Your World Today

The Dent County Commissioners held a meeting Tuesday morning at the Dent County Courthouse since the courthouse was closed Monday for the MLK holiday. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray said crews will be working on the trucks after the snow removal Saturday and trimming some low hanging limbs. Work crews will be checking roads and fixing signs where needed. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson said most of his crew is out with COVID, but those who remain will be out checking roads and signs. Larson did say the road and bridge department is seeking applications for full time employees. Those who want to apply must have a CDL or acquire a CDL. Employment applications must be picked up at the county clerk’s office. Applications must be submitted by Friday, February 4th at the clerk’s office. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles said he attended the MRPC External Relations meeting and regular board meeting by phone. He said several congressional reps were on hand and said millions of dollars will be available in the state for broadband expansion. Skiles said the MRPC received an ARPA update as they have relaxed the rules on how the funds for any government can be used. The MRPC will hold a meeting in February with Attorney Travis Elliott with the latest ARPA guidance. Skiles said he attended the trial Friday in the Cole County Circuit Court for the Herman Kelly and CCAM vs State of Missouri case. The CCAM attorneys challenged parts of Senate Bill 53 that dealt with the salaries of sheriffs. Judge Dan Greene indicated he would give his ruling by the end of the month. The Northwood R-4 School District asked the commissioners to sign a letter of support for them to apply for funds from SEMA for a Tornado Safe Room. All three of the commissioners approved the request and signed the letter. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said she balanced with the treasurer on all accounts for the month of December, plus she said her office balanced with the collector and assessor on all collections, add-ons and abatements for December. She said the tentative budget is available in her office if the public would like a copy. She said she would be attending the Missouri Association of Counties board meeting this week. She also said as part of the Missouri Association of Counties Clerks and Election Authorities Board, she will attend their Legislative Day at the capital. Curley wanted to remind the public the commissioners will hold the budget public hearing at 10:00 on Thursday, January 27th in the commissioner’s office. Dent County Collector Shannon VanKirk brought in the monthly report for December and said collections this December were about $300,000 more than December of 2020; and collections for November were up about $400,000 more than November of 2020. The total amount of taxes collected in December came to $5,838,218.26. She also said currently the collector has over 75 parcels of property on their monthly prepay program. VanKirk said people can sign up for the program anytime, but the later in the year, the more they will have to play catchup. For more information, stop by the Dent County Courthouse at the Collector’s Office or call 729-3911. The next meeting of the commissioners will be Monday morning at the courthouse at 9:00 and the meeting will be open to the public.

Missouri’s deer and turkey archery seasons closed January 15th. Deer hunting preliminary data from MDC showed that hunters checked 60,834 deer during the 2021-2022 archery deer season making it the third highest archery deer harvest on record. Top counties for the archery deer season were Jefferson with 1,563 deer harvested, St. Louis with 1,368, and Franklin with 1,274. Hunters checked 67,487 deer during the 2020-2021 archery deer season. This year’s archery deer harvest total was 10% below last year’s record harvest and 8% higher than the previous five-year average. Preliminary data from MDC showed 2,523 turkeys harvested. Top counties for the fall archery turkey season were Franklin with 69 turkeys harvested, Jefferson with 67, and Callaway with 61. Hunters harvested 2,350 turkeys during the 2020-2021 fall archery turkey season. For deer and turkey harvest totals by county and other information, visit the MDC website at extra.mdc.mo.gov.

Bryce Mobray, a Green Forest 4-H member, placed first the Percentage Simmental Heifers Born in April of 2021 class at the Cattlemen’s Congress in Oklahoma City. The Cattlemen’s Congress is a stock show for cattlemen and women managed by cattlemen and women. The Cattlemen’s Congress is an opportunity for breeders across North America to showcase their top genetics and connect with fellow beef producers in a central location, in the heart of cattle country. In 2020, the Cattlemen’s Congress was created by a group of visionaries led by Mr. Bob Funk. It’s goal was to provide a world class event specifically designed for cattlemen and women to gather, showcase and market their elite cattle genetics.

The National Park Service (NPS) is soliciting public input by March 7th on the proposed amendments to the special regulations for motorized vessels within Ozark National Scenic Riverways. These proposed changes were included in the park’s General Management Plan as part of the Preferred Alternative. The General Management Plan was finalized in 2015 after a long public planning process. The NPS proposes to create seasonal non-motorized zones along the upper stretches of the Current and Jacks Fork rivers where low water levels during the peak season typically restrict access for motorboats. These zones would provide areas without conflict between motorized and non-motorized users during peak visitor season, when it can be challenging for non-motorized vessels and motorboats to navigate narrow river channels at the same time. Peak visitor season usually begins the day after the last day of trapping season and end the day before gigging season, which would currently be April 1st through September 14th. The NPS is also looking for comments to legalize the use of 60/40 horsepower (HP) motors with jet propulsion. These motors are the most popular with motorboat users today. Under existing regulations for motorized vessels within Ozark National Scenic Riverways, the 60/40 HP motors are not legal because they exceed 40 HP at the powerhead. They are also looking for public comments on the and establish a 150 HP limit for jet propulsion and 105 HP limit for motors with a propellor on the Current River between Big Spring and the southern boundary of the park. These limits were proposed to address visitor concerns about safety, degradation of experience and increasing boat sizes resulting from no limits on boat motor size. Members of the public may submit comments on the proposed rule, identified with the Regulation Identifier Number (RIN) 1024-AE62, through March 7th, by going online to www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter 1024-AE62. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. You can also submit written hard copies by U.S. Mail or hand deliver to: Superintendent, Ozark National Scenic Riverways, 404 Watercress Drive, P.O. Box 490, Van Buren, MO. 63965. Only comments submitted online through the Regulations.gov site or by hardcopy will be accepted. For more information, call 573-323-4236.

Come join Artist Suzanne Douglas and learn the technique and skills to create a lovely traditional 10” Melon Basket out of wooden hoops and reeds. The 2 two-hour sessions will be held on Wednesdays, January 19th & 26th from 6:00 to 8:00 at the Creative Arts Center. The cost is $45 for both sessions and supplies. For more information or to register, call 247-0651 or 247-5306 you e-mail salemartscouncil@outlook.com.

A Dent County Festival Committee meeting will be held Wednesday, January 26th from 5:30-6.30 at The Salem Community Center@The Armory Rotary meeting room. A brainstorming session will be held to plan for upcoming events. The committee has discussed the possibility of a Spring/Summer vendor event, a Fall Festival, a Christmas Festival and maybe a tie-in event with the “Naturally Meramec” group for a “taste of Dent County” effort. The meeting is open to anyone. If you know of dates of events already scheduled in the area or surrounding towns, please bring those dates with you. The committee would like to set dates at this meeting so they can start planning for the first event. If you need more information or have an idea for an event, e-mail Tonya Sanders at Utilities3@salemmo.com.