Archive for 2023

The Dent County Commissioners met Thursday morning for their regular meeting. Presiding Commissioner Gary Larson was asked if there was a location in Salem where people could drop off their everyday batteries like 9-volt, “D” size, “C” size, ”AA” size or “AAA” size for recycling. He said people could take those types of batteries to the Salem Public Library at the corner of Jackson and 4th street and they have a box on their counter where people can leave their worn out batteries. In the road report, 1st District Commissioner Wes Mobray said broken glass was all over Dent County Road 4110 from an unknown source and MoDOT went out with their street sweeper and helped clean it up. The crews will be doing maintenance on a truck that appears to have a broken spring, and repair a different truck now that the parts have arrived. Mobray said crews rebuilt Dent County Road 4235 as they rerouted the road to its original location and added a culvert to alleviate the persistent washouts to the road. In District 2, Commissioner Larson reported materials would be added and grading done on Dent County Road 2380 while only materials would be added to county roads 3180 and 4380. Larson said the county would be installing culverts on county road 3180 and repairing county road 6160 with the ultimate paving material. Larson indicated he would be attending a Solid Waste Management District Council meeting at 10:00 Tuesday morning at the MRPC. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said that her office is required by law to do a voter registration canvassing that will be mailed out this week. The new voter registration cards will be mailed to Dent County registered voters last known address, are white in color and will have the year 2022-2023 on them, but registration cards actually do NOT expire. They can be used to verify a person’s address as a secondary source if needed, but voters still need to bring a photo ID when they go to vote. If people do not get their new voter registration cards in the next two weeks, contact the Dent County Clerk’s Office at 729-4144. She also said she was contacted by Amy Forsythe from the Missouri Department of Agriculture about the remonumentation of eight corners to determine range and townships. After a conference call with Dent County Surveyor Michelle Elwood, she will do eight corners at $350 each for a total of $2,800 that will be reimbursed to the county by the Department of Agriculture. Shannon VanKirk came in with her report on April collections and said her monthly turnover was $82,426.30. At the last meeting, Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams reported on the CART tax received in April which was $76,078.22. Year-to-date, the county is up 7.6%, the dent County Courthouse will be closed Monday for Truman’s Birthday and the commission will NOT be meeting Thursday due to a lack of a quorum. The next meeting will be Monday, May 15th at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

The Bunker High School Graduation will be held this Saturday afternoon at 4:00 at the Bunker High School New Gymnasium. This year, a total of 17 seniors will be receiving their diploma. The 2023 Valedictorian is Kaitlyn Belk and the 2023 Salutatorian is Jacob Gordon. A total of 28 scholarships and awards will be presented with three new scholarships being added this year. They are the Angel History Award, the Bunker Booster Club Scholarship and the Mel Ritter Memorial Scholarship. According to Bunker R-3 School Counselor Jenna Barton, 14 of the graduates have committed going to college while three graduates will be heading out into the workforce. For those who can’t make it to the event, KSMO Media will be video streaming the event on the KSMO Stream Facebook Page and the KSMO You Tube Page. The stream will begin about 15 minutes before the event starts highlighting sponsors as well as parent salutes. From everyone at KSMO Media, congratulations Eagles!!

The Creative Arts Center in Salem will be offering students a chance to create an Ozark Fishing Landscape with Sharon Jeffus this Saturday afternoon from 1:00 until 3:30 where they will learn atmospheric perspective techniques doing a beautiful Ozark River sunset and daytime fishing landscape. The cost of the program is $30 and there must be a minimum of five students sign up and the class will be limited to 20. You can go online to register at salemcommunitybetterment.com and look under programs for the Salem Creative Arts Center. For more information, call 729-6983 or e-mail info@salemcommunitybetterment.com.

The Salem Community-Wide Yard Sale is this Saturday! If you still need a space to hold your yard sale, spaces are available for rent in the parking lot behind the City Administrative Offices at 400 N. Iron Street. Open spaces are $8 for 2 parking spaces. You may reserve your space by coming into the office at 400 N. Iron St today or by calling 729-4117. Yard sale maps of locations around town are also available for no charge at area convenience stores and the City Administrative Office.

