehicle to the Texas County Memorial Hospital. Both vehicles sustained minor damage and were both able to be driven from the scene. The report went on to state that Haaland was not wearing safety equipment at the time of the accident.

The Missouri Department of Conservation reminds deer hunters of regulation changes for the upcoming 2023-2024 deer-hunting season. The changes include a new firearms early antlerless portion, a new firearms CWD portion, changes to firearms antlerless permit numbers, and the addition of 14 new counties to the MDC CWD Management Zone. The changes to deer hunting regulations for the 2023-2024 deer season were motivated by increasing deer numbers throughout much of Missouri and in response to changes in the distribution of chronic wasting disease in the state. Because higher deer densities can increase the rate of CWD spread, additional deer harvest in the CWD Management Zone is needed to prevent further increases in deer numbers and help minimize the spread of the disease. Archery Deer and Turkey Hunting will run September 15th through November 10th and resume November 22ndthrough January 15th, 2024. Firearms Deer Hunting will feature a new Firearms Early Antlerless Portion that will run October 6th through the 8th in open counties. The Firearms Early Youth Portion is October 28th through the 29th. November firearms Portion November 11th through the 21st. New this year will be a Firearms CWD Portion November 22nd through the 26th in open counties. The Firearms Late Youth Portion November 24th through the November 26th. Firearms Late Antlerless Portion will be December 2nd through December 10th in open counties and the Firearms Alternative Methods Portion December 23rd 2023 through January 2nd, 2024. Get more information on regulation changes and other details for deer hunting from MDC’s 2023 Fall Deer & Turkey Regulations and Information booklet, available where permits are sold and online at mdc.mo.gov.

An accident happened Monday morning just after 6:00 in Phelps County at 20279 Highway 8. According to the highway patrol report, a 2012 Honda CRV being driven eastbound by 61-year-old Cynthia Brady of Jefferson City, traveled off the right side of the roadway and struck a fence. Brady, who was wearing a seat restraint, suffered moderate injuries and was taken by the St. James Ambulance to Phelps Health hospital for treatment. The Honda was totaled and removed from the scene by Spurgeons Towing.

An accident happened in Texas County Sunday morning at 11:53 on Highway 137 about one mile south of Licking. According to the highway patrol report, a 2017 Chevrolet Trax driven northbound by 58-year-old Deborah Booker of Bucyrus, began to skid and the Trax went off the left side of the roadway, impacted a culvert and then a tree. Booker suffered minor injuries in the accident and sought her own treatment. A passenger in the Trax, 39-year-old Michael Clouse of Licking, suffered serious injuries and was flown by Air Evac to Mercy Hospital in Springfield. Neither Clouse or Booker were wearing seat restraints at the time of the accident. The Trax was totaled and was removed from the scene by Jay’s Automotive.

The Dent County Health Center (DCHC) Board of Trustees held their regular meeting Thursday, August 24th. The full board was present as were Administrator Zach Moser and Assistant Administrator Roma Jones. After approval of the minutes of the July 17th regular meeting of the Board the Tax Rate Hearing was conducted. The floor was opened for public comment. The 2022 rate was .0959 per $100 assessed valuation and the proposed rate for 2023 was .0959 per $100 assessed valuation, the maximum allowed by statute. The motion was made, seconded and carried to set the 2023 tax rate at .0959 per $100 assessed valuation. The proposed amount is expected to generate estimated revenue of $188,207. Administrator Moser presented the communicable disease report which included 7 reported cases of COVID-19 for July. He said there were 34 active lead cases in July and that 11 sexually transmitted infection screenings were conducted during the month. Moser noted that there were no influenza cases reported in July. Moser also reported that there were 6 animal bites reported last month. In the diagnostics report, Moser said 184 blood draw appointments were completed in July, plus 9 COVID tests and 6 lead tests. There were 7 vaccines for COVID-19 and 136 other vaccinations administered. A total of 378 appointments were held during July, plus WIC appointments that totaled 320. Moser noted that in July there were 95 urine drug screenings conducted on behalf of the Dent County Treatment Court. Assistant Administrator Jones gave the environmental report where she conducted 2 total inspections, addressed one recall, and fielded 5 environmental questions. In the Administrator’s report, Moser noted that Board members had requested bios and descriptions of the jobs each employee does. He said that this information is now available on the at dentcountyhealthcenter.org/about-us. Moser discussed the Patient Satisfaction Survey with the recommended changes to the survey process which were implemented this month. The Board was reminded of upcoming events that the Health Center will be participating in including; Girls Night Out September 14th, the Drive Through Flu/COVID Clinic October 12th and the Fall Health Fair October 26th. The Health Center financial reports for July, including the review from H & R Block, were reviewed. Discussion was held on the balance sheet, income statement, and budget statements. After these questions were answered the financial reports and the report from H & R Block were approved. The Certificate of Deposit Resolution, which was tabled at the July meeting, was left on the table and Moser was instructed by the Board to put the CD’s out for bid. A Conflict of Interest Resolution (2023-R004) was presented, discussed and adopted by the Board. Matt Griswold with People Centric Consulting Group presented their philosophy of strategic planning and its importance. The Board took no action during open session. At 6:29 the Board went in to closed session for the purpose of discussing personnel and bids/contracts. At 7:27 the Board excited closed session having approved a bid from Victor Heating and Cooling for a mini-split and a HEPA-filtration system for the DCHC facility and a contract with People Centric for consulting services including their Pathfinder Assessment Program and their 1 day strategic planning meeting. The Board also modified the baseline pay rates for registered nurses and adjusted the health insurance policy. The next regular meeting of the Board was set for Thursday, September 21st at 5:00.

