Archive for 2025

The Board of Adjustments will be holding a hearing today at 6:00 in the evening at 202 North Washington. After the call to order, the board will recognize anyone who wishes to speak to the request for variance from Section 405.130 of the City of Salem Code of Ordinances to allow construction of a front porch inside the front setback of the property located at 603 South Carty Street owned by Olivia Wisdom. After the hearing a public meeting will be held to approve or reject the request for variance.

The Board of Aldermen held a special meeting yesterday evening at 6:00 in the Auditorium at 202 N. Washington Street to discuss Bill No. 3653. The proposed legislation would extend the project completion deadline to June 1st and authorize the installation of a stormwater drainage trough at the pedestrian bump-out, including metal plates for pedestrian access. Following discussion, the Board unanimously approved the change order, which will add an additional $9,900.00 to City expenditures, with no matching funds from the Missouri Department of Transportation, bringing the total budget allocation from prior fiscal year funds for this project to $96,059.84.

The public is invited to an open house-style public meeting for Echo Bluff and Current River state parks and the Trails of Roger Pryor Pioneer Backcountry on Saturday, May 10th, starting at 1:00 in the afternoon at Echo Bluff State Park. Representatives from Missouri State Parks will be on hand to provide information about these facilities and answer questions. The public is encouraged to share comments about the sites and their operations. The open house will be held in conjunction with an Echo Bluff lodge summer kickoff event. The public meeting booth will be behind the Betty Lea Lodge at Echo Bluff State Park located at 35244 Echo Bluff Drive in Eminence. 

Salem R80 Superintendent, Dr. Nate Wills, recently shared important economic and budgetary information relative to teachers’ salaries and future funding. According to Wills, R80 is currently facing a challenge unlike any they’ve encountered before: a potential future need to cut over one million dollars from the budget in order to fund much-needed raises for it’s dedicated teachers. Currently, the starting salary for a teacher in Salem with zero years of experience and a bachelor’s degree is $32,000. The state of Missouri currently provides grants that bridge the gap for any teacher earning below the $40,000 threshold—not just those making $32,000. For context, any teacher with a bachelor’s degree and 14 years or less of experience at R80 is earning less than $40,000. Additionally, for the 25-26 school year, teachers with a master’s degree and 10 years of experience must now be paid at least $46,000, with the state once again covering the difference. Salem R80 currently has 111 staff members on the teacher salary schedule, and 59.5% of them fall below the new required salary minimums for the 2025-2026 school year. At first glance, the solution might seem straightforward—cut unnecessary expenses, eliminate waste, and find savings. The most difficult aspect of this challenge is that cutting over one million dollars is not as simple as reducing administrative positions or eliminating discretionary programs. In reality, it would likely require cutting one to two teachers from each grade level—approximately 20 positions, or 18% of our teaching staff. These cuts would directly affect students’ educational experience and put critical support services at risk, including special education, extracurricular activities, and even basic classroom supplies. Readers might be wondering: what would it cost to move to the new salary minimums without the state grant? Currently, the district would face an additional $946,850 in salary costs and $151,023 in benefits (retirement and Medicare), totaling $1,097,873. It’s important to reiterate that Salem R80 is NOT currently facing these cuts as of yet. The state is still funding the teacher baseline salary grant. But it is just that…a grant. Which means there is little to no guarantee that this mandate continues to be a funded mandate. As work continues with the school board and other community leaders to find a sustainable solution, Dr. Wills asked for your understanding. The goal is to strike a balance that honors both the dedication of R80 teachers and the needs of our students. This means that Salem R80 Schools may face tough decisions ahead and may need creative input from our community. Every option carries trade-offs, and Wills recognizes that any decision made will impact some more than others. In the meantime, Salem R80 will continue to do the important work of guiding students to become productive members of Dent County and beyond. Dr. Wills noted that his door is open for visits at 1409 West Rolla Road or phone him at 573-729-6642 to discuss this and other educational issues.

Mayor Greg Parker has called for a special meeting of the Board of Aldermen for 6:00 this evening at the Old City Hall Auditorium at 202 North Washington. After the call to order, roll call, and approval of the agenda Bill No. 3653, an ordinance authorizing the Mayor to execute Change Order No. 4 with Donald Maggi, Inc., for the Salem Sidewalk Improvement Project (TAP 9901(520)) will be considered.

The Community Blood Center of the Ozarks, the sole supplier of blood, platelets, and plasma to patients at 45 area healthcare facilities, is asking everyone to team up to help support blood needs in their community by donating during the “Bleed Red” promotion at the upcoming community blood drive in Salem on Tuesday, May 13th from 12:00 noon until 6:00 in the evening at the First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall at 201 North MacArthur. Successful donors will receive a three-quarter sleeve Springfield Cardinals baseball T-shirt and a voucher for two free admissions to an upcoming Springfield Cardinals game, while supplies last. Community Blood Center of the Ozarks donors provide all the blood for patients at Salem Memorial District Hospital, Phelps Health, as well as other healthcare facilities. To help avoid wait times, appointments are strongly encouraged. Donors can schedule an appointment at www.cbco.org/baseball/ or by calling 417-227-5006.

There will be a “Sign N’ Wine” class on creating Spring Front Porch Welcome Signs with Danielle Norris will be held on Friday, May 9th from 6:00 until 9:00 in the evening. What better way to welcome spring than with a customized sign for your front porch! Stencils and all the supplies are provided. You can bring a board or purchase one from us. The Arts Center boards will be 8 inches wide by 34 inches long. or 15 by 15 square You bring your ideas, and we will supply you with the instructions and one on one help to make your perfect piece! Feel free to bring your own vinyl for patterns or any extra things you may want on your sign. The cost of the class is is $35 if we supply a board, or $20 if you supply your own At least six people must attend the class and it will be limited to 16.  To sign up, go to the SACBA website, click on “Programs” link and then on the Creative Arts Center.

