Archive for 2023

Mayor Greg Parker of the City of Salem has called a special meeting of the Salem Board of Aldermen for Wednesday evening at 5:30 to hold an open Public Hearing on the proposed General Sales Tax before discussing Bill #3532 which would create an ordinance calling for an election on a revenue bond questions for the City of Salem; and to discuss Bill #3533 that would create an ordinance asking the voters of the City of Salem during the Municipal Election on April 4th whether the city should impose a general sales tax of one percent for the General Revenue Fund. The special meeting will be held at the City Hall Council Chambers located at 202 North Washington and it will be open to the public.

Beginning this year, ExplorUS, formally Ortega National Parks, will manage the lodging, dining, retail and banquet facilities at the Echo Bluff State Park. ExplorUS is a hospitality management company operating in parks across the country. Echo Bluff was established more than 85 years ago as a summer youth camp called Camp Zoe. It is now a year-round outdoor destination where visitors create memories as they experience all the Ozarks have to offer. The impressive lodge is just five years old and features hotel rooms and cabins, meeting space, a dining room and retail area. ExplorUS is thrilled to add Echo Bluff to its portfolio and has committed to adding new activities and events, such as girls’ getaways, stargazing, art and craft shows, and more. ExplorUS. is excited to start developing new programs that will interest Missouri patrons and draw new travelers to the area and are especially happy that many of the previous employees have chosen to stay with the company, which should assist with a smooth transition for those folks that frequent the hotel and restaurant on an annual basis. ExplorUS is dedicated to preserving and protecting the unique environments and precious resources of the sites where it operates, allowing guests and future generations to experience the beauty, serenity and splendor of local, state and national parks. It provides concession services at 50 locations nationwide, including four other Missouri State parks that include Lake of the Ozarks, Montauk, Sam A. Baker and Lake Wappapello. Rooms and cabins are available for rent year-round. More information can be found at echobluffstatepark.com or by calling 855-999-6980. For more information on state parks and historic sites, visit mostateparks.com. Missouri State Parks is a division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has awarded a $50,000 Clean Water Engineering Report Grant to the city of Viburnum to evaluate the city’s wastewater system. The department’s Clean Water Engineering Report Grant program offers funding to small communities for wastewater engineering costs incurred during preparation of a facility plan report. The city will use the grant to develop the report, intended to identify wastewater system improvements needed to continue reliable services to the area, meet permit requirements and reduce inflow and infiltration of stormwater into sewer collection pipes. The facility plan should be complete in June of 2024. The department is committed to assisting Missouri communities with water and wastewater infrastructure improvement projects. Through its Financial Assistance Center, the department provides funding opportunities for qualified communities with water quality, wastewater and drinking water infrastructure needs. This project will be funded wholly or in part with monies received from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The Salem Memorial District Hospital Board of Directors will meet tonight at 6:00 at the hospital library. The board will hear the summary of operations and statistics for the month of December as well as the Chief Nursing Officer report, a report on the 340B drug program, get a staffing update and discuss the hospital foundation. After the Chief of Staff’s report, old business will be addressed including the kitchen drain proposal, the clinic architect, election filings and strategic planning update. In New Business, the board will discuss the predesigned Alternate Home Health Administrator appointment and purchases. The board may vote to go into closed session. The meeting tonight is open to the public.

Friday night at the high school gym, Ashton Bowers was crowned the 2023 Homecoming Queen between the JV and Varsity Salem Basketball games with Houston. Her court consisted of freshman Addison Fulton, sophomore Madison Flores, junior Delaney Owen and seniors Avery Erway and Olivia Wisdom. Congratulations Ashton!

The Dent County Fire Protection District Board of Directors met Tuesday evening at 6:00. After the roll call and approval of the consent agenda, the board reviewed the minutes from the December meeting before hearing and approving the financial report which showed an ending balance of $41,940.55. Bills, payments, and statements were then reviewed and approved before the 2022 final closeout budget was reviewed by the board. It was noted that the department was overbudget in capital improvements. This was because of the front window damage and then the necessary upgrade. These improvements were authorized during the incident and the money was available at the time, so the board approved the budget overage in capital improvements. The board approved the final 2022 budget closeout at that time. The board then reviewed the 2023 budget and after some discussion, a motion was made and carried to accept the 2023 budget as presented. After the calendar review, the monthly reimbursement report was presented with a total of 26 calls for the month of December which included three building fires, one cooking fire, two chimney or flue fires, three brush or grass fires, two calls to assist EMS, and the fire department responded to two vehicle accidents with injuries. The fire department also helped remove victims from a stalled elevator, responded to two gas leaks, two sprinkler activations, one carbon monoxide incident, and one arcing or shorted electrical equipment. In old business, it was noted that an injector pump on Engine 85 was bad and in need of repair. The first option was to rebuild the pump as a new one would cost 5,000 to 7,000 dollars. The second option is to put a new motor in the truck at a cost of $21,992.96, or the third option was to replace the truck which is not possible at this time. The board members are going to pursue other information before making any decision. The truck does need to be in service for mutual aid. The board is expected to entertain a motion after all the facts are in. The date of the next meeting board meeting will be Tuesday, February 14th at 6:00 at the fire station located at #2 South Main. That meeting will be open to the public.

