Archive for 2025

Dent County is accepting applications for opioid remediation projects through its Opioid Settlement funding. Businesses, not-for-profit organizations and tax entities serving Dent County are eligible to apply. Applications are due January 15th, 2025. These funds come from a joint effort to hold accountable those companies that have contributed to the opioid epidemic across the nation. In 2020, the Missouri General Assembly established the Opioid Addiction Treatment and Recovery Fund to receive settlement payments. In 2021, the state received its initial settlement payment. As of January 2024, settlements continue to be negotiated and finalized by the state and the political subdivisions that signed on to the lawsuit. Dent County is one of 106 counties participating in the opioid lawsuit. For a project to be eligible for funding, it should be listed on the Exhibit E, Schedule B of the Missouri Department of Mental Health’s Approved Uses for Opioid Remediation, located at https://moopioidsettlements.dmh.mo.gov/Resources/AllowableUses. Dent County has funding priorities in the areas of transportation, child and family support services, housing, prevention education, reentry services, support groups, law enforcement and first responders, treatment court and community support services. Those interested in applying can receive an application by contacting the Dent County Opioid Fund Disbursement Board Chairman Lieutenant Rick Letchworth at 573-729-3241 or rickletchworth@dentcountysheriff.org. Letchworth will collect proposals and review projects for completeness to ensure that activities proposed are eligible and will then submit all projects to the Dent County Commission, along with its administrative review information, for the county to make funding decisions and disburse funds at the January 30th, 2025, Dent County Opioid Fund Disbursement Board meeting. The board is asking that applicants attend that meeting to present their proposals. MRPC assisted the commission with developing its application and process and will assist the county by ensuring selected projects are eligible expenditures under opioid settlements. MRPC will also be helping to secure required documentation and reporting. To keep up with the latest MRPC news and events, visit the MRPC website at www.meramecregion.org or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/meramecregion/.

The Creative Arts Center in Salem will hold a “Painting the Landscape with Oils” Workshop with Lee Copen on Wednesday, January 15th from 9:00 in the morning until 3:00 in the afternoon with a break for lunch. Students will learn about oil painting techniques and processes, including mixing the correct values and colors with a limited palette and will work from the provided photo. Materials provided include a 9×12 or similar size canvas panel, oil paintings brushes, oil paint, turpentine, palette paper and oil painting medium. This workshop is for beginner through advanced students. The class is open to those 13 years of age and older. The cost of the class is $75. There must be four people sign up to hold the class and it will be limited to 12. To sign up, go to the SACBA website, click on “Programs” link and then on the Creative Arts Center.

The Community Blood Center of the Ozarks blood drive originally scheduled to be at the First Baptist Church in Salem today, has been moved to the Salem Memorial Hospital, 35629 Highway 72, Salem. Located in the bloodmobile in the hospital parking lot. Hours will be from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM. To help avoid wait times, appointments are strongly encouraged. Donors can schedule an appointment at www.cbco.org/donate-blood or by calling 417-227-5006.

The Dent County Sheriff’s Department wants to inform our community about a recent scam that has come to their attention. They have received reports of a caller claiming to be associated with the Dent County Sheriff’s Office, stating that there is a warrant out for your arrest. This scammer is using advanced AI technology to generate a voice that mimics our Sheriff, making the call seem legitimate. Please remember that NO ONE from the Dent County Sheriff’s Office will ever call you regarding a warrant. Also, they will NEVER call you and ask you to make payments using gift cards. If you receive a call like this, do not engage with the caller and do not send any payments. Instead, hang up and report the incident to the Dent County Sheriff’s Office or the Salem Police Department. The sheriff’s department number is 573-729-3241 and the Salem Police Department’s number is 573-729-6550. Be aware, and stay safe and vigilant in the new year.

A “Moose’in Around” Kids Paint Party wll be held Friday evening, January 10th from 5:30 to 7:00 with Danielle Norris at the Creative Arts Center. Come and paint a cute moose for some winter time fun! The cost of the class is $20 for adults and $10 for children and all supplies are included. There must be six people sign up to hold the class and it will be limited at 25. All ages are allowed with a guardian present. Also on Monday, January 13th you can attend a Beginner Friendly Crochet Beanie workshop to be held in the evening from, 5:30 to 8:00 with Gail Phelan at the Creative Arts Center. Be sure to bring your favorite hooks and scissors. All other supplies will be provided. You should already be comfortable crocheting chains and single crochet. They will make a basic beanie, talk about how to read a pattern, learn how to crochet in the round and how to customize size. The cost of the program is $30. All ages are welcome as long as they know basic crochet. There must be at least two people sign up to hold the class and it will be limited to six. To sign up for either class, go to the SACBA website, click on “Programs” link and then on the Creative Arts Center.

On Friday, January 3rd, Governor Mike Parson filled a vacancy in the Crawford County Clerk’s Office. Kimberly Gibbs of Steelville was appointed as the Crawford County Clerk. Ms. Gibbs currently serves as a substitute teacher for the Steelville R-3 School District and previously served as a full-time teacher for the district. She further serves as a Crawford County Farm Bureau board member and as vice chair of the Crawford County University Extension. Ms. Gibbs holds a Bachelor of Science in education from Missouri State University.

