Your World Today

The Salem R-80 Board of Education held their regular meeting Thursday evening at the District Administrative Offices. After a closed session dealing with a student discipline issue, Superintendent Dr. Lynne Reed discussed legislative issues with the board that she expects the governor to sign. These include the new minimum teacher’s salary and how it will affect the budget. She will go over the issues in more detail once the governor signs them into law. After the school principals gave their reports, the board approved the meal prices at the high school for the 2022-2023 year as students in Elementary, Upper Elementary and Middle School will receive free lunches. They also approved the lease of $12,600 for the Dent County Developmental Preschool that is reimbursed by the state and approved the annual contribution of $10,000 to Healthy Dent County. Dr. Reed said the school district could go back five years to make donations to Fund 4 from Fund 1 for any of the years the district did not opt to at the time. She said from the 2018-19 school year, they could allocate $282,332 from Fund 1 to Fund 4 and from the year 2019-2020, the school could transfer $531,203. This money will be used to pay for the HVAC and roofing projects currently contracted through Energy Solutions Professionals for the 2023 and 2024 fiscal years. The board approved the transfer, then approved a request for the Vo-Ag Department to take an out-of-state trip in the fall of 2022. The board approved the gym wall pad bid from State Farm Insurance for the stage end of the gym for $6,500 and accepted the full wall pad bid from Progressive Ozark Bank for $7,800. Superintendent Reed said she tried to get in touch with Corky Stack to get an idea how much it would cost to develop detailed plans for the construction trades building but did not hear back from him before the meeting. City of Salem Economic Development Director Sally Burbridge explained to the board that time is running out on the Workforce Training Program awarded to the school and the City of Salem. This program featured $438,000 of Youth Opportunity Tax Credits through the school that taxpayers can purchase and get a 50% tax credit off their state income tax, and a CDBG grant through the city of $500,000 that can be used once the monies raised from the sale of the tax credits is spent on the building project. The sale of the tax credits has only raised about $57,000 and those sales come to an end September 30th. Burbridge explained that if the school would fall short, they can get a 10-year loan from Community Foundation of the Ozarks for about $400,000 at 3.25% which would mean the school would be responsible for a $3,909 per month payment. Reed then went through the Fund 4 balances as well as expected revenues and expenses. Her assessment, based on a number of estimates, shows there are not enough funds for the repairs, the Construction Trades Building, the Tin Gym Project and the expected bond issue for a new elementary school. She said there are a number of financing options that ESP can look into, plus they can look into local financing as well. The board was not comfortable committing to any financing without seeing how the projects can be paid for, what needs to be financed and how it would affect future school expansion. The board approved a resolution to have ESP solicit bids for financing rates and amounts from local banks. They also tabled making any decisions on any type of financing until after a budget workshop is held where all options can be discussed, analyzed and calculated where paybacks can be accurately determined. The budget workshop will be held on June 2nd at 6:00 and the board approved moving the June regular meeting moved back to June 23rd at 6:00. The board accepted the resignations of Middle School Special Ed instructor Rich Beckett; and middle school physical education instructor, golf coach and assistant football coach Kyle Anderson. The board also approved a leave of absence for Middle School Principal Rich Parks to re-enter the military on October 1st for a one or two-year tour. The board then went into closed session where they employed Jennifer Fleener and Rebecca Hayes as 5th grade teachers, Jerry Adkins as the 9th grade boys’ basketball coach, and Jared Patterson as the varsity boys basketball coach. The board also approved the band stipend and extended days for Gannon Craig as well as extended days for Dalton Sanders in Vo-Ag. The board meeting was then adjourned.

The City of Salem’s Utilities Committee will hold a meeting tonight at 7:15 at the Salem Community Center@the Armory. The committee will get updated on year-to-date projects, go over financials and planned projects, and go over expenses for the next year. The committee will review utility rates which will include basic rates, service availability fees and upcoming auto-adjustment for electric rates pending no board action. The committee will review sample bills with different layouts and get updated on the Exceleron Prepay Project. The meeting is open to the public.

An accident happened on Highway 49 about a mile south of Viburnum in Iron County Saturday evening at 7:20. According to the highway patrol report, 50-year-old Shawn Barton of Salem was driving a 2004 Dodge 1500 southbound when he ran off the right side of the road and he struck a road sign and two trees. Barton suffered minor injuries and taken by ambulance to the Salem Memorial District Hospital. He was not wearing a seat restraint. The Dodge was totaled and was removed from the scene by Blackies Auto.

