Your World Today

The Dent County Commissioners met Thursday morning for their regular meeting. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles was unable to attend the meeting do to symptoms from a concussion he suffered so county clerk Angie Curley appointed First District Commissioner Wes Mobray as acting presiding commissioner for the meeting. In the road report, Mobray said crews were out removing trees and limbs that were blown down during the storm overnight as well as cleaning out culverts and checking roads for any possible washouts. Brush was also being cut on county road 5600. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson said his crews were basically doing the same thing as well as patching chip and seal on a number of different roads with the ultimate paving material and were installing a new lift cylinder on the old loader. County Clerk Angie Curley said the courthouse would be closed Monday for President’s Day and the first day to absentee vote will be Tuesday, February 21st. She also said the last day to register to vote for the Municipal Election will be March 8th and sample ballots for all elections are available in her office. She did say there would be no polling location at Dent-Phelps R-3 and Green Forest R-2 as they have no school board election or any other issue they need to vote on. Curley said her office balanced with the county treasurer and collector on all accounts for January including collections, abatements and add-ons. She said she has the financial statement of the county for the year 2022 ready to be submitted to the newspaper. It must have a summary of the receipts of each fund, summary of disbursements and transfers of each fund, the beginning and ending cash balances for each fund, a summary of delinquent taxes for each fund, a summary of warrants for each fund, statement of bonded indebtedness at the beginning and end of the year for each fund, a statement of tax levies of each fund for the year, and gross annual salary of each elected or appointed county official. She has until June 30th to have it published in the Salem News and all the commissioners must sign the certificate of accuracy. Curley also said she received a letter from Rich Devereux and Company, LLC, that they will be unable to do the county audit they were awarded in January for $18,500 due to them being shorthanded. The county will have to put the audit out for bid again. The next meeting of the commissioners will be Thursday, February 23rd at the courthouse at 9:00 and the meeting will be open to the public.

The City of Salem held their regular Board of Alderman meeting on Thursday in the City Hall Council Chambers. The board approved a request from Kerri Konkel to close a number of streets on the afternoon of Sunday, May 7th for a Senior Parade. The board approved Resolution No. 5-2023, which is an agreement between the City of Salem and H.W. Lochner, Inc in the amount of $19,500 for the engineering and project oversight of six T-hangers at the Salem Memorial Airport. City Administrator Sally Burbridge reported that she has done several public education speaking engagements to educate the public about the upcoming sales tax and sewer bond issues on the April ballot. A Town Hall meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 21st from 5-7 PM at the Salem City Hall Auditorium to discuss the Downtown Project, Sewer Bond and Sales Tax issue that are on the April ballot. Mayor Greg Parker reported there are Line Dancing Classes being held at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory every Tuesday in February. The Salem Rotary Club Pancake Day will be held on Saturday, February 25th from 7-11 AM at the Salem Middle School. Park and Recreation Director, Melissa DuBois gave an update on the recent Park Board meeting. She noted there were 106 children that participated in the Football Skills and Drills training and Soccer sign-ups are going on now. The Garden Club will be donating and installing nearly $5,000 worth of trees in and around the perimeter of the city park. The new sound system has been installed at the Civic Theater and the projector is being installed by the electrician. Alderman Sisco reported that Bob Jenkins has resigned from the Finance Committee. She thanked him for his service. A new committee member is needed. If you would like to serve please e-mail Chairman Sisco at ksisco@salemmo.com. Alderman Bolerjack reported that the traffic light at Doss Road has been fixed by MoDOT. Alderman Williams gave a report on the recent Utility Committee meeting before the board went into closed session.

An accident happened Wednesday morning at 7:10 in Texas County on Highway 63 about three miles south of Licking that left a Salem man with moderate injuries. According to the highway patrol report, a 2020 Ford Mustang driven northbound by 57-year-old Gary Parks of Licking, crossed over the center line, then over-corrected and went off the right side of the road where they Mustang struck a guardrail. Suffering moderate injuries was a passenger in the Ford, 49-year-old Travis Fulton of Salem, who was taken by private conveyance to Phelps Health in Rolla. Both Fulton and Parks were wearing their seat restraints at the time of the accident. The Ford sustained extensive damage and was removed from the scene by Jay’s Automotive in Houston.

