Archive for 2023

This year’s 100-Acre in the Woods Rally will start off this Friday in Washington County from Potosi and will continue on Saturday on Dent County roads only starting from downtown Salem. A total of 68 racing teams had entered as of Wednesday that will compete this year in one of the most popular venues on the road rally tour. The City of Potosi will kick off the event Friday at 11:30 with their Parc Expose followed by two spectator points at Location 3 at Grassy Hollow in Washington County around 2:35, and Location 7 at Pigeon Roost around 5:52. On Saturday, the Rally moves to Dent County where the Parc Expose on 4th Street in Salem will start at 8:30 giving fans another opportunity to see their favorite teams up close before the Rally begins at 10:00. Saturday also provides spectators four opportunities to see the rally cars on the course at full speed starting at Location 11 off of Dent County Road 5380 at 11:14 Saturday morning. Afternoon locations for spectator viewing will be at Location 13 near 2:13 at the same spot as Location 11 off county road 5380, then onto Locations 14 and 15 around 2:57 and 5:13 respectively, located off of Dent County Road 4330. Maps showing the locations of the spectator points are available at the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce in the Crossroads Shopping Center and they are free. The 100AW organizers would like to remind all rally participants and spectators that Missouri’s “No Trespassing” Laws and “Purple Paint” Statute are in effect during the rally and they are asking everyone to watch for those signs and purple paint on trees, etc. Please respect all property owners wishes by avoiding private property and if a landowner does not want you to spectate on their land, please move to a new location. Spectating outside of the established areas will cause the event to be halted and could cause the stage to be cancelled. For more information about the race entries or spectator maps, go online at www.100aw.org.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the Conservation Federation of Missouri thank the thousands of Missouri deer hunters who donated 235,169 pounds of venison to the state’s Share the Harvest program this past deer season, including 4,936 whole deer. The Conservation Department and Conservation Federation of Missouri also thank the participating meat processors throughout the state who grind the donated deer meat into ready-to-use packages, and the many sponsors who financially support the program. The donated deer meat goes to local food banks and food pantries to help feed hungry Missourians all around the state. Meat-processing fees are covered entirely or in part by numerous local sponsors, along with statewide sponsors that include Shelter Insurance, Bass Pro Shops, Feeding Missouri, and MDC. Share the Harvest is coordinated by the MDC and CFM and has been helping feed hungry Missourians for more than 30 years. Since the program was started in 1992, it has provided nearly 5 million pounds of lean, healthy venison to help feed hungry Missourians. To get Share the Harvest venison, contact local food banks or food pantries.

The Salem Area Arts Council will offer an Introduction to Wheel Throwing class starting on Monday from 5:30 to 8:00 at the Creative Arts Center. This will be a three-week class and interested students need to sign up three days prior to the class. They must have four students to hold the class. Tana Kettner will be the instructor. The cost is $80 and materials are provided. For more information, contact Tana at tanakettner65@gmail.com. To sign up for the class, call or text 573-247-0651, or go online at salemcommunitybetterment.com and look under programs for the Salem Creative Arts Center. The class is geared toward older teens and adults.

An accident happened Tuesday afternoon just before 5:00 in Washington County on Route C west of Lovers Lane. According to the highway patrol report a 2016 Chevrolet Sonic being driven west by 26-year-old Rachel Lada of Bixby was attempting to make a left turn when she was struck by a 1992 GMC Sonoma being driven by 30-year-old Brandon Hutson of Farmington. Lada suffered moderate injuries and was taken by Washington County EMS to Washington County Memorial Hospital. A passenger in the GMC, 39-year-old Juanita Dunkin of Farmington, was taken by Washington County ambulance to Mercy South for treatment of serious injuries. Both vehicles were totaled. The Chevrolet was removed by Elliot’s Towing while the GMC was removed from the scene by a private conveyance. The report went on to state that no one involved in the accident were wearing seat restraints.

The Salem R-80 Board of Education will be meeting this evening at 6:00 for their regular meeting. At the meeting, there will be a student recognition before approval of the consent agenda. Communications will be heard and John Odom will update the board on the plans for the Construction Trades Building. The board will hear the Superintendent’s report, followed by the principals’ reports from the schools as well as a reports on athletics and activities, special education and by the instructional coaches. In new business, the board will discuss the 2023-2024 Calendar, let bids for the baseball field, approve SIS Coordinator job description, approve Construction Trades plans, set the deadline for certification per Policy GCD-1, review MSBA Policy Revisions, consider Opaa contract extension, set date for Board reorganization and consider resignations. The board will then go into executive session to approve closed session minutes, address student issue and discuss personnel issues. The meeting Thursday evening is open to the public.

