Your World Today

This past Saturday at the Class 4, District 9 competition held at the East Central College, Salem band members and members of the Salem Choir competed with a number of them earning the right to go on to the state competition. Moving onto the state competition for the band will be Jarrod Brooks on the tenor saxophone, Xander During on the bass clarinet, Christopher Harris on the euphonium and Reagin Toten on the trumpet. In the small ensemble competition, the Clarinet Quartet comprised of Jarrod Brooks, Xander During, Alyson Leach and Kaison Wilmont will be competing at state. For the Salem Choir, seven different choir members’ solos qualified them to move on to state. Those choir members are Devon Blackwell, Hannah Greener, Christopher Harris, Neely Leathers, Caroline Pryor, Liberty Ross and Miles Skaggs. Ensembles that also qualified for state are the Chamber Girls Trio comprised of Neely Leathers, Leya Russell and Ayva Callicutt; and the Chamber Boys group made up of Eli Brakensiek, Christopher Harris, Corby Ball, Miles Skaggs and Bryce Stewart. Congratulations to all the students going to state and all those who participated at districts.

The Dent County Commissioners did not meet Monday due to a lack of a quorum as First District Commissioner Wes Mobray was ill. The next meeting of the commissioners will be Thursday morning at 9:00 and the meeting is open to the public.

The Missouri Office of Broadband Development and University of Missouri Extension are still conducting a brief online survey on household internet access and use. The anonymous survey is still active and can be found online at muext.us/MissouriInternetSurvey. The survey, which takes about six minutes to complete, asks households about existing internet use such as devices used, connections and applications as well as barriers to Internet use such as financial obstacles, training and assistance needs. Allen Spell, the assistant extension professor of community and regional economics at the University of Missouri, says broadband can boost a community’s economic growth and quality of life with benefits including gains in job growth, income and gross domestic product. Spell states realizing those benefits requires not just the physical availability of high-speed Internet connections but also the use of those connections for applications and expanded opportunities relating to education, employment and business. According to B.J. Tanksley, the director of the Office of Broadband Development, hearing from citizens in urban and especially rural areas is an incredibly valuable part of understanding our state’s needs. Tanksley encourages everyone who has Internet service to complete the survey, and hopes those who do NOT have Internet service can find a public access location to go online and complete the survey which will be used to obtain community feedback to support the development of data-driven tools reinforcing the Office of Broadband Development’s broadband efforts across the state.

The Creative Arts Center will host a Leprechaun Paint and Sip event Friday night from 6:00 to 8:00 with Danielle Norris. Grab your pints and your mates and head to The Creative Arts Center for a fun and relaxing night. The artist will take you step by step through a cute St. Patty’s Day painting. A minimum of six must sign up with a limit of 25 people for the event. The cost of the class is $25. An additional $5 charge will be added for those who pay at the door. For more information or to sign up, call or text 573-247-0651, or you can go online at salemcommunitybetterment.com and look under programs for the Salem Creative Arts Center.

The City of Salem Board of Aldermen will be meeting this evening starting at 6:00 at the City Hall Council Chambers. After the consent agenda, Mark Nash will talk with the board about selling two current water department trucks: a 2014 Ford F-450 dump truck and a 2008 Ford F-150 pickup. The sale of these vehicles would help offset the purchase of a 2018 Dodge Ram that would carry tools and equipment that service man would need. The cost of the van is $17,800. The board also asked for bids for the sale of the 1932 Firetruck and they will discuss the six bids received. The board will hear and discuss Resolutions #8 and 9-2023 that would first authorize the mayor to sign the documents approving the final completion for the scope of work between Energy Solutions Professionals, LLC and the city of Salem, and then authorize the mayor to reauthorize the remaining funds totaling $92,019 through Signature Bank that was originally designated to pay for work to be done by ESP. The board will discuss Resolution 10-2023 that would authorize the mayor to sign the Section 179D Energy Efficiency Commercial Building Deduction Allowance Form between the City of Salem & Energy Solutions Professionals, LLC. Resolution #11-2023 is a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute an agreement between the City of Salem and the Huntington National Bank for the lease of a 2023 Freightliner with a 2022 Terex C5048 Digger Derrick for $4,721.35 per month for five years. The board will then hear Bills #3534, 3535 and 3536 that authorize the mayor to execute and the City Clerk to attest to Quit-Claim Deeds between the City of Salem and the County of Dent. The first bill is for the vacating of an alley, the second bill is for the vacating of the eastern half of South Oak Street vacated by the city in 1994, and the third bill is for the vacating of some property in the Douglass Park Addition that was used as a city park in the 1920s until Highway 32 was rerouted through the center of the park. Title searches have not found who the property was conveyed to, if to anyone at all. The city will relinquish any claim it has to the property with the Quit-Claim Deed even if they legally do not have a claim to it at all. The board will then hear from City Administrator Sally Burbridge, Mayor Greg Parker, Public Works Director Mark Nash and each individual alderman before the meeting is adjourned. The meeting of the City of Salem Board of Aldermen is open to the public.