Archive for 2023

The City of Salem Utility Committee met Wednesday evening at the Salem Community Center@The Armory. City of Salem Finance Director Stacey Houston presented the financial report on the utilities showing the electric sales revenues up 34%, mostly due to the rate increase. The electric sales are currently near $4.98 million and are at 74% of the budget amount. The service availability fee has contributed an additional $200,820 to the fund. She also said the water fund revenues are up about 6% to $638,409 which is 83% of the amount budgeted for the year, while the sewer revenues as of March 6th are $670,183 which stand at about 92% of the budgeted amount for the fiscal year which will end June 30th. That increase is also attributable to the rate increase from earlier in the fiscal year. Houston reported the Electric Fund balance is at $616,691 as of February 2nd while the Water Fund balance is $112,280 and the Sewer Fund balance is $60,509. She said the city is currently paying 7.2664 cents per kilowatt hour from their supplier which is 12% higher than last year on the average. Public Works Director Mark Nash said there was one main water line break which has been corrected. Nash said the asphalt plant should be opening near the end of April and the city will be looking at asphalting streets versus the Novachip. The biggest difference is that the road must have a solid base before you can use the 1.5 to 2 inch thick Novachip while the base doesn’t necessarily have to be that way for the four inches of hot asphalt. He also said that chip and seal will not be used due to the amount of citizen complaints. Chairman Kyle Williams gave the report on the sales tax issue question someone brought up at the town hall meeting if the 1% sales tax passed, would that 1% sales tax be applied to utilities as well. The simple answer is no, but it could if the alderman used a subsection of a state statute to allow that to happen, but that would have to be done with the state’s approval and then through an ordinance. According to City Administrator Burbridge, the city is not interested in doing that. A question was also asked about the wording on the ballot concerning the sewer bond issue and that the language does not specifically say the money will be used just for the sewer treatment plant. Burbridge explained that a bond attorney wrote the ballot language and that the money is targeted at the treatment plant improvements, but may also be able to be used to reduce or eliminate stormwater infiltration from entering the treatment plant which is a major cause of the problems. This could be from feeder pipes or drainage systems improperly installed years ago. The Department of Natural Resources would determine what the city may or may not use those funds for if the issue passes. There was also a discussion on net metering and how the city follows the state statute of avoided fuel costs to determine credits which is the minimum rate. This will be brought up at the next Utility committee meeting to be held on Wednesday, April 12th. The meeting was then adjourned.

State Fire Marshal Tim Bean recommends Missourians use the return of daylight saving time this weekend to test home smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. At 2:00 Sunday morning, clocks spring forward one hour. Bean also urges families to practice their fire escape plans. Safety experts recommend families practice their home fire escape plans at least twice each year. Getting into the habit of checking them when changing your clocks takes very little time and makes a tremendous difference to your family’s safety. Working smoke alarms reduce the risk of dying in a fire by one-half. About one-half of home fire deaths occur at night between 11:00 at night and 7:00 in the morning when most people are asleep. That is why it is important for all family members to be able to act react quickly and get out. Each family member, including children, should know two escape routes from every room in their residence. This information should be shared with overnight guests, too. Bean also reminds Missourians that they should have carbon monoxide alarms for their homes. Carbon monoxide is an odorless, tasteless, invisible gas that results from the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, which can be deadly if undetected. The fire marshal makes these recommends checking smoke and carbon monoxide alarms monthly by pushing the test button and replacing smoke alarms every 10 years because they lose their effectiveness over time. Install additional smoke alarms if you do not have a minimum of one alarm on every level of the home, inside all bedrooms, and outside bedrooms. Plan two different escape routes from your home and practice the routes with the entire family. Families should also select a safe gathering place outside the residence in the event of a fire. Follow the Division of Fire on Facebook or Twitter.

The Creative Arts Center will host a tye-dye class with Laura Miller from the Tye Dye Shop this today from 4:00 to 6:00 where students will be creating a 28 inch by 28 inch heavyweight cotton tye-dye tapestry. They will also hold a beginning crochet class tonight from 6:00 to 8:00 where Gwendolyn Wakefield will teach students basic crochet stitches and they can go home with a project you make yourself. The cost of each class is $25. For more information call or text 573-247-0651, or go online at salemcommunitybetterment.com and look under programs for the Salem Creative Arts Center.