The AARP is in need of volunteer Tax Counselors to prepare simple taxes for local, low income and elderly residents. You will be supplied with training and a computer to use during the season. After training, you will be certified by the IRS to prepare taxes. The AARP Volunteer Tax Counselors work at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory only on Fridays for 10 weeks. You will be able to prepare and e-file taxes for friends and family at no cost. Contact Ty Richards if interested, 573-453-4995 or trcheyenne@gmail.com.

An accident occurred Thursday morning around 7:40 in Crawford County on Highway C about 5 miles west of Cuba. According to the highway patrol report a 2016 Chevrolet Silverado driven by 43-year-old Alicia Frohbieter of Cuba was traveling east bound and crossed over the center of the roadway, then travelled off the left side of the roadway, struck an embankment, and overturned. Frohbieter suffered serious injuries and was transported by North Crawford Ambulance to Missouri Baptist Hospital in Sullivan. The Chevrolet was totaled and was removed from the scene by Patriot Towing.

The SCA Conference Band auditions were held Wednesday, January 11th. Here are the Salem students who participated, their chair placement and the instrument they played. Those students receiving 1st chair honors were Ashton During on baritone sax, Emmett Headrick on tuba, Reagin Toten on trumpet, Kip Harris on Euphonium, and Xander During on soprano clarinet, bass clarinet and contra clarinet. Rory Dahms took 2nd chair on the French Horn, Jarrod Brooks was named 3rd chair on the tenor saxophone, Carter Foster took 3rd chair on the French Horn, Austin Cunningham was named 4th chair on Tuba, Kaison Wilmont took 6th chair on clarinet and Oscar Ramirez was named 10th chair on trumpet. Congratulations to these students on their outstanding performance!

Tonight at the high school gym between the JV and Varsity Salem Boys Basketball games with Houston, the 2023 Homecoming Coronation will be held. This year the Freshman Candidate is Addison Fulton and she will be escorted by senior Easton May, the Sophomore Candidate is Madison Flores and she will be escorted by junior Bryson May, and the Junior Candidate is Delaney Owen and she will be escorted by junior Trethan Richter. The Senior Candidates for 2023 include Ashton Bowers who will be escorted by senior Henry Cameron, Avery Erway who will be escorted by senior Gunnar Konkel, and Olivia Wisdom who will be escorted by junior Haiden Sanders. Congratulations on this year’s Homecoming Court!!

The Dent County Commissioners met Thursday morning at the Dent County Courthouse for their regular meeting. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray said brush would be cut on Dent County Road 5650 while materials were being hauled to county roads 4220, 5150, 5440 and 5450. Mobray said a man would be out with the backhoe cleaning out pipes. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson said a crew would be replacing a tire on Dent County Dump Truck #122. He said materials would be added to county roads 3080 and 3090 while another crew would be working on draining water from and making repairs to the hydraulic system on one of the brush cutters. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles said he attended the MRPC External Relations Committee meeting and the MRPC Regular Dinner Meeting Thursday night in St. James that state legislators attended. He said next Wednesday he would be attending CCAM Board meeting. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said her office balanced with the county treasurer and county collector on all accounts for December including collections, abatements and add-ons. She said she will be attending a Missouri Association of Counties board meeting next Wednesday. She said the courthouse would be closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Day. Dent County Collector Shannon VanKirk asked the commission about a redemption on property sold at the tax sale on East Franklin where the original property owner has now paid the taxes on the property. With the county working on the budget, she wondered if it would be best to wait until February to complete the redemption and issue the monies back to the purchaser and the commission agreed. She reported her office received about $502,000 in online payments. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams reported on the sales tax monies received by the county. The General Revenue and LEST Funds received in January $103,664.68 which is $12,610.16 more than last January when the county received $91,054.52. The Road and Bridge Fund received $48,267.81 which was $4,328.84 more than the January 2022 amount of $43,938.97; and each jail fund received $96,535.72 and that was $8,019.18 more than the $87,816.54 received in January of 2022. At the last meeting, Eric Meusch, Drusilla Howard and Brandi Richardson from the Dent County Extension came in to visit about their budget and request for an increase in the 2023 budget. The next regular meeting of the Dent County Commission will be Thursday at 9:00 at the courthouse and it’s open to the public.