Your World Today

The Salem Board of Aldermen met Tuesday evening in the City Hall Council Chambers. At the meeting, after the approval of the consent agenda, the board approved Bill #3499 to create an ordinance that would amend Chapter 115, Article 1 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Salem pertaining to the qualifications of elected and appointed officials dealing with exceptions. This ordinance is being updated to follow statue guidelines. The board then approved a bid from Fleetwood Fireworks for the 4th of July Fireworks display at a cost of $12,524. Also approved was a rebuilt fuel pump and card reader for the airport for $8,525 that was purchased from Gas Pump Exchange. The price does not include installation. Police Chief Joe Chase will contact Mid State Petroleum for installation. City Administrator Ray Walden reported the HVAC building maintenance project has begun at four city buildings. There were 7,444 participants in programs and events at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory during the month of January. The city administration offices will be closed Monday, February 21st for Presidents’ Day. Jeff Meadows from Archer-Elgin gave an update on several projects ranging from the upgrade of the Wastewater Treatment facility, the Route J & Highway 72 sewer extension and downtown revitalization. Public Works Director Mark Nash reported staff has been working on snow removal and will address all potholes in the near future. If a citizen would like to report a pothole, they are asked to call the city offices at 729-4811. Salem and Dent County Economic Development Director Sally Burbridge gave an update on several projects She said Godi Excavating is doing the site clearing at the Industrial Park Certified Site project. Burbridge also reported the city has been awarded the Federal Home Loan Bank Affordable Housing grant in partnership with Riverways Federal Credit Union. Burbridge will update the board after agreements have been signed and training has been conducted. In the aldermen reports, each council member thanked the city employees for their hard work during the recent snowstorm. The board then went into closed session.

Your Community Health Center is excited to announce their name change to Four Rivers Community Health Center. Stuart Gipson, CEO of Four Rivers, said that their mission has always included serving persons from Phelps, Maries, Crawford, Dent and Pulaski counties, but now with their expansion to have physical buildings in these communities, their name will reflect their regional footprint. Four Rivers provides comprehensive healthcare services for pediatrics, adolescents, and adults. Services include primary medical care, dental, behavioral health, oral surgery for all ages, OB/GYN, well-child exams, and medication assisted treatment program to support those struggling with addiction, plus a new service of providing free Medicaid application support. For more information contact Felisha Richards online at frichards@fourrivers.org or call 573-426-6033.

Create a hand-made felted Valentine or other artistic piece out of wool on Thursday, February 10th at the Creative Arts Center. Join Terri Phelps from 6:00 until 8:00 and learn about Felting, which is a tatting technique with a needle on wool, to apply details and create form. You will get to take your creations home and enjoy sharing conversations about your experience creating with this unique technique. All the supplies for the class are provided and the cost is $25 For more information or to register, call 247-0651 or 247-5306 or you can e-mail salemartscouncil@outlook.com.

The Dent County Commission met Monday morning for their regular meeting. Salem and Dent County Economic Director Sally Burbridge gave her monthly report that indicated the City of Salem received the FHLB $500,000 Affordable Housing Grant after originally being selected as an alternate. She also reported there are two potential structures and a foundation that would like to participate in the Voluntary Residential Demolition Program. Burbridge went on to report the site clearing of the certified site in the Masters Industrial Park is underway where the timber must be cleared by March 31st and the rest of project is expected to be done around the end of April. Burbridge also provided the county with employment and unemployment data for the commissioners as well as census figures that showed in 2020 Dent County lost over 1,200 residents while the City of Salem lost over 340 residents. She said the Census Bureau updated some of their data from July 1st 2020 to July 1, 2021 that showed Missouri had added 13,700 new residents, but there is no individual breakdown on county numbers. The census data accuracy is still being debated since COVID changed the way information was collected where in person visits were eliminated. Burbridge showed through a graph the labor force has remained fairly stable with maybe a slight increase over the last four years. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray said crews are working on the trucks to clean them up and make repairs where needed. He said some roads continue to receive treatments to help breakup the ice and snow from shaded areas. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson said a crew is out treating roads where needed, and another crew is changing grader blades out after the plowing. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles said there will be no meeting Thursday due to the commissioners training. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said she received eight “I Voted” designs for new stickers for the 2022-2023 elections from students at the Salem High School. She stated the finalists will be determined and then the public is invited to vote on the finalists in the county clerk’s office during regular business hours beginning Wednesday and lasting through February 23rd. One vote per design per person. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson said he had two roads that citizens have petitioned to be abandoned. The first road that is being petitioned is Dent County Road 3283 in the Spring Creek West Township that is about ¼ mile long which is surrounded by the property of Eddie Parsons. The other road is Dent County Road 2053 in the Watkins Township that is about 1/10th of a mile long that is surrounded by the property of Larry Daniels. The petition has to be posted in three locations within each township for 20 days and the public has a right to offer written objections on the abandonment or be at the hearing which will be on Thursday, March 3rd at 10:00 at the courthouse. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams brought in the sales tax monies received by the county this month. The General Revenue Fund and the LEST Fund each brought in $85,934.25 that showed an increase year-to-date of $120,812 as last year in February, none of the county funds received any funding due to the Department of Revenue error. In the Road and Bridge Fund, the county received $35,271.61 bring a year-to-date increase of $54,944; and the two jail funds each brought in $70,479.52. They each show an increase over last year of $109,764. The next meeting of the commissioners will be Monday, February 14th at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

