Archive for 2025

The Salem Memorial Hospital Board of Directors held its regular meeting Tuesday evening in the hospital’s Doctor’s Library. After approving the agenda and the minutes from the previous meeting, CEO Brooke Bollman presented her report. She highlighted ongoing efforts to prioritize education advocacy, including participation in several conferences such as the National Rural Health Association Conference. She also discussed exploring new technologies and tools to improve efficiency and patient satisfaction, evaluating capital improvement priorities, considering AI solutions for provider documentation and dictation, pursuing two grant applications in support of the EMS department, and preparing for upcoming community events. In August, the hospital recorded 45 inpatient admissions, 1,113 outpatient registrations, 629 emergency room visits, and 248 ambulance runs. Total operating revenue for the month was approximately $1.5 million, while expenditures totaled about $2.1 million, resulting in a net loss of $551,772.07. The 340B program generated net revenue of $39,106. Bollman also presented the fiscal year 2026 operating budget, projecting approximately $29.7 million in revenue and $29.5 million in expenditures, with an anticipated surplus of $219,360.90. The board approved both the financials and the FY2026 budget. Chief Nursing Officer Amber Hogan reported on staffing updates, upcoming nursing education opportunities, and ongoing efforts to reorganize and update the Nursing Policies and Procedures. In August, the hospital welcomed five new hires and experienced four resignations. Bollman stated that she anticipates the nursing department will be fully staffed by the end of the month. During the Risk Management Report, Kendra Mobray noted that August saw the lowest number of medical documentation errors on record. The board also approved new privileges for six physicians and adopted updated policies and procedures across five departments before adjourning to executive session to discuss legal matters.

The Salem R-80 Board of Education met in a special meeting called Tuesday afternoon. After the meeting was called to order by Board President Dru Howard, the board moved into closed session to discuss personnel issues. The board then unanimously rejected the resignation of Band Director Gannon Craig from teaching and his extra duty contracts. The board also updated the substitute list before going back into open session and adjourning the meeting.

The Doe Run Company and the Viburnum community are celebrating the rich mining history of southeast Missouri at the 39th Annual Old Miners’ Days festival. The community event runs Friday through Sunday, October 3rd through the 5th, and features entertainment for all ages including free tours of Doe Run’s Buick Mine on Saturday. Community activities get underway Friday afternoon at 5:00 with the annual Tiny Tot Contest and Miss Viburnum Scholarship Pageant at the Elmer P. Beard Gymnasium in Viburnum. Saturday events begin at 9:00 in the morning in the outdoor Viburnum Center. Visitors who are 12 years-of-age or older may sign up for a free underground tour of a working Doe Run mine. Tours begin at 9:00 AM and conclude at 4:00 PM. Guests will travel through the shaft more than 1,000 feet underground and see the company’s Buick Mine, including heavy mobile equipment, the maintenance shop, and rock pillars full of valuable ore. Free bus transportation will be provided to shuttle guests the short distance from the Viburnum Shopping Center to the Buick Mine and back. Throughout Saturday, guests will enjoy live music, kids’ games, food trucks and booths, craft vendors, a community parade, and much more. This year, a Fall Rocks attraction located in the old Dollar General building, will run from 11:00 in the morning until 3:00 in the afternoon on Saturday offering indoor interactive activities, including “gold” panning, a mineral trivia game, dress like a miner, and much more. In the evening, Christian the Magician will provide comedy magic for the whole family with his show beginning at 6:30 in the Elmer P. Beard Gymnasium. Doors to the gym will open at 6:00. Sunday activities include a morning community church service hosted by local area churches at 11:00 in the Viburnum Center and a car show that runs from noon to 2:00. Learn more about Old Miners’ Days, including a full schedule of events, at https://www.oldminersdays.com/.

Come draw or paint our beloved Dent County Courthouse during the 155th anniversary of the Courthouse from 11:00 Saturday morning until 3:00 in the afternoon at the Courthouse downtown Salem.  Bring your chosen drawing/painting supplies. Some supplies will be provided by the Salem Area Arts Council if needed, so come and enjoy a relaxing time of making art!  All ages are invited and photos of the building will be furnished for those wishing to work from a photo reference. Finished artwork may be displayed at the Salem City Library upon completion.

In a press release sent by Dent County Prosecutor Andrew Curley, he reports that Jacob Stotler of Salem pled guilty to three counts of possession of child pornography. A sentencing hearing was held on September 24th in front of Judge Michael Randazzo. The counsel for Stotler sought a suspended imposition of sentence due to defendant’s lack of criminal history and previous acts of philanthropy throughout the region. Prosecutor Curley sought a conviction involving a suspended execution of sentence for a term of seven years for each count, due to the nature of the material seized from the Stotler’s computer. At the conclusion of the hearing, Judge Randazzo sentenced the defendant to seven years in the Missouri Department of Corrections with a suspended execution of that sentence for each count, placing the defendant on five years’ probation that imposed a litany of probation conditions.