The Salem Police Department calls for service and traffic stops generated the following reports. On Wednesday night, April 12th, around 10:30, officers contacted a male subject they knew to have an active warrant out of Probation and Parole with no bond. As a result, 44-year-old Ryan Stagner of Salem, was arrested and incarcerated at the Dent County Jail. On Thursday morning, April 13th, near 8:00, officers were dispatched to the area of Franklin and Grand Streets for a report of vandalism and threats. It was reported that a former disgruntled employee had written threatening messages on the door along with causing damage to a vehicle in the parking lot. After a short investigation, officers arrested a 27-year-old Salem male and he was charged with Peace Disturbance and Property Damage. That same morning close to 11:30, officers contacted a male subject they knew to have an active warrant out of Dent County with no bond. As a result, 19-year-old William Chance Gentry of Salem, was arrested and incarcerated at the Dent County Jail. Later that same night at approximately 10:00, officers conducted a traffic stop at the intersection of Highways 19 and 32 for a vehicle making numerous lane violations. As a result of the stop, it was apparent the driver was intoxicated. After a short investigation, a 43-year-old Salem man was arrested for Driving While Intoxicated, a prior offender; and was incarcerated at the Dent County Jail. Please contact the Salem Police Department at (573) 729-4242 if you have any information regarding an ongoing investigation.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) will offer five permits to hunt bull elk in Missouri this fall with at least one permit designated for qualifying landowners that own property in Carter, Reynolds, or Shannon counties and the remaining permits for the general public. MDC has designated the elk archery portion to run October 21-29 and the elk firearms portion to run December 9-17. The five permits will be for bull elk with at least one antler being six inches or greater in length and will be valid for both portions. Only Missouri residents who will be at least 11 years of age by the first day of the hunt for which they are applying are eligible to apply for elk permits during the application period now through May 31st. All permits will be assigned through a random drawing. The Missouri Conservation Commission gave final approval to the elk season recommendations from MDC during its March 14 open meeting in Jefferson City. MDC will require a $10 application fee for elk-permit applicants. Those selected will then be eligible to buy a permit at a cost of $50. All elk-hunting permits, including those allocated to qualifying area landowners, can be used in Carter, Reynolds, and Shannon counties, except the refuge portion of Peck Ranch Conservation Area. The allowed hunting methods for each elk season, archery from October 21-29 and firearms from December 9-17, will be the same as for deer hunting. For more information on elk hunting, visit the mdc.mo.gov/elkhunting.

The Missouri Office of Broadband Development and University of Missouri Extension are still conducting a brief online anonymous survey on household internet access and use in rural and urban areas, but time is running out for you to complete the survey. The survey can be found online at muext.us/MissouriInternetSurvey. The survey, which takes about six minutes to complete, asks households about existing internet use such as devices used, connections and applications as well as barriers to Internet use such as financial obstacles, training and assistance needs. According to B.J. Tanksley, the director of the Missouri Office of Broadband Development, hearing from citizens in urban and especially rural areas is an incredibly valuable part of understanding our state’s needs. Surveys will continue to be accepted through mid-May before all the data is compiled, so if you very limited or no Internet availability at your home or place of work, please respond to the survey from a location with good Internet, or go where there are public access computers such as the Salem Public Library or the Salem Community Center@The Armory. Time now is of the essence for your voice to be heard.

This Friday from 6:00 until 8:00 in the evening, create a Wheat Corizon (or heart) with Suzanne Douglass at the Creative Arts Center. The cost of the class is $25 and that includes all the supplies. The class is intended for students over 15 years of age. The class size will be from one student to maximum of five students so each student will receive individual attention in learning the basics of wheat weaving and basic knots. You can go online to register at salemcommunitybetterment.com and look under programs for the Salem Creative Arts Center.