Archive for 2023

A one vehicle accident happened Thursday morning at 7:10 in Dent County on Route O about two miles west of Anutt. According to the highway patrol report, a 2005 GMC Sierra being driven west by 31-year-old Erann Hudson of Salem, traveled off the right side of the roadway in a curve coming to rest against a tree. Hudson suffered moderate injuries and was taken to the Salem Memorial Hospital by Salem EMS. The GMC sustained extensive damage and was removed from the scene by Whitaker’s Towing. Hudson was wearing a seat restraint at the time of the accident.

The Dent County Commissioners met Thursday morning with a full contingent of commissioners for the first time since February after Gary Polk was officially sworn in as the new 2nd District Commissioner Wednesday morning. He was to be sworn in Monday morning, but that was put off until Wednesday when the commission decided to close the courthouse that day. Craig Siers from Dent County Road 3230 was in to talk with the commission about the bad chip and seal work that was done on the road and the chips that have came loose from the chip and seal that are now in his yard making it difficult to mow. Commissioner Polk said he would check out the road next week with his road supervisor to see what can be done. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray stated that more gravel is being stockpiled at the county shed. He said materials were being added and grading done on Dent County Road 2400 while only grading was being done on county road 5440. He went on to report crews were working on a pickup at the shop to correct an electrical issue. Mobray indicated the county has delivered four loads of wood chips to “The Commons” show barn and stalls for the 4-H and FFA Livestock Auction that will be held next week. He also stated that all the chip and seal work by Blevins Asphalt is now finished. Mobray also reported that he negotiated a preliminary engineering fee with Great Rivers Engineering on their supplemental agreement for the FLAP 77 project which is the asphalting of Dent County Road 6670 from Tan Vat to Montauk. The FLAP 77 project is to be fully funded by the grant, but the county is responsible for the preliminary engineering cost of the project. Great Rivers requested $5,000 from the county which was to be paid in 2024 when the project is scheduled to be done. Mobray said he negotiated the price down to $2,438.57 and it will be budgeted in the 2024 county budget. New District 2 Commissioner Gary Polk said grading is going to be done on Dent County Roads 6130, 6140 and 6160 while grading is also scheduled to be done on county roads 3040 and 3160. Polk said those roads won’t be graded until it is determined if they need to have materials added before the grading is to occur. Polk also said a man would be stockpiling gravel at the county maintenance shed. Presiding Commissioner Gary Larson said the Independence Day Parade Tuesday was well attended and had quite a few entries including many new business entries. He wanted to thank the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce and City of Salem for all the work they did in putting on the parade. Dent County Collector Shannon VanKirk wanted to let the commission know the tourism tax dollars received for June totaled $9,037.47 which equates to near $450,000 in business with the local motels/hotels, campgrounds, vacation rentals as well as AirBnB’s. Corky Stack from Stack Design and Consulting Group was at the meeting to update the commission on work done on the courthouse. He also presented to them a payment voucher for the contractor. The next meeting of the Dent County Commission will be Monday at the courthouse and the meeting will be open to the public.

Though it’s been a drier start to summer than usual, seasonal growth along Missouri’s roadways still needs to be mowed. The Missouri Department of Transportation urges motorists to use caution when encountering tractor mowers near the shoulders of interstates and other busy roadways. Major and minor routes will be mowed at least three times through the end of October. MoDOT mows about 400,000 acres of grass each year, which is equivalent to 300,000 football fields. MoDOT crews use a protective “follow” truck to alert motorists they are approaching slow-moving mowers. Drivers are advised to use the following tips to safely pass mowers on rural two-lane roads. First, be alert for trucks and tractors with lights flashing and moving slowly at about 2 to 5 mph; second, slow down and focus on the road ahead of you which means put your cellphone down and avoid other distractions; third, be prepared to stop or drive very slowly behind a “follow” truck, especially approaching a hill or curve on a two-lane road; and fourth, obey the no-passing zone stripes, and only pass when you can see far enough past the “follow” truck to avoid meeting oncoming traffic. Between mowing cycles, you can report grass and weeds blocking visibility at intersections along state-maintained roads by calling MoDOT’s 24/7 Customer Service Center at 1-888-ASK-MODOT (275-6636) or by going to modot.org/report-road-concern.