The Dent County Historical Society is hosting the 155th Birthday of the Dent County Courthouse in downtown Salem on Saturday, October 4th from 11:00 in the morning until about 4:00 in the afternoon. Prepare to be entertained with a variety of performances and activities. Please bring a lawn chair or blanket, and maybe a picnic basket, to relax and enjoy the local concerts, featuring a diverse range of groups and vocalists for an enjoyable early afternoon concert. This event is not just a celebration, it’s a community gathering. It’s free and open to everyone, ensuring that all can join in the festivities. To start the festivities at 11:00, there will be a prayer, Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of “God Bless America” in front of the Dent County Courthouse. Musical entertainment will be provided by Southern Sound, the Current River Bluegrass Band, and a group from Walking Faith Ministries. At noon, Country Mart will deliver 155 mini cupcakes for the singing of “Happy Birthday” to the courthouse. At about 12:45, Rick Mansfield will portray one of his characters, Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, to tell the story of Schoolcraft when he enters Dent County in 1818, before Missouri becomes a state. The final ceremony will begin at 3:00 in the afternoon with Deloris Gray Wood, President of the Dent County Historical Society, acting as the Master of Ceremonies. Cindy Ard, the elected Dent County Recorder of Deeds, will share her perspective on the Dent County Courthouse, and Liz Seay Condray will speak about the Seay family and its connections to the Dent County Courthouse. Items of interest that the public can view that are scheduled to be downtown will be the Glass Carriage from the James & Gahr Funeral Home, an Air Evac Helicopter is set to be available for a two-hour window, three of the Dent County Fire Protection District newest Fire Trucks will be parked between the City of Salem Administrative Office and the Dent County Courthouse on Iron Street, plus the Current River Cruisers will be showcasing their antique cars, along with other vintage vehicles, including some of Glen Sapaugh’s antique cars, as well as a 2023 Chevy Corvette. The Salem Public Library, which is celebrating its 10th year at its location, will be where Kent Nichols’ Movie: “Civil War in the Ozarks: Battle for Dent County” will be shown in the downstairs library meeting room. The Dent County Museum will also be open near the top of East Salem Hill from 1:00-4:00 Saturday afternoon, October 4th. The Bank of Salem is providing the Dent County Historical Society with headquarters in its Courtesy Room. In case of rain or an unexpected event, the City of Salem City Hall Auditorium will be available for the live event. For more information, contact Deloris Gray Wood, Society President at 573 729-1496.

The Missouri Department of Conservation and Rolla Parks and Recreation Department will host an Outdoor Skills: Primitive Fire-Starting and Campfire Cooking program October 4 from 10:00 in the morning to 1:00 in the afternoon at Eugene North Community Hall, 400 W. 4th Street in Rolla. MDC Conservation Educator Dwight Warnke will teach participants how to start fires without matches using char cloth and flint-and-steel devices. Char cloth is partially charred material that catches sparks easily when flint and steel are struck together, creating embers that can start fires for recreational or emergency purposes. The program will also include campfire cooking recipes and food preparation techniques. Warnke noted that primitive fire-starting skills can enhance camping experiences and provide valuable emergency preparedness knowledge. The free program is limited to 50 participants and requires registration. All materials will be provided. Registration can be found on the MDC website at mdc.mo.gov/events. For more information, email Dwight.Warnke@mdc.mo.gov.

The Missouri Department of Transportation is looking to fill open full-time maintenance positions and hire emergency maintenance equipment operators to supplement the department’s winter weather response efforts in the upcoming months. MoDOT employs 2,400 maintenance employees across the state to maintain more than 33,000 miles of state routes, but more help is needed, especially in the winter months to treat and plow ahead of, throughout and after winter weather events. To help recruit for the effort, MoDOT is offering greater flexibility for emergency and volunteer help in the form of two shifts, an eight-hour shift and/or a 12-hour shift. The minimum starting salary is $19.91 per hour, depending on level of experience, with an additional $3 or $6 per hour based on area of operation. For the full-time maintenance worker positions, salaries vary based on experience. Applicants need to be at least 18 years old and successfully complete a criminal background check (a misdemeanor or felony conviction is not an automatic restriction to employment). It’s preferrable for applicants to have a CDL permit for full-time help, but emergency worker applicants must already possess a CDL.  To learn more about these career opportunities, visit modot.org/opportunities-maintenance. For more information, call MoDOT at 888-ASK-MODOT (275-6636) or visit www.modot.org. 