The Salem Park and Recreation Board met Wednesday evening at the Salem Community Center@The Armory. Park and Recreation Director Melissa Dubois reported that 106 children participated in the “Skills and Drills” Football camp that was held with the help of several Salem Tiger football players. She wanted to send out a big thank you to the Salem Tiger Youth coaches that ran the program. She said the 2023 soccer sign ups are going on now and feature two new ages groups: four and under, and six and under. She said those age groups will have skills building in the first half of their time with scrimmages the second half. She said there are already almost 50 children signed up in those ages and over 125 kids overall. She said the 14 and under age group has only seven sign ups at this time and more kids are needed for the age bracket to be held, although depending on the number of sign ups, ages 12, 13 and 14 could be combined. Dubois said the poles and lighting installation is complete at the Al Brown Field but the city is still waiting for funds to be released by ESP to complete the project which was initially going to be done through them. Dubois discussed an offer by the Spring Creek Garden Club to plant additional trees at the Salem City Park. The estimated cost of the trees, tree bags and delivery would be $4,725 and the garden club would pick up that cost. The club does ask that the city water the trees for the first year or two as well as getting the mulch and compost before planting which the club would install. The board approved the donation of trees and their planting by the Spring Creek Garden Club. Dubois did report the new house sound system has been installed at the Civic Theater in the old city hall auditorium, plus side curtains have been donated and installed by Everything Cinema. She said electric work in the projector room still needs to be completed. Dubois reported the infield drainage at the Blue Field at the city park has greatly improved and grounds keeper Don Smith will return to work on February 27th. The pool house floor work will be done when the weather warms up and the city now has four certified lifeguards. Dubois stated the fence banner sponsor renewals will be going out and new sponsors are always needed. The banner sponsors get is 4 by 6 feet and they are attached to the fence. The board reviewed the budget which shows sales tax revenues ahead of last year and after January 31st, revenues over expenses stand at $86,454. It was brought up the pump for the water to the level-entry pool accessories has not been working properly and may need to be replaced, but the cost has not yet been calculated. After a presentation by City Administrator Sally Burbridge concerning the basics on understanding the city budget, the meeting was adjourned.

The Salem Board of Aldermen rescheduled meeting will be held tonight at 6:00 at the City Hall Council Chambers at 202 North Washington Street. On the agenda, the board will hear a request from Kerri Konkel representing “Project Graduation” to have a Senior Parade on Sunday, May 7th at 2:00 in the afternoon that would call for some street closures. After the consent agenda, the board will discuss Resolution #5-2023 authorizing the mayor to execute an agreement between the City of Salem and H.W. Lochner, Inc. to perform professional services for engineering and project oversight of six “T”-Hangers at the Salem Memorial Airport. The board will also hear reports from City Administrator Sally Burbridge, Mayor Greg Parker, Public Works Director Mark Nash, Parks and Recreation Director Melissa Dubois and each individual aldermen before going into closed session to discuss contracts. The rescheduled meeting of the City of Salem Board of Aldermen will be tonight at 6:00 and the meeting is open to the public.

The Salem Board of Aldermen meeting Tuesday night was postponed until Thursday night due to the lack of a quorum. The meeting Thursday night will begin at 6:00 with the same agenda at the Salem City Hall Council Chambers and the meeting will be open to the public

Dent County Fire Protection District Chief Brad Nash reported the Fire District Board of Directors meeting scheduled for Tuesday night was postponed due to a lack of a quorum. The board meeting has been rescheduled for March 7th at 6:00 at the Dent County Firehouse.

The Salem Park and Recreation Board will meet tonight at 5:30 at the Salem Community Center@The Armory. The board will hear Park and Recreation Director Melissa Dubois report before discussing the Garden Club Tree project. They will also review the budget and get an update on its status before they adjourn. The Park and Recreation Board meeting tonight is open to the public.

The Missouri Department of Conservation reminds Missouri landowners who get no-cost or reduced-cost deer and turkey landowner hunting permits through its Landowner Permit Application process that it may be time to reaffirm or update the property information they submitted to the Missouri Department of Conservation. Under the MDC Landowner Permit Application process, Missouri landowners with at least 20 acres who want to receive free or reduced-cost landowner deer and turkey permits for their qualifying properties must submit information to Conservation Department for those properties. Landowners must also reaffirm or update their property information every three years to continue to receive the free permits. Landowners who applied in 2020 will need to reaffirm or update their property information before receiving permits for 2023. The Missouri Department of Conservation will be emailing landowners who enrolled in 2020 with information and instructions on reaffirming or updating their property information or mailing them a letter if they don’t have email with the needed information and instructions. Landowners can complete the simple reaffirmation process online at mdc.mo.gov/buypermits. Once logged in to “Manage Your Account”, click “Manage My Landowner Permit Application” and select the Reaffirm or Remove button for each property listed. Landowners can also add newly acquired or other qualifying property not previously included. Once all property has been reviewed and saved, landowners will be able to request their landowner permits as soon as they become available for the season. According to MDC, they offer resident landowners with 20 or more contiguous acres and nonresident landowners with 75 or more contiguous acres no-cost or reduced-cost deer and turkey permits for hunting on their property. Landowners must submit their property information using the MDC “Landowner Permit Application” to receive the permits. The “Landowner Permit Application” provides the department and permit vendors with secure records of landowners and members of their households who qualify for the free and discounted permits, along with proof of land ownership and boundaries of the properties for which the free and discounted permits apply. For more information on Missouri Department of Conservation Landowner Permits, including qualifications, benefits, and the application process, visit MDC online at mdc.mo.gov/permits/landowner-permits.