The Dent County Sheriff’s office has released several reports. On Friday, February 24th, a deputy conducted a traffic stop on Dent County Road 5010. During the course of the stop, the male driver was arrested for driving while having his license suspended or revoked. A male passenger in the vehicle was arrested on two active Dent County felony warrants. Both were transported to the Dent County Jail for processing and incarceration. On Monday, February 27th, deputies responded to the 800 block of Highway 68 for a reported theft. The investigation revealed that multiple compressors and motors were stolen from the business. Suspect information has been developed and the investigation is continuing. The next day, the 28th of February, deputies responded to the 18000 block of Route C for a reported violation of ex-parte order of protection. An investigation revealed a male suspect had violated the order. A probable cause statement was submitted to the prosecutor’s office requesting an arrest warrant for the suspect. On Thursday, March 2nd, deputies responded to the 3600 block of Highway 119 for a reported assault and suicidal subject. Through the course of the investigation, the man was transported to SMDH for an evaluation. The assault victim did not wish to pursue criminal charges and the investigation is closed. That same day, a deputy was dispatched to Salem Memorial Hospital for a reported dog bite to a child that had occurred in Bunker. The dog was placed on quarantine and the child received medical attention. The investigation was then closed. Please call 729-3241 if you have any information regarding an ongoing investigation.

Need trees and shrubs for your landscape? Go native with tree and shrub seedlings from the Missouri Department of Conservation. Native trees and shrubs can help improve wildlife habitat and soil and water conservation while also improving the appearance and value of private property. MDC’s George O. White State Forest Nursery near Licking offers a variety of low-cost native tree and shrub seedlings for sale for reforestation, windbreaks, erosion control, wildlife food and cover, and other purposes. The nursery provides mainly one-year-old, bare-root seedlings with sizes varying by species. Seedlings varieties include: pine, bald cypress, cottonwood, black walnut, hickory, oak, pecan, persimmon, river birch, maple, willow, sycamore, blackberry, buttonbush, hazelnut, redbud, ninebark, spicebush, elderberry, sumac, wild plum, witch hazel, and others. Seedlings are available in bundles of 10 or increments of 25 per species. Prices range from 34 cents to $1 per seedling. Sales tax of 6.1 percent will be added to orders unless tax exempt. There is an $9 handling charge for each order. Receive a 15% discount up to $20 off seedling orders with a Heritage Card, Permit Card, or Conservation ID Number. The nursery grows millions of seedlings each year, but some species are very popular and sell out quickly and some seedlings occasionally succumb to harsh weather or hungry wildlife, despite the nursery staff’s best efforts. Even if a species is listed as “sold out,” customers can still place an order for those seedlings because other orders may get cancelled, freeing up inventory. Customers won’t be charged for seedlings unless they are available to ship. Due to shipping costs tripling from past years, the nursery must now charge shipping fees for orders being shipped to Missouri addresses. This is the first time in the nursery’s 80-plus-year history that they have had to do this. Orders will be processed beginning September 1st through April 15th, 2023. Orders will be shipped or can be picked up at the nursery near Licking from February through May. You can learn more and place orders using MDC’s 2022-2023 Seedling Order Form Found in the September issue of the Missouri Conservationist, at MDC regional offices and nature centers, or by contacting the State Forest Nursery at 573-674-3229 or StateForestNursery@mdc.mo.gov.

The Missouri Department of Transportation crews are already focusing on pothole repairs to keep roads as safe as possible and will continue through the spring as weather allows. When you see a MoDOT crew making repairs, motorists should slow down and move over a lane to give them room to work safely – remember, it’s the law. MoDOT maintains 34,000 miles of road, including interstates, U.S. and Missouri routes, and lettered routes. In 2022, MoDOT patched more than 800,000 potholes, spending more than $16 million on pothole patching. Potholes form when temperatures warm up during the day but continue to be cold at night. The rain and snow leave moisture that seeps into cracks and joints in the pavement. Frozen water in cracks and under the surface of the roadway causes pavement to bulge and bend. Then when ice melts, the pavement contracts and leaves gaps or voids in the surface under the pavement. When vehicles drive over the bulging pavement, it weakens the roadway, eventually causing chunks of pavement or asphalt to pop out, creating potholes. Motorists can report the location of potholes on state-maintained roads by calling the 24/7 Customer Service Center at 1-888-ASK-MODOT (275-6636), or by going online to www.modot.org/report-road-concern. Potholes on local streets should be reported to local city or county maintenance departments.

Utility Committee Chairman Kyle Williams has called for a City of Salem Utility Committee meeting which will be held tonight at 6:15 at the Salem Community Center@The Armory at 1200 West Rolla Road. At the meeting, the Utility Committee will receive a utility financial update from Finance Director Stacey Houston before the committee is updated on the city infrastructure update. The committee will then hear any questions and comments before the meeting is adjourned. The Utility Committee meeting tonight is open to the public.