The 137th Graduation Ceremonies of the Salem R-80 High School will be held this evening at 7:00 at the Salem High School Football Field. After the procession of 139 graduating students, the National Anthem will be performed by the chamber choir. Assistant Principal Tori Snitker will then present the Senior Class Citizenship Award, the Best All-Around Boy and Girl Award, and students who earned the Missouri Seal of Biliteracy. Principal Marty Anderson will introduce five Salutatorians: Shanna Hawkins, Faith Pace, Dylan Seabaugh, Lesley Myree Steinbarger and Lori Terrill. Principal Anderson will also present the nine Valedictorians: Lizbeth Blanco, Andrea Bray, Emily Cloud, Jaden Flores, Collin Heavin, Brooke Plank, Makayla Raether, Sierra Rusco and Denise Stoner. Anderson will recognize the A Plus students, students who are entering the military, as well as those entering the work force and going to college. Diplomas will then be awarded to the Class of 2022 students followed by the recessional. The graduation exercises will be streamed live on KSMO Media which includes on Twitch, the KSMO Stream Facebook page and on KSMO’s YouTube page. These are all accessible by going to the KSMO Radio website and clicking on the button on the KSMO Homepage. A direct link to the Salem R-80 Graduation Exercises has been put on the Salem R-80 web site homepage at www.salemr80.org that will stream on Twitch. There is NO charge to stream the services.

The Dent County Commission met for their regular meeting Thursday morning at the courthouse. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley was absent due to prior commitments. During public comment Bob Parsons, on behalf of the Dent County Junior Livestock Committee, asked if the county would haul approximately 10 loads of chips to The Commons for the 4-H/FFA Expo July 13th to 16th. The Commission agreed to the request. In the road report District One Commissioner Wes Mobray said that weather permitting grading would be done on Dent County Roads 5510 and 6250, while rock would be added, and grading would be done on county roads 5170 and 6460. He also noted that brush would be cut on county road 2470. District Two Commissioner Gary Larson echoed Mobray’s comments about weather permitting as he reported that grading would be done on Dent County Roads 2220, 2320, 2540, 2500, and some of 2150, plus materials would be added to county roads 2120 and 2150. Larson went on to say that brush would be cut on county road 4330, plus his district has finished the Conservation Rock application. He said the total for rock was about $15,000 and he was completing the notification letter and mailing it to MDC. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles reported that the June 8th meeting with the Administration Commission on the sales tax withholding issue has been continued at the request of Department of Revenue. He said that the county was agreed with the postponement, and it may not be needed at all. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams was in with the CART receipts for May. She said that $68,287.13 was received, which was up by $1009.48 when compared to May of 2021. She said that year-to-date CART receipts are up $23,628.90 or 8.27%. The next meeting of the commission will be Monday morning at 9:00 and the meeting is open to the public.

The Missouri Department of Conservation encourages Missouri hunters to apply for elk-hunting in May. MDC will offer five permits to hunt bull elk in Missouri this fall with at least one permit allocated for qualifying area landowners and the remaining permits for the general public. Only Missouri residents who will be at least 11 years of age by the first day of the hunt for which they are applying are eligible to apply for elk and bear permits during the application period of May 1st through the 31st. All permits will be assigned through a random drawing. For elk hunting, MDC has designated a nine-day archery portion running October 15th through the 23rd and a nine-day firearms portion running December 10th through the 18th. The five permits will be for bull elk and will be valid for both portions. MDC will require a $10 application fee for elk-permit applicants. Those selected will then be eligible to buy a permit at a cost of $50. All elk-hunting permits, including those allocated to approved area landowners, can be used on public or private property in Carter, Reynolds, and Shannon counties, except the refuge portion of Peck Ranch Conservation Area. The allowed hunting methods for each season portion will be the same as for deer hunting. The permits will allow for the harvest of one bull elk with at least one antler being six inches or greater in length. Apply for the elk-permit random drawing by May 31st online at mdc.mo.gov/buypermits, through MDC’s free MO Hunting app, through a permit vendor, or by calling 1-800-392-4115. Results of the elk-permit random drawing will be available online by July 1st.

The Salem Acoustic Jam will be held this Saturday at the Creative Arts Center at 6:30 due to the Memorial Day Holiday weekend next week. Come on out, bring your instrument and join in, or just come to listen to the music and tap your feet. All types of music are played, and whether you are a beginner or seasoned pro, everyone is welcome to participate and there is NO CHARGE to attend.