The Board of Trustees at Salem Memorial District Hospital (SMDH) in a closed session meeting Thursday have relieved Hospital Administrator Kasey Lucas of his duties as CEO effective last Thursday, February 3rd. The board also named Bill May as their Interim CEO, effective Friday, February 4th. Bill May will be onsite to begin his duties today. Mr. May has over 30 years of CEO experience in rural hospitals similar to SMDH and is affiliated with Rural Hospital Group (RHG). RHG and its partners have worked with over 800 hospitals in 42 states, a large percentage being rural providers. RHG was founded to help keep health care accessible to rural communities through professional management. RHG leaders have extensive experience developing and operating hospitals in rural settings. RHG was brought into SMDH by the Board of Directors for an initial period of 90 days to assist the hospital in responding to the financial crisis sweeping the rural hospital industry which has partially been caused by the ongoing global pandemic. Starting today, RHG will begin discussion with staff, providers and the community in an effort to stabilize and improve operations for SMDH.

Committee Chair Catherine Dent has called a meeting of the City of Salem’s Utility Committee for this evening at 6:00 in the City Hall Council Chambers at 202 N. Washington St. The committee will be meeting to consider Utility Disconnections before they adjourn. The meeting is open to the public.

An accident happened Thursday morning at 9:30 in Franklin County on eastbound Interstate 44 near the 227-mile marker. According to the report released by the highway patrol a 2014 International Harvester Lonestar being driven by 34-year-old Christopher Frisby of Rolla was stopped due to a previous accident ahead. At that time, a 2016 Freightliner Cascadia being driven by 46-year-old Mohamed Siad of Columbus, Ohio was inattentive and struck the rear of the International. Both drivers suffered moderate injuries, and both were transported to Missouri Baptist Hospital in Sullivan by Missouri Baptist EMS. The International was totaled and removed from the scene by Big Boys Towing. The Freightliner sustained extensive damage and was towed by Patriots Towing. The report went on to state that both drivers were wearing safety restraints at the time of the accident.

These reports were released from the Dent County Sheriff’s Office. On Tuesday, February 1st, a deputy was dispatched to the 5400 block of Highway 19 for a report of property damage. During the course of the investigation, a male juvenile admitted to the incident. A referral was made to the Juvenile Office concerning the incident. Then on Thursday, February 3rd, deputies were dispatched to the 2700 block of Highway 119 for a reported burglary. During the course of the investigation, a 39-year-old Salem man was arrested and transported to the Dent County Jail. He was placed on a 24-hour hold pending formal charges. If anyone has any information regarding these incidents, please call the sheriff’s office at 729-3241.

Come join Patty Burmeister and learn about Sherenschnitte and learn the “old world” craft of paper cutting to create some valentines, decorative wall hangings and more by using paper and special scissors. The two-hour session will be held from 6:00 to 8:00 this evening at the Creative Arts Center. The cost of the class is $25 for the patterns, scissors and supplies. This class is appropriate for all ages. For more information or to register, call 247-0651 or 247-5306 you can e-mail salemartscouncil@outlook.com.