Due to the Dent County Courthouse renovation, the construction crew has notified the Dent County Commission and all the office holders that the front doors to the courthouse (those on the west side facing Highway 19) will be closed through Friday, July 14th. If you plan on going to the courthouse to a commission meeting or to see the collector, county clerk, assessor or treasurer, please use the back entrance doors of the courthouse which are the east doors that face Iron Street.

The draft fiscal year 2024-2028 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) 30-day public review and comment period ends TODAY. Those projects in the STIP for Dent County include a scoping engineering project on Route TT for bridge improvements over Crooked Creek in the next two years, the bridge replacement on Highway 19 South over Gladden Creek at an expected cost of $1,827,000 in the 2024 fiscal year, pavement improvements to Route K from Highway 19 to Route KK as well as on Route J from Highway 72 to Highway 32-72 at a cost of $2,071,000 in fiscal year 2025, upgrades to pedestrian facilities on Highway 32 to comply with the ADA Transition Plan at a total cost of $1,991,000 that will begin in fiscal year 2025 with the engineering and right-of-way purchase followed by the construction beginning in fiscal year 2026; the bridge improvement on Route B over Dry Creek at a cost of $1,330,000 in the 2026 fiscal year, and the bridge improvement on Highway 19 over Spring Creek for $231,000 in fiscal year 2027. The STIP program is available on MoDOT’s website: www.modot.org. Those interested in offering comments can contact MoDOT by email to STIPcomments@modot.mo.gov or by calling customer service at 1-888-275-6636.

Governor Mike Parson appointed Lacey Brumley of Rolla to fill a vacancy on the Missouri Board of Occupational Therapy on Monday, July 3rd. Ms. Brumley currently serves as a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant at Centerwell Home Health in Rolla. She is a licensed Occupational Therapy Assistant and a member of the Missouri Occupational Therapy Association. Ms. Brumley holds an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Occupational Therapy from East Central College.

On-demand printing and laminating services that had been provided at the Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Missouri Geological Survey in Rolla came to an end this past Saturday, July 1st. There are still free copies of topographic and mineral maps that remain available for download for personal printing through the U.S. Geological Survey at usgs.gov. Interactive geologic maps, research tools and other resources from the Missouri Geological Survey are also available online at share.mo.gov/nr/mgs. Director of the Missouri Geological Survey Carey Bridges stated that customer traffic for their map printing services has declined steadily over the years with the information now available online. Bridges indicated the Ed Clark Museum of Missouri Geology in Rolla remains open to the public during regular business hours. Items such as the popular Missouri Rocks and Minerals Set as well as printed copies of the Geologic Map of Missouri, Mineral Resources and Industry Map of Missouri, and Geologic Wonders and Curiosities of Missouri will remain available for purchase for museum visitors. Founded in 1853, the Missouri Geological Survey’s mission is to collect and distribute information about Missouri’s water, mineral and energy resources. Its five technical programs include the Dam and Reservoir Safety, Geological Survey, Land Reclamation, Soil and Water Conservation and Water Resources Center.

The Community Blood Center of the Ozarks (CBCO), the sole supplier of blood, platelets, and plasma to patients at 44 area healthcare facilities, needs blood donors to help ensure a strong summer blood supply to help avoid typical summer blood shortages for local use. As a sweet, summer treat, successful donors will receive a FREE ICE CREAM voucher from Dairy Queen, Culver’s OR Hiland Dairy. In addition, donors will receive a limited edition “Chillin’ in the Ozarks” T-shirt, while supplies last. Community Blood Center of the Ozarks donors provide all the blood for patients at the Salem Memorial Hospital, as well as dozens of healthcare facilities across the Ozarks. The next CBCO Blood Drive will be held Tuesday from 1:00 to 6:00 PM at the First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall located at 201 N. MacArthur. To help avoid wait times, appointments are strongly encouraged. Donors can schedule an appointment at www.cbco.org/baseball or by calling 417-227-5006.