The Salem Memorial District Hospital met Tuesday evening at the hospital library. Interim CEO Don Babb said the copiers the hospital had were old and slow, so bids were put out to lease new copiers at an annual savings of about $6,300. He said the hospital is looking at New Vision, a medical detox and Suboxone clinic and doing research on advancing into that area in the future. He said the hospital has five ambulance units with over a million miles on them and the cost of a new one is about $190,000. The hospital is looking for quality pre-owned ambulances with less miles. He went on to say the hospital is planning some strategic planning with not only the staff and board, but with the community leaders sometime this summer. Babb said the contract with NRA for bad debt collections has been terminated due to inappropriate electronic contact and lack of results. He said the hospital went with ITX out of Ohio who the RHG group uses at other hospitals. In the summary of operations, Chief Financial Officer Jo Ann Hammonds reported the hospital made money during the month of April for the first time in way over a year with a cash profit of over $17,000 and a book profit from operations of $417,704.64. In the summary of operations for the month of April, the hospital had 89 inpatient admissions with 406 inpatient census days. There were 172 days of swing-bed which is up from 45 from April of 2021. The swing-bed average length of stay was 12.29 days. During the month, there were 625 emergency room visits with 53 admissions, plus there were 215 ambulance runs with 173 patients transported. In April, there were 33 surgery cases, 1,093 outpatient registrations, 5,686 lab tests, 1,138 radiological procedures, 748 rehab treatments and 175 home health visits with 11 home health admissions. The days cash on hand was at 65 with $5.3 million total cash. Hammond said that if the cash collections received by the hospital stay at the level they are now, the hospital will be able to pay off the Medicare advance money from COVID by August. Currently the hospital only gets a 50% reimbursement until that money is paid back. Chief Nursing Officer Ashley Sullins presented the results of the Community Health Needs Assessment. The primary needs as indicated by the survey are the cost of health care, substance and drug abuse, and obesity in adults and children. The survey indicated a secondary concern and that was the lack of dental care. Sullins said the hospital will partner with Four Rivers Healthcare, Healthy Dent County and the Dent County Health Department to create a plan to address these needs. Sullins also said the hospital is still following the CDC recommendations on masking at the hospital, plus at this time it is a Medicare requirement. She said the hospital will continue to review the current COVID situation and recommended guidelines. The Hospital Board member appointed to the Foundation Board was Ray Bruno and currently there are 14 teams signed up for the Foundation Golf tournament. It was also reported Michell Bland FNP will be doing FREE sports physicals in Ellington and Viburnum schools in June and August. The board approved courtesy staff privileges for Margaret Meier, MD and approved the $500 to $600 lagoon permit payment to DNR in Mid-July. The board approved an easement for Intercounty Electric in relation to the new transformer project. Bids for that project are due in June 2nd at 2:00. The board was told there are two current applications for the CEO position and attempts are being made to find a day the board can meet with both either in person or by Zoom. Jodi Gorman gave the staffing report that showed four new hires in April and 10 new hires in May. Tiffin Felkerson discussed the change in management and culture shift at the SMDH Family Clinic stressing team respect, dignity and image providing a quality service. The board approved the purchase of a refurbished Medivator Endoscope Reprocessor for a cost of $20,445 but postponed a decision on the Telemetry System until the board could be present for a demonstration. The boards then went into closed session.

Come out to the Creative Arts Center for the Springfest Arts & Crafts Show & Sale with the Spring Creek Artisans this Saturday from 9:00 in the morning till 3:00 in the afternoon. There will be unique hand-crafted gifts and home accessories created by local artists. Plus, many other activities to enjoy like music, a kid’s craft table, food truck, and more. For more information, call 247-0651 or 247-5306 you can e-mail salemartscouncil@outlook.com

A one vehicle accident happened early Tuesday morning at 3:30 in Phelps County on westbound Interstate 44 at the 192.8 mile-marker near St. James. According to the highway patrol report, 37-year-old Jaymie Bean of Rolla fell asleep while driving a 2006 Jeep Wrangler and traveled off the right side of the interstate and overturned. Bean was taken by St. James Ambulance to Phelps Health Hospital for treatment of moderate injuries. The Jeep was totaled and removed from the scene by D & D Recovery. The report stated that Bean was wearing a safety restraint at the time of the accident.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources will provide six free waste pesticide collection events in 2022. All of the events will be open from 8:00 in the morning to noon and are open to all Missouri farmers and households. The pick-up event closest to our area will be this Saturday in Farmington at MFA Agri Services 1363 Sainte Genevieve Avenue. Items that will be accepted include herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, rodenticides, de-wormers, fly tags, and fertilizers containing pesticides. Items that will not be accepted include paint, explosives, fire extinguishers, yard waste, electronics, trash, and pesticides from businesses, pesticide production facilities, pesticide distributors, pesticide retailers or similar entities. More information about the Missouri Pesticide Collection Program can be found online at dnr.mo.gov.