This past Saturday at the Class 4, District 9 competition held at the East Central College, Salem band members and members of the Salem Choir competed with a number of them earning the right to go on to the state competition. Moving onto the state competition for the band will be Jarrod Brooks on the tenor saxophone, Xander During on the bass clarinet, Christopher Harris on the euphonium and Reagin Toten on the trumpet. In the small ensemble competition, the Clarinet Quartet comprised of Jarrod Brooks, Xander During, Alyson Leach and Kaison Wilmont will be competing at state. For the Salem Choir, seven different choir members’ solos qualified them to move on to state. Those choir members are Devon Blackwell, Hannah Greener, Christopher Harris, Neely Leathers, Caroline Pryor, Liberty Ross and Miles Skaggs. Ensembles that also qualified for state are the Chamber Girls Trio comprised of Neely Leathers, Leya Russell and Ayva Callicutt; and the Chamber Boys group made up of Eli Brakensiek, Christopher Harris, Corby Ball, Miles Skaggs and Bryce Stewart. Congratulations to all the students going to state and all those who participated at districts.

The Dent County Commissioners did not meet Monday due to a lack of a quorum as First District Commissioner Wes Mobray was ill. The next meeting of the commissioners will be Thursday morning at 9:00 and the meeting is open to the public.

The Missouri Office of Broadband Development and University of Missouri Extension are still conducting a brief online survey on household internet access and use. The anonymous survey is still active and 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. Allen Spell, the assistant extension professor of community and regional economics at the University of Missouri, says broadband can boost a community’s economic growth and quality of life with benefits including gains in job growth, income and gross domestic product. Spell states realizing those benefits requires not just the physical availability of high-speed Internet connections but also the use of those connections for applications and expanded opportunities relating to education, employment and business. According to B.J. Tanksley, the director of the Office of Broadband Development, hearing from citizens in urban and especially rural areas is an incredibly valuable part of understanding our state’s needs. Tanksley encourages everyone who has Internet service to complete the survey, and hopes those who do NOT have Internet service can find a public access location to go online and complete the survey which will be used to obtain community feedback to support the development of data-driven tools reinforcing the Office of Broadband Development’s broadband efforts across the state.

The Creative Arts Center will host a Leprechaun Paint and Sip event Friday night from 6:00 to 8:00 with Danielle Norris. Grab your pints and your mates and head to The Creative Arts Center for a fun and relaxing night. The artist will take you step by step through a cute St. Patty’s Day painting. A minimum of six must sign up with a limit of 25 people for the event. The cost of the class is $25. An additional $5 charge will be added for those who pay at the door. For more information or to sign up, call or text 573-247-0651, or you can go online at salemcommunitybetterment.com and look under programs for the Salem Creative Arts Center.

The City of Salem Board of Aldermen will be meeting this evening starting at 6:00 at the City Hall Council Chambers. After the consent agenda, Mark Nash will talk with the board about selling two current water department trucks: a 2014 Ford F-450 dump truck and a 2008 Ford F-150 pickup. The sale of these vehicles would help offset the purchase of a 2018 Dodge Ram that would carry tools and equipment that service man would need. The cost of the van is $17,800. The board also asked for bids for the sale of the 1932 Firetruck and they will discuss the six bids received. The board will hear and discuss Resolutions #8 and 9-2023 that would first authorize the mayor to sign the documents approving the final completion for the scope of work between Energy Solutions Professionals, LLC and the city of Salem, and then authorize the mayor to reauthorize the remaining funds totaling $92,019 through Signature Bank that was originally designated to pay for work to be done by ESP. The board will discuss Resolution 10-2023 that would authorize the mayor to sign the Section 179D Energy Efficiency Commercial Building Deduction Allowance Form between the City of Salem & Energy Solutions Professionals, LLC. Resolution #11-2023 is a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute an agreement between the City of Salem and the Huntington National Bank for the lease of a 2023 Freightliner with a 2022 Terex C5048 Digger Derrick for $4,721.35 per month for five years. The board will then hear Bills #3534, 3535 and 3536 that authorize the mayor to execute and the City Clerk to attest to Quit-Claim Deeds between the City of Salem and the County of Dent. The first bill is for the vacating of an alley, the second bill is for the vacating of the eastern half of South Oak Street vacated by the city in 1994, and the third bill is for the vacating of some property in the Douglass Park Addition that was used as a city park in the 1920s until Highway 32 was rerouted through the center of the park. Title searches have not found who the property was conveyed to, if to anyone at all. The city will relinquish any claim it has to the property with the Quit-Claim Deed even if they legally do not have a claim to it at all. The board will then hear from City Administrator Sally Burbridge, Mayor Greg Parker, Public Works Director Mark Nash and each individual alderman before the meeting is adjourned. The meeting of the City of Salem Board of Aldermen is open to the public.