Local News – Thursday, September 3rd, 2020

The Dent County Fire Protection District board of directors met Tuesday evening at 6:00 at the fire station located at #2 South Main Street. After approval of the consent agenda, the minutes from the August meeting were reviewed and approved as presented. During the financial report, bills were reviewed and approved or the month. During the review of the calendar, it was noted that on the September 19th the Dent County Sheriff’s Department will be holding training, and on October 9th the Salem Memorial District Hospital will be installing child car seats. The monthly reimbursement report showed a total of 17 calls for the month of August including two structure fires, one car fire, and six first responder calls. The department was called to three vehicle accidents, had two training calls and responded to three fire alarms. This brings the calls year to date to 167 with the average cost per call being $120.01. In old business, Chief Brad Nash informed the board that the bathroom furnace had been installed. There were no reports or new business to discuss. The date for the next meeting was set for October 6th at the 6:00 at the fire station before the meeting adjourned.

Colonel Eric T. Olson, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, encourages everyone to plan for a safe 2020 Labor Day weekend. The Labor Day holiday is a busy boating weekend and it’s everyone’s responsibility to travel safely and observe all Missouri laws. It is also important to observe social distancing and other CDC guidelines related to the coronavirus, and stay home if you are ill. In 2019 over Labor Day, there were 11 boating crashes which included four injuries, and no fatalities. There were no drownings over last year’s Labor Day holiday. Troopers arrested 10 people for boating while intoxicated during last year’s counting period. Marine enforcement troopers will be working to make our waterways safer during the holiday weekend. Missouri’s boaters are asked to do their part by remaining alert for other boats and swimmers, and being courteous on the water. With more boats on the water, it is even more important to pay attention when operating a vessel. Remember: Smaller vessels should yield right-of-way to larger vessels. Boaters should avoid overloading their boat with too many passengers and always pay close attention to the boats around them. Never operate a vehicle or vessel while you are impaired as alcohol consumption slows reaction time. The public is encouraged to call the Patrol’s Emergency Report Line (800) 525-5555 or *55 on your cellular phone you they witness criminal activity or experience an emergency. If your celebration includes alcohol, designate someone else to drive whether you are in your boat or your car.

The U.S. Census Bureau continues to evaluate its operational plans to collect and process 2020 Census data. They are announcing updates to our plan that will include enumerator awards and the hiring of more employees to accelerate the completion of data collection and apportionment counts by our statutory deadline of December 31, 2020, as required by law and directed by the Secretary of Commerce. The Census Bureau’s new plan reflects their continued commitment protect the health and safety of the public and our workforce. A robust field data collection operation will ensure they receive responses from households that have not yet self-responded to the 2020 Census. They will improve the speed of the count without sacrificing completeness. As part of the revised plan, there will be additional training sessions and provide awards to enumerators in recognition of those who maximize hours worked. Field data collection will end by September 30, 2020. Self-response options will also close on that date to permit the commencement of data processing. Under this plan, the Census Bureau intends to meet a similar level of household responses as collected in prior censuses, including outreach to hard-to-count communities. Once they have the data from self-response and field data collection in their secure systems, they plan to review it for completeness and accuracy, streamline its processing, and prioritize apportionment counts to meet the statutory deadline. In addition staff will be increased to ensure operations are running at full capacity. The census bureau also recognizes that events can still occur that no one can control, such as additional complications from severe weather or other natural disasters. Priority will be given to the health and safety of the census workforce and the public and they will continue to follow Federal, state, and local guidance, including providing appropriate safety trainings and personal protective equipment to field staff. To date, 93 million households, nearly 63 percent of all households in the nation, have responded to the 2020 Census. If you know someone who has not yet responded, please encourage them to do so today online at 2020census.gov, over the phone at 1-844-330-2020, or by mail.