The City of Salem Board of Aldermen held a special meeting at the city hall council chambers Thursday afternoon to address a few special issues that needed to be approved before the new fiscal year for the city which began on Saturday, July 1st. At the meeting last Tuesday night, numerous bills were read for the first time including the bill to approve the new fiscal year budget, but two bills exclusively dealt with the electric utility. Bill #3541 requested changing the time frame used to determine an automatic rate increase or decrease for the electric rates to May of the current year through April of the next year so that the numbers could be, as City Administrator Sally Burbridge said “trued up,” or be accurate with the billing received by the public. The old time frame used was from July of the current year through June of the next year, but those numbers were not accurate with the biling cycle of the city. The bill was approved. Bill #3542 discussed raising the electric rates by 3.5% as recommended by the utility committee after a long discussion and number crunching session. The rate was automatically set to increase by 7.7% as determined by the cost of power by the city, but the committee felt the public had seen enough rates raised over the year. The 3.5% increase in rates was approved. The last bill to be discussed was the Fiscal Year 2024 budget which was recommended by the finance committee which included a request for $10,000 to be put toward fireworks in 2024. The board approved the budget but would like the public who has been so vocal about the fireworks the past couple of months be involved in helping raise the remainder of the funds. This money is not only for the purchase of the fireworks, but for the additional costs of police overtime, insurance, the renting of the Commons, and in the past, the lease included maintenance of the property to get it ready for the display. The board wants to remind the public that just because an amount is in the budget, it does not mean that amount will automatically be spent if the remaining money can’t be raised. The meeting was then adjourned.

Sheriff Bob Wells and Dent County Prosecutor Andrew M. Curley will be presenting a check for the sum of $1,950.00 to Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams to be placed into the local school fund for Dent County. The money is the result of efforts by law enforcement involving the seizure of currency possessed in connection with the arrest and prosecution of Cody Martin for trafficking methamphetamine in Dent County. Martin was charged with a Class B felony for trafficking drugs in the second degree. In addition to the criminal conviction, the seizure is authorized by Missouri law as a punishment and deterrent to persons that realize currency through the commission of a crime. This money will be used for the benefit of the local school system.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) encourages the public to discover nature during frogging season which started Friday at sunset and will last through October 31st. Those with a fishing permit or small-game hunting permit may frog for bullfrogs and green frogs. The daily limit is eight frogs of both species combined and the possession limit is 16 frogs of both species combined. Only the daily limit may be possessed on waters and bank of waters where frogging. MDC notes that daily limits end at midnight. Froggers who catch their daily limits before midnight and want to return for more frogging after midnight must remove the daily limit of previously caught frogs from the waters or banks before returning. The public can go frogging with a fishing or small-game hunting permit, but children 15 and under and Missouri residents 65-years and older are not required to have a permit. Those using a fishing permit may take frogs by hand, hand net, atlatl, gig, bow, trotline, throwline, limb line, bank line, jug line, snagging, snaring, grabbing, or pole-and-line. With a small-game hunting permit, frogs may be harvested using a .22-caliber or smaller rimfire rifle or pistol, pellet gun, atlatl, bow, crossbow, or by hand or hand net. The use of artificial light is permitted when frogging. For more information, visit mdc.mo.gov.

The Missouri Department of Transportation reports that some construction work will be going on in the immediate listening area in the next few days. In Crawford County on Routes H, NN, and YY, MoDOT plans to do pavement repair today and Thursday. One lane will be open, and crews will flag traffic through the work zone. Also on Route PP in Crawford County, a culvert pipe is being replaced today and Thursday with one lane open, and crews flagging traffic through the work zone. In Dent County, MoDOT will doing pavement repair today and Thursday on Route ZZ with one lane open, and crews flagging traffic through the work zone. in Phelps County on Route NN, work crews will be doing pavement repair through Thursday. One lane will be open, and crews will flag traffic through the work zone. MoDOT also continues their road resurfacing on Interstate 44 from Exit 186 to Exit 195. There will be around–the-clock lane closures from Highway 63 to highway 8-68. The project on Interstate 44 is scheduled for completion in December 2023.