The Dent County Commission met Monday morning for their regular meeting. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley appointed District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray as the acting presiding commissioner for the day. Grant Wilson from Representative Jason Smith’s office was in attendance and just wanted to let the commission know Smith is holding his second Ways and Means Committee meeting on the road, this one in Yukon, Oklahoma at the stockyards to allow the committee to hear about needs of the everyday people in the heartland. In the road report, Mobray reported the low water bridge on Dent County Road 5610 has been washed out and the bridge on that road is impassable. The new bridge is in the process of being built, but is not near ready for traffic, so thru-traffic on the road is no longer available. Mobray said crews were out Saturday repairing a number of roads and are out again repairing other roads that sustained damage from the rains Thursday night. Mobray went on to report that he has two trucks picking up and stockpiling gravel at the shed as the Salem Quarry is currently out of rock and the county has to go out of town to get their rock. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson also said he had two trucks out picking up gravel and stockpiling it. He went on to say he had crews out checking more roads after Saturday’s repairs as it is too wet to grade any roads at this time. He did say brush would be cut on county road 2070. Larson said he, Clerk Curley and Commissioner Mobray all attended the CCAM annual training at the Lake of the Ozarks last week on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. He said they received updates from MoDOT, selling surplus county property, and heard about grant money available for counties from the Department of Natural Resources and USDA. Larson said the group heard from Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe and also US Representative Mark Alford. The commissioners were also told to monitor Senate Bill 161 that deals with the removal of the one cent retail sales tax on prepared food that could end up costing the county $2,137,353 as well as having an adverse effect on funds supported by sales taxes. There was also some discussion on property and real estate taxes being waived for seniors that may meet certain criteria that could also have a negative impact on the county, schools, and other services funded by real estate and personal property taxes. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said the last day to register to vote is Wednesday, and that last day to have a ballot mailed out is March 22nd. She said the county will be testing election equipment at 9:00 on March 31st at her office. Corky Stack discussed with the commission options for moving the electric to the courthouse for the court house renovation. They could eliminate the single phase line coming in from the corner of 5th Street and Highway 19 and run everything off the three-phase line from the east. They also discussed the use of the county backup generator that currently is at Oak Grove Baptist Church as the commission heard that it is no longer a Red Cross Emergency Shelter. If that is true and the generator is available, Stack explained how that generator could be placed in the parking area off 5th and Iron Streets and could be used for the courthouse, sheriff’s office and possibly judicial building. If the county wanted to look into that, the electric to the courthouse would be buried underground in a hole directionally bored to the pad transformer. A transfer switch would be placed at the generator site in case of electrical outages to keep the buildings with power. The additional cost to have this done would be about $45,500 if the current county generator is used, and would be an additional 35,000-to-40,000 dollars if a new generator was needed. This does NOT include the cost to move the generator from the church to the parking lot at Iron and 5th Streets. The commissioners will discuss this option and also check to see if the current generator is truly available before letting Stack know by the end of the week what they decide. The next meeting of the Dent County Commission will be Thursday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and it is open to the public.

In July 2022, severe storms and record rainfall across the St. Louis region devastated families, homes and businesses, many in areas that had never experienced such flooding before. This historic disaster serves as yet another reminder that severe weather can strike at any time, anywhere. Flooding, especially flash flooding, is the deadliest severe weather hazard in Missouri and can happen year-round. Tornadoes and severe storms also pose deadly threats each year, which is why it’s so important to prepare. Its best to learn about the risks and have an emergency plan in place before severe weather strikes. To prepare and encourage Missourians to learn more about severe weather and how to protect themselves, the National Weather Service, SEMA and local emergency managers will observe Severe Weather Preparedness Week this week through March 10th. Missouri’s annual statewide tornado drill will be held this morning at 10:00 when all NOAA Weather Radios set to receive the Routine Weekly Tests, will alert listeners that the tornado drill has begun. Outdoor warning sirens will also sound across participating Missouri communities. At that time, participants should practice taking cover in their designated shelter.

A four-week bevel leaded stained glass class with Jennifer Curry starts today from 5:00 to 8:00 where students will learn cutting, grinding, soldering, came pulling and cutting zinc came in order to build a leaded panel. The materials and equipment will be provided. The cost is $175 and at least two people must sign up for the class to be held with a maximum of six. The class starts today and will end on March 28th. For more information call or text 573-247-0651, or go online at salemcommunitybetterment.com and look under programs for the Salem Creative Arts Center.