The Dent County Sheriff’s office released some reports for December. On Sunday December 15th deputies responded to the 18000 block of Highway C for a reported burglary at the Lenox Fire Department. The reporting party, a 60-year-old Salem man, advised entry was forced into the building and multiple items were stolen. The case remains active. Then on Wednesday December 18th deputies took a report for a theft that occurred in the 100 block of County Road 6245. The victim, a 40-year-old Salem woman, advised multiple kayaks were stolen from her property.  The next week on Monday December 23rd deputies responded to the 8000 block of N. Highway 19 for a reported disturbance. During the course of the investigation, it was determined that a 52-year-old Salem woman was injured during a physical confrontation with a 33-year-old Salem woman.  On Christmas eve December 24th deputies responded to the 2000 block of County Road 6210 for a reported domestic assault. The victim, a 38-year-old Jadwin woman, advised she was physically assaulted by her estranged paramour, a 41-year-old Jadwin man. The investigation is ongoing. if you have any information on an ongoing investigation please call the Sheriff’s office at 573-729-3241. 

The Salem Board of Aldermen held a special meeting of the Board Thursday evening at 5:30. After approving the agenda, the Board listened to the first and second reading of Bill Number 3636, an ordinance that would approve the Change Order #2 for the City Sidewalk TAP Grant project. This Change Order will be an increase to the City’s expenditures, with no match from MoDOT, in the amount of $10,807.00. This will be the cost to tear out and replace the heated sidewalk areas from Main to Washington Street on the south side of the road. The replacement portion from the original plans was for the apron only, but this change order also moves the snow-melt systems into the ADA-compliant sidewalk as well. The original total for the project from prior years funds was $73,409.84. With the two new change orders adding $1,943 from Change Order #1, and $10,807.00 from Change Order #2, the total cost from prior year’s funds would be $86,159.84. After approving Bill  Number 3636, the meeting adjourned.

Many people used their credit devices over the holidays for shopping and other everyday uses, but that opens the door for scammers to be able target innocent consumers like you. In a world of Artificial Intelligence, we can no longer immediately believe something even if we see or hear it. If something out of the ordinary comes up, don’t be afraid to say you are going to verify this with your company. Don’t be bullied! Just stop, hang up and call the company. Another rule of thumb is that anyone is asking for your payment card is up to no good. As a rule, never give your card to anyone, even if the card has been cut up, because it can still be used if the chip is intact. Trending scams show that scammers are now capable of taking personal devices and authorizing payments from people’s phones. Make sure your apps have multi-factor authentication like biometrics and one-time-passcodes required to access and transact. Investing can be exciting, but don’t let yourself get caught up in promises of fast returns. Counterfeit investment apps and digital currencies that require you to pay unexpected fees are an active threat. If someone emails or texts you a link to download an app, don’t click on it because it may take you to a site that looks like the real thing but is fake. Instead, go to the app store and download it from there. Before investing, do your research and make sure the investment platforms are secure. Certain information, such as card and account numbers, online credentials, etc. should be shared with extreme caution. Never share information that can be used in a security question anywhere. Stay vigilant to protect your accounts and make 2025 a great year!

The Dent County Commission met for the first time in 2025 at the courthouse and Presiding Commissioner Gary Larson welcomed in new road commissioners Keith Green for District 1 and Jimmy Williams for District 2. In their first road report, Green said District 1 crews were grading Dent County Roads 4220 and 6460, and were also getting the equipment ready for the possibility of a winter storm this weekend. Williams said District 2 crews were adding rock to and grading Dent County Road 3260, while only grading was being done on county road 5240. Williams said rock would also be added to county road 2570. Williams said the county took fuel bids for regular unleaded gas and the low bid went to County Fuels. He also said that he, Commissioner Green and newly elected assessor Alisa Brookshire all attended the MAC training for newly elected county officials. He said the training was very informative. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley reported filing has ended for the April Municipal Election and all tax entities will need to have their election certification to the county clerk’s office by 5:00 on January 28th. She said the county continues to work on the 2025 budget and said a tentative budget would be ready for the public by Monday, January 13th at 10:00 in her office. The final county budget hearing will be held at 10:00 in the morning on January 23rd in the commissioners’ office in the courthouse which will be open to the public. The next meeting of the commission will be Monday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and it is open to the public.

Colonel Eric T. Olson, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, provided the following preliminary statistics related to the New Year’s holiday. The 2025 New Year’s holiday counting period began at 6:00 Tuesday evening, December 31st, 2024, and ended at 11:59 Wednesday night, January 1st, 2025. The 2025 New Year’s Holiday Traffic Statistics showed that Troopers investigated 44 Traffic Crashes, resulting in 21 Traffic Crash Injuries and there were no Traffic Crash Fatalities. Troopers made 50 DWI arrests. There were no boating crashes and no drownings over the 2025 New Year’s holiday counting period. The fatality statistics in this news release could change if late deaths occur, or if other departments report fatal traffic crashes after this news release is sent to the media. Follow the Missouri State Highway Patrol on X @MSHPTrooperGHQ.

The Creative Arts Center will hold a Sunday Crafting starting this Sunday and held every Sunday through January 26th from 2:00 until 6:00 with Nicole Curtis. Bring your supplies to the Creative Arts Center and hang out, spending time with other crafty people. You do have to have all your own supplies and only the front room and bathrooms will be available. The class is open to all those 16 years of age and older with a suggestion donation of $5.00 that goes towards utilities. No children without an adult please.