Posts by Stan Podorski

According to the City of Salem’s Facebook Page the City of Salem Administration Office has been receiving reports from local businesses that they are getting emails from what appear to be local officials asking for passwords. The City of Salem wants residents and businesses to know that they would never ask for your password information in an email. They advise the public to be cautious about opening suspicions emails and it is often best to delete suspicious messages without opening them as they could contain viruses. If you have any questions you can contact the City of Salem at 573-729-4811.

The City of Salem will hold a public hearing on Tuesday evening, January 14th at 6:00 at the Old City Hall Auditorium located at 202 North Washington St. to discuss the city’s submission of the Community Development Block Grant Program Mitigation application for a new storm warning siren system. The city is interested in obtaining all citizens’ input on community development needs within the city. The city needs as much local participation as possible in order to reflect the true desires of the community as a whole, as well as the comments relating to the proposed project application. The State has established a maximum application request for each funding category. Activities that are eligible for funding include the improvement of public works, public facilities, housing rehabilitation, and others allowed by law. At least 51% of the funds must be used to benefit low-and-moderate income persons. No displacement of persons will be proposed. The city is proposing to upgrade the emergency siren system by replacing the eight existing sirens with two new sirens that provide community-wide coverage using the latest technology. The total project cost is estimated at approximately $133,532. The city proposes to contribute $27,500 in cash and approximately $6,032 in in-kind work, with CDBG grant funds of $100,000 needed to make up the balance. All citizens are encouraged to attend in order to comment on the proposed activities. For more information, contact City Administrator Sally Burbridge at 573-729-4811 or by email at cityadminstrator@salemmo.com. If you need special accommodations to attend the public hearing, including LEP assistance, please contact the City Administration office by Friday afternoon, January 10th by 2:00. The meeting will be held at an accessible location and the city will make every effort possible to provide reasonable accommodation.

The Healthy Dent County Fitness Center will again offer their Line Dancing classes again this year Tuesday nights throughout the month of February at 6:30 at the Salem Community Center @ The Armory. The cost to attend is $5.00 and just pay at the door. The class instructor is Rosalie Wright. For more information call 739-1127 or e-mail susie@salemcommunitycenter.org. 

The Dent County Health Center is providing warming items for those in need with winter coats, gloves, mittens, hats and NEW socks. They will continue to provide the service this year, but right now they are in need of support from Salem and Dent County to replenish their stock. If you would like to help restock the items people have already picked up, you can donate gloves, mittens, all sizes of hats, new socks and blankets. For more information, to donate items or to make monetary donations for staff to purchase items for the warming center at the Dent County Health Center, or if you need someone to pick up your donations, feel free to call them at 729-3106 or stop by the Dent County Health Center on Highway 32-72 East. 

On Friday night, January 17th from 5:00 until 8:00 at the Creative Arts Center, students can learn to make Chunky Knit Blanket with Danielle Kissir. Learn how to finger knit a chunky blanket. This is a beginners class and open to those 10 years of age and older. The cost of the class is $75 with supplies included. There must at least five people sign up to hold the class. To sign up, go to the SACBA website, click on “Programs” link and then on Creative Arts Center.

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.