The Salem Memorial Hospital Board of Directors will hold their regular meeting tonight at 7:00 in the hospital library. After the call to order, roll call and approval of the agenda, public comments or presentations that are limited to 3 minutes will be heard, before the operational reports. No old business is on the agenda, however new business to be conducted includes approving the policies and procedures from the Pharmacy, Social Services, Rehab, HIM, and Revenue Cycle departments, discussion of Capital Improvement Needs, and credentialing new privileges. The board will go into executive session to discuss legal issues. Except for the executive session the meeting of the Salem Hospital Board of Directors is open to the public. Anyone that would like to attend by telephone or electronic means should contact the SMH Administration office at 573-729-6626 Extension 4005.

The Dent County Commission met Monday morning at the courthouse. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Keith Green said rock would be added and grading done on Dent County Road 5070, plus rock will be added where needed. Green said grading will also be done on Dent County Road 6470. He indicated a new employee would be getting trained on the brush cutting Mannis machine on county road 6250. District 2 Commissioner Jimmy Williams reported workers will be adding rock and grading on Dent County Roads 4380 and 4060, while only grading will be done on county roads 4390 and 4070. Williams said the grader blade will be changed out on grader #37, and chip and seal Duro-patching will continue on county roads 2240 and 2250. Presiding Commissioner Gary Larson attended an opioid committee meeting last week, but there were no proposals approved as the committee agreed the meeting was not advertised well enough and will reschedule the meeting. Larson also said he will need to be at a Solid Waste Management Advisory Board meeting Wednesday morning in Jefferson City. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said she would like to have the high school art students design a new “I Voted” sticker for the 2026 elections. She did this three years ago and had quite a bit of participation. The next meeting of the Dent County Commissioners will be Thursday morning at the courthouse at 9:00 and the meeting is open to the public.

The Dent County Health Center (DCHC) Board of Trustees met, September 18th. Administrator Zach Moser presented the Service and Statistics report for the month of August. In the Communicable Disease Report, he stated there were no cases of COVID-19 reported, however the sewer shed testing has confirmed that the virus is present, while the active lead cases were reported at 34, plus 10 Communicable Disease cases. Moser noted that he questioned the August report of 74 Lead cases due to new personnel handling the reporting. There was one Influenza A case, 4 animal bites were report, and there were 13 screenings for sexually transmitted infections, resulting in 36 total tests. The August environmental report showed there where 16 total inspections conducted. The Maternal-Child Health (MCH) statistics showed there were no car seats distributed, and one Show-Me Healthy Women appointment, there were 2 CPR Courses, two consultations for Childcare Health, and 18 Title X appointments were reported. There were no Presumptive Eligibility, while there were 373 WIC appointments. The Community-Specific Services Summary showed 619 total appointments other than WIC, 130 total provider appointments, 182 treatment court visits, 161 lab appointments and 147 immunization appointments. Nurse Practitioner Service Details showed 2 Show-Me Healthy Women appointment, 15 family plannings, 4 well-child visits, 3 other well-woman exams, 21 other physicals, plus 40 other visits, and 45 acute illness appointments for a total of 115 visits. Laboratory details showed 199 Lab Draws, 8 appointments for Rapid Test for COVID, Flu, RSV or Strep, 2 pregnancy tests, 14 lead tests were reported, plus 28 other urine drug screenings. Phlebotomy Appointments totaled 137, while all Lab Appointments totaling 161. Immunizations for August showed none for COVID-19 or for Influenza, and 293 other vaccines given during 147 appointments. In the Administrator’s report, Moser reported on the success of the Back-to-School Drive. Moser said the CareCab transportation program has been launched and is providing local needs. He discussed the financial delays from the state of Missouri due to their process changes after their new Fiscal year, plus he noted that the DCHC has opportunities to contract with other LPHA’s for nutritionist support. Zach discussed the Community Healthy Assessment report results and invited the Board to participate in the Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) process going forward. Financials were reviewed and discussed, during which Moser explained that the interest rates and investment plan approved at the last meeting could not be honored by the bank. He presented a new list of rates from the Bank of Salem, Town and Country Bank, Progressive Ozark Bank, and MOSIP. Discussion was had on the appropriate amount to hold in checking versus the MOSIP money market versus CDs. Motion was made, seconded and passed to purchase a 1-year CD with MOSIP at 4.14%. A motion was also made, seconded and passed to invest the bulk of funds from the Riverways Federal Credit Union money market and checking accounts into the MOSIP account, while leaving enough in the accounts to keep them open. The Board entered closed session at 6:50. The next meeting date is Thursday, October 16th, at 5:00.