The spring season brings blooms, sunny skies, warmer temperatures, and a variety of newborn animals. Young wildlife can pull on our heartstrings as they look to be abandoned, but that’s rarely the case. The Missouri Department of Conservation reminds the public that the best place for wildlife is in the wild. A common newborn species we may encounter in the spring is young birds. When you see newborns alone, that means the parents are likely out searching for food and will return. If you see a chick with feathers hopping on the ground, leave it alone because it’s a fledgling and its parents are nearby keeping watch. Fledglings can spend up to 10 days on the ground learning to fly. If you find one that has no feathers, it likely fell out of its nest, and you can return it to the nesting area if possible. Another animal you shouldn’t interfere with is young rabbits. Rabbits seldom survive in captivity and can actually die of fright from being handled. A common myth is that human scent does will cause wild mothers to reject their young but that’s not true. It takes a lot of knowledge to care for and rehabilitate wild animals and it requires special training, permits, and facilities. Not to mention, it’s illegal to possess many wild animals without a valid state or federal permit. Wildlife can become dangerous as they mature, and can carry disease, parasites, and cause property damage. People have good intentions, and it can be tempting to take these cute, young animals in our homes, but the best thing we can do for wild animals is to leave them in the wild.

The Missouri Department of Revenue is warning Missourians of ongoing nationwide text scams. The department has received a large increase in calls reporting these phishing texts. These texts are often threatening, claiming to be from the Missouri Department of Revenue or Department of Motor Vehicles and may include a warning regarding unpaid traffic violations, outstanding toll charges, or fines owed. These texts are NOT from the Missouri Department of Revenue and are NOT LEGITIMATE. The department will not send requests for payment or request personal information via text message. If you receive one of these phishing texts do NOT click on any links in the text, do NOT respond to the text, and be sure to delete the text. The department is working with law enforcement agencies to mitigate these illegal messages.

The Dent County Commissioners met Monday morning at the courthouse. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Keith Green said grading would be done on Dent County Roads 2430, 4220 and 5630, while brush will be cut on county road 5380. He also said culvert work was going to be done in various locations. District 2 Commissioner Jimmy Williams said his crew would be adding rock and grading Dent County Roads 3190, 3200 and 4390; while only grading would be done on county road 4380. Williams said crew members would be picking up county truck #126 from Knapheide in Jefferson City. Presiding Commissioner Gary Larson said MODOT has announced 16.5 million dollars are available for TAP grants for hiking and biking trails, sidewalks, or other alternative methods. Contact Kelly Sink at the MRPC if interested at 573-265-2993. Larson also said MRPC will be holding an informational meeting to discuss disaster relief grants from the tornado damage on May 7th, but he wasn’t sure if that was for those counties that were listed for state and federal assistance. Dent County Collector Angie Curley said her office balanced with the collector and assessor for the month of April on all collections, add-ons and abatements. She also said her office balanced with the treasurer on all monthly accounts for April. Curley also said people should start receiving their voter registration cards in the mail, and if they don’t receive one by May 15th, call the county clerk’s office at 573-729-4144. Dent County Emergency Management Director Derrick Marfitt came in to give the commission an update on the FEMA reimbursements and claims. He said May 15th will be the last day the county can submit a loss or damages that needs to be included in the county FEMA road and bridge claims. Marfitt said he and FEMA officials inspected every road in Dent County as part of the FEMA quality control program. Marfitt said he has everything ready to go and will submit it provided there are no more damage claims, but when the commissioners asked about reimbursement, that will not happen until FEMA considers each claim as a “finished project.” City of Salem City Administrator Sally Burbridge was in attendance and the commissioners were asking about the light poles and fixtures that city was using for their TAP grant to improve the sidewalks. Burbridge said she didn’t have the exact costs with her but said it ran about $25,000 per half block for the poles and fixtures which did NOT include installation. She also said the city had two sizes of poles: 20-foot poles at the 4th Street and Highway 19 intersections, and 14-foot poles on the streets that also featured flag and banner holders. The commissioners said they wanted to match what the city was doing on their TAP grant for new sidewalks around the courthouse and that included the light poles but wanted to know who was responsible for the new poles: the city or the county. The old specs by Great Rivers Engineering had the old poles being removed and reinstalled for $1,000 each for the eight poles, but they later said that couldn’t be done because of the construction of the poles. Burbridge suggested a possible cost share between the city and county, but told the commission to have Great Rivers Engineering get with her and she could also provide them with actual pricing of the poles. Dent County Collector Shannon VanKirk told the commission she mailed out 102 parcels for delinquent tax payments and that those parcels will be going to the tax sale. VanKirk said people will have until no later than June 30th to have those tax parcels paid up. The next meeting of the commissioners will be Monday, May 12th at 9:00 as the courthouse will be closed Thursday for Truman’s Birthday.

The Planning and Zoning Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing and meeting tonight at 6:00 at 202 Washington Street in the Old City Hall Auditorium. The hearing will be to recognize anyone that wishes to speak on the following rezoning requests. A request by Jacqueline Flaherty for conditional use for vacation rental located at 304 E. Center St. A request by Southwest Baptist University to rezone property located at 501 S. Grand St. from R1 to Commercial. A request from Southwest Baptist University for conditional use for Compass Health to provide counseling service in Residential Zone located at 501 S. Grand. Following the close of the hearing the Commissioners will hold a meeting to consider the acceptance or rejection of each request listed followed by adjournment. The public hearing and meeting are open to the public.