The Missouri Public Service Commission, the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA) and the telecommunications industry remind customers to continue preparing for a new area code (235) in the current 573 area code in Missouri. As part of that process, customers should prepare for 10-digit local dialing. The 235 area code will be added as an overlay to the 573 region. An overlay is the addition of another area code (235) to the same geographic region served by an existing area code (573). An overlay does not require customers to change their existing area code, but does require customers to dial the area code to complete local calls. A six-month permissive dialing period began Saturday to give consumers adequate time to adjust to the dialing changes. During this period, local calls can be made with either 7 or 10 digits, and all calls that are local will continue to be local even though you dial 10 digits. Beginning February 24, 2024, all local calls made within the 573 area code must be placed using 10 digits (area code + the 7-digit telephone number). On and after that date, calls placed using just 7 digits will not be completed. Starting on March 24, 2024, new telephone lines or services may be assigned numbers using the new 235 area code.

The Dent County Commissioners met for their regular meeting Thursday morning in the Courthouse. Forest Ranger Chris Olds was in to discuss the RAC Title II Grant agreement and other services the US Forest Service offers. Presiding Commissioner Gary Larson signed the agreement. Jason Sivilas with Great Rivers Engineering came in to discuss the TAP Grant for the sidewalks around the courthouse. He said it’s an 80/20 MoDOT Grant and would bring the sidewalks up to ADA compliance, plus fix the odd curb drop offs. Sivilas said the letters of support have been received, plus the total cost of the project is $491,603.75 and the cost to the county would be $98,320. This is federal funding and the county will still need to see if they will be approved after submitting the application for funding. The Commissioners agreed 3-0 to proceed with applying to see if they can get approved for funding. Project cost would not begin until 2024-2025. In the road report, District One Commissioner Wes Mobray said rock would be added and grading would be done to Dent County Road 5080, brush would be cut on county road 6370, and his crew was picking up tires around the county. District Two Commissioner Gary Polk reported that his crew was grading Dent County Roads 4010 and 4020, plus rock was being hauled to county roads 3040 and 4020. He went on to add that his men would be repairing tires on a truck. Presding Commissioner Larson reported that he attended the Tourism Committee meeting Monday where three funding applications were submitted and one was tabled due to a lack of information. He went on to report the commission approved to fund two applications with some reductions in their request. He did say five reimbursements were approved. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley reported that bills were being approved for payment. In other business the Commission signed Resolution 8/21/23 between Dent County and Great Rivers Engineering regarding the TAP Grant $1,000 payment to prepare the application. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams reported on the CART funds received in August in the amount of $79,105.55, which is up 2.33% year-to-date from last year. Williams also reported that since The Bank of Salem got the bid to serve as the county depository, she was destroying left over Progressive Ozark Bank checks starting with number 80304 and ending with number 82000. Kristin Sullins and Tony Floyd from Intercounty were in to visit with the Commissioners and they encouraged the Commission to let them know if the county needs any help or has any issues. Corky Stack with AEA Engineering came to talk about change order #2 for the Christmas Lights and Lighting System for a total of $52,600.00. The Commission signed the contract. The next meeting of the Commission will be Monday morning at 9:00 in the Dent County Courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

The Dent County Sheriff’s Office has released some reports. On Saturday, August 12th, deputies responded to the 1900 block of Route HH for a missing juvenile call. During the course of the investigation, the juvenile was located. The father of the juvenile, a 53-year-old Salem man, was arrested on multiple charges related to assault, resisting arrest and endangering the welfare of a child. The man was transported to the Dent County Jail where he was placed on a 24-hour hold pending the issuance of formal charges. That same day deputies and other law enforcement agencies served a search warrant in the 100 block of East Third Street. During investigation, a 36-year-old Salem woman was arrested and charged with narcotics related offenses. She was transported to the Dent County Jail where she was placed on a 24-hour hold pending the issuance of formal charges. On Tuesday, August 15th, deputies responded to the 100 block of Whilhite Road for a reported theft of an ATV and some other items. The victim, an 84-year-old Davisville woman, stated that the items were stolen from her property while she was out of town. Suspect information was developed and this investigation remains open. That same day, a 24-year-old Salem woman turned herself into deputies on an outstanding arrest warrant. She was arrested and transported to the Dent County jail where she bonded out on her warrant. The case was then closed. If you have any information regarding an ongoing investigation, contact the Dent County Sheriff’s Office at 729-3241.